"You are dead". This was the hundredth time Drew had listened to this voice in the last few days.

"Well, what happened this time?" Zack asked as soon as Drew came out of the simulation room.

"Should have paid better attention to a building collapsing. But it was better than getting shot by those soldiers. Their bullets hurt," Drew said.

"Yep, we had to make it a bit realistic. Anyway, the good news is that you broke your high score by surviving for 53 minutes. But your numbers are still not very impressive," Zack said.

"What is your highest score in the survival simulation?" Drew asked.

"12 hours. And the only reason why I died was that I was starving and out of energy," Zack said.

"So, do I have to do this simulation again? I am getting quite bored of it," Drew protested.

"Yeah, I can understand. This is why I think I should start teaching you how to actually fight," Zack said.

"So, do I get to fire a gun?" Drew asked.

"Of course." Zack fished out a gun from his holster and handed it to Drew.

"Just a simple handgun," Zack said, tapping at the shining body of the weapon. "It is the simplest weapon you will encounter and we have much more badass stuff than this, but we'll start with it."

"So how do I fire it?" Drew asked.

"Well, first of all, all the guns we have are programmed to be used only by members of the Rebels. So, connect it to your phone first," Zack instructed.

Drew scanned for nearby devices on his screen and established a connection between him and the gun.

"Great. Now we can get started. You will see a small slot at the center of the grip. Just press down your middle finger there. Do not release it until I tell you," Zack said.

Drew did as he was instructed. As soon as his finger made contact with the oval slot, the screen at the top of the gun instantly buzzed into life, showing the percentage of heat building up. It took half a minute for the percentage to reach 100.

"Should I release now?" Drew asked.

"Yep. Point the gun at yourself and release it," Zack said.

"You are kidding, right?"

"Not about this."

"Do you want me to blow up my brain?" Drew shouted.

"Trust me. Nothing like that will happen."

"Why? Is it not a real gun?"

"No. I am just lying to get rid of you forever," Zack muttered. "Of course, it is not a real gun. Now do it."

"Are you sure?" Drew asked, hesitatingly turning the muzzle of the gun towards him.

"Yep. Trust me. Now do it," Zack said.

Drew switched his sight between the gun and Zack multiple times, making sure that Zack was not messing with him before releasing his fingers.

Immediately, a hot gust of air erupted from the gun along with a bright beam of pure energy, which heated the environment around Drew. The shot went straight for his face and then disappeared out of sight.

It took a while for Drew to recover from the shock.

"Cute animation," Drew snorted.

"Well, wasn't it a fun experience?" Zack asked, "And admit it, you actually thought it was real."

"Yeah, I did," Drew admitted. "Anyway, do I get to fire a real gun now?"

"Not so fast. I need to teach you about recharging. Just follow me."

Just a little farther away in the training room, there was a glass rack containing slots for different weapons of all sizes.

"This is a real recharging station, just like how they show in movies. Your guns require energy to run. And when they run out of it, recharging stations can charge them up for you," Zack said, "But since you cannot carry a recharging station with you, every gun comes with two batteries."

"I know that. I have played enough shooting games," Drew stated.

"And do you know how to replace the batteries of an actual gun?" Zack asked.

"Uh... well... I don't think there will be a big reload button like in games, right?"

"No. This is why, listen to me. You cannot go to an actual combat mission with the knowledge of video games. So anyway, just like with your trigger, there is a slot at the bottom of the hilt. To remove the battery, just tap on it two times."

Drew followed Zack's instructions and managed to get the battery to pop out.

"Now, this is where the fun part comes in. As I said, there are two batteries in every gun. Your primary battery has the best life. The battery that came out was the secondary battery. A secondary battery is only used when the primary battery is drained out. These are the ones that can be replaced by other batteries. But since no secondary battery is as powerful as a primary one, be prepared to reload your guns more frequently when the main battery runs out."

"I suppose it is quite necessary to stock yourself with lots of batteries before missions, right?" Drew asked.

"Yes, exactly. You do not want to run out of battery in the middle of a fight. Just know that since we are a bit tight on our budget, do not carry more than you actually need. And in the middle of a mission, if you feel like you are running out of batteries, try to conserve your charge. Firing a fully charged shot like you did just a while ago drains a lot of battery. If you are lucky, you may even stumble across recharging stations from your enemies."

"I see. So, will you begin my training now?" Drew asked.

"We have a simulation for that," Zack stated.

"Another simulation?" Drew exclaimed.

"Yes, but we will leave it for tomorrow. It's time for our evening party already, and you need to go home after that."

"Yeah, it's late already," Drew said. "Let's go."

The main hall was pretty much packed during that time. Almost every seat was occupied by someone. However, Ava had saved a seat for Drew beside her.

On the contrary, Zack had no trouble finding a seat. He sat with his usual group, which comprised the most senior members, including Judy.

"So how did your training session go?" Ava asked as soon as Drew walked to him.

"Well, first I got myself killed ten times in the survival simulation. Then Zack told me to blow my brain with a fake gun," Drew mumbled.

"Yeah, he uses his fake gun on all newbies," Ava replied.

"Hi, Drew," a soft voice spoke as soon as Drew settled down. A skinny boy having a short height and skin as white as snow joined their table.

"Oh, hi Billy. I am sorry I didn't meet you properly until now," Drew said. "I feel bad for leaving you alone that day."

"Well, I was supposed to keep you away from all that business about Judy. We didn't want to reveal our secret so soon. And definitely not by putting you in a dangerous situation," Billy stated. "But I failed to do it."

"That's completely okay," Drew assured, "If I remember right, you and Judy work together on handling all the systems and database of Rebels."

"Yes, you remember right. Although, unlike Judy, I am not a fighter. And I also have the job of creating and maintaining our apps. You surely have my messaging app, right?"

"Yeah. It got lots of handy features. Great work on it."

"Thanks. I try my best to create perfect copies of other apps while also adding some special features for our needs." Billy said, "Have you also used Ringo, by the way?"

"Is that some copy of Blingo?"

"Yes," Billy laughed, "It's a social media, just like Blingo. But we have all kinds of crazy stuff on Ringo."

"Like what?"

"Just see Zack's profile and you will know," Ava bumped in. She switched her phone to display mode, which allowed Drew to see the posts Ava was talking about.

Zack's last post showed him taking a selfie while strangling a security guard to death. The caption beneath it was – "Chilling with my buddy. This will be the last time we will see each other."

Drew cracked up on the post.

"You see why we can't have such posts on Blingo? You can also create your profile there. I just shared the app with you."

"Uh, Drew, if you are done talking, can you please bring Chip with you tomorrow? I need to refer to those blueprints again. And maybe try strengthening the design if you get the spare time?"

"What are you two up to?" Billy asked. "If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"Well, Drew's father had made an interesting design. It's an extension to our phones which will allow a powerful energy barrier to appear with the motion of a wrist. The barrier will act as a shield against gunfire and can be a real lifesaver." Ava explained.

"It sounds cool. I would love to have a portable shield by my side every time," Billy laughed. "By the way, can you guys make suits as powerful as those worn by the Eagle Force during the Keukan War?"

"I have heard about those suits. They could repel bullets easily. But the thing is, any ordinary gun of our time can now blow it into smithers. As our armors get stronger, so do our weapons. That's why no technology lasts forever," Drew stated.

"Yeah, that is true. But creating new technologies will always give up a head start over other people. This applies for hardware as well as software," Billy said. "Anyway, it was great to have a proper talk with you at last. I am so glad that you are a part of us, Drew. Just continue building awesome things."

"Same to you. Your role is as important as mine," Drew smiled.

"You both sound like two businesspeople meeting for a partnership. Rebels just pat each other on their back and ask them for a treat upon any achievement." Ava snorted.

"You always have to be like, don't you?" Billy laughed.

"You really want to die, don't you?" Ava rolled her eyes.

"So, are you both heading home now?" Billy asked.

"Not me," Ava said. "My parents are away for a few days, so I'll just spend the night here."

"Well, I need to leave," Drew said. "My mom will be getting worried for me."

"So do I. Perhaps we can go together? Your house is quite close to mine."

"That's actually a great idea. But we need to leave right now then," Drew stated.

"That's no problem," Billy said, getting up.

"I will see you tomorrow, Ava," Drew said.

"Bye, Drew," Ava waved.

"So, what do you think about her?" This was the first question Billy asked as soon as they set off from the base.

"Who?" Drew asked.

"Don't pretend to be dumb. You know who I am talking about," Billy smirked.

"Ava? You really think something is up between us?"

"Well, I have known her for three years. She had always been lonely. Nobody here knew much about building stuff other than her," Billy said, "But now, she can. That's why I have noticed that she seems to be in a better mood and has given fewer threats of murder than before."

"She stared daggers at me for like three times today," Drew protested.

"Only three times? See! She's improving!" Billy said.

"Well, Ava is really cool and all, but we don't have anything like that yet."

"Yet? So, you do have plans for the future?" Billy laughed.

"Oh, come on dude!" Drew grumbled.

"Your home is here," Billy interrupted.

Drew breathed a sigh of relief. He really did not want to drag that conversation any longer.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow,"

"See you later, lover boy."

With Drew gone, Billy continued riding toward his home. However, when he had almost reached his house, a hand grabbed him from behind. Billy tried to fight back, but three more men approached. Despite there being enough light on the streets, the men still appeared like black silhouettes in the dark.

"Leave me alone!" Billy shouted.

"Not so fast," the man in the middle spoke. He covered Billy's mouth with his hand while the other two grabbed him from the sides.

Billy tried to fight back, but he was overpowered by their strength.

"No need to be scared. I just want to have a talk."

I know this chapter was basically too much talking. But the plot will thicken after the next 1 or 2 chapters.

Also, I'll finally break my silence on the mention of 'Keukans' and 'Eagle Force'. They are references to my book 'Endless War', a prequel to Outlaw Teens which will tells the story of Earth. You can find that book on my Wattpad profile but it is abandoned in the middle. Someday, I will be rewriting that book.