The next morning, Jaid felt something heavy on her chest. She jolted awake. At first, she thought she must have been detained or strapped down, but instead, a fuzzy creature was just sitting there. She almost had a flashback to the time she woke up to Opossyotes sniffing at her in the woods, wondering if this was still a dream. There was a bit of blinking before she recognized it as the pet of the Fiends For Hire that she’d been asked to shoot yesterday.
It was happily munching away at something that was hard to discern, since there was only a small piece left. Then she remembered what she had been doing last night and desperately tried to grab it from the creature. It deftly dodged her however, leaping into the floor, cramming the last morsel into its mouth, and darting away.
He had just entirely eaten her secret book, and it was apparently quite tasty. Now, she would be forced to rely solely on what she remembered, her feeling of helpless isolation skyrocketing in the moment. Jaid couldn’t see any other sign of the creature either, with no idea how it had gotten in or how it left just now. It didn’t matter, since she couldn’t take retribution against it even if she wanted to.
After a few more moments of self-pity, Jaid pulled out her phone and checked the time. It was still early, but she’d definitely missed the window for breakfast. She went to her fridge and dug through the given supplies, deciding to just eat some raw fruit. As she chewed, she noticed a new notification on the Fiends For Hire app.
The announcement for the welcome party and orientation had been updated, stating that it would take place slightly later due to the interviews taking longer than expected. There was also a new tab with a members list. Her eyes lit up immediately. What was taken had just been returned several times over. Boon Day had come early.
There was a full list of all members of the Fiends For Hire and their rank, along with a brief biography and history for each. While it didn’t contain some of the intricate details her dossiers did, this was a swath of new information. All the residents were listed as well. There was less information about them, but still a complete roster. Jaid immediately began taking a flurry of screenshots she’d include in reports to the Central Peace. Her terrible morning had just turned into unbridled motivation.
The next hour was filled with Jaid just lying in her bed, sending report after report to the CP of anything and everything she could think of. Eventually, she noticed that it was nearing lunchtime. She’d need to stop soon. While she didn’t exactly want to go socialize with these people, she needed to make her presence known. Her new nosy neighbor may get even more suspicious if she just holed up in her room all day.
But first, she needed to make herself presentable. The grime of yesterday still lingered, not just the usual daily wear but the stench of so many lies. She needed to be cleansed and start anew if she was going to make it through this. Jaid hopped into the bath and immediately turned on the jets. It was like Cosmos himself was giving her a massage, and she almost melted away. After snapping out of her euphoria, she decided to send a few more reports in the tub.
Once dry, she skimmed through all her outfits. According to the schedule, actual assessments and training would start tomorrow, so it’d be best to save her more flexible clothing for them. She also no longer needed to keep up the laid back and casual facade of yesterday. It was probably best to end that for now, since it’d be hard for her to indefinitely hide her stern and serious nature.
She did have a few outfits on the formal side, suitable for meet-and-greets, but she still wasn’t feeling entirely comfortable here. The last thing she wanted was to be under duress in a tight-fitting skirt. For now, she just went with a simple blouse and pants. She didn’t know if she should bring her sword. Unfortunately for her, using such a burdensome weapon made it difficult to just lug around for daily activities. Against her better judgment, Jaid decided to leave it behind and headed out.
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Walking down the hallway, she noticed name placards now decorated every door, fully filling the second floor. Down in the lobby, she glanced at the mailboxes noticing that only one name was on the third floor. Whoever this Crucion was, they were sure lucky to have the entire floor to themself for now. She oddly didn’t recognize the name since it wasn’t on either list. It didn’t have to do with their rank since even the generals were on the member list. Perhaps they just hadn’t been added yet since it seemed they’d been the final recruit.
Jaid heard rain the moment she stepped outside the dormitory, but surprisingly, not a single drop hit her. She looked up and saw the drops lightly tapping against an invisible glass—presumably the forcefield that surrounded the compound. The noise was almost hypnotic and was making her drowsy again, but she snapped out of it and proceeded onwards.
Or she would have if it wasn’t for the other commotion a few feet away. “So yer saying that this will really make it hover, right?” From Jaid’s perspective, the nearby monster truck was already hovering. She bent down, looking for the voice underneath, but only saw whatever was supporting it. Another second later and she realized that the support was in fact a person, a massive one.
“Yes Itsy, as I’ve said,'' Nathym was starting to get a bit impatient. “I guess you’ll just have to see it for yourself when you’re done attaching it.” Jaid wanted to have some words with him, still annoyed over the forced changes to her sword, but she could tell now wasn’t the time.
“Whatever you say, Science Man,” Itsy huffed from the ground. She was laying on her back with her legs flat in the air like she was about to do a few crunches. Instead, the truck was resting on her legs, fully supported and stable. After tightening a few more bolts, the underside of the truck began to glow. Itsy shifted her legs, then launched it into the air with sheer force.
The monster truck flew up high, well above the dormitory, but it never came back down. It just floated in the air, even reorientating itself back to a stable position. Nathym pressed the remote he was holding, and the truck slowly descended back to the ground. “Alright, now I’m gonna get in and fly to the top of the mountain.” Itsy was giddy with glee, like a child on Boon Day. Jaid decided it was for the best that she leave quickly, lest she get caught up in their antics somehow.
She enjoyed the walk to the main building where they had their interviews yesterday, where the restaurant was also located. On the way, she admired the scenery, having to admit it was beautiful despite her misgivings about the group. The grove of trees she was now walking under was particularly magnificent. The way the branches and vines intertwined made it feel like a tunnel to another world.
Wait, a grove? This wasn’t here yesterday! She hadn’t been taken this way yesterday on the walk to the dorms, and it had been dark, so it was conceivable she just didn’t notice it. But no, she’d studied every detail, making a full mental map of the place. She had observed every inch she could, and even in passing, she hadn’t seen a grove anywhere.
That was when Jaid was suddenly knocked down onto her stomach, a heavy weight pressing against her back. Oh zjik! They’re onto me! Am I being detained right now?! Cosdammit, what do I do?!
“Oh, sorry Jaid.” She recognized that voice, though it sounded quite a bit sleepier than usual. Jaid flipped over to see the still half-asleep Drim Drazah scrambling off of her. He yawned and then apologized some more. “Really, sorry about that. Seems I fell out of a tree in my sleep. Damn, I’d been able to wake up the last few mornings in my bed so I was hoping I was beyond this phase…”
“Well, this isn’t your problem. You were heading to the cafeteria right? Don’t mind me. I’m going to head back to bed for a while. Again, I can’t apologize enough. I’ll make it up to you later.” The very groggy boy walked off without waiting for a response.
Not that Jaid could have given one. Her heart was racing too fast, paralyzing her. Maybe the confrontation with Tize last night had put her on edge, but she was seriously going to die from all of these surprises if they kept up, before anyone else got the chance to catch her.