NOVEL NEXT CHAPTER 25: Lights! Cameras! Action!
The recruits shuffled out of the room, their minds reeling from the strange mental exercises Atlas had put them through. Some were visibly perturbed, while others seemed deep in thought, trying to make sense of the experience. Brent and Ben, however, were particularly annoyed.
*What’s he planning to do in here?* Brent thought, frowning. As a guy who dabbled in a little crank to keep his edge, the whole ordeal felt like a waste of time to him. Ben, on the other hand, was less irritated and more intrigued. An emo kid with a flair for the dramatic, Ben had taken up sword training to piss off his dad and indulge his romanticized notions of darkness and heroism. If rapiers were officially recognized weapons, he’d be using those in a heartbeat. The idea of being portaled into another world fed directly into his fantasies.
*If we were portaled into a new world, I would be the darkness. A darkness that will bind your soul…* He trailed off, imagining a spooky dance in his head.
Atlas got up, breaking their reverie. “Thanks, everyone, for coming. Prepare yourselves again tomorrow for more training. Alright, have a good night. Don’t forget, curfew’s at nine.”
As the recruits dispersed, Alicia approached Atlas, her curiosity piqued. “What are you doing, Atlas?” she asked, her voice tinged with both concern and curiosity.
Atlas turned to her with a knowing smile. “You ever wonder why I’m so good at fighting?”
Alicia crossed her arms, eyeing him with skepticism. “Yeah, we looked you up. You never had a fight background, and yet you seem like a pro.”
“This mental training is part of it—a big part of it,” Atlas replied, his tone matter-of-fact.
*If you call being attacked by demon dogs, skeletons, and slimes as mental training.*
“Really?” Alicia raised an eyebrow. “And you’re sharing it with our gym?”
Atlas shrugged, his grin widening. “Yeah. I’m just that kind of selfless person.” In his head, he couldn’t help but think, *I cannot believe they gave me a job to do this.*
Alicia shook her head, half-amused, half-concerned. “Alright, Atlas, what’s next?”
“How’s the gym looking?”
“Well,” Alicia said, her tone shifting to one of frustration, “the board is still on the fence about selling it if we don’t make a big debut. I think we’re going to be just another Sword and Iron franchise. Barf.”
Atlas grimaced in agreement. The Sword and Iron franchises were notorious in the community—run by muscleheads who barely knew how to swing a sword, their only goal being to sell lessons and merchandise. The thought of his carefully laid plans being derailed by such mediocrity was infuriating.
*If we don’t make a big debut, this whole portal training plan is going down the tubes,* Atlas thought to himself. But he wasn’t one to give up easily. He had a plan to ensure that didn’t happen.
“Alright, Alicia, here’s what we need to do.” Atlas pulled out a thick stack of photocopied papers and handed them to her.
“What’s this?” Alicia asked, flipping through the pages.
“These,” Atlas said, “are lines.”
“Lines?” Alicia repeated, confused.
“That’s right. I need you to hire fifteen people. Put out an open call for actors. Each sheet has a description of what the person should be wearing, as well as their lines.”
*The portal happened late at night when I was sleeping last time, and I woke up butt naked. I want to make sure that while they’re not naked, they’re wearing what they would normally sleep in.*
Alicia looked at the papers, then back at Atlas, her expression a mix of disbelief and amusement. “This is… kind of odd.”
Atlas waved off her concern. “Don’t worry. This just makes the training seem more real. Can you call Lily? See if she’s got some actors who want to audition? If they get the gig, we can negotiate contracts with them.”
Alicia hesitated. “I don’t know if that would be in your contract as a fight coach instructor…”
“Don’t worry about that,” Atlas said, his tone firm. “If the board gives you any hassle, I’ll pay for it.”
Alicia blinked, surprised by his determination. “Wow, this must be important. You’re paying for it? We’re already not really paying you…”
“It’s not what I want to do,” Atlas said, his voice doing a Batman impression, “It’s what I’ve got to do.”
“If you can get that done by tomorrow, that’d be fantastic. And also, check how far along those robot dogs are. I want them in training right away.”
“Oh yeah,” Alicia said, snapping back to attention. “I got a notice from the manufacturer. They just had to make sure the SFB gear was compatible. They’ve never been asked for that before.”
*Seriously, these K-9 units were designed for military, police, and secret facilities.* She had to have them stripped of their weapons before they could get two at a discount. *And I kind of fibbed and told them it was going to be in a movie.*
“Perfect,” Atlas thought aloud. “So they should be here tomorrow or the day after?”
Alicia frowned. “Well, we’ve got them on a priority delivery, but it’s Canada Post…”
“Fuck,” Atlas muttered under his breath. “Alright, Canada Post is what we’ve got to go with.”
“I know, right?” Alicia replied, rolling her eyes. “Hopefully, it all goes smoothly tomorrow. We’ll get the dogs in, and we’ll get the actors in.”
“There should be absolutely no problem,” Atlas said, completely oblivious to the flags he was raising with his words. *There’s no way Canada Post could mess up a simple delivery, right?*
*Right?*
***
Later that evening, Alicia sat in her apartment, going over the script lines and actor descriptions Atlas had handed her. She couldn’t help but shake her head at the absurdity of it all. *Hiring actors to make training more “real”?* She let out a small laugh, the corners of her mouth curling up in a bemused smile. *Leave it to Atlas to come up with something this crazy.*
As she flipped through the pages, her mind wandered to the K-9 units. She still wasn’t sure how they would fit into the gym’s operations. *How are we going to get security clearance for these things?* she wondered. The whole situation felt a bit like overkill. Robot dogs designed for high-security military and police work being used in a gym? It was a logistical nightmare waiting to happen.
*And how did Atlas even get these things approved?* Alicia bit her lip, thinking back to the hoops she had to jump through just to get them shipped to Canada. She’d had to make a bunch of calls, sign a stack of forms, and even pretend they were props for a movie production to get the discount. *It’s ridiculous. If anyone finds out, we’re screwed.*
But Atlas seemed so confident, so sure that everything would work out. That kind of determination was rare, and it was one of the things she admired about him. *Even when he’s pulling stunts like this, he’s still got that unshakable confidence.*
Alicia sighed, setting the papers down on the coffee table. *I guess I just have to trust that he knows what he’s doing.* After all, he’d pulled off crazier things before. Like convincing a bunch of trainees that fighting off imaginary monsters was good mental training.
As she prepared to make the necessary calls, her phone buzzed with a message from Lily.
“Hey, Alicia! Got your request. I’ve got some actors lined up who’d love to audition. They’ll be perfect for whatever weird project Atlas is cooking up. Can’t wait to see what he’s up to this time. :)”
Alicia smiled at the message, her nerves easing a bit. *Maybe this won’t be such a disaster after all.*
She quickly typed a response, confirming the time and place for the auditions. *Alright, step one: get the actors. Step two: hope to God that Canada Post doesn’t mess up the delivery of the K-9 units.*
As she hit send, a nagging thought crept into the back of her mind. *And then there’s the whole security clearance thing…*
She shook her head, pushing the worry aside. *One step at a time, Alicia. One step at a time.*
With a renewed sense of determination, she began dialing the first number on her list.
Tomorrow was going to be one hell of a day.