Someone was shaking Crystal. She opened her bleary eyes, letting them refocus.
Where was she? This wasn't her room. This… This was…
All at once, the memories of the previous day came crashing into her head again. Being thrown into… wherever she was now. Fighting those creatures. The dead soldiers, who were left behind. And… being promoted?
At least something good had happened. Well, she figured it was a good thing.
She rubbed the remaining sleep out of her eyes, and stood up.
"Ah, our brilliant Captain is finally awake!"
That boy was standing over her again. Come to think of it, she still didn't know his name. She sighed. It would be kind of awkward asking him now, wouldn't it? But… it would also be awkward to not know his name…
Ah, to hell with it. She'd been here so many times, and everytime, it ended up like this. She took a deep breath, and spoke in a resigned voice.
"...What's your name?"
"Huh. Well, I suppose it's not your fault I never told you. I'm Elias. Nice to meet you."
He held his hand out for her to shake. She hesitated, before taking it and giving it a firm grasp. She smiled at him, hoping to dispel the tension.
"...This is where you tell me your name? Captain?"
She blushed. How could she forget something that simple?
"Crystal. Nice to meet you too… Actually, could I get all of your names? I don't think, uh, that I know any of you…"
Nailed it.
The other 2 gave her slightly strange looks, before clearing their throats.
"Cole."
"David."
"Thanks. Nice to meet you."
Elias was the only young one, like her. The others were older, likely in their thirties. However, despite their supposed seniority over Crystal and Elias, they were much quieter and didn't step up when Crystal was promoted. Maybe they weren't predisposed to leading, or they simply didn't want the position.
They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, everyone eating a bland meal pack. Elias spoke suddenly, cutting into the tension.
"I hate to say this, but I think our six hours are up."
Crystal sighed. It was quite comfortable inside the wagon, at least compared to the heat of the desert. It was like there was AC, even though she knew that was crazy. She slowly stood up, and made her way to the door. She opened it, and a wave of heat blasted her in the face, making her dread going outside.
Still, she jumped down into the sand. She landed with a small grunt, and looked around. It was… the same as the previous day. However, Crystal couldn't manage to shake off the feeling of desperation inside her. Not in the way that she was desperate, but something else. Like someone was shaking her, yelling at her, rambling in some sort of panicked state.
She shook her head. That was too weird to think about. She could probably just chalk it up to the strangeness of the situation.
Right now, she had to figure out what to do. And that, most likely, was report to someone. To whom? Well… the man that had helped her earlier was a safe bet. And, as it turned out, he was only a few wagons ahead of her. She could just barely make him out, talking to another soldier.
"Stay here, I'll be right back."
The three soldiers nodded back at her. She jogged up to the man, who had just turned away from the other soldier when she arrived. He looked confused for a second, before a flash of recognition covered his face.
"Ah. One of our new Captains, I see."
'One of?'
Were there multiple new Captains? Crystal figured that a promotion to Captain was rare, at least slightly so. Then again, a Captain supposedly only led a few soldiers into battle. Her previous Captain only led 6 others, including Crystal. So, maybe, it was more common than she had originally thought.
"Um, yeah. New Captain."
He sighed. The motion revealed the bags under his eyes, as well as his heavy exhaustion. Even Crystal could tell he was being overworked.
"March alongside the wagon you were assigned to. A messenger will inform you if you need to engage with the enemy. Other than that, you are to wait for further instructions."
Crystal thought for a moment.
"Got it. Thanks… sir."
"Yup…"
Crystal jogged away. Hopefully, that man would be able to get some rest soon. Not her problem, anyways. She had to focus on herself, and her group.
"Okay, we're staying here. Someone will inform us if needed."
The others nodded. Eventually, they settled into a walk next to the wagon. They walked in silence for a few minutes, before Elias spoke up.
"So, where are you all from? I'm from the Capital."
Crystal panicked. She didn't know anything about this place. How was she supposed to say where she was from? She definitely couldn't say she was from Earth…
David spoke in his gruff voice from behind her.
"Silver City."
"Oh, I've always wanted to go! So luxurious there, don't you think?"
"Better than the army."
Elias stared at David with a flat expression on his face.
"No, really? I thought this was the peak of luxury."
Elias sighed, before turning towards Cole.
"And you?"
"Also from the Capital. Eastern Quadrant."
"Ah. I'm from the Western Quadrant. Explains why we never met each other."
Cole raised an eyebrow.
"There are millions of people in that city. Living in the same Quadrant doesn't mean you'll see everyone."
Elias muttered something under his breath before facing Crystal.
"And you, Captain?"
Crystal's face revealed none of her panic, but on the inside, she was a complete mess. However, she had managed to come up with an excuse.
"Oh… I traveled around a lot. City to city before the army."
"Ah, a traveler. How rare!"
Thank god. She was scared that it wouldn't work.
"So, have you been to the Capital?"
"...No. I stayed in rural areas, mostly. The Capital… "
She desperately tried to think of an excuse.
"...The Capital is too big for me. Too crowded."
Elias seemed confused.
"You seem like the type that would thrive in such a city, though."
Which, of course, was true. Crystal did live in a city. Just not… here. Here, she had to lie to people to survive. So, that's what she would do, if that's what it would take. She looked at Elias, and flashed a smile at him.
"People say that. I'm sure a smaller city would be good for me. Although… I'm not sure I could leave the wilderness behind."
The lies were coming with every sentence she spoke. When did lying to people become so natural for her?
Elias looked at her, wide-eyed.
"But- It's so dangerous!"
Uh. This was… not what she expected. Dangerous, sure. But wasn't all wilderness dangerous? Elias spoke of it like it was lethal to step into the wild for even a second.
What was she even supposed to say to that? She smirked.
"I'm dangerous too."
Elias and the others chuckled.
"Can't argue with that one. You pulled some moves against those Wolves."
Crystal just nodded.
Elias was about to speak again, probably to ask the group another question, when Crystal's head snapped up. Elias quickly followed.
A young woman practically sprinted up to them, slowing as she approached them.
"Go! You're all needed!"
Crystal's eyes widened.
"Where?"
The woman just pointed before taking off again. Crystal followed her finger to a huge cloud of dust on the horizon. Slightly closer to the convoy, a huge line of soldiers in glimmering armor stood. That… There had to be over a thousand of them. This had to be almost the entire convoy.
What threat could be so large that it required the whole army? Was it another hostile army? Was it just a random horde of monsters? Somehow, Crystal didn't think so. This had to be an intentional action by something.
Maybe it was whatever had sent her here.
"Let's go. You know the drill."