The men were all standing guard, making Chris wonder if they had sat down at all during the flight. Did they change shifts to allow one to sit while another stood? The process of how they maintained such composure was a mystery Chris was sure he’d never find out, even if he did survive. He looked down at his outfit, noting that there was a small, red, flashing dot on the disc attached to his chest.
“Huh. That’s interesting,” he mused aloud, tapping the disc again with a finger. It beeped at him once more, but made no other indications that it felt his touch.
“Prepare for exit procedure,” a voice said over the loudspeaker, prompting the passengers to start grabbing their things.
Chris put his pack in his lap, making sure everything was still there. He had the blanket, the empty tube of food, and nothing else. He wondered if he was supposed to put the wrapper elsewhere, but thought better than to ask. They’d tell him everything he needed to know when they landed.
Or so he hoped.
They were herded out of the plane once it landed, each of the candidates wearing the same black outfit Chris had on. He noted that all of the discs on their chests had a small red light flashing on them as well. It was amazing to see so many children gathered in one place. His school had about 50 students, but it was rare to see them all together.
Looking around as he quickly put his pack on his back, he saw that they were in a large, flat area of land. The only building in sight was the one they were facing, which was larger than any building he had ever seen before. It was shiny and metallic, and he was sure if the sun hadn’t already set that it would shimmer beautifully in the natural light. Spotlights aimed at its surface didn’t exactly do it justice. The thought of his unfinished project back at school came to mind, but he pushed it aside.
The building was peculiar, as from what he could see it looked like it curved around the sides. It seemed to stretch on for miles in either direction, but it was apparent that the building wasn’t flat; at least on the outside. It was nearly ten stories tall, but there were no windows or flaws in the surface. It looked more like a large, singular piece of metal than a building.
“It’s a circular structure, I think,” one of the kids nearest him said, adjusting his glasses as he spoke.
Chris looked back at the building, realizing the kid was right. He was certain if he could see it from above that it would resemble something like the tire of a vehicle. Was this The 12 Mile Course? Was it just a large ring-shaped building in the middle of nowhere?
“Move in an orderly fashion to processing.”
Chris was used to the booming voice, and filed in line with the others. He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but knew that it wasn’t the right time. They were led inside a small door on the side of the building. To his surprise, Chris saw that the doorway was actually a tunnel, illuminated by small lights on the ceiling.
“Where exactly are we going?” he asked one of the nearby men, unable to refrain from speaking any longer.
“Keep moving,” the man said, watching as the line of candidates walked onward.
Chris snorted, wondering if they even spoke the same language as he did. It wasn’t unusual to bring in workers from other countries, and he realized that they might have only had a set list of phrases at their disposal. Taking a deep breath, he followed those in front of him through the tunnel, wondering when his test was supposed to begin.
They walked on in silence for quite some time, and Chris started to wonder if there was even an end to the tunnel or if they had been lead to a small death chamber where they were to be randomly executed when they finally reached their destination. They had come to what looked like the inside of a large warehouse, save for the fact that the walls were all curved inward, making the large area feel more cramped than it should have been.
There were men in suits, data pad terminals, large machines that were unidentifiable, and several closed off areas that they couldn’t see past. It appeared that the area they had entered was the base of operations, but was also used to process those coming into the facility.
“We’re in the center of the torus,” the same boy from before whispered.
Chris had to stifle a laugh. The boy was just like the others in his classes, always studying and learning everything they could. He recalled from his lessons on geometric shapes that torus was just a clever word for ring, but noted the kid’s intelligence. If it came down to solving a puzzle within the course, he’d look for the kid with glasses in a heartbeat.
“Proceed to item collection in an orderly fashion.”
Chris was confused. Item collection? The others around him looked just as perplexed, but they moved forward regardless. Each of them was placed in front of one of the data pad terminals, which shot out a small curtain to allow for privacy. Chris stood in front of a random terminal, hearing the whoosh as a privacy curtain surrounded him.
The screen booted up, showing a small menu display.
Review Rules
Choose Items
Finish
Chris thought it’d be best to go in the order presented, so he chose the first option without hesitation. A small description appeared on the screen, and Chris had to squint his eyes to read the small print.
Welcome to The 12 Mile Course. You have been selected to participate in the worldwide testing platform at this time. We ask that you follow all rules to ensure a smooth test taking experience for yourself and others.
First, you will be processed and given your choice of 10 items to bring with you into the course. Choose carefully, as you cannot change your items once they have been chosen. You may find more items as you proceed through the course, but it is not a certainty.
Next, you will be taken to your personal test chamber. This will be used intermittently throughout the test. You will wait here until the determined time that you are to start the test. After completing three consecutive zones, you will be allowed a rest period in your test chamber. Each zone has a six hour time limit, as does your rest period. Once you begin, the entire course will take three days and eighteen hours to complete. After completing the twelfth zone, you will be escorted home.
Rules for the course include: you must complete the goal of each zone before time runs out, or else you will fail; if you die, you fail; it is legal to help or hinder other candidates as you see fit; you cannot take any items you obtain within the course home with you if you succeed; you cannot tell anyone about your experiences inside the course if you succeed; by completing The 12 Mile Course, you are legally obligated to live out your life as a productive member of society; if you fail to become a productive member of society, you will be forcibly removed from society.
Best of luck.
Chris shuddered as he read the guide. The last part was especially disheartening to read. Even if he succeeded and passed the test, he could still be killed. Was that why Jeremy had such a haunted look whenever he was home? Could that have been the reason why he threw himself into his work, took extra hours, and never complained about the lack of promotions or raises?
Could that be why Jeremy’s mother no longer wanted to be a part of the society?
He didn’t want to think about it at that moment. It was too much to process. Instead, he selected the item menu, looking over what he was allowed to bring with him into the course. Several items stood out to him, but he realized that he needed to be smart with his choices. He started selecting things that he thought would be most useful to him.
Bronze Sword (50x)
Med Kit (1x)
Silver Dagger (20x)
Grenade (1x)
Grenade (1x)
Tarp (20x)
Fire Starter (10x)
2L Water Purifier (10x)
Silver Sword (20x)
Silver Bowl (x)
Chris looked over his selection, noting that the number of times an item could be used was listed to the right. He figured that grenades could only be used once, of course, but was amazed of see that the bronze
items had so many more uses before-
What’s that? There’s a stupid bowl on my list! Chris thought to himself, reading the last item he chose. He realized that his finger must have accidentally selected the bowl instead of the item he really wanted. I don’t want a bowl! I want the axe! The axe! He tried selecting the silver axe, but the display wouldn’t allow it.
Chris slammed his fist onto the edge of the display, upset at his own carelessness. What good would a bowl do? The only thing it had going for it was that it seemed to have unlimited uses. Great. Just great. I’m sure I’ll be able to use it just as much as I would an axe.
Frustrated, he hit the final menu item, cursing himself once more. He almost didn’t notice that his wristband had begun to glow, a small interface appearing along the band. He saw that it quickly displayed his items before going dark again. No amount of tapping could bring back the screen. His disc beeped once, which prompted the privacy curtain to retract back into the display.
“Guess I’m done then,” Chris muttered, turning to see a suited man in his path. “Shall we head off to the nice test chamber I’ve heard so much about?” he asked sarcastically, still in a foul mood from his prior folly.
The man turned a led him away from the display to the other end of the space. They headed towards what looked like a large black box that was only a few feet taller than Chris and several feet wide.
“Inside,” the man said, opening a panel on the side of the box that Chris hadn’t noticed.
As soon as the door opened, the numbers 4152934 appeared above the doorway, glowing softly against the black exterior. Chris wondered what the numbers meant, but headed inside anyway. He heard the door shut behind him as soon as he was inside, but when he turned around he couldn’t see where the door had been before. Unlike the outside, the interior of the box was bright white, and hurt Chris’ eyes.
There was a small cot to his right, which he assumed was his to use at his leisure. He sat on it, looking around the rest of the room. There were no discernible doors or windows that he could see, which made him uncomfortable. He wouldn’t be able to tell which way was the exit until they decided to let him out.
The box began to rumble, and he had the feeling that it was being transported. Was that how it worked? He’d be moved from zone to zone inside his tiny cell? How would he know when each course began or ended? There was a lot he still didn’t understand about how everything was supposed to work.
He looked down at his wristband, which was glowing faintly. He could just make out the words, ‘Awaiting Assigned Start Time’. His pack was still sitting against his back, so he took it off to inspect the interior. He expected to see the items he chose before, but it still only held the blanket and the wrapper. He tossed the wrapper onto the floor of his cell, and draped the blanket onto the cot.
Chris put the pack on his back, and laid down on the cot over the blanket. It wasn’t cold, so he didn’t particularly need its warmth or comfort. He didn’t know what would happen when his start time was finally decided, or if he would have any prior warning before being dumped into the course. He needed to be ready for anything and everything.
All Chris knew for certain was that he was going to survive The 12 Mile Course. He had to; not only for himself, but for his mother, father, half-brother, and especially his little sister. Sophie needed to see that her family was strong to give her the courage she needed to survive. Chris’ death would not only devastate her, but instill enough fear in her that she might not be strong enough when her time came.
Chris stared at the white wall he had walked through, waiting for the slightest hint of movement or change. He knew what had to be done. He was prepared to face whatever challenges they had created for the participants. He would succeed where others had failed, no matter what the cost.
“I’m ready.”
If you enjoyed this short story, or any others from this series, please give it a review to let other readers find out about it!
If you’d like, you can also follow me on twitter @WisteriaDJones where I post updates of upcoming novels, ask the readers questions, and engage with anyone who wants to chat about writing or reading!
On the following page is a bonus passage from the next short story in this series, “The Rapacious Ranges: Mile 1”.
“Good, we’re all starting in the same place. That’s a relief,” one of the boys said, smiling at everyone. His left eye was seemingly sealed shut, a large cut across his face rendering it useless.
“Why, isn’t that what usually happens?” Chris asked, still not sure what the minutia of each zone was like.
“Two zones ago I only had two other candidates with me, and we all started out in different places. It just depends, I guess,” the other boy commented, his blonde hair almost reaching his eyes.
“Alright, enough chat. Let’s do introductions so we can move on,” Abigail said, taking the role of leader. She pointed at the boy with the injured eye, commandingly saying, “You. Start.”
The boy blushed, but continued regardless. His hair was the same color as Chris’, but it was at least a few centimeters longer in length. It spiked outward in interesting directions, as if it had a mind of its own. Chris had to wonder if he used some sort of product to achieve the look.
“Hey everyone, uh, my name is Anthony. This is my fifth zone so far. I’m, uh, I’m good with a bow, I guess. Based on what I’ve encountered so far, I think I’m gonna make it,” he said, nodding as he spoke. His confidence was a nice change of pace, and Chris found himself nodding along as well.
“Next,” Abigail barked, looking at the other boy.
“Oh, me? Oh, uh, my name is Tom. This is my eighth zone, so far. Kind of running low on items, so if anyone has anything they find in this zone that they don’t want, you can just pass it my way, I guess,” he said, flicking a few blonde strands out of his face as he spoke. “I’m also usually the one who figures out where the best stuff is hidden, so try and remember that when you find stuff you don’t want.”
Chris was confused, but didn’t say anything. Did Tom survive so long because he took things others didn’t want or think was valuable? If this was his opening line for every introduction, then it stood to reason that he would have collected a fair amount of items during his time in the course. Was he lying, then? Why do such a thing?
“I’m Abigail. Next.” No one commented on her short introduction, instead turning their attention to the other girl in the group.
“My name’s Melissa. Sure, I’ve only completed one zone so far, but I’m still a better asset than the new guy over there,” she said, pointing at Chris. Her hand was slightly raised, as she was a good foot shorter than everyone present. “Remember that when you think of who you want to backstab later.”
Chris was dumbfounded. It was weird to think that not everyone went through the zones at the same time, meaning that other candidates would either have more or less experience than each other. Before Chris could even recover from processing the new information, another candidate was trying to serve him up on a silver platter. Even though the candidate only had the experience of one zone more than Chris under her belt, she still thought that was important enough to share with the group. It was insulting.
“Okay, sure, this is my first zone,” Chris said, not waiting for Abigail to tell him to speak. “That doesn’t mean I’m useless. I’ve been training and preparing for this for over four years now. So try and remember that little detail when you’re trying to figure out who the weakest link is.”
Everyone stared at the two of them for an uncomfortable amount of time. Chris’ eyes were trained on the shortest person in the group. She kept his gaze, pushing her brown hair behind her ears as she did so. It was apparent that they would not be getting along during their time together.
“And, obviously, I’m Chris.”
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