Impact ( Days Union & Reader )

[ CHAPTER TEN ] : On The Job

Monday, 5:30 A.M.

Going from waking up at whatever time you please to having to wake up at such early hours was not easy. You were almost late for your first ever meeting as an Operative, and the Supreme Leader didn't seem all too pleased about that. However, that wasn't the only problem.

The meeting was so boring! You were baffled that the others were wide awake as they actively listened to what the boss man was saying! Underneath the table, you pinched yourself multiple times, just trying to stay awake.

Nearing the end of the meeting, Great_Day gave every Operative a job they had to do. Some were sent off to do some cargo work, some were tasked with stamping civilian files, some were supposed to be working at their side jobs, and the rest were assigned with patrol.

The leader shooed you away with a surprisingly important job for your first day. City scanning. What the fuck was that?

Sensing confusion in your aura, Great_Day took some time to elaborate on the details of your job. Apparently, all you had to do was search through the entire city layout in search of damages to the infrastructure. Seems easy enough—if the city wasn't so god damn large.

Thankfully, you weren't alone. Two other Operatives, Practical_Day and Unpredictable_Day, were doing the same job. From what you knew, they were skilled in finding errors in machinery and technology, unlike you. They were tasked with the complicated, engineering side of the job—you simply had to go: "Road? Cool. Any holes? Oh shit, hole. Report to Practical and Unpredictable. Power lines? What is that buzzing noise? Report to Practical and Unpredictable."

Anyway—you made it to the southern area of the city. The southern section was mostly consisted of the sewage and utility systems—the technological work, the biggest part of the job. You three decided to take on that part first, to get it over with.

Going into the place, it looked like a deserted wasteland. Or even a playground made out of hulking steel and deafeningly loud machinery. The two other Operatives scanned the machinery carefully and skillfully, finding no malfunctions so far.

Then, Practical_Day began acting strange, though you couldn't see his face due to his mask. A sudden blast of a foul stench filled your nostrils. You coughed, and the silver-suited Operative trekked further towards the water supply system. There was a few rows of large water tanks.

"One of these smells bad," he muttered, climbing the metal ladder on the side of one to access the trapdoor leading inside, "it's not this one." The two of you spent a few minutes opening and closing water tanks, smelling for the mysterious odor. Finally, a grumpy Unpredictable_Day appeared, "do you idiots have no sense of smell? The tank on the very left is the culprit. I've already put in an order of chlorine bleach while you both wasted time."

She crossed her arms, "we're done here," and eyed you two as you jumped down from the tank. Suddenly, she smiled, "c'mon. Let's do a good job."

You shrugged off her mood change. Unpredictable_Day was off to check the eastern side of the city, Practical_Day set to go on the western. That left you with the northern area, which was mostly just the civilian residences, meaning that your priority was utility systems. Before you left, Practical_Day gave you a dumbed down list of what to look for.

Awry sounds, leaks, smells, and sparks. As long as those things weren't going on, you should be fine.

Monday, 11:50 A.M.

Thankfully, the scan was easy. No problems whatsoever. You headed off to the eastern side, to visit Unpredictable_Day. You actually managed to bump into her halfway into your journey. "Oh, Intrepid! I finished and was off to check on you," she explained. You nodded, laughing slightly, "same here."

You both ended up heading over to the western side for Practical_Day, finding him on the ground measuring something. "Is it okay?" Unpredictable_Day shouted across the street. Practical_Day shot her a thumbs-up, not wanting to shout and disturb civilians.

The orange Operative turned to you with a grin, "it looks like we're all done for the day. We can just leave Practical, he knows what he's doing." You agreed, waving goodbye to the Engineer and walking to the Headquarters to report your findings to the boss.

With all of that done, it was still daylight, meaning you had a few hours of relaxation before your nighttime duty. While going back to your residence, you noticed Emotionless_Day up ahead. You intended to pass by him without interacting with him, but his hand slapped onto your shoulder and stopped you.

"Get back to work," he warned you. You tore your shoulder away from his hand, "I'm already done, Emotionless_Day." He didn't even apologize, simply giving you a sassy, "tch," as he left the scene. What an asshole. If you didn't know any better, you would believe that he was actually against the Days Union. Hahaha, but that's impossible, right? ... right...?

... so you made it to your residence. Just for safety precautions, you double-checked that you locked your door and that your pistol was armed. For now, your pistol was your main weapon until Practical_Day finished the fancy gun that the Operatives had. It still sufficed.

You were exhausted from all the walking you did today, but you brewed yourself a coffee—you didn't want to sleep. You didn't want to dream of those wicked Nights again. Then, you turned on the television and plopped onto the dark grey, linen couch, not even paying attention to what was being shown.