The observation chamber hummed with low murmurs as the recruits' test scores flashed on the giant screen. Team Alpha began to form, pacing impatiently as they awaited their results to finalize. The air was tense but crackling, and everyone in the chamber appeared to be on edge.
"Think we topped the charts?" Kaid asked, his arms crossed but his voice level.
"After the stunt Ava and Lila pulled off? I would say it's a given," Eli said, still miffed over his own not-all-that-great performance.
"Don't get cocky," Atlas cut in, sounding sharply. "This is just the start. Nobody gives a damn how you did on a training test if you can't last the real thing."
Axel wasn't really paying much attention. He kept eyeing the gigantic screen and the door leading out of the chamber. Something felt off. His chest felt heavy, as though an invisible weight was bearing down on it, though he couldn't say why. He saw the flicker of the name Mara pulled up from the bottom of his thoughts, her face, like a window just opened.
Suddenly, the screen flashed, and the recruits quieted down. The display was filled with lines of scores, the name of each recruit next to their results.
"Looks like it's showtime," Ava said, smirking as she elbowed Lila.
The digits rolled across the screen until Team Alpha's scores materialized in block letters.
Axel Sage:** 98% (Elite performance)
Kaid Raylan:** 91%
– Ava Morales: 100 (Perfect Score)
Eli Thompson:** 78%
– Lila Everett: 95% (Power level was higher than expected)
Kaid whistled low. "Damn, not too bad for our first time out."
"I knew I was going to kill it," Ava said, stretching the arms behind her. "That 100% feels right."
"Show-off," Eli said quietly, under his breath.
"Oh, don't feel so bad about your score, Eli," Lila said gently, her tone performing defusion. "You'll do better next time."
"Oh, yeah, yeah," Eli said, waving a hand dismissively. "Let's get the fuck out of here already."
"Agreed," Atlas said firmly. "You've had your fun. Now let's head back. You're going to need some rest before anything else is thrown at you."
As Atlas led the team out of the observation chamber, they filed through the cold, metallic hallways. The facility hummed around them, faint but insistent. Recruits rushed by, some laughing, some grumbling about their scores. Team Alpha sat in silence as the exhaustion of the day finally began to settle in.
When they finally arrived in their room, they were filled with relief. The space was cramped, with bunk beds crammed against the walls. It wasn't a luxury, but it was better than the cells they were accustomed to. Without hesitation, each team member laid claim to their space.
"Finally," Kaid said, collapsing into his bunk. "I thought we were never going to get out of there."
"Yeah, me too," Ava said, sitting cross-legged on her bed. "That was quite tiring, but it was rewarding. I feel like we're really starting to make a name for ourselves."
Lila quietly leaned her sniper rifle against the wall and sat at the edge of her bed. "Do you think… we're going to be strong enough? For what's coming, I mean?"
Eli snorted. "Who knows? I think we'll probably be okay, as long as we don't fuck up again like I did today."
"You didn't mess up," Axel said suddenly, his tone authoritative. He didn't have much to say after they left the chamber, but this tone caught all their ears.
Eli raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because I don't feel like I did great."
"You're a member of this team," Axel said. "And we're going to need each other for what lies ahead. We don't know what's ahead, but we'll get through it together. We're all not failing as long as we keep moving forward."
There was a pause where no one spoke. Even Ava, so quick to joke, said nothing. Then Kaid broke the tension by letting out a small laugh."
"You sure know how to rally people, right, Axel?"
Axel didn't respond. He was looking at the floor again, his hands balled into fists. The thing in his heart hadn't gone away.
"Axel," Kaid said, his voice gentler now, "you've been so strange all day. What's going on?"
Axel paused, then shook his head. "It's nothing. I'm just… tired."
Kaid didn't pursue it, but the concern that was heavy in his eyes remained.
As the team finally crawled into bed, the roon became quieter. Ava hummed quietly to herself, Lila fiddled with the scope on her sniper and Eli was already snoring. Axel was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, attempting to shake loose the anxiety that was nagging at him.
Then it happened.
An alarm suddenly shot through the silence, trailed by a robotic voice projected through the facility:
*"Code Red Activated. Movement detected Sector 09: Unauthorised. All recruits to stay in assigned places." *
Axel sat bolt upright in bed, his heart pounding. There was a sudden sound of chaos in the room. Kaid leapt from his bunk, eyes wide. "What the hell is going on?"
"Sector 09?" Ava said, sitting up and squinting her eyes. "What's that about?"
Lila had an apprehensive expression, her fingers clutching the edge of her blanket. "Do you think it's serious?"
"Serious enough to wake up the whole facility," Eli said grumpily, rubbing his eyes as he propped himself up.
Atlas was by the doorway, looking grim. "Sector 09…" he said under his breath. "I should've known something like this would occur."
"You know something, don't you?" Axel asked, his tone sharp.
Atlas looked at him but didn't respond immediately.
"Atlas," Kaid urged, "what's happening?"
"The real secrets of this place lie in Sector 09," Atlas finally spoke, a low guttural tone. "It's not a place where recruits or even most soldiers get to go. If something is going on there … it's no good. Really bad."
Axel's chest tightened. His instincts screamed at him to act, but he felt trapped. They had to stay in their room, and the guards would be on edge.
"What do we do?" Lila said, hardly more than a whisper.
"We wait," Atlas said firmly. "This isn't our fight."
Axel wasn't so sure. His thoughts flashed to the scientist he had seen earlier holding that folder with the name *Melody-02. * His gut sank deeper. Something in his gut told him this wasn't just about the facility's secrets. It was about Mara.
He couldn't put into words why, but he knew.
Still the alarm blared on, the searching red lights creating freakish shadows about the walls. He sat on the edge of his bed, gripping the frame tightly. Whatever was going on in Sector 09, he knew it would only get worse.