My name is Ty Dusk. The year is 4047. It’s been eight years since my parents didn’t come home after going to the pillars on the outskirts of our country, Aspen. I should’ve known that they weren’t coming home, moreover, getting to the top. After all, no one has ever gotten there. I’ve been by myself since then. I never let anyone else see the pain that I have inside. I just act normal or even cheerful to everyone, even though they always try to comfort me. I turned sixteen today, so now I’m allowed to join the Pillar Brigade.

“Kid are you sure you want to join? Do you even know how many of us die?” the soldier at the enlisting station told me.

“Of course, I know,” I said calmly.

“Then why are you here?”

“I have to know what is up there,” I said as I looked him dead in the eyes. I could tell a lot was going on in his mind.

“You will be with the 186^th recruits,” he said with a sigh while giving me a piece of paper, “your first roll call will be on June 26^th, so about a week from now.”

“Thanks,” I said while taking the paper.

There are actually more people here than I expected, I thought to myself, five, ten… about 16 people here.

“Ouch- watch where you’re going!” someone said as I bumped into them.

“Sorry,” I said nervously. I saw that he had a sign-up sheet for the brigade as well, “are you here for the brigade?”

“Yeah, what is it to you?” he said sharply.

“Oh, me too. I actually just turned sixteen, so I just came to sign up,” I said.

“Well watch where you’re going deadbeat,” he said in an aggressive tone. With that he walked away to turn in his form.

~

“Alright you worthless losers, welcome to hell! You want to join Aspen’s forces? A whole lot of the losers who graduate will die to the damn Pillae, or even in the pillars themselves! This hell will be useless to you! If anyone would like to leave, be my guest and leave while I’ll let you!” shouted the chief as he pointed back to the country.

As expected, no one left their position.

“Alright then! My name is Chief Thomas. You! Who the hell are you?” the chief asked in a menacing one while pointing to boy in the front.

“Alfie Lambert sir, from the Southern district!” shouted the boy while putting his hand over his heart.

“Why are you here?” the chief asked in a menacing tone.

“I am here to help wipe the Pillae from the country with the military!”

“Oh, what a noble cause. Who the hell said we want you though?!” shouted the chief.

“You! State your name!”

“Dean Eden sir, from the Western district!”

“What is your lousy purpose for being here?”

“I am very curious about what is up there!” Dean said in a lighthearted tone.

“Dean… do you know how many die in there?” the chief said in a slowly.

“Yes sir! I am just very curious!” he said, still in a light tone.

This guy is dead…, I thought to myself, the chief’s look is a death sentence in itself.

“Dean Eden, right?”

“Yes sir!”

“I want you to run. Run around the camp until you can’t physically stand anymore!” the chief shouted with fury while pointing to the outskirts of the camp.

“Yes sir!” Dean said in a cheerful tone.

“Stupid kids, don’t even know the dangers,” said the chief under his breath, “next, you!”

“My name is Jay Kyce, from the Northern District,” Jay said calmly.

“He’s from the Northern District?” some people murmured behind the chief.

“Isn’t that the district the Pillae almost wiped out?”

“I heard there were only 30 survivors,”

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Ruin of the Northern District. 

“Why the hell are you here Jayce?” the chief asked.

“It’s just Jay,”

“Are you correcting me?” the chief shouted.

“I mean, yeah, you said my name wrong,” Jay said as calmly as ever.

This guy is dead! He hasn’t even said sir once yet, and he just did that?

“I like you Jayce,” the chief said in an approving tone.

I knew it this guy is- wait how is he not dead? I thought.

“It’s Jay,”

“Okay Jayce,” the chief said while slapping him on the back.

After that, chief Thomas was as ruthless as ever. I messed up on my introduction, and it was really scary, I almost had to run like Dean. I even saw Jay laughing, and he had no expression the whole time before that.

What a rough way to start my run with the Pillar Brigade, I thought miserably after my introduction was finally over. After another hour of introduction from the other 74 recruits, the hellish training began.

------------------------------           Aspen’s Journal         ------------------------------

-Aspen is split up in 4 districts, North, East, South and West.

-The pillar is true North to the country, standing at an estimate of 7 miles long.

-Surrounding the country are gates which are meant to help keep Pillae out.

-The Northern district was lost in 4042 to the Pillae.

-The armed forces are split in 3 regiments, the Pillar Brigade, Government Officers, and the Military.

------------------------------           Aspen’s Journal         ------------------------------

It has been about month since the hellish training started. Around two thirds of the recruits either quit or were kicked out during that time.

Out of the seventy-eight recruits, only thirty of you remain,” chief Thomas said, “congratulations. You have passed the training, but the Brigade trials are nothing like this. I commend you thirty as you are the most impressive group I’ve directed in a long time. I’m going to list off the top 10 scorers in this regiment.”

1. Jay Kyce
2. Ty Dusk
3. Abbie Cortez
4. Mason Cleo
5. Joyce Day
6. Jordan Rigby
7. Toby Calvin
8. Kyla Atkins
9. Denver Gantt
10. Alan Fultz

Damn it! Jay got first? I was sure I was top of the trainees, I thought furiously to myself.

“Are you Ty?” a voice from behind me asked.

“What? Oh yeah that’s me,” I said while turning around.

“Hey, I’m Jay,” he said while sticking out his hand. I took it, “you were a pretty close second to me during training!”

“Oh, yeah, you were pretty good too.”

“You said during introductions you are here because your parents died in the pillar, right?” Jay asked me casually.

“Yeah, I messed up a bit on that though,” I said with a nervous laugh.

“I know right, your response to the chief was the funniest thing ever!” he said while laughing his heart out.

This guy is so confusing. He hardly shows any emotion, but when it comes to my mess up, he laughs so hard, I thought.

“Are you really from the North?” I asked out of nowhere. I was expecting him to stop laughing, but instead he just laughed some more.

“Sorry,” he said barely holding back his laughs, “it’s just people think that it was really tragic for me. It was a long time ago, I’m past it.”

“There is one thing though,” he said with a stern face, “I will absolutely destroy every Pillae off of this planet.”

“Really? That’s a huge goal, they just keep coming from the Pillar,” I said back.

“I assume the answer is at the top of the tower, so I’m going to get up there,” he said while reaching his arm up to the top of that pillar, “I’ll make it there eventually.”

“What are you losers talking about?” said a voice.

“Oh nothing-, you’re the guy from the sign ups!” I shouted.

“Oh, it’s the loser that doesn’t know where he’s going,” he said sharply.

“Loser? Well Mason, this loser got second in ranking,” Jay said back to him.

Mason, oh he got fourth I think, I thought, but why did you still have to use loser Jay?

“That was a fluke. I’ll get first next time, Jay”

“A fluke? Even a girl beat you dude,” Jay said.

“Whatever,” Mason said walking away visibly upset.

“Thanks,” I said, “do you guys know each other of something?”

“Hm, oh no, I just didn’t like him saying that.”

“Oh, I see,” I started.

What a weirdo, why would he do that for me? I wondered.

“Alright!” yelled the chief from the platform he was standing on, “With that, I officially pass the 186^th recruits from training camp!”

“Yes!” some people murmured.

“Now this doesn’t mean you are with our armed forces yet. I would like to introduce you to the commander, or the head of the brigade,” he said. He signaled for someone to come up to the stage.

“Hello, I am Commander Lucifer of the Pillar Brigade,” said the man. He was a tall man with brown hair, someone fit to be commander of a regiment, “from here on out, I will be your director with some help of the commanders of the military and officers.”

Where have I seen this guy before?

“He has been the commander even in the 44^th expedition,” said chief Thomas.

‘I’m commander Lucifer of the Pillar Brigade’ I remembered, ‘It’s my fault your parents are gone!’

He was the one who led my parents into that Pillar, I thought furiously.

“You have a problem Mr. Dusk?” the chief asked me. My anger must’ve shown on my face.

“No sir!” I stated back.

“Alright then. Commander, continue,”

“As I was saying, in a week we will begin the Brigade Trials. It will consist of two trials, survival and five on five matches,” Lucifer said, “I will go into more detail when we go to the trial spot.”

“Alright everyone, move out!” shouted the chief.

“Are you scared Ty?” Jay sarcastically said to me while we were walking.

“Hell no dude! I can’t wait!”

“I hope we’re on the same team for the five on five,” Jay said excitedly.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because we’re friends!”

That’s right. After all this time, I was focused on myself and getting to the top, I never really got close to anyone. The closest people to me in my life were the other residents, but they don’t count as friends.

“Yeah.”

 

Next chapter: The Trials Begin!