3 Days Later - Dormitory
A loud alarm rang through the dormitory, always at 6 am. Metal doors opened as armed guys told the candidates to wake up. By the third morning, Maya hated the sound. Rows of blue bunk beds lined the room beneath harsh fluorescent lighting. Cameras sat in every corner. The dorm rooms were large and bright, not private, compared to college dorms. There were six in total. They were in Room 5, and around 50 people were in each room.
For the past three days, it was the same routine. Meals were served three times a day on gray trays that reminded Maya of old school cafeteria food—except worse. The eggs tasted rubbery. The soup was watery and salty. The bread was dry enough to crack apart in your hands.
"Prison food," Rory muttered one morning, poking suspiciously at his dumpling.
Clarissa sniffed her drink, "I'm not convinced this is legally orange juice."
Lena managed a small laugh, though her exhaustion still lingered behind her eyes. Yesterday morning, Jace got pissed off at the person serving the food after Lena vomited. Arguing that the food was poisonous and not edible. Maya had to calm him down as he made a scene.
Jace barely touched his meals anymore; he was always thinking. His mind stayed somewhere else entirely. He stayed close to Lena, making sure she and the baby were okay, even though the food made her sick.
He stared at the USB in his hand that he nearly gave to Sam. The fact that E.D.E.N somehow kept growing even after Kessler's death irritated him. What was so important on this USB that Sam was willing to kill for it? He remembered going through it when he was at the first location, but maybe he missed something.
Every day, they were given new clothes and guards marched them through mandatory fitness training, including running drills and obstacle courses. The new participants complained constantly.
"What is this, military camp?"
"They said survival preparation."
"For two billion dollars, I'll run laps all day."
The cash prize was 2 billion dollars, and it blinded people. Maya heard it in every hallway conversation. Nobody asked enough questions because they were too busy imagining what they'd do with the money: cars, houses, fame, to pay debts. E.D.E.N knew exactly how to bait them, and Maya hated watching it work.
That night, after lights-out and the guards left, Rory quietly climbed down from his bunk.
"Now," he whispered.
One by one, their small group slipped toward the far corner of the dormitory where the cameras had the weakest angle. Clarissa had figured that out earlier after spending hours pretending not to study the room. The college student and nurse followed cautiously, while the delivery driver stayed seated at first, arms crossed.
"You joining or not?" Rory whispered.
The older man grunted, "Depends if this is another ghost story."
"It's not," Maya said quietly.
The eight of them formed a rough circle between the bunks. The college student spoke first.
"My name's Adrian," he said quietly, "Since we're apparently doing this."
"Nina," the nurse added softly, "and this is my dad," she points at the delivery driver.
The delivery driver sighed, "Name's Walter."
Clarissa nodded, "Good. Now we can stop calling you 'the grumpy guy.'"
Walter glared at her, "Watch it, kid."
"Excuse you, I'm 23 for your information," she said, rolling her eyes.
To Maya's surprise, Rory snorted quietly. It was the first almost-normal moment they'd had in days. Jace's expression darkened as he looked between them seriously.
"We need you three to listen carefully," he said.
Adrian frowned, "About what?"
Jace looked around the dormitory before lowering his voice even further.
"This experiment isn't what they told you. Maya, Rory, Lena, and I went through something like this 2 weeks ago."
Nina crossed her arms. "You keep saying that."
"Because it's true," Lena said.
Walter leaned against the bunk frame, "And we're supposed to believe that?"
"You should," Maya replied, "Because we survived the first version."
Silence.
Adrian blinked, "What?"
"The forest dome," Rory continued, "The storms. The creatures. The surveillance. We lived through it for about a week."
Nina shook her head almost immediately. "No. No, that's impossible."
Adrian laughed nervously, "Okay, hold on. You're saying this place actually kills people?"
"Yes," Maya said flatly.
Walter scoffed. "Sounds dramatic."
"I watched friends die," Maya said quietly.
The anger and pain in her voice silenced everyone, even Walter. Maya noticed Nina studying them closely now. The exhaustion under Jace's eyes. The scar on Rory's right arm. Lena's bruises that still hadn't fully healed
Nina swallowed. "You're serious," she whispered. Nobody answered. "What do we do then?" Nina asked.
Jace looked around the circle, "We survive long enough to stop this."
"And Lena?" Rory asked quietly.
Jace's jaw tightened, "We get her out too."
The group fell silent again. Then Adrian looked up, "I'll help you guys. I want to see my mom again."
"Kid don't—" Walter interrupted.
"No," Adrian interrupted shakily, "If they're telling the truth, we can't just sit here."
Walter stared at him for a long moment before sighing heavily, "You're all insane."
"You don't have to be in this group; no one is forcing you to stay," Maya said, annoyed.
"Fine... I'll help," he muttered.
The next morning, alarms blared through the facility. Every screen lit up at once in red.
"PHASE ONE BEGINS IN THIRTY MINUTES"
The entire dormitory erupted into noise: excited chatter, nervous laughter, panic. Guards moved quickly through the rows, shouting orders.
"Line up! No talking!" they yelled, making sure they were in line.
Everyone was given a dark blue sweatsuit with their name tags on it for identification. Maya's stomach twisted as they were herded into massive transport elevators alongside hundreds of others, "This is so different than what we went through."
"I know, right? I wish I knew what that psychopath is thinking," Jace responded.
Three hundred and twenty participants gathered in front of a large, closed metal door.
Director Hale appeared, with perfect posture and a questionable smile, standing in front of the crowd with guards, "Good morning, participants," she said smoothly. "Welcome to Phase One," she said, "This is a seven-day test of endurance, teamwork, and survival skills. Participants will be divided into teams of eight. The strongest can get a chance to be a part of our Heroes board, and all the survivors of these experiments will be highly recognized. Currently, we only have 3 lucky heroes that I cannot disclose."
Maya, Rory, and Lena looked at each other.
Large screens began displaying names rapidly. Maya watched as their group remained together.
TEAM X: Maya Phillips. Rory Keane. Jace Phillips. Lena Ward. Clarissa Beckford. Adrian Thomas. Nina Adams. Walter Adams.
"At the conclusion of Day One," Hale continued, "surviving participants will vote on whether to continue or withdraw from the experiment."
Excited murmurs spread instantly, "So we can leave after today?"
"They really believe this," Adrian whispered.
"Yes," Jace said grimly.
"Good luck, contestants," Director Han said finally.
Massive gates slowly began opening ahead of them. Beyond the gates stretched dry grasslands beneath a cloudy sky. They could tell it was a dome this time. Everyone entered, and the metal doors closed. Teams scattered everyone was alert for the first challenge.
About 10 minutes later, there was a loud buzz in the sky. The sound intensified rapidly until it became deafening. People began looking upward in confusion. A woman screamed, and the sky darkened. Maya's breath caught in horror as she saw thousands of Gigantic locust-like creatures swarming overhead in a massive black cloud. Their wings vibrated violently, producing a horrifying mechanical buzz. Each creature was nearly the size of a cat; their legs were jagged, and their mouths dripped dark venom.
Then the swarm descended. Chaos exploded instantly. People scattered in every direction, screaming. One man barely had time to raise his arms before several creatures latched onto him. He collapsed, shrieking as purple poison spread beneath his skin, and his eyes turned red. Another participant stumbled to the ground while others trampled over him trying to escape.
"RUN!" Rory shouted.
The team sprinted in the opposite direction through the field as the swarm tore through the crowd behind them. The buzzing filled Maya's ears. A locust slammed against Clarissa's shoulder. She screamed and knocked it away just before its stinger pierced her skin.
"This way!" Jace yelled, spotting rocky terrain ahead.
Walter suddenly cried out. Maya turned just in time to see one of the creatures stab directly into his upper arm. "Dammit!" he shouted. The locust ripped away again, disappearing back into the swarm. Walter staggered; his face immediately began losing color.
Nina grabbed him, "Dad! No!"
"I'm fine," he lied weakly, as his knees buckled.
Another swarm of locusts was heading towards them. Nina tried pulling toward Walter, but Jace physically dragged her backward.
"LET GO OF ME! He's dying!"
Jace shouted, "If we stay, we die too!"
Walter looked up weakly, pale and sweating heavily. For one terrible second, his eyes met Maya's, and he whispered, "Take care of my daughter...please."
Maya looked away, trying to hide her tears.
"Go," he rasped.
The swarm descended again, and the others ran. Jace pulled Nina away as Walter disappeared beneath the black storm of wings.