Matron Kaniz tries to talk me out of my selection, telling me that though the uniform will offer me a lot of protection, it’ll be very cumbersome to have on when looping. She advises that the other designs have the same amount of protection and are easier to move in. I tell her I’ve made my decision. She escorts me from the room, telling me the uniform will be ready in the morning.
I hesitate, trying to decide where I want to go. I head towards the training room. I’m the only one inside when the door closes behind me. I catch a flash off to my left. My weapon has been placed in the rack. I pick it up and practice using it, along with my shield. I’m getting quite good at aerial projection, but doubt I’ll ever figure out the time one. After a couple of hours, I place my weapon back on the rack and head off to bed. Since no one in the unit except for me is battling tomorrow, everyone is wide awake. I change clothes, get into bed, and hope tomorrow never comes.
Sleep eludes me. I’m both anxious and scared. What if I wind up getting paired against Brink? I don’t particularly like him, but would I be able to hurt him? Or any of them? I toss off the covers and go to the common room. It’s empty, which I’m thankful for. I plop down in front of a music video and drown my thoughts with the music piping through the walls. The song and the scenes make no sense to me. I’d turn it off if I knew how.
“Hey,” Addie says, entering the room. “Can’t sleep?”
I shake my head.
She sits by me, pulling her knees up under her. “You’ll do fine. Just remember to use your ability and your weapon. Everyone tomorrow is at the same level as you.”
I slump down in my seat, leaning the soles of my feet on the table in front of me. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” Addie says, curling into a ball.
“Frey said something to me, and I’m not sure what to make of it.” I pause, trying to gather a complete thought before continuing. “He said that everyone here was told that the Outer Limits is trying to gain control of the new utopia being created, and that I’m only here to make sure that happens.”
“Yeah, we were told something like that.”
“Well, it’s not true. I never volunteered for this. I was arrested by the Aedox and forced to come here. We were warned that if we try to act out in any way, we will be executed on live television.”
“Huh,” is the only response I get.
“Is that all you can say?”
“Max, I don’t know what to tell you. No one really believes much of what the government tells us, except for a few like Frey. He's from the upper class of Tarsus. He’s had the world handed to him, so he’ll buy anything he’s told. I, on the other hand, am from the working class, so I don’t believe anything I’m told.”
“And I thought all of Tarsus was upper class.”
“Wow, Max, you really are sheltered in the Outer Limits,” she says, with a slight chuckle. She stands, and as she stretches I notice the top of a dragon’s head sticking out just above her left hip bone. It looks just like the one Frey has. “You should try and get some sleep. Tomorrow is not going to be any fun for you.” She turns and goes back to the bedroom.
I wonder what the dragon is for. Some kind of emblem for being a Looper maybe?
I stay on the couch. I fall asleep and wake up surprised to find a blanket tucked around me. I take the blanket back to my room, toss it in the laundry bin, and step into the shower. Breakfast has been brought up when I return to the common room. I eat very little since my stomach is full of knots. Just before nine, we line up in front of the lift. I try to linger towards the back of the group.
We descend to the lift corridor and have to walk the distance to the shafts, instead of taking a transport like I did a few days before. Just a few feet from the shafts, the group turns left and we proceed into a large dressing room, which is divided into two sections. I follow the girls and go right. The boys are on the left. Rows upon rows of tops, pants, jackets, sweaters, and wigs are stacked up several floors high, all behind a plate glass window and moving by conveyor belt. In front of the window are several terminals, currently occupied. It takes ten minutes before I’m able to get to one.
From the display, I choose the outfit and hair I’ll be wearing on the selection floor. The choices are all atrocious, skimpy, and colorful. I settle on a light blue sweater, yellow leggings, and a white wig with blue sparkles. The racks above my head move as a crane selects my garments and drops them down a chute that empties next to the terminal. I take my items, find an empty changing closet, step inside, and try to put the tight clothes on.
“Max, you in here?” Addie calls from the other side of the curtain.
“Yes. I’ll be out in a moment.” I discard my other clothes into a bin in the back wall and step out. “What’s the point of these stupid outfits?” I ask as Addie is adjusting my leggings.
“It’s a way to get the younger kids amped up about joining. They look at the clothes and colors and are made to believe it’s always this way. It’s not until anyone
