When I’d first been given time off to prepare for the Crucible, I’d assumed that most of that would be spent traveling. Somehow, I forgot what Mikel had told me, that one Reaper Headquarter linked to the others. Thankfully, I came to this realization before I made the mistake of asking, rather stupidly, how I was going to travel back to Alaska.

I did my best to enjoy the rest of my weekend. I spent time with my mother and sister, helping out with chores around the house and cooking meals. It was a nice period of leisure that helped my body recover completely from the training. As Sunday morning came, I felt fully refreshed, and ready to tackle this next step in my training.

When I entered the Nook Inn at around noon, I was startled to hear some scattered applause. Some of the nearby Reapers in the lobby had seen me enter, and, knowing that I was Master Mikel’s chosen apprentice to participate in the Crucible, they were clapping in approval. Some of them even paused to share words of encouragement.

“Good luck at the Crucible, Apprentice Silas,” said a short and burly Reaper that I’d never spoken to. “Show the others who’s boss, eh?”

“Don’t worry too much about it all,” another said. “It’s a big challenge, but if you relax, it’s actually a lot of fun.”

I grinned, nodded, and shook hands as I crossed through the lobby, finally coming to a stop in front of Meredith’s desk. The other Reapers continued on to complete their business for the day, but they still occasionally called well-wishes over. Several said they were taking some time off to watch me compete. That was pretty cool, but I definitely could have done without the distractions.

“Good morning, Apprentice Silas,” Meredith said warmly. “Ready for the Crucible?”

“Nearly,” I said. “I’m just curious. When do the official events start? I wanna make sure I have time to buy some food and stuff for the week.”

I’d learned from Selena that the Crucible took place over a five-day period, with the final big event happening on Friday, followed by a celebration and reward ceremony. That was the time that apprentices were evaluated and potentially promoted to higher ranks. So that meant that I had roughly four and a half days to shine and impress the higher-ups.

“Oh, you don’t need to prepare,” Meredith assured me. “All your basic needs will be accounted for while you are there. You’ll have a nice room, a first-rate room service for food, and trained restoration specialists to deal with injuries.”

“Well, that’s a comforting thought,” I said with a nervous laugh. “Okay, then, what time should I be there?”

“The opening ceremony takes place tonight at six,” she said. “That’s six our time, two Alaskan time.”

“So I’ve got two hours,” I said. “Nice. Where will I be staying in Fairbanks?”

“Our headquarters in Fairbanks are under a motel known as the Aurora Motel.”

I vaguely remembered the Aurora Motel, of course. My family had stayed there for a short while once, and I didn’t remember it all that fondly. The place had been poorly managed, and overrun with drug use, shady characters, and, worst of all, bedbugs. I shivered as I thought of it.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Meredith said. “The rooms the Reapers use there are underground, as they are here, and are much nicer. The above-ground rooms are kept in that quality to discourage too much attention.”

“Alright,” was all I said on the subject. “I guess I’ll head over there now. Might have time to sight-see, or even meet up with some old friends.”

“Indeed. Your father was a Reaper there as well, so you might be able to learn some more in their records. Who knows, you might even find a memorial for him there.”

That was a distinctly uncomfortable thought, I said. Mentally shrugging it away, I waved goodbye to Meredith and turned on my heels towards the door. This was the first time I’d ever exited from the building to a different place. Well, I’d been to the Gray plane twice, of course, but this was in the real world. Alaska was about 3500 miles away, so the thought that I could travel that distance in an instant was exciting.

It was as easy as I’d been told. In between the two sets of doors leading out of the Nook Inn, I willfully thought about exiting in Fairbanks. I blinked, and before I knew it, the air felt considerably colder around me. There was still snow on the ground despite it being late spring, even early summer in Toledo. I shivered slightly, grateful that I’d thought to bring my thick new coat with me.

The sky was overcast outside, and I could feel a slight breeze blowing against my face. It was always windy in Toledo, so this wasn’t strange, but this wind had a bit of cold to it. I vaguely remembered that the cold was handy for hiding the unpleasant scents of a city. Shame it couldn’t get rid of the smell of cigarette smoke that hovered in the air. Glancing to the right, I could see a scruffy guy puffing on a Newport as he leaned against the wall. Wrinkling my nose in disgust, I immediately turned around and re-entered the building.

Surprisingly, the building looked better than I remembered it. The walls were a nice deep green color and looked freshly painted. The carpets were clean as well, suggesting that they’d been recently vacuumed. The residents of the motel still looked like the usual unsavory type, but at least I couldn’t see any drug deals going on. The smell of cigarette smoke lingered in here too, though nobody actually had one lit.

The woman behind the counter looked like everyone’s grandma. She had white hair that resembled a cloud, and a soft knit sweater protecting her against the cold drafts. She looked up expectantly at me as I entered, and smile in welcome.

“Welcome to the Aurora Motel, young man. How can I help you?”

I hesitated slightly not sure how to proceed. Would this woman be an employee of the Reaper Clan? It made sense that she would since they owned the building as a whole. Figuring it was worth a shot, I stepped forward.

“I’m here for the Crucible,” I said, keeping my voice low. “My name is Silas.”

“What is your Master’s name?” She said promptly, surprising me.

“Uhh,” I was thrown off by the instant reply. She was nearly as efficient and courteous as Meredith. “Master Mikel, from Toledo.”

She turned to a computer on her desk and began typing in some information. “Ah yes. Third Class Apprentice Silas. Welcome to Fairbanks.”

“Thanks,” I said, warming to the conversation. “I used to live here a long time ago, actually. I like how this place has changed.”

“You are sweet,” she said, like a typical grandmother. “My daughter and I have lived here for nearly thirty years. My grandson Ben was born here. We enjoy it.”

“Ben?” I questioned, feeling a little hopeful. “You don’t mean Ben Mattox, do you?”

Her eyes turned to focus on me, then they lit up. “Oh, I didn’t recognize you! You’re so much taller now, Silas!”

I couldn’t help but grin. “Well, I was just a kid when my mom moved us to Toledo. Is Ben around?”

“He’s in North Pole right now,” she said cheerily. “He’s at work. But I’ll call him later and tell him you’re visiting. How is your sister? Her name was Lily, right?”

That was the fact of a small town, I remembered. If you stayed long enough, everyone remembered your name. And you couldn’t help but remember everyone else’s name as well. So it came as no surprise that they remembered Lily. Even though I’d been in Toledo for five years, I could remember North Pole. It was a small town half an hour north of Fairbanks. It was always Christmas there, as the town had a reputation to keep up with the name.

“Yes, Lily’s doing fine,” I said. “She and mom are both in Toledo. They’re not coming. Just me for the Crucible.”

My mention of the Crucible seemed to steer the conversation back on track. I knew that a lot of older people loved to chat endlessly about the old times, and if I wanted to get checked in by the time the opening ceremony started, I had to take control of the exchange.

“Right,” she said, turning back to the computer. “Looks like you’ve been given suite eleven for the week. Would you like some lunch while you wait for the ceremony? Perhaps a schedule of the week’s events?”

“Yes to both,” I replied. “How do I get down to the rooms?”

“Just take those stairs there,” she said, pointing to a discreet stairway that was in the corner of the lobby. “It leads right to an elevator. Only Reapers can use it, and it’ll take you right to your floor. Fourth Basement floor, dear.”

She held out a keycard and a schedule, along with another piece of paper that looked like a menu. I took them with a quiet word of thanks, and, after saying farewell, I headed down the stairs. I only had to dodge around one person, who leaned against the wall muttering about something that sounded vaguely bible-related. Some things never change, I guess.

The elevator made a soft ding as it reached the fourth basement floor, and I followed the deep red carpeting to my room. It was similar to the room I’d slept in for three days after my Awakening. The bed felt nearly identical too. As I flopped down on the bed, I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It read eight in the morning. Four hours behind, I reminded myself. I was six hours early. Perfect time for a quick nap, and a good meal. I’d been awake for a while last night out of excitement, and I was tired.

“Alright,” I told myself. “Tomorrow’s the start. Better put in my best effort.”