User: Rdmwrites

Name: Ripley Korina Alician

At least this outfit fits me. It was a black body suit, with red designs, which didn't look too bad for me. I swiped up the emerald from the banquet a couple nights ago, before following one of the members of the Guarde from my room. I'm lead through the maze of bland, concrete halls, and down what seems to be a manhole. Well, I want lead down this one, they just pointed to it, and I assumed that's where I had to go. But looking back up, I can see the cover has been covered, and I'm alone in a little room, with a cot being the only piece f furniture. For the first time in weeks, I want my cell back.

There's plexiglass around me, and two others to my right. The girl, Hazel de Nil, and the other mind apprentice, who I never seem to remember the name of. I'm about to call out to them, when suddenly, the room is thicker. There's gas, I realize, flooding in from either side. I scream, scrambling back and hitting the plexiglass behind me. My head slams against the wall, and pain shoots through me, as the world starts spinning. My knees slam into the ground, and my hand unclenches, the emerald I had been guarding so carefully skimming across the floor, I scramble toward it, on my knees now, the world falling out of focus.

What's happening? I think, wrapping my hand around the emerald again. I'm going into the darkness, falling away from the world. I'm not ready yet, I'm not ready yet. I'm not good enough to make it through. I ruin myself, I've destroyed myself. I wish I hadn't starved myself, for that perfect dancer body. I wish I didn't push myself so much in training. The world is falling away, and i collapsed at the foot of the bed, my head hitting the metal lining as collapse onto the cold concrete. Something warm trickles down my face, and the world fades away as one final thought passes through my mind.

I'm not good enough.

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User: ZzzLazyZzz

Name: Noah Spooner

When Noah came back from his walk,  he found a black suit with red designs placed along the side of his bed.  He picked it up and pulled at it,  realizing its rubbery quality.  He wondered whether it belonged to some other apprentice, and decided to put it aside.  But at that moment, his door flew open.

Noah backed away, a bitter scream forming in his throat.  It was a member of the Guarde; she was tall and muscular.  She beaconed Noah to follow her.  His legs were stiff cement, but he trudged behind her. He had no time to think about where he was going.  He walked down a brooding stairwell, his fingers tracing the vinyl walls.

The stairs now build upward, lacing into a manhole in the ceiling. 

"Get in," the lady said. 
Noah began to refuse,  but the lady plowed him through the manhole. 

Noah realized he was in a white room. Other physicals surrounded him,  but they were barricaded from each other. The Guarde woman had left,  and the manhole was slowly being shut. 

Noah rushed toward the manhole, trying to wrench it open.  But the metal lid only screeched. 

Noah was on his knees. The room was too small,  too suffocating. He felt the boredom settle in, and he felt the need to be entertained.

But his bracelet stripped him off his powers. The people around him were behind bars and plexiglass,  tantalizing him like inaccessible treasures. He was bored,  and he wanted to torment.

A puff of smoke crawled into the room,  making Noah feel faint as he breathed. His eyes started to see splotches of black. He could see glimpses of the other apprentices, but his head was losing control. His boredom was seeping away as quickly as it came.

He felt like he was dying, and the last thing he remembered was feeling happy about it.  

User: AvengingDemigod

Name: Maris Gold

So it here it was. The start of the end.
I was sitting in the corner of my room staring at the suit Drake left on my bed.
"Good luck," he told me. "I'll be watching."
I wonder what Andreana is doing right now. She hates this as much as I do, perhaps more. She might have just torn the suit to shreds at this point.
What about that boy Roman, I've thinking about him ever since the banquet. Man I wish he allied himself with me and Blondie. I will regret having to kill him if it comes to it. I stood up and pulled the suit on. I tossed my regular clothes into the wardrobe and looked at myself. The suit was skin tight, jet black, with random red swirls and designs twisting around it.
I wish I could leave this all behind.
Go home.
For weeks I have prepared for this moment, but now that it's here.....
I'm scared.
I have never had this empty feeling in my stomach, a light pulse in the back of my head telling me to turn into a dragon and book it out of there."
"I don't want to die," I dropped to my knees and tears dripped onto the floor.
Shut up. If there was anything the Black Dragons taught me, it was fear is an asset. Adrenaline is pumping through my body so quick I can move faster, jump higher, fight harder than I ever have in my life. I'm so alert it feels like time is slowing.
My fear is a superpower that I can add to my arsenal of reasons not to mess with me.
There was a knock at my door and I jumped. "It's time." I stood up and pulled my hair into a messy bun.
Let's do this.
I walked out and a member of the guarde led me down a route I've never before, away from the training grounds, away from the cafeteria and other dorms. We walked down a flight of stairs and the guarde pointed at a ladder. I looked at it and crossed my arms. "Yah I ain't doing that."
"Go," the guarde said gruffly.
I was about to curse at him when I saw the other wildlife apprentices, Hannah and Miles climbing up their own ladders. Hannah stopped for a moment to pet Macy then climbed up. I took a deep breathe and climbed hesitantly up. I ended up in a small white room, a cot lying against the wall. When I climbed off the ladder, a metal cover slid over it and I banged on it. I stood up and saw the other two looking around. I ran over to talk to them, but hit a wall of glass. I banged on the glass separating me and Hannah and waved. Suddenly she started coughing and fell onto her cot. I looked over at Miles and saw he was coughing too. I covered my nose with sleeve and tried slamming myself into the glass wall. I started to feel weak and lightheaded. I sat on the cot and shook my head, trying to get the clouds out.
"Fear is a superpower," I muttered as my vision started to darken.
Fear is a superpower.

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User: alicoforever

Name: Sabrina Whyte

I don't remember much of the banquet. It's been a few days since then, but my memory hasn't returned. For some reason though, Jace has been avoiding me. Is it because of something I did?

Besides Jace, training has gone extremely well for me. I've been able to think on my feet faster than I used too. All in all, my view of these Exams has changed dramatically for the better. It's like someone lit a fire inside me and it keeps burning.

"Sabrina?" Loira says, snapping her fingers in front of my face.

"Yeah?" I say, coming back into reality.

"You drifted off again." Crysalis states.

"Sorry." I apologize.

"It's fine. Everyone is a little off since the Exams will be starting soon." Loira says. "By the way, when do you think they'll actually begin it?" I shake my head.

"I don't know. I thought it'd start the day after the banquet, but I guess Kate had other ideas." Crysalis and Loira nod in agreement.

"Well I hope they start-" Crysalis is cut off by someone on the speakers.

"Attention apprentices, please make your way back to your rooms. You'll find that there is an outfit on your bed. Please put it on. You'll then be given further instructions." The voice says. Crysalis, Loira, and I share a look. What's going on?

None the less, I head back to my room. Once there, I find a black and red suit on my bed. Following the voice's instructions, I put it on. Then I hear a knock at my door.
"Sabrina Whyte? Transformation apprentice?" A large, burly man asks. I nod my head. "Come with me." By habit, I step backwards.

"Now miss, I wouldn't do that if I were you." Says another man, coming into my view. Slowly, I look through my door frame to see three men: the who knocked, the one who just spoke, and a quiet one. Finding no other choice, I step out into the hallway.

"What's going on?" I question the men. The quiet one eyes me, but doesn't answer me. None of the other men even look at me. I follow them- if you can call being pushed by a man behind another man following someone- down the hall.

At first I think they're taking me to the training facility, but they take a left when they should've taken a right. I continue to walk with them, but a sudden uneasiness comes over me as we walk down a poorly kept hallway.

After ten minutes of utter silence and walking, the men stop.

"Here." One of the men says. I look at him confused. He sighs and continues. "You see that manhole?" He points up to the ceiling. I nod. "That's where you need to go." At first I think he's joking, but one of the other men sets a ladder under the manhole.

"Climb." They all say. Feeling pressured, I obey. I slowly make my way up the ladder. When I reach the top, I squeeze my body through the hole. Once I climb out of the hole, I look around me. I see only cot. I turn my head to the side, only to find bars and plexiglas separating me from another transformation apprentice. On the other side of me, I see the same thing.
Wanting to leave this... This cage, I turn back to the manhole, only to find solid floor. I curse under my breath. Uncertain of what to do, I walk towards the cot and sit down. Suddenly, gas starts filling up the room. I begin to cough as my eyes tear up. What's happening?

I stand up, trying to figure out where the gas is coming from. Then a wave of nausea hits me. My legs turn to jelly and my head begins to spin. I stumble backwards into the cot. My head snaps backwards as I loose consciousness and everything goes black.

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User: THGF1234

Steve Bennett
I saw Catherine and Maya. We couldn't reach each other. The manhole slammed shut. I looked up.
Somehow we have to survive or fight. I feel ready, I hope.
Then I felt light-headed. I had an urge to vomit. I was dazed.
I tried to stay awake but my head fell with a crash on the ground.

Cole Characin
The manhole slammed. I touched it to see if I could break open the manhole. But I failed.
I saw Penny and Casey. Penny fell over. Then the effects started to make me sick.
I was confused and worried.
I collapsed and my eyes shut.

Samuel de Sapphiron
I am in a room with Millicent and Noah.
I was confused and somehow had a bad feeling about this.
The manhole clanked shut. I tried punching it with my Gift but I get bruises on my knuckles.
Millicent falls then Noah follows her. I feel dazed and my eyes shut before I crash.

James Howard
Lana and Zander looked around, confused. I know what is happening.
My parents told me about it before, when I was younger.
I try to see if I could break out. It doesn't work as I feel dazed.
I slip and knock myself out.

Miles
I am with the others that own my gift.
I miss my pet wolf but he was my most treasured pet, so I am glad I get to come back if I die.
I feel sick and I vomit in a corner and flop over.

Edwin Silverne
I hear the manhole shut. I curse under my breath.
I try to get out but I fail.
I fall over, dazed, not knowing what will happen.

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User: PJHDstoryteller

Name: Roman Grey

When I get out of the bathroom, there's a black suit with red designs all over it lying on my bed. I look around the empty room, looking for someone to tell me what's going on. But there's no one there.

Confused, I do the only thing I can do at the moment. I put the suit on.

Nothing happens when I do. I sit down on the bed and call out, "Now what?" But no one answers.

After a while, a member of the Gaurde walks into my room. My heart picks up speed as I stand up.

"What's going on?" I ask.

He only gestures to the door. I try to hide my fear and smile at him, "The silent treatment? Aw, I thought we were friends."

His face remains emotionless as I walk out the door. He leads me to a darker part of the hybrid base and stops at a manhole.

He points at it, "Go on up."

I raise my eyebrow at him, "You're not coming?"

He shakes his head. I grip the ladder, my hands starting to sweat. I had no idea where I was going; what was happening.

I see Jamie and Ruby (the other psychics) climbing up the ladders and I guess I have no choice. I start to ascend into a room.

When I get to the top I realize it's more of a chamber with nothing in it but a cot. Ruby and Jamie are there too, but there's plexiglass separating us from each other.

They look as confused as I am. I smile nervously at them and give them a small wave. They don't respond to me.

I look back down at the manhole and see that it's blocked. Well, I guess there's no getting out. This must be the start of the exams. My heart is racing now.

I know there's no way to get out of this, and I watch as Ruby tries to open the manhole, but to no avail.

I sit down on the cot, trying to calm myself down. My thoughts wander to Maris, her purple hair, her sparkling eyes, her golden smile. I don't know why she's the first person to come to my mind, but I find myself hoping I live long enough to hear her laugh.

I chuckle to myself. Man, she better get through this. Or I'm going crazy.

Then, I think of Lana. Innocent Lana, and Noah. He's strong. He should pull through. I silently wish them all good luck.

Then, a gas comes through the room. I start to feel light headed. I squeeze the fabric of the cot and close my eyes tight, breathing heavily. I feel like my heart is about to explode.

The last thing I remember before passing out onto the cot is, 'I wonder what she looked like with blue hair.'

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User: District_Tribute

Name: Casey Calvert

Not long after I got my suit, a member of the Guarde knocked on my door. My heart was pounding. 'This is it... The Exams are starting...' I thought to myself as I was led down an older-looking set of stairs.

They told me to climb up through this manhole. I couldn't say no, or resist, so I had to go. I saw the other Apprentices with the Electric Gift climbing up too, so, taking a deep breath, I started climbing.

Then, when I reached the top of my climb, I found myself standing in a chamber of some sort. There was only a cot in there. Nothing else. Just a cot.

And when I looked around, I saw the other two users of my Gift; Penny and Cole. They looked just as confused as I was. We were all separated by some type of glass, so none of us could come near each other.

'Okay... This is really strange...' I looked down at the manhole, thinking maybe I should go back down. But... I couldn't. It had been blocked off. Instantly, I felt terrified. 'I have to get out of here!' I searched around, desperately trying to find a way out. But there was no way out, and I quickly realized that when the gas was released into the chamber.

I inhaled it, and coughed. Then I started feeling dizzy. 'Oh no... What's happening to me?!' I stumbled backwards, towards the cot.

And then I fell onto the cot. 'I just want to go home...' That was my last thought, and everything went dark.

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User: infinitywordlover

Name: Crysalis

I lean back breathing heavily letting my power fade. The hovering ball of air disappears with a faint whoosh. I hear clapping and look up to see Ariadne smiling approvingly.

“Wonderful! Now let’s try-” she cuts off abruptly her eyes unfocusing. A moment later, her smile falls. “It’s time. Go to your room a Guarde will get you.”

“You’re not coming with me?”

“No, sorry love, I have Guarde duty in another room,” she smiles ruefully. “However, I have some good news too.” She pulls out a necklace and I recognize the one I had made from equilibrium. It had been taken away when I had arrived and now I snatch at it, my last tie to my family. I throw myself at her, hugging her.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! For everything,” I say.

“You’re welcome. I’ll miss you.” She lets me go and her eyes are serious. “When you’re in the Exams you will need all the power you have and you will have to kill, but you cannot lose yourself. Be kind, have mercy, and play fair. Most of all, keep yourself in balance. Your power will only work if its in balance, that is the way of the world, light and dark, life and death.” She reaches out to touch my necklace. “Fire and ice.”
I nod mutely not quite trusting my voice. She stands and pushes me toward the door. I don’t dare to look back. She was my family in a way too, the only one I could trust in this whole crazy thing, now I would never see her again either. 

The suit is made of a sleek, stretchy black material with swirling black designs. It flows around me like air, and I can barely feel it even though I know it is tight against my skin. I regard myself in the mirror grinning as a thought occurs to me.

“Does this make me look fat?!” I ask he mirror in a snobby voice. A giggle bursts through me and I frown at myself. I was about to walk to my death and here I was laughing. Maybe that was for the best though, maybe laughing was the best way to go. A sharp knock interrupts me, and a small chill of anxiety runs down my back. A Guarde enters gesturing for me to follow him. My fingers brush against my fire and ice pendant for comfort and I follow. He leads me through the twists and turns of the center and for a while I try to memorize them. Left, right, skip one, left, left, right, skip, right, left… but eventually I give up.

At last we stop in a dark, dank basement-like room.

“Climb through there, and wait,” the Guarde tells me. I follow his finger and see a small manhole. It does not look very welcoming, but I see another girl swing herself up. It looks like there’s no other choice. I heave myself upwards wincing as I scratch the side of my leg on a sharp edge.
I can see two other girls in the small room that contains three cots. I’ve seen them maybe once or twice before and I know they’re both elementals, walking over to introduce myself, I crash into a clear wall of plexiglass. The other girls look up trying to hide giggles as a hot blush rides up my cheeks.

I look at the manhole before realizing that I can’t find it. I’m trapped. It’s not long after that realization before a small hissing sound occurs from the walls. Blue smoke comes surging towards me coiling, and rolling. A small tendril snakes around me and I bite back a scream. I  know it’s just part of the exams, but as the smoke increases, waves of fear build up inside me. It’s utterly irrational, but it’s real. A tendril of smoke seeps inside my nostril and suddenly my vision is tinged blue. I stumble and crash into the small cot.

What’s happening to me? I become aware of the sound of laughter. Sadistic, maniacal chuckles. The laugh of the insane. My eyes droop heavily and I waver but a part of me remains convinced that bad things would happen if I slept. The laughter continues on and on and on, and my fear is almost at a breaking point. Still I don’t give in. Then the voices come. Whispers trail around me like breezes on a summer day.

“We’re the failed…

the hybrids that never were…

experiments that didn’t work…

and now we’re here…

tossed...away like garbage…”

The whispers grow more and more malevolent while the laughter continues unrelenting, and at last it is too much. I sink into the welcoming arms of unconsciousness. I’m gone even before my head hits the pillow.

Zander

I lie on my bed staring absent-mindedly at the ceiling, waiting. My danger senses are tingling so much that I can barely concentrate- one of the disadvantages of being a Protection gifted. I know the beginning of the exams are close, and so I wait.

It’s only been an hour since they began tingling when  Alex, my trainer strides in, placing a suit on my bed. It’s a skin-tight black suit with red designs. I give a tight nod to him not daring to show any more emotion. He nods back and leaves without a sound. I slip into the suit noting vaguely at how light it is but I’m too anxious to care.

A while later, another Guarde comes in.

“It’s time. Follow me.”

He walks briskly down the hallways. My feet follow without me thinking about it much. I should be thinking about something amazing, something deep, something world changing but I can’t. My brain seems determined to stay in the comfortable zone of nothingness.

We seem to arrive at our destination and the Guarde instructs me to climb up the manhole. I do.

I stand taking in my surroundings. I'm in some sort of plexiglass enclosure with a single cot in the corner. There's a loud grating noise from beneath my feet and I look just in time to see a metal plate slide over the manhole opening. There was no way out. It was on.

The other two competitors are clenching and unclenching their fists and I know they feel the same tingling I do.

Moments later tendrils of gas begin peeking around the corners of the walls. I back away but there's no escape. As the first tendril reaches me I am almost knocked over by the surge of emotions. Fear. Overwhelming fear. Betrayal. Guilt. I see myself standing over thousands of bodies. Bodies I had killed. This was the Exams. Turning innocents into monsters.

I glance over at the other two hybrids, my lips twisting into a regretful grimace. We could have been friends.

My eyelids droop and I lie down letting the smoke do its work. Another irony hits me. I am a Protector. Thats my gift. I protected my siblings, my family and that girl Crysalis. I wasn't made to kill. Wasn't made to harm,  and yet here I am. The Protector that turned bad. The one who would have to kill to survive. Well all three of us really.