2107-July 27

The best day of my life dawned.

The sun had just begun to rise and paint the sky in shades of pink, gold, and brilliant blue. Birds sang sweetly outside my window. I breathed in and rolled over to take in the significance of the day.

After years of anguish and hard work, I had finally made it to my graduation ceremony. Not of high school--the normal existence I’d attempted to live had been decimated not long after I was born. Instead, my graduation was from the Defense Training Academy. It prepped those wanting to enter into Defender careers to fight and understand the Monsters, as well as the best known methods of protecting and preserving humanity. And after almost a decade of studying, fighting, and pouring my blood and sweat into training, I would officially become a Defender. My military career would be launched. Finally, I could slay the Monsters and avenge my family. I could protect all the families that still had a shot at sticking together.

I rolled over and got out of the bed. Slouching out of my room and downstairs to the kitchen, I found my adoptive father cooking. He glanced back with a fond smile.

“Today is the big day! You excited?”

I nodded. “Obviously! I feel like I’ve been training forever… I can’t wait to finally get on the field.”

“You realize that although you’ll graduate today, you probably won’t receive your first field assignment for a few months, yes?” My adoptive father, Dillon Jackson, was a Defender when he was younger. He had been the one to pull me from my family’s bloodied home after the Monster attack on my village. In his age, he had retired and turned to teaching. Currently, he ran City 15’s Defense Training Academy.

“Don’t depress me right now,” I said as I took a seat at the table. “Today is supposed to be the best day ever.”

Dad smiled as he turned back to the stove. “Well, I am incredibly proud of you, Astrid. You’ve come such a long way in a very short amount of time. You’re a strong, talented, brave, and beautiful young woman. The Defenders have no idea how extraordinary of an asset they’re going to gain today.”

“Of course they do,” I snorted. “You’ve already told them.”

“You’ve got me there,” he said with a grin. “You going to head on to the academy after breakfast?”

I nodded as I propped my chin on my fists. The light shined in through the window, bathing the kitchen in bright hues of white and gold. While the Monster attacks had destroyed much of the technology humans had created, many of the 21 Cities had been able to rebuild and replicate things, a handful of cities that had regressed to the dark ages existed.

Thankfully, City 15 wasn’t one of them. Electricity and running water were materials we had, but the researchers were still attempting to redevelop individual computer technology. Instead, they had mostly contained computer usage to the higher ups as a security measure. While several citizens wanted those luxuries, the project to expand computer technology kept getting pushed back by the need to reinforce the barriers and protections around the city to protect everyone within from the Monsters lurking outside.

Dad served up breakfast. We ate in a comfortable silence. Once I finished, I headed upstairs to get dressed and prepare myself for the ceremony that’d take place at noon. My sleek, black hair hung to my shoulders where I wore the standard trainee uniform of white pants, a black shirt with a white weaponry harness, black boots, and a black cape with the keys of hope and freedom, the insignia of the Defenders, emblazoned in white on the back.

I headed back downstairs. “I’m heading out. Love you!”

“Love you too! I’ll see you at the ceremony later.”

Out the door, I walked the short mile to the academy. Without fuel, vehicles had become extinct quickly as well, which made walking or riding horseback a necessity. I didn’t recall much about vehicles and that sort of fast transportation, but Dad had told me several stories about how the world used to work before the Monsters rose.

When I arrived at the academy, several trainees were milling around as they waited to sign-in for the ceremony. After everyone checked in, there would be a brief rehearsal before the ceremony began. The graduating students would be passed along their Defender Certifications and they would officially declare their Defender Section: Barrier Corps, Research Corps, and Field Corps.

The weather was mild for the peak of summer, which made standing in the line a bit more bearable. Things passed quickly as the administration slowly worked through the class and signed everyone in. The rehearsal was a bit more tedious, but went about without any incident. At long last, it was time to graduate. Instructors and administrators filled the seats along the platform, while several proud parents sat behind the graduating class. The class sat in rows between the parents and the platform, awaiting the ceremony to commence and their names to be called.

To begin, Dad stepped up to the podium to give his speech. “Hello, and welcome to City 15’s Defense Training Academy graduation. Today, I am not here with you just as a Headmaster, but also as a proud father of one of these talented students. Each student here has worked tirelessly to get to where they are now. Years of careful study and relentless training has prepared them for careers protecting and serving the civilians of this community, of City 15, and of all 21 Cities. While students have already focused their studies into various sections, they will officially declare their paths today by stating whether they will enter into the Research Corps, the Barrier Corps, or the Field Corps.

“The Research Corps studies Monsters. They are the ones that develop strategies that keep us safe by studying the behaviors and habits of the Monsters. These students are analytical, intelligent, and innovative. The Barrier Corps are the ones that serve the civilian population directly. When there are attacks on our city, they are our first line of defense in protecting us against the Monsters. Students going into the Barrier Corps must be courageous, quick-witted, and strong. Finally, the Field Corps only admits students from the top fifteen percent of the graduating class. They venture outside the cities to collect data for the Research Corps, as well as act as an offensive team to prevent attacks, as well as act as a guard that alerts the Barrier Corps of incoming attacks. The students that elect this branch must exhibit extraordinary talent, curiosity, and bravery.

“Now, we will begin calling the names of our graduating students. Students, as you come to the platform to receive your certification, please declare your branch designation, and go stand alongside your Corps Commander to the left of the platform.” Dad stepped away from the platform and allowed the Dean of Students to come forward to begin calling names.

Students went up and declared their branches. Most of them chose Barrier or Research Corps, since only 20 students had the opportunity to select the Field Corps. The top fifteen percent were the last to be called up. One by one, they all went.

Out of all the 17 that’d gone forward, only five students had selected to join the Field Corps. Everyone else had selected the Research Corps. Finally, my name was called.

“Astrid Jackson.”

Yes!

I went up and took my certificate. Folding it neatly, I slipped it into my back pocket and saluted. “I select the Field Corps.” Breaking salute, I marched off the stage and fell in the short line behind Field Corps Commander, Thomas Ruiz.

He gave me a brief nod of acknowledgement as I passed. The last few students were called and none of them joined the Field Corps. With the names finished, Dad resumed his position at the podium.

“I am so immensely proud of each of these students today, as I am of all our graduates. It is because of these students that our lives can continue uninterrupted and that humanity has a shot at rebuilding itself again. So please, everyone, join me in celebrating the successes of our--”

A rumble shook the earth beneath my feet. Following Dad’s line of sight, I turned to the gates that barricaded City 15. All Defense Training Academies, as well as Defender stations were located along the gates to provide optimum opportunities to watch the Monsters when they approached. That time was no different. Through the slats of the gate, I could see tens of hundreds of Monsters running for us.

With matted, hair-covered bodies and fangs glistened as saliva dripped from their mouths, they looked terrifying. Built slightly larger than humans in both height and width, they had the advantage of size. They were also incredibly fast and strong, which made them a fearsome enemy. Had they been slow or stupid, humanity wouldn’t have been crippled by their rise in the first place.

But there they were, crashing the graduation ceremony in numbers I hadn’t seen since my village was raided when I was a child. My pulse kicked into overdrive as I started forward, gaze fixated on the creatures hurling themselves against the impenetrable gates of City 15. They snarled as they smacked against the planks, unable to move past.

“Everyone please remain calm,” Dad’s voice came across the speakers lining the courtyard.

Above us, where the parents were seated, chaos had begun to break out. Finally, I noticed the surroundings, the panic that’d ensued. I turned to the rest of the students in the Field Corps station and looked to Commander Ruiz.

The Barrier Corps had already started moving. Their commander directed them to the top of the gate where they would be able to fight the Monsters from a distance.

“What do we do?” Sadie Daniels, a former classmate of mine, asked.

“There are always Field Corps watching at the guard towers along the gates with the Barrier Corps members. They’ve already begun outer defense. You five start evacuation of the parents to the inner city.” Commander Ruiz looked over each of us. “Stay out of the Monsters’ path. You’re new, and there will be no needless bloodshed today. Evacuation duty only, understood?”

I hadn’t trained for over a decade to be relegated evacuation duty, but I also had no right to speak against the commander when I had only been officially under his command for less than ten minutes. Reluctantly, I nodded along with my classmates. Commander Ruiz sent us out to begin evacuating the parents, while he turned to assist the incoming Field Corps troops that were diving off the top of the gate.

With my classmates running ahead, the graduate troops running chaotically on the ground to follow the supervisors, and the faculty and parents descending into panic just behind me, I still couldn’t force myself to turn away from the Monsters. Their snarling, grotesque forms desperately clawing and gnawing at the gates to reach us, to feast on our flesh.

Faint shrieks pierced the already frenzied air as Field Corps troops fell into the fray to begin hacking into the Monsters threatening City 15. Right on the other side of the gate brandishing a bloodied sword and a steely gaze was one of the many Field Corps soldiers. He was lean and strong, tearing into the Monsters like they were pinatas instead of lethal beasts. Lost in the sea of Monsters again, I lost sight of him as the Monsters rattled the the panels of the gate.

My breath caught in my throat. That gate was impenetrable. They couldn’t get through. I knew they couldn’t. Everything was fine. Evacuation was a precaution always taken, and I didn’t need to question Commander Ruiz or the City 15 Council. I just needed to shut up, keep my head down, and follow orders.

So, I turned away and ran into the crowd of parents and the few staff members that weren’t part of the Defenders.

“Everyone--single file! Please, be calm! We are working to get everyone into the inner city as quickly as possible.” I fell in the back of the line my former classmates turned comrades had created to usher people out of the stands and onto the streets that led further into City 15, which took them away from the gates.

If things went wrong--if the gate actually fell--was there another line of defense for these people, or was City 15 doomed to the same fate the Village of Gatlise was? Being eaten alive amongst loved ones?

As the last of the parents left my end of the line closest to the gate and ran for the inner city, an ear-splitting crack echoed through the courtyard. The noise of battle and chaos died as all attention turned to the gate. There was a gaping hole in the base of it not even seven yards away from me.

And Monsters were pouring through it.