“Thank god,” Caspian said, his eyes glued on the horizon. His face donned a weary smile, his body battered and bruised. “Almost there,” he murmured to himself.

His destination in sight, he limped forward with renewed vigour. Each step was a struggle, the stick vital in his continued advancement. The stone walls grew in size the further he walked, the promise of success, and rest so close at hand. He could almost taste it now.

Seeing no point in stopping himself, he greedily guzzled down the last of his water. Pouring it too fast, much of it spilled out of his mouth, soaking him. Whipping his face, he tried to wet his lips, the skin cracked and dry. Shaking the bottle for its few last drops, he frowned. He was still thirsty, his dehydrated body demanding more water.

Resisting the alluring urge to throw the bottle into the night, he stowed it away. Through blurry eyes, he looked back at the city, its walls far larger now. Elation filled his body, head swimming with thoughts. What would come next for him? When would the expedition leave? New things kept bubbling up, swirling around his head.

His mind drifted from himself to the other participants. He assumed most of them would be deep asleep after a long day of travel, wrapped up snugly in a sleeping bag. He bet their day had gone better than his.

“I wonder if any dropped out,” he thought. “Today will be worse.” If they hadn’t dropped out yesterday, then a night of roughing it followed up by more hiking under the blazing sun would be the real killer. He just hoped no one would perish, and use the flares if they had to. Pride was a dangerous thing, many had fallen to it in the new world.

Clearing his head, he focused on himself. The gate was within sight, its blinding lights illuminating the desert in front of it. He stepped into it, the lights blinding him for a second. Stumbling, he almost dropped to the floor, the stick keeping him upright. He made quick time, reaching the slot in the wall where the guards sat. Looking inside, he saw the back of an older man writing away in a journal.

Coughing, he tried to get his attention. “Hey,” he said.

The man jolted violently, spinning around with a surprised look on his face. “Wha? Who’s there?”

Wearily he leant against the wall, his breathing laboured. “I’m - Caspian.” He felt his head start to get foggy. Feeling his arm, his hand came back red. Sliding down, he fell to the ground, his chest heaving. “Please help,” he croaked. His vision started to fade to black, the gate mechanisms starting to whir up. Stepping out of the gate, two figures loomed over him.

“What the hell is going on Bert?” one of the figures said.

“I don’t know, fella just walked up to the gate and started muttering stuff,” Bert replied. “I think he said his name was Carlton or something.”

“Christ look at all that blood, what the hell has this guy been doing? God look at his leg too.”

“Come on help me James, get him up. Woah don’t drop him, keep him upright,” Bert said, trying to get Caspian off the floor. “We got to get him to a doctor quick.”

“What about this thing he’s holding? What is this, some sort of club?” James said, struggling to hold him up.

“Huh, what? I don’t know man, its a stick,” Bert said, carrying him through the gate,

“He’s holding on pretty tight, maybe it’s important or something. I don’t know,” James said frowning.

“Jeez James it's just a stick. Whatever let him keep it, it doesn’t matter,” Bert said shaking his head.

“And there it is. You’re always just so dismissive of me. You know Mary says my observations are unique and valuable, that I see the world differently. Why are you always so quick to put me down, what's your deal, Bert?” James said sounding offended.

“There is a bleeding man here, this really isn’t the time for this. We gotta get him seen too.”

“Well sorry this isn’t a good time for you. When’s your schedule free, I’ll make sure to book an appointment Mr Busy,” he said.

Being dragged along by them, Caspian let out a groan, their bickering rousing him from his delirium. “W-where am I,” he slurred, his head drooping down. “W-who are you, people.”

“Ahh jeez, this kid's really out of it,” Bert said slamming the button to close the gate. Sliding Caspian into a chair, he turned to his coworker. “I’m going to go call this in, you keep him awake.” He disappeared into the guard house nearby, leaving the town of them alone.

Looking at him with concern, James started to shake him a little. “Come on, stay awake. Can’t be letting you fall asleep.” Seeing his eyes flutter open he continued. “Can you hear me? Hello, do you know where you are?” he said, clicking his fingers in front of his face.

“City gates,” Caspian murmured. “So, tired.”

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“Ok ok, do you remember your name? What's your name?” Not getting a reply, he periodically shook the young man, keeping him conscious. “Damn, you really did a number on yourself, you know that. What the hell were you even doing out there, don’t you know how dangerous it is?”

Caspian mumbled something quietly, barely audible to the man watching over him. Feeling drowsy, he tried to keep himself awake.

“What was that?” James said leaning close to him.

“Expedition,” was all he was able to get out.

“Expedition was that. Hey wait a minute, you’re not one of Duke’s are you? Damn, what did Captain say about that? They were doing an initiation trial or something.” Stroking his beard, James tried to remember what the debrief had said. Something about people entering the city from the desert. “Hey Burt I think he’s one of them expedition fellas,” he yelled out.

A shout answered him from the room. “What, really? But the captain said they weren’t expected back until later today. At least noon he said.” Poking his head out of the doorway, he gave him a sceptical look. “He’s here too early for that, you sure?”

“Idk man, he just said expedition. What else am I to think,” he said shrugging his shoulders. “How's that medical coming along?”

“Should be here in a moment.” As he said that, headlights shone onto them as a jeep rounded a corner. A man and a women jumped out, both with armbands on. They quickly took in the situation, kneeling by Caspian, the two guards backing up to give them space.

“What do you think happened to him?” James whispered.

“How am I supposed to know, maybe he fell,” Burt whispered back.

The male medical officer opened up a box full of medical supplies, pulling open Caspian’s eyes to see if his pupils were responsive. Irritated by the light, he tried to wave to annoyance away.

“Sir please remain calm, we're trying to help you,” the medical officer said, holding him fast. “Can you tell us what happened to you?” Caspian's head rolled around, garbled sounds flowing out of his mouth.

“God look at this,” the female medical officer said, holding the makeshift bandage from his leg. The blood had crusted over, hardening, holes arrayed on his leg. “Looks like a bite wound, multiple punctures. I’m going to disinfect it now.”

The man checked his arm, finding a similar wound there. Washing his limbs down with some water, they whipped the blood away, before pulling out a bottle of antiseptic iodine. “Sir, I need you to sit still for a moment, can you do that for me.” Seeing him nod absently, started pouring it on.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Instantly Caspian’s eyes shot wide open, his pupils dilating. Veins bulged in his neck as he let loose a blood-curdling scream. Confused he tried to get up, but the medics held him down, his weakened body unable to muster enough strength. They made sure to coat his wounds thoroughly in it to prevent infection, before binding them up with gauze to stop any more bleeding.

All the while the guards were whispering to each other, watching what was happening. The male medic turned to them, beckoning them over. “Do either of you know what happened?”

They both looked at each other, shaking their head. “Not really, he just kind of showed up at the gate like that,” Burt said. “Never seen him before.”

“We think he might be one of Duke’s trainees. They having tryouts for their latest venture at the moment,” James supplied. Burt shot him a look but said nothing.

“Did you just say Duke? Great he’s one of theirs. Alright, you two help me get him in the back of the jeep. He needs to be in an actual hospital,” the medic said, kneading his brow. “Just my luck. Those bastards are supposed to give us a warning when they do their barbaric trials. Ugh”

Walking back over the Caspian with the two guards, they whistled at what they saw. His legs were covered in bruises, and one of his ankles was swollen to twice its normal size. “Jesus, what happened to him?” Bert asked.

“Come on help me pick him up” the medic said. Carrying him carefully they set him down in the back of the jeep, making sure he was secured on the bed there. “The two main wounds looked like bites, probably from dingoes judging from the size of them.”

“That’s odd, dingoes rarely attack people,” James said. “They’re scavengers mostly you know.”

“James shut up, no one needs your animal trivia right now,” Bert said shaking his head with a sigh. “Do you need anything else?” he asked the medics, as they got back in their vehicle.

The man looked up from the back, watching over Caspian’s unmoving form. “No it’s fine, just keep a lookout for any others,” he said, rubbing his face. “It’s gonna be a long shift,” he muttered under his breath. The jeep sped off, heading towards the hospital on the surface. Watching it go, Bert walked back to the guard house, James following him in.

“Well that was eventful ay,” James said. “Been a while since something interesting happened on our shift.”

“I hate interesting,” Bert said. “Now I have to make a report to the Captain. Great, just great.” Turning to get James’ help, he found that he had disappeared already. “Dammit James, get back here. You have to make a report as well.” Looking up at the ceiling he sighed again, it wasn’t his night.

Over at the hospital, Caspian was being moved to a bed that had been wheeled out. He was still out of it, as both medics talked to a doctor wearing a tired expression. “Sorry he has bites?” the doctor asked incredulously.

“Yep, he came from outside the walls. Judging from what I saw, he travelled quite far to get here. His ankle is swollen and his legs are covered in bruises,” the male medic explained. “Apparently he’s one of Duke’s new initiates.”

The doctor seemed to age a few years upon hearing this. “Lovely. Wheel him in then, I’ll take a look at him.” Staring up at the stars for a moment, he followed them in. Caspian was oblivious to all of this, his unmoving form lying upon the pristine white sheets. His chest rose and fell slightly. Despite the pain his body was clearly in, he seemed to have an expression of contentment on his face.

“Alright, let's get him cleaned up. Strip him down and dump the clothes. I need to get a good look at this leg.”

Activity swirled around him, as calls made the rounds to various people throughout the city. One thing they all had in common was the sighs. Eventually, a call was made to a small house, a woman fumbling for the phone from her bed.

“Hello,” Valorie said, her voice groggy. “He did what? You're sure? Alright, I’ll be right there.” Flinging the covers off, Valorie got dressed in a flash and was out the door, her destination. The hospital.