Page 42 of Black Hollow: Awakening

“Well… Someone is clearly targeting people like us, so…”

“Wait,” he interrupted her. “This wasn’t the first murder?”

“No. The third.”

Will froze, shocked by the information. How was it possible he hadn’t heard anything about this?

The world of vampires, werewolves, and witches was starting to terrify him more and more.

December 5 | Thursday

Although the teachers were still tormenting them with quizzes and tests, most of the students were living for the upcoming holiday break. The atmosphere at school had gotten lighter, and everywhere you could feel the impatient anticipation for the much-desired time off.

As was tradition, the school designated a day for representatives from various companies looking for interns to visit. The main hallway had turned into a veritable gallery of advertisements. Every significant company had its own table, decorated with its logo and posters. Usually, two representatives sat at each one, answering any and all questions with a welcoming smile. There were also flyers and application forms that you could fill out on the spot.

Will wandered between the various booths, though none of them caught his eye. It was no wonder. He still had no idea what he wanted to do in the future, and what else was he supposed to base his choice of internship on? Possibly the earning potential and the company’s reputation, but his grades weren’t good enough to get into the prestigious companies.

Despite this thought, he stopped at the most crowded booth—the one for Kubrick Corp., of course. He had already passed it twice, but he hadn’t wanted to push through the huddle of students, and now it had thinned out. It was the only company that truly interested him.

“Can I help you with anything?” a representative asked politely.

“No, thank you,” Will answered shyly.

After picking up an application form, Will walked on, wondering if he should fill it out. It wouldn’t cost him anything, after all. Worst case scenario, they’d decide he was unsuitable and toss his application, just like they did with the vast majority of candidates. No shame in that, and there was always a chance it might work out.

He remembered Danny’s words: Guys like you and me don’t stand a chance. They’ll handpick the top two percent of students with the highest grades in fields that interest them, make them offers, and that’ll be it. After a moment’s thought, he concluded that his friend was right. Not wanting to waste any more time, he ripped the application apart and threw the pieces into a nearby trash can.

“Mr. Morgan.”

Will turned at the sound of his name. He expected to see a teacher, but standing before him was Nathaniel Kubrick himself.

“Good afternoon. My name is—”

“Nathaniel Kubrick,” Will blurted out involuntarily, still in shock. “I know. I’m sorry,” he corrected himself a moment later, realizing he had rudely interrupted the man and hadn’t even returned his greeting. “Good afternoon.”

“Could I have a moment of your time?”

“Of course.”

Will had no idea what such an influential man could want with him. And how on earth did he know his name?

“I saw you circling our booth. Were you planning to submit an application?”

“Uh… Yes,” Will admitted slowly, wondering if Kubrick had seen him tear up and throw away the form. He felt self-conscious. “I was thinking about it, but I came to the conclusion that you’re probably not looking for someone like me.”

“On the contrary, Mr. Morgan,” Kubrick countered, to his surprise. “I wanted to personally inform you that submitting an application won’t be necessary, as you’ve been identified as one of our preferred candidates. In addition to reviewing applications, we have other selection methods that led us to you.”

“To me?” Will asked, uncertain. Maybe Kubrick had made a mistake?

“Yes. Exactly,” the man confirmed with a smile. “Are you interested?”

“Yes, of course!” Will replied immediately, but then doubts washed over him again. “It’s just that I don’t understand why I was chosen. I don’t have the best grades.”

“If school grades were the measure of ability, this world would be run exclusively by people who graduate from universities with the highest honors. Meanwhile, those who get the furthest most often have a narrow area of specialization. That’s what we’re looking for.”

The thing was, Will didn’t have any area of specialization.

“I see,” he replied slowly. ““But I don’t know much about the hard sciences. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m interested in the labs, machines, and that sort of thing, but I don’t have any talent in that area. I’m more of a humanities type,” he admitted, somewhat helplessly, painfully aware that he was an average humanities type at best.