By the third day, Sera could identify who would survive Waste Reclamation without ever looking at a roster.
It had nothing to do with strength. It wasn't endurance either, though that helped.
Survival here depended on something far quieter and far more precise: the ability to disappear while still being useful. The ones who lasted were the ones who learned where to stand, when to move, and—most importantly—who not to notice.
Take for example, the bully worked two stations down from her.
He was broad-backed and loud in a way that pretended to be confidence, the kind of man who filled silence with commentary because he couldn't tolerate being alone with his thoughts. He joked constantly, his voice bouncing off concrete walls, calling out observations about the smell, the work, the people who looked weakest that day.
But his laughter never quite reached his eyes.
He also like to push people to their deaths.
