Amos gives me a troubled look as we pull up to the gate. I roll my eyes at him, but deep down I feel the same. We both have terrifying memories of this place and mixed feeling about the people we work for.
Only six in ten candidates survive the on-boarding. The subject, if he makes it will be on our new team. It's on Amos and I to qualify him. Not a pleasant task and when it's over everyone involved will be a little less human. All of us know going in that we are passing a point of no return. I knew that day I was fortifying any alternate future I may have had in front of me. At first I would dream about a different me in a different universe who hadn't been recruited. A version of me with a normal life.
When I was young I wanted to be a model. What I didn't want was someone telling me what to do or even worse; telling me who to be. In a way I have exactly what I wanted. It may not seem that way to you. Definitely not at first. You'll get there.
The gate opens and we enter in silence. A massive courtyard lined with trees. A few people in red jackets stand at the entrance to a tall stone building. I yawn at the thought of what's to come. Has it lost it's power over me?
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