Tin Smyth is early and I'm still squeezing into the clothing Charlotte had tailored for me.
The shirt is pale blue, made from silk and cotton, and my pants are some kind of linen. I lace up a pair of brown boots. I tuck my hair behind my ear and take one last deep breath.
Downstairs, Charlotte and Nic wish me luck and promise they'll be there. William is nowhere to be found. I find myself upset by this.
"Are you ready to go?" Smyth turns to me.
"Yes," I say. The two of us leave the cabin together and head down the lane.
I stagger behind Tin Smyth, keeping a safe distance. He doesn't speak to me, which I appreciate. We head straight to a stone building with a sleek steel face and a metal sign: Municipal Services.
"Here we are," Smyth says.
"Let's get you inside." Smyth directs me through he doors.
A stout woman is sitting at the front desk, wearing a red coat that perfectly reflects her fiery hair. I look at her nametag: C. Reggie Regineva.
"Good morning, Tin Smyth!" Reggie looks up from her paperwork and beams. "How can I help you?"
"Morning, Reg. We are here for the Evaluation." Smyth nods his head toward me.
"Name?" Reg asks.
"It's the only Evaluation scheduled for this morning." His voice is easygoing but slightly agitated. "Unidentified number thirteen-hundred-ninety-nine," he finishes.
"Of course. Go right in," Reg squeaks behind her desk.
"Thank you." Tin Smyth waves his hand behind as he turns down a narrow corridor. "This way."
"You said I'm the only Evaluation today?" I question, remembering that groups usually are judged together. "What happened to Anna?" I look up at him.
"Anna?"
"The other girl who at my briefing –what happened to her?" I slowly repeat my question.
Tin Smyth's expression shifts and his eyebrows furrow. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid Anna did not make it past the pre-Evaluation stage. Doctor Bishop feels her psychological state is still precarious."
Oh no. I picture the fragile girl with dark hair and frightened eyes. My heart sinks.
We reach the end of the first hallway. Smyth veers left and turns down another corridor; I follow closely behind him.
"We're here." He stops at the end of the hallway before a steel door: Hall 3.
The room is long and rectangular and resembles a courtroom. There are chairs lined on either side of a narrow aisle with a large wooden desk at the front.
There's only one other man inside, dressed in a gray jumpsuit with a hoop of keys dangling at his waist. He looks up as the doors shut behind us.
"Tin Smyth, what a pleasure." He bobbles up and down. "Here for the Evaluation?"
"Yes." Tin Smyth places his hand on my shoulder. "I am a voucher this time around."
"Excellent! I was just finishing some last minute setting up; don't mind me." He shifts around the table.
"Farewell, Neo." Smyth nods his head and the man disappears behind the doors.
YOU ARE READING
ARRIVAL (ERA 1)
FantasyWhat if time chose you? After a tragic and untimely accident, young Evelyn arrives in an afterlife unlike anything she could have imagined. The year is 2701, in a distant land once known as the continent of North America. It is a land for fairytales...
