Chapter 7: Recruits
As they made their way deeper into the dome, the scenery began to shift. Some buildings started cropping up along the stone-paved road— basic, sturdy buildings with a square-shaped design. More recruits filtered in from different directions, all wearing the same absent-minded expression, clearly still trying to process what they’d been thrown into.
"Keep going down this road," the soldier ordered Zephyr, branching off to another path between some buildings with the blonde-haired kid in tow. As they separated, the kid threw one last glare at Zephyr before following the soldier.
Zephyr sighed under his breath, rubbing the back of his neck, "I hope I don’t have to deal with this all through my stay here."
After walking for a bit, he ended up in a vast open space ringed by buildings where the rest of the recruits were starting to trickle in.
At the front of the clearing, a man with a towering build stood with his hands folded behind his back. His presence alone was enough to make most of the recruits stiffen. He had a menacing scar that went right down the left side of his face, disappearing under the edge of the eyepatch that covered his left eye.
Unlike their first time, there was no chatter, the air was thick with the weight of what they’d just survived. Most of them were hollow-eyed after their near-death experience. They never thought they’d be thrown into such a situation so fast and without any preparation.
Zephyr stood at the back of the line, scanning the faces of everyone in the clearing. Their numbers were noticeably smaller, most of them— like that blonde-haired kid— had likely been injured and were getting treated.
"I really should get his name..." Zephyr thought.
He spotted the giant kid as he looked around; he seemed fine. The red-haired girl was also standing near the front, looking on passively with her arms crossed.
Nearly all the kids from rich merchant families were present too, in their usual position at the front of the line.
They all waited in silence as their numbers increased slowly. The injured people also began to trickle in too, fully healed and rejuvenated.