I walked down the empty, mold smelling hallway. An acute ringing sounded in my ears, and the world tilted as my vision spun. My head throbbed simultaneously, forcing me to stop and lean on the wall. The cold stone momentarily brought relief from the pain as I pressed my forehead against it. The world righted after a moment, and I continued to walk, letting my feet take where I needed.

Jace, or whoever hit me, must have done more damage than I initially thought. The day had truly been a rollercoaster of emotion. I didn’t expect my rise in rank through the matches, and my desire to get on a team for missions would’ve angered Jace and the other Welders so much. I hated that he had enough power to just walk around and assault others as he did. I wondered why the cadre never did anything to stop him and the other Welders. Then I thought about how all the Carpenters were treated by the cadre. All we were good for was keeping the garden and the food supply up.

I was the first Carpenter to be allowed to move freely, and based on my interaction with Jace, it was turning out to be a bad idea. Thinking of Jace brought up questions of what he was talking about. I needed to find out what was really going on as he said.

The screeching of metal echoing down the hallway brought me out of my head. I took stock of my surroundings and realized that I had no idea where I was. I wanted to be mad that after four years in the camp, I could still get lost, but I didn’t have time. A door a half-dozen paces ahead of me was starting to open. Luckily, there was a small alcove behind me shrouded in darkness. I swiftly fled from an unknown entity to the dark concealment it offered. I made it at the nick of time and froze, hoping that I was genuinely hidden from the person who came through the door.

Sergeant Michel flipped off a light switch in the room then exited. He closed the door and spun a large dial above the handle. I was worried that he would look around and see me after that, but he just pulled his ever-present clipboard from under his arm and started staring at it as he walked in the opposite direction than me.

I let out a silent breath of relief. Sergeant Michel was a person I did not want to meet in a dark hallway, or especially somewhere I shouldn’t be. My heart thumped hard in my chest, sending spikes of shivers through my body. If I was somewhere I shouldn’t be, then they could be watching me. I immediately activated my power to look around for any sign of electricity along to ceiling and corners. I didn’t see any signs of cameras or other monitoring devices.

I breathed deeply through my nose to calm my nerves.

“Screw it,” I whispered to myself.

I decided I wasn’t going to get a better chance to search for information. I didn’t know what was in the room, but it was important enough to be locked up. Actually, there were a lot of things about the situation that I didn’t know, such as where I was in the camp, what time it was, or if anyone was coming back. However, I knew the light was off, I wasn’t being watched, and I yearned for some more information.

I stepped from the gloom and zipped to the door. My ability was still activated, and I hastily examined the door. There was nothing electronic about it, but when I focused on the lock, I could make out the multitude of interconnected parts on the inside. It was so complex I couldn’t figure out what parts to adjust. My attention fixated on the large bolt that secured the door to the seal. I smiled mischievously. I didn’t need to manipulate the entire lock.

I touched the lock and let my power spread through the mechanism. With my vision, the metal parts were grey with coppery glints that sparkled throughout. I made a thin line through the middle of the bolt, separating the two pieces. It took a couple of seconds, but as soon as it was done, I gave a quick tug on the door and it slid open easily. I peeked inside to make sure the room was empty, and I slipped in afterward. I closed the door and took the time to fix the lock’s bolt.

I turned and looked around the office. The various glow emanating from the blurry objects were all browns, light greens and grays. The only indication of electricity came from the light switch to my right, and the lights in the ceiling and table lamp. Metal glinted from all over the room from what I assumed were filing cabinets lining the walls.

I instantly knew where I was going to look first and what I was going to look for. I would start with the closest filing cabinet that was in the right corner just a few paces away and look for my personnel file. I moved toward the cabinet and deactivated my ability. I was plunged into darkness. Unable to see or stop my momentum, I slammed chest first into the filing cabinet. I silently cursed to myself, then I activated my power to see where the light switch was and turned it on.

With the lights on, I was able to move the cabinet without running into it. Eight cabinets lined the room and they all looked the same. They were all dark grey with a button next to the handle. I tried to pull it open, but it wouldn’t budge, so I pressed the button in, but it still didn’t move. It had to be locked, so I quickly scanned the room. I found the lock on the side of the cabinet on the middle drawer.