Red Stone
After the lunch,
"That's Dray Richard, the man who made the most contribution and made it possible for the human race to have a hope of survival," Mr Thomson said as he pointed towards the picture on the whiteboard and continued.
"He was among the 25 heroes who were granted the power to save humankind just before the apocalypse. As to why they got those powers we have no idea even after more than fifty years have passed since that incident..."
Mr Thomson lectured the class on the 25 heroes and the abilities that they possessed. The 25 heroes were completely different from the present-day Warriors and their source of power was completely unknown.
Mr Thomson switched to the next slide and a new image appeared on the screen as he continued with his explanation.
"The present-day warriors are incomparable to the 25 heroes and only the special class warriors could be said to have reached close to the powers that those 25 possessed back then..."
Mr Thomson then proceeded to explain the reason for this stark difference. He explained to the class that while the Hero's power stemmed from an unknown source it was not so for the case of warriors.
The warriors at first weren't any different from a normal human. The reason for their advancement in physical and mental capabilities is a mineral called 'Red stone'.
"These Red Stones are translucent stones and their purity is determined by their shades of red. The darker the stone the more pure it is. At first, these were just normal stones without any value to humans but a sudden discovery revealed that the stones possessed great powers within them," Mr Thomson said as the picture on the whiteboard was changed to that of a Red Stone.
Many students couldn't help but admire how beautiful the stones were and wanted to acquire them so that they could showcase them as souvenirs. These similar feelings were also invoked inside the refugees when they first discovered these stones.
If not for that, then the stones would have never attracted human attention and the power within them would have been left untapped.
"In order to make use of this power massive research ensued and humans were successfully able to tap into its powers. This gave new hope to the humans as now they could actively fight against the reapers to increase their chances of survival..."
"But Sir, What about the Heroes? With them around why was there a need to look for ways to strengthen other humans?" Jacob asked Mr Thomson.
"Good questions Jacob! I was about to talk about it later but since you've asked it now, it can't be helped. The heroes, although they possessed great powers, this great power came at a cost as none of them was able to live for more than 2 years. However, that's not the case for the powers gained from Red Stones as there are warriors who have been fighting in the front lines for more than two decades,"
Seeing quite a few drowsy expressions at the back of the classroom a smile appeared on Mr Thomson's face as he said, "I believe this much is enough for today,"
"Yes Sir!" Quite a few responses came from the back of the class as the ones who appeared as if they were about to fall asleep the next moment were now looking as reinvigorated as an Ox.
After giving attendance Mr Thomson told the class to do what they wanted to do while he sat on his seat because there were still ten more minutes till the end of the period.
Everyone knew that if they made noise Mr Thomson would go back on his words and would start teaching them again so there were only the sounds of whispers in the classroom as most students busied themselves with their phones.
Andrey too was among them. He was just surfing on the newly made student forum to pass his time when he received a message from Lisa.
"I'll be waiting for you at the school's gate [^.^]"
"Alright [thumbs up emoji]" Andrey replied to her message.
Earlier in the cafeteria Lisa was engulfed by many people who wanted to sympathize with her and it was her girl group which included Rebecca who made sure to convince all of them to go back to their seats and not disturb Lisa as a result Andrey and Lisa were only able to meet gazes from afar without being able to say a word to each other.
By now, almost everyone knew that Lisa's father was a warrior and he had lost his life in the accident that transpired a few days ago. Lisa had no intention of hiding it so it was normal for this information to spread through word of mouth.
Jacob and Jenny too sympathized with Lisa even though they had never talked to her in person. It was the same for many others. Death was a fate that many of them were going to face in the near future if they succeeded in becoming a warrior or joined the military.
The school bell soon rang which marked the end of today's classes as everyone started exiting the classroom one by one. After bidding goodbye to Jacob and Jenny, Andrey walked towards the school gate.
When he reached the gate he saw that Lisa was standing there waiting for him along with Rebecca. The two of them were chatting with each other and had not noticed Andrey who was still quite a distance away from them.
"Hey," Andrey said as he reached them.
"Andrey," Lisa said with a smile as she waved her hands towards him
Andrey too smiled back towards her and Rebecca who was standing beside her. After seeing him arrive Rebecca turned towards Lisa and said "Alright, see you tomorrow Lisa,"
"Alright," Lisa nodded as she bid Rebecca goodbye with a thankful smile on her face. Rebecca was only standing with her to make sure that she wasn't alone and now that Andrey had arrived her job was finished.
"Let's talk while walking," Lisa said as she looked at the several eyes that were staring at them while exiting the school.
"Sure," Andrey said as the two of them started walking.
"You look much better than yesterday," Andrey said. He couldn't point a finger as to why but he felt that she was in a much better mental state compared to yesterday.
"I indeed am," Lisa said with a smile as she told him about how she called Rebecca yesterday night and told her everything. After a long talk with her, all thoughts of ending her life had gone away from her mind.
"What did the vice-principal say to you?" Lisa asked.
"She thanked me for helping you...and also told me that she would recommend me to the selectors from the Warrior Academy," Andrey said. He felt that telling the thing about recommendation to Lisa won't hurt him so he decided to go with it.
"That's amazing!" Lisa exclaimed as her whole face brightened.
Seeing the genuine happiness on her face the first thing that appeared in Andrey's mind was "She's so pretty" but he soon shook that thought away and looked ahead and said.
"Thanks...by the way are you still going to attempt the Warrior Academy aptitude test?" Andrey asked. He was unsure as to whether her mind had changed after realizing that her father died while doing the same job which she had earlier decided to pursue.
"Yes...I want to become a warrior now more than anything else. I won't let my father's death be in vain and give all from my side for the sake of humanity just like my father did," Lisa said as a sense of heroic aura spread around her which made Andrey admire her courage.
"Let's do our best then, I'm hopeful that you'll get through but I still have doubts regarding whether I'll be able to clear that aptitude test or not," Andrey said while looking up in the sky.
"Looks like the vice-principal didn't tell you," Lisa said in a lighthearted manner.
"Tell me what?" Andrey asked.
"The vice-principal told me that the children of warriors have an undue advantage over the rest of the students while qualifying for the Warrior Academy. She also told me that in our school there are only two students whose parents were Warriors. You and me," Lisa said.
"Just the two of us?!" Andrey exclaimed.
"Yes, that's how tough becoming a first-generation warrior is, that's what the vice-principal emphasized. Thinking over it now... it seems like the work of fate that the two of us got to know each other. If not you saving me from that ball the other day I doubt that we would have ever talked till the end of our school," Lisa said.
"That truly seems to be the case," Andrey too was not expecting such a coincidence to happen and was a bit awed. The two of them chatted about regular stuff from the school and a few minutes later the two soon reached the crossroads and bid each other goodbye as they walked towards their home under the blistering rays of the afternoon sun.