Icarus shifted uncomfortably on his mattress. The image of the woman being sucked through the rift was burned into his retina. His thoughts ran wild thinking about the potential consequences of Thalia's choice.
'The person on that accursed platform could easily end up being me or any of the others.'
He shuddered at the thought.
His room was illuminated by small streaks of moonlight that bled into his room through the cracks in the ceiling. Unable to find sleep, he sat up.
'Warden'
The midnight companion shimmered into existence in the air above his head.
[Icarus? My functionality is still limited. I am currently only capable of trial assessment. My other two functions require Sever Energy.]
Icarus thought back to The Wall and how swarms of people were devoured by the beasts from the wilds. He needed information. They had been grossly underprepared.
'That's okay, please tell me more about the current trial. I feel as though some details were left out in the installation wide announcement.'
A blue screen appeared in his vision.
---
[Current Trial - Combat Testing]
[Trial Length - One Year]
[Time Remaining - 357 Days]
[GQC-1 Parameters for Success - Slay a Grade 3 Sever Beast]
[Waves Completed - 1/13]
[Next Wave Start - 27 Days]
---
'Next wave?!'
[Yes, there will be 12 more waves of Sever Beasts to attack this installation. They will come every 30 days and each wave will be stronger than the last.]
'What?! Why did the first wave happen so quick after the barrier opening then?'
[That was by design. The trials are designed to encourage preparation to the utmost degree.]
Growing frustrated, Icarus swatted at the orb.
'How were we supposed to be prepared for the attack of that magnitude and on such short notice?! It wasn't just our district, millions died... INCLUDING MY BROTHER!'
Easily evading Icarus's strikes, the orb responded.
[Your species was given 15 years. The preparations should have been made by the individuals in charge of the installation.]
Unable to catch the orb, Icarus could only accept its reasonable counsel. He sat back down on his bed while he sighed heavily and pondered its words.
'This stupid thing is right. The government left us to rot like meat shields! Why!? What have they been doing for the past 15 years!? It's their fault. Its their fault my family is most likely doomed and their fault that Ace is dead! They should have to answer for this, no.... they WILL answer for this!'
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
With the thoughts of righteous retribution on his mind, Icarus settled back into his mattress. His wild heartbeat eventually tired him out enough for sleep to welcome him into its sweet embrace.
*** Next Morning ***
Icarus sat at the concrete table as he watched Thalia prepare breakfast. His younger brothers and sisters had regained their cheeriness. They ran around the room as they played tag.
Dane seemed to be having a hard time catching Zeke.
"Hey you're too fast bro! I can't catch you! Slow down!"
Zeke laughed as he turned around and stuck out his tongue.
"It's not that I'm fast, you're just slow!"
Dane turned a deep shade of red as he yelled at Zeke and charged at him.
"Y-Y-Y-YOU BUTTHEAD. "
Thinking that it was only a lighthearted argument between brothers, Icarus was only partially paying attention to their confrontation.
A small twinkle of blue light drew his attention just in time for him to see Dane cross the room in the blink of an eye, tackling Zeke into a concrete wall with enough force to crack it. The pair fell to the ground, both of their bracelets shining blue.
'I'm sorry, WHAT?!'
As Kalen, Lucy, and Hannah ran over to help, Icarus could see that there bracelets had turned blue as well.
He looked over at Thalia.
She stood over a pot of boiling water. Clouds of steam partially obscured her face as she looked over at her youngest siblings. Icarus looked closer. He could have sworn he saw...tears?
'Are those... tears of joy? I guess she wasn't expecting all of us to make it. Still, those tears look a little too genuine. Wait... Is she... looking at me?'
Confused, he called out to her. "Thalia! What's wrong?"
She looked down at the floor wistfully.
'Huh?'
A pair of hands grasped Icarus. He looked down to see Lucy clutching his leg in a tight embrace. His other siblings followed suit, crying as they ran over to hug him.
"Guys? What's wro-"
Out of the corner of his eyes he saw a faint red glow emanating form his arm.
"Oh..."
What happened next was so fast it happened in less than 10 minutes.
True to their promise, the Sentinels arrived shortly after the bracelets lit up, rounding up the children and Icarus. Thalia watched helplessly. She wanted to fight them but Icarus stopped her. His fate was already sealed.
***2 Days Later ***
Icarus sat on a circular white platform. It was smooth to the touch, almost like he was sitting on solid air. It was strangely cold as well, forcing him to constantly change his position. He was lucky he was wearing rather thick clothes when they came to retrieve him.
He looked around the room. Dozens upon dozens of other platforms filled the gargantuan gray colored hall they were in. The other white circles were occupied by his fellow slum residents. Stuck behind an invisible barrier, everyone sat miserably on their platforms.
Some looked alert; they had clearly been apprehended only recently. Others looked like the woman Icarus saw on the day he was primed with Sever Energy. He now knew why.
In the two days he had been there, he had not been fed once. In fairness, everyone in the room was going to die, so he partially understood why.
They weren't even released to relieve themselves. Instead, they had all been given a pill that erased the urge and made their bodies recycle nutrients.
Despite the wonder of inner city medical technology, Icarus witnessed even more bizarre things during his stay in what he assumed was the basement of the Exposure Facility.
Some people screamed in pain as they were pushed into the floor of their pedestal by a seemingly invisible force. On rare occasion, their bones would snap loudly, preventing them from getting up. Others seemed incapable of movement for hours, as if they were frozen in time. They weren't even able to blink. The last group of people would sometimes glow a bright green while screaming in pain. Their glowing would sometimes last for hours, continuing even if the person had fallen unconscious from the pain. Needless to say, he wasn't envious.
Perhaps the strangest thing was that he himself hadn't experienced any of the symptoms he observed. He sat there hour after hour, watching others battle immense pain or be frozen like a statue. He didn't know what to make of it.
A couple times a day his heart would ache when a platform would descend from the middle of the ceiling, only to be replaced by one from the room. The person on it would never be seen again, with the explosion from above marking the end of their existence.
Icarus pondered many things. Surrounded by others, he somehow felt more alone then he ever had in his entire life.
'I guess this is how I die huh? Full of talk? Right as I vowed to get revenge for you too Ace! May-'
His thoughts were interrupted as his platform began to move up towards the ceiling. It seemed that a brotherly reunion was closer than he thought.