Squads

Johnathan woke up to the sound of birds chirping. He stretched on his bed with a yawn and slowly got up. He turned his head to the right and saw Ash still peacefully sleeping.

Quietly getting out of bed, he tiptoes to the closet and took out his military clothes. Today was the day they were assigned squads and Johnathan couldn't help but be a little excited. 'Hopefully, the three of them are on my team, he thought as he marched to the washroom.

When he was inside, he locked the door and looked in the mirror. 'Damn, I'm sexy.' He thought as he struck various poses, showing off his muscles.

He got undressed once he was done posing and hopped into the shower.

After his quick shower, he put on his green shirt and camo pants. He then walked out of the bathroom and finished getting ready by putting his socks and boots on. Once he was dressed, he left his room and made his way to the lobby. As usual, plenty of people were already there. He couldn't see his usual group, so he greeted and talked with acquaintances. A couple of minutes later, Johnathan spotted his friends, so he left the group he was talking to and made his way to them.

"You ready? I really hope we're in the same squad," Danny said.

Johnathan hummed in agreement. He didn't really want to be placed in a squad with people he didn't know. But he was also prepared to be separated. Not long after, the fated time arrived. The sergeant stepped into the lobby. Making everyone straighten their backs and salute.

"It's been a pleasure training you guys. From being powerless to being superhuman. You guys should be proud. From this day on, you guys are official soldiers. Humanities protectors. Heroes."

He took a second to look around the lobby. Many people had excited smiles on their faces. The thought of being humanity's heroes was extremely appealing.

"Now then. Let's have you join squads. Jeff...."

The sergeant then called the names of people and assigned their squads. It took a while for them to finally call people Johnathan knew.

"Ivan, Max, George, Lisabeth. " Ivan walked up with three other people. Max had a small build and short brown hair. George was on the taller side, was fit, and had black hair. He was also of Indian descent. He had known these two because they were in the awakened training class with them. Lisabeth was new.

She had black hair and blue highlights. She wasn't tall but wasn't short either. 'Probably from the normal training class.'

"Danny, Margret, Bianca, Xiao."

Johnathan looked at Danny's team. He recognized all of them. His team was pretty stacked. They were all from the awakened training class. Margret had was a tall, fit girl with long brown hair that was kept in a ponytail most of the time. Bianca was a beautiful blonde that had often talked with them. Finally, Xiao was a friend the three of them made during their time training. He was a tall Asian man with short black hair.

"Emma, Antwon, Zack, Charles."

Johnathan looked towards Emma's team. He had also known all of them pretty well. Antwon was a man dark-skinned man with blonde hair. Zack and Charles were both Johnathan's childhood 'bullies' he made up with when they arrived at this base. They originally would not join but did because of the benefits.

The sergeant called a couple more names before Johnathan heard his.

"Johnathan, Bruce, Daniela, Angela"

Johnathan walked forwards and so did the others who were called.

He had only recognized one of them. Bruce. 'They must be from the regular training camp.'

Johnathan had guessed that the other members of his team has not yet eaten a crystal.

"Hey, guys. Let's get along from now on."

Since no one spoke, Johnathan stepped up and tried setting the mood.

It seemed to have worked because the rest of the group started introducing themselves.

Three of the four were Caucasian. The only one who had a different skin tone was Angela. She was Asian.

Bruce and Daniela both had black hair and were on the shorter side.

After introducing themselves, the four waited for one soldier to dismiss them. Once that happened, the four went to the cafeteria and get to know each other.

They sat down and started talking.

"Let's start with icebreakers."

Daniela was the first to speak. She suggested ice breakers to get to know her teammates better.

"Sounds good. Two truths, one lie?" Johnathan agreed and asked.

"Since I suggested it, I'll go first. I'm Daniela. I have a dog, I'm twenty and I plan on getting married. Which one's the lie?"

The other three took some time. "You have a dog," Bruce spoke after a minute of thinking.

"I say the same."

"Me too."

The others agreed with Bruce and waited for Daniela to tell them whether they were right or wrong.

"You're wrong. I have a dog. I'm not planning on getting married, though."

The next person to go was Angela.

"I was a med student before this whole thing happened. I am twenty-three, and I never broke a bone."

"You weren't a med student," Johnathan answered quickly.

Angela gave the others a couple more seconds to answer.

Everyone but Daniela agreed.

"I say it's the never broke a bone one."

Once Angela saw everyone answer, she told them which was which.

"I was a law student. So the med student was a lie."

The next person in line to go was Bruce.

"I've been skydiving. I can speak four languages, and I had twelve cats."

The three listening, took a minute to think about which one was the lie.

"Four languages?"

Johnathan, after thinking for a moment, answered.

The other two answered a little later. They had both agreed with Johnathan.

"Ding, ding. You guys are correct. Now it's your turn, Johnathan."

Johnathan thought for a good minute about what he should say.

"I have a superpower. I am 16 years old, and I had a cat."

""You're 16 years old,"" the three said quickly.

Johnathan chuckled and told them they were wrong.

"I am 16. The lie was the cat. I had a dog. I'm surprised you guys didn't say the superpowers, though."

Daniela looked at him with a confused expression before speaking. "You know that everyone in the military heard of you, right? You, the teleporter, the most improved, the one who destroyed a zombie in under ten seconds. I would have to live under a rock to not know you. Which was why I was surprised when I found out you were only 16."

Johnathan was stunned. 'Am I really that famous? I mean, I know I impressed the sergeant and a lot of the soldiers, but did my fame really spread that much?'

"Plus, you're close to the other powerful 'awakeners'," Angela said.

'Other powerful awakeners?'

Angela saw the confused look Johnathan showed and answered the question he was thinking. "Ivan, Emma, and Danny. Four of the top five strongest are in a group together. It makes good gossip."

"Just out of curiosity, who's seen as the strongest?"

Johnathan was curious. Who, from the five, did people see as the strongest?

"It depends. People normally have their own list, but there is some sort of ranking people normally go by. Fifth is Emma, fourth is Danny, Third is Ivan, Second is George, and You are ranked as first because of your teleportation ability and battle prowess with guns. But many people have you at second and George at first. It really depends on the person's preferences."

'That's good to know.'

At that moment, Johnathan's ego went through the roof.