Reunion

No one could miss the large printed display on the road.

It was the only source of light in the whole neighborhood.

The whole place was so dark that only the moonlight barely lighted up the roads.

Atlin stopped and rechecked the display.

"5TH APRIL 2027: EVERY DAY AT NOON: STRING FORCE BASIC TRAINING AT THE CITYHALL. ADVISED FOR ALL CITIZENS MORE THAN 8 YEARS OLD."

"It can't be... I've traveled six months in the future?" Altin thought in bewilderment.

"But I've only been out there for several hours!"

A pit of worry was forming in Altin's stomach.

"Does everyone think I'm dead? What of Mr. & Mrs. Durand? Was Jurgen found? And what's with this display? Why is everything dark ?"

Altin turned his head left and right;

He really could see no one; it seemed as if the whole city was dead.

Vroooom...

But the distant sound of car driving sounded from far away.

Somehow, the sound reassured Altin that the world hadn't collapsed.

He resumed walking in the direction of the nearby police station by closely following the streets he knew.

He passed by a few more streets - all plunged in darkness and silence.

Finally, he reached the police station.

It was a 4-floors building.

Fortunately, all floors were still illuminated.

Altin didn't hesitate.

He needed to know what day it was and what was happening.

He entered the building, gently pushing the metallic door.

Right in front of him laid a desk behind which an officer sat.

The officer looked at the newcomer, raising her eyes at the young man that had entered the station by himself at an unlikely hour.

She was not the only officer in the station.

Indeed, the station was the only busy and lighted-up building. Another officer was standing gun at hand not far from the door, while more officers could be heard talking in another room.

After a quick look at his surroundings, Altin walked up to the desk where the officer sat. She asked him before he could say anything:

"What are you doing here by yourself, kid?"

Altin furrowed his brows. He wasn't a kid anymore! He was 15! Still, he had more important things to worry about. He awkwardly said: "Well... eh... You can say I'm lost. More importantly, what day is it today?"

"More importantly? The date is more important?" The officer asked doubtfully.

To her, Altin looked like a runaway. But a runaway wouldn't ask these questions.

"Yes, please. What day is it ?" Altin confirmed his question.

"Tuesday, of course. Anyway, why are you here? Where are your parents?" Altin now had the full attention of the officer. How long did the poor kid had been out by himself for not even knowing the day?

The answer confirmed the growing fear inside Altin. The day when Altin confronted Jurgen had been a Thursday - 16th October 2026.

"No, I mean," Altin struggled to find his words. He knew his question was ridiculous. "Are you sure? So today isn't Thursday, 16th October?"

The officer kept silent, looking at the boy from head to toes.

"Is it? The 16th October?"

"Are you running a joke?" The officer said.

Altin knew he had to insist. "NO!" He roared, "Please! What day are we? What month? What year?"

The officer on guard duty silently walked closer to Altin.

"13th April 2027," The lady officer finally replied.

Altin got the confirmation that he had jumped in the future. Yet, it was still hard to accept the situation. "No... that can't be... " He murmured.

"What day did you think it was?"

"Well... I... " Altin was flustered.

Eternitus had warned him that time flew differently in the mysterious space where he had briefly stayed, but Atlin had thought only a few days would pass at most. And yet, about six months had passed in just a few hours!

Altin took a deep breath. He still had a few things: his wallet containing both his civil and military IDs. But, unfortunately, he had dropped his phone back then when the bomb exploded. So he decided the best course of action was to quickly ask the police to get in touch with Brener of the Espadon platoon.

He also thought of an excuse to explain his question about the date.

He said: "It thought we were still on Sunday. I entered a mysterious anomaly a few days ago during an operation. I just came out. I'm part of a particular military branch. I can't tell you much other than its name and contact number. It's on my military ID."

Altin put his military ID on the table and then pushed it gently towards the officer;

She grabbed it.

"Let's see..." She read the name. "Altin, umm... why does it sound familiar? Ah, your branch. WHAT! THE ESPADON PLATOON ?!" She exclaimed.

All eyes in the room turned to Altin.

"You're part of the Espadon platoon ???"

Altin didn't expect such a reaction. Wasn't his platoon supposed to be confidential? Was there possibly a misunderstanding here?

"Yes...?" He answered awkwardly.

"Are the rumors true? Can everyone in the platoon really control the String force as easy as they breathe?"

Altin didn't know what to reply for a moment. His eyes opened wide, and a myriad of questions overwhelmed him: "Which rumors? The String force? What ?! It's... the 5th force? It has a name now?"

"By the String force...do you mean the 5th force?" Altin asked in doubt.

"Of course, what else could it be?" The office replied with one raised eyebrow. "Are you sure you're part of the Espadon platoon?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Altin thought.

Altin decided that the fastest way to prove his identity was to demonstrate his powers.

He opened his hand and gathered the energy around here.

"Should I call it the string energy now?"

He decided to call it the string energy.

Sensing and gathering the string energy was noticeably more effortless than before. It was perhaps twice easier, despite the area having no anomaly.

Altin chose not to go overboard for his little demonstration: he didn't dare to disintegrate anything here; instead, he built a ball of light and then let it disperse as electricity.

The little demonstration silenced the room.

Both the officer on guard duty and the officer assigned to the front desk were in awe.

"So it's true. Your platoon members really have incredible powers."

"I don't think I'll be able ever to achieve that even after training for my entire life."

The comments pleased Altin, but also puzzled him. Was the police training in the 5th force? And did the Espadon platoon really become famous?

"Alright," the officer lady said," thank you for showing us. I believe you. Let me call the number at the back of your card. You can wait here. There's no problem."

Altin sighed with relief. Things would be easier once he got in touch with Brener. And yet, here at Reims...

"Maybe they know if my foster family survived?"

The officer was about to make the call when Altin interrupted her: "Wait! Can you tell me one thing? Six months ago, a bomb exploded in a residential area, right? Was anyone hurt in the blast?"

The officer paused to think for a moment. Then, a memory jolted to her mind. As if realization something, she looked at the ID that Altin had given her.

She gasped. "Altin!"

"You're that Altin? But you were declared dead!"

Altin nodded. It made sense that he would be reported dead after being missing for so long.

"What about Mr. and Mrs. Durand? Anyone got hurt?"

"You don't know...?"

Altin tensed immensely. It was enough of an answer.

"I'm sorry... Only Mr. Durand survived. Mrs. Durand died in the blast."

The words stroke Altin like a bullet would have.

He knew the orb had only protected him, but he somehow hoped that the blast had been somehow contained or far enough from his foster parents to save both of them.

He had lost one more dear one.

His foster mother.

The one person who would wait for him for dinner every time he would come back to Reims.

The closest thing he had to a mother.

"Mrs. Durand is dead?" Altin asked, yet it wasn't a question but a painful realization.

"NOOOOooooo!"

He screamed in pain. He had once more lost someone because of Jurgen.

He had gotten stronger after François died and yet;

It still wasn't enough!

"NOOOOOOOO...."

Altin completely broke down.

His heart burned in pain and hate.

As if responding to his feeling, the orb in his pocket was growing slightly hot, but Altin didn't pay attention.

The officers dared not approach.

They had understood.

The boy really was the missing adopted kid of the Durand family.

Somehow, he had just come back to this world.

And he knew nothing.

----

Altin passed the next few hours in anguish at the police station, moved to an isolated room by an officer while someone from the army came to transfer him to his base.

The officers gave him some food, for his stomach was almost as loud as his distress.

He couldn't help but reminisce about his time here at Reims, where he found back a sense of "being home" with a family - his family.

Sometimes, he would cry at the thought that this family was halved.

The Durand couple had been such a nice pair. When Altin was sent to their home, he ran away a few times, causing substantial stress to their couple. At that time, Altin was still very young: he had been in primary school. Yet they bore with him, and their patience and kindness made Altin slowly accept them.

Eventually, Atlin began searching for ways to repay them for their support as he grew, but now...

The Durand couple was broken, just like Altin.

Altin wasn't sure how he would face Mr. Durand.

Did the old man realize that Mrs. Durand's death was Altin's fault? Jurgen had come because of Altin... so wasn't it his fault?

Such thoughts saddened and burned Altin.

When he finally calmed down, he began to question the officers, wanting to know what had changed in the last six months.

The officers also had their own share of questions. Still, they refrained from asking too sensitive questions knowing that a state-level confidentiality agreement prevented Altin from speaking of the details of the Espadon platoon.

Altin learned that the city wasn't, in fact, dead. Only electricity had been severely rationed in most places due to too many shortages and power line accidents. Every house and city kept their electricity consumption to a strict minimum, which meant cutting off electricity at night except for emergency services or critical appliances.

When the public lighting stopped at night, naturally, people ceased to go out at night in the dark.

It was why Reims was so silent.

It wasn't the only shocking news to Altin.

The 5th force had been officially named the string force unanimously by many private and public think-tanks. The string force was named after the String theory, which establishes ten or more dimensions. So, supposedly, the string force was coming from another dimension - or dimensions- and could be "roughly" explained by the String theory. What's more, everything known to it had been rendered public.

Altin wondered what part the 5th force association of Pascal and Marie had played in that.

Consequently, the French government had changed its stance, just like the American, Chinese and Japanese did. They announced the existence of special units of highly skilled ability users to recruit more members worldwide.

As such, the Espadan platoon of the French government was no longer a secret but a famous unit of the military that many youths sought to join. Only, the platoon was now at full size, and people could no longer enter. However, there were other platoons: the Flame platoon, the Light platoon, the Gravity platoon, etc...

Unlike the Espadon platoon, composed of polyvalent and complementary squads, the other platoons focused on recruiting talents with a particular affinity.

Where and who composed these platoons was usually kept a secret. Altin couldn't find any information about Julien, Paul, or even Eléonore. He still didn't know whether the latter had decided to join the platoon after all.

Altin was also saddened to learn that the police and the military were under tremendous pressure. With global electricity shortages and the hollow feeling that the world was ending, crime had surged in great numbers all around. It was so much that several police stations were evacuated and ransacked in some places.

According to the police, Jurgen had never been caught.

Were Julien and Paul alright, then?

Altin couldn't wait to know the answer.

He also couldn't wait to blow Jurgen to pieces. Literally.

He felt that his affinity towards the string force had considerably improved since he was sent back by Eternitus. Perhaps it was because of how close to unholy amount of string force he had been, and maybe it was simply because the string force was continuously permeating Earth's dimensions in greater amounts every day.

At sunrise, a jeep from the army finally arrived.

Altin bid farewell to the officers and thanked them for their help and support.

He got into the jeep without a word. The driver wasn't someone he knew, and anyways Altin was no more in the mood to talk.

He was tired.

To the world, six months had passed since yesterday; to him, he had spent more than 24hours awaken. The day before, on the afternoon, he had traveled to Reims to meet his foster family, only to run into Jurgen and nearly die. He had then ventured into the fabrics of Spacetime, a strange and dreamy place. If not for the Reality Tests he had performed, he would believe he had been dreaming. Finally, today, he had returned to this world to discover with horror that much time had passed.

In just mere six months, the world had been turned upside-down.

On these thoughts, Altin quickly fell asleep during the trip.

He was emotionally and physically exhausted.

***

"We've arrived at the base. Wake up."

Altin slowly opened his eyes.

The sun was already high in the sky. He figured it was probably nearing noon.

"So I slept for 5 hours?"

He shook his head. He felt so drowsy and drained that, for all he knows, he might have slept for just a few minutes.

A part of him didn't want to wake up in this terrible world.

He wanted to believe that all of it was a dream.

He wanted to return to that day in 2025 when he played an ordinary soccer game with his friends, when everybody was still well and lived ordinarily.

"Come on; everyone thought you were dead," The driver - a soldier - pressed on.

Altin was forced to come back to reality. He raised his head, looked through the window.

He was indeed at a military camp which he, however, did not recognize.

It looked immense, for he could not even see the borders of the camp.

The driver, dressed in full military uniform, opened the door to invite Altin to exit the car.

Altin executed.

"Come with me; your squad's waiting for you," The soldier said.

The sentence effectively drew Altin out of this drowsiness.

He couldn't wait to meet his squad.

Altin followed the soldier through the camp- he had already forgotten his name -.

It was composed of a lot of tents and prefab buildings. Obviously, the camp had been recently hastily expanded.

Altin and the soldier stopped in front of a tent marked with a small rectangular tag laid on the ground. It indicated the tent was labeled "21-32 / Briefing room n°3".

Altin assumed that 21 corresponded to the row number of the tent and 32 the column number.

It was a large military base, indeed.

He entered.

He took a moment to adjust his eyes to the sudden dimness of the tent, but as soon as he entered, he was welcome by surprised shouts.

"Altin...you're alive!"

"Altin!"

"Altin... ALTIN!"

He first recognized Julien, who was looking at him like he'd seen a ghost. He had the same glasses on his nose as before: bluish rectangles glasses, which only accentuated his nerdy side. He was at least a few cm taller than "yesterday" to Altin.

To his right, there was a blond girl with round eyes and long hair. Altin immediately recognized her as Eléonore. He understood she must have decided to join the platoon after all.

Again at his right, there was a man on a wheelchair...

His dispassionate face..

His messy brown hair...

There was no mistake.

It was Paul.

But Paul on a wheelchair.

"Paul..." Altin murmured in pain. "What happened?"

The first squad of the Espadon platoon was finally reunited, and yet, everything had changed.