The night came and went, and as the morning sun rose high, Marcus got dressed for the day. Once he was clothed and ready, he made his way to the main building as he was commanded.
Felix had already made his way to the main building, Marcus assumed that he had already completed or was in the process of completing his exam.
Just as was stated during the last meeting, there was no orientation for the final exam. Marcus was simply greeted by a woman with a white suit and a tablet under her arm.
"Marcus I presume?" The woman asked with a hollow expression.
"Yeah," Marcus answered.
"Follow me." The woman said coldly as he began walking down the hallway towards an elevator, the clicking of her heels echoed against the walls.
Marcus sighed as he followed the woman. The repressive atmosphere was palpable, and without Luna by his side, it seemed to almost double his anxiety.
Yet Marcus kept a brave face, reminding himself that hiding behind fear wasn't an option, he'd laugh before he ever cried again.
"After you." The woman said, gesturing towards the elevator as she snapped Marcus back to reality.
Marcus stepped into the elevator, and the woman followed in behind him. She then pressed a button for what seemed to be the last floor.
The elevator chimed softly as its doors hissed shut.
It then began its descent to the last floor.
Marcus stood behind the woman with his arms crossed, leaning on the back wall of the elevator.
"So…" Marcus said in an awkward attempt to start a conversation, "what do you do for fun?"
"Drink." The woman answered coldly. "A lot of drinking….."
Marcus chuckled at the woman's unexpected response, she didn't look like the type to take a few back, but that just shows appearances can be deceiving.
"Do you have a favorite drink?" Marcus asked curiously.
"Anything with more than 30% alcohol." The woman replied.
Marcus nodded his head as glanced at the side of the elevator, he didn't know why, but for some reason, he wanted to take this woman out. "How about I take you to a bar in the city, you know after I graduate as an officer."
The woman glanced back at Marcus with empty eyes. "Not interested." She replied coldly.
Marcus felt a pang of embarrassment, but he smirked it off. "Yeah, I wouldn't be interested in going out with me either." He joked.
"You're not unattractive." The woman explained, "Just not my type."
"Oh." Marcus said in acknowledgment, "Then what is?"
"Women." The woman replied.
"O-oh…"
The elevator chimed once more, and its doors hissed open, revealing a hallway full of doors, each marked 1-10.
The woman stepped out of the elevator, and Marcus followed attempting to shake off the elevator awkwardness. The woman led him down the hallway to room 9.
Where she then opened the door, revealing a small, white room with a harsh white light overhead and two benches inside.
On the bench near the right wall was a cadet dressed in a trainee combat suit. He had spiky black hair with white frosted tips.
His eyes were black and his expression was calm.
"This will be your exam partner." The woman said as she gestured towards the boy, "wait here until further instructions."
Marcus nodded as she slipped into the room. The door closed behind him. Marcus sat down on the bench opposite the other boy, crossing his arms as he leaned back.
"Can you fight?" The boy asked without looking up to meet Marcus eye to eye.
Marcus shrugged. "I can hold my own." He then sighed, "But I wouldn't say I'm 'good' at fighting."
The boy frowned, "Then you're useless, stay outta my way out there." He said coldly.
Marcus raised an eyebrow as he leaned forward. "So I'm assuming you can fight?" He asked skeptically.
"Of course I can, it's all my mentors drilled into me during my pre-examination period, swords, guns, even hand-to-hand, my ether skills aren't great, but that isn't my fault, this program fails at the basic principles of teaching."
Marcus chuckled as he shook his head. "Well I won't argue on that last one, but hey, my mentors taught me hand-to-hand combat too, so I'm not completely useless."
"I guess we'll see." The boy said in a detached tone.
"What's your name?" Marcus asked.
"Kael." The boy replied with an aloof expression.
It seems Kael wasn't the type for conversation.
Marcus nodded his head as he chuckled. "My name's Marcus by the way."
"I didn't ask." Kael responded, his expression turning soft, "But, it's good to know, I guess…"
Suddenly and without much warning, the back wall of the room slid down into the ground, revealing a large white room.
"Welcome to the first of five test cadets." An automated voice began echoing through the room. "for today's test, you and your partner will have to track down and identify an anomaly hidden within an abandoned building but be warned, there are civilians outside, and if they are alerted to the anomaly's presence, then you fail, if you understand the rules then please step forward."
"Welp." Marcus smirked as he glanced over at Kael, "nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Kael rolled his eyes as he stepped forward, Marcus chuckled as he joined his side. Though there was an underlying tension between them, Marcus couldn't help but share a sense of camaraderie with Kael.
"Agreement acknowledged, beginning exam."
With those words, the white room began to change before their very eyes. Stairs and walls began to rise from the floor, as holographic people began to fill the sidewalk that was outside the building.
The transformation of the room was mesmerizing, and as everything solidified it became almost indistinguishable from the real world.
"You may begin." The automated voice stated before fading into the background of the city noise.
Kael crossed his arms and sighed as he began navigating through the crowd that walked before the abandoned building. Marcus followed behind him, his attention focused on the building.
It was your typical run-down building, boarded it up and broken windows, peeled paint and exposed bricks, that sort of thing.
As the duo neared the front door, Kael paused turning his attention to Marcus. "We have to play contain, we don't know what we're dealing with."
"Got it," Marcus said with a nod of his head.
Kael then pushed open the old ragged door that led into the building. Stepping inside, the old wooden floor cracked and squeaked under pressure.
The sound of small skittering could be heard from upstairs, like that of mice or another rodent.
Pushing further into the buildings, Kael took the lead, heading directly for the stairs. "Stay here Marcus, keep an eye on the bottom floor."
Marcus nodded as he closed the door behind himself. Kael ascended the stairs, and Marcus began examining the dimly lit room.
The interior was just as rundown and old as the exterior. The furniture looked worn and used, holes littered the floor, and various stains colored the walls.
"This is almost too realistic," Marcus commented as he neared what looked to be the kitchen. Stepping inside Marcus noticed a pungent smell, like that of excrement.
"Ugh." Marcus groaned as he covered his nose. Stepping further into the kitchen, he looked around for what could've caused such a smell. He examined the sink and underneath its cabinets, but there was nothing but old dishes.
He checked the cabinets above the sink and window, but there was nothing but old cans of boxed food.
Marcus knew that while that food could've been rotten, it wouldn't make a smell this pungent. So he ruled it out.
The only thing left was the fridge.
"Marcus." Kael called from upstairs, "I'm not seeing anything, you?"
Marcus's heart began to race within his chest at kaels words if the anomaly wasn't upstairs…..
Marcus wrapped his finger around the cold refrigerator handle, then with a deep breath, slowly opened it.
Marcus hesitantly peered inside, only to notice that it was empty.
Marcus breathed a sigh of relief as he fully opened the fridge. "No!" He called out to Kael, "Nothing yet."
Marcus then reached up to open the freezer, almost out of habit.
"Great!!!!" A small green creature began hissing at Marcus as it leaped out onto him.
"What the fuck!" Marcus explained as he tumbled backward, the green creature attached itself to Marcus's face, its smell was pungent and its skin was slimy and hard.
"Marcus!" Kael shouted as he descended the stairs quickly.
Marcus grabbed at the creature that attached itself to his face. Its grip was tight and due to its slippery skin, Marcus could get a grip on it.
Marcus began to feel his face burn and sizzle, almost as if the creature was cooking his face!
"Get off me!" Marcus exclaimed as he began punching his face, attempting to weaken the creature's grasp.
"Hold still Marcus!" Kael said as he rounded the corner and dashed into the kitchen.
"It's burning my face!" Marcus screamed in a muffled voice, "It's cooking my face!"
Kael moved swiftly, creating a blade of wind in his hands and stabbing it onto the creature's side. The creature began squirming in pain and quickly releasing Marcus from its grasp, dropping onto the floor with a thud.
The creature continued to squirm and writhe in pain, until Kael stepped his boot down onto the creature, causing its contents to ooze out.
The strong smell in the room grew ten times worse.
"T-thanks…" Marcus stammered as he began to heal his face, "that thing came outta nowhere." he gasped, cleaning his face from slime.
"You're welcome." Kael said with a heavy sigh, "You make a good distraction by the way." He joked with a faint smile.
Marcus chuckled as he leaned back on the sink, "Don't mention it." Marcus then caught his breath as he gestured towards the creature, "Guess we've found our target."
Kael nodded as he removed his foot, "Yep, rank six anomalies, Skitter, if I remember correctly they're basically like rodents or roaches, scavengers in a sense."
Marcus nodded, "Yeah… we should probably get it packed up, and get outta here." He said as he continued wiping his face.
Kael nodded as he pulled off a tube that was connected to the back of his belt. He then screwed both the top and bottom tops off, and the tube expanded into a small cube-like shape.
"So that's what those were for." Marcus said in awareness, "I was wondering."
"You didn't grab one from the room?" Kael asked as he dropped to one knee, his face scrunching up as he grew closer to the skitter.
Marcus shook his head, "Nope, was too busy watching the room change before my eyes." He said with a chuckle.
Kael shrugged his shoulders as he sighed. "Great, you're an idiot." Kael quickly secured the anomaly, then using what looked to be wind, gathered up the lost organs and blood.
Marcus watched with a curious expression, crossing his arms as he examined Kael's abilities. "You're implant is wind-based?" Marcus asked curiously.
"Yeah, not I'm not telling you any more than that," Kael answered as rose to his feet.
Marcus sighed. "Come on man, I thought we were getting along."
Kael smirked. "We just met."
Marcus rolled his eyes as he followed Kael out of the kitchen and back into the dimly lit living room.
"That test was actually pretty easy," Marcus commented. Kael scoffed in amusement as they stepped outside. The simulated noises of a busy city filled their ears, and the holographic civilians continued with their day.
"Congratulations." That same automated voice called out as the room began shifting back to its original form. "Please deposit the anomaly with your assigned assistant."
The door from their room hissed down once more, revealing the sane woman from earlier. Kael approached her with the box outstretched, "it's dead." He explained as he placed it in her hands.
"Yes, I saw." The assistant said with a sigh, "You two should leave, you'll be called in tomorrow for your next test."
Both boys nodded, walking past the assistant and back towards the elevator that led them here.
As they walked, Marcus couldn't help but think back to that encounter with the skitter. As he replayed it in his mind. His body shivered with embarrassment.
"You know that thing caught me off guard." Marcus said defensively, "If it wasn't in the fridge, why would it be in the freezer?"
Kael sighed as he grabbed his forehead. "It's fine, just don't expect me to keep saving you, these tests will get harder, so you should spend the rest of today training."
Marcus felt a pang of embarrassment. "Yeah." He replied with a sigh, "Is that what you're going to do?"
Kael nodded as he reached the elevator, "Yeah, and before you ask, no I'm training with you."
"Damn," Marcus said with a chuckle.
The elevator doors opened and both boys stepped inside, Kael pressed the button for the ground floor, and the elevator quickly began its ascent.
The ride was quiet, with both boys lost in thought.
Marcus however, enjoyed Kael's company. He was a bit of a jerk and he was differently the blunt type, yet he wasn't completely mean or arrogant, just realistic.
The elevator chimed as its doors hissed open, revealing both cadets to the lobby.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Marcus commented as he walked towards the exit.
"Sure," Kael replied in a different way.
Stepping outside, Marcus was greeted by Luna and Dr. Fletcher, who was standing outside waiting for him.
"Hey Luna," Marcus said with a warm smile as he reached out a hand for her. She smiled as she released Dr. Fletcher's hand, accepting Marcus's with a tight grip.
"Hi Marcus, how was your test?" She asked curiously.
Marcus frowned, "I uhm…. I don't wanna talk about it." He said softly as he wiped his free hand on his suit. "Also, don't get too close, you might smell something unpleasant."
"So that's what that smell was." Dr. Fletcher said with a chuckle, moving a strand of hair from her face.
"So what brings you here, or are you just dropping off Luna?" Marcus asked.
Dr. Fletcher nodded. "I'm just dropping her off." She replied, taking a step back before turning around.
Marcus reached out a hand to call her back, but his expression fell, he closed his hand and brought it back to his side, before sighing heavily. "Come on, let's get started," Marcus said softly.
Luna looked up to Marcus with a sympathetic expression. "Sure Marcus, but…. Let's get you cleaned first."
Marcus chuckled, "r-right."