The Last Level

Chapter One

"Run!" That is the last word that he said. That is the last word any of them have ever said. In a couple of weeks after training, 10 more of us will scream that dreadful word as our last.

When they come to your front door asking if you are interested in the training school, you think that it is all cool and that you will come back to your family afterwards completely unharmed, but what they don't tell you, is that you don't come back. Nobody does or has. And I was one of the ones who went.

Everyone in this territory is asked. At least everyone over fourteen and under eighteen. Only ten from out territory agreed though and I was in that minority. Three are girls and eight, including me are boys. I am the only fifteen year old. There are two fourteen year olds, three sixteen year olds, and three seventeen year olds.

Most don't even make it through the first level. those who do, don't get past the second. nobody has ever made it to the last level. My team has had some training and we have a little more to go before we are put in the first level.

No one knows why they do this and for what reason would they want to kill a bunch of kids. Some have the rumor that they do it to thin the population or that those kids are the ones most likely to not succeed in life, but I think those are both incorrect. The population is already thin so there would be no need for them to thin it anymore, and one of the girls on my team is really smart and talented along with many other succeeding kids.

Our last two days of training are next week. this week we are studying what there could be in the first level and ways to defeat it, but that is just paper pencil. They don't tell you what the level will be beforehand but they give you some clues as to what could be in it. The levels are always changing so if someone did make it, they would not be able to tell younger kids what to do. Not that they would let you go home anyway because you could tell everyone that so many kids have died, that would make people not want to go and the training would lose business. I don't think even if I did make it through the last level that I would be aloud home to see my family and friends.

Mr. Johnson walked up the stairway and into our room. As he walked into our team room, we all lined up in our usual routine, youngest in front and oldest in back. "lights out in ten! Youve got a big day tomorrow!" I dont know what he is talking about. Our big day in next week. Tomorrow is dust more studying unless there is something that I don't know about. As everyone is getting ready for bed and starting to settle down it the rough, dirty sheets, I sneak my transmission device under my pillow. I'm only supposed to use it for studying, but since the tracking device that they inserted in my brain is not watched very well, I have gotten a couple games.