He wanted to refute Cam's assertion, that Avery wouldn't willingly send the duo into peril, but still...it would make sense if Avery had told the truth about this mystery liquid. Who else would have access, let alone the intelligence to build a tightly guarded compound with the limited resources available during this time frame? The plated armor that Connor had mentioned brought back memories of the attack on Omega, the assailants garbed in what could be considered similar bearings. They had been after Cam, they had wanted the box with the information...it did make sense. So they were hoarding resources for themselves, determining the fate of essentially the entire world and not caring about the collateral damage they did through their "all powerful" decision making processes. They needed to be stopped no matter what the cost.

Cam was right. They couldn't trust Avery, not after omitting that the Harbingers was just a perverse label for what her former colleagues called themselves now. Did she willingly thrust them into danger, fully aware that the Harbingers would find Omega? Did Omega represent a threat to Avery's settlement, which could have been a Harbinger training compound? He grit his teeth, lips pursing as he nodded at her plan of action.
"No, no, you're right, Cam. A lot more is goin on that we need to figure out ASAP." He examined the room before looking underneath the table, squatting down to discover a shelf with a number of rolled up pieces of paper. They had taken their packs and weapons upon entering, so pilfering the potential intelligence would be hazardous. Better to wait for an opportunity.

A rush of wind flew through the room as Connor opened the door, slamming it against the wall as he pointed a finger at the duo.
"You led them here, didn't you?" His hand quickly withdrew a small revolver from the folds of his coat, brandishing it with a wild look in his eye.
"Wait, what? Led wh-"
"Who do you think?" Connor hissed. From the only window on the southern side of the room, sounds of gunfire crackled in the distance, a few screams accompanying the symphony.
"We made sure we weren't followed, did everything we could. Believe me, if the Harbingers are here, they're going to want us dead too." Connor's eyes lit up.
"Oh? Is that so? Why don't I hand you over to them, then? Make it easier on us, use you as a bargaining chip?"
"That really want you to do? You understand that you've put up resistance against them and I've seen their work. They take no prisoners. If you give us over, they'll kill all of you in the most brutal way possible. Let us help you fight them off, then we leave, no questions asked." A rumble from outside. Justin ran to the window to find a large truck with a covered bed that had a ceiling of at least eight feet. The truck stopped as gunfire assailed it, armored figures filtering out of the back, withdrawing assault rifles before returning fire. Connor had come alongside the scout and seeing the carnage, muttered:
"Fine. Weapons are through the other door."

Cameron flinched at the gunfire sounding outside, instinctually crouching low as her eyes scanned the room. The exchange between Connor and Justin was observed from this position, and the words spoken between them was no surprise – Cameron’s first thought, if in Connor’s position, would be to give them up to secure safety. Well, maybe before. Now, she felt as if she was becoming more compassionate, and she didn’t know if that would harm her or help her in the end.

Her and Justin followed Connor into their makeshift armory: a small, steel room, with all sorts of hardware hanging from the walls. Rifles with and without bayonets, handhelds, and other weaponry were all organized neatly, but Cameron’s eyes locked on to a long dagger that sat by itself on a shelf. Once she secured it, she also grabbed a pistol. It still felt foreign in her hands, but hopefully she had become a better shot since the first time she had used one.

“What’s your plan?” Cameron asked bluntly as Connor and his crew armed themselves heavily. “We don’t know how many are out there.”

“We’ll have to give it all we got then, huh?” Connor replied without looking up to her, his tone revealing that he wasn’t taking her words too seriously.

Cameron scoffed in annoyance. “Look,” she said, placing her hand on the rifle he was loading, “If these guys are as serious as you say they are, shouldn’t you call for back up? Don’t you have more men?”

“In the city,” he gruffly answered. “How am I supposed to get them here?”

She scratched her head in thought, then began to search the lower cabinets that lined the walls.

“Aha!” she yelled, almost hitting her head on a shelf that was directly above her head. “A flare.” Cameron stood up and ran over to the men. “Is there roof access?”

Connor nodded. “A small latch in the ceiling of the main room. Come on,” he signaled with a hand for her and Justin to follow. “Let’s lift her up.”

After taking a deep breath, she stepped into one of their hands and gripped their shoulders, and she was lifted up to the ceiling to be greeted by a steel wheel. Cameron grunted as she conjured up what strength she had to turn it, and after a quiet click, the latch fell towards her, nearly causing her to fall onto the ground.

Connor handed her a silver Zippo and the flare. “Stay low,” he looked up to her. “Light it, then hop back down. We’ll catch you.”

“Got it,” Cameron groaned as she lifted herself up to her waist, keeping her head as low as possible as the top half of her body laid on the roof while her legs dangled below her. She sat the flare up, then swung her other arm over to it to light it. After a few attempts, the wick finally caught fire, and she shimmied her body back towards the entrance. “Coming down!” she yelled as she dangled from her hands, and after noting that the men below her were ready, she released her grip and dropped into their arms.

As Cameron caught her breath, three men worked to seal the latch once again.

“How many do you think will come?” she asked Connor.

“Hard to say. Maybe twenty.”

Cameron nodded, then looked to Justin. “I think we need a vacation, huh?”

Justin was about to retort when an explosion assailed his ears, the scout running back to the window to discover that the Harbingers were lobbing spherical shaped objects at the remnants of Connor's men, said objects exploding after a few seconds. Explosives? How on earth could they have created something that compact?
"Grenades." Connor cursed, striding to the door.
"You two take potshots from the buildings, see if you can't distract them while I get the rest of the boys and lick our wounds before the cavalry arrives. Hope you can jump far." Walking to the armory, Justin grabbed a rifle with a grainy wooden stock and a strap, slinging it over his back before clambering up the ladder.
"Cam, here." He helped her up onto the roof and pointed at a ledge waist height.
"We've got some cover that way. We'll take a few shots from this position, then move to the next roof and keep moving until...well, until we run out of ammo or they're all dead. Here's hoping it's the latter." He crouched, getting the rifle into both hands. Resting it on the ledge, he looked through the scope.
"Eight of them. Five charging ahead, three standing by the truck. Try to take those out first." He breathed in, shutting his eyes for a brief moment. On the exhale, eyes opened, brow furrowed. His finger caressed the trigger, adjusting the rifle to the left before getting off two shots to one of the Harbinger's legs. He collapsed, the other two unloading their assault rifles onto their position. Justin sank back into cover, reloading the rifle as another explosion rocked the air, screams echoing through the ruins. The hail of bullets stopped, allowing Justin to tell Cam:
"Fire on em! I'll jump over to the next roof and get you covering fire." With that, he jumped to his feet and sprinted to the edge of the roof, his legs propelling him across the gap to the next building. Thankfully the next building had a similar facade, which gave him the benefit of cover, but after taking a quick glance at the other buildings, he realized they wouldn't have cover. They would have to hold out on these two rooftops or get down into the buildings and hope the Harbingers aren't sending more reinforcements up. He got his rifle back into position and spied that the once charging Harbingers were now being thwarted by Connor and a few more of his men. Some of the reinforcements must have been rather close to downtown. He thanked the Graceful Being as he looked to the truck, the driver of the vehicle holding something in his hands..

He then heard what sounded like thunder cracking through the sky, the scout looking to the horizon on their right to find tiny dots coming towards the battle site. As the dots came closer, rotors and extended machine guns were visible from the bellies of the
"Helcopters! Cam, back down, quick!"

“What?” Cameron shouted back to Justin, but the noise sounding above them answered her question quite quickly. She had only heard stories of such machinery, but never thought she would be able to see one for her own eyes; big, black, dragonfly-esque flying contraptions heading straight for them. Cameron found herself paralyzed with shock – both fearfully and in awe – but as soon as the helicopters began to attack, the awe subsided and was replaced by pure adrenaline.

“Shit!” Cameron grunted as she ducked down and began to sprint across the rooftop. The gap was approaching, but she continued full speed until she launched herself off of the roof’s floor and propelled forward, landing forcefully on the rooftop Justin had occupied. Out of breath, she ducked behind the ledge on all fours and inhaled deeply. “There’s no way we’re gonna get through this one.” Was that something pessimistic to say? Maybe. But it was also realistic. The Harbinger’s equipment and numbers definitely gave them great advantage over the small squadron.

She tilted her head upwards to look at Justin and forced a smile. “So, if I am gonna die, I wanna say thanks again for all you’ve done. I definitely wouldn’t have made it this far without you.” Cameron wiped the sweat off her forehead and took another deep breath. “But, if we do make it, we gotta find a different hobby. The perilous adventures were fun at first, but…” she nudged her head towards the approaching helicopters.

The latch on the roof popped opened, and Connor popped his head out. “Are you guys suicidal? Come on, get in!”

Once everyone was back in the structure, they all tried their best to ignore the sounds of bullets and screaming that were taking place only yards away from the door. “Our reinforcements should be arriving any second. Hopefully some will make it through the line and be able to get some of those birds out of the sky. One of our guys has a makeshift bazooka on his truck, so Rogers, Simon? Get to work on some ammo for him. That’s our only hope.”

Connor turned to the pair and sighed. “Reload and get ready for when our guys – “

A horn that played a song pierced through the rumble of the helicopters, and Connor’s eyes lit up. “My boys. They’re here!” The exchange of gunfire began to increase, and the horn again rang, but this time in the back of the building. “Let him in, let him in!” Connor ordered, and a silver door was unlatched to welcome a tall, built man with dark features and long brown hair.

“Jesus, Connor. What’d you get us in to?” The man eyed both Cameron and Justin up and down before returning his attention to their leader.

“Our friends brought company. The Harbingers.”

“Dammit,” the man shook his head. “We could only rally twenty cars. Didn’t know it’d be this bad.”

“Not your fault, Sam. Let’s just try to save our asses before we disintegrate,” Connor patted the man’s shoulders, then looked to them. “This is Sam, our best bet at making it out of here alive.”

Sam shook Justin’s hand, but after again surveying Cameron, she lifted her hand and kissed it. “Not many pretty girls left anymore.”

Although it was inappropriate in the circumstances, she couldn’t help but blush slightly. “Well, there’s gonna be one less in a minute.”

“Right,” Sam nodded, turning towards the rest of the room. “Men, we got three vehicles parked out back. Let’s cram in as many as we can and charge these fuckers. Let’s go!”

Cameron turned to Justin and took a deep breath. “Let’s do this, huh?”

Justin felt relieved at the arrival of assistance, but had to bite his tongue in order to suppress a groan when Sam kissed Cam's hand.

Seriously? Now? When an elite squadron of attackers are right at your doorstep?

He shook off the thought, looking to his companion with a small smile.
"Right there with you."

____

A defensive barricade of soot covered trucks stood about about four hundred yards off from the now amassing Harbinger force. The helicopters had lowered themselves about fifty feet from the ground, a number of Harbinger troopers sliding down a portable ladder before the airborne vehicles perched themselves on rooftops across from the barricade. Their machine guns hadn't moved, which gave Justin a flicker of hope that they were just for intimidation; after all, how on earth could anyone salvage a gatling gun like that in this chaos, let alone make it work? Then again, the advanced tech of the Harbingers proved that one could easily construct weapons and armor of high quality given the right tools.

Sam and Connor barked out orders to the rest of their squadrons, sending them around the trucks to the sandbags and other localized debris that would act as their first line of defense. Others were stationed behind the trucks on elevated wooden platforms with rifles at the ready. Justin and Cam found themselves in the trenches with the first wave of defenders(naturally), the pair armed with assault rifles given to them by Sam before they charged ahead(and a wink to only Cam...gotta give him credit for not giving up on trying to find a lady). They were instructed to not fire on the Harbingers until they made the first move, which they made after the Harbingers assembled in a straight, horizontal line. One in the middle, his chestplate a gold, almost yellow color gleamed as he placed a cone shaped device in front of his mouth, his voice bouncing off the concrete structures:
"I am Michael Southwright, commander of this platoon. I've seen too many of my men get murdered today and wish to avoid further bloodshed on both our parts. All we need are your two visitors. Once we have them safely in our custody, we will cease all activity and leave you be."
"Why so generous?!" Sam shouted back into his cone shaped device, which was probably how they had heard his entrance music in the first place.
"Because I'm a sensible man. I can see that our fight would be a fruitless exercise. We need both Justin and Cameron alive. There would be no chance of that happening if we engaged. Hand them over or we will be forced to open fire." He motioned to the helicopters, the machine guns whirring softly in anticipation. Justin's eyes went from Southwright to Cam, searching hers.
"We can avoid a lot of bloodshed if we hand ourselves in..."

Cameron’s eyes widened at Justin’s words. “Are you crazy? Who the hell knows what they’ll do if…” her voice trailed off into silence as she began to realize that he was probably right. Reasons like this is why she was so incredibly drawn to him and Omega: they were more selfless than any other group she had met.

She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath before nodding to him. “You’re right,” said Cameron in a low, quiet voice. A grunt escaped her as she pushed herself off the crouched position she had taken on the floor, and before looking up, she dusted herself off. “Fine,” she announced sternly, running her fingers through her hair to give her a better view of the Southwright’s group before them.

Cameron turned back to look at Sam and Connor behind her, who nodded solemnly in approval, and took the gun back that she had armed herself with only minutes ago. Once again facing the mysterious group, she cupped her mouth to call out to them again. “We will surrender peacefully if you leave them be.” She raised her hands in the air and forced her boots to carry her forward towards them, unsure of what was to come of it.

As soon as she was half way between each party, two men approached her and grasped each of her arms and brought loaded her into one of the helicopters, then they went for Justin.

Even the severity of the situation couldn’t keep her from being in awe of the machine that now surrounded her. The vibration of it underneath her, the black interior that was cold to the touch, the wires and switches that fell out in tangles in the cockpit. They sat her down in a seat and strapped her in, then securing her wrists in front of her with a zip tie, so tightly that she winced as they locked it in place.

Once Justin joined her, the helicopter began to lift off the ground, making her heart race faster and faster as they climbed into the sky. She craned her neck to look out the window behind her, audibly gasping as she looked down at the city far below them. It was like nothing she had ever seen before, and the sight alone was making her eyes water.

If anything, it was a nice distraction from reality: that they were once again prisoners to an unknown, violent party, with no certainty as to how they’d be treated, or what they even wanted from them.

Once noticing that the other men in the helicopter were preoccupied, Cameron turned to Justin and leaned her head in close so that they wouldn’t hear her. “What do you think they want with us?” Her eyes darted around to make sure they weren’t listening. “If Avery is involved, how would she have known that we were here?”

“Hey!” one of the men toting an assault rifle barked at them. “No talking. Save it for when we land.”

Cameron rolled her eyes and slumped down in her seat. Whatever was going on, it didn’t look good for either of them.

He wanted to respond to Cam's question, seeing as he had been thinking along similar lines, but things were so muddled at this point that even if he were able to discuss his thoughts freely, it would just be conjecture. Justin inched closer to her on their shared seat, rotating his wrists against the grain of the ziptie until his right index finger found the back of Cam's hand. Prodding her led to a small smile, the scout muttering:
"At least we're still alive to find out the truth, right?" Thankfully the pilot and co-pilot seemed distracted enough with responding to a squawking voice every few seconds with chatter that Justin couldn't make out over the roaring engine and spinning rotors above them. They would have to be content to see where fate would take them. He hoped that fate would be a lot nicer to them than it had been over the past seventy two hours.

Doubt it.

_________________

He had closed his eyes for what seemed like a flickering moment when he felt the helicopter's legs hit the ground, jarring him out of a restless slumber. Their captors issued them both out of the vehicle, jabbing the ends of their assault rifles into their backs to press them ahead. The sun was beginning to make it's descent, obscured by swirls of puffy white clouds here and there to grant them some relief from not only the heat, but squinting(so they were facing west...). Trudging forward, Justin examined his surroundings warily. The helicopter had landed on a grassy knoll that, as they proceeded down upon, gave way to a tree lined path that featured birds chirping obnoxiously, squirrels skittering about the ground gathering morsels of food, insects buzzing...
"How is this possible?" Wildlife managed to survive the plague that afflicted human sources of food, but those same wells of water and crops that humans relied upon were also counted on by the rest of the animal kingdom. How on earth were they able to survi-

Bubbling. Gurgling.

They were led across a wooden bridge that was built over a stream, the foamy water cascading pleasantly over rocks and dirt, uplifting sediment. Farther along the bank were ducks, geese, all sorts of fowl drinking and swimming, calling to each other.
"Where are we?" Justin turned to one of the guards, who jabbed him along, not responding. His heart raced.
"Just tell me where, please, this is...this is..." Up ahead the trees disappeared, allowing them to see it. Justin's jaw creaked open, surveying the tall, gleaming walls, the wide entrance gate which stood invitingly open, the people visible just beyond, bustling, creating. There were fields next to the walls with crops as tall as he was. Beyond the fields to the east and west were trees ladled with fruit, bursting at the seams. He had to stop, he just had to.
"Move!" Justin turned his head, brow furrowed.
"And you're keeping all this to yourselves? When you could actually be helping humanity dig itself out of extinction?"
"Shut up!" A harder jab this time. The other guard chimed in:
"You'll find out why you've been allowed to see this soon. Taking you to lock up."
"What happens after that?"
"Dunno. Above my pay."

They were escorted around the right side of the wall alongside the fields, stopping at an iron grate that slid open at the behest of a guard mounted on top of that specific section. The air in the corridor was cool and damp, a refreshing change of pace. Walking a bit further, the traditional look of jail cells took over, the duo shoved into separate cells next to each other before commanding them to turn around. Their zipties were cut, but that proved useless being locked away.
"Someone'll be back to get you both."
"When?"
"Dunno. Above my pay."

As their boots clicked down the hall, Justin peeled his shirt off, shooting an apologetic smile to Cam.
"Figure if we're going to be here, might as well as not marinate in my own sweat, right?" He leaned against the rear wall, sighing.
"You doin ok?"

Cameron couldn’t tell whether she had fallen asleep or was just in a daze when the helicopter landed abruptly on the ground, but she was definitely lucid as they were shoved out on to the ground below and guided with the butt of their rifles.

“Is that really nec – “

It pushed harder into her back, causing her to groan quietly. Normally, she’d have a much more feisty response to such treatment, but both pure exhaustion and anxiety had consumed her usual mental sharpness, causing her to become silent and plod along cooperatively.

Her eyes darted around as they entered the tree line, taking mental notes of the same things Justin seemed to notice as well: the animals, the stream, then the gate that led them to whatever encampment they’d be held in.

As they passed through, Cameron took a deep breath as if it would help prepare for what was to come. Knuckles white and heart pounding loudly, the sound of the inhabitants almost went unnoticed as they continued through the settlement, until movement in her peripheral vision caused her to snap her head to the left.

People. Healthy people. It was rare to see someone with extra meat on their bones, but she could at least spot five on their walk. ”How is this possible?”

A tall man fifty feet away caught her eye: he was speaking with a much smaller woman in front of a cabin-like structure, not noticing the two prisoners as they were paraded through.

“That can’t be…” Cameron mumbled as her she desperately tried to focus on his face to get a clearer view. No matter how much her mind quickly tried to convince her she was just seeing things, she couldn’t help to think the man looked familiar. Very familiar.

William. One of the village elders, and one of the men who was involved in the attack on Cameron. One who, if Chesapeake was in bed with an unsavory group, would be first in line.

“Shit,” she muttered as she snapped her head back in front of her and looked downward. You’re just tired, Cameron. It’s not him.
Soon, they were each shoved into separate cells, only separated by steel bars about a hand width apart. Unfortunately, there was no cot for her to lay down on, so Cameron slid down the wall until she met the floor beneath her. Through half open eyes, she saw Justin remove his shirt as he sat across from her in his cell, and heat rose to her cheeks, causing her to look away as he spoke.

What are you, thirteen?

Cameron finally looked back to him after he asked about her well-being, and she toyed with the idea of telling him that she possibly saw William, but after a moment, she decided that getting worked up over something that might not even be true would be futile.

“I’m okay,” her hoarse voice pushed out, and she forced a smile. “I’m so tired, I think I’m seeing things. Plus, I’m really sweaty.” After chuckling, she scooted towards the corner of the cell and let her body rest up against the cold wall, sighing in relief at some weight being taken off of her body.

“Well, before I fall asleep, I thought I’d say that this has been an interesting run. Somehow kind of… fun. I mean, if you count having multiple near-death experiences as fun.” A genuine smile flashed before her eyes shut slowly. “Hopefully another miracle is in store for us.”

"Gotta have faith." He smiled back, watching her eyes close. Justin wanted desperately to do the same, but what he had seen on their excursion here was so mindblowing, so utterly shocking that the memories danced in front of his eyes repeatedly, reminding him that there was a small group of humanity that had purposefully hid themselves from the rest of their kind so that they could save themselves. He sat on the ground, knees up. Scratching, clawing, biting their way through existence only to fall by the wayside, hoping that the generation afterward would have it better. Cowards. All of them. Bloody cowards. He could hear Ryken's voice bouncing around his skull, booming:
"Never lose faith in humanity. He never did, even after they nailed Him on a cross. He kept believing that they were worth saving."

"No, they weren't, Ryk. Never have been." His hands balled into fists, knuckles turning white, teeth grinding. He wanted to shriek, feel his soul rip out of his lungs, leave this sick, twisted world. His eyes darted from the ceiling of the cell to the wall across from him to Cam who-

Who was sleeping so peacefully.

His fists uncurled. Her ebony hair rose and fell gently with her upper body, lips slightly open. If she knew he was gawking at her while she slept, Cam would have more than likely voiced her utter disdain, but thankfully she wasn't aware of what was going on. He moved closer to the bars separating the duo. She was peaceful, more peaceful than he had seen her since they had met. And he would admit to himself that she was indeed a very beautiful woman. He laughed lightly at what Cam would have thought of THAT sentiment. She was modest, pragmatic and pretty jaded when it came to men, so maybe she would shirk the thought...or maybe she would've actually liked hearing it. Probably would've liked hearing it from Smooth soldier-boy Sam.

Oh shut up.

_______________

Justin had managed to close his eyes for what felt like a brief period of time when he was awoken by a clutter of voices echoing towards them. He opened his eyes to find a rather tall, reedy man looming in front of their cells flanked by two women, one with greyish-white hair...
"Why am I not surprised?" He snorted a laugh as Avery shook her head.
"The deceit was a necessary one. We needed a better plan to attack Omega and you both delivered it splendidly." He cocked a brow.
"So those tribespeople...earth mother and all that-"
"We exploited their weaknesses. They needed food and water and we needed a number of settlements out of the way, Omega being foremost." He rose from his seated position, jaw clenched.
"Made innocent people mercenaries." Avery uttered a deep, throaty laugh.
"Innocent? They were cannibals. You should be thanking us. If it wasn't for us, your people would have eventually become food sources." The tall man interjected:
"Let's not carry this along any further. We need to have them prepped for genome extraction."
"Genome whatnow?"
"We brought you both here for a very, very specific purpose." The other woman grinned broadly.
"You two will do nicely for the next batch of experiments."

Cameron was awoken to the sound of voices echoing down the hallway that led to their cells, but was only able to adjust her eyes to the rooms light when the three were standing in front of her and Justin. Her eyes widened at the sight of William standing with two women, and instinctually, she began to push herself back into the corner further until the concrete wall stopped her.

As Avery spoke, William looked to her and shook his head subtly: a signal for her not to share their past, but all she could do was look away down at the floor as emotion began to bubble up inside of her. Cameron began to spiral downward; thoughts of the attack, the journey that led her here, and the mystery behind what was in store for the duo all began to make her heart race.

Two words, though, were able to snap her back to reality rather quickly.

”Genome extraction.”

She quickly looked up to the three, then to Justin, back to the three. Genome extraction?

”You two will do nicely for our next batch of experiments.”

Cameron quickly jumped up to her feet, taking a moment to lose the vertigo she had acquired, then approached the bars where William, Avery, and the other women were standing, choosing to direct her glare at the man.

“Leave him out of this,” she spoke firmly and quietly, pointing to Justin but not diverting her eyes. “I get why you want me, but don’t punish him for it.”

The man scoffed as he looked down her. “Don’t flatter yourself, Wright. Although he’s a little older than what we usually look for, he’s in great physical shape with no deformities, did well in the classroom, and has been of high ranking position in Omega since he was eighteen. You, on the other hand, you’ve always been a pain my the ass, but your skill in combat has us hopeful that you’ll pass some of the tests. Plus, you're too much of a risk to have gallivanting along the east coast.”

Cameron’s eyes narrowed. “Tests?”

“Guards will be down shortly to escort you to medical,” Avery spoke up. “You’ll get a physical. Are either of you injured?”

Cameron lifted up her shirt to right below her breasts to reveal a bandage, brown with old blood, remained wrapped around her torso. “An arrow,” she explained gruffly.

“Right,” Avery said. “Well, we’ll have someone treat that properly before you begin.”

With that, the three retreated back down the hall, and once she was sure they were out of earshot, she turned to Justin’s cell and gripped the bars tightly. “William,” she whispered, “was an elder at Chesapeake. I knew those assholes would be involved in something like this.” She blew a strand of hair out of her face, then rested her forehead on the beams and sighed. “What do you think they’re testing us for?”

"I don't know, but I'm gonna sound cliche and say that I don't like it." The ramifications of their new discovery was setting in motion a hurricane of thoughts that he was trying to sort through, but failing miserably.
"So wait if William and Avery were heads of the Harbingers...then, then how did Omega play into it? Said something about wanting to get rid of it, but why? What kind of a threat did Omega possess? If they had taken the time to actually talk to Ryk, they would've known that he wanted what we saw when we came here." He gently rapped his fist on the bars, turning his head.
"By the way, you saw all that, right? I wasn't seeing things? Healthy looking people, advanced tech, clean food, water...it's like a picture from the old days before this...whatever it was." No one had ever named the "event" that had occurred. Some had informal names for it: "The Judgment"(for the religious), "The Infection", "The Outbreak", "The Sickness" and so on. Justin had never wanted to label it. Whatever had happened was so far beyond a label that it deserved to never have one.
"There's gotta be a catch or somethin." The rapping stopped.
"Let's just play along, see what happens. We can get the info we need, break outta here and regroup, see what we need to do." He grimaced with the realization that Cam would have to deal with William, who was responsible for some of her worst memories.
"And I'll do everything I can to keep you safe." A flush of red enveloped his neck and cheeks.
"I mean, I know you can take care of yourself and everything, but..." He laughed nervously.
"Oh you know what I mean. We're partners. Partners look out for each other, you know?" There were boots clicking from the entrance again. He gulped the anxiety welling up in the back of his throat, exhaling sharply.
"Watch over us."

____________________

"No, don't squirm."
"Really? I flinched."
"Too much movement." Justin grumbled at the man garbed in a white coat who had just injected him in both shoulders with a silver pistol shaped object that held a purple viscous substance that was now floating in his bloodstream.
"Where's Cam?"
"The female subject is being prepared in the other room. You will both go through the tests together." The man was hunched over an actual working computer, the glaring screen almost searing the scout's eyes every time he tried to look over and spy on what he was doing. Most of the lighting in the building that the guards had escorted them to was almost of the same intensity, giving him a splitting headache. Of course, the headache wasn't present when they were being led out of the dungeon and around the field into the city, where the denizens eyed the duo suspiciously. The glares were worth it to see the crisp green apples sitting in baskets outside homes constructed from wood and brick, hemmed in by ornate stone hedges and vibrant shrubbery. Once past the bustling town streets, they were led to a three story building made wholly of gleaming steel that overlooked a large chunk of the beach walled off with thick concrete that stood probably ten feet high. Inside the building were men and women consorting with each other, holding vials, test tubes, electronic devices that chimed and blipped incessantly. There they had been separated, but thankfully for not long(or so he hoped).

He could do without uniting with Cam at the moment, however. Justin was clothed in tight blue shorts and a shirt that clung to him like a second skin. He caught sight of himself in a panel of glass separating the room from the hallway and almost guffawed. At least he was clothed! That counted for something.

"You and the female subject-"
"You DO know she has a name, right?" The man continued:
"Will be going through a number of tests to ensure that your genetics are worth preserving and-"
"Wait, preserving? What did you inject me with?" The man exhaled nasally, mumbling something about test subjects being too "inquisitive" and barreled along:
"the tests will conclude after you have both gone through them enough for us to collect accurate data. Resources will be provided during the tests. The tests will last exactly four days and you will be informed of the Director's choice the following day after your final testing day. Your quarters will be at the end of the hallway. Please exit the lab and wait for your female companion."
"No point in asking you any questions, huh?" The man opened the door Justin entered, motioning for him to leave.
"Fine." Justin stepped out, the door shutting behind him. He peered into the glass panel across from him, not finding Cam. There were a few other doors scattered along the hallway with one door at each end.

He hoped she didn't laugh at him.
Well, not too much.

Cameron was breathing heavily as she bit in to her forearm; the needle was going in and out of her side just as the older women in Chesapeake did to mend the fabric that had been passed down from generation to generation. Her clothing had been disposed of, which after wearing for such a long time, didn’t upset her in the slightest. She now dawned a white, paper hospital gown which she had adjusted to expose her side.

“Almost done,” the nurse mumbled with intense focus.

“Damn it,” Cameron whimpered into the crook of her elbow with her eyes squeezed shut. “All of this technology, and there’s nothing you can give me so I don’t feel this?”

“I’ve been given strict instructions to not give you anything mind altering. Sorry.” The nurse’s tone was far from apologetic, but she had no idea but to accept it with a long sigh.

“Alright, all done,” the nurse grunted as she stood up and eyed the sutures. “Try to keep it clean this time. You’ve developed an infection.” She walked over to a cabinet and pulled out an orange bottle with three large pills inside, then handed it to Cameron.

“What do I do with these?” she asked as she held the bottle up to the light.

“Swallow them. I’d give you more, but we try to save as many as we can. Now, stay still, you need a shot.”

Her eyes widened. “A shot? For what?”

Before Cameron could get an answer, the nurse punctured one shoulder –

“What the fu – “

And the next. “Shit!” Cameron yelled as she went to smack the nurse’s hand away, but she was already disposing of the needle and washing her hands.

“Over on that chair,” the nurse pointed, “is your change of clothes. Get dressed and knock on the door so the guard can escort you.”

Without another word, Cameron was left alone in the cold medical room in her paper gown, rubbing both shoulders as she walked over to the chair. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”



The guard’s took her to a large building that seemed to tower over the short woman, but instead of observing, she kept her head down and her arms around her. The outfit she was given did not leave much to the imagination: a skin tight, blue top and matching shorts that hit just above mid-thigh.

Eventually, Cameron was delivered to the same location where Justin was, and once the guards disappeared behind the door, she couldn’t help but double over in laughter, a snort or two escaping her until she finally caught her breath. “I’m… I’m sorry,” she apologized between breaths, wiping the tears from her eyes. “They obviously don’t have fabric to spare. “Didn’t know you were so muscular,” she said with a goofy grin as she squeezed her own arm.

After another few breaths, the reality of the situation they were in made its way back into her head. They were going to be subjected to a series of unknown tests for people whose motives were a complete mystery.

“Shit,” she whispered as she began to tie her hair back in a knot that sat on the top of her head.

Cameron was able to find one small flicker of hope: she wasn’t going through it alone. She’d have Justin by her side through whatever Avery and William were going to throw at them, and it gave her a sense of security.

Looking up to him, she flashed a brief smile before a guard entered the hallway with two arm bands in his hands. “Right arm.”

The arm bands were attached with Velcro tightly, and the guard pressed a few buttons on the small panel affixed to them.

“What’s this?” asked Cameron.

“Heart rate monitor.” With that, the guard exited, disappearing behind the same door he had come out of.

“Hey,” Cameron whispered as she swiveled around to Justin. “We’re gonna be fine, right? I know you’ll pass the test, but what if I – “

“Subjects,” a woman’s voice boomed over a loudspeaker in the hallway. “Please enter the lab.”

He knew she was going to laugh at him. Yet he couldn't help but laugh with her. It felt good to express something other than worry, grief, anxiety or slight happiness at surviving yet another lethal encounter. When she commented about his musculature(and after their laughter had died out), he snorted.
"Please. I don't think it's muscle more so than the effects of not, you know, eating." Her outfit didn't seem as outlandish to him. In fact, the way that the shorts hugged her hips was rather enticing. And that top...

He thanked a Deity silently when the guard interrupted his horrendous mental gawking and strapped what he would announce in an aggravated edge were heart rate monitors. The device beeped harshly for a few seconds before it ceased, the woman's voice making a cacophonous echo. Before Justin could ask for direction, the door at the right end of the hall slid open. Proceeding through the doorway, the duo found themselves in a courtyard of sorts with an elevated catwalk suspended around all four corners of the square enclosure. Straight ahead there were a set of heavy metal doors that were sliding open, a voice coming over speakers embedded in the walls above:
"We are proceeding with the physical tests. Please remember that you may do lethal damage to the creatures, but the humans are actual citizens of the settlement and may only be rendered unconscious." As the doors fully slid away, four figures came into the testing zone, all of them garbed in simple white t-shirts and black pants. There were three men and one woman that looked unremarkable in appearance except their hardened gazes and determined, set jawlines. One of the men cast a glance at the group and nodded before they charged ahead, fists raised. Justin took a quick scan of his surroundings, nodding at a few plywood beams laying to the left of where they stood.
"I'll keep the guys busy, you get the beams and start swingin! GO!" Justin sprinted forward, methodically taking in air through his nose and blowing it deeply through his mouth, the technique enabling him to conserve as much energy as possible for what he knew would be a rather rigorous endeavor. One of the men was within a couple of feet from the scout and leveled his arm in preparation for a haymaker when Justin blew right past them, but not before jutting his arm out, slamming his forearm into the would-be attacker's throat. The man's body thumped to the metallic flooring as Justin whirled around, stopping a couple of feet away from the northern wall.
"Come on, that CAN'T be all you got!"

Cameron nodded and began to sprint towards the wooden beams when the woman on the opposing side entered her line of vision, blocking the pathway to her destination. In the time she took a deep breath, the woman began to charge at her quickly, and Cameron quickly ducked as a leg swung over her, the lack of impact causing her attacked to spin momentarily.

She blew a piece of hair out of her face as she widened her stance, and the woman approached her again, this time delivering a blow to Cameron’s side. Her eyes bulged – the woman hit her directly in the healing wound – and she lost focus for a moment. The woman scoffed, obviously not amused, and she began to slowly circle Cameron as she tried to catch her breath.

But the attacker’s attitude began to light a fire in Cameron, and without warning, she lunged at the woman and jumped in the air before connecting with her and bringing her to the floor. Her knees sat upon the woman’s arms, and she began to hit her in the face with closed fists, but only until the woman used her legs to knock Cameron off of her.

Before she was attacked again, Cameron decided to run for the beams, and as soon as her hands grabbed one, she swung it behind her. The woman dropped to the floor almost instantly after impact, and she ran quickly to check the attacker’s pulse to make sure she was still alive.

“Okay,” Cameron whispered, confirming a weak pulse, before directing her attention over to Justin and his attackers. One was out cold on the ground, but two still working to take him down. She began to sprint towards one of the men and leapt onto his back, then after a bit of a struggle, she wrapped an arm around his throat and squeezed tightly until she felt his legs buckle underneath him. Cameron dropped to the floor with him, and just as she did before, she checked his pulse quickly before popping back up into a fighting stance.

Justin had already taken care of the one remaining attacker, who now laid face down on the ground in front of them. She couldn’t help but smile; it all went much better than she originally thought it would. Maybe her anxiety was all for nothing.

Her hands were tingling down at her sides, and as soon as they were in her line of sight, Cameron could see the veins running down her arm raised and pumping blood through her body. “That’s weird,” she mumbled as she looked up to Justin. “Do you feel anything… weird?” she whispered to him, but before she could get an answer, four men appeared out of a door in the corner and walked to each of the unconscious attackers, and after some effort, removed them from courtyard.

“Very good,” Avery’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker. “Please prepare for phase two.”

At this point, Cameron had her hands on her knees and was catching her breath, but she stood up straight as soon as Avery finished speaking. They had mentioned something about creatures before, could that mean –

Another larger door whooshed open once again, this time on the opposite side of the courtyard, but no one was on the other side. It was dark. She looked to Justin with widened eyes, but only momentarily before placing her focus back on the door. A growl sounded from deep within whatever room the door led to, but nothing stepped of of the darkness to show itself. Not yet. Cameron stepped back closer to Justin until she bumped into him by mistake, but she didn't move away, instead grabbing his left arm with a tight grip as they both stared in anticipation.

The fight had ended quickly, but what bothered Justin was the blood pounding through his veins, the pulsating throbbing in his head. He was ready to dismiss it as an adrenaline rush, but when Cam mentioned feeling weird, he looked to her arms to find that her veins were pronounced, her relatively toned physique rippling with what seemed liked newly added muscle(or so it seemed to him). As the men dragged the bodies out of the arena, he noted that the same things were happening to him.
"Cam, what on earth is going on with us?" His breath was growing shallow, but there was an electric feeling that was coursing through him, as if his muscles wanted to move as fast and as hard as possible. He wanted to talk about what was more than likely pumped into their systems, but Avery's announcement coupled with another door sliding open caught his attention.

Snarls and growls were coming from beyond the darkness of the assumed hallway, Justin quickly scooping the two by four Cam had used earlier up from the ground with his right hand. He could feel Cam's icy grip on his arm, which for a flicker of a moment made him smile ever so slightly. The spark of joy was extinguished when, out of the recesses of the open passageway, came three large beasts that were covered in dark brown fur, their snouts coated in blood, teeth sharp and jagged. They bound in on four thick legs, ears perked, eyes staring directly at what they perceived as their new prey.
"Bears..." He uttered a curse under his breath.
"Cam, these things are almost unstoppable. I've ran into two of these things all my life and both times I ran as fast as I could. Let's do that now, huh?" He pointed at the open door where the men had come from.
"We've gotta make a break for it. Let's go, now!" He sprinted forward, prompting the heavy metal doors to slide close ever so slowly. His strides grew longer, the scout slipping through the doors as they were closed halfway.

Then they began to speed up.

"NO!" He grabbed the closing edges of the doors and attempted to push them apart. At first, his efforts were in vain, the doors threatening to break his hands. But then...then the doors stopped. A horrific grating noise tore through the air as Justin screamed in effort, wedging the doors open just enough for Cam to squeeze through.

That is, if she had made it already.

Bears?

The three burly animals stared down both Cameron and Justin intently as they took the time to process what they were seeing in front of them. She had seen them out on hunts before, but that was much, much different than being trapped in a room unarmed with three of them.

”Let’s go, now!” Justin had yelled, and she did not waste any time, sprinting behind him at full speed.

”What the hell?” Cameron thought to herself as she ran. It was as if no energy was expended on running, but in fact, she felt even more energized by it. Powerful. She hadn’t even lost her breath by the time she had gotten to the door.

But a feeling she did recognize was ever-present as Justin quickly slid through the doors, leaving her alone with the bears that she could her heaving behind her, was fear. Pure, unadulterated fear. Then, she heard Justin working to pry the doors back open, and to her surprise, it was working. She began to help him, assuming she wouldn’t do much, but they succeeded in opening them enough so Cameron could squeeze through.

She reached out a hand to grasp Justin’s forearm, and once secured, they both worked to shimmy her body through.

Once half of her body was through, she felt the sensation of something latching on to her foot. Cameron turned her head cautiously to the side to see a bear had sunk on of its claws into the sole of her boot, and now she was caught in the middle of a tug-of-war. She writhed until the boot was free from its grasp, then with as much force she could conjure up from the awkward position, she kicked the bear’s face between the eyes, causing it to whimper and moved back a foot or so.

She grabbed on to Justin’s arm tighter, and once her hipbone moved past the metal doors, she nearly shot out to the other side and knocked him down. Cameron was breathing heavily, still in fight-or-flight mode, until she realized that she was safe. She looked down to Justin, who laid underneath her on his back, and she couldn’t help but begin to laugh, rolling off of him onto the metal floor to his right and attempting to catch her breath between bouts of giggles. “How did we do that?”

“Very good, you two,” Avery’s voice echoed throughout the metal hallway. “We were more interested in you guys killing the bears, but this should suffice.”

Cameron looked to Justin and shrugged before standing up and brushing herself off. Before she could question Avery on what was next, her voice came again.

“You will have a short recess, then phase two of testing will begin.”

A guard exited a door to their right and escorted the two down the corridor to an empty room, save two cots and a jug of water that sat between them. Cameron wasted no time and rushed to the jug, taking a few gulps before sighing heavily and wiping her mouth, then handing it to Justin.

“Whatever they injected us with, I feel amazing.” Her eyes were wide as she began to pace the room with no interest in sitting down. “I wonder what the next phase is going to be.”

“Mental,” a muffled voice came from the behind the door. The guard.

“Uh, thank you,” she replied with a smirk on her face. “And thank you,” she repeated as she swiveled on her heel to face Justin. “If it wasn’t for you, those bears would’ve had a four course meal of short brunette. And then you’d have to do the rest of the tests on your own.” Cameron plopped down on the cot in front of him finally and rested her face on her fist. “So, I guess they just expect us to live her peacefully if we pass all these tests, huh?”

Cam had run into him, slamming him on his back and forcing her on top of him, which he didn't think too much of until he looked up at her giggling, the way her hair bounced gently along with her shoulders, the way she just radiated. It didn't hurt that the shorts were pretty high and that...

Avery thankfully cut off his thoughts as he rose, silently chiding himself for getting so distracted. He attributed his odd, momentary lapse in focus to the strange fluids that were probably floating around his body, changing his cells and all that. Yes, that was it. What the scientists injected them with. That's all.

___

Grabbing the water from Cam and chugging some of it greedily, he plopped down on the cot, thankful for the respite. Even though they had both been through some of the most stressful events of their lives, they at least had breaks in between...even if most of those breaks came in prison cells or areas where they were being held against their will.

Justin looked over at Cam and chuckled.
"Peacefully, huh? From the way they threw us in here and subjugated us to murderous individuals and ravenous bears, I don't know if that's what the endgame is. Unless of course they're testing us for their combat squads, but why do that? Why hunt us down ferociously only to turn us to their cause?" He snorted.
"Like we would fight for these people..." He looked to Cam, searching her eyes as he continued:
"They destroyed Chesapeake, tore Omega to the ground, played God with innocent civilians." He shot to his feet, pacing to the door and folding his arms across his chest, feeling the material on the skin-tight outfit stretch as he moved.
"We've got to figure out their motives, then we take them down. Avery, that elder of yours, everyone. We take them down so that they can pay for all that they've done." He sunk against the door, running a hand through his hair, beats of silence passing between them.
"I'm sorry...don't mean to sound so spiteful, but I just..." His head was now leaned against the door, eyes cast upward at the ceiling.
"I want this to be over. The violence, secrets, everything, just...over."

Cameron could hear his words dripping with exhaustion – the same exhaustion she felt as well – and it couldn’t help but get the wheels of her mind turning with ‘what ifs.’ Since they had crossed paths, there had been nothing but turmoil, bloodshed, and fighting to not only save their own lives, but potentially, humanities as well. Why did it fall on their shoulders? What did they do to deserve this burden of responsibility?

“Justin,” she nearly whispered, staring at a square of tile a few feet in front of her. “I might just be playing the Devil’s advocate here, but what if…” She paused. Would he take this wrongly? Justin wasn’t one for anger, so maybe, just maybe, he’d hear her out. “What if we just stayed? Of course, if we pass the tests. There isn’t a home out there left for either of us, and I’m tired of not knowing where I’m going to lay my head down at night.”

Cameron shifted from the tension, causing a tinge to spark up in her back. She put an arm behind her and kneaded the spot with a balled fist. “There’s food here. Water. Animals. They obviously chose us for a reason. We could finally stop killing ourselves and just relax for once.”

She hadn’t worked up the courage yet to look him in the eye, so instead, her eyes remained fixed on the floor, and she mindlessly scratched at her head. “You… You don’t have to answer me now. But, at least think about it, okay?”

Before she could get a response, the small, circular speaker that sat dead center of the ceiling crackled with static, startling Cameron.

“Subjects, please rise. We will be transporting to you to the next testing sight.”

She groaned as she stood, then turned her body to the door as it swooshed open, revealing the guard that had brought them there. “Let’s go,” he said gruffly.



They were brought to a dark room; it was lined with black fabric from ceiling to floor, and the only break in the panels were a slim, rectangular window meant for viewing whoever was inside. Both now stood in its center, viewing the familiar three on the other side of the glass.

Avery spoke. “We are now moving on to the mental tests. You will be fitted with a virtual reality helmet along with sensors on your body. The helmet will be showing you images and videos, both real and produced by us, that based on our observations of you, may make you upset. Your involuntary response to these videos will determine how mentally tough you are in less-than-pleasant circumstances.”

William now stepped forward towards the microphone. “Justin, you will go first. Guards, go ahead and get him wired up.”

Cameron’s eyes widened with horror at imagining what they’d be showing them. Would she be able to not panic?

He wanted to snap at her, tell her she was absolutely and horribly wrong. How on EARTH could she suggest that, after everything they had endured the past few days? He couldn't lay down and let this happen to them. But a key word she used temporarily stemmed the swirl of negativity clouding his mind.

Home.

She was right. They didn't have a home. It was hard to reconcile the idea. Maybe she was more comfortable with the notion of staying in the settlement due to the trauma she experienced at Chesapeake, but he had always known stability in Omega. Eventually he knew that the full gravity of Omega's destruction would settle into his bones. He would be a floater, a nomad. Sure, there were other survivors from Omega, but they were a small group and probably had moved on from the bunker already. They'd be hard, if not impossible to find.

Maybe it would be easier to settle here, buy into whatever stuff they were selling, gather intel and then strike back when they're least expecting it. Yeah, he could work with that. He and Cam could liberate the people here, form a settlement that could help others, spread throughout the country. Yeah, that'll do, that'll do.

He wanted to respond to Cam, but Avery cut him off. More tests.

______________

"Virtual reality? Like a video game or something?" The trio in charge didn't respond, only watching ominously as the guards slipped a domed helmet over his skull, the lowest part covering his eyes. The sudden plunge of total darkness disoriented him for only a moment when bright, vibrant colors assaulted his eyes. He moved his hand up to shield his eyes, but halfway through the motion, he heard a voice:
"And those who trust in Me shall have living water flow from his heart." His hand dropped to his side, the once mentally crippling lights forming into a cohesive setting. Grass was underneath his bare feet, loose cargo shorts blowing in the breeze. The crisp, cool air gently wafted past his face as his eyes narrowed to examine the sweeping plain he was on. There were a few trees in the distance blooming with foliage, but much closer to him stood a figure robed in a black and white overcoat, his lips forming a smile.
"Ryk..." He strode forward, the duo embracing for a moment before Justin stepped back, examining the familiar, worn face.
"It's good to see you in one piece, son. I knew you'd make it out of there, but in how many pieces was my concern." Justin snorted a laugh.
"Come on, Ryk, you know I'm good at getting out of tough situations."
"Still, worry isn't hard to occupy oneself with."
"Fair enough." A stillness came over the plain.
"I ah...I thought you died."
"I did. Unlike you, I couldn't pull myself out in time."
"But you told me to leave." Ryken scoffed, motioning to the ring of corpses that they now stood in, riddled with bullet holes and stab wounds, gore spattered on the once peaceful field.
"I didn't think that you would be such a mindless follower. To do everything I said without question. You never had much of a mind to lead, Justin, you know that. I just had to confirm it." Justin shook his head, backing away a couple of steps before tripping over a body. He tried to raise himself, but a hand was clamped onto his ankle. It was a boy, barely fourteen. His eyes were bloodshot, corneas inflamed, blood dripping from his mouth. A soft gurgle escaped from his lips as he tried to speak, his grip tightening. Justin squirmed away from his captor, but another hand shot out. Naomi, an older woman who sold salvage, hair caked with mud and viscera. Ryken's voice boomed over the plains as more of Omega's dead crawled towards Justin:
"Blessed are those whose blood is shed in the name of the Lord, for they will receive white robes and be given judgment over the nations!"
"Ryk, stop them! Stop them!" He was kicking now, desperately, shouting in protest as they climbed over him, swarmed him.
"The Lord redeems His afflicted, but destroys the wicked! The Righteous shall trample upon the ashes of the wicked underfoot!" The grass was ablaze. Heat unbearable.
"Stop...stop..." They were on top of him now, their weight pressing, suffocating, crushing his ribs. He could hear her voice now, a muttered whisper:
"The fight was never in you. It was never about you. Give in." As a limb crawled across his face, he whispered:
"Wrong."
"Give in, give up, give yourself to me. Always."
"No." With a scream that ripped through his body, he punched upwards, clambering up and over the undulating mass of reanimated corpses, shoving, hitting. He finally reached the top to find Ryken holding a gleaming pistol in his right hand aimed directly at Justin.
"Rest with the others. Accept your fate."
"No." Justin curtly responded, heaving himself to his feet.
"I will never stop. Ever." It wasn't Ryken in front of him now. Her hand trembled slightly, her slight, delicate hand. Bright blue eyes searched his, dark hair the color of hay settling on her shoulders.
"Not even because of you." Justin ambled forward, her hand trembling even more.
"Don't make me do this. Please." Her voice cracked as Justin's sternum pressed against the barrel of the gun.
"It was never about you." He uttered with a sad smile, the girl returning the gesture.
"No. It never was." In a fluid series of movement, Justin grabbed the gun from the girl and delivered two shots to her head before firing at the ground below, unloading the ammunition into the mound of death beneath. They were finally still.

Justin's body tumbled out of the chair, guards catching him before he connected with the ground. His face was covered in a sheen of sweat, eyes closed but twitching underneath his eyelids.
"Strap in the female." The unknown second woman commanded as the guards carried the unconscious Justin out of the room.

Cameron watched in horror as Justin sat strapped in the chair with the full face helmet covering him. At first, he was talking to someone (she thought she heard him say Ryken, but she could have been mistaken) but then the tone soon changed. He was yelling, squirming in the chair as something awful must have played in the screen in front of him.

“I’m not doing it, I’m not doing it,” Cameron began repeating, along with, “Let him out! Just let him out!” Two guards then gripped her arms to keep her from attempting to escape the room, so she had no choice but to stand there and watch from behind the glass. When they finally carried him off, she felt equal parts relief because they let him out, and extreme fear for what awaited her. It couldn’t be that bad, right? It was fake. “It’s fake,” she repeated, this time in a whisper to herself.

“Cameron, you’re up next,” William spoke, nodding to the guards to bring her into the room. Her body began to shake, but she forced herself to walk with them until they seated her into the chair and strapped her arms and legs securely. Next, they lowered the helmet over her, which for right now, was completely blank. She breathed deeply in an attempt to calm herself, but as soon as she seemed to lower her heart rate, the screen right in front of her eyes flickered on.

The scene was a wooded area, one that looked quite familiar, but it was hard for Cameron to pinpoint exactly where she was. She looked to her right to the a dozen or so tents around a large bonfire. It was cold, and her breath fogged in front of her and rose up into a clear sky above. Wait a minute…

She was back on that hunt with the men from Chesapeake. “No, no, no,” she began to repeat as she circled around. “Don’t make me do this, don’t make me do this.” No replies. A twig snapped in the treeline, and she gasped. Three men appeared, all faces she had seen before. The fact that this was fake had been completely forgotten at this point, and adrenaline was now coursing through her veins. “Stay away from me!”

“Cameron, what’s wrong?” One of the men asked. It was the one she had killed in his sleep.

“I know what you’re doing. Leave me alone!” Her hand went down to reach for the dagger she had become so used to, but nothing was on her thigh.

“Aw, look, fellas,” another man spoke. “She thought she’d be able to fight us.”

Cameron began to walk backwards towards the tents and tripped, falling backwards into the cold dirt, and as the men crept closer, she scooted herself back. “I can’t do this again. Stay back!”

They were too close now, and instead of trying to fight them, Cameron curled up in a ball on the ground and began to sob. She had already been defeated. All of this fighting over the past month or two, and now, she was unable to do anything but lay in a fetal position.

As soon as the men had approached her, the helmet was lifted off of her eyes, and she winced at the bright light from the room. “Oh thank god,” she whimpered with tears in her eyes.

William was in the corner, shaking his head in disappointment. She must’ve failed the test.

Avery spoke from the other side of the glass. “Take her back to the room, and we’ll go over the results.”