"Come on, Syd! You have to hurry!"

"Hurry? For what?"

Sydney was sprawled out across her twin-size bed, watching her ceiling fan go round when Liz called out. Her wavy blonde hair fanned out above her head, completely covering her pillow as she listened for her friend's answer.

"There's a good reason! Now just come on!" Liz shouted.

Sydney could hear she wasn't far from her dorm room, and from the sound of her breathing, she probably ran all the way to tell her this, but Sydney could be stubborn. Especially when she was on a comfortable mattress.

"Nah, I'm a little busy, and all your shouting is annoying."

"Oh, sorry," Liz said, lowering her voice.

She peaked her head through the door with an apologetic expression. Sydney noticed, and hadn't meant any harm by her words, but they seemed to come across harsher than intended.

"Hey! You're not even doing anything!" Liz shouted when she saw Sydney.

"Relaxing is doing something to me," teased Sydney. "Besides, I just got back from a meeting with Mrs. Dawson so I'm a little tired."

"Wait, the Guidance counselor? Since when do you need a shrink?" she asked, worry living in her tone.

Liz's face was focused but her eyes were getting bigger each second that went by, and Sydney knew she was frantically trying to recall what traumatizing incident she must have forgotten.

Aww, she thinks I've been suffering and she's been oblivious to it.

"It's nothing big, Liz," Sydney reassured her. "I've just been talking to her about things that bother me about the recruit program and some inconsistencies in it with regards to females."

"What kind of inconsistencies?"

"We'd be here all day if I start up on it now, but don't worry. I'm prepared to blow up every misogynistic wall standing in my femme-fatale way!" Sydney joked, putting up her fighting stance, and a smile on Liz's face.

"Okay then," Liz cheered. "But you're seriously going to want to come see what's happening. President Hayes is making an announcement in Centre Park on campus."

"Wait, what!?" Sydney shot out, startled.

"Yup. He's scheduled to be there in less than fifteen minutes. So, are you coming?"

Sydney was already getting off of her bed.

"Of course I am! I want to hear this for myself."

"I knew you would," teased Liz.

"Then why didn't you just tell me instead of beating around the bush?!"

Sydney wasn't mad, and Liz wasn't caught off guard by her raised voice. The two of them were like sisters, teasing and messing with each other every chance they got.

"Why didn't you just come with me!?" Liz retorted, this time from the hall. Sydney let out a sigh of frustration, though not audible to anyone else.

"Liz, this could be really important!" Sydney said before looking down the hall at the back of her best friend. "You know he has the power to change our whole course in life!"

But Sydney was just talking to the back of her friend's head. Naturally, this would irritate her, but this was Liz, and there was possibly a more pressing situation at hand.

What is President Hayes' announcement?

Sydney would just have to wait fifteen minutes to find out. She watched Liz walk to the end of the hall, having still ignored her statements. Liz was short, petite, and wore a lot of little dresses to compliment her build. She styled her auburn hair in a neat pixie cut everyday. Sydney noticed how easy it was for everyone to love her, but Liz really only cared to know a handful of people. Her closest and favorite person being Sydney. And even at times when Liz would get under her skin, Sydney knew she couldn't stay mad at her.

"Don't worry! I'll save you a spot!" Liz yelled one last time, winking back at Sydney. Then the sound of the heavy metal doors closed behind her, filling the dorm hall, then quickly fading.

Well, this has to be it, right?! President Hayes must be announcing the date of our eligibility tests.

Sydney lived in the metropolis city of Galdon, one of the biggest cities in the Eastern Region, the land east of Shadows Peak, her entire life. There were many other cities and villages in the Eastern Region, but they all fell subject to Galdon and their president. Mostly because the Galdean army provided them protection from what lurked in Shadows Peak. To her, there was no safer place in the world to live, and no greater place to defend.

Because their army gave them so much power and leverage, Galdon had an eligibility test Sydney had to pass in order to continue her training. Despite being one of the few girls in her class aiming to be a soldier, she was one of the overall best. Though she may not have been the strongest, she was among the fastest and best in technique. She put in more hours in combat than any other, and knew all the protocols for a soldier should they be seperated from their troop in battle. Each success and improvement filled her with pride and high expectations. But she knew it all meant nothing if she failed that test.

What else could he be announcing?

As Sydney's mind flirted the possibility that her furture was so close to actualization, she pulled on her favorite black jeans, a grey tee, and sneakers, and then threw her tousled blonde waves into a high ponytail. Not long after, she was out the door just as Liz.

When she reached Centre Park, which was just outside of the residential area of campus, Sydney kept her dark blue eyes sharp and observant. She just needed to see that auburn hair that stood out among a crowd. But, she was having some dificulty.

Why is everyone out here anyway? If it's what I think it is, then it should only be the potential soldiers out here.

Looking around the large park, Sydney noticed a temporary stage was put up in the center of the main field. She started making her way through the crowd in that direction until she finally heard her name being called.

"Syd, this way!"
"Yeah, we're over here!"

When she looked in the direction the calls came from, she recognized Liz and their friend, Jasper. He was naturally much taller than Liz's 5' frame, standing at 6'2", and much easier to spot. His raven black hair was normally cropped low, but was starting to grow out, showing how dark it was. It really contrasted with his bright blue eyes; quite different from Sydney's deep blue. He always kept his facial hair neat; he wanted to keep it as long as he could since he couldn't once he became a soldier. Jasper was waving his long arms back and forth to get Sydney's attention. He was drawing more than just Sydney's, but that had more to do with his looks than whatever hand gestures he was currently doing.

A couple years ago, Sydney introduced him to Liz when she first started her pre-military training course on campus. Sydney figured they might hit it off since Liz had a thing for "pretty boys" and no one had ever been able to resist Liz's charm. But, it just never clicked like that between them, so friends they were instead. Sydney loved having the two of them in her life for support without any romantic drama involved. They were the two people in the world she could always count on.

"It's about time you got here," he said when Sydney finally reached them.

"I swear I was probably a minute away from Liz telling me where she saw the cutest pair of shoes," Jasper said as he started jumping and clapping in an attempt to impersonate Liz. It got Sydney to chuckle under her breath, but Liz wasn't seeing the humor.

"Hey! I was not!" protested Liz. "It'd be a waste of breath since you don't even know the difference between sable fur and squirrel hide, so why would I waste such news on you?"

Jasper tried his best not to laugh at how serious Liz was with her response. Sydney could tell he felt it only made his joke that much funnier.

"Okay, okay. Everybody just calm down," said Sydney.

She could tell Jasper was on the verge of making another joke, but one thing about Liz; she was very sensitive. Now was not the time to get her emotional.

"Let's just talk about what we think this announcement is all about?" Sydney said, trying to refocus them.

"I think we both know what this is about, Syd," Jasper winked.

"Even though I'm not a part of your little soldier club, I agree. It has to be about your test thing, right?" asked Liz, forgetting all about any irritation with Jasper from before.

"What else could it be?" shrugged Sydney, but neither could attempt to answer the question again because the crowd around them exploded into cheers and applauds as President Hayes' limo came into view.

Sydney could barely see the vehicle, except for the two Galdon flags waving on both side doors. Half red and half purple, with a large white ring in the center. Meant to represent when strength and wisdom come together in harmony. She watched as it made its way to the stage. Sydney relaxed a bit, knowing her questions would be answered soon; except, they weren't.

As soon as the limousine came to a complete stop...

BOOM!