The alert alarms are blaring loudly now. A voice informs us to head to the middle most areas as peripheral areas are at a high risk of being broken down by incoming debris streams.

We don't need to move much since the emergency cabin is placed in the center to avoid getting hit in any way.

We're about to move to the nearest assemblance point when someone taps my shoulder. I turn around to see it's one of the emergency cabin members who beckons us inside.

Petry and I follow him inside, where we're instructed to sit by the cabin wall where two seats have been set up for us.

We thank him and sit down until the alert alarms stop and a voice instructs us to go back what we were doing now that no meteors are coming anymore.

Petry and I, as per what we were instructed, slowly make our way back to the main DSR cabin (not the one we were waiting in). When we reach the cabin, we see one of Zippin's minions standing by the assemblance point nearest to the cabin.

He looks at us with wide incredulous eyes filled with disbelief.

"Well, don't expect to get rid of us that soon." I quip, making Petry laugh and the minion smack his forehead. He gestures us to go inside the cabin and we do.

When we get inside, Zippin is saying something, "Some unforeseen circum-" but stops short when he sees Petry and I and frowns in disbelief.

"Well, I..." he trails off.

Zing comes running up to me and hugs me, making me wince involuntarily. He steps back and looks at me. He doesn't say a thing, but his eyes say it all.

"It's going to be okay." I whisper to him as we go and settle down.

Petry's team mate also greets her and they sit down as well.

Everyone still looks at us like we're from outside Zorg.

Zippin says, "Well, it's good to see that the two of you are back sound. Like I was saying, we've made our decision. We were about to say that our only choice was to pick the remaining two whole teams. But now, we'll go back to our earlier decision. Based on your performances in the tests held earlier today, we've picked the two best performing teams."

Zing tenses by my side, making me give his hand a reassuring squeeze.

Wow, it felt like a lifetime ago that we performed in those tests!!

Zippin continues, "The first team we've picked is..."

Everyone holds their breath now.

"Lina Porret and Anti Grofer."

It's the team who went before us in the last series (yes, the ones that mocked us in the start) and they high five each other now.

Zippin talks on, "The second and last pair we've picked today is..."

Now even I tense up. Sure, we did well, but what if it wasn't enough??

Well, I worried unnecessarily as the second pair is "Fila and Zing Arduch, who actually performed the best of all the pairs today."

I smile at Zing, whose face is stretched into a beaming grin.

"Congratulations to these two teams. Other pairs, do not worry that you missed this opportunity because you still performed much higher than the average. All four of you are now employed in the DSR." Zippin concludes.

Everyone whoops in joy now.

That's a smart move- those who didn't get selected still get to work with the DSR!! Also, if the two teams selected somehow don't work out, they would still have backup.

Something totally unpredictable happens when Zippin and his minions leave- all eight of us socialize with each other, with no signs of any jealousy or enmity.

I mentally congratulate Zippin and his gang on their smart power play as Petry fills everyone in on what happened until we got back to the cabin here.

Everyone's engrossed in her story now. Listening to her story, I see why. She's built up the scene again perfectly in her words.

Once she's come to the part where we're in the emergency cabin, she stops to take a breath and six pairs of eyes stare at my face with disbelief and admiration, one with some added pride (that's Zing- proud of his twin sister).

Petry looks at me with a big smile on her face. I think about how, if only I was a bit late, we both would've been locked out, and she wouldn't be here then, probably wouldn't even be able to smile like that...

I smile back at her, and this seems to remind her of something. She picks up the story where she dropped it, still as mesmerising. Dear Zorg, she's such a good storyteller!!

By the time we wind up inside the cabin, half the people present have eyes bright with unshed tears.

The four people who aren't- Lina, Anti (who both seem to despise me for whatever reason), Petry (because she's telling the story) and me (because I'm busy trying to distract myself from the excruciating pain my backside reeks of).

Petry's team mate thanks me for getting Petry safely inside, and I repeat what I told her, "You shouldn't, because that's my duty." Still, he thanks me again.

I wave him off. They smile at me and we talk for some more time and then exit.

The last to exit are Zing and I, and we slowly make our way back to our cabin.

Halfway there, Zing wraps an arm around my shoulder, making me flinch.

"What?" he says, stunned, as his arm drops back to the floor.

"I'll tell you once we get to our cabin." I say and walk ahead.

Zing doesn't question this and follows me.

Really, we're not a questioning lot!!

Once we reach there, he raises an eyebrow.

And I tell him, tell him everything about how my backside was nearly in shreds when I got to the emergency cabin, and how they said it would heal, but hurt a lot...

Zing takes it all in, silent throughout.

At the end, though, he says, "Anything you need, Fila, ask me, okay?"

I nod in response.

Whom else will I go to??

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That's right, whom else will she go to??

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