“Wait right there a moment,” one of the guards called out to Seth as he made his way towards the Federation building.

“Umm, what's the matter?” Seth asked nervously. Deep down he can feel his worst fears being confirmed. It was a trap all along and he walked right into it!

“What is your business here boy? We can’t let you in if you’re carrying a weapon,” the guard replied eyeing Seth’s wooden sword.

Seth blinked. The question was much more normal than he expected. Maybe it wasn’t a trap? He said “I was called in for an interview at 4 today. They told me to bring my weapon of choice.” Seth bought up his wooden sword for the guard to see.

The guard blinked and stared at Seth’s weapon and then said, “Alright let me confirm it.” The guard tapped on his left ear. “ Hey I got a visitor at the front entrance saying he had a interview. Just want to confirm if that’s the truth. Can you check? Thanks... His name? Just a minute.” The guard looked at Seth one more time and ask “What is your name?”

“Seth Colls.”

“Seth Colls... Uh-huh.... Alright, thanks.” The guard put his hand down and nodded to the other guard. “Everything confirmed. Just walk right in. The first thing you see would be the receptionist desk and they can help you with the next step. Good luck with your interview.” The guard stepped to the side to let Seth through.

“Thank you” Seth said as he pushed his way through the glass doors, surprised at how they hadn’t bother to mention anything else about his ‘weapon’.

The first thing he noticed was the blast of cold air that hit him in the face. The next noticeable thing was the room. It looked like a typical lobby, with a reception desk and a sofa along with a few chairs on the side for guest. Next to the desk was doorway with an identification pad next to it. The room was brightly lit, but the walls were void of decorations or notices. This might attribute more towards the Federation ideology more than anything. Use everything for its intended purpose and nothing more.

There were two ladies at the receptionist desk. One of the ladies had short hair, brown eyes, and was wearing a white office shirt. The other lady had black long hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a purple shirt.

“Hi my name is Seth Colls and I'm here for an interview?” Seth called out to them as he walked towards the receptionist desk.

“Hello! We already been informed about you. The person who will conducting your interview will be with you shortly. Just take a seat and she’ll be here soon.” a cheerful voice answered from the short haired lady.

“Sur-”

“There’s no need for that. He can just come with me.” A voice interrupted Seth. A lady wearing glasses came out from the door next to the receptionist table. She wore a business suit, and her hair was tied in a ponytail. Her face was void of any emotions. She was carrying a folder in her arms and just waited for Seth to follow her.

Seth hesitantly looked at the receptionist who had answered him before and she gave a reassuring nod. She said “Go ahead. She will be the one interviewing you.”

Seth followed the glasses wearing lady into a hallway with several connecting rooms. After passing through a couple of rooms, they stopped at one of the doors. She opened it and led Seth inside which the room turned out to be a conference room. There was a rectangular table with chairs surrounding it.

“Take a seat,” the lady said as she sat down. She motioned to the chair directly across from her and opened the folder to take out a few documents. Seth could only follow her directions. He put his wooden sword on the chair next to him along with school bag. He sat down in the opposite chair and stared at his interviewer. She was still looking over a few of the documents.

So far, Seth had really no idea what to make of the situation. The guard and receptionist had been friendly enough. No attacks had occurred, but it has only been a few minutes since he entered the building. He was not bought over to a interrogation room or thrown into prison. That was a good sign. There was only the women in front of him and no one else in the room, including guards. He had not noticed any guards in the hallway either on his way in. These were all good signs. Unless this was elaborate ruse to put him at ease and then spring a whole bunch of guards on him later, Seth thought he would be able to escape the building rather easily if any problems occurred.

If Seth had to escape, it would be back the way he came in. He did not know the building well enough and only the only way in and out that he knew of was the entrance. His interviewer wasn’t carrying any weapons, at least none that he saw. Seth didn’t think the receptionist had any weapons on them. If they did, it might be hidden away under their table. He could already imagine the ways he could immobilize them if it came down to it. The biggest problem would be the two guards up front. Their rifles were the biggest issues. Could he take them out? Probably. He will have to be quick about it.

There also the factor of awaken abilities. Those were completely unknown. There were five people he thought of in his plan, not accounting for anyone else who might be roaming in the hallway or coming out of the rooms if he actually needed to escape. That meant five unknown factors. The only thing he could take comfort in was that that they were in a relatively small space such as the hallway and room. Any large attacks would be restricted which worked in Seth’s favor. It was when he made it outside that would make it the biggest issue.

Security was also another variable. Seth didn’t know how security worked in the building. For an official building, the security seemed a bit lax. If they had a quick response time during an attack, then the building would be swarming with Federation guards in a matter of minutes. This was their official building after all. Anything else would be … disappointing. Now what to do if a bunch of guards come in with rifles. He could-

Wait. Stop. Just focus on the interview, thought Seth. He realized once again his thoughts were spiraling out of control. Caution and paranoia were too deeply engrained into him by his master. It led his thoughts astray at times when he should be focusing.

The glasses wearing lady seem to finally finish with her documents. She look at Seth and said. “Sorry for the wait. I’m Sheila Nadeen and I will be your interviewer for today. Let's begin.”