It was almost midnight when all the applicants finished the first part of The Selection Day.

Most of the group realized too late that snipe hunting was just the Mad KingZ's prank. No such bird exists in these woods.

Most of them got lost and hurt themselves while foolishly wandering in the woods, looking for the imaginary bird.

Sandra was sitting quietly in the van, waiting patiently for the others to finish 'the task'. She was still annoyed that Mad KingZ wasted her time with this.

She didn't sign up to be treated like a fool. If this Selection Day is infamous for being a 'death trap', then those who believed it were just fooling themselves. This is more like what boys do in their free time.

"Dar Rose."

Sandra looked up to the voice. It was her partner from before. She removed her AirPods.

The guy smiled awkwardly at her. "Mad KingZ wants all the applicants near the bonfire. Let's go."

She nodded as she followed him outside.

Once there, she couldn't help but notice that six applicants, excluding her and her partner, were the only ones there by the bonfire. Where are the other two?

"They were the last ones. Kidrey St. Creed told them to get lost. They lost The Selection Day." Her partner answered her silent query.

She bit her lip because of this. Eight applicants left. She does not know how this will end.

Sandra then looked at the remaining applicants. They looked like a mess. If not with small visible blood on their shirts, there were bruises on some parts of their bodies. Rich kids don't know how to deal with the wilderness, Sandra thought almost mockingly.

Mad KingZ members were there too. Sandra tried not to meet eyes with any of them. Especially with her act of defiance earlier. Gifting them a dead rabbit is as bad as their prank. She is definitely on their bad side now...if not already.

Jon cleared his voice when all the remaining applicants showed up. "Since all the applicants are now here, we don't have to wait for the sunrise to do the second part of the initiation. After this part, we can rest for tonight at the cabins not far from here. We can go home tomorrow."

Sandra wanted to roll her eyes at this. So, they considered their prank as part of the official initiation. They even prepared the 'cabin in the woods' for the applicants.

How considerate.

She looked at the other applicants again, and aside from her and her partner from earlier, all of them were in a messy state and not up to another challenge. If it took them this long to figure out the prank, how would they endure the second part of The Selection?

Ted James then stepped forward. A wooden boat paddle in his hand. He was grinning evilly at the applicants, too.

Jon continued what he was saying while wearing a serious expression on his face. "The second part of the initiation will determine your endurance in The Selection. This will be harsh but it must be done." He ended as he turned his back away from them.

Sandra's heart throbbed at hearing this, especially when she was watching Ted batting the paddle as if it were a baseball bat. She guessed what was about to happen.

Mateo spoke next. "The second to the last group who arrived from the snipe hunting will be the first people to be hit by a paddle. Each Mad KingZ member will take turns hitting you. You can choose which area in your body you want to be hit." He shrugged after the news, ignoring the gasps of horror from the applicants.

TOP followed up. "There's no guarantee it will be gentle. Be prepared for the pain you will receive. If you endure till the end after five hits, you will pass this round. If you want it to stop, you can raise your hand, but then it means you failed. You are done in The Selection." He then threw his cigarette on the ground and killed the light by stomping on it.

Sandra looked at Kidrey next, expecting him to say anything, but he was only wearing a grim expression on his face. His hands were inside his pockets.

Ted was still grinning when he walked to the middle. "I'll go first." He said, too excitedly. He was enjoying this.

'What an evil guy.' Sandra gritted, glaring at him.

All of the applicants left were nervous. This will be surely painful, Mad KingZ won't take any consideration that Sandra is a woman, too. They can do whatever they want in their event. She will receive much more pain than the others, and that's mainly because she's a female and her body is different than the rest of the applicants.

But she will be the last one too, if that thought gives her any relief. She sighed. And maybe, maybe, by that time, Mad KingZ is already tired of hitting people and will give her minimal force instead. Just maybe.

The first person stepped forward, and even before he could point where he preferred to be hit, Ted already swatted the paddle on his bottom. The poor guy dropped to his knees because of this. He was yelping in pain.

Sandra closed her eyes at what she had seen. It's too much for her.

"Will you be fine?" Her partner, standing beside her, asked her. His voice was low.

Sandra opened her eyes again. She nodded to him. "These assholes." She whispered back, gritting her teeth, anger evident in her eyes.

Is this what her brother endured last semester too? Being violently hit by these assholes?

"Don't piss them off again, Dar. You'll get in trouble." Her partner told her again.

Sandra didn't answer him as she watched the agony of the applicants being hit. Mad KingZ took turns hitting them with a paddle and they didn't hold back. They seemed to be giving all their might and enjoying this act of cruelty.

She couldn't identify who applied more force than the others. But there was a point in the initiation in which the paddle almost broke in half due to the impact. When this happened, either Jon or Mateo replaced it with a new one.

But one thing was certain: each hit by the members was equally painful to all.

Two or three more people already gave up by raising their hands.

"Stop!" One applicant raised his hand in desperation to stop TOP from hitting him, but TOP ignored his plea and continued to hit him. The paddle broke into pieces. The guy yelped out loud in pain. His screams echoed in the woods. He then passed out from the pain on the ground. He had been hit five times.

"Loser." TOP even said, spitting near his head.

Sandra became angrier every second she was just standing there. She was more frustrated that she couldn't do anything to stop it. It's part of the initiation. It's part of what they signed up for. 'They're ruthless.' She repeated this inside her head like a mantra.

These guys are not human. No sign of compassion in any of them.

But what did she expect? To only receive a slap on the wrist instead? Mad KingZ is infamous for their violence, the school knows that, and she understands it now. These guys are ruthless. Animals. Predators to their kind. They show no mercy with every hit they give.

To think, this is only a fraction of what they show on how violent they can be.

It was her partner's turn next, and even if she wanted to give him words of encouragement, she couldn't speak. She knew he would be in a lot of pain, and probably would give up after one or two hits. Also, there's no way she could stop it...by then, it would be her turn next.

Like what she expected, after only two hits from Ted and Kidrey, her partner raised his hand to stop them from hitting him. Kidrey stopped right away when he saw it.

"Hnn," Kidrey grunted as he dropped the paddle on the ground.

Sandra swallowed the lump in her throat. It's her turn next. She stepped forward.

Ted went first. "I don't care if you're a girl..." he lifted the paddle as she prepared for the contact.

Sandra waited for the impact while still glaring at Ted. This seemed to anger him as he quickly hit her hard on the outer thigh.

"Ah!" Sandra screamed in pain, her legs automatically shaking. Ted's force was too much on her leg.

Fortunately, she didn't fall to the ground as she tried her best to hold herself up. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of showing him he had hurt her. She'd die first. She remained glaring at him.

TOP was next and without much ado, he swatted the paddle on the same thigh Ted hit before. This time, Sandra's knees gave out and she quickly fell to the ground. She teared up. TOP hit her...hard. Really hard. Harder than what Ted gave her. The paddle almost broke into two. So much for her attempt not to let them show they had hurt her. Her tears flowed now.

It was so hard she wanted to give up and raise her hand. If TOP and Ted didn't like her, the message was clear.

Sandra moved up a bit for the next person to hit her. Tears still flowed down her cheeks. She bit her lip to not let out another scream. She looked up and met Kidrey's eyes. She couldn't read the expression on his face. He just looked at her, seemingly waiting for her to stand up...but she couldn't. Or maybe to give this all up? Her knees had already given out from the previous impact. She was almost squatting there too, her legs still shaking.

Sandra wiped the tears from her eyes as she tried to go on all fours instead, and waited for the paddle's impact on her thighs again.

Sandra closed her eyes, expecting the paddle to make contact with her injured leg again, but instead, it hit her bottom. The force was much less compared to what she received from TOP and Ted.

Sandra sniffed back her tears as she squatted down. Her legs were giving out, and she knew large bruises were already forming on her thigh beneath her pants.

Mateo and Jon hit her next but on the opposite leg. She could easily tell the difference in the force they used compared to the first two. It was a lot lighter. It might not be as light as what Kidrey gave her, but it was enough for her to survive the round.

"Let's go," Kidrey said coldly to everyone once her round was done, walking toward the car. He looked almost impatient and pissed off for some reason.

Even though her partner failed The Selection Day, he helped Sandra get up and accompanied her to the winner's van. He would ride the other van intended to take him home since he lost The Selection.

He smiled a bit at her, sympathizing with her pain. "Good luck, Dar. I'll see you around at school," he said.

Sandra smiled back a bit at him despite the pain. "Thank you," she said.

He nodded, then looked at her first before saying, "Get them," and then went to his ride.

'Get them,' Sandra repeated in her mind. But right now, she wasn't sure how anymore.