Poyraz walked slowly, his footsteps reverberating across the empty corridor. He stole a glance at the window and saw the blizzard roaring even worse than the last time he checked. It was truly a rare day. When he was woken up at 6 am instead of 4 am along with his comrades, he fully expected his superiors to somehow take it out on them by working them more than usual. He was pleasantly surprised when they let


    them go after a “light” sparring session.


    He decided to stop in front of that window and watch the snow falling on the ground with his legs apart a shoulder and his hands grasped behind his back. The place was cold, intentionally, at least that’s what Poyraz thought. A part of him bitterly thought that the military was just too stingy to heat this place properly but he knew that it was a way to weed out the weak.


    Poyraz shifted on place, coming face to face with his reflection in the window. The reflection asked him if he really thought that dropouts were weak. A part of him definitely thought so. They were soft, undisciplined and lazy. They knew the dangers the Horde posed to humanity. Many have lost their friends and families before being selected for the program. Yet, they couldn’t grit their teeth and go through it. Despite that part of him, he couldn’t really blame them. This wasn’t for everyone. He inspected his reflection.


    His hair was short and his face was cleanly shaven. He didn’t really mind his hair but shaving his beard regularly was a pain in the ass for him. Especially with how cold the water was. Bags under his eyes were a constant even before coming here but they were especially pronounced ever since he came here as the sleep he could get was limited. He was visibly thinner now. The food given to them was not only tasteless but also not enough to fuel the extreme training they were going through.


    He sighed. He could just stop it. He could go to his superiors and say that he gave up. He still could fight, as a normal soldier. Perhaps that was the most difficult part of their program. The only thing that kept them there was their own will. Every member of the program had the right to quit and go back to their own country and military.


    He chuckled to himself. West of Turkey was in ruins, including his own town. Most of his family and friends were dead or scattered. His close family was dead. Where he was supposed to return? Guess he could always go back there to fight. More meat to the grinding machine was always appreciated after all.


    His right hand traced the scar running sideways on his face. Yeah, it was a good idea. Go and die there. He knew firsthand that the enemy they faced now required more to defeat. He remembered one of them tank the focused fire and run through their ranks. He remembered being thrown away easily like a dry leaf with the whim of a wind. Humans dominated the evolutionary race for thousands of years on this piece of rock and water but they weren’t from this planet.


    He shifted in place once again as the coldness of the environment seemed to seep into his bones. The sounds of other members rang out from the only room that housed a TV, at least the only TV they could watch. He was sure that superiors had access to every kind of entertainment along with heated rooms. He wasn’t interested in joining his comrades. Even in his own country and city, he had only a handful of people he talked to. He couldn’t really bond with people who had drastically different cultures and traditions from him even with the rigorous training they went together. Plus, some people have problems with other people just because of their country. He really didn’t want to open that kind of can of worms. It was better for him to stay low and do what he was told. Poyraz shifted in place for the last time before turning around. Staying still in this frigid space was too much. Moving at least warmed him up.


    “Man, they really want our balls to freeze up and fall off, don’t they?”


    The voice that chimed was higher pitched than what Poyraz was used to in this facility. His stature also wasn’t like most of his peers. Nearly all men here were taller and muscular even more than what one would expect from a soldier. His hair was also long. Poyraz had no idea how the superiors didn’t drag him forcefully to shave all of it. The purple dye he used was slowly fading away, revealing his silvery hair.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.Poyraz knew him. How could he not know that troublemaker? The cause of at least several thousands of pushups and laps? The constant, chattering voice that never stopped? The guy that refused to be called anything except “Lily”? Yes, he knew him and he wanted nothing to do with him. Poyraz didn’t know why the superiors hadn’t failed him. Yes, he kept up with them despite his build but that didn’t make a soldier.


    “Cold toughens people up.”


    Poyraz responded. Lily strolled over, his silvery hair and dyed purple strands catching the dim light.


    “The only thing cold causes is shrinking my junk. Seriously, couldn’t we just train on some kind of tropical island?”


    Poyraz rolled his eyes to his words.


    “The amount of mosquitos those “tropical islands” house is enough to suck all of us dry. Not to mention humidity and possible sickness. I would prefer cold. At least there are bugs here.”


    Lily made weird faces before speaking again:


    “Fair enough. I still prefer the warm places here. Or they should have given us some skiing gear. That could be fun.”


    Poyraz looked back at the window and the blizzard raging on, then turned back to Lily with his eyebrows raised. Lily shrugged.


    “Maybe not now.”


    Poyraz walked past him. He wasn’t interested in this jester’s antics.


    “Thanks for yesterday by the way. I would been in trouble if it wasn’t for you.”


    Poyraz stopped in his tracks.


    “Maybe you could stop pissing off superiors so they wouldn’t punish all of us. That way you could have fewer enemies.”


    He said without looking back at him.


    “Aye. I could do that. But that’s not what I am.”


    Poyraz gritted his teeth.


    “You are a soldier. Behave like a soldier. If you don’t want to then drop out.”


    “Or maybe you could face me while speaking to me.”


    Poyraz snapped back to Lily. With the amount of stress training caused, everyone was more irritable. Poyraz thought he was handling it quite well but Lily’s words sounded like he was challenging his manhood. His lips curled back, he looked directly into Lily’s eyes. Despite being a smaller man, Lily didn’t divert his gaze or stop smiling. Poyraz could respect that.


    “I am looking at you and I will tell it again. You are a soldier. I don’t know why you are here nor do I care. All I care about is you doing what''s required of you just like I do what''s required of me.”


    Lily softly gazed at Poyraz before answering him.


    “What''s required of us… Tell me, does that include kissing those bald fucks’ assess? Or wiping out everything unique to you?”


    Poyraz narrowed his eyes. The first thing Lily said was easy to understand. Poyraz witnessed countless bootlickers before. However, that didn’t mean that they could treat their superiors like they were their friends. Without order an army was just a pack of stray dogs. The former on the other hand was a little different.


    “We show respect the rank, nothing more, nothing less.”


    Lily kept smiling.


    “Ah, the usual answer. Okay, I take it. But what about everyone having shaved heads, wearing ugly uniforms, and sleeping in boring beds? What purpose does it serve?”


    Poyraz sighed. He shouldn’t waste time with this clown yet not answering was the same as giving up.


    “It creates unity. No matter where you came from, no matter whether you were rich or poor, you are the same as everyone else now.”


    Lily shook his head like he was impressed.


    “You know, you are smarter than you look.”


    Poyraz raised his head and narrowed his eyes.


    “Unfortunately, it is the opposite for you.”


    Lily slapped his knee and laughed out loud.


    “Why it is unfortunate? Everybody knows that looks are what people first notice.”


    He didn’t sound hostile or offended despite Poyraz’s backhand.


    “Until they require an actual smart person.”


    Lily shrugged.


    “Fair enough. Do you want some hot chocolate? As a thank you for saving my ass?”


    Poyraz looked at Lily with suspicion. How could he have hot chocolate in a place like this?


    “If you flirt with the guys responsible for the supplies, you can get some good stuff.”


    Lily explained like it was the most normal stuff in the world. Poyraz shot him a disapproving look.


    “You coming or what?”


    Lily asked while walking away, leaving Poyraz behind. Poyraz stopped to think if it was a good idea but in the end, he shrugged. Guess he could go for a cup of hot chocolate now.