The commander called for someone to show us where we would stay for the night.
It was just a tiny room enough room for the bags the group carried, two bunk beds, and a small yellow lightbulb hanging from the ceiling.
After settling into the room, we picked out where we would sleep. I slept atop the bunker with Maven underneath me. Mansi picked the top bunker next to me with Karmon under her.
I left my sword next to my bed with the cloth I found wrapped around the hilt.
I nestled into the covers and waited for the others to sleep. I watched the spider on the ceiling dance around a moth caught in its web, which I figured would be better than staring at the wall all night.
"Tori? We need to set some things straight." Mansi said.
I looked over at her bed, where she stared at the same spider.
"Why are you following us? What do you want?" She asked
I shrugged.
"Then, where are you from? What town? Family? Is there someone looking for you?" Karmon asked
I shrugged again.
"Stop shrugging and talk. You have a voice." Maven said
…How embarrassing.
I opened my mouth and said, "S…skie"
"Skee? Oh! Sky!" Mansi said, "Wait…Sky?"
I pointed to the ceiling.
"You fell from the sky?" Maven questioned
"Tee," I said
That didn't sound right. I tried again.
"Trree"
"You fell from a tree? Is that why you don't remember anything? You got amnesia after you fell from the tree." Mansi said
I shrugged
It's better than saying I just appeared on a tree and jumped down.
"I guess that makes sense. Then, you don't know what this place even is or who we even are," Karmon said. "We should explain the basics to him. It's dangerous for people who know nothing in this world."
Mansi yawned and turned around.
"You do it. I'm tired."
I turned back to Karmon and waited for him to explain this world.
Karmon rubbed the back of his neck and turned towards Maven.
Maven rolled his eyes and sat up under his covers.
"There are four kingdoms, and each one has one guardian assigned to protect it. Big Pebble Kingdom, the one we come from, has the golem guardian. It holds the power of the earth. It also protects the other region. A place on the other side of the earth that doesn't have any guardians. It's also where Mansi first lived before she moved to Big Pebble Kingdom. The kingdom where we're at right now is called the Falling Sky Kingdom. This kingdom has the sky whale guardian with the power of the wind."
I blinked.
"The next kingdom would be the Soft Shore Kingdom with the water horse as their kingdom. As the name gives away, they have the power of the water. And then there's the Blazing Leaf Kingdom." He lowered his eyes. "Their protector is the phoenix with the power of fire. We don't need to worry about that kingdom anymore."
I waited for him to elaborate on the topic, but he simply settled into his bed, facing the wall.
"He doesn't like to talk about the fire clan," Karmon whispered to me.
And with that, they all went to sleep, and I watched the spider suck the blood from its prey.
***
I turned my head over to the top of a head with matted black hair that laid peacefully on my arm.
I hope this feeling of peace will stay with us until the end.
The head moved to look up at me, but before I could see their face, the scenery changed from a green grassy field looking over a small stream into a whirlwind of fire and smoke. The sun set the world ablaze, and I watched the same person cry in pain and agony as they looked down at another.
I watched this person as I faded away with the night wind.
(Present)
"Yoo-hoo! Are you there?" Someone asked as they waved a hand in front of my face.
I blinked and looked up at Mansi's face.
"Did you not sleep at all today?" She asked
I shook my head.
"You not sleepy or something?"
I shook my head again.
She shrugged and said," Well, just don't fall asleep on the job."
How hard could this job be?
…
I immediately regret those thoughts.
"Keep it moving! There are only two choices! Hot or cold! You'll end up with the latter if you don't move it!" Mansi yelled at the countless soldiers entering the lunch hall.
After waking up before sun up, we were escorted to the lunch hall to prepare breakfast for the four hundred soldiers who would soon wake up. Making the food wasn't difficult. Sure, we had a few ups and downs, such as when we confused the flour with the salt and when we burnt almost all the eggs before turning the heat down. But in my defense, I wasn't sure what eggs were supposed to look like…or even what an egg was.
After getting the food prepared, we set the tables neatly and waited for the soldiers to arrive.
We knew they were near when we heard the stampede of soldiers marching in by the bulk into the building. They didn't spare us any more than a second glance when they started grabbing dishes at random and fighting over who got what.
This brings us to the present: Maven was at the front of the herd trying to get them in order (failing miserably), Mansi was stopping a fight between two people over food and trying to move them along, and Karmon was fighting someone over food. And I was-
"Hey! Where's Tori?!" Karmon yelled just before a soldier dumped a mix of burnt and underdone eggs atop his head.
"Don't waste food!" Mansi yelled
"That ain't food! It's poison!" The soldier yelled
The three yelled at each other for a while longer, somehow understanding each other and getting more upset. I watched all this from the corner of the room where I hid behind the catering tables. I looked down at the hardly edible food and got an idea. But before I could tell the others, a large body stood before me. I looked up at the soldiers who took notice of me and surrounded me.
"Hey, kitten," the soldier in the middle purred. "How'd you get tangled up in this mess?"
Seeing as I didn't say anything, the other soldiers joined in the teasing.
The soldier leaned in further to look at my face better and asked "Why don't we get tangled up in something else in my room?"
I didn't know what he was talking about, but I was uncomfortable and wanted to get away from him. I started to walk around him until he grabbed the back of my neck to keep me from continuing.
I had no other thoughts other than getting this man away from me. I jabbed my elbow into his stomach as hard as I could, which loosened his grip. Grabbing his arm, I kicked him to the ground and yanked the arm I held backward. He screamed and begged me to let him go.
"Alright! Alright! Let go! Let me go!" He yelled
This caught the attention of the others, who started to gather around.
I looked up at the other soldiers, who flinched under my gaze.
I calmly said, "Sit your asses down, and we'll serve you your food. We understand that the food isn't to your liking, but you also need to understand that this is our first day on the job. We swear to serve you the best we can make for the following meals. Thank you for your cooperation."
I let the soldier I held go, and he scurried to the nearest chair. All the other soldiers marched to their own seats, and some even bowed their heads after my small speech.
"You are very scary when you want to be, aren't ya?" Karmon said
I scratched my head in confusion about how I did what I did.
"Take advantage! Go! Go!" Maven said, carrying plates of food to the hungry soldiers.
We delivered the food around, and after each soldier was finished they stood all at once and left to their training areas.
A woman walked in as we cleaned the spilled food and washed dishes.
"Still here?" She laughed. "People usually tuck their tails in and run after breakfast!"
"Not us, ma'am!" Mansi stated
She looked at each of us and said, "Well, on to your next job! Don't worry, this one will be easier!"
And yeah. In a way, it was easier. She had us wash the used training areas from the blood and sweat. I stretched my back out, looked towards the sky, and wondered, was this how I would use this life of mine?
"Tori? You can take a break if you'd like. We've only got a few more tough spots, and we'll be done." Karmon said when he noticed my stretching.
Now that I've stopped working, I realized that I was feeling a bit fatigued, which was a first for me.
I sat next to a wall and closed my heavy eyes and slid into darkness. I slept for the first time in this life.