Will does improve after drinking two glasses of juice and eating small bits of bread and fruit. Now that he can sit unassisted, I get food of my own—more than I can ever possibly eat despite the fact that I’m not hungry. I eat some vegetables. A few bites of chicken. Drink some juice. The two apples, the orange, the bags of raisins, and the rolls disappear into my bag one by one. I wait for my friends to finish eating and stow away anything they have left. Why? I’m not sure. At this point I’m not sure of anything. I just know that being prepared for whatever comes is better than not being prepared at all.
I notice most of the candidates stay in the dining hall until we are instructed to leave. The celebration of last night is a memory. Tonight we are just glad to be alive.
We return to our sleeping quarters. I sleep with the lights on, hoping Malachi and Boyd will not join Ryme and Gill in my dreams. But Malachi comes. They all come. Only this time the terror in their eyes is for me. They warn me to be careful. Ryme reminds me to trust no one while Malachi sings me a song from home.
The anxiety of the night mounts with the morning announcement. When it is time to report for breakfast, I tell myself I am as ready for the day and what it might bring as I will ever be.
Will gives me a smile as I reach our table. His eyes are sad, but no longer look sickly. Whatever strange plant he consumed has worked its way out of his system. He whispers a soft thank-you and says Tomas’s roommate sought medical treatment. He has yet to return.
I force myself to eat, and this time I notice someone else slipping food into his bag. Tomas sees me watching and nods as the loudspeaker crackles to life.
“Congratulations, candidates, for reaching the team Testing phase. For this exam you will be placed in groups of five. Due to the number of candidates who remain, one group will comprise only four. When you hear your name called, please walk to the hallway to join your testing group. Best of luck to you all.”
There are five of us at our table. I don’t even have the chance to hope we will be called together when Tomas’s name is announced along with those of four other candidates I don’t recognize. Tomas touches my arm as he slings his bag over his shoulder and walks out. Several minutes pass before the next group is called. Both Will and Zandri promise to see us later and disappear out the door.
Nicolette and I stare at each other as group after group leaves the room. Finally, Nicolette’s name is called along with four others. She and I will not be testing together. Dread churns my breakfast as I scan the room and see the scruffy boy who tripped Malachi on our first day still seated at a table. He, along with a tall, muscular blond boy and a red-haired girl I remember from my written exams, will be in my group for this test. The only group of four.
“Do we wait for our names to be called or save them the trouble?” This from the redhead.
I smile at her and stand. “If we haven’t figured out our group by now, we probably don’t belong here, right?”
The two boys stay seated, but the redhead rises. She joins me in the hall and holds out her hand. On her wrist I see a half circle surrounded by the eight-pointed star symbol we share. “Annalise Walker. Grand Forks Colony.”
“Cia Vale. Five Lakes.”
She gives me a wide grin. “I know. Five Lakes candidates are all anyone from my colony has been interested in talking about.”
I wince. “What have they been saying?”
“Most figure you’re easy competition. They equate small colonies with simple-mindedness.”
The self-satisfied smile on her face makes me ask, “And you?”
“One of the guys from my colony has the same eight-pointed star symbol. He’s the only person who scored higher than me in class. I used to study for weeks in order to beat him, but I never could.” She shrugs as though to show coming in second didn’t bother her at all, but the glint in her eyes tells a different story. Smiling, she adds, “If two of you from Five Lakes made it into the same Testing group as the two of us, I’d say the rest of the candidates are pretty stupid to overlook you.”
The loudspeaker announces, “Malencia Vale, Brick Barron, Roman Fry, and Annalise Walker—report to the hallway.”
Brick. Roman. I try to decide which name belongs to which boy as they stride toward us. Before I can ask, a Testing official in red leads us into the elevator and pushes the button for the fourth floor.
We are led to a white room with a table surrounded by four chairs. On the far left side of the room is a large wooden door with a green light blinking above it. In the center of the table are four pencils and four booklets marked with our symbols. The knots of worry loose
n as I see the paper. While I have no idea what the pages contain, I am certain of one thing—a written test contains no immediate threat. None of my friends will die from a test today.
Once we take our seats the Testing official explains, “Today’s test will evaluate your ability to work as a team. On the table in front of you are booklets filled with five sample questions. Each sample problem requires specific skills to solve. As a group, you must decide which team member has the skills best suited to solve which sample problem or problems. Those same skills will be required to solve a corresponding problem in one of the five individual examination rooms. Once you have determined who the best person to solve each problem is, the person you have selected for the first problem will go through this door.” She points to the door with the green light. “Once you have walked through this door, the light above it will turn red. Follow the hallway to the end. There you will find five doors marked with a number. The numbers correspond to the sample problems in your booklet. There is also a door marked EXIT for when you have completed your portion of the exam. Open the door marked with the number of the question your team selected you to answer. Inside, solve the problem as best you can. When you have completed your portion of the exam, indicate you are finished by going through the exit door. The light above this door will then turn green. This will signal it is time for the next candidate to begin. Everyone in the group will be given credit for all the correct solutions on the exam that are not only your own.”
The idea of being scored based on someone else’s work makes me uncomfortable, but Annalise’s confident smile banishes some of the doubt.
The Testing official isn’t done. “Because there are only four of you in the group, one candidate will be responsible for solving at least two of the problems. Once a problem has been answered, the door to that problem cannot be opened again. Any attempt to resolve an already completed problem will result in a penalty for the student making the second attempt to solve that problem. You have one hour to discuss your strategy.” The official pushes a button and the green light is replaced by red. “Once the green light is turned on, you can begin the test. There is no time limit to the exam. Take as much time as you need to get to know one another’s strengths and weaknesses. Good luck.”
The sound of locks being engaged accompanies the Testing official’s exit. The only way out of this room is through the Testing exam doors.
The four of us look at one another for a moment. I am the first to grab the booklet marked with my symbol. The tall, muscular blond boy grabs one with what I think is an anchor surrounded by a heart. The X surrounded by a circle belongs to the scruffy kid.
Something about this test makes me apprehensive. Maybe it is the simplicity of the instructions or the idea that someone else will get credit for my work and me for theirs. Whatever it is, my gut tells me there is more to this test than meets the eye.
I don’t have to think about what that might be as Annalise takes charge. “How about we solve the sample problems one at a time? Once everyone is done with a problem we can compare notes. That should help us figure out who should do which problem. Right?”
Since none of us has a better idea, we take her suggestion and get to work. The first problem is mathematical—a one-dimensional heat equation to determine the flow of heat in a rod where everything but the ends are insulated. These are equations I have used often and make me smile as I get to work.