Unity

Two: Final

We all gathered around the Recruiter. For the first time he seemed to have a genuine smile on his face, just as excited for this test as we were. I looked out into the forest. It was dense and I could tell, also extremely dangerous. The trees were leaning and branches cracking. Vines and roots were strewn across the ground in places people were sure to trip. Plants of unknown origin grew in strange shades of reds, purples and yellows. Mud covered everything from the rain. There were signs of large wild animals marking their territories. Scratches on trees, ripped up plants, tracks on the ground. I shuddered.

The Recruiter began to speak and I turned my eyes and ears towards him. Everyone else was trained on him like he was their prey, hoping he would announce a test favorable to them.

"For this test you will be broken into teams of five." He glared down at us. "Put simply, the five who succeed will be this year's set of Recruits." The air tightened, all of us looking at the others through our peripheral vision, searching for our potential teammates. "I will put you into these groups based on what I have observed."

"Team one..." The Recruiter pointed at Mallory, "You," I crossed my fingers. He pointed at Lynette, "You," He surveyed the group until his eyes fell on me. "You," my stomach tightened. Victoire, Victoire, Victoire. He pointed at the blond boy, "You," Come on, Victoire! I squeezed my eyes shut. I didn't want to fight her. "And you. The rest of you will be on Team two."

I opened my eyes. I missed it. Who was chosen? Then I saw the rest of my team looking, with wide eyes, at Rex. No. No not him. He looked away, nonchalant. I turned to Victoire.

"Sorry, Soarin." She smiled. "It looks like you aren't getting into the Facility this time. Try again next year."

I smirked. "Good luck with that. I'll make sure to send you a souvenir when I make it in."

She continued to smile but her eyes showed sadness and just a little anger. We turned our backs to each other and parted ways. The two teams assembled next to the Recruiter in little groups. He spoke again.

"This is a mock retrieval and protection mission." He explained. "You will both receive an object. You must protect that object but at the same time go and retrieve the other team's object. The first one to bring the other team's object to me is the victor."

Capture the flag. I thought. This'll be a piece of cake, everyone trains with Capture the flag.

"Your bases are in the forest." The Recruiter instructed. "Team one, your base is red, head to my right. Team two yours is blue, head to my left. The objects are also in these colors. The bases have some equipment if needed. You'll be given ten minutes to prepare and then I will announce for you to start. Understood?"

"Yes sir." We spoke in clumsy unison.

"Your preparation time begins..." He looked at his watch. "Now!"

The five of us split off from the other group, heading in the direction we were told. Soon enough we found a small red hut. It was made of painted red wood and not very well camouflaged. It had one window and one door at the front. We approached the door, which was flimsy and had no handle. From the cut marks and bullet holes I could tell they've been using the same base each new year. Some of the red paint had worn off in places from weathering and wear. We stepped inside cautiously. Inside there were five headsets, various weapons and a shining red briefcase.

An arsenal lined the wall. Swords of various sizes and types, everywhere from a pistol to a minigun, bombs, bows, even clubs. We were allowed to bring our own weapons but they were asking us to arm ourselves. And those weapons could kill. The blond boy asked us to form a circle.