CHAPTER 20

Kael nodded and proceeded to lead them into the double sliding door beside them.

Ren squinted his eyes to focus on the foggy room, and he realised he'd been led into the general bathroom.

"Here's your locker," Kael led Ren to a locker and opened it for him.

"There's a towel, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. You'll also find another pair of clothes in there. Find a free bathroom and hurry. My room is 200," Kael hurried to explain and disappeared into the fog.

His head felt as foggy as the humid room. Does every second in the Faction have to be hurried?

Can't they do things like normal people do?

He sighed and reached inside the locker. He grabbed his things and, closing it, turned to leave and bumped into someone... again.

"Shit," Ren muttered and held his nose as he had collided his nose with what seemed to be a person's chest.

"Are you alright?" A hand steadied Ren from falling.

Ren slowly raised his head and peered through the fog to focus on the person's face.

Immediately, Ren moved out of the person's hold, his guard going up as he stared at Dorian's brown eyes that were gazing at him with worry.

"I'm fine. Sorry for bumping into you, I couldn't see you properly," he hurried to explain, holding his items close to his body.

"Your nose... It's bleeding," Dorian stepped forward and wiped the blood off Ren's nostrils with his thumb.

Ren froze, not knowing if he was shocked by the bleeding or by Dorian's bipolar personality.

"I'm fine. Thank you," He took another step back.

Kindness? From Dorian? He might probably still be hazy from sleep.

The fog momentarily thinned, and Ren realised that the man in front of him only had a white towel around his waist.

His eyes widened as he stared at Dorian's naked chest, the letters inertia(A. G) inked on his chest, drew Ren's eyes in.

Ren's mystery thinking was unlocked; he wondered what those letters represented and why he had them inked on his chest.

'What did A. G. stand for?

"Done showering?" Dorian's voice drew Ren out of his thoughts.

Ren blinked and cleared his throat, "No... I was about to find a bathroom." He replied.

"This one is free," Dorian pointed at the door behind him.

Ren slowly nodded, "Um, okay... thanks." He said and slid past Dorian, giving him an apprehensive look as he left.

Ren sighed in relief as he escaped Dorian. 'Everyone is crazy,' he muttered, walking over to the bathroom."

He opened the door and paused, recalling his past ordeal in the first bathroom he used in the Faction.

He hoped every batbroom wasn't timed to burn. He honestly didn't think he was up for another time management test.

He looked around and saw that everyone was hurrying, and nothing was happening to them as they entered and left the bathroom. So, he stepped in, hoping that nothing would happen to him, too.

After his shower, Ren returned his item to his locker and changed into his new clothes, which were just another pair of the ones he'd removed.

As he hurried to find Kael, he looked around and realised why everyone was rushing. It was rush hour, and they had to hurry or get punished for being late.

He reached room 200 and knocked twice; the door opened immediately.

Kael walked out, dressed in an army green shirt and pants, and Ren was subtly reminded that the person he was becoming fast friends with was still a Faction12 soldier.

"Right on time, Ren. Let's go," Kael held Ren's hand and led toward the elevator.

Ren was once again in his thoughts; he hoped that the day would go by without trouble, and Axton.

He wished he wouldn't encounter Axton for the entire day. If he could just do his trips to the infirmary and back to his room, then he'd be glad. After all, the only person he truly had any business with with Corvin.

Axton's presence only meant trouble, and he didn't want trouble.

For the first time, Ren was outside the silver building.

He followed Kael closely as the soldiers marched out of the building.

The sun was starting to rise, highlighting the orange coloured clouds... at least they still had their silver linings. The air was misty but cleaner than the one outside the walls.

The sun rays peeked upon the tall buildings, it's silver and black colour twinkling as the rays caressed them.

"This way," Kael touched Ren's shoulder, pointing to the grey building across the silvery one.

Ren saw that it was where the soldiers were trooping towards, and he knew that was where he should be heading.

"Why are they not going in?" He asked Kael with a raised brow, walking beside Kael.

"The grey building is the Foundry. It's where the weapons are forged and created, and also a place where we conduct most of our combat practices, but mostly the Virtual and Simulated Training, Laser-Based Training," Kael explained as the nearest to the building.

Ren stared at the tall building as they walked past it. He could already tell that it would be a harsh and brutal environment, the sounds of metal clanging could be heard from inside it and the heat that emanated from the building was a testimony to the constant weapon/armoury production.

"For our physical training, we do it behind the building," Kael said as they neared the end of the large building.

Ren's eyes widened slightly as he saw a large square cage built around a sizeable portion of unbarred land. That part might just be the only place with the desert sand in the entire Faction.

Behind the cage, the soldiers stood scattered around the tarred practice grounds, holding some kind of metal spears, but Ren knew they were no ordinary spears when one of if fell out of a soldier's hand and the spear automatically elongated and shot out sharp, pointy heads from the two edges.

"Wow, what's that?" Ren asked, awed by the menacing weapon.

He wondered how Axton got to have all the mysterious and futuristic weapons while other Factions barely had grenades.

"Resonance Spear," Kael said, and nodded for Ren to follow him.

"The spear's movement and lethality are tied to some kind of unseen, scientific principle, like vibrations and energy. Like you saw, once it hits a surface, the vibration triggers the dual edges to unlock and shoot out," Kael explained, sounding more serious than usual as they walked past the cage.

"It's... uniquely high-tech," Ren said, looking through the gigantic square cage.

"Hey," Kael paused and turned to Ren before they approached the other soldiers.

Ren sensed Kael's seriousness and knew that Kael was in his soldier mood. The time for being a friend was over.

"Yes?" Ren asked, staring seriously at Kael's face.

"You have to stand up for yourself. The Lieutenant will be here in a few minutes, I can't be this close to you in front of him. He'd think I'm a traitor. Just... stay confident, this motherfuckers are just out to look for weak prey. Are we clear?" Kael questioned.