Winter's Tale *DISCONTINUED*

Chapter Seven

The bus ride seemed to take forever. When we first took off, the sun was starting set in the west, lighting up the sky with thousands of fiery colors. But the sunset has long since faded. I watched the sun sink over the hills. Once it was dark, the stars came out, one by one, until the inky black sky was blanketed with them. The moon bright this night. A silver crescent hanging in the sky, watching over everyone in the nation.

Everyone else was fast asleep, except for a select few who were staring out the window, watching the stars. Thank goodness they were not making any noise. Before everyone had fallen asleep, the bus was filled yelling and chatter. I could not stand it.

But now the bus was silent. It would probably be best to get some sleep. I didn't want to be tired on my first day; it would make a bad impression. I bundle up my jacket to create a make-shift pillow and close my eyes. The rhythmic rumble of the bus' engine slowly lulls me to sleep.

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When I wake up the next morning, the sun was just starting to rise. I look around to bus and notice that all of the other kids are also just waking up. I cover my mouth to stifle a yawn. My stomach growls, and thats when I remember that I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon. I was starving!

The bus kept rolling along. About twenty minutes later, I see the glass dome of the Drafting Center in the distance. Another kid seems to have spotted it as well.

"Look!" the boy shouted. "The Drafting Center is right over there!"

This caused quite a stir. All of the kids burst into conversation. People who were sat next to windows were trampled as the kids who weren't try to sneak a peek at the Drafting Center. 

The rest of the drive only last about another two minutes. When the bus parked at the front of the Drafting Center, everyone was in mad rush to get out of the bus. People pushed and shoved each other trying to get to the front of the bus. I decide it would be best to just wait in my seat until all of the other children got off. It didn't take long, and I was able to get off the bus fairly quickly. The drafting center was a large circular building with a huge glass dome. The doors were also made of glass, and slide right open as I approached them.

I gasped in awe when I entered. The building looked even bigger from the inside than the outside! The whole building was clean, white, and polished. Hundreds of men and women in official military outfits were milling around inside. Some stood silently, holding up the number of their unit so the new recruits can find them. Other Soldiers and Hunters were chatting, and some were relaxing and drinking coffee.

I was very eager to be assigned my unit. I walked over to the assignment counters, but every official at the counters had an extremely long line in front of them. I soon found a line that was not as long as the others. It wasn't by much, though.

The wait in line seemed to take hours. I am sure it was not that long, but it sure felt like it. I soon reached the end of the line. A young male Official sat behind the counter.

"First and last name please," the Official commanded me.

"Winter Janus," I replied.

The Official's eyes searched over a long list of names and units.

"Aha!" he said at last. "Winter Janus: Unit 208," He handed me a slip of paper that read 'Winter Janus: Unit 208'.

"Thank you sir!"

"You're welcome miss," The official smile and nodded at me. I smiled back, and quickly ran off to find my new unit.

My eyes scanned the crowd for a sign that said 208. There was a sign that said 135, another that read 674, but none with my unit number.

Finally, I spot a young woman in the back of the room, hold an index card with my unit number. The woman was quite short, and... bigger then most. Her face was round and full of freckles, and her thick, curly, brown hair was tied back in a low ponytail. I immediately run over. The woman smiles as sees me rushing towards her.

"You must be Winter Janus, correct?"

"That correct," I say, completely out of breath.

"Well then, we best be off!" she says cheerfully.

"What about the others?" I ask her.

She stares at me with confusion. "What are you talking about? There are no others."

"But all of the other units have bunches of kids going with them!"

The woman just laughs. "All of these other units are Soldier units! Didn't you recognize the uniforms?"

I feel my face growing hot with embarrassment. Normally I am the type of person to notice small differences like that, but today I was too busy trying to find my own unit to care. It was not a big deal now, but observation is an important skill for a Hunter to have. If you cannot observation, then you might miss important bits of information, or blow your cover during a mission.

"Its ok," the woman assured me. She quickly glanced at her watch. "Wow! If we don't get going soon, we are going to be late!"

We walked over the checkout counters as fast as possible. The woman quickly signed me out, and we headed outside. A sleek, black car was waiting at the curb.

"Why do we have to left so quickly?" I ask the woman as we get in the car. "It's only noon."

"You have a mission tonight. I want to make sure you are prepared, and know the person you will be working with."

"A mission already? I just got here!"

The lady turns around and replies, "That's exactly why you have a mission today. We want to see how you work in different situations. And don't worry, the mission isn't that difficult."

The lady's words do not assure me at all. What are they thinking; sending out a rookie on their first day?

"Oh! I just remembered," the woman exclaimed. "Haven't introduced myself yet!"

"I'm Sarah. I am Unit 208's co-Commander."

Sarah started up the car, and in a few minutes we had left the Drafting Center far behind.

Hi guys! This story is going to be under a new name very soon, 'Winter's Tale'. Tell me what you think in the comments. Also, don't forget to vote if you liked the chapter.