Chapter 4

Marek stared blankly at the back of the Luner directly in front of him. The rain had picked up, and thin rivulets of water were running down the stranger's neck, converging at the hem of his jacket, and flooding over the leading edge of the cheap synthetic polymer that made up the clothing of Prime. The water slowly puddled outward from the neck, lending a darker hue to the fabric. Crimson red. Red hands. Marek gave his head a quick shake and brought his fingers up to his face, rubbing his eyes. He needed to keep it together. Now was not the time for this.

His eyes drifted to the ARC security forces at the front of the lines. They seemed to have forgotten Marek and the others, at least as long as they were quiet. They had no interest in administering justice or delivering punishments. Not when the test was the ultimate judge, jury, and executioner. Why had they gotten involved at all? ARC probably just didn't want to scare away potential new recruits. Not that that made sense either. No one really chose to be here.

He brought his left hand up to his cheek and tested it, probing it tentatively. It was swollen and tender, as were the knuckles on his other hand, but there was no real damage. He was nonetheless grateful for the cool feeling of the rain. It had been useful in other ways as well... He examined his hands. Almost all gone. He scratched at a small streak of blood.

Marek glanced back towards the others in line behind him. They were both lost in their own thoughts. Linden stood leaning slightly, favoring his right leg, a forlorn look on his face; he had taken a kick to his knee after he'd tackled Scars, and suffered some scratches on his arms from his dive, but was largely unharmed. At least physically. And Lewis... was Lewis. Other than almost imperceptibly swollen knuckles, he was untouched. They had done well. Much better than the Sudders. Scars and Streak had left the area before security had released him, but Marek had seen the damage done to Deefas first hand.

His eyes drifted to his hands. It had been weeks since the last time. Was it the punch that set it off? No, Marek, let's be honest. You are always on the edge of... this. But just one more day. One more day and I'll have time to figure it out.

The line was moving quickly. They would be inside ARC soon. Marek glanced back at Lewis and Linden. Linden was staring at the ground, muttering something to himself. Probably thinking through equations. He caught Lewis' eye. Lewis gave him a slight nod. Marek turned back to his own thoughts.

They would get back to normal soon. Once the test was over. They had been strangely silent while in line. Not so strange though, is it? Someone insulted you and you tried to murder him. No, it's a perfectly normal day. Marek sighed. I should tell them. But after the test. We have enough to worry about today. He'd been telling himself that for months though. There was never a good time. I can handle it. It's okay. Marek closed his eyes. Just like you 'handled' it today, right? An image of Deefas flashed in his mind. Jusd mead. He rubbed his eyes. Selawa.

...

Marek looked up. He was nearly at the entrance. Only the Luner with the red jacket was ahead of him. It was almost time. He took a deep breath. The doors to ARC opened. And a Primer woman in a grey suit stepped out. A single blue line ran down her sleeves and pant legs.

She held out her arm and pointed. "You five. You're next."

Marek exhaled and stepped forward. The time had finally arrived.