As Susan led the three of them out of the building, they had to adjust their eyes to the brightness.

The dry heat immediately embraced them.

Music echoed softly around the market with the prison's PA system.

The market had about two dozen vendor stalls, it wasn't too packed with shoppers It was rather quiet.

Julio, Tellie, and Kataro's eyes wandered over the different stalls as they walked.

Kataro spoke, "Hey, Susan. What's the type of currency used here? Is it a barter system?"

Susan took out a small coin pouch and opened it. Inside, were dozens of tabs, "We prefer to use tabs from aluminum cans as currency. I'm sure some merchants would be open to bartering, but they all will accept tabs. A tab pretty much matches the value of an old world dollar bill"

Tellie shook her head, "Why not just use a dollar bill? I've got plenty of cash. The people of Denver still use cash"

Susan frowned, "I'm sorry, but your dollar bills are not accepted here. Cash is far too easily accessible and has lost all its value"

"That's dumb"

Susan shook her head in annoyance but said nothing.

Once they reached the far end of the market, she led them further out until she veered them towards a vehicle bay.

The bay door was open. Susan walked right in, with the three new hires on her tail.

Inside, a few vehicles were parked, each in a different state of disrepair.

From somewhere inside, they heard a clang, followed by a curse.

"Hey Janroe, where you at? I've got good news?"

"Hold right there, I'm walking over"

A man in a worn-out and stained jumpsuit walked towards them, he wiped his forehead and nodded towards the new hires, "Hey Susan, please tell me the good news is three new mechanics"

Susan smirked, "Not entirely. You got yourself one new mechanic. I'm sure you can easily tell who it is"

The mechanic smiled, "Let me guess, helmet hair over here?"

Kataro stepped forward. He raised the visor of his motorcycle helmet and then stuck out his hand, "Hey Janroe, you'd be correct. I'm Kataro and I'm eager to work on vehicles again. It has been far too long"

Janroe took Kataros hand and shook it, "Call me 'Roe. So Kataro, I gotta know. What's your specialty?"

"I'm still a novice when it comes to repairing vehicles with more than two wheels. I'm more comfortable with motorcycles"

Janroe's eyes lit up, "Kid, you just made my day. We got a few downed bikes that the local spiders call home. The scouts have been pestering me relentlessly for more working bikes. If you could get one of the bikes in storage up and running again, I'd buy you a drink"

Kataro smirked, "I can get at least two up and ready within a week. Let me look at that"

Janroe broke into a toothy grin, he patted Kataro on the back, "You know what Kataro, you and I are going to get along just fine"

The two mechanics walked away.

As the three left behind watched the two mechanics walk away. Before the mechanics were out of earshot, they heard Janroe speak, "So, what's the deal with the helmet, you can take it off. It must be hot in there. Is it stuck on your head or something?"

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Susan watched the two mechanics and beamed in satisfaction, "I love my job." She then let them outside, "Now, let's get the remaining two of you to your stations"

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Susan rapped her knuckles on the glass.

On the other side of the glass, a guard's head shot up off his arms. The guard, obviously waking up from her nap on the desk, slowly slid open the glass window.

Susan leaned in, in a whisper, "Don't let the Sherrif Claire catch you sleeping"

They stood outside the security operations office, staring through the security window. There sat only one guard. The guard yawned while nodding in acknowledgment, "Sorry Susan, I've been up all night, working a double. I hope you've bought someone to take over the remainder of my shift from here"

Susan was about to speak when Tellie cut in, "That would be me, I'm the new security guard"

Susan turned and glared at Tellie before slowly turning back to face the guard, "I'm sorry Rebecca. The new hire, Tellie, likes to joke around. Julio-" She pointed to him, "…has been assigned to your team. He's an undead. As you know, undead civilians require no sleep. Which is ideal for night shifts. Please let him shadow you. Make sure he is well-trained in everything that is required for the job. I'd like him ready for the position by the end of the week"

Julio stepped forward, hand out. He spoke with a raspy voice, "Hello, I'm looking forward to working with you and anyone else on the team"

Rebecca pressed a button under the desk. A quick beep sound followed, "Please, step inside"

Julio opened and door and stepped inside.

Tellie stared in agitation as Julio and Rebecca shook hands. Rebecca was showing him around the office.

It took a moment for Tellie to be aware there was a tapping on her shoulder. Tellie glanced over to see Susan trying to study her expression.

Susan spoke, "How are you feeling?"

"Good" Tellie responded tersely.

"I didn't appreciate you lying earlier but I can respect your initiative"

"It's mostly because I don't want to be cleaner"

Susan looked pensive for a moment before motioning Tellie to follow.

They remained silent for what felt like an eternity to Tellie.

They walked in silence for several minutes, but it felt like an eternity to Tellie. The silence was gnawing at Tellie, she was about to speak but Susan spoke first.

"I wanted to let you know that I didn't assign you a custodial assignment intentionally. It's just a starting position. Once we see that you were able to settle in with the rest of the community, we can then figure out what position is better suited for you. The Sheriff, who is also acting Mayor, has asked me to keep a close eye on you and to test you"

Tellie stopped walking, "What do you mean you're gonna test me?"

"If you think I did this because I must not like you, that's not true. You were assigned to a custodial position because it's the best way to test one's character. It will help me see if you'll carry out tasks assigned without supervision, especially unpleasant tasks. It will also help me see if you're a hard worker or if you'll just do the bare minimum. I need to know if you're going to be a blessing or a burden to the settlement. After a sufficient amount of time doing your job, we can then discuss assigning you to a different position within the settlement"

"Why me though? You didn't test Kataro or Julio"

"The Sheriff has a keen eye for those who tend to rebel against authority. He told me that you three were on your way and that you were the only one out of the three of you that needed to be tested for loyalty"

"This is bullshit"

Susan gave her a weary smile, "If you can show us you're a hard worker, and stay out of trouble. You'll be getting a more worthless job in no time. I'm sure you can manage that"

The look of annoyance didn't diminish from Tellie's expression.

They made it to a custodial office. Susan rapped on the door.

They heard a loud raspy voice, "Come in"

Susan slowly opened the door to reveal a small room. The left side had cabinets with cleaning supplies, mops, brooms, and other cleaning tools. On the right side, there was a desk with a computer.

Behind the desk, a skeleton in a jumpsuit stood up. Tellie was startled, as It was somewhat common to run into sentient undead, but it was uncommon to see a sentient skeleton.

As the skeleton had no vocal cords, a ghostly whisper left its mouth, "Hello Susan, I see you found the new custodian…?"

Susan nodded, "Hey Shawn. Tellie here will be…" she glanced in Tellie's direction, who looked visibly annoyed, "our temporary custodian".

Tellies expression faltered, looking a little less annoyed.

Susan looked back at Shawn, "If you could teach her the daily routine and show her the schedule, I'd appreciate it. If you could let her shadow today, and then help her tomorrow. You'd be good to go back to the watch tower the following day after"

Shawn had no facial features but still somehow looked relieved, "Yas….finally….thank…you…Susan"

Tellie's jaw dropped, "What? It will just be me doing janitor work?

Susan sighed, "I'm sorry Tellie. After training, you'll be on your own. Please recall that on the way here, I did mention that you'll be doing this job without supervision"

Tellie crossed her arms, she averted eye contact with Susan. Tellie went silent.

Susan ran a hand through her hair, "Shawn, please be patient with this one. I'll check back here later to see how things are going", she then quickly walked out, looking agitated.

Shawn walked over and put out his hand, "It's…nice…to…meet…you…Tellie….please…ask…any…questions…while… I'm…here…I'm…happy…to…answer…"

Tellie cut him off, "Tell is fine, and thank you, Shawn. Now, Let's get this bullshit over with." She glanced around in disapproval, "Where do we start?"