Odyssey of the City of Lights

Odyssey of the City of Lights - Book 1 - Chapter 13

"Hey, Rocket! Get over here!" the grumpy boss yelled across the noisy warehouse floor. A lanky worker with greased-stained overalls and a baseball cap turned backward and glasses like Aaron's hustled over. Grumpy boss grumbled, "Why do you always look like an overgrown toddler... I know you own a washing machine..."

He wiped his hands on a rag and grinned casually. "What's up, boss?" I was sure he heard grumpy bosses grumbling but ignored it.

"Rocket, this is Eli," he said, nodding towards me. "We're testing him out. He's strong as an ox but green as grass. Show him the ropes, will ya?"

Rocket sized me up with an intrigued look before offering a firm handshake. "Sure thing, boss. C'mon, Eli. Stick with me, and you'll be fine. First rule: keep your eyes and ears open. This place is chaos. I don't want you to lose a hand."

"Got it," I replied, trying to sound confident despite my nerves. As we walked away, the boss shouted after us, "And Rocket, don't scare him off on his first day on purpose!"

Rocket guided me through the maze of the warehouse, explaining the layout and pointing out where different items and categories were stored. He showed me the designated areas for loading and unloading, explaining that they prepared the loads for local deliveries and two other warehouses handled deliveries to the villages. I noticed the grumpy boss lurking within earshot, keeping an eye on us.

"Simple, right?" Rocket asked as we reached the back of the warehouse. I nodded, though my mind was racing. There was so much to learn, and I could practically feel the weight of the grumpy boss's gaze on me. "Are you certified in forklift, metal muscle, or anything?" Rocket asked.

"No, nothing like that," I admitted. Rocket shot a dirty look at the grumpy boss and muttered, "Well, shit, this is gonna be fun!"

Rocket did a sign with his hands I recognized from Aaron activating something on the AR glasses and led me towards the front of the warehouse again, stopping in front of a rack.

Rocket sighed and shook his head, pointing to a heavy-looking crate perched on a shelf at my eye level. "Anyways, we need to get that down and over to the loading bay. Let's grab the lift—" Before he could even finish, I stepped forward, reached up, and effortlessly lifted the item off the shelf. The weight felt familiar, like hoisting a bale of hay back on the farm.

"Holy smokes, Eli!" Rocket's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at me. "I didn't think you'd just hoist it like that! Are you a cyborg?"

"No," I replied with a shrug, carrying the item with ease. "All biological. I guess farm work builds more than just character."

"No shit," Rocket said, shaking his head. "Well, don't do that too often. Don't want to break your back. Let's go there." He gestured towards the loading dock, and we began to walk.

As we moved through the warehouse, the grumpy boss suddenly appeared, running up to us with a forklift and a pallet. "Put it down, numbnuts!" he barked at me.

I obeyed, gently lowering the crate onto the pallet. I looked up at him, confused. "What's up?"

Grump's boss stepped back, glaring at Rocket. "What are you thinking, hazing him like this?!" he yelled.

Rocket lifted his hands defensively, but before he could say anything, I grabbed the handles of the forklift and pushed them towards the loading dock. Rocket and Grumpy Boss went silent, staring at me with wide eyes.

"You said you didn't know how to use a forklift!?" Grumpy boss exclaimed, looking both impressed and annoyed.

I smiled over my shoulder as I continued pushing the forklift. "No, I said I'm not licensed." I bluffed that I knew how to use it and was hoping that intuition would carry me the rest of the way. Rocket caught up with me, smirking, and led me to where I needed to go.