The Draft

"Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say." A blonde-haired man with a strong Texas accent stood atop a weapons trunk as a group of selects gathered around. The man held a British IPA in one hand and a plasma pistol in the other. General Ulysses Stanton was immature but still an experienced captain and well respected by his superior ranking officers.

"It is true…There is no air up here. You need air molecules to modulate at a frequency to make a sound. No air, no modulation, no sound." Dino said as he lay on his bunk, looking at one of the last ever playboy magazines. The same magazine that he had been reading for the past four months; He will never let anyone forget how rare it is.

"You think you are smarter than me?" Ulysses inhaled the rest of his drink and holstered his weapon before he hopped to the floor and waltzed over to Dino's bed.

"I can answer that truthfully, or I can stroke your ego. But I must warn you, the only stroking I am doing tonight is for LaDonna Rey." Dino lowered his magazine just enough to reveal his smile.

A few of the guys chuckled while Ulysses' face reddened with embarrassment and he clenched his hands into tight fists.

Dino had not flinched.

"Is that right?" Ulysses grabbed Dino by his collar, lifted him off his back in one motion, and slammed him against the wall. "You new selects piss me off; Always coming in here like you think you know something…You don't know shit. Have you ever had to fight to pull your comrade's legs from the mouth of a Žraloktor? Only to bring him back, and now he would rather be dead!"

"Hey, leave the kid alone." Called out one of the selects, but Ulysses held his grip and shoved him harder.

"As I pulled my brother by his torso, he screamed at the top of his lungs, but I could not hear anything. I soon realized I did not need to hear a sound. The strain in his neck muscles and the distant look in his eyes transmuted energy that would stay with me to this day." Ulysses had pulled out his plasma pistol and stared with a disappointed look.

"So yeah, smart little shit, there are no sound waves in space, but after being out in that frozen hell, silence just sounds like death to me, and all I hear is silence. So excuse me if I get a little loud!" Ulysses was now screaming for everyone to hear, trying to make a point.

"General U.S.! You're scaring the newbies." Major Ulrich Kimberlin stepped between the two and took a second to brush the shoulders of Dino while straightening out his uniform.

"Sorry, Major U.K. Sir! These new selects seem too far removed from the war…they don't know what is at stake. They don't know what it's like." General Stanton thumped his chest.

"War is War, U.S. I'm sure they know what it's like." Dino looked the man in the eyes.

"I am hopeful that your training has paid off and all of you will be ready for tomorrow. You learn by doing…." The decorated soldier had made his presence known in only a brief interaction. Major Kimberlin turned away and walked out of the barracks.

"You heard him, fellas. It is your First Deployment Day, or FDD, tomorrow. I like to call it the First Dumb Decision. When you lay your head down tonight, it will be the last time you do as the boy you are. Tomorrow, you wake up as the man you will be for the rest of your natural life; Tomorrow, you officially become Solar Selects!" Ulysses raised his arm with passion, spurring a wave of fists from all the young soldiers, except Dino and his pal Peece, who just stood in the back watching.

"I can't believe this is my life now. I'm going to be a Solar Select." Peece said aloud.

"Why do you sound excited? What happened to sticking together and not conceding to the system."

"Dino, you can only fix it from the inside; Besides, if anyone is going to destroy the planet, it will be us. Not some space lizards." Peece said as he slowly raised his fist.

"Since when did you become so Xeno? You don't believe in this shit, do you?" Dino asked.

The two had only known each other for four months, but you would think they grew up together playing in the mud. They bonded over their frustration with being selected, But mainly because they lived closer together than any other two people in their class. Most people were separated by thousands of miles, while Dino and Peece grew up a few towns apart.

"You know I'm not sure. None of the people I know back on Earth have ever seen a Žraloktor doesn't mean they aren't real, though."

"Yeah, I guess…." Dino couldn't argue with Peece there. Back in his small town of Lusitania, not anyone knew firsthand about the monstrous creatures. The only details disclosed to the public were that they were ruthless, dangerous, and detested humans.

Dino could still see the fright and dread on his mother's face from when he was selected like it had happened yesterday.

.~.

The family watched as the holographic telegram pragmatically announced that the Solar Selection System had chosen Dino for the universe's first and possibly final Interplanetary War.

Dino's younger sister, Eden, was the first to speak up.

"Well, you're screwed."

Although she was only ten, Eden usually spoke matter-of-factly. For some, it was a part of her charm. For Dino, at times, it was an annoyance.

"Ha-ha, you're hilarious." Dino rolled his eyes.

"Eden! Listen, Dino, honey, maybe there's a way out of it? M-maybe you won't pass the examination?" Dino's mother stammered and fidgeted with her earring, one of the tell-tale indications that she was stressed. Evi was dismayed at the message that would undoubtedly change her family forever.

"Nothing the boy can do, Evi. He's eighteen now, they chose him, and my son is no draft dodger." Dino's father stood up and patted him on the shoulder. Dino smiled but didn't say anything. He didn't feel as fearful as his mother nor as prideful as his father. Dino wasn't sure how to feel. He'd never shied away from a challenge, but he would be a fool not to recognize that this was more than that.

"You're a man now, Dino. You're fighting for us all. Make us proud!"

"But he's too young! He can't possibly use a weapon. Oh dear, there must be something. An appeal or something?" Evi hit replay on the message for what felt like the umpteenth time.

"Does this mean I can have your room?" Daven, Dino's baby brother, wrapped his tiny arms around Dino's knees, smiling a wide toothless grin.

"Not so fast, soldier. Are you kicking me out already? Maybe I should call my good old friend the tickle monster!" Dino reached down and tickled his brother, who erupted into laughter.

In an instant, Dino felt an overwhelming sadness.

He would miss this.

Eden, always busting his chops, Daven wanting to be just like his big brother, Dino.

His father was firm and diplomatic.

Then there was his mother.

Kind, nurturing, and slightly neurotic in an endearing sort of way, this was his family. They were his rock.

There was even the possibility he may not make it back alive.

Those Žraloktors were on the news daily.

The invasion spread consistently throughout Central Europe in the last nine months, and the death toll was close to two million.

Add to that their mysterious arrival and every media outlet covers it incessantly.

There was no information about the Žraloktors or their origin. Or at least that's what the media told people. The beasts known for their Shark-like teeth and Alligator flesh seemingly arrived out of nowhere.

For three weeks, across the globe, there had been a series of hail and electrical storms, with rolling blackouts and entire countries without power for days at a time.

A journalist from the Post, Rye Benjamin, was visiting East Aynek where the Reptilian-like sharks first appeared. During his stay, a pair of large animals unexpectedly devoured a couple swimming at Remington Beach before the coast guard could blink an eye. However, that was only the beginning; when the bi-pedal monsters walked from the sea to land, the beachgoers became hysterical. Pandemonium ensued as the creatures annihilated most of the crowd. The city was locked down and in an emergency quarantine, but not before Rye Benjamin jumped into his Usain Twincharger and jetted home to alert the press and break the story.

Citizens were mortified and outraged, those who believed the story. Others thought it was a hoax and no more credible than gossip from the National Querier. But soon, more cities were under siege, more Žraloktors showed up, and researchers and military alike combed the beaches and large bodies of water to discover thousands of sacks resting in the sea, waiting to hatch. The sacks contained dozens of slimy putrid eggs, debris, and particles from an element only found on a planet called Killius. That's when the government knew more extreme measures were required.

"Nooo, not my baby." Evi replayed the message once more before Dino slapped the device off the table, causing it to break on the ground.

"I'm not a baby, and playing it over and over is not gonna change the fact that I was selected!" Dino stormed out of the house with hopes of clearing his head somehow.

"Dino!" Evi screamed after him.

"Let the boy go…" his father wrapped his arms around his mother and held her close as she sobbed.

.~.

Peece snapped Dino out of his thoughts.

"Hey, have you heard anything from your family? Like are you getting any telecom messages? It's been two weeks for me and nothing from my Dad."

"Yeah, I mean…they keep in touch… it's probably been a week or so for me too."

"Yeah, probably just a delay with getting stuff to us. I'm not going to worry about it."

"Worrying won't change anything. Our families are probably more worried about us. Try and get some sleep. If we should pay attention any day, it should be tomorrow."

Dino wanted to reassure his friend, but the truth was that none of them could be sure what was going on back home.

"Wake up, you sorry summabitches! It is the time! The day you've all been waiting on! FDD BABY! You all become men today." General Stanton stormed into their barracks with a voice amplifier wrapped around his neck.

"Ahh! What the hell! It's too early for this." Dino responded as it felt like he had just shut his eyes.

"It's 1 pm on Earth, buddy! We even let you sleep in a bit. Now get up and get dressed!" Ulysses moved along throughout the barracks, terrorizing people out of their sleep.

"The one thing they never warned you about when traveling in space is how time just doesn't exist! It's all made up!" The General shouted in one boy's ear.

Peece rolled over out of his bed and wiped his eyes.

The boys had trouble sleeping the night before, and neither wanted to talk about why. It could have been the nerves of FDD approaching or something more ominous.

"Do you feel any different?" Dino looked over to Peece.

"Not really…a little bloated, I guess," Peece replied, and they both chuckled as they prepared their uniforms for the day.

After breakfast, the selects made their way to the Auditorium, where all significant ceremonies took place. Dino and Peece found a seat in the back corner, where the lights barely shined.

"Hello everyone! Good morning. I am Captain Françoise Rochelle, and I welcome you to your First Deployment Day!" A beautiful red-headed woman dressed in a neon green camouflage jumpsuit and a red beret appeared on the telescreen. She stood in front of the crowd filled with over 10,000 selects.

"I'd welcome her to something, alright." The two snickered.

"As I am sure you know, the war against the Žraloktors has gotten gruesome. With no end or hope in sight, but thanks to our space force back home, we traced the Žraloktors origin to a small system of planets just outside our Solar System. Instead of sitting on our hands and twiddling our thumbs, we decided to take the fight to them!" She screamed, and chants followed.

“Kill all Žraloktors!”

“Die Žraloktors!”

"Now, we need the smartest, bravest, and strongest soldiers that this Solar System can offer. I am looking at the best and brightest selects from Earth, Mars, Neptune, and even Pluto sent some capable candidates. I am fighting for us, and I don't want the people that weaseled their way out of the selection; I want YOU! I want YOU! I want YOU!" She pointed into the crowd at different selects, garnering cheers from each as she moved around the stage.

"What the hell am I watching?" Peece said under his breath.

"It makes for good entertainment once you remove yourself," Dino replied without smiling.

"Now it is time to make it official…All of the training, the late nights, and early mornings were for this moment. Once the ceremony has concluded, you will officially be Solar Selects forever, and no one can take that from you!" She bowed as the crowd erupted in applause.

The Captain was followed by Major Kimberlin striding up to the microphone with papers in hand.

"Ahem, Thank you, Captain F.R.! Before we start, I want to announce something to our Earth selects. We have just gotten word back from our ground troops that another wave of attacks has occurred." Major Kimberlin pointed as a holographic globe appeared above him with different regions highlighted in green, yellow, and red.

"If you draw your attention to the hologlobe, you can see that the areas in green have been protected and isolated. The areas in yellow were severely damaged, but there has been a small number of survivors. The red areas have sustained critical damage with no survivors currently identified, but they are still sweeping the areas." Major Kimberlin had not looked up from the podium the entire time.

"Can you see anything?" Dino said to Peece as they squinted to see if their hometowns had been covered in yellow, hoping their family had survived.

"This is a time for action. These casualties will continue unless we fight back. In response to recent events, we are deploying all Selections from m Earth to the Helepolis Siege tower on Epsilon Moon 5. You can come up to collect your solar select pins now."

Dino and Peece rushed to get in line but weren't very lucky as many of their comrades had a similar thought. Once the two reached the front and went to get their pins, they stopped to speak to Major Kimberlin.

“Major, I am from Lusitania and-”

"And I'm from Cubana; it's close by!" Peece interjected.

"We couldn't see from where we were sitting…We wanted to make sure that our families were safe."

"I am sorry. Unfortunately, I believe Lusitania and the surrounding areas have recently converted from a yellow zone to a red zone." He gave them a pitiful look as he handed the two boys their pins. "The feeling that you boys have right now…Use it. Let it manifest itself into strength and courage."

The draftees quietly headed back to their quarters as gloom washed over the boys after the news of the attack.

Peece angrily packed up his belongings as the tears began to flow.

"Peece, it's going to be okay-"

"No! No, it isn't. It's never going to be okay again!"

Dino dropped his bag and went to hug the only family he had left.

Some of the recruits looked over remorsefully.

Even Ulysses looked like he felt bad for them.

Dino refused to break down in front of the infantry, but his heart was hurting. He thought of how afraid his mother must have been. His father must have felt helpless, not to mention Eden and Daven. He didn't even want to think about his little brother and sister.

"Look. Now's not the time to give up. Your father would want you to keep going. Think of your great-great-great grandfather. Didn't he fight in World War Three? You're stronger than you think, Peece."

"I don't know, Dino."

"Sure, you do, Peece! We'll move out and hit those bastards where it hurts!" Ulysses came over and patted Peece on the back.

"Hell Yeah, They're going to wish they never set eyes on Earth when we get through!" Another Select came up behind them.

Dino gave Peece an encouraging smile.

"You're right. Let's kick some ass!"

The room erupted into an uproar as they all came together in solidarity, if just for a moment. Determined to give it all they had, if not for themselves, but for the loved ones they'd lost.

The uproar got cut short when Major Kimberlin entered the room.

"Alright, Ladies, I'm going to be brief. Due to the circumstances, we have to move on an accelerated schedule. Here's how it's going to be.

"You're going with Major Taft, Buzz Armstrong, Gene Dickson, Augustus Peece."

Dino glanced over at Peece.

"Pay attention, boy!" The Major snapped at Dino.

"Yes, sir!"

"Henry Johnson, Ulysses Stanton, and Dino Sturgeon, you're with me. We will move out soon."

The Major left abruptly as the guys stood looking at each other one last time.

The journey to Ft. Emerald, which sat right outside the Helepolis Siege tower, had been speedy.

Dino eyed the men, women, and robotics as they exited the shuttle and waited for further instructions.

Some he had seen around camp. The others must have been imports. Dino just hoped they were worth their salt.

Major Kimberlin gave each recruit their coordinates and nasal respiration gear as they hurried to set up a base camp.

Ulysses and Dino were partners; Although he was coarse, Dino was relieved to be with Ulysses, someone he could trust.

"Don't worry, Dino, I've got your back. I know I was hard on you back at headquarters, but I had to do that. I can't have the new selects losing respect for me. I just needed you to know how serious this is."

"I get it now…You know, you usually hear about families getting the bad news that their son or daughter died, not the other way around." Suddenly Dino realized that he no longer had a place to call home. Dino had to believe in the monsters that had invaded his life, as they had now claimed his family.

"It's war, Dino. People will die no matter what side you're on, fighting or waiting. You were selected to ensure no more people die on our side." Ulysses had finished setting up their tent when Major Kimberlin came over.

"General U.S., I need your expertise on a covert mission to the Helepolis. Can I count on you?"

"Sir, Yes, sir! Whatever you need." Ulysses saluted, ready for his task. He was a great soldier; he never asked questions. Major Kimberlin pulled him over to the side to speak with him privately, and not long after, General U.S. came back to the tent smiling.

"Well… what did he say?"

"It's a classified mission."

"Don't give me that shit; what did he say?"

"Okay, he said that he thinks there is a weak spot in the left flank of the siege tower, and he wants me to scope it out before sending a full team. He doesn't even want the other captains to know."

"That's odd, don't you think? The Helepolis is one of the main battlefronts of the war, right? Won't that be dangerous?"

"He assured me that I would go after the 2nd moon has set, and I will wear all of the best cloaking equipment."

"Well, take me with you? I could provide backup."

"With your standard issue plasma pistol, right…Listen, kid, I don't want you to get hurt on our first deployment day; that's a waste of a solid selection like yourself. Besides, it's a stealth mission, and I have seen your ranks; stealth is not your strong suit."

"That's bullshit; I want to kill those bastards just as bad as any of you!"

"Lower your voice! It's not happening; let it go. I will see you tomorrow morning at the briefing. Until then, tell anyone that asks that I am making an inventory run to Ft. Ruby." Dino felt uneasy about this covert mission and decided he would not stand by and let Ulysses make a grave mistake. Dino pretended to be asleep while Ulysses was getting ready for his mission, and when General U.S. finally left, Dino was not too far behind.

The Helepolis was a tall structure, about 100 stories high, and had windows all over. Ulysses was headed to the west side of the building, hoping to gain access to its interior. It was becoming challenging to track Ulysses as it was nearly pitch black, not to mention he had some of the best cloaking equipment in the galaxy. Just when Dino was losing hope that he wouldn't find him, he stumbled upon a loose rope that led to one of the windows about three stories up.

"Shit, what am I doing," Dino said aloud while hoisting himself up the rope one hand at a time.

Soon as he reached the window at the top, he felt a hand grab him by his neck, and another hand covered his mouth.

"Shhh." Ulysses grabbed ahold of him and pulled him behind what looked like a generator.

Ulysses signaled that he would do a lap around the perimeter and that Dino should wait for him in this spot. Dino nodded, pulled out his Plasma Pistol, and waited. As Dino waited, he heard another set of footsteps enter the room, and his heart began to race.

"Ohh, Major U.K, what are you doing here?" Ulysses' voice rang out.

"I wanted to see your bravery first hand…My comrades didn't believe you had it in you. I assured them you are the bravest General we have at Ft. Emerald."

"Thank you, sir, but I must admit you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Noo, please don't have any fear. Fear ruins the taste…."

"What do you mean?"

Dino peaked around the corner to find that Major Kimberlin's face and bone structure had started to morph. The Major's muscles grew in mass, and his mouth split open like nothing Dino had ever seen, revealing three rows of razor-sharp teeth. Ulysses dropped his weapon and stood in place as the leader, mentor, and lieutenant he trusted had transformed into a Žraloktor before his eyes.

"The taste of those selected by the sun!" The demented creature screeched in a different tone than Major Kimberlin's voice. The gut-wrenching sound of General Stanton getting devoured by the one thing he vowed to kill was the next sound Dino could make out. Ulysses's bones crunched in the mouth of the Žraloktor as he fed on his body. Dino bit into the skin of his palm to keep quiet. He did not want to alert the beast of his presence. Dino wanted to scream for help with every fiber of his being as he listened to his only hope be eaten alive, but who would hear him? After all, nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space.