I'm not dead! Hehehe sorry for the delay, I've been busy working. I also don't have internet access available for my laptop which is where I do all my writing. I'm currently staying with some family by the coast and their wireless won't let me on… Anyway, I hope anyone who reads this likes it… I hope that it sounds good. Thank you for your reviews, they are the life of this story… If I got no reviews this story wouldn't be so long… Thanks again, I would love to hear your comments and how I could improve!

Chapter Eight

This sucked. This sucked royally. Anna had been out in bustling downtown Palmacosta looking for work for over half the day and there was none anywhere to be found! She had been to over a hundred businesses and all of them had told her to get lost. Well, that was way more polite than they had been…

She looked everywhere and there was absolutely positively no work anywhere in the biggest city in the entire world. As she walked down the busy streets of Palmacosta she saw many people like herself who couldn't find work, in fact she saw countless people who were far worse off then herself. The streets were littered with people begging for gald, many young children could also be seen begging for food. Seeing these sights pulled at Anna's heart strings, but she knew that she couldn't help them, money was getting tight for her as well. She knew that if she gave them any gald she would not be eating for awhile.

By three in the afternoon she was getting close to calling it quits. She began dragging her sore feet to the nearest bus stop and sorting the pieces of paper she had gathered on her journey with the few résumés she had left. Feeling very discourage Anna didn't even bother looking up as she boarded the bus and paid the passage fee. Sighing, she made her way down the narrow isle toward the back of the bus…That was her plan anyway; however, she didn't get more than three steps before something grabbed her arm.

Her initial reaction was to panic. She let out a small scream and tried to get out of the strong, viselike grip of the stranger.

"Calm down! Anna, it's only me!" came an oddly familiar calm voice. Pausing in her struggle, Anna looked at the person's face.

"Kratos?!" she gasped as her papers scattered all over the floor.

"I apologize for startling you, I didn't mean to."

"Startled isn't the word" panted Anna as she tried to calm herself down after the adrenaline rush she just had. As she began to get a hold of herself she realized that everyone on the bus was looking at her. 'Everyone on the bus' wasn't really a lot of people, two old ladies and the bus driver was 'everyone on the bus'; Anna however wasn't used to people staring at her the way they were so she quickly turned bright red.

Seeing her embarrassment Kratos offered her the seat next to him and they both sat down so the bus could begin to move. Anna was trying her best to no look at anyone on the bus and force down the blush that covered her face. As the bus navigated the streets on a predetermined route Anna calmed down and became curious as to why Kratos, someone she barely knew, who appeared cold and distant, would single her out and get her attention. Something wasn't right.

"So…um…why did you grab me?" asked Anna nervously.

"I had wanted to talk to you about a job opportunity since you were looking for work."

"A-a job? R-really? Wait, how did you know I was looking for work?" stuttered Anna. 'Darn stuttering, why now? How come talking to Kratos always makes me so nervous? Maybe it's because I don't know him…that's it, I must be nervous around him since he is a stranger, that's why it feels like my heart is beating so fast…'

"I noticed your résumés earlier today when we were on the bus and I assumed that you, like the many other young people of Sylvarant were looking for your first job." Stated Kratos with a small smirk on his face.

"Wow…You figured out all that just from our short meeting this morning? You must be some sort of detective!"

Kratos chuckled at that, "No, I'm not a detective, I work for Cruxis's test department, coming to accurate conclusions is one of the many things I do."

"That's still amazing." Said Anna with a nod, "wait, is this a job with Cruxis that you are offering me?!"

"Indeed. You don't have to take the job if you don't want to, don't feel forced into it. Cruxis is currently looking into hiring several people, the jobs are mostly desk jobs, sorting paperwork and performing experiments, you may even get the opportunity to go out into other communities and perform some tests for us. If you want a job like that, or know anyone else who is looking for work, please let me know."

'Is he serious?! This sounds like a dream job! Amazing! And I was starting to think that I would have to resort to manual labor and only earn a piece of gald a day!'

"I would love a job like that! Are you really offering that to me?!"

"Yes…if you want it than consider yourself hired."

"Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!! This is amazing! I was looking for work all day and nowhere else is hiring! I would love to work for Cruxis!"

"I look forward to working with you, I'm glad you are excited about it. You can start tomorrow morning at ten, just come down to the Cruxis main building, the one you saw me go into this morning, and I will be waiting for you. And if you know anyone else looking for work feel free to bring them along, we would love to have them." Said Kratos with a smile. He then handed her a file folder. "All the information is in there, what to wear, where the building is located, and phone numbers you can call to contact me…things like that. If you have any questions after reading through that feel free to call me at those numbers and I will do my best to answer them."

"This seems like a dream… thank you so much for this; it means so much to me. I'm so happy, it feels like I'm going to cry." Said Anna with a shaky voice. Her eyes glistened and she began to rub them to get rid of the tears that were beginning to gather there. Kratos shifted uncomfortably in the chair next to Anna, he looked out the bus window and then reached up and pulled the cord that ran the length of the bus, just above the window.

"I believe this is your stop ma'am." He said with a grin, "sorry about making you cry, I'll try not to do it again… I hope you have a great evening, remember to tell anyone else you know who is looking for work that they can get a job with Cruxis. And remember to come to the Cruxis main building at ten in the morning."

Anna nodded, trying to stop the endless stream of tears that flowed from her eyes. She didn't trust herself to speak now so she just smiled and waved to Kratos as she climbed off the Elemental Cargo Bus. She paused after she got off and watched as the bus began moving down the empty street again.