Chapter 2 - C-637

*Splash*

Henry's eyes opened as he felt water thrown on his face.

"Wake up!!"

Someone can be heard shouting.

Henry tries to stand up before finding out that his hand and leg have been tied. He put himself in a sitting position before looking around. He can see that approximately 40 kids around his age are suffering the same fate as him.

"Listen! We are the Rebels, and you are in our camp! We have chosen you to fight alongside us against the government! Erusea is heading to its downfall and you are chosen amongst all to fix it!"

A tall, burly guy can be seen yelling his speech.

'Is he being serious?' thought Henry.

"Let us go, you bastard!" A young kid, around 12 years old, yelled.

"Do you know who my dad is? If he catches you, you will be de-"

*BANG*

The 12-year-old kid's blood splattered on the others. Everyone's faces are filled with horror as they witness what just happened.

As Henry saw that scene, his heart started beating so fast that he felt others could hear it, so he tried to calm himself down.

'What the fuck?! Is he fucking dead? Did I really just get kidnapped into this?!' Henry starts to panic inside.

"Don't ever be cocky in front of me!" the tall, burly man exclaimed.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Another kid can be heard screaming after seeing the corpse of the 12-year-old kid.

*BANG*

"And do not ever fucking scream! You guys are going to be soldiers for fucksake!"

Everyone falls silent, though the weeping of kids can still be heard.

Henry can feel his heartbeat getting faster and faster. Even if he wanted to scream, he couldn't. He was so scared that he froze completely.

"My name is Brock, and you have to call me with sir!" Do you fucking understand?!"

Even though the kid didn't say anything, many nods can be seen from them.

"Good.. tomorrow we will start our training and you must know that if any of you are seen as weak or useless in combat, you will be executed."

That sentence alone makes a lot of kids feel worried about their lives. Henry, however, feels less nervous knowing he has been trained before.

In the past, Henry has been bullied since he started using a prosthetic leg. After much convincing from Sera, he finally agreed to learn self-defense.

Selena and Morgan agreed with Sera's proposal and decided to get Henry, a private self-defense teacher, on his 13th birthday.

At first, he feels no different as he is still a target of bullying. But after training for weeks without giving up, he finally saw the result.

The bullying has decreased, and he is starting to feel a bit more confident. He still gets bullied sometimes, but a lot of it is just him being made fun of, so he ignores it. And if things ever got physical, he knew how to defend himself.

His weakness, his prosthetic leg, has become his primary weapon. Because he couldn't feel anything on his leg and the material of his prosthetic leg was hard metal, he decided to focus more on kicking than punching.

But even with that much experience, he is still scared. He is afraid that he can't handle the rebels' training.

"Fuck.." he sighs.

"Register yourself, and after that, go to your designated tent room where you will be living from now on!" Another guy with a gun strapped to his chest yells as he points to the table where the kids can register themselves.

After hearing that, everyone, including Henry, started queuing up in one line. As he waited for his turn, he kept thinking about Sera to calm himself down.

"Johan Lockheart. Code C-633. Next!"

'Is Sera safe going home after I left her alone to buy flowers?'

"Adam Keller. Code C-634. Next!"

'Why didn't I just follow Sera home and buy her flowers tomorrow?'

"Liam Jones. Code C-635. Next!"

'If I had followed Sera, would other kids who use the same road as I get kidnapped in exchange?'

"Noah Brown. Code C-636. Next!"

'Why are these rebels kidnapping children anyway? Why not a full-grown adult?'

"What is your name, kid?"

It's now Henry's turn. He starts to calm himself down so he will not be looked at as a weak person.

"My name is Henry.. Henry Whitlock."

"Henry Whitlock. Code C-637."

After Henry received his room number, he quickly walked there because he wanted to rest.

"That kid got some balls, didn't he?"

"Kinda. Even in this situation, he doesn't look as scared as other kids."

"Yeah, I think this month's recruits are better than the last few. Next!"

After he arrived at his room, he started lying on the bed. The room itself is a 2/10, but that is to be expected from the rebels.

As he tried to put himself to sleep, he couldn't help but murmur what was on his mind.

"I just had a nice date with my girlfriend, and now I'm in a rebel force. I don't even know if I will still be breathing at the end of this month. Isn't my life kind of fucked up?" He sarcastically says to make fun of his miserable life.

"At least I still have Sera's gift. I hope the background will change tonight. I don't want to forget her face."

*sniff*

"..."

"Let's just go to sleep. If this goes on, I will start crying for real." Henry said to himself while laughing awkwardly.

"..."

"Good night, Sera."