America 1982-Chapter 96 - 14: Long Night (Please Subscribe)

Tommy Hawk, his head covered with a knit cap, let the other person carry him as they sprinted wildly. He knew being taken away meant the Fraternity’s initiation for the new members had officially begun. Right now, it was best to obey because the guy dressed as a ninja holding a bottle of pepper spray would be more than happy if a rookie dared to touch the knit cap on his head - it meant he would get the chance to spray the rookie’s face and listen to his screams of agony.

"You’re being kidnapped and you don’t plan to resist at all?" Having reached the backyard of their own Fraternity, Eric, who held the pepper spray, couldn’t help but ask Tommy, "And to think I chose the high dosage pepper spray."

Tommy was carried on the shoulder and, hearing Eric’s voice, he laughed smugly, "I won’t give you any chance."

"Ssss~~~" Hearing Tommy’s laughter, Eric decisively pressed the spray button through the knit cap, "Sorry, Tommy, this thing seems to be leaking, I definitely didn’t do it on purpose~"

Even through the knit cap, Tommy felt his entire face suddenly become searingly hot. He closed his eyes and cursed loudly, "Eric! You better damn well..."

"Ssss ssss~~" Before Tommy could finish, the spray continued, and Eric, with a tone full of schadenfreude, said, "How are you, Tommy? Do you need me to take off the cap to check on you? Ssss ssss ssss~~"

Seeing that Tommy finally started to curse loudly like the other rookies, Eric was satisfied and continued to carry Tommy to the backyard. By then, the entrance to the underground passage was open, with two sturdy Fraternity members guarding like sentinels on either side. Eric and his companion carried Tommy down the stairs and into it.

Who knew how long had passed before someone finally took the knit cap off Tommy’s head. He cautiously opened his eyes to find himself in a chamber resembling a secret meeting place for ancient sorcerers, surrounded by Jason and eight other rookies.

Around them stood several Fraternity members draped in long white robes, who at the moment were as still as statues, silently observing them.

This scene and atmosphere immediately made the rookies tense.

"Rookies, good evening, I am SSD’s new member director, Ted Adams. Seeing me means you are qualified to be part of SSD, but that is all you are, qualified. The first question, who among you didn’t scream while being brought here?" One of the ones in a white robe slowly approached the rookies and spoke.

Seeing that no one spoke up, the new member director, Ted, said, "Very well, now everyone give me fifty push-ups. That’s the price for your screams."

Cursing Eric as an idiot under his breath, Tommy obediently got down and started doing push-ups. A Fraternity member carrying a storage box walked over, and Ted took out one after another thick, dictionary-like hardcover books from it and dropped one on each rookie’s back, saying,

"This is the SSD new member handbook. Keep it safe, then memorize it during the following time, commit it to heart, it will teach you how to become a qualified SSD brother."

The rookies soon completed their push-ups, got up one after another, holding their handbooks nervously looking at Ted. Ted began to smile,

"I know what makes you nervous. You all think we’re going to humiliate you next, torment you, but let me say, don’t worry, that won’t happen. We are brothers, not enemies. Take your handbooks, the initiation ceremony is over now. Follow me back to the backyard, boys."

Having finished speaking, Ted took the lead towards the stairs, and Tommy and the others looked at each other, hardly daring to believe it was over so easily. Seeing the others leaving, they followed behind and walked out as well.

As they walked, Jason whispered to Tommy, "Can’t believe it, I thought we would have to take a beating in that chamber to get the handbook, this ceremony ended up so easy."

"You better not be too optimistic," Tommy whispered back to Jason.

Back in the backyard lawn, Ted spread his arms and said to the nine newbies, "We are Spartans, and what is the Spartan rite of passage? It’s to cast the youth into the wilderness, to fend for themselves and find their way home. Thus, this lawn is your wilderness, and tonight you’re not allowed to sleep. You can tend the lawn or catch some bugs; come sunrise, we will announce you’ve officially become men."

After finishing his speech, Ted and those Fraternity members in white robes really walked back towards the Sparta, leaving the nine newbies looking at each other, bewildered.

There was still food and juice left from the night before in the backyard. Jason looked at his companions and said, "Did we join a fake Fraternity? Just staying up all night seems too easy."

"Maybe it’s because there have been too many scandals about Fraternities bullying the newcomers in recent years, so they’ve toned down the initiation for us newbies," ventured one of the novices with his opinion.

Although they were spared actual torture, boredom set in. In the previous few hours, the nine could still chat and crack jokes, and pass the time by looking at the new member manual. But as the night deepened, hunger and cold made it difficult for everyone to stay still. Jason, biting into a piece of cold pizza, said to Tommy, "Tommy, think of something to get us through this night."

Tommy felt a chill too, and looking at the others he said, "I think the best thing to do now is to start tending to the lawn, keep ourselves moving so we don’t freeze to death."

Then he looked at Jason, who was eating, "Jason, you better spit out that food. They didn’t say we could eat. That food is obviously left here on purpose."

Upon hearing his words, those who were like Jason stuffing their mouths with food and drink stopped in their tracks. One of them looked at the food in their hand, sniffed it carefully and said to Tommy:

"It should be fine, this is leftover food from the party. I remember it."

Some chose to heed Tommy’s advice and restrained themselves from the Temptation, putting down the food, while others gave in to hunger and ate.

After much hesitation, Jason decided to drop the food and picked up tools to start tending the lawn like Tommy.

Sure enough, about half an hour later, the four who had eaten the food started to doze off.

"Did they put sleeping pills in there?" Jason said to Tommy with relief, "I’m glad I listened to you, bro."

As Tommy weeded, he observed the several people who lay passed out on the table, speaking with certainty, "It’s not going to be just sleeping pills that nice, find something to cover these guys up with so they don’t get a cold."

The few who were awake grabbed things like felt blankets to cover the four, but while they were covering them, one of the newbies sniffed the air hard, "Hey, do you smell that? The smell of shit!"

Tommy and those keeping themselves moving by weeding stopped their movements and sniffed the air like the other had done, then one of them pointed at the sleeping four, "Shit, these guys crapped themselves!"

"Sleeping pills and laxatives," Tommy said to the remaining people. "Keep weeding, don’t touch any food or drink; that’s their outcome."

One of the newbies said with a frightened tone, "We just have to make it to dawn, and we win, right?"

"Maybe," Tommy replied.