I took a deep breath. My uniform was on correctly. My gun was in its holster. My stun wand was in its pocket. My club was on my back. I raised up on my toes, and thunked back down. Hopefully, I could get promoted soon. Shooting a quick glance at my clock, I inhaled sharply. It was going to be close. I spun around quickly, and took a step towards my door.
My foot slipped out from under me, and I was flat on my face in a matter of seconds. I groaned, but pushed myself up. I dusted off my jacket and pants, cursed quietly. Hurrying out the door, I slammed it behind me. I swooped into the kitchen, snatched a bagel, and ran towards the central office.
I pushed myself forward, a small bit of anxiety working its way into my head. I could get punished, or worse, rejected from the program. Pinching my eyes closed, I shoved the bagel into my pocket and sped up along the turn. At least the building was in my range of sight. The grass turned to a darker green as I neared my building.
Breathing heavily, I ducked into the meeting room, greeting my colleagues. I crossed my index and center finger and pressed them under my chin, saluting the commander. My coworkers waved in greeting. The commander rolled their eyes and waved me off.
"Yes, yes. You can stop saluting. I'm not going to explain protocol and everything again. After all, it's just a basic patrol. Normal, basic, same as usual. Get going, kid."
I nodded, silently sighing in relief. I hadn't been late again. A small smile formed on my lips, and I started to turn. Maybe they really hadn't noticed. Maybe I was scot-free, like Quere said. They were usually right, but I wasn't sure. I couldn't be.
The commander spoke suddenly, making me halt on my toes. Fear darted around my blood. My smile dropped, and I felt panic worm into my eyes. However, I forced my face calm. I turned back to face him.
"Actually," They remarked, sounding slightly puzzled. They flipped through their binder, fingers coming to rest on today's page for me. "Now that I look at it, you have a bigger area today. Sector 2 through Sector 9. More than usual. Is that okay with you?"
"Of course," I replied, eyebrow creeping up slowly. "I'm perfectly able to do a little bit more than usual. A large area doesn't really matter. I'm trained for this, sir."
"Right, right, yeah. Dismissed for real."
I nodded, and quickly walked out of the office. Free as I may have been at that moment, there was no way I could take chances. Especially if it meant I might get rejected. That was something I could not risk.
A few spaces away from the building, I picked out my map from my pocket. The screen widened. I sighed, grimacing at the long trek for patrol. Seven sectors just sucked. It was it least three spaces wide. I traced the map, drawing out where I would need to walk.
Something sharp poked into my shoulder. I turned my head to see Quere, their chin resting on it. They beamed up at me, eyes twinkling with mischief. I rolled my eyes as they traced their route.
"Ugh. Your area is huge! I thought mine was big. Sheesh, Melting Ruins to the Abyssal Plain. That's at least 3 spaces. Pity, Tyren. Pity and sympathy."
"Yeah, right. Quere, you don't care."
Quere looked offended.
"Tyren, you're my best friend!"
"Only friend", I muttered.
"Love you also, sweetheart.", Quere grinned, pulling their center and index fingers down with their thumb. "See you in a heartbeat!"
I sighed, but waved at them as they ran off. They were going to be the death of me.
I walked up to the street and picked up the transport. It would take me directly to Sector 2. After that ,though, I'd have to walk. I probably wasn't going to be home until very, very late. I sighed, and threw the transport onto the ground and stepped in. This job was going to kill me by the end of the week, if Quere didn't wear me down first.
'Into the rabbit-hole!', I thought miserably, and jumped into the misty blue light of the transport.
