Unity

Three: Arrival

"Sir?" I figured now was the best time.

"Mathis," he said flatly.

"Will we get back any of our items that were taken before the Recruitment?" I asked.

"The same rules apply here," he said, cutting my dangling hopes' last thread. "If something was taken then it concealed your identity and is not permitted within the Facility either."

"But just sun—"

"No, Mathis." He glared at me. "That's final."

My heart sunk. That was it then, my eyes were on display to everyone now. I looked away from my team.

Supervisor Lautrec slid his own key into the slot and opened the wing doors. We all stepped in. There was a hallway with a few doors ending in a circular room. The circular room was filled with couches and chairs, along with a few coffee tables and a fireplace with a tall chimney directly in the center. The doors in the main hall were labeled: "Supervisor's Quarters," "Battle Room Three," and "Female Baths" on the left and "Battle Room One," Battle Room Two" and "Male Baths" on the right. We followed the hallway down to the circular room, lined with five doors labeled One-Five.

"These are your rooms." Lautrec waved at them unceremoniously. "Your keys respond to the doors. We do not tolerate... relations between male and female Agents. Do not lend anyone your key."

"Yes, sir." We all responded, some blushing more than others.

"Wake up is at five a.m." Lautrec grumbled. "I will be just outside our wing to receive you. Promptly. Dismissed." Without waiting for a response, Lautrec retreated to his quarters and slammed the door.

I wondered what time it was and glanced at the digital clock on the wall. 8:57 p.m. I looked around for Mallory but she had already scuttled off into her room, along with Rex to his. Lynette walked over to me.

"What do you think they're gonna make us do tomorrow?" She smirked. "A battle to the death?"

"They wouldn't pit us against each other now." Chance responded while slipping his key into Room 1's lock. "We're a team. At least we're supposed to be. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Lynette and I answered.

"What was up with that Mallory chick?" Lynette said in a slightly more hushed tone. "She got you good."

"I'm sure it was just some sort of accident or misunderstanding." I reasoned.

"She seemed pretty angry... But hey, whatever you think." Lynette strolled over to Room 3. "Gotta crash to make that 5 a.m. wake up. 'Night."

She slipped inside her room.

"Goodnight..." I said to empty space.

Sighing, I inserted my own key and entered my room. Inside, everything was gray. The sheets, walls, floor, provided clothes. In the closet there was one white uniform with blue trim, only to be worn for actual missions. There wasn't even a window, just florescent lights stuck into the ceiling. I looked around and found no light switch for them so I assumed they were on a timer.

I pulled off my dirty, sweaty, ripped, bloody clothes leaving only my boxers and flopped into bed. I released a final sigh of relief.

Rolland. I made it. Finally, I'm here.

I rolled over under the covers and felt my body grow heavy. At last... I could relax.

# ~ # ~ # ~ #

My body tensed as I felt a cold rush of ice water fall on my face. I jerked up.

"Morning killer," Mallory flashed a broken smile. "This is your 4:30 a.m. wake up call."