The halls are so quiet. Eerily quiet. It makes my skin crawl.
“One minute until lockdown.”
“Come on, come on,” I mumble.
The snack and drink drop out and I snatch them up, stuffing them in my bag before pivoting and running back to my room, feet pounding on the tiles. The sound echoes off the walls. A glance at open doors along the hallway reveals anxious faces clutching at their prizes.
I slip through my door as it swings shut and locks. Everything in the room disappears, and a two-foot round, white table appears in the center. Three items sit on top. A small cup of water. A pill in a cup. And a gun.
My stomach drops. What is the gun for?
“Survival Testing will commence once all participants have taken the pill,” Overwatch announces.
I pick up the cup with the pill and stare at it. The medicine is small—about the size of an allergy pill—and blue. The water is likely there to wash it down, but I doubt it’s necessary. No markings are visible on the pill. What is it? I shake the cup like it will knock loose answers.
“What is the pill?” I ask Overwatch.
“Participation is compulsory. The pill assists in the administration of the test.”
Not really an answer.
“What is the Survival Test?”
“All test subjects participate in a Survival Test to determine the effectiveness of the pill. Participation is compulsory. Test subjects are permitted one stun gun for protection. No other weapons are permitted. The testing will end when the simulation completes.”
The gun sits on the table surface, mocking me as if it knows I could never actually pull the trigger. The image of subjects fighting over food makes me wonder how far some will go to survive this test.
“Survival Testing will commence once all participants have taken the pill.”
The pill slides down my throat easily on its own, but I drink the water anyway, wondering how long this test will last. The supply of water in my bag is limited. I can’t afford to waste this cup.
The gun still waits for me. Other subjects will have this weapon as well. I can’t afford to be left defenseless. My lack of Power already puts me at a disadvantage. My hand wraps around the cool metal handle. The gun is surprisingly light. A quick examination reveals nothing unusual—no strange markings or indicators of any kind. It looks like an ordinary gun. I’m not comfortable with the unfamiliar weight, so I fold it into the spare clothes in my bag.
A click in front of me makes my head snap up from the buckle securing my bag shut. The table is gone, and I stand in an empty white box. The door is open, but far from inviting. What would happen if I just waited out the test in this room? My supplies might run out, eventually forcing me out to find more, but I could last at least a day in here if I ration the protein and water. Unless someone comes for me. If anyone shows up at this box looking for extra supplies, there will be no escape.
Already, the sounds of guns firing and people shouting filter through the open door. I swallow and wonder if I will need the gun. I hope not. Even if it is just a stun gun, I’m not sure I’d be able to fire at another person.
Maybe I take too long thinking it over because the longer I stand there, the more apparent it is that the walls are closing in on me. Literally. The size of the box has shrunk at least half the size it was. At first, it was the size of my room. Now, it’s more the size of a bathroom.
Staying isn’t an option. Paragon wants us out there, facing off against each other and whatever simulation it has created.
A hot breeze blows through the open doorway. Where are we? Anxiety creeps into my chest, but I edge toward the door and lean against the frame to peek out into the hallway.
But it isn’t a hallway anymore.
My loafers crunch the brittle, brown ground as I step out, taking in the barren wasteland. It looks just like the world beyond the borders of Elpis. Crumbling remains of long-abandoned buildings. Trees without leaves, their scraggly branches reaching desperately toward the hot sky. Street signs so rusted I can no longer read them. And somewhere beyond, hints of a crater apparent by the massive pocket of nothing in the skyline. A hole likely created during the War by explosive atomic Naturalkinesis.
Suddenly, the desperation from the veteran subjects to gather as much of the food and water as they could carry makes sense. Nothing could survive out here, which makes any hope of foraging for food moot and water doubtful.
A few other test subjects stand stiff, staring out at the landscape just like me. Newbies, most likely, just as I am. What are we supposed to do here? Just survive? That doesn’t seem like a useful test, unless Paragon is hoping that the pill will help people use their Powers to survive. In which case, I’m screwed.
Standing in the open makes me a target, so I turn back to my box, but it’s gone. Nothing but the wasteland surrounds me. The entire floor has been transformed into one massive simulation.
East. Miller told me to meet him somewhere east, and I relayed the message to others. Maybe he knows the lay of the land here. At the very least, he has a supply of water I don’t have, and the sun is already making my skin hot. It won’t be long before sweat dehydrates me. I only managed to get two pouches of water. One from the table and one from the machine. Those won’t last long.
I shield my eyes and seek out the sun, which is rising in the distance. Shifting the strap of my bag into a more comfortable position, I head toward the burning heat of the sun.
At first, I just trek across the cracked earth, but after passing through a grove of dead trees, I climb through the broken remains of what was once a major highway. I eventually find myself standing at the edge of a dried-up riverbed. I hesitate, looking north and south for another way across, but none is in sight.
The sound of voices hastens my decision, and I step carefully along the edges of the riverbed and lean back as my feet slide down the side. Maybe they are friendly, but I don’t intend to risk the alternative.
“—need water,” a male says.
“There’s a river up ahead,” another says.
I hold my breath and press my back to the west wall of the riverbed, hoping they won’t see me. Their loafers scuff at the ground, approaching, then recede north as the two express disappointment at the dry river. The water probably wouldn’t be safe for consumption anyway. If this simulation is realistic at all, the water supply is likely contaminated either with chemicals or radiation from the Fallout. Contamination is a real danger in the world beyond Elpis. I imagine this simulation is no different. I don’t intend to find out.
Once I’m sure they are gone, I make my move to the other side of the riverbed and begin the climb out. More than once the dirt gives out under a hand or foot, and I have to adjust my grip to avoid slipping backward. A hand closes around my forearm and pulls me up. I’m in no position to resist, so I push myself up as they pull until I flop on the east bank on my back and close my eyes against the sun. Dirt cakes my hands, and I’m sure it’s sticking to the sweat on my face.
“We’re glad we found you.” The voice is familiar. “You breathe like a horse.”
I open my eyes, shielding them from the sun, and see Leo and Dave stand over me. I let out a sigh of relief as Dave pulls me to my feet. Friends. That’s a relief.
“Thanks,” I say, brushing the dirt from my clothes as best I can.
Dave glances the empty riverbed, expression unreadable.
Leo smiles through. “So, how do we finish this?”
I shift my bag and start east. Leo sticks to my side. Dave is slower to follow.
“I’m not sure,” I say. “I would guess it has something to do with that blue pill.”
Both fall silent. I glance over and see Dave’s hands balled into fists, his thick jaw clenched tight. He looks every inch a Somatic like his brand proclaims, but I wonder what his Power is. How come I never asked when we were in high school?
Again, they are hoping I have answers.
Again, I have none.
“You don’t have to come with me,” I say.
“We want to,” Leo says, but a glance at Dave makes me wonder if that’s true.
Dave and I get along well enough, but it always seems like he would rather be anywhere else. Right now, he is watching everything around us as we make our way over dead and broken ground.
“I suppose now would be a good time to find out what you two can do,” I point out, watching Dave.
“Atomic Sight,” Leo says. “I thought you knew that.”
Leo’s Power lets him see the bonds between atoms.
“I knew it had something to do with vision,” I admit as we climb over the remains of a broken building.
Dave remains silent.
“He’s working,” Leo says, winded as he reaches the other side and dusts off his hands. “Parabolic Hearing.”
That explains the silence. Dave can focus on the sounds in a specific area and filter out any unwanted noise. For all I know, he can’t even hear us right now—or at least has chosen not to. Still, having him around could be helpful. At least nothing will sneak up on us.
I take a sip from my water supply as I consider what to tell them. Dave’s ability could help us find Miller faster, but then again, he wouldn’t be able to listen for danger.
The road we travel is cracked open in some places and buckled upward in others. It makes the trek more of a challenge. Chunks of a few buildings at some point crumbled into the street, forcing me to climb over them to pass. The devastation and the obstacles slow me down significantly, often forcing me to find other ways around the ruins. It’s a maze of destruction.
Miller said to meet him to the east, and I intend to do that.
At an intersection, I find a set of half-buried street signs on the ground and crouch to brush away several layers of dirt and rocks. The signs are rusted, but the raised letters are still evident. W. Wells St. and N. 29th St.
As we venture onward, keeping an eye out for Mo or Trina, Leo occasionally strikes up a conversation. About graduation and the careers they were given—he was placed in training as a phlebotomist—and how everyone speculated about what happened to me or why I disappeared on Career Day. Apparently, people just thought I couldn’t hack it. Probably accurate.
But Bianca knew. Or at least, had some idea. Clearly, she never said anything to anyone else.
The day wears on, and the sun begins dropping in the west. The farther up the road we travel, the wider the gap in the skyline grows. Tall buildings in broken remains circle the opening. We haven’t reached the crater yet, but I can guess we aren’t far now. The closer we get, the harder it is to find ways around the rubble. More of the street is blocked. More of the passages are mounds of debris, forcing us to climb over.
My hands ache from abrasion against the metal and rock I’ve had to climb. Sweat makes my scrubs stick to my skin. Thirst overwhelms my thoughts, but I’m afraid of drinking too much water too quickly. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. I cave in and take another careful sip.
Where is Miller? How far east do I need to travel?
Hunger seizes my stomach and I double over, slipping on a bent steel girder as I lose my footing. I grab hold before falling through a gap between the beam and the stones. Dave and Leo help pull me up, and we sit on the edge of the hole. I brush my aching, reddened hands on the scrubs and pull the protein out of the bag. There haven’t been signs of food so far, so if I’m not careful, I could run out. Dave and Leo don’t have much in their inventory, either. I eat a quarter of the protein bar and wrap the rest back up, packing it the bag and slinging it across my chest before carrying on.
Another couple of hours of hard travel leaves us all exhausted. My clothes stick to my skin and chafing has started in the sweatier places. We need to find a safe place out of the sun to stop and rest. Maybe I will discover Miller there.
Maybe I won’t find him at all.
The thought is disheartening, but not nearly as much as the sight of the old bridge collapsed over a highway that blocks us from going further. A quick scout in either direction makes it clear we have only one choice: attempt to climb over it.
“Maybe we can head north to find a way across?” Leo offers, casting doubts about climbing over the remains of the bridge.
“Miller wants to meet me east,” I say. “So, I’m headed east.”
“Why do you trust him? For all we know, he could be leading us into a trap,” Dave says, nudging a toe experimentally against one of the boulders we have to cross.
“He wouldn’t do that to me,” I say. Would he? I trust Miller—or at least, I have no reason not to trust him—but maybe my trust is misplaced. Can I trust these two? Can I trust anyone?
“I don’t hear him,” Dave says doubtfully. “I don’t think he’s this way.”
“I say we go north,” Leo repeats.
I won’t be stopped. If they want to go north, they can. But Miller has answers I need. He knows what this is about.
I don’t give them a chance to convince me otherwise. The boulders are all that remains of the bridge, collapsed in several places. Going down will make it too hard to climb back up. I need to try and stay at street level.
“Ugene!” Leo says, shifting. “It’s not stable enough to cross.”
“Someone’s coming,” Dave says.
I peek my head into a crevice between two of the boulders. It’s dark enough and should provide cover from whoever is coming. “Here.” I wave them toward me. “We can rest in here while they pass.”
“It’s that Telepath,” Dave says, a quiver in his voice. What sort of encounter did he have with the Telepath? Is it Terry?
A chill rolls up my spine despite the heat. Terry will find us.
A scream echoes off the buildings, muffled by distance. I know that scream. I’ve heard it before.
Enid.
22
My heart stops, and I hesitate, unable to pinpoint where the scream came from. The echo distorts the location.
“I’m not crossing,” Leo says, panic in his tone.
“Where is she?” I ask Dave. Enid needs help.
Dave shakes his head but doesn’t respond. I can tell he’s hiding something. No eager to waste another second, I rush to Dave, grabbing a fistful of his shirt. Dave flinches back.
“Where is she?” I ask, my throat tight.
Dave glances over his shoulder to the southwest.
Enid screams again, and I release Dave, rushing southwest. The sound vibrates off everything from every direction, into my bones. The boom of one of the stun guns follows the scream. Instead of freezing me, the sound quickens my pace.
Leo and Dave pound their feet against the ground behind me as they follow. She can’t be that far. Not if I heard her so clearly.
We climb over and around rubble, racing through the broken city as sweat rolls down my back. None of us say a word.
Then I hear it. Voices.
Three male voices drift from a distance, but their words are unclear. I slip my narrow body through a crevice between slabs of broken cement. The concrete is cold against my hot skin. It’s a relief, and I eagerly lay my back against it as I strain to listen. Leo and Dave soon join me, all three of us holding our breath.
“They’re trying to decide what to do with her now that they have her supplies,” Dave whispers. “Maybe pinning her between walls of one of the buildings.”
My stomach churns. They would just stash her away like that?
I pull my bag close. The gun is inside. I hope I don’t need it.
The sound of the stun gun firing is unmistakable. Anger surges through my veins, burning hot as I shift to step out and confront the three boys, not really sure what I will do once I have their attention. But Dave grabs my arm and yanks me back, shaking his head. I tug and t
ry to tell him to let go, but the fierce look in his eyes makes me hesitate.
Dave doesn’t let go until all falls silent again. The second he does, I dart through the narrow gap between buildings, ready to divert the assailant’s attention away from Enid, but the three of them are gone.
Enid lays on the ground, unconscious. I crouch beside her and press fingers to her wrist. Her pulse is there. I roll her head toward me and tap lightly at her cheek.
“They’re gone,” Dave announces.
Leo kneels on the other side of Enid, eyes sweeping over her. “She’s fine. Just stunned. And they dislocated her shoulder.”
Anger. Pure, boiling hot anger burns in my veins. My jaw twitches. Part of me wants to rush after them, make them pay. Part of me wonders if it’s really them I’m angry with, or Paragon for making this possible. Were guns really necessary?
Leo puts a hand on my arm, gentle and reassuring. “You can’t go after them, Ugene. Even with a stun gun, you don’t stand a chance against the Telepath.”
Enid’s gun peeks out from under the edge of a rock, where it must have slid. Did she fire the first shot?
“Someone’s coming,” Dave hisses, watching westward.
My jaw clenches so tight it hurts my head, and I grab Enid’s gun, shaking as I raise it west and point.
“It’s just me!” Sho calls, stepping around rubble with his arms up.
All the tension in my shoulders gives out, and I drop the gun to the ground. How easy it was to point. How angry I was. I can’t do this. I can’t be like them. I won’t.
Sho taps his temple. “I found you but knew those three were trouble, so I led them away.”
I understand well enough. That last shot was his. Sho’s Psychic Navigation let him find me. He must have already been close because his range is short.
“Help me,” I say, sliding my hands under Enid’s arms. “We need to move away from here in case they come back.” Safety first, then I will do something for her arm.
Leo grabs her legs, and the two of us follow Sho’s lead as he makes his way through gaps between buildings. Dave grabs Enid’s gun and brings up the rear, listening for signs of danger.
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