“Wake up. Come on Aiden. Wake up.”

I groan and swat away the hand that jostles me in my sleep. I open my eyes, finding Lucy peering over me for the second morning in a row.

“What do you want?” I ask sleepily.

"It’s time.”

“What?”

“We’re going to find out about our classes.”

Lucy yanks me out of bed and I look around, realizing I’m not in my bedroom. That’s right. I’m so far from home right now. So it wasn’t all just a dream then.

My mood is instantly soured as Lucy pulls me out of the dorms, where there are few of us left. Everyone must already be on their way to… wherever it is we’re going.

“Why are you so happy?” I ask, unable to keep the accusation out of my voice. Lucy clicks her tongue against her teeth and smoothens down her hair.

“Because,” she starts. “Today we discover our gifts. Come on, don’t tell me you aren’t at least a little curious.”

Of course I am. But I’m not going to tell her that. I’m still reeling from last night.

“This is stupid, Lucy. All of this is stupid. And where’s Silva? I can’t get any damn reception in this place.”

“You’re stupid,” she said defensively. I fight back the urge to slap some sense into her. Instead, I shove my hands in my pockets and follow her to the Hub, where a conglomeration of people of all ages are buzzing around the lobby, eerily cheerful considering the events of last night.

I follow Lucy to the front desk, where we are given numbers after being asked our names. I look at my number. 49. Lucy’s number is 27. Which means she’ll be first to experience whatever it is we’re waiting for.

Names are already being called and I’m instantly reminded of last night. What happened to all the names that weren’t called? And am I relieved or anxious to not have been one of those? At least I have Lucy here, I think to myself.

A woman with red hair and flower-infested sundress calls my sister’s name. I don’t know how long we’ve been standing there, waiting. But it suddenly feels way too soon. And my anxiety begins building. I haven’t seen any of the names that have been previously called return yet. Where are they? What’s taking them so long?

My sister looks at me with wide eyes. I can tell, despite her curiosity, she’s just as nervous as I am. I try not to let it show. 

“Hey, it’ll be fine. Whatever happens, you’ll be fine.”

She nods, inhaling shakily. 

“See you on the other side.”

“Of course you will.”

She smiles and then follows the woman up the elevator and out of sight. My stomach twists and I clutch my sides. Everything is going to change after this, isn’t it?

Am I ready for that?

I don’t have enough time to evaluate that question. Before I know it, my name is called. I look up, eyeing the man who beckons to me.

There's an intensity about him, a sharpness in both his appearance and aura.

He has short black hair--cropped close to his skin on the sides and a little longer on top--deep caramel skin, and sharp, gray eyes that I can make out from across the room. He’s looking at me but it feels like he’s looking through me.

I look away as I walk, slightly intimidated by the weight of his glare, but my eyes gravitate back before I can stop them; His black crew neck. The tattoos on his arms. The way he rests on the balls of his feet, as though about to take flight. His eyes are somber and cold. I wonder what they have seen.

I follow him into the elevator. The doors close in silence.

“My name is Alex. I’ll be your proctor for the exam.”

“What exam?”

“Wouldn’t be much of a test if you knew, would it?”

It takes every ounce of my being to swallow my snappy remark. I knew if I took him on, this would be a fight I won’t win. I may be sturdy but I look like a twig beside him, with the muscles defined so easily beneath his shirt. I knew one punch and I would be knocked out, especially in the condition I’m already in.

I scowl instead, shoving my hands back into my pockets. I’m at a clear disadvantage in all aspects of this situation, so I attempt to level out my hotheadedness.

“Where are we going?”

“You’re about to find out.”

“Why are we being tested in the first place?”

“It’s common practice to determine your resignation.”

“My resignation? You mean my class? My “gift”? What do classes have to do with gifts anyways?”

“All those questions will be resolved.”

“Are you always so vague with your answers?”

“Do you always talk this much?” Alex practically growls. He looms over me, gray eyes challenging me, begging me to keep annoying him and find out just what he’s capable of. I should be smart and take the hint and turn away. But I stare right back. I keep his gaze until the elevator finally chimes and the doors slide open.

Alex turns away and begins down the long hallway. I’m left rushing after him. For a big guy, he’s fast. I really should avoid picking a fight with him at all costs. A pity though that I’m an idiot.

"Who pissed in your morning cup of coffee? Isn't it natural to have questions?"

Alex doesn't answer.

“You are given forty minutes for the written portion of the exam.” Written exam? What is this? College standardized exams? Shit. I’m so failing this. “This is not an exam you can study for. Think of it more like an IQ test. When you are finished, I’ll go over the next stage.”

Alex wasn’t lying. This looks exactly like an IQ test. The first few pages have patterns that the exam would like me to complete. I skim through the exam. As the exam nears its end, the questions get harder. There’s an extended answer portion of the exam too.

I waste no more time in starting. The patterns seem to be easy. Too easy. And I feel like I’m answering them wrong. But I don’t dwell on that for too long. And then I approach the extended questions. I struggle to answer most of them but I do the best I can, putting myself in these hypothetical shoes. I finally reach the last question. And I’m left baffled. 

Question #36. If your mother and sibling are trapped in a sinking vehicle and you only had the time to save one of them while rescuing yourself as well, which would you choose to save and why?

I frown, trying to put myself in the situation. I imagine it. Lucy, my mother, and myself trapped in a sinking car. The panic setting in. The fear of the water. I imagine coming to the realization that I can only save two of us. If I have any self preservation, I can only save one of them. 

In the vision, I swallow the panic. With shaking hands I unbuckle my seatbelt. If it’s up to me to save them, that must mean the collision knocked them both unconscious. I look at the driver’s seat and passenger’s seat. The car is filling up with water fast. Without thinking I unbuckle Lucy’s seatbelt and elbow the glass window. It doesn’t budge. I know better than to open the door so I try again. This time the window cracks. Water trickles in from the cracks. I hit it again and, finally, the glass shatters. I push Lucy’s body out the window and watch her float to the surface that we are rapidly sinking from. Then I look at the driver’s seat. There isn’t much time left.

I can’t remember the details of my mother’s face but there she is, right in front of me. Her long fiery red hair clinging to her face. I push her hair back so I can look at her. She’s still beautiful, just as beautiful as I remember. And, without thinking, I unbuckle her seatbelt.

There’s only time for one more person. And it would make no sense for that to be me. I hate the water. I can’t even swim. I’d die anyway. And Mom… Lucy would be so much better off with her than with me. There’s no question.

By the time I finish the exam, a sheen of sweat clings to my forehead. I wipe it away with my trembling hands. And then I put my pen down. Immediately as I do so, Alex calls time.

And then we’re walking out of the room and into another dark room. “The written portion gauges an aptitude for your future class. The oral portion is more… intimate. You will be tested on your gift.” He looks me up and down. “If you have one.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I bark back. Alex combs his fingers through his hair.

“This is where I leave you. I cannot be present for this part of the exam.”

“Good riddance,” I mumble under my breath as he exits. If he hears me, he doesn’t say or do anything to make mention of it. I am left alone in the small room until the door opens again. I look up from the wooden chair I am seated at. My eyes widen naturally.

A young man with blond curls and wide brown eyes enters. He drags a chair from the corner of the room and positions it right in front of me. He is close enough for me to spot the freckles on his tan skin. With a wave of his hand, the lights flicker on.

“A pleasure to meet you Aiden Brooks,” he says calmly. I, on the other hand, am anything but.

“I know you,” I blurt out. His eyebrows lift in amusement.

“Do you now?”

“I don’t know how but… I do. I know I sound crazy but-”

“How interesting,” he chides. The man leans in close, leaving me to inch back against the seat.

“Do you remember that night?”

“What night?”

He hums, bringing a finger tentatively to his lips. There’s a look in those eyes, something. He reminds me of someone. And then I remember. And I clutch my head in my hands as the memories flood back.

The drowning. The gunshots. The questioning. The strange man in the shades.

“What do you know about Atlas?”

So that really happened. Two days or so ago.

“You saved me?”

“Hardly. I was just in the area. The others already took care of it.”

“Who?”

“Doesn’t matter.” He sunk back into his seat, brown eyes dancing. He was already observing. Calculating. Processing. “You look troubled,” he hums.

“Wouldn’t anyone?” I scowl.

“Well sure. But there’s something else, isn’t there?” He asks knowingly. I look away, uneasy with this level of observance. He’s right of course. There’s something else familiar about him. Something else I’m missing. I shake my head and push the thought away.

“Just… why am I here? I don’t have a gift, do I?”

He chuckles. “No, of course not.”

“So… you agree? I’m not gifted.”

“Did you actually think you were special?”

I expected this. But the words hurt more than I thought they would.

“I just thought… no. I guess I didn’t. But I-” I wanted to.

I sigh, bury my face in my hands. Just make this stop. I want to go home. My suspicions were confirmed. I don’t belong here.

“Can I go now?”

“After all that she went through to get you here, you’d rather waste her efforts and leave anyway?” The young man said with a laugh. I felt like the cruel punchline of an underdeveloped joke. But… did he just say she?

“She. You said she. How do you know about Silva?”

Something dances behind those eyes. He doesn’t answer.

“It is not like you to be so acquiescent, is it? So why abandon a truth merely because it ceases to be true?”

“Frost,” I instantly recognize, a quote from college. “But you’re the one who told me I’m not gifted.”

“And you’re the one who believed it so easily. Why? Even though so many have told you that isn’t the case.”

“Because I’m not. I don’t have any gifts or special powers. I can’t summon things out of thin air or move things with my mind. I can’t explode things and I can’t make water disappear.”

“And how would you know that, Aiden, if you’ve never tried? Remember. Patience is rewarded. But not without action.”

I feel a chill down my back. I’ve heard those words before.

“Say that again,” I demand. The man smiles.

“Oh silly me,” he says, unblinking. “How forgetful I am.” He says it in a way that proves that he didn’t, in fact, make a mistake.

“Who are you?”

The man gets up from his chair and walks around me. I stare straight ahead. He leans over my left shoulder and brings his lips close to my ear. I shudder on impulse. 

“Are you asking me?” He asks. The gesture feels intimate, intimate enough for me to drop my guard. I suddenly feel exposed.

I feel him lean over my right shoulder. Long hair brushes against my chin and his lips brush against my neck. The shiver in my back ricochets across my chest.

“Or me?”

I sit up straight in my seat and look over my shoulder. His voice sounds suddenly higher in pitch, more feminine. And now I see why. The young man was somehow replaced with a woman that I instantly recognize. I nearly fall off my chair.

“You!” I accuse, facing the woman from the bar. She laughs, brushing a long lock of hair innocently behind her ear. “Who are you? What are you?”

“I am the Edict,” she replies. He replies. They? “But my name is Ezra.”

“Ezra?”

“We’ve seemingly run off course, haven’t we?” Ezra hums. I have so much more to ask. So much more to say. But the only question I can think of is, “What are you?”

Ezra laughs. “None of your concern right now. Tell me, Aiden, what is your greatest fear?”

I try to swallow my questions, focus on what's in front of me.

“My greatest fear?” I think instantly of that car filling with water. “Drowning.”

“And why is that?”

“I hate the water. Never learned how to swim. I’ve just always been afraid of it. Dunno why.”

They hum thoughtfully as I awkwardly fiddle my thumbs.

“So are we going to start the oral exam now?” I ask aloud. “Or-”

Ezra rises from their seat. “The oral portion of the exam is already complete. You are free to leave, Aiden Brooks. Your results will be given to you by sundown tonight along with the rest of the applicants.”

“Oh. ok. Th-Thank you.”

They nod with another smile and lead me out the door. They rest a hand on my shoulder before I leave. “Don’t think about it too hard. You did well.”

I look at Ezra in question. “Is it possible to do poorly on these exams?”

A sweet laugh coaxes itself from their mouth. 

“You’re an interesting one, aren’t you?”

And, with that, The Edict made their exit. I was left alone with my thoughts, alone in a place nothing like home.

I found the elevator and hit the down button.

Maybe some fresh air will clear my head.

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