The Initiation
Paradise 『Interactive』
You turn your phone off and lean back in your seat with a soft, but audible thud; when were you allowed access to the audio logs?! The man sitting in front looks at you strangely but went back looking the folder in his hands. You shrugged and went back to admiring the view through the window. You fidgeted about in your seat before settling in a comfortable position before allowing your eyes to flutter shut. You haven't slept in fifteen hours. Maybe more.
These few weeks have been hectic, hectic enough for you and hectic enough for the world.
Doomsday. That's what they call it. Doomsday. Demon Apocalypse. Legion come. Whatever it is, whatever they are, they are a threat to humanity. A threat to the people you love and care about. The world crumbling into ruins in three years wasn't anything you expect to happen with the 2012 apocalypse/disaster thing.
Paradise Seoul HQ, South Korea; that's where you're heading to. In a large aircraft fortified with 3 inches of blessed silver and armed with the best weapons money can buy, also blessed with holiest of holy water.
Last of what you've heard, Mercenary sign-ups is still going on in Seoul. Mercenary, that's what you're going there for. To be a Mercenary. They're not directly under Paradise's Military, but they were still authorized to take on clean-up and wipe-out missions. Well, so you've heard.
The aircraft inclines downwards and the flight is no longer smooth. It was enough for you to tense up, causing you to grip the edge of the armrests with both your arms.
"The Lieutenant is looking forward to seeing you, you know? I was told that you would be here on this flight."
Your attention was diverted to the man; officer, you corrected yourself, the badges on his lapel betraying his rank. He looked like he was in his early thirties, but you couldn't be too sure. You force your body to relax and you pry your fingers from the edge of the armrests to rest your arms on your stomach, not breaking eye contact.
"Yes," You speak in a cautious manner, "I know. What of it?"
He laughs, it sounded like the kind of laugh that you'd hear coming from your grandfather, like he found your words amusing.
"Well, I'd like to see what you can accomplish. Looking at who you're related to, I'm sure I can expect great things from you," He grins, and it sends a solitary shiver down your spine. He extends his right arm for you to shake. "It is nice to meet you."
You stand up and take his hand to give it a firm shake, also giving him curt bow because it was polite. You didn't want to offend anyone, superior or otherwise, but he made you feel uneasy; it's still good to be polite anyhow. "It is nice to meet you too, Sir."
The aircraft starts to jerk and you are forced down to your seat. You buckle yourself in and palm the crucifix in your pocket, feeling thankful for the interruption. As the flight stabled, your eyes caught the words flashing on the LED fixture up front.
ETA: 0:02 minutes.
You excused yourself and went to relocate to a much more secluded seat further up.
The sharp, sterile scents of the Reception Hall really put you off. It reminded you of a hospital, and to be frank, hospitals made you uneasy. You hold your ID and whatever luggage you had close.
Looks like the Mercs. are getting a lot of attention, you thought to yourself.
Plenty of people littered around the Merc. Station, you observed, some in groups and some alone and you noticed a line in front of a small section that had "Sign-ups" typed on a thin screen. You entered the line and waited for your turn.
You feel someone tapping on your shoulder not too long after you start to space out and you turn around.
"Hey, you dropped something." A young boy, a teen, smiles at you. Your ID in his hand. You didn't notice it slipping from your grasp, you must've been too out of it to notice.
"Thanks," you returned the gesture; a small smile was all that you could muster, and gingerly took the metal card from his fingers. You must have looked really tired in his eyes, because all you see is sympathy.
"You should get more sleep, alright?" He rubs the skin under his eyes as if he was explaining to you, "Your eyebags are showing," And he walks towards the rest of his group.
You rub your eyes with your fingers. Maybe you do need more sleep, you swore you saw two identical faces at the corner of your eye but you deemed it a hallucination. You promised yourself you'd get at least 8 hours of sleep after this. While you were deep in your thoughts, you weren't aware that it was your turn.
The receptionist intstructs you to step forward before she threatens to unleash her wrath at you, and you do so, ever so willing. "Fill in this form in 5 minutes, or I'm not going to register you in the Database," She, the receptionist whose nametag reads "Anna" says, picking at her nails with a bored expression on her face.
You made a face at her when she wasn't looking and you picked up the pen provided. You filled in your name. Your eyes glance at the question below.
or
Comments