I was made to sit alongside Lieutenant Ackermann and the doctors of each group, including Doctor Harley. I locked my fingers of both hands into each other and felt the coldness of each finger individually. I blew warm air from my mouth into it to help warm the temperature. The trembling though; I had no solution for that.

A survival test was just about to commence, and I was as scared as a jack-rabbit that has heard the howl of a starving and angry wolf, and I wasn’t even participating in it. I was only a spectator, holding a seat among the top dogs in the showroom. I would have preferred to watch the show from somewhere else, or at least from the back, but the Lieutenant thought it best if I sat right beside him with the Doctors rather than at the back.

I was practically safe; and I knew that particularly well, so why the hell was I shivering? Well, first off, Micah was participating in this test, with Daniel, Miche, and my other group members – the rest of the candidates, I gave zero fucks about. What scared me and made my hands and feet tremble was the fact that I had to watch this life-threatening test Micah is in, with the understanding that I wouldn’t be able to do anything to help her if something were to happen.

“Candidates… the reason for your stay here in this amazing research facility is all coming to an end sooner than later. I must congratulate you on your good behavior, your vigor in training, your… hmm – well, there’s a lot more I want to say, but it all falls under good behavior.”

Lieutenant Ackermann chuckled lightly and continued.

“With your help, we’ve reached a critical point in our research, and we know it’s going to be a breakthrough. What am I saying…? It already is.” He scanned through the crowd with his eyes and found me. We locked eyes for a short while and then he moved on.

“Well, since the purpose of this facility is nigh, we need a group of the best and most skilled candidates, hence the test. No matter what group you are in, this is a matter of individuality.”

He locked eyes with me one more time and signaled me to come forward.

The crowd’s eyes set wildly on me; I set my face downwards to avoid contact with anyone.

I felt a cold hand arrest my left hand when I attempted to take a step. I turned my head in surprise, and it was Micah, with a sad and hopeless look on her face. She knew very well what it meant if the Lieutenant singled you out, and nothing good had ever come out of that. He would call someone by the name, and that would be the very last time we’ll hear or see the person. We were all scared of being called out.

“Don—don’t go…” She stammered in a low tone.

Tears had already started building up in her eyes, ready for a little push so they cause a rain storm with massive lightning.

I smiled and went on to kiss her cheeks. “Don’t worry… Nothing is going to happen…” I reassured her, almost confidently.

It took me a little more effort than I anticipated, but I still managed to unhand myself from her grip; Gently.

At the time, I wasn’t even sure what the Lieutenant was planning, or had planned for me, but I was pretty sorta kinda sure that killing me wasn’t it.

“Are you ready, Aven Tador…?” I said in my head as I walked slowly to the front.

“I think he wants us to pull some stunts for my colleagues,” I added, sounding a little excited.

“Shut up – you brat! Did I tell you I was a circus actor?” He answered rather unpleasantly.

I smirked lightly and shook my head.

I’d been with him… or let me say, he’s been a part of me, or he’s been me for a week now, and I had already gotten the gist of what kind of person he was. A selfish, cruel son of a bitch who doesn’t care about other people’s emotions, whether hurt or not, but I was almost already used to it, and I found his comments and insults rather amusing. And even now, he'd helped me release a lot of the tension that had built up inside me.

The Lieutenant threw his arm around the back of my neck when I got there and drew me closer to his side. I didn't know what he was trying to do but at the time it seemed like he was aiming to reduce the nervousness he thought I had; but that even made the matter worse. I thought it weird, and the faces of my colleagues supported the fact.

"Unfortunately, this here, won't participate with you in the test... He already is what you guys are going to compete to be..."

"Oh - I get it." I thought.

It made total sense. The test was completely out of the blue, and I thought it was fishy, but I finally understood. It seemed they were trying to reduce the number of candidates for project Noire.

"But-why." I thought. "Why would they take all if they were going to need just a few in the end?"

I saw Micah and Daniel whispering to themselves, and it wasn't difficult to realize that Micah was interrogating him. He'd been shaking his head a couple of times. They both had a puzzled look across their faces with a mixture of sadness and worry; and fear.

I felt bad for them; I should have told them... If not the thing going on with Doctor Harley, they, at the very least, should have known about the project Noire, and Aven Tador and I... Gosh, I'm an idiot. These two are the only ones whom I can confidently say have my backs, but look what I did.

"Good luck. Instructions will be given to you shortly."

Lieutenant Ackermann started walking towards the doors, his hand still over my neck - forcing me to walk alongside him. I turned my eyes and met Micah.

The look in her eyes broke my heart. She was still convinced they were going to do something bad to me. I pulled myself together quickly and gave her a "don't worry about me" look, with a pinch of a light smile to compliment it. With the thing coming up, I needed her totally focused on the test, and not me, since we didn't even know what to expect.

-----

"You seem nervous... Leon."

I snapped out of my thoughts.

"It's -- cold," I answered, hearing the breakages in my voice.

"Oh-- I see. Thought you were worried about your sister...?"

"........"

The large dark glass we were facing, which I thought was just a window screen, lit up and became white all of a sudden, with a rectangular box in the middle, counting down time. It showed "00:03:00" at first before the countdown began.

My heart started beating even faster than it was before, and I could feel every hit of it in my eyes. I didn't want any of my group members to die... I didn't want Daniel to die... I didn't want Micah to die; yet, I was in no position to help or protect them.