After Mrs. Beck and her son had moved out earlier in the month Ravela wasted no time in getting workers under contract. The money she threw their way for the construction of the property wall got them to work quickly. The faster the wall is completed the better, and Ravela started to incrementally work on her house. Time flies when you’re getting serious work done, however, and before she knew it the month she had after new years before her training would start had vaporized.
Ravela rummaged through her tools. The barn was the first place to become cluttered with everything she bought to make her home livable.
Tomorrow would be the first day of the police academy, and here Ravela was feverishly working on her house during the early evening.
She found the tools she needed and returned to the house. While the handymen had installed and connected Ravela’s home to the sewage system of the town she had declined their offer to also install electricity and fresh water at the time. Letting them install a limited amount of pipes for fresh water internally.
Ravela would do all of those herself in time. The wall around her property came along nicely, and Ravela was glad that the winter was mild enough for the workers she hired to still work.
Toiling away inside the house, Ravela replaced parts of the cellar walls with sturdy steel beams. Slowly strengthening the structure of the building. Preparing the cellar so that it would properly attach to the hideout later on, and for the other additions she was planning beyond that. Building in a doorframe gap, gaps for pipes and wiring, and making sure the hidden door would fit.
The provisional support beams protected her house from collapsing onto her during her radical reworks. The construction lights produced a lot of heat that accumulated over time. So at least this cellar was cozy while she replaced wooden mantels and stone foundations. Rebar cages took the place of the century-old stone foundations. Then she filled the rebar with concrete once she ensured it had been properly sealed for the filling process. The rotating mixers outside rumbled in Ravela's ears just as the generator.
Ravela was almost done with the raw renovation of the basement. She turned off the light She walked up the stairs through the old empty kitchen, which she would move to the other side of the house, planning to make this a dining room like Ma Stone had. She checked her new wristwatch.
‘Ten minutes past the twelfth hour, finally February. I need to drive to the motel and get some sleep,’ Ravela reprimanded herself while locking the front door. Putting away her tool and turning the generator was the last thing she did, before getting into one of her two cars.
Driving the pick-up truck to the motel wasn’t ideal. She had parked her hauling vehicle in the barn, and there it would stay till she went out to buy more materials once again.
The road to Pliada City was void of traffic except for the occasional truck transporting goods between cities. Ravela thought of them as the pulse of the body that was civilization. Even when the body slept the heart kept beating, and the blood kept flowing.
Moving out of Ma Stone's house, while a bit premature, had to be done for practical reasons. Ravela had refused to be reimbursed for the time she had not spent there, hoping that the money would help Ma Stone to take good care of Laena. The goodbye had been a surprisingly touching moment, for both of them.
On her drive back, her thoughts began to revolve around all she had spent so far and all she still planned on spending in pursuit of her home. She began, not for the first time, to run the numbers through her head to find a flaw in her calculations and spending plans. After buying the property and house for 180,000 dollars and paying the bombastic sum of 50,000 on getting the wall around her property done as a rush order without the rush part, Ravela was left with roughly 600,000 dollars. The extra workers that would be hired with the 20,000 she paid on top of the generous original quote price were already showing great results. The work they’ve done so far was up to Ravela’s liking and the fact that all the workers knew that they had a client that paid for extra hands too made their disposition toward her more than a bit positive.
5,000 went into her new cars and the other 5,000 to live off till she finally had work and a proper home, modernized to her liking. The money would last her easily through that time, but there would be no generous tips or special orders till she had all her ducks in a row.
Then there were the costs for raw materials she would need to build her headquarters once her property wall was erected. She realized early on that the tools she could buy in this world would serve her only inside the house and the barebone construction.
She would buy extensive tools and raw materials to make more specialized equipment for herself. Putting a price tag of 50,000 dollars on the extensive investments she wanted to make. The generator she had bought wouldn’t have to supply her energy forever.
The rights to her water use had given her the idea to buy a water treatment installation and a modern well. She had seen many advertisements for home protection bunkers that were followed by another billboard of these types of machines. After all, you could only live in a bunker for a long time with flowing water and functioning plumbing.
She drove onto the highway, the last stretch to her motel. Ravela thought about the need to buy a bunch of gold and silver too. Using one of her crystals to build an independent power supply for her hideout. The entire farm had yet to have wires installed all in all that would cost her close to the house itself. Another 60,000 would be gone from her war chest. So many plans, and so much to do. Even though she had a lot of money she was worried that she might have underestimated the costs of her plans.
260,000 planned for the raw building of her underground base. Ravela shuddered, wanting on one hand to have the right kind of home, but squirming at the mere thought of investing all her money into it. 290,000 in reserve for whatever interior fancies she had. The small forest on her property would need to thin out just so she could diminish some of the cost by making furniture herself wherever possible.
The neon sign of her hotel stretched up visibly despite being off the highway.
She wondered how she would build the exit to the garage while still keeping that entrance hidden. A problem for another day, Ravela thought while driving down the highway’s off-ramp.
Pulling into the parking lot of the motel around 1:30 am, Ravela went into the shower quickly. She loved that Ramiel’s bald head didn’t need its towel like hers by now. It made drying off and going to slew a much easier affair. Her thoughts once again circled her true self and whether she wants to get rid of her hair or she would keep it and even try to give herself a haircut. The billboards looked inspiring enough. She shook off the thought and closed all the blinds on the windows.
Ravela took off Ramiel’s ring and sat crosslegged in front of the motel mirror. Pulling from her pocket a thin necklace she bought in Gradjia. A tiny amber crystal glimmers as the centerpiece of her new jewelry. She put on the golden necklace and slipped it under her shirt. The gold conducting the transfer of energy helped her channel the flow far better than before.
Instead of closing her eyes, this time Ravela opted to study her beautiful black orbs intensely, as she began to draw in energy. The amber pupils began to glow brighter each moment she pulled from the crystal.
Ravela stopped and waited for a moment. Her pupils now remained glowing while she wasn’t using her powers. Deciding that this was enough testing herself for the day, she shuffled over the bed to the nightstand.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Setting the alarm, she closed her eyes, and with an effortless flick of her thought the lights in her room turned off. Sleep came fast these days.
*Five hours later*
Ravela stopped the radio alarm clock on the bedside table. Seven o’clock in the morning. After a quick stint in the bathroom, Ravela got her blue trainee uniform and sat in front of the mirror in the main room of the motel. Putting Ramiel’s ring on her right hand for once. Ravela looked down at her hand. She had gotten so used to wearing it on her left that it felt awkward on her right hand. She quickly put it back in its proper spot on her left hand, got her keys and paperwork, and went on her way.
The dark green car stood just where she had left it. She liked this car. It looked modest and did not cost her a lot. A nicer car was on her list of future coveted possessions.
Driving to the police academy didn’t take long. There were a lot of trainees already waiting in the lobby. Ravela mixed herself into the crowd. The mood in the room was fairly upbeat and optimistic. There were good signs wherever Ravela looked.
“Good morning, everyone. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Instructor Harmond. I’m going to be your guide during this education course. I won’t be the only one, but I will be the first address for this cohort. If you have any issue, you will come to me.” The man atop the central stairs introduced himself.
He slowly walked down. “First, we will call attendance to see who of you should be here and to find out who failed to show. Well, they still have fifteen minutes, but I will start anyway. Anyone not in position fifteen minutes ahead of time should at least be made to feel late.”
A clipboard got thrown from the first-floor gallery and Instructor Harmond caught it, with such routine, barely glancing up that Ravela was certain it was a studied and well-practiced move. “Alright, let’s go. Form five rows each with five people. I want beautiful squares on either side of the central carpet. Those of you with military training should know this.”
Ravela sorted herself into one of the forming lines and kept observing the man that would be her formative teacher in her trade. Light hair, bronze skin, and light blue eyes that looked even sterner thanks to the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He wasn’t a tall man, yet his posture and demeanor made him look taller and promised an authoritative education.
Ravela waited for her name to be called silently for around five minutes.
“Ramiel Roice?” Instructor Harmond finally read her name.
“Here,” Ravela answered the question without hesitation. To her surprise, the instructor stopped for a moment looking at her before moving on.
Ravela wondered if news of what she had done back in Gradjia for the detectives had spread even to the instructors of the police academy. The list of names continued as he worked through the entire list. She could see how he carefully noted each row he had completed. Searching for people who didn’t belong and if someone on the list wasn’t among the two blocks that had formed he marked their names on the list.
‘How quickly you can make it on the instructor’s bad side,’ Ravela thought. She was glad that she had decided to come a good stretch earlier.
Somebody entered the lobby behind the recruits. Ravela didn’t turn but her ears picked up two distinct sets of steps.
Instructor Harmond paused his routine. “You’re late recruits. Give me your names!”
Ravela could hear the confusion in their responses. They weren’t late after all. “Recruit Donna Jade and Recruit Jocul Jade.”
“Jade?” The instructor walked right up to them. “Not a good start for the Commissioner’s kids to come late on their first day, is it?”
“No, Sir. Sorry, Sir,” They both answered.
“Well, fall in line then, Late One and Late Two,” The Instructor told them.
Ravela grinned for a moment. She likes Harmond’s humor. It had a certain bite to it that was highly enjoyable when not aimed at her.
“Alright, where was I? Oh, yes, names.” Instructor Harmond got back to the front and continued reading names.
Ravela realized once he had read the last name that there were exactly two people in the crowd who had not declared themselves recruits in all that time.
“Alright, first question. There are, as of right now, two-hundred-fifty-two people here. Can someone who came on time tell me what is wrong here? Show of hands, who paid attention and knows?” The man with the clipboard said walking up and down in front of the recruits.
Instructor Harmond looked around and frowned at the three raised hands in the room. “Three? Only three of you think they know what I might be referring to. Truly? This year’s recruits shape up to be a grave disappointment. Well, at least you don’t raise your hand without having a clue…or at least that's what I hope,” He said while walking between the recruits. “You. Weipher, Alan, right?”
The recruit with his raised hands shrank a bit from being put on the spot. “Y-yes, Sir. I believe I heard that only two hundred fifty recruits will be taking the spring course.”
“Rumors? How unspecific,” He turned away. One of the remaining recruits had lowered his hand. “Guess Recruit Bolt realized that response wouldn’t cut it. Which leaves,” Ravela locked eyes with the instructor. “Ramiel Roice. Since your arm is still up. So you either are slow for not putting your hand down or could it be that you have a brilliant insight you wish to share? Which is it, recruit?”
Ravela put her hand down. She let the instructor's attitude roll off her back, and said, “The person in the third row in the other cohort second from the corridor and the person in front of me aren’t recruits. They never acknowledged being called from the list, so they aren’t recruits, that much is certain to me.”
Instructor Harmond nodded. “Yes. Yes, that is right.” Ravela watched as he walked back in front of the gathered recruits. “Meet my assistants Instructor Go and Instructor Fullert. Both are graduates of this very academy and have been loaned to me by PCPD for your education. They completed this course three years ago, and are here to keep my methods of education in line with the laws and realities of the street. On top of that, their advice will be invaluable to you if you make it into a uniform, that is.”
The instructors filed out of the ranks of the recruits, and Instructor Harmond waited till they joined him and the front before he continued.
“See this as your first test. There are many things beyond exams and certificates that determine whether you’ll make a useful police officer. As far as I am concerned nothing is more important than situational awareness. Tuning out in class or life will lead to horrible outcomes. You space out, and you will die. As I see, there are three potential recruits in this crowd. Two were informed about rumors which will serve you well when you’re out on the streets, but only one in this hall paid enough attention to his surroundings to realize that two people didn’t belong to the recruits.”
The man paused for a moment. ”I will sort you into training groups. You will work together, learn together, grow together, and by the end of this course, you might even pass together. It all depends on how well you cooperate and how reliable you are as a team.”
Ravela smiled slyly as her ego got stroked.
“Roice,” Instructor Harmond called out, “you will be in a squad with… Hm, let’s see,” He said, pretending to check the list like he hadn’t already picked who he would put into her group, “Ah yes, Late Two, Alan Weipher, Kahli Madri, and Late One, because I wouldn’t want to burden another group with another Late.”
Nodding to himself he moved on. “Yes, if you could lead by example. Please go to the group of instructors on the first floor for processing. As a unit, and with a bit of pep in your step.”
Ravela slid out of her cohort and walked up to the front. Nodding toward Alan Weipher, who stepped into the middle carpet while she passed by. Hasty steps rang out behind them as Late One and Late Two caught up to them. Out of the first row, Kahli Madri joined their group. A tall and athletic, yet slender, woman with thick black hair much like Ravela's. Her dark complexion and dark brown eyes showed a glimmer of vexation.
The group moved up the stairs and was received by an instructor who read and informed them of the procedures and weekly schedule. Ravela listened to the rules and expectations. The exam rules, the required performance goals, and the general timeline. After that, they were sent off to their first lecture.
On the way to the lecture hall, Ravela fell back from Kahli Madri and Alan Weipher to get to know Late One and Late Two. “So, who exactly are you two?”
Donna and Jocul looked at each other and then back at Ravela.
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Troy Han woke up feeling sick. He got up from the bed and stumbled into the bathroom.
Splashing cold water on his face helped to wake him up, but the dizziness didn’t go away. He looked up from the sink and was shocked. He was taller than the day before, but he looked sick and haggard.
His cheeks were sunken, his entire body ached, and he felt starved and dehydrated. Drinking directly from the tap greedily, Troy groaned.
Caleb Inuna popped his head into the bathroom, squinting. “Troy is everything alright?”
There was a pause before Troy turned around and Caleb recoiled. “What the hell man!?”
Troy leaned on the wall. “Something isn’t right, Caleb.”
“Yeah, no kidding! Oh man, I’m gonna call the nighttime security guard.” Caleb said.
Troy stood up straight and Caleb stumbled back on his butt. “Ayo!?”
“What?! What is it?” Troy asked in a panic.
“WHAT IS IT? You have grown by…by man WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!” Caleb got back on his feet, “You stay in the room, this is not okay. I-I getting an adult in here.”
Troy watched his friend stagger out of the door and start running down the hall to the security guard. Shrugging, Troy opened his snack drawer at his desk and started annihilating his stash.
When Caleb returned with the security guard, Troy had devoured every last piece of chocolate, peanut flip, chip, and gummy worm he had stowed away.
“Here, look. Troy isn’t alright. Look!” Caleb said, pointing inside the room.
The security guard walked inside. Troy stood up straight and watched as the security guard dropped his keys. “Y-You’re a student?”
Troy furrowed his brows. “What do you mean? Of course, I am a student.”
The security guard picked up his walky-talky and said, “Murl, call an ambulance. One of the students isn’t doing so well. I don’t know what to tell them, they just need to get here. We needed doctors on the scene an hour ago.”
Troy for the first time realized that he was towering over this grown man and Caleb by way too much. “Oh, god.” He muttered while he finally shook off the dizziness and sleepiness.