Roj

I follow the man, clueless ‘bout where we’re headed.

He tells me, “I get the situation. You know how to ride a bike?”

“That’s ‘bout the only thing I can do, sir.” I feel like I need to be very respectful to him. He has the aura of a military commander.

“Good, you will do fine with this then.” Now that’s exciting.

We zigzag through crowds of people until we reach a mostly empty hallway.

He speaks up again, “Ever heard of a motorcycle?”

“Yes sir.” Though I’ve never seen one close up. It seems like only powerful factions have their hands on them. I heard that they were far more popular before The Incident, but they were mostly gas powered and exploded.

“You know how to ride one?”

“Not even a little, sir.”

“Well, I suppose that makes sense. It would have made this easier to explain.”

He takes me into a large room lined with these vehicles that look like beefy motorcycles. They have what seems to be a cockpit open that you can sit in. From the sides there are small metal pedals and the front has a hole about the size of a hand with its fingers stretched out.

“Woah,” I say.

“These are bi-tanks—two-wheeled tanks, as the name implies. They are built to endure heavy damage and can fire shells customized for various effects. Operating one is fairly simple: they combine properties of a bicycle and a motorcycle. You pedal to help power it, while the motor handles the rest of the work. The difficult part comes when trying to use it effectively.”

It seems weird for him to just explain how the bi-tanks work for no reason, but it also seems wild that I would be using one. So I ask, “Am I gonna ride these?”

“Clearly.” Alright then, no slack with this guy, huh?

”This may be the coolest shit I ever seen in the whole of my tiny life, but I’m confused, sir. Will this keep me safe?”

“No, I will. In exchange, from here on out you work for me. I still have a job to do, and it is safer for you to be with me than holed up here.”

I’m sorry, but being at a secret base seemingly filled to the brim with people and weaponry under a hospital run by a super powerful man seems much safer than staying with just one dude. Despite his massive size—and muscles. I don’t say all that to him, though. “If I may, I find that hard to believe, sir.”

For a split second I think he looks annoyed, but I may have just been seeing things. His ever serious expression sticks to his face like glue. “If you want another explanation it is also true that we do not want attention drawn to you. It would be unusual for somebody to stay here without helping us.”

“I see.” That reasoning actually does make sense.

“Any other questions?”

”Your name, sir?” Sigh. Did I just hear him sigh?

“Roj.”

”Like as in Roger?”

”No.”

“Oh…”

“And it’s spelt with a ‘j.’”

“Okay.”

“You thought it was spelt with a ‘g.’”

”No.”

”Do not lie.”

“Okay.”

”Okay what?”

”Okay sir.” Well that was weird.

“Good. It is time to go meet the team. I will tell you about the nature of our work on the way.”

Roj leads me through the halls. They just keep going, the sheer size of this place is absurd. If I wasn’t currently walking through it I would never have believed it exists. I guess I did say the same thing ‘bout Our Life—you never know what’s out there.

Roj begins to describe my new work, “My team is in charge of transporting ‘goods.’ In reality, what we transport are people of interest going to and from the hospital. There are a variety of reasons for these people to come here—medical complications, business with Sergio, business with our organization—we are typically not informed. Our job is to follow orders, and your job is to follow my orders.” Sounds exciting. Finally gonna get back to doing what I’m good at—delivery. Although, I'm not sure how I feel ‘bout referring to people as “goods.”

“Sounds swell.”

“Respond correctly.” Oops.

“Yes sir.”

We stop in front of a door, a plate to the right of the door reads “Team Room 21”. Roj says, “We are here.” He opens the door, the room inside has a large table in the center of it, a couch to the right side, and in the back is a countertop with a range, sink, and fridge built in. Two girls sit across from each other at the table, seemingly having a pleasant conversation, and a guy is laying on the couch looking as relaxed as could be.

“Meet the team, from left to right their names are Clara, Georgia, and Phillip.” Clara’s posture stiffens and she sits up straight, Roj and I’s presence sparking a sense of duty into her movements. She seems well put together and likely steadfast, a real rule follower. In contrast, Georgia stays how she was, relaxed in her chair and slumped over the table. Her gaze steadies on me, distaste spilling from her eyes. Between her frightening aura and persistent glare, she makes me feel like I don’t belong. Then there’s Phillip, sprawled across the couch with one arm dangling off. Frankly, I’m not quite sure what to say ‘bout him, he seems comically carefree compared to the other two.

“Who’s this guy?” asks Clara. Although, she doesn’t seem to be the only one confused. I guess this was pretty sudden.

“This is Terrance.”

“Terr,” I blurt out.

Roj shoots me a strange look. “Anyways, he will be joining the team once he has fully recovered from his shoulder injury.”

Phillip shoots up into a sitting position, his eyes sparkling. “You mean it?” he asked like an excited puppy.

“Yes, I mean it,” replies Roj.

“Let’s go!” Phillip exclaims as he falls back onto the couch, pumping his fists in the air. “Finally, I won’t be the only guy. Well, besides you, Boss, but that’s not the same. No offense.” Glad to see one person excited for me to be here.

Unbothered, Roj says, “None taken.” I wish he were that easygoing with me.

Georgia goes next, “So why is he joining us?” Hopefully I’m imagining things, but she seems ever so slightly irritated.

“Orders from above. More importantly, I think he has potential.” I know that Roj probably said that to make them accept me easier, but it still makes me feel good. He then inquires, “Where is Aria?”

Clara answers, “She’s at the firing range again.”

“Makes sense.”

“Who’s Aria?” I ask confused.

“Another member of the team.”

Georgia adds, “She’s a peculiar sort of person.”

“Yeah, but good peculiar,” replies Phillip.

“And you’re bad peculiar,” teases Clara.

“Hey! I’m not that bad.”

Roj interjects, “That is enough.” His authority makes everyone go quiet in an instant. He turns to me. “You will have to meet her later. For now, go get some rest. You seem exhausted and your injury needs to heal. I will take you to your room.” He immediately starts walking out the door.

The sudden exit catches me off guard, I feel like Roj did most of the talking, so I barely got to say a word to them. I’m sure I’ll get to bond with them more in the future—at least hopefully I will. It’s exciting to make new friends again. Although, I wish it were Trey, Spencer, and Harold here. What if we don’t get along—especially this mysterious Aria character? Well, I know Phillip has got my back if no one else does. I quickly bow (I don’t know why) to Clara, Georgia, and Phillip and follow Roj.

“It was nice meeting you new guy!” yells Phillip. “Next time don’t let Boss do all the talking for you!” I guess I wasn’t the only one who noticed.