Ms. Post in the front office had been very helpful. By the time Rachael had finished checking in, she was confident all of the items remaining in her apartment would be packed and carefully placed in a storage unit on the academy property, her lease would be taken care of, and the secretary had even assigned her a parking spot in the garage for her car. With the lease she’d apparently taken out on the Infiniti being her only expense, Rachael felt confident she would be able to save a lot of money while she was in school at Silverwood. All of the positives of this experience were beginning to outweigh the negatives, like having the reality she’d known for over 25 years suddenly shift into something else.

The elevator doors opened on her floor, and Rachael pressed the button to keep the doors open while she unpacked her second load of boxes from her car. She only had a few items left and didn’t really need any help, though Trip had yet to appear, and she hadn’t bothered to text him. The roar of a box fan coming from Jazz’s room made her think the girl was still sleeping.

Rachael moved the four boxes she’d brought up this time out into the hall and then released the elevator. “Hey, you need any help?”

She turned to see a younger guy with reddish brown hair and a sprinkle of freckles, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans. He looked like he was Jazz’s age, maybe a year older at best, his long bangs hanging over one eye the way the kids were wearing it these days. “Oh, I think I can manage.”

“I don’t mind. I’m Rex. I live across the hall from Jazz--from you.”

He didn’t offer his hand, but Rachael did, figuring he was just too young to realize that was how introductions were properly made. “Rachael,” she said, as he realized his mistake, shook his head, and gripped her hand. “Great to meet you.” He smiled and let her hand go. “Okay, sure, if you’re positive you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” He picked up one of her boxes, and Rachael grabbed another, walking down the hall as swiftly as she could. It wasn’t heavy, but the wide girth made it a little awkward.

She’d propped her dorm room open for easier access. Scrappy meowed from her new prison cell--the bathroom--and Rex followed Rachael in, carefully setting the box down next to the ones from her last trip while Rachael more or less just dropped it. “Thanks.”

“Sure thing.” His smile was still timid, like he wasn’t quite sure what to make of her. “Grab the others?”

“Yep.”

They brought in the last two, and Rachael thought about what she had left in her car. Two suitcases and another bag she could sling over her shoulder. She should be able to get all of that in one trip by herself.

Rex seemed bored. “I really don’t mind going down with you,” he said as she explained she had one more load. “I’ve got nothing else to do.”

“Cool.” She wasn’t going to argue with him if he wanted to help.

In the elevator, she considered trying to start a conversation, but he seemed like a person who didn’t like to talk. The awkward silence got to her as they walked toward her car, which was pulled to the curb in the back of the building only a few steps away from the door that led to the freight elevator, the one she’d been using. “Where are you from, Rex?”

“Nebraska,” he said pulling Rachael’s largest suitcase out of the back of her SUV. She went around to the passenger side and took out her smaller bag while he got the other suitcase out of the back.

“That’s everything,” she told him, closing the door as she came around. The smaller suitcase was on rollers, so she took that one and let Rex carry the larger suitcase. “Thanks.”

“Sure.” That seemed to be his favorite word.

Back in the elevator, Rachael asked, “Nebraska, huh? You’re a ways from home. Where abouts in Nebraska?”

“Hastings.”

It was another one word answer. Rachael should’ve been deterred, but she wasn’t. “Big city? Small town?”

“In-between. About twenty-five K.”

Taking that to mean twenty-five thousand people, she nodded. “Not too bad. As long as there are things to do.” The elevator opened and she led the way out.

“Yeah. A few things.” Rex followed her down the hallway, a man of few words.

They reached her room and put her stuff down. She still had questions for him but knew she was going to have to pry answers out of him. “How long have you known about Silverwood?”

“My whole life. My dad works for ‘em.”

“Really? That’s pretty cool. Did you just graduate from high school?”

“Yep.”

She waited for him to say more, but when he didn’t, Rachael surveyed the room, deciding it was time for Rex to go on his way so that she could unpack. “Well… thanks again.”

“Yep.”

“See you later.” She smiled and gave him a little wave, and he backed toward the door with a “‘K,” and a few seconds later, she heard his door close.

Rachael couldn’t help but smile. He was a sweet kid, but he was going to have to get over some of his awkwardness if he was going to be successful in an industry whose primary purpose was to pull the heads off of monsters.

She’d just started unpacking, her door still propped as the meowing had stopped so she figured Scrappy was cat napping, when she heard footsteps in the hall. The contents of the box she was emptying had all of her attention until she heard a brisk knock on her open door.

Rachael turned her head to see another face she’d only seen in her head before. Average height, with blond hair, far lighter than a color that could’ve appeared in nature, Trip was a handsome fellow, especially when he smiled. His biceps bulged against his red, short-sleeved polo, and the confident air that poured off of him was opposite of Rex in every way possible.

“Hey, Rach!” he said, his hand extended as he crossed the threshold. “You made it!”

A smile instantly lit her face as she set down the photo album she’d just unpacked, placing it on the coffee table. “Hi. You must be Trip.”

“That’s what I hear.” His laugh was the sort of chuckle you might catch coming from a frat house late on a Friday night. Clasping her hand in both of his, he gave it a squeeze. “Great to have you here.”

“Thanks. It’s great to be here.” He released her hand just short of pumping it free from her elbow.

“I woulda helped you move in.” Trip surveyed the boxes, hands on hips. “This everything?”

“It is.” She looked around, too. She hadn’t brought much with her. Not a lot of the items from her apartment were worth bringing along.

“You need any help unpacking?”

The idea of Trip putting her panties in a drawer almost brought a blush to her face. “No, I’m good.”

“All right. Well, Graham gave you my number, didn’t he?” Rachael nodded. “Just give me a holler if you need anything. Looks like he’ll be back sometime tomorrow.”

Hoping her face didn’t display her disappointment at hearing Graham wouldn’t be back sooner, Rachael said, “Cool. Well, I’ll just get unpacked and go put my car in the garage. Is it okay to sit by the elevator entrance a bit longer?”

“Sure, sure. No one else is moving in today, so it should be fine. You got your parking spot squared away with Ms. P.”

“I did.”

“Sweet.” Trip was just about to walk out the door when a second set of footsteps echoed down the hallway. Rachael hoped it was one of the trainers or professors, someone she was excited to meet, but when the form of a petite woman with a scowl on her pretty face filled the doorway, she inhaled sharply and tried not to cringe. “Oh, hey, Sammi.”

Sammi Knight stepped into Rachael’s room, the scowl somehow deepening. “This is your room?”

It was evident to Rachael why Chell’s sister would ask such a question, but she wasn’t supposed to know this had been Chell’s room when she first moved into Silverwood, so she had to pretend to be confused. “Yes. Hi, I’m Rachael.” She offered her hand.

Sammi was still looking around, her arms folded, but when she realized Rachael had her hand extended, she looked at it, and with a heavy sigh, shook it quickly, yet firmly. “Graham let you pick this room?”

“Yes…. Is there a problem?” Rachael wondered how much she was willing to say.

An internal argument delayed the answer as Sammi’s eyes darted back and forth in consideration. Eventually, she shrugged and said, “No. Just… surprised.”

“Sammi, Rachael’s grandfather was one of us. Graham’s very excited about her potential.”

Trip’s statement would’ve made Rachael feel flattered if it wasn’t for Sammi’s response. Her face crinkled again as she stared at him. “Awesome.” She looked around the room one more time. “Nice to meet you, Rach. See you around.” The trainer was gone as quickly as she’d appeared.

Rachael stood dumbfounded for a moment, trying to figure out whether or not she should respond.

“Don’t… worry about her.” Trip took a few steps closer to Rachael, keeping his voice low. “She’s not herself right now. Her sister passed away recently.”

“Oh.” Rachael didn’t know what else to say. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah. It was terrible for all of us, but especially Sammi--and Graham. She was his fiancee.”

Rachael tried to make a surprised face as if she hadn’t put two and two together. “I see.”

“So… she might need some time. I think this room might’ve been Sammi’s sister’s at one point.”

Rachael was getting good at looking shocked. “If I’d known that….”

“No, it’s fine.” Trip was standing next to her now and he gently put his hand on her shoulder. Rachael wasn’t sure what to make of that. “She’ll just need some time. She’ll come around. You seem like a cool person, and I haven’t heard Graham so excited about a new recruit in a while, so I’m sure Sammi will be fine, once she gets to know you.” He pulled his hand back and put it in his pants pocket.

“I hope so.” Rachael smiled at him, but she knew there wasn’t much of a chance of that. Sammi must somehow sense that Rachael was the one responsible for her sister’s death. Even though there couldn’t possibly be any evidence of that in this world, she knew, deep inside herself. Rachael wasn’t ever going to be able to win Sammi Knight over. Hopefully, she could keep her from discovering her hunch was right, or who knew what she might do to Rachael. It wouldn’t be pretty.