5 Orientation 1 (2/2)

Woof was just outside the door, and it shot a look toward Aaron as if to say that it would be guarding the door.

Everything was strange for it, too, but all it cared right now was that it was full, and that there were more places with great aromas nearby. So, as there seemed to be no danger, staying might not be a bad idea.

A few minutes later, Aaron walked out, and Woof almost didn't recognize him.

He was wearing the same torn white clothes, but his skin shone in the sun healthily.

His face had the most changes. His features, which were indiscernible before due to the grime, were now apparent.

High cheekbones, a straight nose, sharp chin, and keen eyes.

His brown hair was slightly curly, and it fell to his shoulders.

Aaron didn't feel that much different. The leaves had been surprisingly useful in wiping away the layers of dirt, so he remarked that it felt good to not stink.

Just when he was walking toward Miss. Ernst, three species of his race who looked slightly dissimilar to him stared at him and started…giggling between each other.

”Girls, I see you dallying around and gossiping about guys again, I'll make sure you're married before you know it.”

Hearing this, serious expressions came on their faces while they ran to three stalls and closed the doors before shooting one last look at Aaron.

”Let's go.”

Putting everything else out of his mind, Aaron looked forward to finding answers and followed Mrs. Ernst to a structure that looked different than the rest.

Instead of a rectangle with two angled planks joined together on top, this one had multiple rectangles stacked together.

It was the tallest building all around, with at least 3 stacks above which there was even a metallic roof.

Marveling at this artificial structure for a moment, Aaron followed Mrs. Ernst inside the door, where he found a large, open room with 15 people inside.

Aaron was already numb due to all the shocks, so he switched off his mind and just prepared to listen. Often, this was what he used to do when he needed to singlemindedly focus on something, such as running for his life from a Hundred-Spiked Bear which had been angry that someone entered its territory and rummaged around in its feces.

Most of the people inside were children, and funnily enough, on seeing the cute husky, they ran toward it which made Woof spring back with caution.

This amused them, as they felt that the dog wanted to play with them.

Woof could have chomped down and killed any of the little two-legged things in front of it, but it controlled itself for Aaron's sake. It knew that killing a member of a species was definitely not a good idea if they wanted to stay at that species' abode.

So, it could only haplessly be chased around the room, while the laughing little things ran after it.

Finally, the other mature woman in the room clapped her hands and said, ”Children, assemble. Let's start the orientation.”

She had been chatting with Mrs. Ernst till now, who had been pointing at Aaron and explaining something.

Aaron had been watching amusedly while his friend was being chased, but when the woman called out to them, they walked to her side with utmost obedience.

”Good. Now, can I know your name, young man?”, she asked.

Her features looked quite similar to Mrs. Ernst, and she was wearing a blue shirt which was similar to his.

”A-Aaron.”

”Good! Hello, Aaron! My name is Jenny. Come on over.”

Seeing her wave her hand, Aaron nodded and walked over.

They were standing near the door, where a rectangular area depicted a blue ball with many red spots.

”This is our planet: The Earth. 200 years ago, at the peak of the industrial age, an apocalypse was caused due to reasons that we do not yet know. Some say that someone, or something, caused all the nuclear bombs in the world to go off at once. However, that doesn't explain the core of the earth, itself, rupturing like the yolk of an egg and reaching toward the surface which caused tectonic changes the likes of which had never been seen before. Billions were killed by the earthquakes, storms, and tsunamis. It took decades for all the catastrophic effects to die down and stop. When the remaining humans crawled out of the havens that they had used to wait for the cataclysm to pass, they realized that a new species had been born: Teras.”