“I’m switching!” Murk shouted and pushed another cadet out of the way.
“What are you doing?” Angel turned around.
“I’m doing the links.” Murk grinned.
“But we already have our assignments for the links,” Ester responded, with the others gathering around. The clock flashed three minutes.
“Gotta save the best for last.” Murk smiled.
Ester and Murk exchanged glares as the rest of the class looked around.
“You’re messing up the order!” Ester snapped. The clock flashed one minute.
“It doesn’t matter!” Angel shouted. “We have to get to our stations. Come on!”
Ester glared at Murk as she walked away, but there was nothing she could do now. Murk, Bue, and Kiakit were supposed to take the lead for the barrel run, but now he switched sending Zime to do the barrels. Ester bit her tongue and started to run to her station. Now she would have to work with Murk. The time flashed thirty seconds, and everyone hurried to their station. At the puzzle station, Samay and another cadet named Conner took the lead. At the academic trivia station, Angel and Fermit took the lead, and in the final event, the links, Murk, Hue, and Ester were stationed. The clocked flashed five seconds until the buzzer went off. Bue, Zime, and Kiakit lined up at the line and eyed the other cadets with fierce looks. It was time. Everything they had been working hard on would show today.
The buzzer went off, and the first group of cadets raced to their pallets. Kiakit shouted to the other three to move quicker. Her group got to the pallet second and lifted the platform with the load as quickly as they could. Under Kiakit’s command, the group took off. The course had many obstacles on it that made walking around them difficult. Already a group from House Bull fell over.
A cadet in Kiakit’s group shouted for everyone to watch their steps as there was a patch of uneven ground up ahead. They slowed to navigate it better and maintained their lead in second place. On the hover screen, all the cadets could see their house’s progress. Everyone from House Snake cheered and shouted as Kiakit’s group passed the finish line in near first place. The light flashed green and the second team, led by Zime, ran to their pallet. They lifted the pallet and took off down the track. They were close to first and moving quickly. Zime shouted from the back.
“I see a row of um, things.” She tried to nod to her left.
“What?” Bue shouted.
Zime struggled to describe it. “Things, you know, the big…”
“Wall!” Another cadet in their group shouted, but they were moving too fast and slammed into the padded wall, making their pallet and its contents fall to the ground.
“Fuck,” Zime said as she and the rest of the group raced to re-load their pallet.
They were now in third place with Houses Monkey and Crane passing them. They re-loaded their pallet and took off again, but this time more carefully. The clock above the course flashed nine minutes.
“Come on!” Murk shouted.
Ester rolled her eyes from her station, as the rest of the class cheered on their teammates. Zime and her group made it across the finish line and the light turned green for the first group to head to the puzzle. They were led by Conner, a boy Samay recruited to help. The theme was numbers, and the objective was to find the right pattern to complete the puzzle and open the door. The clues were 80, 20, 10, and 40.
“Ten and twenty are connected how?” Conner thought as the group bounced ideas around. He slapped his hands on his head. “Ten, twenty, ten plus ten is twenty. Twenty was ten, no, twenty plus twenty is forty. Got it!” Conner shouted to his peers.
“Ten is the start, they add up, ten plus ten.” Conner shouted as the other cadets started to see the pattern. “Put what adds up next to each other and you should get the next number.” His classmates followed his directions and the door opened. “Yes!” Conner and his group ran to the side lines as Samay and her group ran to their puzzle.
“Way to go!” Samay waved on her way to her station.
The next theme was colors, Samay and her group got excited, but their puzzle was much harder than the practice ones. Another house started on their second puzzle, making them tie for third place. Samay stared at the clues, white, red, purple, and black. The group stared at the colors as the clock above them flashed fifteen minutes.
Samay waved to her group. “Hey guys, let’s huddle.” They huddled together quickly. “What do you guys think? What do these four colors have in common?”
The group stayed silent for a minute. One of her group members looked up and saw the other house making progress.
“Focus.” She pulled them back down. “What do they have in common?”
Josh, another boy from their class, coughed to clear is throat. “Well, technically white and black aren’t colors.” The other group members groaned in annoyance.
“Well yes,” Samay said with an eye roll, then looked at the clock above her. “Black and white aren’t,” she rubbed her hands together. “But purple and red are.”
Sweat formed on her brow as she struggled to think above all the noise. She peeked and looked at the other group. They looked just about done, and if she didn’t hurry her class would drop to fourth place.
“Come on, think, I mean, what do they all have in common? What does this puzzle want?” Her friends looked at the clues. The order didn’t matter, and there was no way to add another color to get all of the colors.
“Purple and red, no, you need blue, but what makes black?” she stressed.
Josh slumped in frustration. “It’s impossible. For one, there’s nothing you can mix to get purple and red. Heck you can’t even mix anything to get red because red is a primary color.”
Then it struck Samay like a bolt of lightning. “You can’t! You can’t get red because it’s a primary color and what’s purple?”
Josh looked around, stuttering over his words.
“What’s purple?” Samay asked again.
“Um, a secondary color? I don’t know!” Josh panicked.
“Yes! White is a tint, black is a shade, purple is a secondary color, and red is a primary color. These are all examples of the types of colors!” Samay jumped up and down. “Try it!”
Her teammates rallied around her and wrote in the clues. The door clicked open, and the group exploded in excitement. Just in time too as they were able to maintain their place in third. The light flashed green for Angel, and his group to start the speed trivia. There were five questions per group, and the clock above flashed twenty-five minutes. Each member needed to get one question right to move on. Angel lined up next to his classmates. Cheers egged them on as the first question flashed on the screen.
Who was the second emperor to sign the Rean Peace Treaty?
“Al-lazarah Cha of Cha-la.” Angel shouted out.
Huma-ko is best known for exporting what kind of resource?
“Ore!” Another classmate shouted.
The rest of the class shouted from the side lines. Angel’s group raced through the questions. The first group finished in less than five minutes. Next up was Fermit’s group. The five of them congratulated the previous group as they raced to the platform. There was no pause in the questions. The next one popped up on the screen as soon as all five of them were in position.
Which nation state has no formal governing leadership?
“Who-da!” Fermit shouted with ease.
What is one of the unique traits evolved for the people of Kees?
“They have the power to levitate and fly,” Another answered, as his teammates cheered.
The core of a CuCore is made up of which element?
“Copper!” another teammate shouted.
What was the name of the first Ranger to pilot in space?
His teammate paused and turned to the group. They huddled together and came up seconds later with an answer. “Sergeant JJ Fox?”
The last question appeared as the group clapped and cheered.
The island south
of Adum-la is often referred to as what?
The group looked around, but Fermit knew right away from studying with Ester. He pulled his group in, and in seconds, their last team member answered. “The Isle of Fish.”
The light flashed green, bumping them into second place. House Snake roared in excitement. The last group lined up for the links race. The house in the lead was only on their first run, but they were moving slowly. Murk saw this as an opportunity to push forward. The clock flashed thirty minutes; they had ten minutes to run the course.
“I’m getting in the middle!” Murk shouted as he pushed past everyone.
“Hey, it’s supposed to be Hue first!” Ester shouted.
“You guys want to win or come in last?” Murk spun around, sparks flying off his arms.
His teammates looked around then looked at the clock, their time was running out.
“Thought so.” Murk pointed to the four people he wanted on his team.
“This is wrong,” Ester tensed. “Hey, you come back and join Hue!” She shouted to one of her classmates on Murk’s team. “I’m going in too.” The other cadet stepped back. The clock flashed thirty-one minutes.
Murk rolled his eyes, but led the group. He carried them fast. Their little argument had given the house in the led a little more than an advantage, but they could still aim for second.
“I see something up ahead! It’s a wall!” One of the cadets on the team shouted.
“Doesn’t matter, push through!” Murk shouted.
“We need to slow down to complete it.” Ester shouted as she and the others felt like they were being dragged along.
“We’re already in second, just listen to me.” Murk pushed forward which caused the magnetic links to push the other cadets along with him.
“Slow down!” Ester tried to put on the breaks, but the other three teammates were grinding on ahead.
“Come on!” Murk shouted from the middle of their group. Then out of nowhere, he felt a tug on his back left side. One of his teammates had fallen, which pulled the whole group down.
“Get up! Get up!” Murk growled as his teammate struggled to her feet. “Get up!” he shouted again as another house passed them. The time flashed thirty-five minutes. “Get up! Come on!”
Their classmates on the sidelines were hanging onto their seats; even Captain Pole was watching his students closely. Their fallen teammate was finally to her feet and the group pushed on.
“Left! Left, you idiots!” Murk barked orders like a war commander, but it worked, and the first team finished the course in a little over four minutes. The group collapsed at the finish line and looked back at Hue and his group. It was up to him now.
“Come on, Hue.” Ester looked up at the clock. The time was thirty-six minutes.
Hue and his group were ready and suited up. “Ready!” His teammates nodded as the light flashed green for them to start. “Let’s go! Head left, there’s a wall a few steps up.”
“Hue! I see an incline.” A girl shouted from the front.
“I see it. Let’s slow down and take two steps to the right. I see a wall around that corner.” Hue pointed.
The group moved fast. They were tying for fourth place now, with the house in third and second not too far ahead.
“I see a low rise; we have to crawl and get down!” Hue shouted. His group responded and dropped to a crawl. The time flashed thirty-eight minutes. “Head three steps to the right, it’s narrow up ahead.”
“Hue, the course to the left is low. I’m crawling under,” his teammate shouted.
“Good call. Everyone, let’s try to keep up.” Hue’s team moved swiftly through the course.
The time was thirty-nine minutes, and with a minute to spare, Hue and his team crossed the finish line. They collapsed to the ground, surrounded by a roar of cheers from the crowd and their classmates. Time dropped to the final thirty-seconds, and Hue and his group ran to the side lines and clapped and shook hands. The buzzer went off, and the crowd clapped and cheered for all the cadets. Grand Commander J’Chives stood from his chair and took to the podium.
“Congratulations, cadets! All five houses have made it across the finish line. Rejoice and rest up. Your test result will be revealed in your next class at the beginning of the week. Let us give another cheer for all the cadets here today.”
The crowd went off as the cadets walked back to the locker rooms, but it was clear there was still a lot of tension in the air.
Chapter Ten
The next day, everyone was in class bright and early. They were all anxious about their test scores. This morning Captain Pole was late, which made the class even more anxious. Ester watched the clock. It was now zero seven ten hundred hours. She looked over at Angel, who shared her same concern. Ester bounced her leg up and down under her desk as she twirled her thick curly hair with her finger. She was still mad over the fight at the end of the test. How could Murk embarrass them like that? She stole a glance at him, and he didn’t even look phased. She wanted to say something to him after the test, but Angel said it wasn’t worth her time. Nevertheless, Murk was officially on her shit list. At zero seven fifteen hundred hours, Captain Pole came limping into the classroom. His face was red and covered in a light sweat.
“Please forgive me, class. My leg locked up when I was trying to go down the stairs, and if you can imagine, it was quite unpleasant.”
He winced as he limped to his desk, collapsing into his chair as if he had just run a marathon. From his desk, he took out a small clear box and opened it. Inside of it was a row of syringes with a blue liquid in it. He took out one.
“Pain meds.” He showed the class, more so to prove that it was official ranger medicine and not something illegal. He pulled the cap off with his teeth and injected the meds into his leg. He grunted but sighed a breath of relief.
“Okay, I apologize again.” He sat back in his chair. “This is going to be a short class and not because of my leg. Your mid-term break is coming up, and we captains use this brief time to prepare for your next exam, which will actually start three weeks after the break.”
The classes looked at each other in disbelief—that was half the time they had to prepare for their last exam.
“And before you start sending angry e-messages to each other, this is done intentionally. Part two of the exam is a lot different than your first exam. This is the scenario portion, meaning you’ll be tested on how well you can work together as well as how you react under stressful conditions. This is not a pass or fail exam, meaning there are multiple ways you can approach each scenario; however, you’ll need to show how well you work together. I cannot stress that enough. With that being said, there is a great deal of new things you’ll need to learn before you take the exam. Meaning we’ll have plenty to go over before your break. Use your break to relax your mind and body because the next few weeks are going to go by fast.”
Captain Pole poured himself a cup of Bex Se tea from his thermal and hit a control, so an ottoman would appear at his feet. He gently lifted his leg and rested it on the ottoman and groaned as he relaxed. He sat for a second with his eyes closed in complete comfort as he sipped his tea. The antsy cadets shifted in their seats and looked at each other wondering if he would ever tell them their results.
“Ah yes, I forgot.” Captain Pole put his cup down. “Your test results.” The cadets stared at him in dead silence. Captain Pole’s eyes closed as he enjoyed one more sip of his tea. He hummed in contentment then set his cup down again. “It wasn’t all bad, but it was far from good. You managed third place.”
The room exploded with a mix of cheers and groans. It wasn’t the highest score, but it was better than last place. Fermit, in the back, slowly raised his hand, grabbing Captain Pole’s attention.
“Yes Doil?” Captain Pole called him by his last name, as he picked up his cup again.
“But, what about our score?” He asked.
Numbered scores were everything. Each class started out with one h
undred points and that score would decide if their class would make the cut. Captain Pole placed his cup down and looked at the class. There wasn’t a hint of emotion in his gaze as he stared at the class.
“Your final score was 64.”
As if someone had dropped a glass sculpture on the floor, the cadets sat in their seats in complete shock. With a score that low and no way to bring it up, that meant that their class was in real trouble.
“But we’re in third place,” Angel blurted out.
“Yes, Johnson, we are, and two of the other houses scored lower than you,” Captain Pole replied.
No one said anything. They didn’t want to know how low those scores were or even think about the possibility. The classroom was dead silent in disappointment.
“Your scores reflect your performance, meaning there is obvious work to be done in the way you work with each other. The house with the highest score, House Crane, was able to score high because they learned to put their differences aside and work together. They were losing points in the beginning, yes, but realized they would accomplish nothing if they bickered. They are also the house that came in fourth during the race.”
The cadets looked around in shock.
“How?” Murk asked.
Captain Pole leaned up and stretched. “I told you, this was not a race against the other houses. This whole entire portion of the exam is about how well you work together. Not to mention, other houses have been losing points before the test even started. And yes, you are being watched as I have mentioned before. With that being said, Neben, DuTain, your constant bickering has not gone unnoticed by the judges.”
The Distance Between Page 13