Ting!
A bell rang as the bus halted at the stoppage. Reece got off the bus; with him some other passengers also, mostly of his age. After dropping off the passengers, the bus rushed on the road, leaving the stoppage.
He stretched his legs. It was a journey of almost two hours, quite long.
Situated almost at the end of the town, this area of Willowood was generally calm; not many people used to visit here. But today, the bus stop was pretty crowded.
He looked around him. People of his age from different parts of the country gathered here. Besides public transport, several cars were parked at the side of the road and on the empty field. He spotted some familiar faces also: Marcus, Ruby, Kevin — his high school classmates.
They also received a letter!
He was a little surprised. A clumsy girl like Ruby or a boy like Marcus who was always famous in the school for messing around; it was a little hard to believe!
Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Melissa. As he received the call, her voice was heard.
"You reached?"
"Yap, just five minutes ago."
"Idiot. Why didn't you call!"
"I was about to." He replied, a smile playing on his lips.
His sister was mothering more than his mother!
"Did you find anyone familiar?"
"Yap. Marcus, Ruby, and Kevin."
"Good. You'll have a company then. Okay, go ahead. If you feel anything wrong, call me."
"Fine. Bye."
He hung up the call and glanced at his surroundings. The people around him, all of them were high school students, and a hue of tension was playing on mostly everyone's face. They are afraid of the upcoming situations.
"Huh... What to do now!"
He thought. In the invitation letter, it was written that they had to wait at the bus stop until a bus arrived and took them to the destination. Still, fifteen minutes left before the mentioned time of the bus's arrival. Reece roamed around and took a good look at the place. The people were scattered throughout the field and the road flank. They were about three hundred in number!
So many people to take the test!
He wondered.
In a few minutes, the horns of the buses were heard.
"What an accurate time!"
Looking at his phone he went back and stood on the road flank.
Six buses came in a row and stopped in front of them. The conductor from each bus got down, opening the door.
"Everyone, show me the invitation letter and get on the bus one by one."
One of the conductors instructed them in a robotic tone.
All of them gathered in front of the buses. Showing their invitation letters, everyone entered the bus. Reece got on the second bus and settled himself on a window seat. Soon, all the seats were filled, except the one beside him.
After everyone got in, the conductor stepped inside and took a look. Seeing the empty seat beside Reece, his eyebrows instantly frowned.
"Hey, boy! Is there anyone beside you?"
"No."
He replied. What was the point of asking when you clearly could see that no one on the bus was standing!
"But there had to be three hundred!" He muttered, frowning., then left the cabin without saying anything.
The first bus blew a horn, followed by all the buses. Time to depart.
By now, one thing he had understood — whoever the governing body was, they were very punctual.
Just when the door was about to close, Reece heard a girl screaming from outside.
"Hey, hey! Wait! Wait for me!"
The conductor stopped. She ran towards their bus and stopped at the door. She was panting.
Holding out an invitation letter, she said, "Sorry for the late. My car broke down on the way!"
"Get on the bus." The conductor said.
As she got on the bus, he closed the door, and all the buses started running.
The girl looked at the seats, then came forward and sat beside Reece.
"Hi, I'm Alicia." She looked at him.
"Reece." He replied shortly.
"Where are you from? I'm from Havenston."
"Willowood."
He tried to stop the conversation by replying with a very short answer. Reece was never interested in talking with any random people.
Thankfully, that girl understood and didn't try to stretch the conversation. She took out a pair of earbuds and put on her ears. The conversation ended there.
Reece looked out of the bus. It was running through the empty road, didn't know where! He glanced once at the girl also, she closed her eyes by then. A very faint sound of music came from her earbuds.
He closed his eyes and leaned on the seat. In a while, he was drowsy also.
After some time, the bus stopped at its destination. The conductor opened the door.
"Everyone, get off."
All of them went down. Before them, there was a huge building. Above the main entrance gate, the name shined.
Aegis Testing Ground.
So, this was the place where the entrance test would take place!
As all of them gathered at the entrance, the gate opened. They were instructed to enter in a queue.
All of them went inside. The door behind them closed. Suddenly, Reece felt uneasy. None of them knew where the place was. And now they were trapped inside a building. What if they could never get out!
With all the thoughts, he followed everyone. Soon, they reached a big hall. It looked like a high school classroom, but bigger in size. There were desks, each for two. Reece and Alicia sat at a desk. He glanced around and found his high school classmates, sitting away from him. His eyes fell on Ruby; as usual, she was panic-stricken.
Suddenly a closed door in front of them opened. A man entered the hall. His expressions screamed he was not going to be easy on them.
He walked toward the podium, adjusting the mic. In a few seconds, the hall was filled with his loud voice.
"Welcome to the Aegis Testing Ground. I'm Professor Abraham Moore. Well, let's start with the entrance test."