Higher Aptitude

Orientation

Celine followed the others off of the jet. Matrix was leading the way across what seemed to be regular desert. He stopped in front of a large rock. "That's a rock, Matrix," Cam said, "I don't see what's special about it, except for its size."

Matrix ignored him and traced the outline of a rectangle in the rock. He stepped back, and the places he traced glowed blue and fell away, revealing a staircase. Turning to the kids, he said, "This is Base Rock. It is the only way into the Academy's grounds. We will explain more to you when we get inside."

Celine heard Damien draw in a sharp breath and mutter, "Yes, that's it. It all makes sense now."

Celine shook her head and followed her fellow students into the rock. Everything went dark for a second, then she was standing at the mouth of a cave, looking out at a fair-sized village. She counted ten clusters of houses circling around a large building in the center. Matrix was speaking, "that building in the center is the Hall. It is where you will be eating and where you will be sleeping until you are Determined. That's all I can tell you for now. Inside, Headmaster Shrubb will be waiting for you." With that, Matrix leapt up and flew over to one of the clusters.

Celine looked at the twins and Cam. "Did he just fly?"

They were all nodding. "That seems to be the case," Damien said, "What have we gotten ourselves into?"

Together they walked to the Hall's entrance. Suddenly a tall, sandy-haired boy appeared in front of them. On either side and slightly behind him were a stocky, dark-haired boy and a small, delicate-looking girl. Their leader spoke first, "Hey look! It's a new group of Lowers. I wonder if they'll get themselves eaten like the last batch did."

The girl snickered, wrinkling her pixie-like nose. "Yeah. I don't think any of them are Warrior material." She turned to the other boy. "Say, Kyle, how much do you want to bet one of them's a Prey?"

Kyle shook his head. "If I bet against you, I'd be wrong. What do you think, Luke?"

"I have to agree with you guys. It's so obvious, Lil can see it," said Luke.

Lil turned to glare at Luke. "Excuse me?" Then they moved so quickly, to Celine it was all a blur. Lil jumped onto Luke's back, who then dropped to the ground and rolled over, trying to squash her. Lil lunged at Luke's throat, but he quickly blocked her. As she changed tactics and aimed to kick him instead, he punched her in the stomach. Celine winced as she watched to two wrestle. Luke had Lil's hands in his now, and she was struggling to free herself from the strong grip the bigger boy had on her.

Celine glanced at her friends, who all seemed as confused and nervous as she was. Kyle, who was watching the pair with amusement, looked at them and smirked. "Hey guys," he said, "I think we're scaring the Prey."

Lil got up and snickered. "Oh, dear!" she cried in exaggerated alarm, "We don't want to bruise the poor pansy's sweet, innocent soul, now, do we?"

"Oh, yes," Luke said in agreement, "I'm sure we have better things we could be doing than talking to these. Adieu mon amies." They turned and started walking away.

Celine glanced at the others; Damien seemed to be the most furious of them all. Before Luke got far, he started clawing at his chest, and his face was turning a shade of purple. Celine looked at Damien again. He was staring straight at Luke. Beth put a hand on Damien's shoulder, and Luke's face went back to normal. He stared in shock at Damien and opened his mouth to say something, but apparently thought better of it and just walked away.

Once they left, all eyes turned to Damien. Before anyone could say anything, he shrugged and said, "I don't know what just happened, but I suggest we get inside now."