soldier at the door. He smiles as I approach him, and gives me an encouraging wink.
‘Room three. Your inspector is Lieutenan t Fawcett.’
‘Thank you,’ I say, passing him as I enter the long hallway.
All of the numbered metal doors in the corridor are familiar from the previous inspections, and I hear various noises from behind them as I walk to room three. The door is open and tall man in dark training gear stands at the opposite end of the room with his back to me.
‘Close the door,’ he instructs.
His voice is deep and unfriendly, so I brace myself for an unenjoyable experience as I press my hand to the panel. At my touch, the heavy door closes itself with a dull thud. The room is empty, besides the large, polished lift at the far end that will take us to further floors during the inspection. The inspector turns to face me. As predicted, he looks to be in his early twenties and is heavily built.
‘I am Lieutenant Fawcett,’ he declares. ‘I am your inspector this morning. I will be evaluating you closely, based on the skills you show. Every move you make will be recorded and you shall be ranked. I see you currently rank eighth in your Unit, but know that may change drastically today depending on your displayed performance. Is that clear?’
‘I know how inspections work,’ I say sarcastically.
He steps forward briskly, towering over me.
‘Everything you say is recorded also. Any other comments?’
I stay silent, and hold his stare. He glares at me briefly, before striding towards the lift. I follow him into it, and as I step inside, the door closes and we are taken up one floor. The door opens to reveal a bearded man wielding what appears to be a dark coloured, almost rusty sword. Greatly inferior to the ones we train with.
‘Easy,’ I say, picking up a katana from the weapons rack in front of me.
Fawcett watches me as I confidently walk towards the man. As I approach, the sword in his hand changes slowly into a duplicate of the katana in my hand. I turn to face Lieutenant Fawcett, who is now grinning almost maliciously. Unprepared for this sudden change, I turn back towards the man, who I now assume to be only a simulation. I raise my katana, ready for attack.
15
Kai
‘It’s impossible to cross there, Kai!’ Arys calls to me.
I’m stood on the edge of a narrow ravine, staring across, figuring out a way to pass.
‘There’s a bunch of overgrown plants that look like they can hold our weight,’ I shout back to her. ‘It will save us at least a couple of hours finding our way around it.’
‘If you want to kill yourself, go ahead, but I’m going my own way.’
Looking across, I know that it’s very doable. Arys has been cold towards me since leaving yesterday, and I don’t see her mood changing at all. We’ve only slowly travelled over twenty miles since leaving yesterday, and there are at least another twenty before reaching the city. The plan has been to reach the outskirts of the city and travel north. That’s the general direction of where Arys’s sister will be, and a mountainous wall isn’t a landmark that can easily be hidden, so it’s the best plan we have. The city is bound to be swarming with Hunters, and I’m not sure how prepared we are for this. We made the decision to sleep during the afternoon, and walk from the evening to the early hours of the morning. That’s when the Hunters are on the move. It’s better than being ambushed in our sleep.
After one more glance at my plan to jump the ravine, I know that Arys, in her temper, will probably go around it on her own, and as little the possibility of encountering Hunters during the day, I’d prefer not to risk both my life and hers.
‘You win,’ I call; resigning the plan and walking
‘Room three. Your inspector is Lieutenan t Fawcett.’
‘Thank you,’ I say, passing him as I enter the long hallway.
All of the numbered metal doors in the corridor are familiar from the previous inspections, and I hear various noises from behind them as I walk to room three. The door is open and tall man in dark training gear stands at the opposite end of the room with his back to me.
‘Close the door,’ he instructs.
His voice is deep and unfriendly, so I brace myself for an unenjoyable experience as I press my hand to the panel. At my touch, the heavy door closes itself with a dull thud. The room is empty, besides the large, polished lift at the far end that will take us to further floors during the inspection. The inspector turns to face me. As predicted, he looks to be in his early twenties and is heavily built.
‘I am Lieutenant Fawcett,’ he declares. ‘I am your inspector this morning. I will be evaluating you closely, based on the skills you show. Every move you make will be recorded and you shall be ranked. I see you currently rank eighth in your Unit, but know that may change drastically today depending on your displayed performance. Is that clear?’
‘I know how inspections work,’ I say sarcastically.
He steps forward briskly, towering over me.
‘Everything you say is recorded also. Any other comments?’
I stay silent, and hold his stare. He glares at me briefly, before striding towards the lift. I follow him into it, and as I step inside, the door closes and we are taken up one floor. The door opens to reveal a bearded man wielding what appears to be a dark coloured, almost rusty sword. Greatly inferior to the ones we train with.
‘Easy,’ I say, picking up a katana from the weapons rack in front of me.
Fawcett watches me as I confidently walk towards the man. As I approach, the sword in his hand changes slowly into a duplicate of the katana in my hand. I turn to face Lieutenant Fawcett, who is now grinning almost maliciously. Unprepared for this sudden change, I turn back towards the man, who I now assume to be only a simulation. I raise my katana, ready for attack.
15
Kai
‘It’s impossible to cross there, Kai!’ Arys calls to me.
I’m stood on the edge of a narrow ravine, staring across, figuring out a way to pass.
‘There’s a bunch of overgrown plants that look like they can hold our weight,’ I shout back to her. ‘It will save us at least a couple of hours finding our way around it.’
‘If you want to kill yourself, go ahead, but I’m going my own way.’
Looking across, I know that it’s very doable. Arys has been cold towards me since leaving yesterday, and I don’t see her mood changing at all. We’ve only slowly travelled over twenty miles since leaving yesterday, and there are at least another twenty before reaching the city. The plan has been to reach the outskirts of the city and travel north. That’s the general direction of where Arys’s sister will be, and a mountainous wall isn’t a landmark that can easily be hidden, so it’s the best plan we have. The city is bound to be swarming with Hunters, and I’m not sure how prepared we are for this. We made the decision to sleep during the afternoon, and walk from the evening to the early hours of the morning. That’s when the Hunters are on the move. It’s better than being ambushed in our sleep.
After one more glance at my plan to jump the ravine, I know that Arys, in her temper, will probably go around it on her own, and as little the possibility of encountering Hunters during the day, I’d prefer not to risk both my life and hers.
‘You win,’ I call; resigning the plan and walking
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