Rush

«5»

I woke up to the sound of sirens, not an uncommon sound in the middle of the city. I simply scrunched my eyes shut tighter, dreading going to work, until my bed flipped over and I landed on my back on a concrete floor.
Correction: my hammock flipped over. I opened my eyes to see a scowling Ember above me. She was dressed differently to how I'd seen her yesterday-- she was wearing all grey and a pin with the number three enclosed inside an omega symbol. Her hair was scraped into a ponytail, and her lips were devoid of artificial color. She dropped a similar outfit on my motionless body.
"Get dressed. You have five minutes until breakfast," she said, finally tossing me a pin identical to hers. It hit me on the forehead, and she smirked, placing a gray pile of clothes on the ground and striding out of the room.
I rubbed my eyes and stood up. The large room was empty, excepting for a few elderly people and a middle-aged man with a broken leg. I made my way to another room off of the one I was in. Inside was a row of showers, toilet stalls, and sinks. I showered quickly in cold water and pulled on the clothes, pinning the pin to my shirt.
The mirror in the berth room wasn't really a mirror, it was a sheet of shiny metal, but I gazed into it anyway. My hair was too long- it grazed my jaw, which had some semblance of stubble, since I hadn't shaved since I'd been to my apartment.
I was suddenly struck with the realization that I would most likely never go to my apartment again. I was overcome with a deep longing for my usual routine, but it passed as quickly as it came. Isn't this what I wanted? Absolutely, I decided.
I walked outside, into the great hallway. There weren't a lot of people, but the ones that were out were rushing towards another set of doors. I followed them into what turned out to be a dining hall. I grabbed a tray and took a serving of lumpy porridge and a spoon, scoping out the space for an empty spot.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a waving hand. It was Nina. I looked over, and she frantically motioned me over to her table, which she was sharing with a muscled boy as well as none other than Ember herself. I placed my tray next to Nina, across from Ember, who was playing with her own food, attempting to stir the lumps out, but to no avail.
I noticed that Nina and the other boy weren't wearing the same clothes as Ember and I. Nina's clothes were olive green, and her pin was emblazoned with a two instead of a three. The boy was wearing all black, and lacked a pin at all. His hair was cut close to his scalp and he was clean shaven.
"This is Jonathan," Nina said. Jonathan tilted his head in my direction.
"If you don't mind my asking," I started, already aware that they were, "what with the pins and stuff?"
"Military ranks," Ember explained. "I've been training since I could walk, so I'm a level three, the highest, and Nina's a computer whiz, so she's level two."
"What about Jonathan?" I asked.
"He just sucks," said Ember.
"Harsh, Em," Jonathan said in a deep voice, but he was grinning, his teeth a brilliant white against his dark skin. He turned to me. "I'm not even a level one because I've only been here two years, training for six months, and I'm not great with tech. How'd you get to be a level three so quick?" The envy was apparent in his voice, making me feel really awkward really quickly.
"Just saved Ember's life, no big deal," I shrugged.
"Is he for real?" Jonathan turned to Ember.
She wrinkled her nose. "Yeah."
"Damn," he said softly. "If the situation was so bad that even Ember couldn't get out of it alone, you've got balls."
"Thanks," I said, hoping this was the correct response. "Do I have to train?"
"No, you're just going to relax all day while the rest of us work our asses off," Ember drawled sarcastically. Jonathan laughed.
I raised my hands in surrender. "Sorry, kind of new." I took a huge bite of food.
"Can you shoot a gun?" Asked Jonathan.
"Yeth," I mumbled around my porridge. Nina wrinkled her nose, and I swallowed. "I work- worked- as a security guard at the newspaper."
Jonathan's jaw dropped. "You're the one who blew it up?" I shook my head.
"That was Alpha, stupid," Ember rolled her eyes, but smiled.
"I didn't know they knew we controlled it."
"Me neither." She sighed. "James, we'd better go."
"Where are you going?" Jonathan inquired sharply.
"Got to get him to training."
Nina raised her eyebrows. "He's training with you?"
"Whys 's that a surprise?" I asked.
"Only the best of the best are Threes," she explained. "No offense, but I'm not sure you can handle it. I can barely handle Two."
"He'll be fine," said Ember. "He's no wimp. Right?"
"Right." I confirmed.
She turned to leave, and I followed her after waving goodbye. I could feel Jonathan's eyes boring into my back even as I left.
Short update, but at least it's here lol. I have plans to continue, don't worry, but as for when I'll be posting- who knows?