Chapter 68
Flange Orphanage, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, the Year 2030, Planet: Grimoire
Six months had passed since the announcement of his admittance into a limited work window. As Grifton suspected it would happen, nobody was pleased with the news. He had to deal with more bullying as he'd predicted would occur.
Luckily, it was limited to unsupervised time, during the wash hour, and occasionally during communal time after studies were completed in the evening.
Grifton paused to wipe sweat from his brow. He glanced at all the wheelbarrows he'd filled with the mulch that would be transferred to the orchards later in the afternoon. He counted to ensure all twelve barrows were filled and none had been punctured.
He has always done checks like that since. Lately, sabotage has been the most common form of bullying. "What immature jerks. Well, at least they haven't gotten to the barrows yet." Thank goodness they were put somewhere where saboteurs couldn't reach.
Unlike other types of equipment, it was often left out at night. However, that ended when several accidents occurred long before Grifton joined the farthest-located work gang. He'd warned the supervisors what he thought might happen to some of their equipment, and surveillance was set up to see if his suspicion was correct.
Several alarms went off one night, scaring years off people's lives. However, that definitely prevented some nasty casualties when saboteurs were caught trying to infiltrate a workroom filled with potentially deadly chemical compounds. They'd been armed with seemingly harmless orbs.
Well, the orbs were harmless until illuminated with a type of mana that would set them off like bombs.
His precognition of that potential future was on target. As a result, he was no longer dismissed when Grifton came to disparate supervisors with warnings. All of them learned, even Director Moline, that if he went with a report of something that could happen, it generally meant that it would happen, usually in less than twenty-four hours.
"I'm just glad the adults are listening to me," Grifton grunted. Much worse could occur if none had." A sigh escaped him.
Grifton found satisfaction in doing a hard day's work when all was said and done. While his workload was much lighter than the adults, he still did his fair share of work. His immediate supervisor, Denby, glanced at him. "What was that sigh for? You get another vision or something?" He was checking him over thoroughly for any signs of bruises or worse.
"Nope, not for any areas of the orphanage." When he headed to the orchards in the farthest boundaries, Grifton had to be wary of jealous brats ambushing him. "I just had to warn the director about one of the merchant wagons heading into the northeastern gate of the Central Marketplace."
"Oh yeah, that area." Denby nodded. "I heard there's some nasty flooding set to happen if some of those dykes aren't repaired soon." He shook his head. "Fools in those official administrative offices and warehouses don't want to shell out the money. They'd rather make the poorer folk pay the bill."
That didn't make sense to Grifton. "Are they just that miserly or stupid?"
Denby snorted. "Both, I reckon." The other men laughed. "They sure don't know how to exhibit common sense either." Denby shrugged.
Wow, that wasn't pleasant to hear, Grifton grimaced. He felt he would wind up in that area at some point. Now that he knew what he was up against, he could take appropriate measures accordingly.
"I don't believe you'll end up there." Denby glanced at him. "Only thieves gather there most times." He frowned. "I've heard that the Fremont Academy claimed that entire section as their turf." He shook his head.
Huh, Grifton frowned slightly. "Does where one resides determine where one winds up studying?" He could've said they were close to that area.
Denby shook his head adamantly. "Absolutely not." He grunted. "Besides, you'll be good enough to enter one of the better academies earlier than expected."
Mmm, Grifton had his doubts about that. While it was confirmed that he'd been able to make some headway in working with element powers and spirits once he'd switched focus. It still wasn't easy for him to master anything but the most basic and lowest-level spells. Fortunately, he discovered those defensive spells could be woven into physical objects such as shoes and clothing. Now, Grifton just had to master being able to transform into a dragon completely. That was a tad more challenging.
"Well, talking about stuff doesn't get work done," Denby murmured. "Just keep in mind that you still have time."
"Right, I'll keep it in mind." Grifton glanced around. "So, what else can I do before I finish my shift?" He wanted to make the most of the four hours allowed at the orchard.
Before Denby could say anything, a distinct chime rang out. It came from their communication devices.
"Alert: hostile forces are gathering on the northwestern and eastern borders of the Republic."
Grifton's blood ran cold. This was happening too often. None of his precog dreams registered this type of thing occurring. Was it for real, or just a drill?
"...All citizens in these sectors, please evacuate to the nearest shelter..."
Apprehensive shivers ran down Grifton's spine. Such announcements spelled other kinds of potential complications.
Denby shook his head. "The Director is going to get ensnarled in this muck, mark my words." The others nodded in wordless disapproval.
A sigh escaped him, but Grifton knew better than to comment. Well, they weren't in any of those sectors.
On the other hand, the orphanage's land was close enough to the shelter. All of them grimaced in aggravation. That the orphanage might get caught up in the confusion. Since they had a few warehouses empty, they could be used for overflow capacity. Grifton hoped that the administrators would overlook that, who would search high and low for empty buildings to confiscate. Well, they would just have to monitor the situation.
"We'll just keep working as normal." Denby decided. "As for you, Grifton can stay here." He didn't want Grifton wandering around.
The circumstances were ripe for an incident where he'd get beaten up in the chaos.
Grifton nodded gratefully.