I have seen thousands of buildings in my lifetime, but let me tell you, this definitely wins the award for being the most miserable, depressing and utterly life sucking. Kind like Luca Raspet, actually.

Speaking of Luca Raspet, after ushering the huge group of (now very spooked) teens through the huge metal door, he let it shut with a dramatic clang and we heard the door relock itself. “No going back now.” He chucked darkly, once again making his way to the front of the crowd. This time he didn’t have to push. The sea of people parted to make way for him, despite the narrowness of the concrete corridor in which we now stood.

We started to slowly walk down it, it was dimly lit by a single long bulb. The corridor ended and went four ways. “We are now standing in the center of the X, each one of these corridors lead to the level A dorms. For those of you who are wondering there are 3 levels of dorms A,B,and C. You shall be given a room on random, no requests can be made. They are all identical, no one gets special treatment.” He said passing in front of particularly horizontally challenged kid, blocking my view of him. I heard a door swing open and I took a few steps to the side to try to increase my vision of Luca Raspet.

“These stairs lead to all 6 layers of Training Center X. Most training of stage one takes place on levels TRI and SED. Which are just below level C, so as of right now you have no excuse to be anywhere else. If you are caught on another level without permission this will result in severe punishment. Now if you would follow me I will show you levels TRI and SED.” he turned his back on us and began his way down the stairs.

The stairs were made of cement (surprise!) and very steep, I dreaded trying to get back up them. Kids jostled me from all sides and on more than one occasion I almost was pushed downward. I kind of wished that Luca would stop talking long enough for me to focus, but no, he talked on. “While we are a very technologically advanced society and are more than capable in installing elevators, we feel as Xiomaran trainees you would benefit most physically by having stairs.” He explained as I passed a small landing  with a door labeled Level B. I decided at that moment that stairs had jumped up to number 6 on the painfully long list of things I hate.

Eventually Luca opened a door  a few flights beneath me and walked through it, I assumed this was Level TRI. I was actually right as it turned out. Level TRI opened up to a large lounge full of computers and couches, it was by far the friendliest looking thing in Training Center X by a long run. “This is the TRI room, you can come here to relax after you complete training.” he started to  cross the room. “All the computers are state of the art and are the newest, best models. In addition to being able to use these, you will each be supplied with a pad3.0, earbuds and trak-watch which can all be found in your room.” He led us to a wide door at the end of the room and opened it. “The left hall goes to the showers and bathroom. There are two, one for males and one for females. Either gender caught in the opposites bathroom will be punished severely. To the right is the cafeteria in which you will eat your two meals of the day. The first will be served at 7, the later at 8 in the evening. He walked through the room  back toward the stairs. “Now If you will follow me I will lead you to your training area.”

We walked back into the damp, cold staircase and descended it until we reached the next door down. It opened into a huge room. The first thing I noticed was that the ground was padded, I couldn't resist the urge to bounce a little.

The room was very much like the gym at The Growth Center, from what I could tell. It had the same equipment, weights, treadmills and of course punching bags- my personal favorite. But in addition I also saw it had a huge obstacle course in one corner, and an entire wall that was covered in ropes, rope ladders, a few platforms with only rope connecting them, the most impressive part of this section was the huge rock wall presumably for climbing. Across from this was 4 square raised platforms roped in, an arena, I realized. A long story short- the place was like heaven. All I wanted to do was start playing on the rock wall, I thought better of it though. I doubted Luca Raspet would be ok with me running off and climbing the ropes like a wild man. I  turned to look at him and realized that he was talking. Fike- I’d shouldn't of zoned out like that.

“...and you will report here every morning at 8 am sharp. Tardiness will be severely punished.” Luca said, his rather large nose finding its way higher into the air. ‘Severely punished’, how many times had Luca Raspet said that in the last hour alone? Could I do anything that didn't result in me getting ‘severely punished’? Is it ok if I breathe, supreme ruler?  I thought at Luca as if he could hear me. In retrospect, I am very lucky that he couldn't.

“You will do the entirety of your stage 1 training here, so get used to it. Now that we have gotten the tour out of the way I will give you your room numbers. You will be bunked with four others as you were in the Growth Center. After you get your room number you may go to your dorm and get settled in. You are free until tomorrow when training starts.”

I had only one thought at that moment- if they dared to put me in a room with Barricade, Wilder, or Lachlan- someone was going to die. And it wasn't going to be me. I flopped onto the squishy surface of the floor, ignoring the odd looks the other kids gave me. This was going to take a while.

After 5 minutes I was bored. After 10 I was ready to rip my hair out. From 15 to 16 minutes I briefly passed out until I was so kindly kicked. At 20 minutes I thought that if something didn't happen I was going to die. However it wasn't until at least 30 minutes I heard my name, “.... in room 13 C we have Wesley, Braxton, Kindle and Zalick…” I slowly pulled myself to my feet and looked for my roommates. I already had met Zalick, obviously. I knew who Kindle was, I mean I didn’t talk to him but I knew who he was. He had seemed like such a nice guy, I was surprised to learn he was Xiomaran. I considered trying to find them in the dwindling crowd- it wouldn't be hard, but true to my anti- social nature I decided against it trudging up the stairs on my own. For those of you who are wondering- yes, I had been right earlier. The climb up the steep stairs had not been fun, my thighs burned from the ascent. Thats what I get for taking a few days off from working out.

I suppose the odds of avoiding the guys you are rooming with are not high when you are sharing the same staircase. I had was barely passed the TRI landing when I heard heavy footsteps and heavier breathing. Fike! I thought, I’ve been spotted! I quickened my pace.

“Hey, Buddy!” The voice panted, “Wait up!”

I glared at the wall in front of me. Why oh why was I such a kind person. I turned around, “What?” I demanded crossly, meeting eyes with a startled Kindle. He raised his hands in mock (at least I assume it was mock- I don’t think I’m that scary) surrender and took a step back. “Woah buddy,” He addressed me as buddy again. I was not his buddy. “I’m Kindle, I’ll be rooming with you.” He stuck out his hand and smiled.  Kindle was a boy with creamy brown skin and soft features. Like me he was on the shorter side of the spectrum, though he still beat me by a couple of inches.

“Wesley.” I said starting to ascend the stairs, today Kindle’s hand was left dangling in the air. “Nice to meet you.” I added, but only out of guilt after the distraught look had smeared itself all over his face. The ‘nice to meet you’ didn't seem to make him feel better at all. I inwardly let out a huge exasperated sigh. “Do you want to walk with me?”

“I don’t know. Are you going to kill me?” He asked jokingly going to an extreme he obviously didn’t think I was capable of. I chuckled grimly remembering my last fight with Barricade, a  wave of guilt hit me and I looked down at the step in front of me. I wondered if Barricade felt like this when he almost killed me. I remembered his reaction to seeing me in the hall yesterday. You got lucky once, you won’t get lucky again, his threat echoed in my mind. Yeah I didn’t think he felt it.

“...Are you ok?” Kindle asked taking another step backward. If he took one more, I noted, he would take a tumble down the stairs.

“Oh! Yeah… sorry.” I said, well aware that my distress was showing on my face, but feeling no need to hide it. “Come on.” I beckoned for him to join me and he followed me cautiously.  As we mounted the stairs together, I looked at him waiting for me to say something to him. He said nothing and I looked away again racking my brain for something I could say to him. I came up with nothing and decided that remaining silent was my best course of action.

“So… umm do you know Zalick or Braxton?” Kindle asked suddenly looking at me and then his eyes darting quickly away as if he thought that if he looked at me too long he would turn to stone

“I met Zalick on the train.” I say simply, unsure of what else to add.

Kindle looked at me less warily, wonderful he is warming up to me. “What's he like?”

“Angry. Placid. Strange. Very strange. Quite possibly a Xaron-possessed killer.” I said without much conviction as we reached level C and Kindle pushed open the door to a long hallway with doors on either side. They were conveniently numbered.

Kindle hesitated,“Do you think its true?’ He asked raising an eyebrow.

“What?” I asked, having absolutely no idea of where he was going with this.

He stopped walking. I stopped walking too, a little confused as to why we were stopped until I noticed we were right outside room 13. I would of walked right past it if Kindle didn't stop me. “Well, they say that he was in the voluntary ice chipping class and a kid- Lenny I think- Zalick ripped his throat open with an ice pick! No warning! Lenny never saw it coming! They say that the previous few days Zalick had been making friendly with Lenny- then boom. Lenny’s dead. Maybe he was earning his trust! And then the elders dismissed it as an accident. Can you believe that?” He opened the door and walked through before I could say anything.

“Wait- What?” I managed to utter as I noticed Zalick and a big dark guy sitting in the room talking. They looked up as they heard the door open. Instinctively I looked away wondering if what Kindle said was true. If Kindle had  been talking about anyone else I would of dismissed it as started by Aspen- but I was already wondering if Zalick was some type of maniac.

The guy next to Zalick- Braxton most likely- beckoned us over with a huge smile on his face. My first conclusion about Braxton was that he was too happy, the next? That he was absolutely huge. Taller than Barricade even. He had a dark brown skin tone and curly black hair. “Hey, I’m Braxton.” He smiled, “I was just talking to Zalick here, Wesley and Kindle right? Come and sit with us.”

Braxton radiated warmth and happiness. Even I was tempted to go over and hug him. I shuddered at the thought, there was something seriously wrong with him. I would have to keep my distance. Kindle however went over and they knocked knuckles. He wasted no time plopping onto the plywood bunk next to him.

Yes plywood. Before I go on I think I will pause the story right here briefly, just long enough to describe the room to you.  It was small and barren, only having one dresser and four beds that hung off of the wall. Luckily the bunks had blankets and pillows on them though. At the foot of each bed were the electronics Luca Raspet had promised us. Kindle had already claimed a pod3.0 and was turning it on and was exploring the system.

“So the bunks are labeled, Zalick and I get the top bunks, Wesley gets the bunk on the left and Kindle’s is the right bottom one. Kindle, distracted with his new toy nodded dimly and swung his legs into the bed upon which he currently sat. I made my way over to the left one. Zalick approached me.  “So we meet again.” He said, as blank faced as ever.

“Yeah…” I said uncertainly, trying to determine if his calm was a mask for a psychopath that dwelt in him. I had already been attacked and cornered in room like this, I wasn’t about to let it happen again.

After a second of waiting for me to say something more Zalick gave up and mounted the bed that was right above mine. I rolled into the bed and found it surprisingly comfortable. I got out of the bed and lifted the blankets up and saw the only thing on the boards was a matt. I placed my hand on it and it felt squishy and warm like the mattresses at the Growth Center.  Upon examining it further I found a tag. “MetroMatt Comfort Simulator” it read. That was cool, they didn’t have these at the Growth Center. I let the covers flop and hopped right back onto the bed, reaching for the only item that I had any interest in. The earbuds.

I noticed that they were brand new, not my old ones. This upset me on some level, I knew it shouldn’t have, these new earbuds were really intense compared to my old ones. It just didn’t seem right though, I’d grown up with my other earbuds… they were like my friends.

Okay, even I will admit that sounded delusional.

I shrugged it off and I crammed them into my ears and closed my eyes willing them to turn on. My ears flooded with the mindless babble of a heavy bass song. I zoned out a little willing myself to be absorbed in the music. I had heard this song a thousand times, it was a rather eerie tune that sung of the death and destruction; Xaron’s risen form would wreak upon the world. They called him in his risen from The Ravenger. I loved this song.

I found my mind wandering, fantasizing the end of the world (yes I do that) when the seemingly obvious thought hit me- what if there were no gods? I mean the test was pre-decided by a mysterious group known only as The Council, they weren't consulting the gods like they said. What if the gods were simply a means to distract and control us? I felt a crushing weight on my soul, it was like a sudden reality had slapped me in the face. My three dimensional world suddenly felt so two dimensional. Or what if their were other real gods, gods who had been replaced by fake ones? Their would be no way to know. I felt depressed, nothing made sense.

“Hello, this is your instructor speaking. I would like to see Revolutia, Zalick and Wesly on level SED immediately. I repeat, I would like to see Revolutia, Zalick and Wesley on level SED immediately. Thank you.” The voice burst suddenly through the dorm, emanating from a source I couldn't place. I slowly sat up, this was the moment I had been waiting for all day and that I had almost forgotten about until now. I stood up, my mind still wheeling from my previous revelation. Zalick dropped from the top bunk beside me.

“You guys are in trouble… It was nice knowing you.” Kindle said not looking up from his pod.

“Oh shut up Kindle, they’ll be fine.” Braxton said sitting up long enough to wave us off. “May Xiomara be with you.” He said giving us an encouraging smile.

Revi was waiting for us on the staircase, her arms crossed over her chest. She had been put in a room on floor B. “You got down here fast….” Zalick observed, as we started to descend the stairs.

“Pfft, I couldn't get out of there fast enough, I got crammed in a room with demon girl #1, demon girl #2 and demon girl #3.” She snorted rolling her eyes. She went on describing the monstrosities in detail, I didn't even bother trying to listen, I couldn't hear her over my thoughts anyway. The memory of descending the stairs is a blur, my mind unable to tear itself away from my conclusion.

I was barely aware of us walking through the door to SED and coming to a halt in front of Luca Raspet accompanied by a women with one of the darkest complexions I had ever seen, it was almost coal black. She had long silky dark that fell to her thighs. I wondered who she was. “I am Neith.” She said simply as if reading my mind. “Your head instructor.”

“I thought that was Luca Raspets job over here.” Revi said cocking her head toward Luca Raspet who frowned.

“Luca Raspet is simply overseeing training, I am in charge of it. Never forget that.” She added the last part like a threat. “Now it is my understanding that you all misbehaved on the ride here. Is that correct?” She bore her eyes into each of us waiting for a response. In the few seconds we made eye contact, I became aware of one fact; she emanated sheer power.

Of course, true to her nature, Revi was the only one who said anything. “He asked a question,” She gestured to Luca Raspet. “And I answered it but he didn't like the way I answered it so he punished everyone who was sitting at my table…. You know he is exceptionally stupid.” She added at the last moment and I hid my face in my palms. If I didn't die Revi was surely next on the kill list.

Neith raised an eyebrow as  if to say; ‘Now I see what you mean, Luca Raspet.’ Then she spoke. “Zalick and Wesley, you must watch who you associate yourselves with. It could very well lead to your demise. As for you Revolutia, you must watch your mouth for it will destroy you very quickly if you don’t watch what you say. I sense Xaron attempting to possess you.”

“Huh, thats funny I don’t sense him trying to possess me….” Revi said regarding Neith, stroking her chin.

Now both Luca Raspet and Neith were agitated. “As your superior I can sense it, I’ve seen it millions of times. As your superior it is my job to assist  you in killing the habit before it overwhelms you and there is nothing to save.” She turned to Luca Raspet, “Would you go get it?”

“With pleasure.” Luca said, that thin sadistic smile appearing again. As he strode to the staircase and descended. I wondered where he was going… No. I stopped myself, I was not in the position to go exploring.

I referenced Revi to see if she was even concerned yet. She was opening her mouth again- no. I couldn't watch. “So… you are saying because I am speaking, and trying to make a point to you I am being possessed…? Your as delusional as Raspet.”

“Wasn’t this explained to you at the Growth Center?” Neith demanded calmly.

“Maybe… I don’t know.” Revi said confused herself.

“Mmmm.” Neith nodded with disapproval. “Well allow me to be the first to tell you, Xaron puts thoughts into your head in the speech form of possession, and the more you speak the thoughts the more you believe them until you are just one of his many puppets. He infects your brain. How do you avoid this? You think before you speak, determine if what you're about to say is from your brain or from Xaron. If it is insulting,challenging or anything that disrespects the gods your your superiors it is most likely from Xaron.” Neith explained.

“Oh.” Revi said simply, clearly distressed. “How do you know if you're possessed?”

“Thats the scary thing Revi, you don’t.” Neith said leaning forward and placing a hand on Revi’s shoulder. “Possession is generally sensed by a god-chosen leader who has been gifted with that ability. I can sense that you are being assaulted, however as of now I can guarantee that you are not possessed, and we are going to give you a tool to assist you. It may seem cruel at the time but you will thank us in the long run.” I had to stop myself from letting out a obnoxious snort of disdain.

“What are the other forms of possession? You mentioned that there are more.” I spoke for the first time, more to humor her than anything else. Besides it wouldn't hurt to know what traits could get me killed.

Neith looked over at me and I once again found myself getting fried by her gaze. “Speech, Desire, Individuality and,” she paused her eyes seeming to grow colder. “Knowledge.” I felt my heart race as I tried desperately not to let anything leak onto my face. She knew. Luca knew too. No one had seen me. How did they know? And perhaps even more disturbing is the question why haven't they done anything? Why am I not locked up or worse? Surely Evicia Lyveen Falconess’s affection did not stretch so far as to dismiss me from such an offence.

“Desire occurs when Xaron possessed two minds and creates an unnatural attraction between two people. They find themselves thinking about the other person and wanting to get closer driving them closer until Xaron fuses them together so they become one huge, ugly, mindless beast. We have a pill that you take along with your vitamins that helps you ward of Xaron in this way, but it doesn't always work. If you experience Desire please advise one of us we will increase your dosage and separate you from the person you want to be around. Individuality occurs when Xaron starts attacking your brain trying to stop the Full Formation process that each child goes through over a long expanse of time. Individuality causes you to strike out in outlandish ways, first only in minor behaviors and it doesn't seem much, but then come the seizures and the foaming at the mouth and eventually death. It is a long painful way to go might I add, so if you see anyone being attacked in this way please tell us while we can still save them. We have psychiatric treatment, we call it the White Room. And finally there is Knowledge. Perhaps the worst ways of possession, Xaron tickles a person’s mind and gives them a deep yearning to understand things only he gods  should know. A little knowledge is never enough, they want more and more until the gods themselves come down from the heavens and put a stop to them. They are not kind to people who betray them. Uri the Deependren  inventor, was apprehended for hoarding books. They brought him into a holding cell so the Guardians could pray over him and determine what do with him.  The determination had to wait of course because they were Testing you children. When they went to give him his daily ration of water- they found the room spattered with blood, his body laying in pieces scattered around the cell. There is no known cure for Knowledge.” Neith ended ominously glancing over my shoulder. I swallowed hard in a lame attempt at calming myself down. That had rattled me. What if she was right and I was wrong? What if they had good reason for their actions. What if there was some truth mixed in with some lies.

“Oh Luca Raspet, so glad you could finally join us!” Neith said sarcastically crossing her arms over her chest. I turned and saw Luca Raspet standing in the doorway holding some strange objects. Judging by the way he leaned against the doorframe he had been there for a while.

“I just was allowing you to finish your speech. The Growth Center clearly didn’t teach them thoroughly, or there was some glitch in the discipline or something. I am thinking we might need to go over some basics, I communicated with Alma and Dacoin, they are both experiencing the same problems.” He suggested absentmindedly. I realized this was probably the first time I had seen him not looking malicious and planning my demise.

He walked over to Neith the silver jingly contraptions over to us. “We can talk about this later,” Neith assured him. “Right now we must deal with the matter at hand.” She gestured to us.

“Those things look painful.” Zalick commented stating the obvious.

“Woah, what are those things? They look cool!” Revi exclaimed reaching out to touch them, Luca Raspet yanked them away.

“Trust me, you will not think they are cool once you get to know them.” He smiled with that ever present hint of evil madness. “Now I want you all to stand in a line, Wesley you in the middle.”

I reluctantly moved in closer from the safe distance away from where I stood.  As I stood between them I could help but notice they were both taller than me. Revi being the tallest at probably around six feet, though Zalick wasn't far behind her. It made me feel small. I didn't like feeling small, I decided.

“These are called handcuffs. They lock peoples hands together. Zalick and Wesley, this is to show you that who you hang around matters, if they go down they will drag you along with them.” He clipped them around our wrists,then around our ankles, locking us together. My heart plopped into my stomach.

“A-are you serious? How long do we have to stay like this.” I asked beginning to sweat, oh my gosh, I was locked to these two idiots. He couldn’t be serious. I’d gladly take torture instead of this awful fate. I considered trying to bargain with him.

“You shall stay locked together until the end of tomorrow.” Luca said, studying me, clearly very interested in my reaction. I didn’t even care. All I wanted was to get out of this mess.

“I think we need to deal with the more pressing matter, how do we go to the bathroom?” Zalick asked, flat as ever.

“You have to contact one of us and we will unlock you long enough to go.” Neith said as if she explained this kind of thing everyday.

“Luca Raspet please, I am begging you, please don’t leave me tied to these maniacs for an entire day! Please have you no soul?” I screamed in a sudden outburst of desperation. He didn’t flinch.

Revi slapped me with her free hand, “Hey! You’re one to-”

Luca Raspet cut her off abruptly. “Revolutia, that reminds me, in order to assist you with fighting Xaron you have to wear this.” He took out a metal device that was different then the handcuffs. It was a shiny circular… something. “Now we are just going to put this around your face-”

Revi jumped backward a few steps tugging Zalick and I along with her, I barely managed to keep my balance. “You are not putting that thing on my face!” She yelled jumping back an additional step. A very fatal step that sent us all toppling to the ground in a heap.

Luca Raspet wasted no time in snapping the circlet thing over her mouth and stepping backward out of the range of her one free arm.

“Remember when I said the process of helping you fend of Xaron might seem cruel in the present. I promise you, Revolutia, you will thank us in the long run. See this device  stops you from talking and forces you to think instead of speak.” Neith said, if I hadn't known better I would of said she cared. Revi’s face was turning a dark shade of red, as she let out a series of very threatening grunts. I think if she hadn't had the thing on her mouth she would've been screaming bloody murder.

Neith and Luca Raspet turned and started toward the stairs, Luca Raspet stopped and turned to us, “Wesley, Zalick and Revolutia I give you permission to sleep in the lounge on TRI because honestly I don’t think you will make it up the stairs far enough to reach ether one of your dorms like that.”

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Okay! Theres that chapter. Do you guys think Zalick really killed that guy? Do you think this experience will make Revi, Zalick and Wesley closer? (Well literally it will!) Or will it just make them want to brutally impale each other with sharp objects?

Remember to comment and vote if you think I deserve it! 

Cheers!

BTW This is dedicated to RocketMason because she's awesome. Luv you girl! Check out her book Elementals!