“Okay,” RL Steven said. “Come over here and sit down. We’ll probably have a long time to wait for everyone to finish. Yesterday it took one group eight hours.”

  “I hope we don’t have to wait that long today,” Eric said as we walked over to sit next to RL Steven. I thought of Thunder Thighs and Skinny standing around fighting, making me think we might be there longer than that.

  Tina and I tried to keep the conversation light as we sat around and waited since we knew RL Steven would report everything we said back to President Randall.

  I stretched out my legs after we sat down. “So, Tina, what position do you hope they place you in? Besides lumber.”

  Tina had her legs tucked into her chest. She rested her chin on her knee and smiled. “Security, actually.”

  “Me, too,” Luke said.

  Security was the job everyone wanted. They worked in Infinity Corp's headquarters and got to use the latest technology and equipment. It was considered the most important job besides the president and vice president. But I never saw it that way.

  “What about you, Eric?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. There have been a couple of things I’ve wanted throughout the years. Like automotive.” He flashed me his perfect smile. “Or dental.”

  Tina nudged me. “What about you?”

  I opened my mouth but shut it when I saw RL Steven staring at me, obviously intrigued to hear my answer. I'd come to realize I wanted to go into management so I could try to fix the city, but it would be pointless since President Randall would overrule any changes. So, I tried to give a safe answer, which was what my mom wanted me to do. “Probably secretarial.”

  RL Steven frowned in disappointment as the others pulled back in surprise.

  Luke scratched his head. “I wouldn’t have chosen that for you.”

  “What would you choose for her?” Eric asked.

  Luke mulled it over for a minute. “I don’t know, maybe management?”

  Tina and Eric nodded in agreement. I tried to keep my face straight as I changed the subject.

  There had been something bothering me since we'd arrived at the maze. “Hey, RL Steven, two groups of girls aren't here anymore. The ones who didn't raft and then the ones that sat out yesterday. Where are they?”

  RL Steven watched me for a while, looking like he was trying to piece together what he wanted to say. He finally cleared his throat. “They removed themselves from Recruitment.”

  “Removed themselves?” Luke shook his head. “Why would they do that?”

  RL Steven shrugged, still looking at me. “Don't know. It happens now and then. Remember, Recruitment is voluntary. I wouldn't dwell on it if I were you.”

  Voluntary. There was that stupid word again. I wondered if the girls really did want to remove themselves or if they were coerced into doing it.

  After that, we mostly talked about what it was like growing up in our precincts, trying to see if there was anything different. From what we gathered, everything was exactly the same: boring.

  O ur leaders must have been ordered to keep an eye on us. RL Steven watched us like a hawk throughout dinner and even DL Jen walked with Tina and me back to our dorm room. Having a constant babysitter was getting rather annoying.

  The next morning, DL Jen hovered around while we were getting ready and then RL Steven sat near us during breakfast. Multiple times I had to resist the urge to flick my oatmeal at his face.

  My annoyance didn’t last very long. Once we arrived at our destination for the day, there was a sudden shift in the energy of the Recruits. We were doing a security mission. Tina squeezed my arm in excitement and Luke jumped up and down where he stood, getting his blood flowing. With a determined scowl plastered on his face, he was ready for the challenge.

  Dante stood near us but didn't speak to anyone. He kept getting weird looks from all the Recruits. If it bothered him, he didn't show it.

  They suited us up in a protective vest, knee and elbow pads, a helmet, goggles, and then rounded the outfit off with a paint gun in the form of a rifle. I’d never once seen real security guys with pads, helmets, or goggles. Or a paint gun for that matter. But they obviously couldn’t give us real weapons. Thunder Thighs would be sure to “accidentally” kill Skinny within two seconds of the gun being put in her sturdy hands.

  As RL Steven shouted out our instructions, I took in the obstacle course. The area was filled with ropes, half walls, mud, tires, stairs, trees, a few towers, and a small section had been covered in barbed wire.

  I looked over at Tina and almost asked her what about the scenario before us enticed her, but by the giddy smile on her face and the fact that she bounced on her heels in anticipation, I already knew the answer. All of it.

  Nothing about it appealed to me in the slightest. It looked like a lot of hard work and I saw multiple opportunities for serious injuries. Having Tina for my partner was comforting, though. She was tough and most importantly, excited for the challenge.

  Eric nudged me. “Are you even listening?”

  “Huh?” I turned to him.

  An amused smile tugged on his lips. “I guess not.”

  The Recruits had been sorted into groups, already talking about their strategy. Eric, Luke, Tina, Thunder Thighs, Skinny, and two guys I didn’t know were standing near me. Most of them looking at me.

  “Thanks for joining us,” Luke said, looking at me with obvious annoyance. He glanced around at the others. “I say Tina and I take lead on this. Everyone else, follow what we’re doing and stay close.”

  Luke turned toward the entrance to the course, but Thunder Thighs put her hand on his chest to stop him. “Why do you get to choose who’s in charge of our group?” He glanced down at her hand still on his chest and she immediately snapped it away.

  “Because it’s what Luke and I want to do for our career,” Tina said.

  One of the other guys shifted his gun awkwardly in his hand. The gun went off, sending a paintball flying into the air. “Whoops.” He was tall like the other guys in our group, but he was super scrawny. His untamable, frizzy, brown hair reminded me of Skinny’s. A long nose sat in the middle of his face, distracting from the large dimple in his chin.

  Luke sighed. “Simon, keep your finger off the trigger.”

  “You’re going to shoot one of us before anyone else gets a chance.” The other guy had spoken. He playfully shoved Simon in the arm as he smiled at all of us. Even though his physique matched Eric's, he didn’t carry himself with the same amount of confidence. He covered it up with an abundance of happiness.

  “What if I want to do it as my career, too?” Thunder Thighs asked.

  Skinny blew some hair out of her face. “You know you don’t get to choose your career, right?”

  Thunder Thighs glared at her. “Of course, we know that. But we want to show them we’re serious about it and will do it well.”

  “Well, arguing about it isn’t going to help,” Tina said.

  “RL Steven said we could only have two leaders,” Eric said, ignoring Thunder Thighs’ death stare. “Let’s just have Tina and Luke be in charge.”

  Happy Guy slapped Thunder Thighs on the shoulder. “It’ll work out. You’ll still be able to shine.”

  Skinny looked over at Dante, who lingered behind. He had also put on protective gear, but he didn't have a gun. “What's he doing here?”

  RL Steven came up to our group. “He's just observing. Ignore him. Your group is up next. Get ready to enter.”

  Two angled walls lead to the entrance. Luke, Eric, me, and Simon lined up against the left wall. Tina, Thunder Thighs, Happy Guy, and Skinny lined up against the right.

  I put my hand on Eric’s arm and reached up on my tiptoes so I could talk into his ear. “What’s the happy guy’s name?”

  Eric smiled down at me. “Theo.”

  When I realized how close our faces were, I blushed and put my feet back down on the ground. Tina smirked at me, but I acted like I didn’t notice.

  Luke looked inside the entrance. “There are some tires off to the right that we have to run through. My group will head in first, followed by Tina’s. Be on the constant lookout for shooters.”

  I reached up to Eric again, still ignoring Tina. “Are we fighting other Recruits?”

  “No,” Eric said, moving his face so he could see me. Our faces were inches away from each other. “There will be random people trying to shoot us, so be careful.” The side of his mouth turned up into a smile. “Just stay close to me and you’ll be fine.”

  I nodded and scooted closer to him, telling myself it was for the good of the mission. It had nothing to do with the fact that he had gorgeous blue eyes or a smile that made my heart flip.

  Luke turned to us. “Let’s move out.” He held his gun close to him as he went through the entrance. Eric, me, and Simon were right at his heels. As soon as we entered, I looked around. The tires Luke had mentioned were off to the left. Behind them was a short wall, but one we’d have to climb over. As we ran through the tires, I tried to focus on each step so I wouldn’t trip. Luke and Eric fired off their guns a few times.

  Movement to my right caught my eye. A bulky man in camouflage was perched on a small platform. Aiming my gun at him, I pulled the trigger, hitting him on his shoulder. I smiled for a moment and then lost my footing and fell forward, smacking my helmet against the tire in front of me.

  Simon fell right on top of me, his gun going off like a wildfire. I felt him get pulled off me and then someone pulled on the back of my vest and lifted me up. Eric smiled at me and took my hand, holding it tight as we finished running through the tires.

  When we got to the half-wall, Luke ran at it and jumped, throwing his body over the top in one swift movement. He landed with a thud, then immediately fired his gun.

  With my eyes wide, I looked over at Eric. “Uh, yeah, I can’t do that.”

  “Neither can I,” Simon said, his voice shaking. I turned to him and saw that he was already covered in paint. Most of it had probably come from his own gun.

  Eric let go of my hand. “Don’t think about it. Just run and jump. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Taking a deep breath, I ran at the wall, pushed my right foot against it and jumped up, gripping tight onto the top of it. I pulled myself up and over the top. I landed clumsily on the other side, but Luke was right there, helping me steady myself. Eric came over seconds later but then had to hop back up to help Simon over. We didn’t wait for Tina and the others before we continued.

  A building filled the area before us, so we ran toward it, stopping near the door. Both Eric and Luke peered inside.

  “Clear,” Luke said, stepping into the room. We followed him in.

  It was set up like a classroom, with desks and chairs lined up in rows. No one was in the room, so we shuffled through the desks until we got to a door on the right hand wall.

  Luke slowly looked in and then pulled his head back. “There’s a door on the north side of that room. I can see men out there waiting for us.”

  “Is there anything else in the room?” Eric asked.

  Luke nodded. “A large desk in the middle of the room, plus some cabinets lined up on the east wall.”

  Tina, Theo, Thunder Thighs, and Skinny joined us in the room. Skinny was covered in more paint than Simon. Theo had one hit on his left leg.

  I looked down at myself, marveled that I couldn’t see any paint yet. I would probably feel it when I did get hit.

  “What’s the plan?” Tina asked.

  “Can we knock over the table and use it as a cover?” Eric asked.

  “I think so,” Luke said. “Tina and Rachel, cover me and Eric while we run in and knock the table on its side. Once that’s done, everyone take cover behind the table or one of the cabinets.”

  Tina and Thunder Thighs positioned themselves on either side of the door and nodded at Luke. He and Eric ran into the room as Tina and Thunder Thighs fired away. I heard a loud thump of the desk hitting the ground. The two girls disappeared into the room, leaving me, Theo, Simon, and Skinny in the classroom. They all turned to me.

  I just shrugged. “See you on the other side.” I ran in, keeping my body low as I did. Men were shooting at our group, who, besides Eric, were hiding behind the desk.

  Eric stood behind one of the cabinets, peeking out just a little to shoot the enemy. The men outside wore similar helmets to ours and their entire uniform was in camouflage. Their guns were slightly bigger than ours, giving them an advantage.

  A stinging sensation went through my left arm. I dove down behind the desk near Tina and glanced at my arm. A big, blue paint mark sat there staring at me. I glared back at it.

  Turning to my knees, I put my gun over the desk and fired, not bothering to look where I aimed. I figured if I shot toward the door, it was close enough.

  Theo, Skinny, and Simon clumsily made their way into the room, all getting hit a couple of times before they fell behind the desk. Once they were with us, it became way too crowded. Thunder Thighs hopped up and ran to a cabinet near Eric, using it for cover.

  “Emmie!” Eric motioned for me to join him. Taking a deep breath, I rolled over there, narrowly avoiding getting hit. Eric pulled me up, continuing to fire toward the door. “Nice roll.”

  I fired a few times, one of my shots hitting an enemy in the face. “Thanks.”

  After a few more minutes, the firing finally stopped. Luke and Tina slowly made their way toward the door, peering out to see what awaited us.

  “No more men,” Tina said.

  “Just a set of stairs,” Luke said. “Everyone run as fast as you can up the stairs. Tina and I will go out first. Rachel and Eric, stay in back.”

  Tina and Luke exited the room, their footsteps fading away as they ran up the stairs. Simon and Theo ran out next, followed by a shrieking Skinny.

  “Let’s go,” Eric said, taking my hand and guiding me toward the door. I went out first and ran as fast as I could up the stairs. I let go of Eric’s hand after a few steps so I could run faster. Thunder Thighs grunted with each step she took.

  When we got to the top, we were standing in a tower, overlooking the entire course. What I saw didn't give me any comfort.

  “Looks like the fun is just getting started,” Eric said with a smile.

  Fun wasn't the word bouncing around in my head, but we weren't allowed to swear in Recruitment.

  L ooking down, I saw a patch of barbed wire low to the ground on our right. To the left stood a small forest, bundled with thick trees and a small river running down the middle. Other Recruits were in there, some screaming out, some giving a warrior cry. Neither seemed to be very effective.

  What lay in front of us truly scared me. There was a rope attached to the tower that angled down to the ground. It ended near a mud pit, nearly a hundred yards out.

  Luke handed out a bunch of L shaped bars with rubber grips on each end. There was a small rope loop attached to each end to put your wrists through. “Set the angled part on the rope and go down. Try not to land in the mud.”

  My eyes widened as I went to the edge of the tower and looked down. It was a far way to the ground, and only grass lay below. I swallowed. “And if we fall?”

  “Don’t,” Luke said, his tone firm as if that closed the argument.

  “They’re trying to kill us.” Skinny stood next to me, her voice quiet, trembling, yet still grating.

  Tina slapped her on the arm. “You’ll live. Watch me go first.” She put her wrist through one loop, set the angled part on the rope, and then put her left wrist through the other loop, gripping tightly onto the handles. With a deep breath, she pushed off and slid down the rope, plunging toward the ground at an alarmingly fast rate. She made it over the mud pit with ease. She slid her wrists out of the loops and waved up at us.

  “See, easy,” Eric said to Skinny. He smiled at her, but she just pulled at her hair and shrieked.

  Thunder Thighs went next, followed by Theo. Eric turned to me. “Why don’t you go next?”

  I licked my lips as I took the strap connected to my gun and threw it around my neck, so the gun rested along my back. Putting my right wrist through the rope loop, I took a few breaths before I placed the bar over the rope and hooked my left wrist through the loop. I held onto the handles so tight, my knuckles turned white.

  Eric came up behind me and placed his hands over mine. He kept his voice quiet so only I could hear. “You’ll do fine, Emmie. Keep your feet up in front of you and don’t drop down until you pass the mud pit. Tina will help catch you.”

  I slowly nodded, trying to work up the courage for the jump. He moved his hands to my waist. “On the count of three. One, two …” He picked me up and gave me a gentle push. Tucking in my legs, I soared downward, heading toward the others. My panic soon turned to laughter and I shouted out in excitement. When I neared the mud, I straightened out my legs and pulled them up, making my body parallel to the rope. I barely made it over, my feet landing near the edge of the pit. Tina and Theo both caught me and helped release my hands from the straps and stand up.

  It felt nice to be on solid ground again. I threw my arms around Tina’s neck. “That was fun.”

  “I know,” she said. “I wish we could do it again.”

  Eric soon joined us, followed by Simon. He almost landed in the mud, but Eric and Thunder Thighs caught him just in time.

  Skinny’s fall wasn’t so graceful. She screamed at the top of her lungs. A few times she yelled, “I’m going to die!” Panic filled her eyes when she saw the mud. Losing her grip on the bar, one of her wrists came out of the loop and she fell into the mud. Thunder Thighs and Theo reluctantly helped her out. She shook her body, flinging mud at all of us.

  Thunder Thighs swore. “Stop it, Angela!”

  I looked wide-eyed at Tina, trying not to laugh. Thunder Thighs had a harder time holding in the swear words. But then again, breaking rules had been a common theme since Recruitment had started.

  Once Luke landed on the ground, we headed toward the area covered in barbed wire. Apparently, they were expecting us to crawl underneath it. Mud caked the ground below the wire, making our attempts to avoid the mud pit pointless.

 

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