Chapter 4: The Journey Begins (Part Two)
1253 Words
The moment Lyra stepped off the transport, she realized this wasn't a place people came to learn.
It was a place people came to survive.
The air was colder than in the capital, carrying the scent of pine trees and metal. Towering mountains surrounded the base on every side, their snow-capped peaks disappearing into the clouds.
Hidden within them stood the Night Watch Academy.
It wasn't beautiful.
It wasn't meant to be.
Massive black walls stretched across the valley, reinforced with alloys strong enough to withstand orbital bombardment. Watchtowers lined the perimeter, each equipped with weapons Lyra had only seen in documentaries.
Surveillance drones patrolled the skies in perfect formation.
Everywhere she looked...
Someone was watching.
The recruits slowly gathered together, each staring at the fortress with a different expression.
"This place is huge," one boy whispered.
"I thought it'd look more like a university," another replied.
"It looks like a prison."
"No..."
Jace corrected him with a grin.
"It looks like someone built a prison for monsters."
A few recruits laughed.
Even Lyra almost smiled.
Almost.
Before anyone could say another word, a sharp whistle echoed across the courtyard.
Every recruit instinctively looked forward.
A woman in a long black uniform stood waiting for them.
Unlike the commander, she wore no mask.
Her dark hair was tied into a neat bun, and a thin scar ran across her left eyebrow.
Her icy grey eyes swept across the group.
One glance was enough to silence everyone.
"My name is Commander Selene Voss."
Her voice was calm.
Firm.
"You will address me as Commander."
"No exceptions."
She began walking slowly in front of the recruits.
"Welcome to the Night Watch Academy."
She paused.
"If you're expecting congratulations..."
"...you won't get them."
Silence.
"You were not selected because you're special."
"You were selected because someone believes you might become useful."
The words struck harder than anyone expected.
"You are not soldiers."
"You are not heroes."
"You are candidates."
"And candidates fail every day."
The confidence drained from several faces.
Commander Selene continued.
"Some of you will graduate."
"Some of you will leave."
"And some..."
Her eyes hardened.
"...will discover that the Void is far less forgiving than the stories you were told as children."
Nobody laughed anymore.
"From this moment forward..."
"You are no longer civilians."
A recruit near the front raised his hand.
"What if someone wants to quit?"
The commander looked directly at him.
"You may submit a request."
The boy sighed in relief.
She continued.
"Whether that request is approved..."
"...is not your decision."
The relief disappeared instantly.
"I suggest none of you waste the paperwork."
Jace leaned toward Lyra and whispered,
"I suddenly miss school."
Despite herself...
A tiny smile tugged at her lips.
One by one, the recruits stepped forward to receive a slim black wristband.
When Lyra's turn came, Commander Selene fastened it around her wrist.
The device lit up with a soft blue glow.
Candidate ID: 014
"Dorm assignment has been uploaded."
Lyra looked at the display.
Dorm C-14
Nothing else.
"No names?" someone asked.
"No squad?"
Commander Selene answered without looking up.
"You'll earn that information."
The recruits were escorted through enormous steel corridors.
Everything inside the academy was spotless.
No decorations.
No paintings.
No signs of comfort.
Just polished floors, reinforced walls, and doors that required biometric scans to open.
It felt less like an academy...
...and more like a military installation.
Eventually they reached the residential wing.
Rows of identical doors stretched as far as Lyra could see.
An officer pointed toward the corridor.
"You have thirty minutes."
"Unpack."
"After that, report to Assembly Hall One."
The recruits quickly disappeared into their assigned rooms.
Lyra entered Dorm C-14.
The room was simple.
A neatly made bed.
A desk.
A wardrobe.
A bookshelf.
Nothing more.
She placed her backpack on the bed before slowly removing the silver pendant her father had given her.
For a long moment...
She simply stared at the tiny holographic image of her family.
Her throat tightened.
Home already felt impossibly far away.
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
She quickly wiped her eyes.
"Come in."
The door slid open.
It wasn't an officer.
It was the boy from the transport.
He smiled sheepishly.
"I think they mixed up our rooms."
He held up his wristband.
"C-15."
"The room next door."
"Oh."
Awkward silence filled the doorway.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I was actually looking for the maintenance station."
"My locker won't lock."
Lyra nodded.
"I don't know where it is."
"I figured."
He laughed softly.
"I've been lost three times already."
She couldn't help it.
She smiled.
As he turned to leave, guilt settled heavily in her chest.
"...Wait."
He stopped.
She took a slow breath.
"I owe you an apology."
He looked genuinely confused.
"For yelling at you."
"I shouldn't have."
"I was angry..."
"...but not at you."
For a moment he simply looked at her.
Then he smiled.
"I guessed."
"You did?"
"You looked like someone whose entire life had just exploded."
She blinked.
"Mine kind of did."
"So did everyone else's."
He shrugged.
"We're just dealing with it differently."
Those words lingered in her mind.
He extended his hand.
"I'm Jace."
"Jace Rowan."
She shook it.
"Lyra."
"Lyra Solis."
He grinned.
"Nice to officially meet you."
She laughed quietly.
"I'm still not a princess."
"I know."
He smiled.
"But it's a good nickname."
She sighed dramatically.
"I'm never getting rid of it, am I?"
"No chance."
For the first time since boarding the transport...
She laughed.
A real laugh.
Jace pointed down the corridor.
"Some of us are introducing ourselves before Assembly."
"You should come."
"I don't really..."
"Like people?"
"I was going to say 'know anyone.'"
"Perfect."
"You'll fix both problems."
Before she could answer, another girl appeared beside Jace.
She had short silver hair and intelligent amber eyes.
In one hand she carried three electronic tablets stacked almost to her chin.
"You found your room?" she asked.
"Barely," Jace replied.
Turning to Lyra, he said,
"This is Mina."
"Mina Sato."
She adjusted the tablets before smiling warmly.
"Nice to meet you."
"I'm trying to figure out why this academy still uses physical dorms instead of adaptive living quarters."
Jace laughed.
"See?"
"I told you."
"She asks questions before saying hello."
"I did say hello."
"Barely."
Another recruit approached from the opposite corridor.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
His posture was perfectly straight.
"Kai Ren," he introduced himself with a short nod.
Behind him came another boy carrying two duffel bags over one shoulder.
"I swear this place gets bigger every hallway," he muttered.
He noticed the group.
"Oh."
"Noah Voss."
"No relation to the commander," he added quickly.
"I get asked that a lot."
The six of them stood there awkwardly for a moment.
Strangers.
None of them knowing that before long...
They would face things no civilian was ever meant to see.
Suddenly—
WOOOOOOO!
A deep siren echoed through the academy.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Every smile disappeared.
Red emergency lights flooded the corridor.
The recruits looked at one another in confusion.
Then a calm voice echoed through every speaker.
"Attention all Night Watch personnel."
"Report immediately to your assigned combat stations."
Every officer in the hallway immediately broke into a run.
No hesitation.
No shouting.
Just disciplined urgency.
Jace frowned.
"...Combat stations?"
Mina clutched her tablets a little tighter.
"On our first day?"
No one answered.
Heavy blast doors began sliding shut throughout the academy.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The academy...
...had gone into lockdown.
- Writer
