Taking a seat across from Val, Caspian could feel her piercing gaze on him. She leaned back in her chair, her eyes following his every move, seeming completely at ease. Although he had only just sat down, it felt as if a weight had been placed on his chest.

“Hi, I’m Caspian,” he said. “It’s good to meet you, uh, Val was it?”

“Valorie. My friends call me Val,” she said unmoving. “You and Emma close friends or something?”

“Emma? Oh, no. We actually met for the first time today. Why, did she say something?” Caspian asked.

“No no, just curious. Don’t worry about it. So, what brings you here Caspian?”

Confused, Caspian's forehead wrinkled. “Why was he here?” he thought. “To apply for the expedition obviously. Trying to stay calm, he stilled his tapping leg.

“Joining the expedition,” he replied wearily.

Valorie chuckled at that. “Of course you’re here to join the expedition. I meant why are you here in particular? Why do you want to join an expedition, and why this one?” she asked.

“Oh uh, sorry,” he stumbled, annoyed with himself. “I want to join the expedition because it’s my dream. I wish to travel wide and far, to see things no one has ever seen before,” he said, his eyes lighting up. “There’s a whole world out there ripe for exploring, endless lands untouched by man. Who knows what could be out there? Is that not what we were put on this planet to do, to chase after the unknown?” he said fervently, at some point in his speech standing up.

“Well, that’s certainly a noble goal. Most are in it for the money. Treasure is an alluring reward, even for the wealthy,” Valorie said, leaning forward. “Does that interest you as well, Caspian?”

He frowned at that. “No, no it doesn’t. What do I need money for? I desire the adventure, to feel the wind in my hair, the sun on my back. That’s my treasure” he said.

Drumming her hands on the desk, she seemed to think for a moment. As she did, Caspian realized he was standing, and plonked back down. “I got carried away,” he thought worriedly.

“I sense you’re not being completely straight with me here Caspian,” she said. As he tried to open his mouth to protest, she silenced him with a gesture. “Let me finish. While I can accept you saying that you’re not here to get rich, your reasoning for wanting to join seems a tad shallow,” she said waving her hand. “How can I know that once we're out there you won’t decide your wanderlust is over?”

Hearing that, Caspian felt his hand grip that chair’s arm. “I assure you, that my wish to join the expedition isn’t some flight of fancy. I’ve been dreaming of leaving this place for years. This isn’t the first expedition I’ve tried to join you know. If you refuse me today, I’ll just apply to the next one, and the one after that. No matter how many times I have to try, I will leave this city,” he said, his voice raising.

“See that’s exactly what I mean, you want to leave this city. What are you trying to run from?” she asked.

Caspian was annoyed now, frustrated at the direction the conversation had gone. He felt like he was being interrogated, a spotlight shone on him. Clenching his teeth, he tried to calm himself down. “I don’t know what you mean, Miss Valorie.”

“Come now Caspian, you can’t expect me to let you in if you aren’t truthful. These expeditions are long, arduous things. Out in the middle of nowhere, far from civilisation. Surrounded by the same people day in day out. It tests you in ways you won’t expect.” Valorie said, pressing him further.

“I. I just hate this place alright,” he said, his posture drooping. “Living down here, in the dirt and sand, it’s awful. It’s suffocating. A tomb of earth surrounding you. I try not to think about it most of the time, but it’s always lingering in the back of my mind.”

Sighing, Caspian leant back, rubbing his eyes. “This isn’t going well,” he thought. A small voice was telling him that he was going to fail again. He didn’t think he’d be able to make it to the next expedition.

Valorie was watching him wrestle with these thoughts with curious eyes. “I can’t say I disagree with you Caspian. While this place is a haven to many, others would call it a prison cell. You seem pretty certain of your dream, but have you ever experienced the desert?” she said, standing up. “The conditions are gruelling and hostile, there are days where you’ll wish you were dead. The hours are long, the work exhausting, leaving you with nothing left at the end of a long day.”

Startled by her agreeing with him, he regained a little confidence. “Of course I’ve been out there. I’ve gone days out there, sneaking out to go on my own adventures. They’re the best memories I have. They’re what keep me going, a flicker of light in the darkness,” he said, hope in his eyes. “I have to do this. I don’t care if I’m digging ditches all day, I’ll do whatever it takes to get out of this hole.”

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“You’ve certainly got spirit Caspian, I’ll give you that,” she said smiling. “God, the first rookie already has me so fired up. I’ll give you a pass kid, you better not disappoint.”

“Wha, what?” Caspian was too stunned to speak. His mind was scrambled, slowly unspooling. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly, no sound coming out.

Seeing this, Valorie couldn’t help but let out a laugh that filled the room. “Man that’s good. Caspian, you're blubbering like a fish,” she said, still laughing.

“I’m in?” he stuttered. Seeing Valorie nod through the laughter, happiness stirred inside him. “I’M IN!” he shouted, jumping to his feet. “HELL YEAH! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!” he’d done it, he’d actually done it. He didn’t know what to say. For all his blind confidence, having the real thing handed to him was just too surreal.

Watching him go, Valorie almost felt bad. The kid was practically bouncing off the walls. Clearing her throat, she tried to get his attention. “Caspian. Caspian listen, I get you’re excited, but you’re not on the expedition team just yet.” Seeing the confusion in his eyes, she continued, careful not to dash his spirits. “You’re just through to the second round. You still have to prove you can survive out there before we’ll accept you.”

“Oh. Well don’t worry Valorie, I’ve done it before and I can do it again,” Caspian said, his mood not dipping at all. Seeing Valorie shake her head and smile, he remembered something. “Hey what about my paperwork.” rummaging through his satchel, he pulled out the thin stack of papers he’d been filling out all week.

Valorie just looked at him for a second. “Yeah, I ain’t reading all that. I’m sure you’re all in order,” she said, chuckling as she walked out the door. “Kids a riot.”

Standing there holding the papers, Caspian was momentarily stunned. Looking down at them, he remembered all the time he’d spent carefully filling them out. He’d been anxious for days, unable to stop himself from checking to see if everything had been done correctly. Sighing, back into the satchel they went. Hopefully, someone else would ask him for them.

Following Valorie out into the main room, he noticed that all the other doors were still closed, their occupants still in the midst of their interviews. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he watched as Valorie rifled through the stacks of papers on the tables. She clearly didn’t have the same qualms with disturbing others as he did, her movements generating quite the racket. Unsure of what to do, he just stood there awkwardly.

After a bit, Valorie seemed to notice that he was just standing there. “You need somethin?” she asked.

“Is there somewhere I’m supposed to be? Or do I just wait around until the next phase? Duke mentioned something above going topside for the next part.”

“Jeez I forgot how needy rookies were,” she muttered, “Yeah just, just go sit in that room over there,” she said pointing at the back “We’ve still got the rest of you hopefuls to get through. Then we’ll be heading up to our base on the surface.”

“You have a base?”

“Of course we do, what kind of shoddy organisation do you think we're running here?” Valoria said, eyeballing him. “We’re the most equipped expedition team in the city. Do we have a base,” she said shaking her head. “Quit looming over me.”

Doing as she said, Caspian slipping into the back, finding a somewhat spacious room full of couches. Tossing his bag, he positioned himself so that he could see what was going on outside. Valorie seemed engrossed in her papers, muttering to herself constantly as she sorted through stacks upon stacks of them. “Wonder if that’s for this expedition?” he thought. The look he’d gotten was unfamiliar to him, unlike any of the maps of the surrounding area he’d seen before. “They did say they were going out further than before.”

A door opened in a room, as Percy came out, followed by his interviewee. A cloud seemed to follow him, as he didn’t stick around, dejectedly walking out the way they had come in. Shaking his head, Percy walked over to Valorie, towering over the small woman. They seemed to be conversing, but he was too far to hear the topic. The way they both chuckled, Percy turning to look at him, he had a pretty good idea of what it was.

Trying to ignore them, he tried to make himself comfortable. Slowly but surely, more doors opened, none of the hopefuls making the cut. As the expedition team filtered out, they all examined him, chatting to Valorie when she wasn’t trying to shoo them away. As the last person scurried away, Emma returned with a new batch of six. They were divided up once again.

After a while, another joined him in the room, courtesy of Rich. They exchanged a small nod, as he took up residence on one of the couches. Like that time slowly ticked by, every once in a while a new face joining them. By the time the crowd from the lobby was exhausted, a dozen people had made it through the first round of selection. Eight men and four women. Every single one looked mentally exhausted from their experiences, one of the men even asleep.

Caspian had kept to himself mostly. He was here to compete, as was everyone else. He could make friends after he’d been accepted. While he was ruminating on that and how best to get accepted, a loud clap woke him from his thoughts, Duke standing in the doorway.

“Well look at you lot. You just finished the easy part, so don’t let it go to your head.” Surveying the group, he nodded to himself, seeming content. “Twelve huh, nice even dozen. That’ll work just fine. Alright, off your backsides, we’re heading topside. Time for the real tests to begin.”

Everyone scrambled to their feet, not wanting to waste any time. Single file, they all followed Duke, as he rounded up his team. “We’re moving out guys. Yes, that means you too Rich you lazy bastard,” he said, leading them all back through the lobby and out into the street.

Giddy, Caspian couldn’t help but smile. He was finally progressing with his dream. Soon he’d be out of this godforsaken city.