The next day, the cadets rose at 0400 as usual. They decided that in order to set a good impression for their soon to be new junior cadet, they would wear their full dress uniform. Even after all these months of constantly having to wear their full dress uniform, it had not gotten more comfortable in the slightest. It was rigid, hot and uncomfortable. And worst of all those knee-high dress boots felt like metal prisons around their feet. But it was worth it. Today was going to be a great day. They would have a 2nd. Junior cadet to join the brotherhood, assuming all went to plan…
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Aster had been looking for his friend, Ben for several days now, but he could find him nowhere. The last time he remembered seeing his friend they were going to have some fun at the paintball store, dumping some buckets of paint, but after that it was fuzzy and it felt like a dream. He remembered some uniform that had taken control of Ben…but that had to have been a dream, right? He went to Ben’s house, but no one answered the door, which was odd since Ben’s parents worked from home. Maybe they went out of town for the weekend? Though he doubted it, Ben’s father hated to spend money on something so frivolous as a hotel, or even unnecessary gas.
Strangely last night he got a call from an unknown number that told him that they knew where his friend was and gave him an address. The call sounded like it came from someone who couldn’t have been much older from Aster, but he didn’t have any other leads so decided to at least try. Which is how Aster found himself in front of the strangest sight. He found himself standing across the street from what was supposed to be a house, but looked a lot more like a military fortress. The house itself looked relatively normal if a bit spartan and military looking, but the yard was absolutely massive and there was a military obstacle course out front. Furthermore, the this entire complex was surrounded by a razor wire fence and a guard stand. And all of this in a suburban area with totally normal houses to the side. How strange.
Aster stood across the street, trying to not look suspicious for a while as he scouted out the situation. He was looking at his phone, pretending to loiter as if he was waiting for a friend, but trying not to pay too much attention to the fort. Maybe if he asked the gate guard…?
After 15 minutes of waiting, he just decided to suck it up and ask. The worst that could happen was that the gate guard would say no, right? He put his phone in his pocket and walked to the one entrance. The guard looked like a man in his mid-twenties and looked to be bald, as no hair was visible under his military-type hat and he wore a, kind of cheap, looking security guard uniform complete with a clip-on-tie and the cheap patent leather shoes. There were no markings though that indicated what security company he contracted with, like you see with mall “cops”.
“Uh, hi, Sir.” Aster started, trying to be as polite and innocent sounding as possible, which was hard for him, he hated calling anyone Sir, but he knew when to turn on the charm for adults, “but you wouldn’t happen to have seen a Ben Walker around here? He is my best friend and I’ve been looking for him everywhere.”
The guard turned towards him in a very military-like fashion and gave him a level, hardened stare. That uniform may have looked cheap, but he was not to be messed with for sure. “Around here he never used first names. I don’t know about a “Ben”, but there is a Junior Cadet Walker. But it doesn’t matter, you can’t see him. No outside visitors without an invitation.”
As Aster was turning away after being rebuffed by the gate guard he heard his name, “Are you Aster Smith?!” someone barked in a demanding fashion, more accusing rather than asking. He turned around slowly to see a youth, maybe just a few years older than himself, resplendent in uniform. Gunmetal Blue blazer with a button down shirt and black tie, blue pants with a black stripe that puffed near the hips, and most impressively knee-high black saddle leather boots that looked like dress boots a cop would wear. It all looked very uncomfortable and rigid, but the Cadet who addressed him look like he was born in the uniform. It fit perfectly and he seemed at ease, even with perfect posture and a military bearing. It was all very impressive looking, but Aster had vague recollections that he had seen this type of uniform on Ben, but that couldn’t be true, his mind was just trying to make connections where there weren’t any.
“Yes, I’m Aster.” He replied hesitantly.
“I am Cadet Stevens, Junior Cadet Walker requested you be allowed to visit him and we decided to grant his request. Follow me.” He demanded.
Without hesitation, the gate guard opened the gate and Aster hesitantly followed. Once inside the gates, he was very confused by what he saw. The military obstacle course in the front yard, was much larger then he initially thought and he could see it wrap around the side of the house towards the backyard. As he approached the house, he saw it looked exactly what he imagined a military barracks would look like, just two stories instead of one. It even had a slight olive green cast to the color, which made it look even more military-esque.
As they approached the door, Aster was surprised to see another Cadet in exactly the same uniform, who even looked eerily similar to the Cadet Stevens with the same matching ultra-short haircut. They were even the same height. The Cadet had smartly open the front door to let them pass. He stood to the side, eyes straight ahead, standing erectly. Aster was briskly marched right up the stairs to a door labelled “Junior Cadets”, under that was a metal plaque that said “Junior Cadet Walker”, and there looked to be empty metal plaques awaiting new names. Poor suckers that got sucked into this bootcamp. He was glad he was only here to pull his friend out, hopefully he didn’t have to stay long. He was starting to get weirded how but just how spartan, how military everything felt.
Cadet Stevens, without knocking, smartly opened the door to the room and Aster was quite shocked to see what was inside. His friend Aster looked completely different then he remember. Instead of his scruffy hair, he had barely the shadow of an outline of hair on the top and cleanly shaved sides. The exact haircut Cadet Stevens had he would bet. This place was crazy, they didn’t even get to keep their hair. Ben loved his hair so much, he would never cut it willingly. Ben was wearing the same uniform that Cadet Stevens was wearing, all immaculately starched and ironed, however one of his boots was off. He was sitting there with one of them on his lap, meticulously polishing those crazy knee-high boots. Why on earth were those part of the uniform. They looked super uncomfortable and frankly impractical to wear. He hoped for Ben’s sake it was
When Ben heard the door opened, he dropped the boot he was polishing on the military cot and shot up to attention, wearing only one boot.
“Junior Cadet,” Cadet Stevens yelled, “what do you think you are doing.”
“Sir, I am preparing my gear for a visitor, as requested, Sir.” Ben replied smartly.
“We said to get prepared for a visitor that was here, why did you start polishing your boots!”
“Sir, I wanted to look my best, Sir.”
At that, a small smile of pride appeared on the corner of Cadet Stevens lip and responded in a warmer tone, “while that sentiment is laudible, Junior Cadet, it is preferable to be on time rather than perfect if one must be chosen over the other.”
“Thank you Sir for the lesson!” Ben replied, and to Aster’s shock, he seemed genuine. Whatever they were doing to Ben here, Aster needed to get him out ASAP, but how. He just needed to distract Cadet Stevens and jump out the window. They were only on the 2nd floor, it wouldn’t hurt to bad…. He hoped.
But before he could act on any of that, Cadet Stevens, continued “now put on your boot so we can give a proper welcome to our newest Junior Cadet.”
Ben began to shove his foot into those rigid boots and began the complex process of lacing them tightly. While that was happening, Aster was entirely confused by what Cadet Stevens had said. Was there some poor sap who had just arrived who would be joining Ben? He began to try to hear sounds of someone coming up the stairs, but it was silent.
Ben finished lacing up his knee-high black boot and then clicked his heels together at attention, back straight, and then strangely enough, saluted the Cadet. While Aster has distracted looking at his friend, Cadet Stevens glided up behind him and dropped some metal dog tags over his head.
Before Aster could process anything else that was happening, he found that his feet were planted on the ground, unable to move. He was positioned to see a mirror, and had he been able to move he would have freaked out and run away. First Asters long, almost shoulder length hair began to shorten. It looked like what a reverse time-lapsed chia pet would, with hair rapidly contracted into his scalp. Soon all he had was a very short military high-n-tight haircut, totally shaved on the sides and maybe ¼ inch on top. Strangely, his hair began to lighten up to a light blond, which made the hair on the top almost invisible. He looked bald, and he hated it. Next the peach fuzz he was just starting to be able to grow on his lips, and that he was so proud of, had vanished like it had never existed.
Next, Aster’s ACDC T shirt began to grow sleeves to reach his wrists. The color then slowly morphed to a white and the material changed to a more dress-shirt type material. Lastly the shirt split down the middle to allow a line of buttons to appear and he now was wearing a tightly buttoned white dress shirt… just like Ben and Cadet Stevens. The neck was incredibly tight around his neck, and he found if he didn’t stand perfectly erect, it would cut into his Adam’s apple uncomfortably. Next a black tie formed out of nothing, snaking itself into a smart knot that was then securely knotted on his neck.
A sharp gunmetal blue blazer materializes over Aster’s button-down, adorned with a metal name tag bearing his last name, "Smith," over the left breast pocket. His black jeans morph from denim to wool as they take on the same gunmetal blue as the blazer. Two black stripes run down the length of the pants as Asters canvas Converse begin changing into heavy, black leather boots. The boots encroach up over Asters's ankles and totally encase his calves, stopped their growth upwards just under the knee. And they hurt like hell. The boots were tightly laced against his new knee-high black dress socks. Now experiencing the same discomfort as Ben, Aster feels a hard military hat of the same gunmetal blue color appear at his side affixed to the black leather belt that is bound around his waist.
The room then began to change. Instead of just the one cot Ben, or as he couldn’t help but think of him now, Junior Cadet Walker, another cot appeared on the other side of the room. Then a military-style metal wardrobes appeared, and one that now included all of Junior Cadets Smiths uniforms. Lastly, the room began to shrink in size until there was no free space, it would be a very cramped space for 2 Junior Cadets, even if they could all fit.
“Now, Junior Cadet, we will explain all the rules once the other Cadet Stone and Cadet Carter arrive.” Just as he finished that sentence, marching steps could be heard in the distance and another 10 seconds later two Cadets, immaculately presented as Junior Cadet Smith was now forced to be.
“You did an excellent job with him, Junior Cadet Walker. You have done us proud,” Cadet Carter said. Junior Cadet Walker beamed at the compliment, and it was then that Aster knew he never had any chance of rescuing his friend. His friend was already lost to these Cadets… and now he was too. He hoped he wouldn’t be stuck here forever. He hoped he would be able to run away and find his parents. He hoped many things, but seeing how quickly his friend had converted to his Junior Cadet status, he was under no delusions he would leave anything but as the perfect Junior Cadet, in a perfect uniform with no hair
Cadet Stone then chimed in, “you know, Cadet Carter and Cadet Stevens. A thought just occurred to me. There really isn’t much to distinguish Cadets from Junior Cadets. We have the same dress uniform and the same haircut. Yes we have some more casual uniforms they do not, but I do not think that is sufficient. What do you think fellow Cadets?”
Cadet Carter and Cadet Stevens’ eyes lit up, “So what would you have in mind?.”
“Well, I think first off we should modify their uniform to make it more befitting their “Junior” status. And we could give them a distinct haircut. Maybe a flattop, or maybe totally bald.”
Cadet Stevens responded, “I like all those ideas Cadet Stone, let’s begin and see what we can think of…..