Road to Arcadia: the Path East

Chapter Five: Assessment Day

Assessment day's arrival was unceremonious. The sun rose just the same. The alarm in Kai's room sounded with the same sound it had for the past eight weeks.

Even though he knew he wasn't going to get a real grade, not even a pass or fail, there was something nerve wracking about assessment day. It had a feeling of formality to it. There was regality in the process, and Kai was a peasant by nature. He wore his regular white suit, which made him feel enough like a pauper.

The white suits beloved by the R&R and jeered by many other Arcadian divisions were a double-edged sword. They stood out amongst the backdrop, whether it was on Arcadia's verdant green surface or amongst the desolation of the world surrounding it. The coverall was easy to zip up and the composite fabric was sturdy. But white attracted everything--dirt, dust, grass, blood, you name it. Learning how to properly clean your suit was as big a unit in R&R training as safe water treatment. It was a hassle, taking up more of Kai's free time than he wanted to admit. And once your suit was stained, that was it. It was your stain forever, no new white suit unless yours had been ripped to shreds.

Arcadia had a torrid love affair with recycling fabric. There was no throwing anything out. It was reused or repurposed. Even if you didn't have any spare fabric that matched the spot you were trying to patch, you found whatever you had and repaired the garment anyway. It was revered here in a way so antithetical to the rest of the world's fixation on shiny newness. Kai, an amateur seamster even before his time in Arcadia, didn't have a problem with that.

The R&R's white suits weren't patched with mismatched fabric, but they were reused countless times by multiple different people. Kai's suit was a hand-me-down, no exception to the rule. His suit's white wasn't bright or shining anymore and the fabric had started to thin in well-worn areas, but, for better or worse, it remained in one piece.

Kai suited up and made his way downstairs. The other R&R trainees filtered into the lobby, a mass exodus headed toward the monorail station. He scanned the faces, trying to see out of curiosity if there were any missing ones he could recognize. A couple, he gathered. Some had inevitably grabbed the earlier transit while others were most likely running behind.

There were anxious murmurings on the railcar over, still strained through early morning hoarseness. The sunlight shone bright through the windows, but hardly anyone was fully awake. Kai chose to stand this morning, shifting the balance in the balls of his feet as the rail curved around the city. He didn't make eye contact with anyone, instead training his ears to pick up anything interesting that might run past them. Nothing did.

The group of trainees filed out of the monorail the moment it reached their stop. They were at the INT today, which made sense on several grounds. It was the place where their training began those eight weeks back. It was the place they would depart from on their first assignments, the first time many would reenter the "real world" since they first stepped aboard, Kai included.

They filtered into the classroom, a large multipurpose room with rows of rectangular tables set up facing one direction. A wall of black glass boards lined the front, giving an instructor plenty of space to scribble.

Rawda Bakker had a fire in her eyes this morning. She was waiting right at the door as the recruits filtered in, babbling out welcomes and good mornings. She was either a huge fan of assessment day or she couldn't wait to be rid of the lot.

Kai managed to avoid her attention as he pushed past the group and entered the classroom. He took a seat in the second row while it was still empty and looked around the room.

There was a table in the front corner of the room angled in, the chairs poised to observe the trainees. There were already a handful of guests seated, some Kai recognized and some he did not.

Once everyone was seated--including the two that Kai correctly guessed had missed the first rail trip--their instructor took a spot at the front of the room, positioned so everyone could see, even with her stocky stature.

"Good morning R&R Training Class Thirty-Seven! I hope you were all able to use your extended evening to get a proper rest."

A guy in the back offered a conciliatory "Whoo!"

Rawda's face hardened just the slightest. "Yes, well, we have finally reached our assessment day. This is eight weeks of hard work about to pay off before those skills are put to the ultimate test--out on the ground, helping others and rescuing those in need. What you do today will help the leadership team make an informed decision when compiling the squads. We have some of our assessors here at the moment. The squad leaders will observe the later sections of the test."

She motioned towards the table at the front. "You may be familiar with the R&R leadership stationed here in Arcadia. We have our current head of the Recon and Rescue division, Eleanor Morrison."

Morrison stood up and waved at the other attendees. She was sporting her usual uniform of repurposed military fatigues and disheveled bun. She didn't make eye contact with Kai, which he was silently thankful for.

Once she sat down, Rawda introduced the man to her left. "Ata Kesh, deputy chief of the R&R.

A man with an affable face and a prematurely receded hairline stood up next. Kai recognized him from his interview process. He spoke more formally than Morrison, but Kai couldn't help but notice how relaxed he was in the interview. Either his resumé proved him overqualified or Morrison had talked to him first. He wore something that at one point must've been reserved for only the most austere occasions, now transformed into something more casual. He held the jacket closed as he mouthed a quick Hello! and sat back down.

"Sindre Spada, geographic reconnaissance coordinator."

An unfamiliar woman with focused eyes and a sharp chin rose. Her glasses and neatly pressed clothes stood out against the other two leaders to the right of her. Her stay wasn't long; she sat down almost immediately.

"Rabazi Qadir, transportation director."

The last in the row stood up, this one unfamiliar as well. He had a handsome face with mired eyes and an unreadable expression. His hair was cut close and his outfit was mostly black. He gave a nod of the head before sitting back down.

The instructor continued. "These four all have their separate areas of expertise and will look for unique skills over the course of the assessment. Don't coast by. JIt is not just how you complete the task at hand, but how you respond to challenges. Understood?"

No one verbalized an answer, only a dozen or so nods from the more active participants in the class. Kai could tell everyone else's nerves were in the same place his were.

She nodded once. "Good. Now we will begin with the first section of today's assessment."

The enthusiasm had yet to fade from her aura. Kai wondered if she was actually excited or if she felt the need to prove something to her former pupils-turned-bosses.

"We begin with the written component. This is how we will test your knowledge that cannot be easily demonstrated in our controlled environment. All questions will be open-ended. You may not begin until everyone has received an exam packet. You will have two hours to complete."

Kai couldn't escape the sinking feeling. Two hours was a long time to stay seated in one place, scribbling answers to questions he'd hoped wouldn't be asked. How long was the test supposed to take? Would it be worse if he didn't finish or finished well before anyone else? What kind of trick questions were waiting inside?

Rawda grabbed a stack of papers and began distributing tests. The one with glasses and wrinkleless clothes, Sindre Spada, followed behind with a tin of pencils. "This is one of the few non-collaborative assignments," Rawda reminded as she placed papers on the table face down. "You may not turn to your neighbor for help. If there is something you do not know, please do us the favor of letting us assess that information accurately."

Kai was one of the first to get his test. He only stared at the blank sheet facing up at him, leg bouncing in energetic release.

Once the last test was distributed, the instructor made her way to the front of the room. She lifted her wristwatch to her face. She hesitated, watching the time change to the position she wanted.

"You may begin."