There was only one being on the continent who had the power to do anything he wanted. He knew everything that everyone else knew and knew everything that everyone else didn’t know. He was everywhere, but also nowhere, because no one ever saw him.
No one knew his true name, he only went by one title, The King. People would whisper about him, myths of what he’d done.
If we look into this classroom in the city of Perth, right over here, we’d find two boys debating their connections to the King and his Elite Recruits.
“My great-grandmother said she saw him once point at someone and they died instantly!” Andrew Smith proudly proclaimed.
“My dad told me we’re descended from Elite Recruits, and that I could be one tomorrow!” Alex Varrison argued. “Then I’d be out of this school forever!”
Elite Recruits were the only people who were allowed to see The King. They delivered messages to and from him, and they enforced his rules with unwavering obedience. If anyone said anything in mild disagreement with him, they were never seen again. It was what every kid dreamed of becoming, but only a select few were chosen at the King’s Ceremony of Choosing.
Alex truly believed he had what it would take to be an Elite Recruit. He didn’t know what the Ceremony entailed, but he knew that whatever it was, it was within his grasp. He’d do whatever it took to become one of them.
Andrew scoffed. “There’s no way you’ll get picked. They only pick smart people who do well in school… so not you. Have fun dreamin’, mate.”
Alex knew Andrew was probably right, but he had a feeling that he’d be picked someway, he wasn’t sure how or why. He also knew Andrew would most likely be picked, since Andrew always received awards and accolades for his academic success. Maybe they’d both get in somehow!
“There’s no point dwelling on it. Let’s finish the project that’s due at the end of class instead of wasting time worrying. If anyone is going to be an Elite Recruit tomorrow, it’s me.” Andrew remarked.
The boys went about the rest of their day and went to bed excited and nervous. They soon woke up to the loudest noise they’d ever heard in their entire life. It was 1 horn, continuously blasting throughout the city like a foghorn from a ship, but 10 times louder.
Alex jumped out of bed, exhilarated. He was just about to get ready for the big day when, after the blaring sound finally stopped, a sharp, clear voice rang out from the speakerphones throughout the city.
“Good morning, possible Elite Recruits! Today is the King’s Ceremony of Choosing. Please have yourselves ready and presentable at 12:00 in the Wellington Train Station, lest you have to wait 50 years before another set of Elite Recruits are chosen.”
Alex glanced at the clock, saw it was 11:00, and started eating breakfast as fast as humanly possible. He finished getting ready and wished his parents goodbye as he ran out the door. He saw Andrew run out of his house and jog next to him so they arrived at the hypertrain station together, joined by dozens of other eager, young kids
They rode in complete silence, filled with thoughts and unanswerable questions about the near future.
After about an hour on the hypertrain, the doors opened and they hopped out onto hot sand, immediately setting foot onto Kalbarri beach.
It was a beautiful day, with clear skies and stunning aquamarine seas. They were excited to test their skills, but before they or any other candidates could do anything else, a low, booming voice that seemed to come from everywhere told them:
“Hello. I am The King. I understand you are all anxious and hopeful for today’s events. However, before you can prove yourselves, I must tell you that these trials will not be easy in the slightest. And even if you do get in, you will not see your friends or family except for once every 3 years. If anyone is uncomfortable with these requirements in any way, I heavily suggest you get back on the train now.”
No one moved for 5 minutes. Finally, a boy and a girl walked slowly back to the hypertrain with their heads hung low.
“Excellent. Now we can begin.”
Alex anxiously thought about what the test would consist of physically, and wished he had exercised more in the past couple of weeks. But there was no time to worry now. His mind was locked onto The King’s next words.
“The only test is a 100-question exam concerning your own knowledge. You may commence.”
As soon as The King spoke the word commence, desks and papers materialized in front of every student. Hundreds of groans were immediately heard across the beach.
Alex was confused. Shouldn’t there be more to being an Elite Recruit than a simple school test? Andrew grinned, saw Alex’s disappointed face, shrugged a “sorry!” and sat down to work right beside him.
The first question read “Who was the leader of New Zealand in 1902?” Alex’s mouth dropped as he thought, “We never learned this!”. He looked over at Andrew’s paper to see what he was writing, and it was the name of some guy he’d never heard of before. Alex hastily scribbled down the answer and moved on to problem 2, another outrageous question Alex had no clue about. Alex sighed and began to copy down Andrew’s answers for the remainder of the exam. He knew Andrew wouldn’t like that, but it was his only option.
After everyone was finished, the tests vanished and everyone got up from their desks, which also disappeared. Andrew looked at Alex with a devilish grin on his face.
“Were you copying off of me?”
“Yeah, sorry. I had no idea what the answers were and I-
“I gave you the wrong answers!”
Alex’s face fell. “You WHAT?!”
“Serves you right for copying off of me! Only one of us is going to be an Elite Recruit, and that person is me. I erased the wrong answer as soon as you wrote it down, then I wrote the correct answer.”
“That’s so… I can’t even… wow. I just can’t believe you. I… have nothing to say. Well, I guess it’s not going to be me.”
Everyone stopped talking with each other as soon as they heard The King’s voice. “Only one of you did well enough to become part of my Elite Recruits. And that person is Alex Varrison.”
The silence was deafening. Andrew slowly turned to Alex with a horrified, appalled expression.
“…How?” He whispered.
Alex was just as taken aback.
“I… don’t know.”
The King told everyone else to go back to the hypertrain, and that they should be proud of themselves while Alex stared at the perfect sand beneath him in disbelief.
His brain was numb mush for the next hour of his own personal train ride while he was taken back to the King’s pal. He was happy, but felt that something was slightly off at the same time. The train doors finally opened with a whoosh of smoke and he stepped out to look upon the most gargantuan building he had ever seen. It was tall enough that he couldn’t see the end of it because the spires at the top reached into the clouds. Most of it was dark black, but deep red designs decorated a portion of the castle. Heavily intimidated, he walked up the stairs and was immediately greeted by a guard standing at the entrance.
“Hi, are you the newest recruit?”
“Yes, I… yeah. I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to be here…”
“Yes you are! I’m James, the guard to the castle, what’s your name?”
“Alex!”
“Welcome, Alex! Follow me as we walk. So, where are you from?”
“Perth.”
“Ah, Perth! Excellent city if I do say so myself. My dad grew up there!”
“Wow!”
“Yeah. So, these rooms are for training. You’ll spend a lot of your time here, probably too much. But then again, nothing’s too much for The King. Those rooms down the hall here? The King’s chambers. He sleeps there and makes orders and stuff. If you go in there, let’s just say you’ll have to depart from this life.
Alex snorted, then looked at James’ face and realized he was serious. “Oh, ok, got it.”
“And these are where the recruits sleep. You should probably head in there. A change of clothes and toothbrush and everything are provided.”
“Me? Go in there now?”
“Yes, you’ll have to get up at 6:00 for the beginner’s training program.”
Alex sighed and walked in his dormitory.
“Alex, if there’s anything you need, anything at all, press that silver button and I’ll be there, ok? Goodnight, sleep well!”
“Thanks, James, you too.”
James closed the door and walked down the hall, whistling merrily. Alex went to his room, opened the door, and went to open the pajama drawer when he saw there was another recruit laying on the top bunk of his bunk bed.
“Hello, who are you?”
“I’m Jasmin. I got here yesterday. Who are you?”
“I’m Alex. This is all still so surreal.”
“I know exactly what you’re talking about. I can’t believe everything! The test, the train, even this insane castle!”
Alex nodded vigorously. “Yeah, I hate that we have to get up at 6:00 for beginner whatever training.”
Jasmin sat up. “Who told you that?”
Alex looked at her. “James, the guard to the castle.”
Jasmin stared him dead in the eyes. “There are no guards in this castle. The front door to this castle repels anyone who isn’t allowed to enter. The first thing I learned when I arrived was that The King has no need for guards.”
Both were silent for a few seconds until Alex got up and ran out of the room. He saw James turn down a corridor far away and raced to catch up to him.
When he finally arrived, he realized these were The King’s private chambers. He paused and thought for a couple seconds, and then silently opened the door to The King’s room. It was empty and massive. He saw a large bed in one corner, maps on the walls along with a powerful laser pulse gun, a cabinet for holding a suit of armour, and a megaphone loudspeaker sound system in another corner. He heard someone else’s footsteps walking towards the room and hid under the bed.
The door opened, and and giant footsteps slammed onto the floor. Alex could hear a deep voice sigh and the footsteps walked towards the armour cabinet. The King began to put his armour on one by one, until he was fully clad in brilliant silver. He was turning around, this was it! Alex was finally going to see The King’s face! The King turned around and Alex saw… nothing.
The King’s helmet was empty. The uninhabited suit of armour walked mechanically to the bed, where it laid down and didn’t move for several minutes. Alex got up, bewildered, and looked at the vacant suit of armour in front of him. He didn’t know what to think until he saw James walk in with a complex remote control.
“Is there a real King?”
James glared. “You’re not supposed to be here. Get out.”
Alex stood his ground. “Are you pretending to be The King? Was there ever a real King?”
James grabbed the laser pulse gun off the wall and fired a shot straight into my skull. As I died, I wondered how long it would be before people would discover the truth. Maybe people would continue to be manipulated by this secret until the end of time.
Written by Noah Heinz
Noah is a junior at BBHHS. He listens to EDM, plays volleyball, participates in the school’s plays & musicals, plays the piano, and is glad to be writing for his creative writing class, where he writes stories that he’s pleased to share with the Hybreeze and hopes you enjoy them.
