Adaptation and Evolution (Book Two of the EDSOR Military Academy Trilogy)

Chapter 3- Second Phase of the Entrance Exams

I realized that there was no knob on the transparent glass door that separated the stuffy auditorium from the locker room. It was an automatic door. I silently cursed for reaching emptily. As I stepped inside, the door immediately shut. I tested if I could go back but it never reopened. So this is it. There’s no turning back from this point.

There was a musty atmosphere here. Dirty socks and stinky shorts filled the air. This must’ve been the sports locker room that they converted into a pre-torture chamber just to get the person’s nerves going. Fortunately, its turning out really well since my nerves are jolted out of their reverie.

My heart was pumping so fast that I couldn’t even move my arms. The hour hand was ticking on an old clock plastered to the dirty white wall. Death was inching closer and closer towards me.

Five minutes passed. I wasted the last minutes of my life watching the second hand tick per second. A door from the wall creaked. I didn’t even know it was there in the first place. Okay, I am really really NERVOUS right now! I was panicking.

I know that the second phase of the entrance exams was the anually-awaited killing fest. No, really. You are placed in a group of ten people, and you'll have to kill them all to be able to enter EMA. But what were the rules? I can't just step out into that killing chamber without any clue of what to do

“Greetings comrade”, the boy said. He had sunburnt skin, a thin and lanky body and adjusted his thin rimmed glasses. From the looks of it, I don’t think he really needed it. It was more of an intrinsic part of his outfit. 

“Good day”, I awkwardly said, wiping my sweaty palms on my slacks. His protruded face was quite prominent. He was quite good looking. Without asking my permission, he immediately searched my entire body for any deadly weapons…

“Wha-! What are you doing?! Stop it right now!”, I yelled at him as he resumed his normal position. “Has anyone ever taught you how to respect someone’s dignity??!”, I angrily burst out at him.

He remained a straight face but I swear I could see a little smirk forming on his face. He had no right to just hold my shoulders without telling me he would! These EMA Spartans, or as they call it, are impolite, rude and ill-mannered. What are they taught in this horrible school anyway? God forbid me to turn into a pompous barbarian like them.

“Miss Stark, you are still within the boundaries of EDSOR Military Academy. Rest assured that I have been properly trained to handle new recruits like you. Smoke bombs, nuclear bombs, any weapon against the rules will be immediately disqualified”, he said as he coughed.

“Really? How assuring. So you are taught how to look down at women by just freely searching them without a warning? What kind of lessons are you taught anyway besides hitting lifeless dummies and hacking and slashing at imaginary people?”, I lashed.

Oops. I think that was too harsh. His face was contorted from indifference to agony, as if I’ve sliced his heart into two.

I suddenly felt bad for him. I should’ve just kept it to myself. I’ve heard from a trusted source that EMA was the students’ only home, the only place where they could belong, which was part of their identity. This eccentric school is known for housing unwanted children, abandoned by their parents and only live to fight for the nation. Its much like a reform school, only it was long term. Badmouthing their identity was painful; I should’ve realized that.

He heaved a heavy sigh. He looked straight into my eyes. “In my three years of studying here, I find you to be very opinionated. Perhaps you’d like to consider working for the ICA Camp”, he said as he adjusted his glasses again.

I instinctively looked at the clock again. Ten minutes have passes since my arrival and he hasn’t taken me to the arena yet.

“Are you taking me to the arena or going to chat with me all day?”, I asked, starting to panic that I was going to miss the gruesome event.

He looked at his watch; and when he did strands of dishevelled black hair fell down on his face. “Not yet. Three more minutes. By the way, I am supposed to give you these. Here, arm guards and shin guards for protection”, he quickly said, thrusting two pairs of bulky red materials to me. He was very nervous, I could tell.

As I wore it, he just stared at me as if I’ve done something wrong. “One last thing Miss Stark”, he reminded me as I strapped the left arm guard into place. I feel like Optimus Prime from Transformers. My shin guards made me feel weird, like I was Buzz Lightyear heading out to infinity and beyond. My body had just gotten two tons heavier. All the armor was weighing me down.

I looked at him and smiled. There’s no point about moping about your impending death since you know it’ll already happen anyway. “Yes?”

“When I took my entrance exams here, I was so nervous and frightened by the prospect of death. When I was faced with the other children, I realized that I couldn’t stand a chance against them because they were stronger than me, and I was just a puny kid from the rest of them. I didn’t know how to handle a sword or a mace. I didn’t have muscles either. But I had a good background in Math. I used my brain to evade their attacks. You could say I used some reasoning and logic. I tried to blend in the trees to hide then when someone fell, I’d take the weapon and run off. The technique I applied was calculation and analysis. I’ve heard that you ended up as the valedictorian of your batch this year. You’ll figure the puzzle out. Remember: The secret is in survival, not brutality.

I was shocked. I could barely breathe. How did he know all of this? And why did he just tell it to me now? Puzzle? I am already puzzled by the vague rules.

“Th-thank you sir”

“The name’s Marco, captain of the La Salle Mathletes Team”, he grinned as he stood up and opened the door clung to the wall. He reached out his hand to help me but I didn’t take it. I kind of lurched a bit as the ledge I stepped onto was lower than I expected it to be.

As I entered the door, I saw a vast green land in front of me. Trees were abundant and the grass was well-tended. However this tranquil landscape would be soiled with my blood in a few minutes. I felt the soft grass brush through my feet.

 A standard black gun was pressed on the palm of my hand. I stared at Marco with my mouth open for five seconds. His eyebrows were stitched together and his lips were pursed. He had an unusual pale color streaming on his face. “Take it or leave it”

“Since when did you become so helpful to me? You don’t even know me”, I gritted my teeth as I stepped on a gray stone piece bulging out of the soil. All entrance examinees stood on the other stone pieces that formed into a circle. It looks like some weird Stonehenge tradition.

He grinned as he adjusted his thin rimmed glasses. “Oh, you’ll be very surprised at how much I know about the potential campers”

Was I supposed to be flattered? Any other girl would’ve been flattered and would toss her long shiny hair on this dude’s face. I was more of insulted.

"I don't appreciate being stalked on"

"Well that's a first. G'luck Miss Stark. See you...when I see you," he smiled as he walked away.

“Thanks a lot. See ya if I am still alive”, I murmured. He would be the last person I would ever speak to if I fail here.

This is all a game, a deadly and brutal one. If you’re one of the camp leaders, you’d enjoy seeing blood splatter all over the camera lens. Such morbid and gory thoughts. No wonder my friends at Honora scorned these Spartans for being a warfreak losers with no brains.

This is totally like Hunger Games except you don’t have anyone’s support. There’s no one cheering for you or helping you by sending you provisions. You don’t have a District nor a family. Take note I abandoned my family for this but I won’t be elaborating much on the details. The wound is still fresh so why bother pouring salt on it? Anyway, in this contest, you only have your own willpower to survive. And I had very little left.