Young Writers Society

(Man, I was in the zone today! I just couldn't stop writing! Once I finished this chapter it was midnight!)

Tylor arrived at the lobby a few minutes later. Everyone was supposed to meet up there so he leaned against the directory and waited. Quistis was the first one to show up. She is dressed in the SeeD uniform that she wore when he first woke up in the infirmary. She carried with her a clipboard that had the squad assignments written on it.

“Hello, Tylor.” She greeted him. “Are you ready for the exam?”

“Yes.”

“Nervous?”

“I’m not too worried.” And it was the truth, too. He knew what the mission was going to be like. It would all work out in the end so he has nothing to worry about. Tylor saw Squall approaching in his uniform. “Hey look, here comes Squall.”

Quistis called out to him. “Squall! Over here!” When he came over she started talking about the squad match-ups “I’ll be announcing the squad assignments for the exam now. Let’s see…” She looked to her clipboard. “Squall and Tylor, you two are in the same squad. You’ll also be with… Zell Dincht. Quite a lively fellow.”

Squall sighed. “Lively? He’s just loud. Can’t I switch members?”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible.” She called out behind them. “Over here, Zell!”

Tylor and Squall looked behind them and saw a blond, spiky haired guy finishing up martial arts warm-ups. When he approached the first person he noticed was Squall. “Whoa! I’m with you?” Zell brushed his hand against his pants as if to clean it and held it out. Squall crossed his arms and ignored it. Zell continued, “You don’t get along with Seifer, do you? Heard he whooped you pretty bad this morning.”

Squall uncrossed his arms and said, “We weren’t fighting. We were training.”

“I bet you he doesn’t think so. Look, Seifer’s just being a pain in the ass. All you have to do is ignore him.”

“That’s none of your business.”

Zell finally noticed Tylor standing beside him. As soon as he saw him he looked surprised. “Hey, it’s you! How are you, feeling any better?”

Tylor knew he hadn’t spoken to Zell yet so he pretended he didn’t know him. “Uh… Have we met?”

“Not exactly, you were out cold at the time.”

Quistis interrupted, “Zell was the one who found you in front of the school and brought you to the infirmary.”

Tylor turned back to Zell. “Really? Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Zell gave him thumbs up. “Don’t mention it!”

Tylor extended his hand. “You can call my Tylor.”

Zell took it with a firm grip. “The name’s Zell.”

Quistis continued. “Now that you’re finished I’d like to continue.” She looked back to her clipboard. “Your squad leader is… Seifer Almasy.”

The only one who was surprised was Zell. “SAY WHAT!?”

Before they could complain Quistis added, “It can’t be changed.” She looked around and called out, “Seifer! Are you here?”

Seifer and two others walked up to the group. Seifer is dress in a long white trench coat with black pants and a blue vest. He has very short blond hair. The two people accompanying him are a woman named Fujin, and a man named Raijin. Fujin has short gray hair and is wearing an eye patch over her right eye. She is wearing a blue, zipped-up jacket and tight black pants that are tucked underneath her boots. Raijin is dark skinned with black hair. He is wearing a blue vest and baggy black pants that are held up by a red belt. They both wore steel shoulder pads that shows the Japanese kanji forms of their names, Fujin on her left shoulder and Raijin on his right. All three of them formed Garden’s disciplinary committee.

Quistis addressed Seifer. “You’re the squad leader. Good luck to you.”

Seifer sighed and wearily held out his hands. “…Instructor. I hate it when people wish me luck. Save those words for a bad student that needs them, eh?”

“OK, then. Good luck, Seifer.”

Seifer pointed to Fujin. “Add Instructor Trepe to the list.”

Tylor thought to himself, The list… I never really understood what he meant.

“Well then.” Quistis continued, “You’re all assigned to Squad B. I’ll be the instructor in charge. Teamwork is of the utmost importance. Let’s get through this exam, everyone!”

Seifer stated, “Listen up! Teamwork means staying out of my way. It’s a Squad B rule. Don’t you forget it!” Zell glared at him.

“Everyone here?” Headmaster Cid approached the group for his speech. He has well kempt brown hair and wears big glasses. He wears a white dress shirt underneath a red vest and brown dress pants. He stood beside Quistis and placed his hands behind his back as he began his speech. “It’s been a while, everyone. How’s everyone doing? This exam will involve 16 members from Squads A through D. You will be proceeding to a real battlefield. Obviously, the battles are for real. Life and death, victory and defeat, honour and disgrace, each of these go hand in hand. There’s only one way or the other.” Cid leaned forward to get a better look at the group. “How ‘bout it? Are you still up for it?” Everyone nodded. Cid nodded back and continued. “You will be accompanied by 10 SeeD members. Should you fail, these members shall get the job done. They always do.”

Tylor crossed his arms and thought to himself, They won’t have to. We’ll finish this before they get the chance.

“Well, that’s one less worry on your mind.” He lifted his arms in aspiration. “The pride of Balamb Garden! The elite mercenary force, SeeD!” He slowly lowered his hands. “Learn from them, obey their commands and accomplish the mission. Prove yourself worthy of becoming a member of SeeD. Best of luck.” With that they made their way to the parking lot. Headmaster Cid called out to Tylor before he left. “One moment, Tylor!”

He stopped and face Cid. “Yes, Headmaster?”

“Quistis told me everything. Usually we don’t let transfer students who come this late participate in the exam, but we’re making an exception for you. I want to see you do your best out there!”

Tylor straightened his stance and gave him a salute. “Yes, sir!” He ran to catch up with the others before they left him behind.

They all entered one-by-one into a yellow truck parked near the entrance. When they were all seated the driver started up the engine and drove out of the lot.

Not even a minute after they left Zell started pestering Squall. “Yo, Squall. Show me your gunblade, will ya?” Squall ignored him. “C’mon, man!” He still kept silent. Zell placed his hands over his head and pleaded, “Just a peek!” Squall still didn’t say anything. Zell slumped back into his seat. “Tch, fine… Yeah, yeah. Why you bein’ so selfish?! Scrooooge!” Squall still stayed silent. “Say something’n, will ya!? W-What’s on your mind?”

Both Squall and Quistis, at the same time said, “Nothing.” Quistis laughed quietly to herself.

As he watched everything unfold Tylor quietly contemplated to himself. Ever since he arrived he started feeling… different. As time passes he notices that his muscles are getting stronger, his wits sharper, and his reflexes faster. Something was happening to him, changing him. If this really is a game why does everything seem so real? His enemies bleed when cut, people react when spoken to. It’s as though this place isn’t just a game, but maybe another dimension. If he didn’t follow the storyline would things change? Would he create a paradox?

Zell stood up and started practicing his punches in an attempt to fight his boredom. It’s a little awkward to be practicing in this cramped car but somehow Zell managed to do just fine.

Seifer soon put an end to that. “Stop that… It’s annoying, Chicken-wuss.”

Zell slammed his fists together in rage. “WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?” Seifer laughed.

Quistis stood up and yelled at both of them. “Knock it off!” Defeated, Zell slumped back into his seat and crossed his arms. Seifer stopped laugh but a smile of satisfaction remained painted on his face.

Now that the car was quiet again Tylor could think without being distracted. If this place is real, am I being forced to play out a pre-planned roll? If I were to reveal my secret will everything stop? Will anyone even believe me? If I am living a pre-played role then why am I here? Why does it have to be ME? Is there some sort of purpose as to why I’m here? Do I have to change something, make things right? No matter how much he thought he couldn’t find any answers. All of this is just making him angry, and it showed on his face.

Squall turned to look at Quistis. “…Instructor…”

“Yes?”

“Who was that girl in the infirmary this morning?”

“Was someone there? I didn’t notice anybody. Is there a problem?”

Squall looked back at the ground. “No… not really…”

“This is great…” Seifer complained, “I have Chicken-wuss and a guy who just reached puberty in my squad.”

Tylor looked at him. “Well, that’s not took bad considering the guy leading them is a coward.”

In one swift motion Seifer got to his feet. Pure rage showed clearly on his face. “What did you say?”

Tylor stared directly into his eyes, calm and unafraid. “Are your ears clogged with something other than ear-wax? I don’t think I stuttered, coward.”

Quistis stood and tried to break it up. “Seifer, stop right now! Sit back in your seat!”

Tylor added, “Yes, Seifer… Sit back down. Do it if you know what’s good for you.”

Seifer pointed a finger at him. “If you weren’t on my squad I’d cut you down right now.” Tylor just stared at him, he wasn’t the least bit intimidated.

“SEIFER!” Quistis shouted.

He grunted and sat back in his seat. He said to Tylor, “This isn’t over…”

Fifteen minutes later they arrived at the town of Balamb. It is a seaside town with stone buildings and a large harbour filled with boats. Half of the boats are fishing boats, the other half are war boats that are being used for the exam. The car stopped at the harbour. One of the war boats was docked and ready for boarding.

They all got out of the car one-by-one. As they approached the boat Squall asked, “So that’s the vessel…?”

Seifer replied, “Ain’t no turning back now.” He turned to face Squall “Huh? You scared, too?”

Tylor interrupted, “I think the only person here who’s scared is our leader.”

Seifer pushed past Squall and grabbed the front of Tylor’s jacket. “I’d better not hear a word out of your mouth before the end of the exam.”

“Give me a good reason and I’ll shut up, coward.”

One of the Garden staff at the boat called out to them. “Hey! You guys are the last! Hurry up and get in!”

Seifer grunted and pushed Tylor before heading for the boat. As he passed Squall he said, “Don’t disappoint me now.”

As they walked Zell whispered to Tylor, “I ain’t never seen anyone talk like that to Seifer before. You should keep your mouth shut or he’s gonna mess you up.”

Tylor whispered back, “I have nothing to fear from an empty man.”

“Well, empty or not, he’ll kill you if you piss him off too much.”

“If he thinks he has what it takes to bring me down, let him. I’m not afraid of anything anymore.” And that was the truth. He decided that right now he’s stuck here. If he has any hope of living through this he can’t let fear slow him down. And besides, deep down he’s always hated Seifer.

Tylor was the last one to get inside. The boat’s door slammed shut behind him. When he got in he took a seat between Zell and Quistis. Seifer glared at him from the other side of the table. Tylor glared back. He was the one who pissed off Seifer, he wasn’t going to back down if they ever got into a fight.

A woman entered the room. Tylor remembered her being Xu. She has shoulder length, brown hair and is wearing the SeeD uniform. She addressed Quistis first. “Hi, Quistis.”

Quistis motioned her hand towards everyone else. "Well, these are the members of Squad B.”

Both Squall and Zell stood up. Zell said, “Nice to meet ya!”

“Pleased to meet you…”

Xu turned to Seifer and asked, “Seifer, how many times has it been now?”

Seifer replied, “Oh, I just love these exams…”

Xu noticed Tylor. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you around Garden before.”

“I’m new. Got transferred from Galbia for the exam.”

“I hope the new boy doesn’t wet himself on the his first mission.” Seifer laughed.

Tylor replied, “I think you’re more likely to do that than me.”

Seifer pointed at him. “What did I tell you?”

“Enough!” Quistis shouted.

Tylor caught Squall looking at him from the corner of his eyes. He wasn’t sure, but Tylor assumed he just earned himself a place in Squall’s good books.

“I’ll explain the current situation and the mission.” Xu went to the monitor on the other side of the room. “Be seated!” Zell, Squall and Quistis all sat down, Tylor and Seifer were already seated. The monitor displayed a picture of Dollet City as Xu began the briefing. “Our client for this mission is the Dollet Dukedom Parliament. A request for SeeD was made 18 hours ago. Dollet has been under attack by the Galbian Army since about 72 hours ago.” The monitor changed to a radar screen with the city mapped out. Several red dots are shown in the city. “49 hours into the battle, Dollet abandoned their position in the inner city.” The dots moved north on the screen. “Currently, they have retreated into the nearby mountains and are reorganizing their troops. That’s the current status. Now onto the mission objective.” The monitor zoomed into the mountainous region just north of Dollet. “According to our reports, the G-Army is mopping up the Dollet troops in the mountain region.” A new radar map appeared on the monitor. It showed the path the boat is taking across the sea from Balamb to Dollet. “We’re to make a landing at Lapin Beach.” The monitor returned to it’s map of Dollet. “We’re to eliminate the remaining G-Army within the city liberate it A.S.A.P.” The monitor went back to it’s map of the mountainous region with blue arrows pointing to the city and red half-circles blocking their paths. “Afterwards, SeeD members will intercept any G-Army forces trying to make their way into the city from the mountain region.” The monitor turned off.

“So, what are WE supposed to do?” Seifer asked.

Tylor stated, “Obviously we have to eliminate any Galbian troops left in the city.”

“Exactly.” Xu replied.

Zell stated, “Sounds important!”

“Sounds boring.” Seifer said, uninterested. “So what you’re saying is, we do all the little dirty work…”

Xu ignored the question and move on. “Oh, it hardly needs to be said, but the order to withdraw takes priority. Do not forget. We’re almost there. We anticipate a battle as soon as we disembark. Just be prepared. That’s all. If you have any questions, talk to Quistis.” With nothing else to say she left the room.

A few minutes later Quistis said, “We’ll be landing pretty soon. Get ready.”

Squall: “Alright.”

Zell: “Roger.”

Tylor: “Gacha.”

Seifer: “Yeah, yeah…”

Seifer looked across the table at Tylor. “Well then, Tylor. Go see what’s going on outside.”

“Why?” Tylor asked. “Is the fearless leader afraid to do it himself?”

Seifer pointed at him, “This is an order from your captain, Tylor. Now go outside!”

Tylor smiled and got to his feet. “Whatever you say, cap’m”

He left the room and went up a set of stairs. The salty sea air smacked him in the face as soon as he got to the turret platform. The sun was beginning to set. He could see Dollet a few miles ahead of him. Explosions spasmodically erupted here and there inside the city. As the fleet approached the city Tylor says to himself, “So it begins.”