Compared to the atmosphere of the group before signing the paperwork, the attitude of the new students was downright gloomy as they continued making their way through the immense castle that was Hunter Academy.
After all, the students had just signed a contract which required them to relinquish their American citizenship while they attended the academy—instead becoming citizens of Hunter Island. Combined with the loss of their passports, it was difficult for the new students to not feel like they'd just made themselves hostages.
Alexandre was pretty certain that nobody else had the same foresight as him to make fake passports, which also meant none of them had done the same research as him. Of course, there were more than a few students for whom this wouldn't be an issue—their parents were extremely wealthy and could afford to shuttle their children off the island in a private jet if necessary.
At long last, the group arrived at the academy's infirmary ward. It could have been any other building within the castle's array of annex rooms, only distinguished by the large red cross on a white background displayed on one side of the door as a tapestry.
Elise opened the infirmary door. "Come!" she ordered with a shout.
Once more, Alexandre was the first to move. He stepped through… and then paused in shock.
Though the outside of the room had looked just as much like a medieval castle as the rest of the academy, the interior was a completely different world. It was an ultra-modern, sterile facility like you'd find in the best hospitals in the world, full of state-of-the-art equipment and staff who were suited head to foot in protective suits.
One of the new students nudged Alexandre and spoke in French, likely because he'd heard Alexandre's earlier remark in that language. "Ont direz Laboratoire arme bacteriologie!"
Alexandre nodded. He couldn't agree more with that statement. This did indeed look like a futuristic laboratory from some scifi movie where a super-disease was being researched.
Elise led the new students through the middle of the infirmary until she reached what looked like a temporary information center, likely erected for this purpose. "Here's today's batch," she said.
A dark-haired Latino man in his fifties sat at the information center, and he gave a grimace. "Not again, Elise! I'm exhausted! Every year is the same damn thing. We're ordered to do hundreds of procedures on hundreds of patients, but do they give us more staff? No! And people aren't exactly doing us the service of not getting sick and injured in the meantime! Honestly, if this keeps up, I'm quitting. I'll go work at the Terra HQ in Miami! At least I'll get a nice view of sandy beaches and tiny bikinis!"
Elise didn't seem the least bit bothered by this outburst. "The union gave you a choice, José. More staff, or a $10,000 yearly bonus. I understand the vote was unanimous, so I don't want to hear a word of complaint now."
José gave a tremendous roll of his eyes. "Maybe if I got paid more than $5,000 a month for what would've made me eight times that much in the old world, I wouldn't have taken such a poor deal! Whoever heard of a doctor driving a used car? Nobody thinks about car dealers. What's become of them since the Great Wave, the poor things!?"
Elise examined her nails and said in a bored voice, "Just get a loan like everyone else, José!"
José scoffed, "I'd rather be mugged in the street! Bankers are all thieves!" A slightly mischievous tone came into his voice—it seemed that this banter was a common thing between him and Elise. "Alright, alright. I'll take care of these students. Miami can wait for a bit! By the way, Elise, I'm free tonight. How'd you feel about having drinks in my room?"
"Oh dear," said Elise flatly, "I seem to have forgotten where your room is."
"Come on," José whined, "you know very well I'm in Block C, No. 78!"
Elise smirked and turned to leave. "Bye, José! Don't forget that bonuses only come to those who follow orders!"
José gave a deep, tortured sigh, then turned back to the new students. "Alright then. Hello, everyone! I'm Dr. José Del Bran, Co-Medical Director of Hunter Academy—creator and head of development for the Aurora Program. Each of you will need to follow me into a "special" area here… but first, make sure you've all put on the Pip-Boy you were just given."
His tone became bleak. "If you manage to break your Pip-Boy, my advice as a medical professional is to commit suicide. Those things are worth $100,000 each, and the academy doesn't offer credit!"
Alexandre was glad he'd already swapped out his new Pip-Boy for the counterfeit device, as it would've been much harder to do with so many people around. At this point, he simply tried to act like everyone else, tightening the Pip-Boy and pretending that he'd never seen such advanced equipment before.
After everyone had put on their Pip-Boys, José rose and called out, "Follow me, students, we're going to take the elevator!" He chuckled and thought to himself, 'I hope nobody's claustrophobic!'