Important details are in bold, the rest is Kate's story.

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The base was buzzing with activity, the Exams were minutes away from beginning and every member of the Guarde was on high alert. I'd spent the last few days since the banquet organizing and preparing for this moment: the start of the Keeper Exams.

"Kate!" Thomas shouts, his footsteps echoing loudly as he jogs down the hallway, appearing at my side. "The apprentices are in their places, I have two Guarde members posted outside each chamber." I nod, my heart thudding violently in my chest as I approach the metallic door marked "KEO".

"Good, thank you." Thomas nods and pats my shoulder. I breathe in deeply at his touch; an unconscious attempt to provide comfort. But I shouldn't need it; I shouldn't be afraid.

"Kate." Thomas voices, a quip of worry tinting his tone. I shake my head and walk a little faster.

"I'm fine." Thomas grasps ahold of my wrist and tugs me to a halt. I bite my lip, refusing to look at him for fear of him seeing the emotional roller coaster in my eyes. Warmth spreads through my cheek as he guides my head up to look into his eyes.

"Kate," I close my eyes, refusing to admit it. "what's wrong?"

"Nothing." My heart clenches and my eyes fly open, a surge of fury lighting through me. I'm not afraid, I'm perfectly fine. "Leave me alone." I pull myself from his grasp and proceed down the hall, wringing my hands before me to stop the shaking.

"Katelyn!" Thomas snaps, I falter and turn around with wide eyes. Thomas has his arms crossed over his chest and his face set in a stern line.

"That girl doesn't exist anymore." Thomas ignores my comment, whispering a single word under his breath. Suddenly, the bland hallway and steel door at the end of the hall disappears. A protection spell of invisibility wraps around Thomas and I, shielding us from prying eyes.

"Now, you can tell me what's wrong or I'm going to dig through your thoughts until I find it." He barks, eyes hard and unwavering.

"I'm scared," Thomas nods, prompting me to continue. I sigh and close my eyes, running my hands over my face. "I'm not scared of dying, or giving up my position, that I'm actually looking forward to. I'm scared of messing up. The Hybrids need a Keeper and the Exams must provide me with a suitable successor, what if I can't find them in time? What if I lose my power before the end of the Exams? I'm scare of ruining everything, the Hybrid society depends solely on me. That's a lot of pressure for a girl who no longer exists, because most of the time I don't feel like the Keeper, I feel like Katelyn and she's just ordinary." I look up at Thomas, giving him a glimpse of the turmoil inside me.

"You're right, the Hybrid society does depend on you. But Katelyn, you don't have to feel like the Keeper to be her. Because Katelyn and the Keeper are the same person, eighty years and you haven't figured that out?" Thomas smiles teasingly, emiting a small smile from me.

"Wow, thanks T." The world comes back into view, the hallway and intimidating steel door reappearing as Thomas's protection spell comes to the end of its thirty second period. Thomas whispers again under his breath and the same spell repeats itself.

"Thomas, stop-" He cuts me off.

"I know, I know. First, run me through stage one again. Let's make sure you know what you're doing when you enter the Keeper Exams Operations facility." I sigh, this is unnecessary. I knew the procedure inside and out. But Thomas's expression was anything but understanding, he was going to keep repeating the same spell until I told him about stage one.

"Fine, Stage One is Individuality. Apprentices are guided into a stone walled chamber through a manhole in the floor. Chambers are divided into three sections, seperated by bars and plexiglas to prohibit contact between apprentices. Those of the same Gift are put in corresponding chambers. A gas is released throughout the thirteen chambers, causing all apprentices to fall into a medically induced coma that will last for approximately twelve hours."

"I will use the Keeper magick to link their minds together and then their subconscious will create a virtual reality where they will encounter the other users of their Gift. These virtual realities can last for varied amounts of time depending upon how each individual apprentice perceives time."

"Meaning what?" Thomas questions.

"Meaning that twelve hours in a coma in real time could be minutes, days, or weeks for them in the virtual reality. Some of the apprentices will die in the virtual realities, if they do then they will not wake up from the coma."

"When the apprentices are trapped in this virtual reality they will not remember who they are. Their memories will be wiped clean, no recollection of a childhood or of the Keeper Exams. All they will know is how to use their Gift and all they will feel is an undeniable need to survive by any means necessarry, even murder. But they must survive solely on their own."

"What's the point of Stage One?"

"The point of Stage One is to gauge how well the apprentices can handle by themselves. No help, no sancuary, no protection, and no one to trust. They have only themselves to rely on, only what they know they can do. During the duration of Stage One, any type of alliance will be prohibited and unatainable for the apprentices will be riddled with so much paranoia that the ability to trust will lead them to kill rather than admit defeat by another."

"Why?" He urges.

"Because being Keeper is one of the loneliest jobs in existance, you are the highest authority and no one can protect you. You need to protect them. Stage One is to see how well they can function completely cut off from anyone who could help them. It's about understanding that sometimes you can't trust anyone because there's no one there to trust but yourself. Stage One teaches the apprentices that despite everything, they are their best chance. To rule, to be Keeper, means trusting yourself above all else." Thomas smiles, his spell wearing off just as I finish my sentence.

"Good, you're ready to start the Exams Kate." I give a nervous-excited giggle as Thomas and I proceed toward the door at the end of the hall.

A loud squeal erupts through the hallway as the motion detectors sense Thomas and I standing outside the door. A red laser shoots out from the door, it's invisible eye traveling down our bodies.

"State your names." A mechanical voice demands.

"Keeper Kate." I speak confidently, my voice barely quivering.

"Guarde Thomas." My best friend announces, there's a brief moment of silence before the door clicks and whirs, opening with a whoosh of air.

"Access granted." The mechanical voice shrieks as I take my first step into the Keeper Exams Operations facility. A place that has been completely empty for more than eighty years but looks pristine and ageless. The operations room was alive with excitement, a hand picked team of intelligent, yet unGifted, Hybrids were positioned along a series of mega screens and monitors filled with information that I could barely understand.

"Welcome Keeper." The computerized voice announces, causing an abrupt lull in activity as every eye in the operations room turns to stare. A unified gust of air is sucked from the room as every member of the Intel Squad stares openly. Maybe overwhelmed with seeing their Keeper for the first time, I suppose.

"The longer you stare, the less work gets done." I snap, taking on the proffessional air of Keeper and abondoning the informal attitude I usually hold.

"Well, looks as if your reputation precedes you." Thomas chortles teasingly, I scowl at him as the metallic door shuts behind us with a clang. The noise jolts me out of my role as Kate and into my position as Keeper. I make my way fervently to the center of the ring of computer screens.

"Talk to me guys." I say, my gaze on one of the monitors were three apprentices are lying unmovingly on white cots in their chambers.

"We've released the gas, they're asleep." One of the Hybrids responds.

"Good." A moment of confused silence follows my sharp response.

"What now?" Someone questions, I turn away from the screen to the curious faces around me.

"Now Stage One begins." I pull the medallion from around my neck and press it against the closest computer screen. A deep calm erupts from within me and I relax into it. "May the best of you overcome." I whisper, as if each apprentice could somehow hear me.

A surge of energy runs through my body as I use the Keeper magick to link the apprentice's minds together. Promptly giving those of the same Gift access to each other's cerebral cortexes.

The computer screens crackle and blink off, only to light up again with images of different realities.

"Whoa, what's that?" A random voice questions.

"The apprentice's minds. Now we can see what they see. Hear what they hear. Experience what they experience. We'll monitor their actions until they wake up."

"What happens when they do? Wake up, I mean?" Another Hybrid asks, I cross my arms over chest and smile with the knowledge that so far, I've got this under control.

"Stage Two, of course."