Daylight

3 - First Day

I barely slept all night. The times I was able to drift off I woke myself up quickly with some horrible and completely random nightmare.

Medical training was giving me anxiety. I was not looking forward to walking into the building. My alarm went off early. I had gotten a follow up notification last night with a time I was supposed to arrive and who I needed to find when I got there.

I got changed into the unspoken uniform around here; dark, slim fit athletic pants and a matching long sleeved shirt. The Compound flag color color was a deep navy blue so naturally, navy was pretty standard for most clothing options. The Compound Leaders stated that they didn't control our clothing and that we have free will, but it certainly doesn't feel that way when they are the ones who "encourage" the textiles sector to keep the colors options uniform.

With my hair slicked back into a neat ponytail, I made my way downstairs to the kitchen. My parents had beat me down there and had already started making breakfast. I stole a piece of toast off of my dads plate before heading to the door.

"You're leaving the house looking like that?" My dad said teasingly as I made my way past him.

"What's wrong with it?" It 's not like we had a ton of options, I thought I looked pretty professional by Compound standards. Just because I didn't want to be there, doesn't mean I didn't want to make a good impression. These were the people would who I will be spending most of my time with from now on, last thing I need is for them to think I don't care.

"For starters, medical is one of the few professions with a uniform." My mom filled in. I raised an eyebrow at her, as if I didn't know that they had one.

"That may be true, but it's my first day and scrubs aren't part of my wardrobe yet." I answered her. She nodded to the front door, as I followed her gaze I noticed a package on the floor.

"Damn, the Compound is always one step ahead, huh?" I whispered more to myself than anyone else as I walked over to grab the plain white box that had my name neatly printed across the top.

I quickly ran upstairs and traded my navy clothing in for navy scrubs. I shouldn't be surprised that the Compound knows my clothing size, I mean they have all my information filed, but it was still a mystery to me how they managed to keep everything so organized. It's not like this was a small community, there are so many moving parts and people who live in these walls. I can't imagine the poor soul whose job it is to handle everyone's information.

"Okay, leaving for real this time." I smiled at my parents as I once again headed for the door. I silently thanked them for not bringing up last nights... situation. They both waved me off wishing me luck and let me know how proud they were of my placement as I left.

I walked quickly through the Compound. I'd been past the medical building tons of times but never actually inside it. If there was a health issue, the medical staff came to you. The only reason to be admitted inside the building without a staff pass was for surgery or autopsy.

I walked up to the doors, there had been an ID card in the package they sent me with my scrubs. I scanned it unsuccessfully twice before being let in. The inside was just as cold as the outside. Steel grey walls and no decor. It was as uninviting as it could possibly be.

Okay, the message said someone named Cyrus would "collect" me to begin my training. People were walking around me to get into the building, shooting looks at me like they knew I didn't belong there. Or, at least that's how it felt.

"Mila Hale?" A small, bubbly, blonde girl in her late twenties walked up to me. Most definitely not who I was picturing when I heard the name Cyrus.