"William"
"Mister William, look at me."
I was enthralled by the seemingly impossible, dreadful, and yet beautiful Gray portal in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by gadgets and complex technology I have no business understanding.
I suddenly feel a tap on my shoulder, yanking my attention away.
I blink subconsciously and turn my head towards the foreman, faster than I intended, noticeably on edge. The foreman, watching my actions, picked up on my anxious actions and commented on them.
"Hey, William, that's your name, right? I know you may be anxious and filled with the heebie-jeebies and butterflies in your stomach like a secondary school girl seeing her crush. Still, you've got a job to do, and it will only give you a better chance if you calm down and think with a clear head."
As he spoke with me, he stared straight into my eyes.
Although he gave off a rugged and rough feeling, it was difficult to brush off his words, and my attention was held unnaturally well.
I opened my mouth a bit and tried to say something back to him, but it got stuck in my throat, and it just sounded like I was gasping and squeaking out sounds for a few seconds.
However, I stopped for a second, caught my breath, and finally said what I was trying to initially say.
"Oh, yeah, no, I am calm, collected, and ready to go. I've been preparing for this for months in advance. Watch me; I'll be out in record time."
« Why am I so out of breath? I didn't say much. Maybe I am a bit more nervous than I believe. »
He continued to look at me for a moment and looked me up and down a bit before speaking again.
"Mhm, okay, well, in that case, I guess I should remind you again, although this is a weak, low-threat Fate Bath and is commonly seen as the 'easiest' Fate Bath available, common folk, like you, still see only about a 10% chance of surviving their first bath even with training. So, I wish you luck."
As he said so, he looked down at the paper in his hands, held in place with a beaten-down and dirty clipboard. I couldn't read what was on the paper since the angle was tilted in his direction, but it was probably something important.
He looked back up at me, suddenly a little more upbeat compared to the statement he just uttered. He then looked back down at his clipboard and started congratulating me. However, it seems uncharacteristically forced, as his following statement was obviously rehearsed:
"Congrats, Mr. William; your first low-threat Fate Bath has been processed, categorized, and approved for your attempt, and at any moment, you will be entering the fantastic world of being a diver with your success. As you prepare to enter the portal, please listen and conform to all the instructions your excellent staff will give you, as they are there for your safety. Again, congratulations on this momentous step in your life. We at the Diver Entry Program thank you for all your help. We wish you luck on your first mission, Mr. William!"
As he finished his speech, he looked back up towards me and flashed a forced smile for a few awkward seconds. Then, his smile disappeared as if it were an illusion after what felt like way too many seconds.
He proceeded to cough as if embarrassed by his statement and the awkward circumstances they were in now.
"Cough, cough, well, besides all this bureaucratic stuff and flowery words, it just meant that you are ready to enter now. Just listen to those around you, and everything should be a cliché. I wish you luck, William. You're going to need it."
After that, he turned and started moving towards the air-conditioned tent, leaving both of them.
As he started to head away, I wanted to thank him for all his advice and words, but it dawned on me that I did not even know his name.
« Would it be rude to say 'Thanks, Mr. Foreman', or should I just say 'Thanks,' but this is his job, so maybe I don't even have to thank him? »
Before I could decide, he was already out of earshot. I suddenly felt rude and forced myself to say thank you, but because I didn't want to make too much of a scene, and since I already knew he would be out of earshot unless I yelled, it came out as a lame whisper.
"Thanks-"
« I am such an asshole. »
« Oh well. »
"Mr. William, follow me."
A muffled voice rang out behind me, and I found a skinny but seemingly overly covered man with almost no areas of his body exposed to the elements. After he noticed me looking straight at me and knew I heard him, he started to walk towards the Fate Bath about 30 yards from us.
Since I had just come from one awkward situation, I did not want to have another one shortly after. So, I hurriedly started to follow and got next to him to ensure I was near him.
Mustering my confidence, I asked what was on my mind.
"Uh, this may be a stupid question, but am I finally entering the portal?"
He looked briefly at me. Then he looked forward again, and a broad voice with a seemingly enthusiastic statement came out after a brief second.
"Yep, you, Mr. William, will finally enter the amazing portals of fantastic riches and power. Now, don't say anything and just listen to the instructions. You'll jump into the portal; it really isn't that hard."
It's a little rude, but I understand this is a job, and they probably just want to get home. I just shut up and followed the instructions, and it led me right in front of the gray portal.
"All checks are normal, Mr. William; now jump forward with both legs and be mentally prepared. I wish you luck."
This is it, I guess; the last few months of training will pay off, and I will become a celebrity with power and riches.
"3...2-"
I enthusiastically jumped forward before the guy finished counting down and suddenly felt pulled by an unimaginably strong force.
{===[***]===}
"Georgey boy, order twenty-three."
Britney hands me the order, and I shove the order into my delivery bag. I nodded my head and started to rush to the address.
The address isn't too far from here; it would take a normal person about 7 minutes to rush there. However, I think I can get there in 5 minutes.
As a native of Memphis, I have found plenty of backroads and alleyways that can significantly cut delivery time. I knew where this address would be and had the fastest route already mapped in my head.
As I left the pizzeria, I was suddenly hit with a sense of déjà vu, maybe not déjà vu, but definitely something like that. I cannot stop thinking about this phrase that popped into my head; it is now stuck in my brain.
「Survive the mugging」
«Holy shit I'm in my first Bath. I am actually doing this, and I only need to survive mugging. This shits going to be easy, barely anyone dies from a mugging unless you're combative.»
I stopped momentarily as if hesitating but quickly continued bolting my way toward the address as I had been doing before.
I know how to survive muggings, I learned from those Diver classes and Youtube shorts.
They do not want to kill you; they just want a quick buck. Follow their instructions. Money in your wallet, your phone, or some clothing on you, and they will scatter off like rats.
I just got to survive, right? I got this in the bag.
Although I feel a bit apprehensive about knowing that I am walking straight into a mugging, this George character I took over, seemed to know his way around here pretty well. I believe I may know ahead of time where I may be mugged. Probably.
{[---{}---]}
About 3 minutes later, after a few turns, streets, and alleyways, I entered another alleyway that looked especially shady. It may be shady, but it cuts the time it takes by almost a whole minute, and I have never really had an issue with this alleyway.
I continue to rush down the alleyway. Knowing In my head that this was probably the most sketchy area this delivery has taken me, and probably the most probable place that I would get mugged, if ever.
Suddenly, as I am passing a trash bin, I feel something hit the front of my shins, and I am knocked off balance, lunging forward.
With the pizza in my hands, I failed to save my head with my hands full, so I just turned to the side, hoping to lessen the damage to my face.
BANG!
With a thud and a sharp pain, both in my body slamming into the hard concrete, but also in my head. I find myself stunned a bit and confused about how I tripped. However, I didn't find myself wandering for long.
I heard ruffling behind me; it sounded like 2 guys, but it could be more. I was suddenly shoved down hard by a knee to the upper back, stopping me from rising up and further enhancing the pain and confusion.
"Shut the fuck up, be quiet, and let us search ya, and then you can scurry away. Pizza boi."
As he says so, I feel my body being roughly searched and my pockets being emptied. I also felt like I was being pricked by something below my armpit. As I looked down slightly with the maximum of my head's range of motion allowed by the knee on my back, I saw a knife nuzzled up under my armpit.
« Well, shit, it actually happened. I'm being mugged. »
I will just listen to my own advice and let it happen as I am just trying to survive here and I can barely care any for the possessions of poor George I took over.
After they take a few dollars from my wallet, they will find that I don't have anything worth their time and let me leave. I leave my phone at work anyway, so it's all chill.
After a few tense and rough searches, I hear another voice behind me, noticeably annoyed. He clicks his tongue and notifies the guy on my back.
"This pizza boy has nothing, small bills, no phone. Bitch boy is broker than us."
"Ah, fuck."
The guy on my back expressed his displeasure as well. I don't know what these guys expected. You're jumping a pizza boy, which is not exactly what I think of when I think of someone with pocket money on them.
"Take your wallet back, and get the fuck out of here, broke boi."
Finally! Let's get the hell out of dodge.
However, as he tried to stand back up from my back, there was a loud crash, which led all those in the alley to jolt in this tense situation.
A sudden but sharp pain came from my armpit, but the weight on my back disappeared. I felt a dry yet warm pain emerge from my armpit. As I looked down, I started to see an unreasonable amount of blood begin to pool under me from below my armpit.
"Hot damn! Why the fuck is there fucking potted plants falling down on us!?"
"Shit! Yo, Bro, I just murked this guy, we gotta get out of here!"
Frantic shuffling and running were heard behind me as they ran away. I started feeling nauseous, light, and cold as I lay there in shock.
With the small amount of strength left in me, I looked back to see where the noise came from.
A goddamn falling potted plant. A potted plant got me stabbed. A potted plant got me killed. It was nothing remarkable like a sunflower; it looked like some regular scraggly grass.
« That showed how much I know about survival, I guess. »
As these words bounced in my head slowly, my eyesight started to go black, and I felt like I was falling forward while I was still lying there on the dry concrete. Weak and unwilling to do anything.
« I am not cut out for this stuff. »
« Guess I am not fated to live. »
{---[==={}===]---}