“Huh, that’s it?” Caspian asked confused.

“Oh, you want to do more do ya?” Percy asked grinning.

“No no it’s nothing like that, It's just, I don't know,” Caspian said struggling to find the right words. “It just wasn’t what I was expecting I guess.”

“There’s no hard guideline for what we have to teach you. It’s up to our own discretion, and what we think is best. I can tell that you know how to handle yourself out there fairly well, but I needed to see how you dealt with doing the jobs nobody wants to do,” Percy said, securing the gate as they walked out of the paddock. “Camel riding is something you’re going to have to get used to eventually, and that’s something every single one of you’ll be doing trust me.”

“Fair enough. I was just expecting, tests or something,” he said shrugging.

“You’ve already passed the tests Caspian. You’ve joined the team, you’re one of us now,” Percy said laying a hand on his shoulder. “I get what you mean, but not everything is a test with a grade. A clear pass or fail outcome.”

“Thanks,” Caspian murmured.

“If you’re so enthusiastic about doing more work, I do have some things you can help me with,” Percy said. “But you’re gonna have to go clean yourself up before that because frankly, you stink.”

“Oh shove off,” he said grinning. “Alright, I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Leave your shoes outside, I don’t want you tracking who knows what through the base,” Percy called out to him.

“You got it,” he shouted back, giving him a thumbs up. Despite the exhaustion in his limbs, he was up to the base and in the shower in the blink of an eye. His clothes were left in a heap on the floor, the shower turned on until the water hit the floor hard. Feeling a cold shower, he stepped into the water. The temperature made him gasp, but he quickly grew used to it as it cooled him down after being out in the sun for so long. Sweat, dirt, and filth started to swirl down the drain as the water cut through it. The slight headache that had been plaguing him all day, was driven back by the face full of cold water he let it fall onto his face for a few minutes. He loved cooling his head down.

All clean and tidy, he stepped out of the shower, only to realise that in his haste he had made an error. He didn’t have any clothes to wear. He couldn’t put on the filthy clothes he’d been working in all day or he’d just get dirty again. Conflicted, he tried to think of a solution.

“Everyone should be busy right,” he thought. “I could slip back to my room and get a fresh change of clothes, and no one would be the wiser.” Drying himself off, he wrapped his towel around his legs, making sure it was securely fastened. Bundling his dirty clothes up in a ball, he stood by the door and quietly listened. After a few moments of silence, he unlocked the door and peered out the crack. The hallway was empty and deserted. No one was around.

“My room is down the hallway,” he muttered, mapping out his route. Down the hallway and to the right. Taking another peek, he sucked in a deep breath and tried to ready himself.

“GO GO GO GO!” his thoughts screamed, as he scurried down the hallway leaving wet footprints behind him. Passing one door, two doors, he heard a sound that made his heart jump. Footsteps from in front of him. Two pairs of them, and fast approaching.

Whipping his head wildly, he tried to the door to his left. It was locked fast, refusing to open. Panic was starting to set in as voices echoed through the halls towards him. Rushing forward, he tried the next door, rattling the doorknob rapidly.

It wouldn’t open either. The footsteps were just about to round the corner, and he’d be spotted. Rattling the door harder, it magically opened causing him to tumble in. Shutting the door behind him as quickly and quietly as possible, he held his breath as the footsteps got closer. Listening through the door, he tried to work out who it was. Victoria and Valorie were chatting away, completely oblivious to the fact that Caspian had just been in the hallway.

“That was close,” he said, sighing in relief. He felt adrenaline pumping through him, his hands shaky due to it. Trying to calm himself down, he looked around the room he was in. Dust caked the floor as if it hadn’t been cleaned in ages, and when he stood up there was a patch of clean floor when he’d fallen. The towel was covered in dust, giving it a dirty brown-grey colour.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Trying to wipe it off, all he managed to do was cover his hand in it as well. “Whatever,” he muttered giving up. Boxes were piled high in the room, some covered in white sheets. Curiosity getting the better of him, he couldn’t help but open up the closest one to see what was inside.

Lines of notebooks, photo albums, and folders were stacked up neatly. Grabbing one out, he flicked through it trying to work out what they were. An old photo of the expedition crew caught his eye. They were all much younger in the picture, Rich, Duke, and Percy’s faces less worn and sunbleached. In the background of the image was a large open pit, a metal hatch in the centre of it.

Looking around the room, he slipped the notebook back into the box where he’d found it. “Is this all stuff from prior expeditions,” he wondered. If so there was a lot of stuff in here. How many rooms were filled like this, with notes and maps of their travels? With whatever they recovered out there.

“I better not get caught here,” he muttered going to leave the room. He didn’t know if they were allowed to be in here, and his being naked added a whole nother layer of things he didn’t want to explain. Pausing to make sure the coast was clear, he hobbled to his room, constantly looking over his shoulder.

Luckily there weren’t any more run-ins, and he was able to make it back to safety, his door shutting firmly behind him. “That was thrilling,” he grinned, his heart rate up again. His chest thumped like a drum.

Getting changed, he dumped his clothes and towel in the wash basket. Putting on a new set, he remembered that he hadn’t talked to anyone about getting his stuff moved from his home. Or about moving out. Groaning, he slotted it away for later. Maybe he’d ask Percy about it.

Now fully clothed, he stepped out into the hallway. His shoeless footsteps were quiet as a mouse of the floorboards as he retraced his steps. Embarrassingly the imprints of wet feet trailed from his room back to the bathroom, causing his face to go red a little. “Hope they dry out before someone notices them.”

Returning to the garage, he found Percy standing over a table with a frown to himself. “Ah Caspian you’re back,” he said, looking up.

“Sorry for the wait I got caught up with something,” Caspian apologised.

“It’s fine, you are here of your own free will after all,” Percy said. “If you would like to help me, could I ask you to run an inventory on everything in the garage? I need to work out what needs replacing and replenishing before we leave.”

“Yeah of course,” Caspian said. “That will be no problem.”

“Excellent, here is a stock list. All you have to do is check how many are here versus how many it says on the list, and write down how many we need to make the number equal. Everything is organised with the little number by its name, so it should be easy,” Percy said, pointing at the number. “It shouldn’t take you too long. Thanks for the help.”

“Alright I’ll get to it then,” Caspian said taking the clipboard. Leafing through the pages, there was a dizzying amount of items listed. He might have gotten himself in over his head again. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the start of the shelves and began his work.

“First up, small batteries. Should be ten sets of ten, and there are 40,” he said to himself. Writing down a 60 on the list, he continued. Next were medium batteries, and then large. After that, it was water purification tablets, bottles of water, jugs of water, and large water containers. The list went on and on. Caspian couldn’t believe how much stuff was in the garage. Who would even need 30 large tarps, what a ridiculous number.

Minutes slipped by as he tirelessly worked, his hand eventually starting to hurt from all the writing he was doing. By the time he’d gotten to the 300’s, tiredness had started to set in. Luckily, the list was almost over, and it was only big-ticket items left. Ten large tents, check. Twenty spare tyres, nope, only seventeen left. He jotted down the required amount.

Finally, he reached the end of the list, his legs feeling completely dead from all the standing around. Number 331 happened to be the jeeps themselves, and he could confidently say that both of them were in the garage. Heaving a sigh of relief, he was finally done. He didn’t know how long it had been, but definitely over an hour had passed.

Looking around for Percy, he found himself alone in the garage. “I guess I’ll just leave it here,” he thought. Placing it in the very centre of the table Percy usually worked at, he hoped he’d find it easily enough. The stockcheck had been mindnumbing work, he even preferred cleaning the shed. At least it was somewhat of a challenge, instead of just mutely walking up and down lines of shelves, checking amounts and writing them down. He’d be happy if he didn’t have to do that for a long time.

All he wanted to do now was relax, maybe grab a quick nap. Cracking his neck as he walked, he found himself in the lounge. Almost eerily quiet, he looked around but didn’t see anybody. Shrugging he threw himself onto one of the chairs, sinking into the cushioning. Closing his eyes he let his mind wander, thinking about his day. His thoughts were cut short, however, as after a few moments his tired body gave out, sending him into a deep slumber.