Registration Complete

The hall erupted into movement as students jumped to their feet and began to pour out of the auditorium. Victor moved with the flow of the crowd, briefly scanning the sea of heads around him.

'Danny? Amara?' he thought. He had hoped to spot them, but the crowd was too thick. There had to be thousands trying to get through the same corridors.

'I'll find them later. First... registration.'

The registration centers were located on the lower floors of the tower. There were multiple check-in points, each manned by Academy staff and overseen by security drones hovering above. Within minutes, lines had formed that stretched down the corridors.

Victor got in one of the faster-moving lines and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Nearly an hour passed before he was within five people of the front.

Just then, a sharp buzz rang out.

The student at the front had stepped through the scanner—and the device blared red.