The ride was mostly silent, filled with quiet sighs and nervous breath.
Someone was tapping their legs in a constant beat, while another lightly bumped their head against the wall, over and over again.
Kiah, meanwhile, was captivated by the capsule itself. There was no pilot. It moved itself. How?
Could it be that the coordinates were pre-programmed? But what if the system malfunctioned? Wouldn't that mean certain death for everyone inside?
Her thoughts were interrupted.
"Stop with the tapping. It's annoying," said a gruff voice.
It was Red. He was a broad-shouldered guy with thick muscles and a permanent scowl. Kiah immediately decided she didn't like him. He had that arrogant glint in his eyes like a highschool jock. His proud look irked her.
The tapping culprit, a nervous-looking girl with bubblegum-pink hair, flinched.
"S-sorry."
Red scoffed, regarding the timid girl in disdain. "With that attitude, you won't last ten seconds out there."
"That's not a very nice thing to say," said another boy, Blackie, the one who had been tapping his head against the wall. He turned and met Red's glare.
"But it's true." Red shot back. "You guys are dead weight. You'll only slow me down."
"It's not a competition," Blackie replied coolly.
"What do you know?" Red snapped.
Pinkie shook her head, her voice tinged with panic as she gazed at the two quarrelling boys.
"I'm sorry for tapping loudly. I'll stop. Don't fight on my account."
"Tch." Red clicked his tongue and looked away, clearly irritated.
The silence returned, heavier than before. It lasted until they felt the capsule start to descend with a low hum.
Each seat emitted a mechanical click, and a small compartment opened beside them. Inside was a black wristwatch with a digital screen. The display read: 00:00:00.
A voice echoed through the capsule:
[You have twelve hours to complete your test. At 12:00:00, you are expected to return to this location to board the capsule. Failure to do so will result in immediate abandonment. Be on time, and good luck!]
Kiah's brows twitched. Not only did they have to survive, but if they didn't make it back in time, they would be abandoned. Talk about heartlessness.
She wore the watch, and the door to the capsule opened. Beyond it lay a rundown, desolate street with half-collapsed buildings, a dirt road, and an eerie silence.
As they stepped out of the capsule, the timer on their watch began to count.
00:00:01
Their test had officially begun.
***
The area they found themselves in was filled with crumbled buildings and dusty floors. The air reeked of a pungent smell. She couldn't quite place it. But she regretted not bringing a facemask.
As she glanced around, everything about the place felt wrong.
The buildings looked worse than anything she's seen, clearly abandoned for decades. Some looked to be once-fancy apartments, while others resembled tower houses like haunted manors.
The sky above was a flat sheet of grey with clouds covering the stars.
Electricity flickered from some buildings, but the streets were mostly dark. They all had to pull out their flashlights just to see where they were going, the beams cutting through the darkness.
"Where are we?" Pinkie asked, hugging her arms tightly to her chest.
"Rustpoint," Blackie said quietly, his expression grim.
"Rustpoint?" Pink recoiled in horror. "Why the hell did they send us here?"
"Lower your voice, moron. You're going to get us all killed." Red snapped, looking around the shadows closely as they wandered.
Kiah didn't know what Rustpoint meant, but judging by the tension in their voices, it wasn't good. Instead of asking questions, she chose to keep quiet and observe. Panic wouldn't help her now.
So far, only Red, Pinkie, and Blackie had spoken. The others moved in tense silence, scanning their surroundings.
Blackie came to a halt.
"We need to find somewhere to hide, stay quiet, and hope to make it through the night."
Red turned to him with a sneer. "You're not the boss here, so stop telling us what to do."
Blackie didn't flinch. "What do you suggest we do?"
"We split up and fend for ourselves."
"That's a bad idea."
"This is a test, not some friendly reunion where we cozy up together in a room."
"The test is to survive," Blackie replied evenly.
Kiah frowned.
Survive?
That couldn't be it. It was too simple. No organization would set up something so elaborate just to measure who could run and hide the longest.
Tests were meant to evaluate skill, intelligence, and capacity. Since this was a rebel group, loyalty and reliability mattered more.
They needed people they could rely on. Something told her that apart from survival, there was a hidden objective. A deeper requirement to prove they were truly worth recruiting.
"I stand by what I said. You guys will only slow me down. I want to kill as many of those degenerates as I can and come out on top. Do whatever you want."
Red strode forward, leaving the rest of them behind.
Pinkie exclaimed.
"You're going to get yourself killed! Stay with us!"
"Oh, would you shut the fuck up?" Snapped Yellow, a girl with a bow strapped to her back. "Those things are sensitive to sound. Why the hell are you yelling?" She looked pissed.
Her eyes darted around the empty buildings, scanning for danger. Suddenly, she froze. Then she backed away, her face twisting with fear.
"S-shit…"
Everyone stilled.
A slow, piercing, and ominous sound came from behind them.
It buzzed like a swarm of insects. A high-pitched droning that scratched Kiah's nerves. She had never heard a cry like that in her life.
The hairs on the back of her neck rose. Even her bones shook at the searing sound.
'What the hell was that?'
Another cry echoed from the left.
Then one from the front.
They were surrounded.
Kiah slowly turned toward the direction of the cry closest to her. A shadow moved in the alley between two buildings. Then another slithered across the street, faster than their flashlights. Shapes began emerging from the gloom, their outlines hunched and broken.
They hid in the shadows.
Kiah caught a faint silhouette by her right, and she raised her flashlight, hands trembling. The beam travelled up: brown, muddy legs, torn rags hanging off gray skin… and then—
Her breath caught in her throat. She gasped, and her stomach churned in revulsion.
The creature's scalp barely clung to its skull. One eyelid was gone, the other twitching unnaturally. A portion of its cheek had been ripped off clean, exposing yellowed bone and a pulsing, greenish sludge oozing down its jaw.
Its lips widened as if it was smiling as his eyes locked on hers.
*SHRIEK!*
In the blink of an eye, it moved, bolting right towards her.
'Shit. Shit. Shit.'
Kiah's heart stopped.
She reached for her Labrys behind her, but she was too slow. Before she could make a swing, the degenerate was already in front of her at a terrifying speed. Its rotting breath hit her face, assaulting her nostrils, making her want to wretch.
Suddenly, something slammed into her.
She felt a crushing pain as its fist collided with her ribs. She swore she heard a sickening crack before she was sent flying across the street into the wall of a decaying building like a ragged doll.
A jagged plank stabbed into her shoulder, wrenching a scream from her throat as pain exploded through her body.
Blood filled her mouth.
She coughed and choked before spitting out a mouthful of blood. Her eyes went wide as fear crept into her bones.
Her limbs trembled from the impact, and her vision blurred.
Only one thought ran through her head.
'What in the world was that thing?'