"Again!" yells Miss Megalla, the frustration in her voice clear as day.

Nila sighs and reloads her pistol's magazine. Everyone is standing in their own personal booth that looks into a small area where a simulated target hangs from the ceiling. Nila is usually amazing and skilled in shooting, so why isn't she today? She's fired at least twenty rounds now and can't seem to get one bullseye! This isn't like her. At this rate, Nila can almost sympathise with her poor instructor.

Nila looks over at Anna, a couple of booths away. Why is she suddenly so good? Nila can't help but feel a bit jealous. She's spent her whole life in the T.E.D program, now Anna shows up and not even a few weeks in she's a superstar as Chloe would put it. A hot sensation crawls up her neck even more so when her teacher walks over to the leaderboard. The leaderboard is an electronic chart, which sort of resembles a massive curved television on the wall that shows who has the most chance of making it into the first round of The Draw. From #1 to #5, the board is illuminated in a bright yellow light, whilst below to #10 a fluorescent green slowly turns more washed out as the numbers progress. Anything below #10 is a dark and miserable grey. Miss Megalla lets out an annoyed breath through her nose and drags Nila's name from the top to number five. Anna being number four.

Nila's sadness turns into bitterness and shortly after, anger and she fires the rest of her bullets at the target in an annoyed frenzy. Still, the bullets refuse to hit anything remotely towards the centre of the target. She needs to cool off and is grateful when Miss Megalla calls everybody in for lunch. With her hands resting on her hips, Nila wanders aimlessly off the shooting range.

The T.E.D training centre consists of an enormous rectangular room with different sections built for various uses. There's the T.E.D dojang for practising martial arts and the after-hours gym full with weights, climbing ropes, standard gym equipment such as treadmills and rowing machines as well as Nila's three favourite machines. The Hyperbolic Gravity rooms (of which there are seven of) that creates an even spread of resistance of gravity, typically used during lifting weights. Then there's the Anti-Gravity room which is everybody's favourite and lastly the Simulation Cardio machines. The SCM's are clear glass cubes where when activated, the glass will create a chosen setting and simulations (typically disturbing ones) will pop up to pretty much force the student to run. Consequences of not running results in a non-harmful, manageable but painful zap in said touched area. At first, it sounded painful to her, but it really does improve a person's stamina.

To the top right is a long swimming pool not open to the regular public, the entrance and waiting area is to the top left whilst the shooting range sits smack bang in the middle sheltered with glass all around the rectangular area. Besides the shooting range is the resting area where lunch is commonly eaten apart from the occasional times in the dojang when they're having all day martial arts sessions. In a huff and a puff, Nila strolls past the resting area.

Noticing this, Anna senses that something's not quite right and walks over to her friend, extending an arm to pat Nila's shoulder.

"Hey, Nila. Is everything okay?.." Anna asks in a concerned tone.

Nila stops for a moment and scowls, her back still turned to Anna. She decides to keep walking. She can't bring herself to talk right now. Let alone to the source of her frustration.

"Nila...Nila?"

Anna follows. Her friend's hand touches her shoulder again and Nila shakes it off, abruptly turning around.

"I'm fine, just leave me alone!" she exclaims.

With that, Nila storms off. Leaving a very baffled and upset Anna behind. Deep down, she's aware that what's she's doing, it isn't fair to Anna and that she has an even bigger right to be there in training and pass The Draw than she does. It's just not fair. Usually, Nila is at the top of her game and all of a sudden, she strolls into the T.E.D program and turns Nila's success on its head. The need to win the Draw and go to Earth has been stronger than any other desire she's ever had her whole life. Perhaps that's because of her parent's expectations, who knows. But all she knows is that she has come too far to suddenly become a failure in the most important year of her life. No one wants to have lived their whole life stuck on this strict, boring planet. That's why it's no surprise that almost everyone on Mars has tried to enter the T.E.D program before turning sixteen years of age. You have to be in it to win it. However, it isn't only because of that. She wants to see something else other than this dark, black void called space and white walls of the city and she wants to prove to her mother that she has what it takes.

But that won't ever happen if she doesn't pass the Draw.

A finger and thumb find their way to the bridge of Nila's nose, pinching lightly to relieve the steadily building tension. She proceeds to make her way over to her personal locker in the resting area. Nila presses her thumb against a small, rectangular, silver pad which illcits a click from the black, shiny cupboard as her locker opens. In it, lays her towel, water bottle, and Holo currently projecting a notification.

NEW MESSAGE: UNKNOWN SENDER.

Curiously, Nila picks up the little black box and swipes upon the notification. It expands – revealing more of the unknown sender's text.

UNKNOWN SENDER: My arrest. Be aware – question everything.

'What?' Nila whispers to herself before scrolling to see an attached video that appears to be recorded first person from a Holo.

Should she play it?

She has to.

So she does.

The recording starts with the camera fixed from a crouched position on the door to the TED staff member room. The door is slightly ajar to show two figures shrouded in shadow – a dimmed light behind them revealing enough details to let Nila infer that one is male, the other female. The second they speak, Nila immediately recognizes them.

"How long until one of them realizes that the training means nothing?! It's all just bullshit activity to keep them healthy little lambs!" Ms Megalla hisses.

Mr Devlon huffs. "To the slaughter?"

"Well, that's how the saying goes!"

"May, we aren't the bad guys here. We're just the puppets. But we'll end up on the chopping block ourselves if you don't keep your mouth shut!"

"How do you live with yourself?"

"Why did you even have to go and play detective in the first place? This would be a lot easier in ignorance you know."

"You weren't even a little bit skeptical about our NDA's all these years? The reasoning for the training, the pills, the claims of bizarre mutated animals don't add up. You think the past Drawn wouldn't have gotten them under control by now? Look at the big picture – it's all ridiculous and we're just letting these kids fall for it."

"Look, to answer your question – I don't. Every year this competition comes up, a little bit inside me dies. But hey, at least it is better than actually being dead."

The two adults fall into a dreadful silence. The woman makes her way to a desk – pulling out a bottle of supposed alcohol before hunching over, her shoulders tense. Meanwhile, Mr Devlon drops himself into the chair opposite and places his head in his hands. With this end to the discussion, the camera inches away from the door as if to leave, however, a guard seems to catch the filmer off guard.

"Hey you! You're not supposed to be in this area," a deep, authoritarian voice bellows. "What are you recording? Give that here!" The camera flashes to the right, down the hallway, to see a man in uniform stomping closer and closer then eventually splitting into a run.

"No!" Skye's voice screams and the video turns to black.

Nila was supposed to have met with Skye after TED today and discover what this whole mystery was about but clearly, that's not happening anymore. Nila gulps down the knot growing in her throat, promptly turns off the Holo and turns her head to look at the two instructors who stand conversing with a fellow student across the room. It feels as if all her movements are in slow motion. A sense of unfamiliarity washes over her along with a shiver down her spine. Ms Megalla's inspiring speech given to the class of OEH1 ten years ago was a driving factor of how Nila came to be in the program. Was any of what she said true? Nila grew up with the dark skinned woman, her gleaming smile of encouragement and her tough love which got her to where she is now. Well, where she used to be at the top of the leaderboard. Similarly, Mr Devlon was always there to tell her to suck it up buttercup when she was acting weak, all the while making it his mission to make the students laugh when he could. What did they know that she didn't? It felt dark. Something that keeps the two of them awake and distressed at night is bound to be and yet that are keeping it hidden from her and everyone.

"What do I do?" she mutters at her Holo as if expecting a response from her whistleblower. She switches the device back on, expecting to see the video as she had left it only to find the UNKNOWN SENDER'S message and film nowhere to be seen in her inbox. Slowly, Nila places the device in her pocket, grabs the remainder of her belongings and makes a beeline for the exit. She needs to think and somehow put this all together. Just as she is about to leave, however, an invisible rope pulls her back. Instead, Nila turns on her heels. The girl takes a few deep breaths to calm her raging nerves and stands in waiting beside Ms Megalla as she and the other student say their goodbyes. Once the young male student strolls off, Nila poses her attack.

"Ms, could we talk?"

"Of course, what about?"

"About lambs to the slaughter..."

The instructor's dark eyes widen; a glimmer of shock casts across her face.

"What did you mean by that?" Nila prys.

"How did you – where did you hear that from?"

"What's wrong with the Draw? If there's something going on, we need to know."

"No, you don't. Nila, a good friend told me some things are better left unseen and unsaid, okay?"

"I've been skipping my pills."

"Shut up!" The woman exclaims in a harsh tone before clearing her throat and recomposing herself which takes Nila back. "Don't say that aloud again. Look, I know you've been struggling to stay high on the board but maybe that's for the best?" An arm is placed on Nila's forearm, gripping slightly. "We can't be seen taking favorites but I suggest you stay out of the top four. You're a bright girl, Nila, there's heaps you could do here...on Mars."

Nila's face is riddled with concern and fear. "But what about my friends? Anna and Dylan are at the top."

The woman furrows her brows and shakes her head. "Too much change and it would be too noticeable."

"Thank you but," Nila removes Ms Megalla's hand from her arm. "If you're not going to help us collectively then I've got to find out more on my own."

Nila backs away, staring at the instructor for a moment before setting off towards the exit. All the while, Ms Megalla can't help but watch the young student leave with a look of despair on her face.

Nila initiated the conversation to acquire some answers but all she got was more cryptic nothings. At least she knows what she has to do now. If no one else is going to help them, then she has to win the Draw and be a whistleblower to protect whoever else goes down with her. She will continue where Skye left off – with less information sadly but all the more determination.

As Nila walks down the halls back to her dorm to get ready for dinner, she starts to wonder...this had started happening after she stopped taking the pills. Maybe she is getting sick and should start taking them again? Then again, it's not like she has a fever, cough or anything of that sort. Nila grimaces and races a hand to her temple. None of this makes sense.

It's been a few weeks since Nila's parents found out about her recent decline of succession in the T.E.D program. This morning, before Nila went out for training, her mother had stood by her and ensured she was getting ready right on time and that she ate her breakfast and took her pills before running off. She didn't take them of course, she just stuck them in her mouth and held onto the pills with her tongue as she gulped down some water. Then made sure to spit them out into a bin in the hallway as soon as she walked out the door.

She's finally arrived at her dorm room, however, she can't bring herself to walk in right away. With a scowl on her face, Nila stares at the white door and the silver tab that opens it. Closing her exhausted eyes, she leans her forehead against the cold material, takes a breath and places her hand on the silver tab. A ding sounds as her access is approved and Nila walks in.