Time left: 5m 19s

Less than five and a half minutes remained before the second test came to an end.

Cars, buildings, other humans in a similar boat as me, and the death that covered the streets zoomed past as I frantically searched for another orb. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” I yelled. “Where the fuck is one?”

Time left: 4m 44s

I needed to find one. Gray could’ve just killed me. Instead, I was going to have to die in an agonizing fashion. Maybe that was his plan. His plan to torture me. To force misery upon my soul one last time. No. He wasn’t that clever. He was a fucking moron. I had to focus and keep moving.

Time left: 4m 21s

Dashing down the street, my eyes scanned everything within my surroundings as they flew passed me. Alleys, inside vehicles, peering into building windows and opened doors, and rooftops; nothing was left to wonder about.

The throbbing continued with its pounding upon my head. All the running around intensified the ache. Maybe it would be better if I could just pass back out before the timer expired. That way I wouldn’t have to experience the same thing that Fred and Cheryl had endured.

A shout echoed from somewhere in the street. Then another. The familiar sound of fighting and running came from a nearby alley as I leaned against the car catching my breath.

Time left: 3m 53s

Not wasting any time, I took off toward the alley reaching it in record time. As I turned the corner, slowing my pace to assess the situation, a body from above slammed the pavement about 20 feet in front of me. A horrifying wet crack reverberated between the buildings on either side of the alley.

Jumping backward, I screamed, “Holy shit!”

More commotion came from above. Two other people were fighting on the fire escape, racing each other to the top of the roof. I could only assume it was for an orb and opted to join them.

A woman’s voice shouted, “You bastard! You killed him! You fucking bastard! I am going to rip your head off!”

The metallic clang of fists meeting flesh interrupted the disagreement, accompanied by thuds of bodies colliding with unforgiving surfaces. Each impact resonated, traveling down the fire escape to my ears. Grunts and gasps intermingled with the scuffle that seemed to be coming from the third story of the fire escape of a six-story building.

Ignoring the scuffle from above, I began my ascent to the roof via the pulled-out ladder found at the bottom of the fire escape, moving quickly in hopes to catch up and pass the brawl.

The rungs of the ladder were rusted, their texture sending a prickling sensation through my palms as I moved passed them. By the time I reached the top of the ladder to the second story, the sounds of the commotion had seemed to slow down.

I moved quickly once my feet met the metal base of the fire escape floor. Lunging up each flight of steps, skipping multiple at a time, I came upon the fight scene that was heard from the alley below.

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A man was straddling a woman with both of his hands wrapped around her throat. Her widened eyes showed a mix of fear and disbelief, as the man continued to squeeze the life out of her, grunting as he did. Her arms flailed, smacking the man in the face and arms, failing to free herself. The man jerked his attention to me.

A surge of horror and helplessness flowed through me as the woman’s struggle grew feeble. I had to take advantage. She would die either way. At least this way was less painful. I ran toward the man and the dying woman, grabbing the railing as they neared and swinging myself up to the next flight of steps. The man did not flinch.

The sounds of my pounding footsteps reverberated as I climbed higher and higher. By the time I reached the sixth story, an ache had permeated throughout my thighs. Tired from the climb, I refused to stop to rest. Time was ticking down.

Time left: 1m 34s

The text flashed in my mind causing my heart to jolt. I hadn’t realized it took so long to climb the fire escape. I had scaled and climbed those flights of stairs faster than I had any time in my life. It had felt like seconds.

The ladder to the roof was the last obstacle that stood in my way. All that needed to be done was to climb that and hope to whatever the fuck was out there that an orb was located on this roof.

Panic set in as a realization dawned on me. Those people may not have been fighting for an orb. What if they were fighting for something else entirely? The man didn’t even flinch as I came barreling toward him. He wanted that woman dead. Fuck.

I gripped the rungs of the ladder and yanked myself up. The roof approached quickly as my hands reached the last rung.

I was now high enough on the ladder that my head could peak past the side of the building to the roof. And there floated my prize, slowly moving toward the edge of the roof near the main street.

I gasped. “Yes!”

Time left: 0m 52s

The home stretch was in sight. There was plenty of time remaining to get myself up to the roof and touch it. To be reunited with Evie.

Fully pulling myself onto the roof, I stood up, pushed the sweat-soaked hair from my face, and started to walk. Before my left leg could thrust itself forward, a hand gripped the back of my ankle.

The same hand that choked the life out of the woman below. The same hand that threw the man lying in the alley to his death. The same hand that yanked on my leg as I walked, forcing me to the floor.

The man’s head poked up over the roof. An emotionless expression adorned his face as he crawled his way to the roof tugging his way to me.

In retaliation, the heel of my right shoe slammed down onto his hands that were gripped to my pants. Over and over, I slammed down on him in order to free myself from his clutches. My shoe met his face several times, causing his nose and mouth to spew with blood. Each collision caused an audible thud.

The man did not waver as his zombie-liked demeanor kept him moving forward. After enduring a few seconds of my feet pummeling him, his grip loosen enough that I was able to scramble to my feet. The bloodied man rose with me.

I booked it toward the orb.

Time left: 0m 25s

Fuck.

The orb was now tittering on the edge of the roof, begging to jump. The man was in hot pursuit behind me. We were mere feet away from the end. The back of my shirt swooshed as the man took a swipe to yank me from behind.

My face was scorching. My heart was thumping its way out of my chest. I arched my body forward in an attempt to stop the psychopath behind me from grabbing on. My attempt was thwarted as the man successfully grabbed a handful of cloth on his second attempt and pulled me into him.

In anticipation of this, I dropped to the floor of the roof, skidding across it. As my body tumbled across the floor, I rolled myself toward the ledge using the man’s momentum against him. The man tumbled over me as I used my limbs to force him over the ledge.

The orb had moved off the roof and was beginning a slow drop to the street below as the man continued to fall to his doom.

Heavy breathing, I climbed to my feet and dove over the ledge. The cool wind from the fall blasted my face as I heard a thud from below. My arms reached for it. The warmth of the orb enveloped my hands as I grabbed a hold of it. Euphoria rushed through my entire body as my vision became obscured with a golden light.

Time left: 0m 2s

Congratulations. You have passed the test. Your class will now be assigned.