Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
Someone scanned my ring after I left the submarine, but I didn’t get a chance to check how many coins had been deposited. Opening my eyes in the sunlight caused too much head pain.
I was vaguely aware of being carried into a small hover ship, then being in flight.
A lady wearing green entered, carrying a tray containing a water bottle and a plastic-wrapped sandwich.
“Where am I?” I asked.
“Beauchamp Hospital,” she replied with a smile. Noticing my confused look, she added, “It’s on Founders’ Isle. You had a mild concussion, but we’ve treated you and you slept well. I’ll let you eat and then you may leave if you wish.”
Before grabbing the sandwich, I checked my ring. Its balance had increased by 160 coins. Not much, if you asked me, in exchange for risking my life against flesh-eating beasts.
A quick calculation told me that it wasn’t enough to hit bronze within a month, like Hayden had. Which meant there had to be other jobs that paid better. There had to be, or Hayden never would have made that target. But were they all as dangerous as this?
Was there no happy medium between earning decent pay and not being attacked by sharks?
Anger and frustration prickled inside me. I shoved the water bottle and sandwich into my backpack. Then I stalked out of the sparklingly clean hospital building, so much larger and emptier than the one on the islet, and emerged from the glass revolving doors into hazy sunlight.
I pulled out my tablet and brought up directions to the nearest shuttle station, before walking ahead along the adjoining, white-stoned street at a brisk pace.
Why did things have to be so difficult? All we were trying to do was survive.
A familiar laugh suddenly wrang out, from somewhere on the other side of the road. A deep rich chortle that came from the belly. Turning, I realized it was Anna.
Outside an eatery decorated with vine leaves, she sat around a table with a group of three other women, who all looked about her age.
The four of them wore colorful dresses, their well-groomed hair glossy in the sunlight.
Mugs rested in front of them, and a basket of something lay in the center of their table.
Anna noticed me and raised a hand.
“Hey, Tani! Fancy seeing you here!”
When her friends turned to face me, I noticed they all wore gold rings like Anna. I couldn’t help but wonder if each of them had actually earned those one million coins, or if they came from wealthy families.
“Why don’t you come and take a seat with us?” Anna called. “If you haven’t eaten yet, your dinner is on me!”
I hesitated, not feeling in the mood to be around people. But I supposed I may as well acquiesce. Perhaps I would hear something helpful in the conversation. I crossed the street and Anna pulled up an extra chair next to her.
I frowned slightly as my eyes fell on cupcakes in the basket at the center of the table. Their pink and purple icing formed the shape of unicorns that matched the tattoo on Anna’s neck. Noticing where my eyes had fallen, she chortled.
“In case you’re wondering, unicorns are one of my favorite creatures,” she said. “And it’s my birthday today, hence the cakes!”
“Oh. Happy birthday,” I said politely.
“Thanks, hon,” she replied with a grin, then called to a waitress who handed over a menu. “Order what you want,” Anna said, pressing the menu into my hands.
I gazed slowly down at the list of items, and I noticed the expensive prices before the actual items. 60 coins, just for a spinach and capsicum pizza. 30 coins for a salad. What a way to blow a day’s worth of work.
But since Anna was paying…
“I-I’ll take this pizza, and this salad, thanks,” I said. I couldn’t help my mouth watering at the prospect of tasting fresh vegetables again. So they did grow them somewhere... “And just water for a drink.”
I handed the menu back to the waitress, and she retreated into the eatery.
“So,” Anna said, rolling up the sleeves of her red, knee-length dress.
She looked to each of her three friends.
“This is Tani, in case you didn’t gather, and Tani, this is Sally,”—she pointed to the brunette—“Jane,”—she pointed to the blonde—“and Alice,” she said, ending with the woman with long, dark braids on my right.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, eyeing them tentatively.
“And you,” they replied through smiles.
“So, you’re a new recruit?” Jane asked, taking a sip from her cup.
“Yes,” I replied, resting my hands on the smooth wooden table, and suddenly aware of how scruffy I must’ve looked amongst all the other people sitting in this restaurant.
I hadn’t even looked at myself in the mirror since the shark escapade.
But I also struggled to find a reason to care at the moment.
“Her group settled into their new homes last week,” Anna explained, picking up a cupcake and taking a slow bite.
“How have you been finding it?” Sally asked.
I hesitated, knowing that it wouldn’t be polite to come off as critical, given that Anna had just ordered me a meal, but also unable to lie through my teeth. “It’s… definitely different to anything I’ve been used to.”
“Is that a polite way of saying you don’t like it here?” Alice asked with a grin.
I turned to her, surprised that she would voice that conclusion. “No. I mean, it’s a beautiful place. But you’ve got to understand—we’ve come from the jungle. Everything about this place, it’s just…”
“Totally different,” Alice finished for me. “That’s fine. We get it. We have a lot of settlers from very different backgrounds here, and it usually takes a while to acclimate. How have you been finding the jobs so far?”
I lowered my eyes to the table, and wondered whether I should inform them of the disaster that was this morning. “I’m not going to lie, the days can be pretty grueling,” I replied.
“Hard work, right?” Anna asked with an odd smile.
“Very hard work.”
“Ah, but it will all be worth it in the end,” Jane replied, leaning over the table and giving my hand a quick squeeze.
“You’re part of something big here,” Sally added, a twinkle in her blue eyes as she reclined in her chair. “We all are.” She exchanged a knowing glance with Jane and Alice, who both grinned back at her.
“What do you mean?” I asked, furrowing my brow. The sudden smugness emanating from all three of Anna’s friends was almost overpowering, and it made my stomach turn uneasily.
Anna rested a firm hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, they’re just teasing you,” she said, throwing a playful scowl at her friends.
“Honestly, what we’re working for is to help as many people like you as possible.
As I explained before, it’s a virtuous cycle.
The more you help us, the more we can help others.
And we want to bring out the best in each one of Fairwell’s residents.
Which means we try to stretch people. Nobody can fulfill their potential unless they are challenged, and in this day and age, people must be the strongest they can be, if we have any hope of raising a generation that is strong and brave enough to not only weather, but thrive in, the future.
As you know, things are getting tougher out there. ”
I nodded, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in my throat. Regardless of Anna’s seemingly logical explanation, there was something odd about these people. Something that caused that dull poke in my stomach to return full force.
My meal arrived half a minute later, and I didn’t enjoy the scent of it nearly as much as I should have.
I attempted to continue the conversation. “So what do you ladies do for a living?” I glanced at Anna’s three friends.
“Ah, we all work together in the meteorologist office at the top of Founders’ Fortress,” Alice replied.
“Oh, in that big glass construction, right at the very tip?” I asked.
Alice nodded.
“What does that involve?” I asked.
“Studying weather patterns, mostly, and trying to predict storms,” Jane replied.
“Our parents have posts in Fairwell’s government—some part of the Governors Board—and we’re lucky enough to not need to work,” Sally added matter-of-factly.
“But we do, of course! It’s part of Fairwell’s ethos.
Everyone must have an occupation. It wouldn’t be fair otherwise. ” She chuckled, biting into a cupcake.
“Right,” I said slowly, around a mouthful of hot pizza. So, it seemed like they were ‘rich kids’. “If your parents work in the government, does that mean you live in Founders’ Fortress?”
“Yes, we do,” Alice replied. “But we have our own apartments, or at least I do.” She smirked at Anna.
My eyes traveled to Anna. “Is your family also involved in governance?”
Anna nodded. “Yes, my father is deeply involved—and I live with my family up in the fortress.”
“Anna’s been saying she’ll move out of her parents’ for years,” Alice said, grinning.
“Yeah, but living with them is just way more convenient,” Anna grumbled. “I’d have to travel to get to Mom’s peach pie.”
Her friends laughed.
“The fortress is an impressive building,” I commented after a beat. If I craned my neck upward, I could see the beginnings of its massive stone base from here.
“It is, isn’t it?” Anna smiled. “Well, with your work ethic, I’m sure you’ll be reaching bronze soon enough—and you’ll have to pay a visit there to exchange your e-ring.” From the glint in her eyes, I suspected that she somehow knew I had diverged from construction this morning.
“What makes you say that?” I asked.
“Oh, I just saw you on the leaderboard this morning, when I checked into our outreach office up in the fortress. You’re right near the top of our list of our latest arrivals in terms of earnings and access to new opportunities.”
Leaderboard? They were monitoring us that closely? I stared at her. I’d had no idea they paid this much attention to detail in regard to us. I felt split between impressed and creeped out.