Snatching his satchel off the floor, Caspian did a quick once over of the room, careful to grab his belongings. Everything neatly squared away in the bag, he ran a hand over his watch, the worn leather soft on his fingers. It was 9:42. “Time to get a move on,” he thought, closing the door behind him.
Walking the same halls, he tried to keep a majority of his weight on his good leg. It was slow going at first, and every time he messed up the pain flared up a little. “I’ll see if I can get some crutches.” Following the route to the nurse’s station, he rounded the corner to see Margret fiddling with a large box. “Do you need a hand?” he asked.
Turning at the voice, she quickly donned a smile. “Thank you for the offer Caspian, but you’re injured. I couldn’t possibly ask that of you. I’ll get it up and be with you in a moment.”
“Oh come on Margret, I’m only half injured. It’s the least I could do after you took care of me. Come on I’ll lift this side,” he said. Crouching down, he braced his shoulder against the desk, his good arm gripping the handle. “OK, you ready? One, Two, Three.” Straining his arm, he heaved, his shoulder sliding up the desk. “Almost there, almost there. It’s up.”
“Oh thank you so much, Caspian. That box was much too large and awkward for me to get up off the ground myself,” she said smiling at him.
“Yeah, I thought it was going to be a lot heavier when I saw you struggling with it, I’m not gonna lie,” he laughed. “So it’s all good, I can be discharged now?”
“Let me just sign all the forms for that, and you should be good to go.” Sifting through stacks of paper, she found a binding with his name scrawled across it. Flipping from page to page, signing her name, she slid it over to him. “Just sign at the bottom there on the line, and you’ll be out of here,” she said.
Squinting at the text, it was just him confirming that he had been discharged and would no longer be in the care of the hospital. Feeling around his pockets, his head swivelled around the desk searching for a pen.
“Sorry, here you go,” Margret said handing him a thin pen. Taking it with a smile, he signed his name at the bottom of the page. A flash of annoyance flared in him as he looked at it. His handwriting was much messier than usual, his usual flowing cursive more like scratch marks on a cave wall. “Thank you, that's,” she said taking the papers back and slotting them away.
“Um actually, I was wondering if I could get a pair of crutches. Just for the leg you know, don’t want to aggravate it more,” he said, drumming a hand on the desk.
“Crutches, crutches. We have a few pairs just in the cupboard, let me get you one,” she said, disappearing into a back room, emerging a few moments later with a pair of black crutches in her hands. “I think these are the right height for you.”
Slotting them under his arms, Caspian walked a few metres with them to get a feel for it. They were indeed the right size for him, he just had to be careful with his left arm and not lean too far to that side. “They’re perfect, thank you so much, Margret. You’ve been a huge help.”
“Oh just doing my job, but thank you. I just have to note down you’ve got some crutches. Uh, done. Just return them when you’re done with them please,” Margret said smiling.
“Bye then, I’ll see you around,” Caspian said, waving goodbye at her. Leaving the desk behind, he looked for the way out. One of the signs on the ceiling had an exit on it, so he followed the arrows. The clack of his crutches echoed the halls, as he took turn after turn, navigating himself through a maze of identical hallways. Emerging into a large foyer, he finally saw other patients milling about, the harsh lights leaving no room for shadows. Spotting sets of large metal doors with exit signs above them, he limped over to them. Struggling to swing it open, he put his shoulder against it, using his body weight to force it.
A blinding glare washed over him, the sunlight beaming down. The heat momentarily took his breath away, coughing as a bit of dust found its way into his throat. Squinting his eyes, he looked back at the hospital, the large building indifferent to the elements around it. “How am I going to get back to the expedition base?” he wondered. He had no idea where he was. A car horn drew his attention. Across the road sitting in the shade of a building, was a jeep. The horn beeped again, almost beckoning him over.
Hobbling across the road, his crutches sinking into the soft sandy streets, a head popped up in the passenger seat window. “Come on already Caspian, can you walk any slower,” Valorie said, grinning widely at him. “Come on come on come on. You’ve got a busy day ahead of yourself.”
Smiling to himself, he sped up, peering into the jeep. “Valorie what are you doing here?”
“Do you want a written invitation, get in the damn jeep already. I’ve been sitting here for like 10 minutes already,” Valorie said, waving him in. “The hospital called and said you’d be getting discharged, so I came to get you. Couldn’t have you wandering the streets now could we.”
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Slotting the crutches into the back seat, he slid into the jeep, making sure to buckle up. He remembered how Valorie drove. The engine roared to life, sand and dust kicking up as his demon driver sped off.
“So what’s going to happen with me? Do I do some training?” Caspian yelled over the noise. “When do we leave?”
“Enthusiastic, I like that. We leave in a week, so you’ll be learning the ropes till then. Doc said you’d be all healed up by then, so no need to worry about that. You’re going to need to get your affairs in order, this next expedition could be a month long or more,” Valorie shouted back.
“A month or more,” he thought, his eyes blazing. He was less than a week away from becoming an explorer. “What should I do about my home? I rent the place,” he asked.
“You’ll be staying up here for the week, just easier that way. As for your home, idk pay in advance if you can. I’m sure you could ask for an advance on your pay or something. I’d just dump the place personally, all of the others just live up here,” she said. “But it’s up to you.”
“Hmmm, what to do,” he thought, looking out the window. He didn’t have much of an attachment to that place. It’d make it easier if he just lived at the base as well. The only downside he could think of was that if he got fired, he’d lose his home as well. “That won't happen,” he thought dismissively. His only belongings were clothes, a few personal effects, and his new kettle.
“I think I’ll move up here if that’s ok. It just sounds easier and all that,” he shouted, coming to a decision.
“Well that was fast,” Valorie said glancing at him for a moment before she took a corner. “We got a bunch of spare rooms, you’ll have to help around the place though, house rules.”
Recovering from being slammed into the door, he shook his head. “That won’t be a problem, I’m good at housework.”
“Careful what you say, or you might just get dumped with the lot hahaha,” Valorie chuckled. “We’re almost there.”
Rounding another corner, the familiar building came into view, one of the roller doors wide open. With expert precision, Valorie drove straight in barely slowing down at all. Skidding to a stop, she hopped out, stretching her arms. Caspian tidied his hair in the mirror, before struggling to get out. The crutches had fallen into the footwell, his arm just too short to reach. Hopping back on one foot, he strained his arm, just reaching. Smoothing down his clothes, he tried to make himself presentable.
The sound of the roller door closing caused him to look up, Valorie wandering back over to him. “I see you found the clothes I left for you,” she said, straightening his collar. “Not too bad Cas. Now come on, follow me, I’ll introduce you to your fellow greenhorns.”
Entering the building through a side door, the air in the base was much cooler. The wooden floors creaked as they walked, the clack of the crutches audible. Painting adorned the walls, vivid landscapes of forest, mountains and even the sea on them. There were dozens of them, covering every wall. “Where did you get these, they’re beautiful?” he asked.
“Hmmm? Oh, the paintings, one of the many things we’ve recovered on our expeditions. Most of them came from one a few years back. Found some rich fellas underground shelter, was full of paintings and other art,” Valorie said grinning. “Too bad he never made it there. Lotta nice stuff from that one, quite the payday. As you can see, we kept some of the stuff,” she said waving her hands at the walls. “Just one of the perks of the job.”
“I’ll say. Does that usually happen? Finding so much I mean?” he asked. He wanted to discover something of that level. To uncover treasure from the old world, so that they may be enshrined and enjoyed for years to come.
“It’s hit and miss really, a lot of times there’s water damage from the flood. Water's good at worming itself through the smallest cracks,” Valorie said with her lips pursed.
“That makes sense,” Caspian nodded. “So how do you find them, just random chance, or what?”
‘Nice try Cas,” Valorie said with a grin. “That's a trade secret, need to know basis," she turned holding a finger over her mouth. "I’m sure you’ll understand. Maybe one day you learn of it, we’ll have to see how long you last ay.”
A little disappointed he nodded his head. It made sense, he was mostly untested and unverified. Good for working, less so for sharing trade secrets. If he had ulterior motives, he could simply take their methods and sources and sell them to the highest bidder. Competition between the different expedition groups was high.
His thoughts were interrupted as they entered into a large room, furnished with luxurious sofas and armchairs. A fine rug was spread out on the floor, its intricate patterns weaving together to form images. Caspian couldn’t help but gasp, a whole second floor where the ceiling should be. The interior balcony wrapped right the way around with a dark wooden railing.
Amazed by the architecture, Caspian didn’t notice that the coaches and chairs were not empty. Valorie interrupted the quiet chatter, throwing herself onto a couch. “He’s here everyone,” she proclaimed, pointing at him. A knot of anxiety tightened in his chest as everyone's eyes swivelled to him. Unease flowed through him, as he started to fidget where he stood.
“Hi everyone,” he said weakly, quickly looking over everyone. All of the expedition members bar Duke and Chef were there, in addition to four other people, whom he didn’t know by name but recognised as fellow trial takers. His head rang that he wasn’t supposed to be there, to get out, but he tried to force it down, flashing a smile as best he could.
After a slight pause, a raucous laughter filled the room. “There he is, the maniac!” Rich cheered. “Val always has an eye for the special ones, but damn. He blew our record by at least five hours. And rocking up at the gate covered in blood, priceless. I wish I could have seen the guard's dumbstruck faces.”
Getting up out of his chair, Rich made his way over to the nervous-looking Caspian with a smile on his face. Slapping him on the back, he erupted into laughter. “Welcome to the team Caspian, you’ll fit right in trust me.”
All Caspian could do was let out a nervous laugh and nod his head. Things were finally kicking off for him.