A Crumbling Society

Part 3-10

Fire-Soul

We began walking in single file, the man stood between both lines to keep his watch at all times. It felt that if we strayed even a hair out of line, we would be shot dead in an instant. I minded myself but remained conscientious of the things around me like the guards and buildings. The team was in front of me, and Summoner was at my back if we needed support. This whole thing still hadn't formed any type of positive feelings for me to think it was a good idea. I'm on board as I want to see if anyone else is alive, and save them, but I can't help questioning the entire ordeal. What happens if we fail or if we end up dying, then us getting here would have been a waste. At least it would feel like a waste, for Karma, I'm not sure what all she means either but we're still here. Inching closer to the main gate, about thirty-four men and women stood with padded gear. Guns were held in front of them in uniform stances but ready to shoot if provoked or commanded. Intimidation was baring down but not so affective on me, I stayed calm the closer we got. They asked us in firm tones to empty our pockets and have our badges ready. Good thing nobody brought anything with us, but the badge part got me at first. This was where I was too terrified to look back at Summoner in fear that it would give us away. Wanting to ask him what to do or for help since I know that we never got any badges would've ended everything. Abiding by command I still reached into my pockets so they could see that I was trying. To my surprise something poked me at first, startling my hand it hopped right out but it went back in. Sliding my fingers downward there was a smooth surface, tracing the object told me it was rectangular. I pulled it out in question as to how it got there and what exactly it could be. A picture of my face, while I looked like this, was present in the top, there were bits of information that followed. My name on here wasn't my birth name, Gwyn West, it was a completely different one, Veronica Collins. Not confident that name suits me or that I have any likenesses of a Veronica, but it'll do. Filling out the rest of the card with my birthdate and height made it look like an I.D. card. Even I felt that it would pass as legitimate but still wore a fascinated look on my face. Shaking it off quickly we arrived right at the first person waiting to greet us, sort of. The others began pulling out their badges and flashing them to the guards, it made me feel more comfortable. Now that the rest of us have them as well I regained my confidence and showed mine off. Moving down the line of guards we each reached the last man standing. He took our badges from us and scanned them individually and then gave them back to us after they beeped with approval.

Once we all got scanned it was time to move on to the next checkpoint, we all walked towards a doorway. It looked like the first one attached to the actual prison, so we were getting closer to being on the inside. A team of ten guards followed beside us, not a single one of them spoke just as we didn't either. Their armor was black, and the padding matched, a dark red color fit underneath what looked like the main outfit. These guys must be a certain squad for bringing people in, I'd say they're more skilled than the others or just trained differently. When the leader reached the door, they turned around and began explaining that once we go in there will be another process. This one involves a body scan with biometric scanners to present ourselves as cleaning crew. She mentioned that it might get a little warm because of the heat sensors and I knew that this was going to be my turn to perform. The nerves were kept at bay, but my mind was telling me not to mess up. I had several of us to get through and I didn't want to be the one to ruin it for everybody. Keeping a straight face was really taxing too since I was scared to show emotions through my expressions. We still have a job to do, and I needed to clear my head to get it done. Stargazer was asked to step up first and she placed a clip on him while attaching the I.D. badge to it. Addressing everyone again she told us that this was for the sensor to pick up where we were. It also was the one thing they provided for us going in so that the badges were displayed already. Tapping his shoulder gave him the okay to enter and she touched the side of her ear and spoke freely. She must also be communicating with someone so they can coordinate the turns for the scanner. Once the door closed it was time, I used my powers to sense when the heat was activated, it took just a little bit but finally did its part. Feeling it from where I stood it began flowing through me as well, making it one with my being. In a way it was almost like talking to it and sharing feelings in a long conversation. Moving through it I could see everything being used to activate the sensors and what systems were running. All I had to feel was that Stargazer was good to go through and that he wasn't a harm to the prison. When I did this my soul returned instantly to my body with warmth, but I didn't get confirmation. I had no idea what just happened and if he was okay. Freaking out won't help, besides, I can't do it either so there's that. Standing here waiting was hard, we all felt on edge even without having to talk about it. Getting scanned and not knowing what kind of process it is most likely has everyone concerned. Nobody was sure how long it was supposed to take either, the guards just stood there.