The Society Pt. 11

I had not known how long we had driven, once I was lead into the Therian's white van, and took a spot in the seatless rear end of the van, as the Therian woman and Mike took the driver's seat and passenger seat, but I must had drifted into a sleep deprived doze, because within what felt like minutes of driving, I was shaken abruptly awake.

My eyes snap heavily open.

The woman kneels before me, her hands on my shoulders, her blue eyes cast in shadow.

"Wake up, we're here."

I glare around the van, managing clumsily to my feet.

"Where are we?"

"Headquarters."

Mike replies, as he opens the passenger door and steps out.

The woman leads me out of the van, and around me stands a large parking bay, cement walls and a ceiling standing broadly over the expanse of the bay, where vehicles were emerging from the large entrance that was under heavy surveillance, sunlight brightly spilling from it, revealing shockingly green spruce trees and a wide dirt road that lay beyond.

A group of armed Therian men and women stand in front of the van, their bodies dressed in that familiar skin tight black and silver suit that Jason had been wearing, their eyes set steadily on me.

The woman immediately replies at the sight of my foreboding expression.

"They're simply here to escort you, in case you are having any consideration of making a run for it."

She couldn't have known that I had no intent of doing so.

I am lead, Mike and the woman in front of me, the group of Therian's behind me, to a large set of doors on one side of the parking bay. Once ushered inside, I was lead steadily down a wide hallway of steel walls and doors.

I was overwhelmed by the raw scent of Therian surrounding me. It quickened my heartbeat, and I could feel a sharp sense of apprehension set in beneath my skin.

We had been walking for what felt like hours before we finally found a set of two doors fitted with thick glass, revealing the inside.

We enter what appeared to be a conference room and office.

A large wooden desk stood in the corner of the room, papers heaped messily over its tabletop, and in the center of the room, a large round table fitted with several chairs.

A tall man stood at the table, a uniform covering neatly over his broad shoulders. His rather grizzled features were fitted with a beard of dark brown, his dark brown eyes set against his features sullenly which added significantly to the recognition of his aging.

Those brown eyes met with mine, as I stood amidst my escorts.

I could smell him from where I stood.

He's Jason's father.

Jason had been the splitting image of the man that stood before me, glaring questioningly at me.

He finally spoke up.

"So this is the man?"

The woman nods, standing aside so that he can get a better look at me.

"He claims to have been Turned, commander, by your son before he was killed."

The commander replies, his voice as grizzled as his features.

"His form is similar to that of my son and I. He smells like him too."

Mike, standing erect, his hands respectfully before him, speaks.

"Could be simply coincidental."

The commander shook his head, pushing Mike to the side as he strides towards me, pulling a device from his pants.

The device was slim, made of a thick aluminum, fitted with screen, a capsule and a needle jutting from the end of it.

Without hesitating to warn me, he plunges the needle into one of my shackled forearms. I flinch, stepping slightly backwards as the needle suctions a small portion of my blood, filling the capsule with a small pool of my dark red.

The commander pulls the needle from my arm, clearly avoiding my eyes.

Silence drapes the room thickly, the Therians standing stiffly guard around me, Mike and the woman watching the commander eagerly as he operates the machine with light occasional finger presses on the touch screen.

As an indication blinks to life on the screen, showing the result of the blood test, I could nearly feel the anticipation wafting from the bodies around me.

Finally, the commander's voice fills the room.

"The blood test confirms the man's story. He has my son's blood."

This time a different silence follows his words. A tense silence that brought about a sense of disbelief, sadness.

Finally, the man lifts his brown eyes to look at me.

I stand frozen, blood making fine lines that trailed across my forearm like thread.

"So, my son?"

He says slowly, his voice wavering.

I attempt to swallow the thick fixture of mucus that coats my throat.

"He is dead. He died of his bullet wounds, he managed to save me life, and-"

I glare around myself uncomfortably, unsure of the usage of the word.

"Turned me."

I finish.

The commander wearily closes his eyes, and in that expression I truly see his age, his vulnerability. I see now not a tall, broadly spoken man, but a father who has lost now both children.

The Night Blades took my sister, Alex. Please- you have to get her back-

When the commander opens his eyes, a different expression now structured his features.

His skin was slightly red with anger, his eyes noticeably glassy with moisture.

"Why the hell did he Turn you, boy?"

I am taken aback, and struggle to find the words, but he continues:

"Why would his dying act be to Turn a pathetic human into a Therian. Can you tell me that?"

That tense silence in the room returns.

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I moisten my dry lips, unable to do anything other than stare at the man before me.

But in the back of my head, back beneath the street lights of the horrifying night, I hear Jason's words:

My kind need people like you, Alex.

The commander scoffs at my silence.

He turns his attention to the woman.

"Colonel Margery, escort this man to the barracks. He will join our new recruits in training. We might as well put fresh meat nonetheless of its impurity to good use."

Impurity?

Margery nods sharply and quickly, before I could react, I am once again lead away into the never-ending steel hallways, the commander gives me one last glance before turning his gaze away from me, almost in revolt.

As I am lead down the hallways, Colonel Margery speaks to me, in an almost sarcastic tone.

"Congratulations new-blood, welcome to the Therian army."

. . .

"Recruits! Get your asses up, morning training is about to begin!"

A loud and jarring voice thrusts me violently from my sleep, and I jerk to a sitting position.

I flinch as the overhead lights of the sleeping barracks slam into bright illumination above me on the top bunk of the bunk bed that I slept on.

Around me rows of bunk beds align a large hall, the blankets and the forms of bodies beneath them being thrown off and coming to life, as the men around me prepare for the morning before them.

I release a yawn that was threatening my throat, and slip from the top bunk, landing softly on the cold cement floor.

My bunk-mate, a young slim man with a head of cut short red hair was pulling on the tight black and silver suit that Jason had worn.

He notices me and looks up from his business, eyeing my confused expression, and my white shirt and jeans.

He pats a small dresser beneath out bunk bed with his slim hand and said quickly:

"There's a uniform here for you, newbie. Put it on and follow everyone into the training courtyard."

With that, he quickly slipped on his shirt and jogged towards the exit.

I pull open the drawer, and like the man had said, there was a black and silver suit that looked to be my size waiting for me.

I rip off my old clothes and slip on the uniform, and rush to follow the river-like flow of new recruits as they exit the barracks. I am ushered through a small stretch of hallway and through a set of large metal doors labeled: Training Courtyard

Once inside, before us lay a large expanse of metal, stretching for hundreds of yards, weightlifting equipment, ellipticals, treadmills and more expensive equipment placed here and there, along with an obstacle course and track in its center.

Amidst the gathered new recruits, a tall man dressed in a crisp forest green uniform, similar to the commander, stood, waiting for the arrivals to find their places around him and settle down.

He was a slim man with a hardy facial structure that brought out the narrow and thickness of his jawline. His light brown hair was cut military short and his pale face was cleanly shaven.

When the chatter and crowd had settled and all attention was drawn to the man, he spoke, his voice recognizable as the one that had awoken the recruits.

"To those of you who are joining this regiment of recruits, welcome to the Therian army. I am Captain Hodkins."

As the man spoke, I couldn't help but notice an uncomfortable sense of the recruits around me staring at me. I attempt to ignore it, and continue my attention on Captain Hodkins.

"Most of the recruits here have been for at least two weeks, so we will be grouping up into independently selected sparring groups, and testing the knowledge you have gained."

"Knowledge I have gained"?? It's my first day, I'm going to make a fool of myself.

The captain continued,

"Those of you who are newcomers, you may learn something today from your peers,"

With an arcing glance over the recruits surrounding him, he says,

"Now, group up, and let's see what you newbloods got."

Immediately the crowd dispersed, people joining together in groups of three to five people.

I haggle about, attempting to get the attention of my peers, but to my dismay, the Therians around me seemed to be ignoring me, avoiding my eye contact and slipping away from my pleas to join their group as quickly as they had come from my mouth.

After only moments, I stood alone among the several groups of Therians, who now began to take turns sparring one another in their respective groups.

A sharp coldness smoothed down my chest. I felt alone, outcasted, hated for something I could not comprehend.

Suddenly, from behind me, a hoarse voice hollered from feet away.

"Couldn't seem to find a sparring group, new blood?"

I whip myself around to find three men standing before me.

The speaker, an obscenely tall man at least 6"3' stood with his arms crossed. The tightness of his uniform brought out the broad shapes of his arms and pectorals, the raw mass of his muscular form visible by almost every detail. His dark green irises glinted against the whites of his eyes maliciously, his facial structure as full and husky as the hulking body he sported.

Jesus Christ, I've never seen a man so big.

And I thought my new height of 6"1' was impressive.

When I nod in response to him, they step nearer, which in turn brought out the instinct to step back myself.

"What did you expect?"

The large man sneered.

"When your the impure Therian that stole the lieutenant's powers?"

His two comrades grumbled in a mocking agreement.

Impure.

There was that word again.

I grasp blindly for the courage to reply.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

A black haired man around my height, to the left of the large man speaks up.

"Bullshit, the story is all over this headquarters. You're the human brat that has our lieutenant's blood."

I take another step backwards.

"I don't know why he gave me his powers."

I exclaim at the men, but my words seemed to bounce meaninglessly off their heads.

The rather short man, short brown hair and dark skin, said,

"Hey Edan, you should see how well a human can fight off a rhino."

My body went cold.

A rhino.

A smile spread across the large man's face: Edan.

He glared at me.

"That's a great idea Jace."

"No!"

I exclaim.

"I don't want to figh-"

But before I could finish, Edan begins a brute charge at me.

I don't know how to react. I step clumsily away from him, shielding face and upper body with my arms.

I wretch painfully as the man's fist drives violently into my stomach. I felt as if I was struck by a moving vehicle. I'm sent off my feet, and my ass meets painfully with the metal floor.

"One punch!"

Edan scoffed at me, sharing taunting laughter with his comrades.

"One punch and I sent a bull flying!"

I grip my stomach, sucking in labored breaths, attempting to return the breath that was knocked out of me.

I attempt to climb to my feet, but my legs buckle beneath me and fall back onto my ass. My face burned as I glared at Edan.

"So much for having an O'Ryans blood in you. You're nothing but a pathetic human."

Edan snarled.

Suddenly the familiar booming voice of the captain sounds from the sidelines, and relief rushes over me.

"That is enough!"

But to my horror, even the captain's words failed to phase the brutish man before me, nothing but violence and ferocity glinting in the eyes of the man before me.

Did the captain even care what was happening? Was he simply objecting in order to feel that he had at least done something to stop what was happening, nonetheless if it was successful or not?

Edan was preparing for another charge, leaning forward like a track runner preparing for a relay.

But as he was about to charge, someone stepped in between us.

"That's enough Edan. Back off the new blood. Do you think Lieutenant Blake would be pleased of you abusing your fellow recruits?"

The man before me was much shorter than Edan and I. He must have been at least 5"8' or a little more. He had a slim form but was clearly lean by the broadness of his shoulders. His blond hair was cut short.

Edan finally replied.

"Back off Grayson or I'll knock your skinny ass off your feet. Just like I did to that impure twat."

The man before me appeared unphased, he shifted his feet apart, and stood in a truculent, battle-ready stance.

From his throat, a deep feline growl was emitted that send sharp chills trailing down my back.

His fingernails extended to claws.

Striding from the sideline, the captain steps between the three of us, his hands held authoritatively at the opposing sides.

"Enough."

He snapped, glaring between the two men.

"You all have a half an hour until your next training session. Hit the showers recruits."

The sparring groups began to disperse immediately.

Edan gave me a heinous glare, before he and his two comrades follow the crowd dissolving towards the exit of the training courtyard.

With one final glance at the two of us, Captain Hodkins walks away, leaving the man and I alone in the courtyard.

The man turns to me, where I sit on the metal floor.

He offers me a hand that was clawless.

"Don't let that dumb brute get to ya'."

Seeing his face, he had kind light blue eyes that seemed to illuminate in the pale lights above. He had a satisfyingly well defined jaw-line and narrow features, much like the ones I once sported.

"My name is Dan, Dan Grayson."

I smiled lightly, and took his hand.

"Alex Garren."

He helped me to my feet but he struggled slightly, letting out a short grunt.

"Damn you're a pretty big guy."

With a shrug, I chuckled.

"Thanks for helping me back there."

Dan begins to walk towards the exit of the courtyard, and motions me to walk with him, and I quickly follow suit.

"No problem. Can't stand when impure-bloods are treated like shit. You're just as much a Therian as the rest of us."

That word, again.

"What does that mean?"

I asked gruffly, my fingers gently caressing the tender spot of my stomach where the punch landed, where more than likely a bruise will develop.

Dan looked at me questioningly.

"What? 'impure-bloods'?"

I nod.

"Oh,"

He began, finally understanding my question.

"It means you were a human before you became a Therian. Impure Therians are mostly looked down upon by our kind."

We reach the exit of the courtyard and enter the hall. I let Dan lead the way to the locker rooms, still knowing nothing about the almost maze-like halls of the headquarters.

After a few moments of walking down the hall, we reach two doors, one labeled Men's Locker Room and one Women's Locker Room.

We quickly enter the men's, and are greeted with a screen of hot and foggy moisture thick in the air, the loud running of showers, and the banter of male voices.

The locker room was split into several sections of crimson lockers divided by several cement walls.

At the end of the room, a shower room with no stalls, instead five poles aligned with shower nozzles stood scattered about on its tiled floors.

Naked men and men wrapped in towels were strutting cheerfully out of the showers, talking to one another as they began to dress and leave the locker room.

Dan leads me to a particular locker in the first section, just outside the shower room.

"Have a locker next to mine."

He said, opening his locker and pulling out a towel.

"I uh-"

I begin, nervously.

"Don't have belongings to use the locker, really."

Dan gave me a startled expression, that slowly changed to understanding. He reached again into his locker, and pulled out another towel.

"Congratulations Alex, your first belonging is a towel!"

He exclaimed cheerfully, and nonetheless of its cheesy-ness, put a smile on my face.

He tossed the towel at me, and I swiftly caught it.

He pulled off his shoes, preparing for his shower and when I didn't immediately follow suit, looks up questioningly to me.

"You taking a shower, man?"

He asked, pulling off his socks that visibly stuck to his sweating feet.

I hadn't taken a shower in days, and standing beneath the hot stream of water was all I could think of in this foggy room. But I wanted to do it alone, not surrounded by strangers. At least not today.

I nod to Dan.

"I'll take one soon."

I say, taking a seat on the bench that aligned the lockers.

Dan shrugged at me and moved towards the showers.

I sat, my hand still hovering over the pain in my stomach, watching as men slowly leave the showers and locker rooms, until it was apparent that I was one of the last people in here. The banter that had been apparent throughout the room had now dwindled to silence. The final shower that had been running turned off. I could hear the padding of Dan's bare feet as he sauntered over to his locker. I pull off the shirt of my suit.

I lean down to start untying the shoes that were given to me, and pull them off, along with my socks.

"Finally taking your shower?"

Dan said right next to me.

I turn my head to look at him, but instead, inches from my face was Dan's cock.

It wasn't the most impressive thing, maybe around three to four inches, but it was rather plump-looking, his cut head stood out against the shaft, pink and delightfully round.

"Bud, your cock is in my face."

I manage to say, beginning to feel uncontainably hot in the face.

"Oh, right- here."

He stepped a little further away with a good natured shrug.

I reveled at how open he was with his body.

In the back of my head, I hear the voice of Jason, which caused a painful jolt in my chest.

My kind are used to being open with our bodies.

He hadn't been kidding.

Dan had a lean chest, slightly scruffy with damp blond hair and a set of abs just beginning to form on his abdominals.

I attempt not to stare, so I quickly busy myself removing my clothing.

Dan opens up his locker and begins to dry himself off, but I couldn't help but notice him casting occasional glances at me, as I pull off my pants, leaving me standing in nothing but my underwear.

When Dan reached his lower-half of his body and began to dry off his junk, I accidentally let another glance slip at cock and balls as he groped them quickly with his towel. I pull my eyes away, but not soon enough for Dan to say: