No one made conversation during our final breakfast together. We were all too nervous, wondering if anyone else would be dismissed. What kind of test would it be? Three against three like the normal routine? Or would there be something special?

I tried making eye contact with Scotia a few times but she was always staring at the table or ceiling. There was a tall mirror above our heads and she often said the Occisio were using it to spy on us. I could never be sure. Only five Occisio members lived on this station, monitoring us, and Gregis was the only one who interacted with us.

“Well,” Zealand said as we deposited our trays and headed toward the training area, our black uniforms cleaned and pressed as they were every night while we slept. “May the best man win, or woman.” He nodded at the girls, then took his place in the entry hall at the front of the line. I took a spot beside him, my legs shaking from nerves.

“This isn’t a game, Zealand,” Sina told him quietly as she stood on his other side. “You should take this seriously.”

“I am.” He grinned cheekily at her, rising on his heels from anticipation. I could tell he was trying to make himself as tall as her but failing. “Turning it into a competition is the only thing that keeps me going sometimes.”

I understood him in that regard, though I couldn’t relate to how heated he got when he lost.

“Remember who the real enemy is. It’s the Calumnia. Always has been and always will be,” Graec told us as he stood by my side, followed by his girlfriend and eventually Scotia, who narrowed her eyes at his words.

I gulped. I didn’t want us to fail this time. Now that our leaders were gone, we needed to win more than ever. “Let’s work together as a group,” I said, shying away from their gazes as they turned toward me. “Without Congo and Sarmatia here, we’re at a disadvantage. We need to combine our strengths if we’re to succeed…right?” I gulped but thankfully Graec and Libyci nodded in agreement.

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Then the grey doors opened, revealing the familiar artificial forest we had spent most of our lives in. Our paint guns rested in six boxes next to the door, waiting to be retrieved and used. There were also armor chest plates and helmets, though most of us stopped using them years ago since they made it hard to navigate without bumping into things and each other. I was the only one who put mine on, afraid of getting a pellet in the eye.

After we armed ourselves, we waited for our teams to be announced. They were always the same, despite my theory that we’d make better soldiers if we learned to expect the unexpected. That would require fighting someone different every day. After ten years, I don’t think we actually learned much besides the basics.

Today marked the first time the announcement went against the norm.

“Today all six of you will be working together,” Gregis’s voice said, booming down from the ceiling. We glanced at each other, shifting and fiddling with our guns. “Today, your opponent…will be me.”

Him? My eyes went wide and the others had a similar reaction.

“Your mission is to land a single pellet on me before I take all of you out,” the voice continued. “Good luck.”

As soon as the audio cut out, I spotted movement in the trees. Squinting and already crouching slightly, I caught sight of grey skin and a long neck moving fifty feet ahead of us. It had to be our mentor. He blended in with our surroundings, his camouflage giving him a clear advantage. If he stopped moving, we might walk right past him and never notice.

“Okay.” Graec took charge in Congo’s absence, though he sounded too confident when speaking and wasn’t keeping his voice down. “Here’s what we’ll do. Libyci, Zealand, and I will charge in guns blazing and distract him long enough for Scotia and Sina to sneak up and take him out from behind.”

It hurt to know I was being left out of these plans. He probably assumed, rightly, that I would slow the teams down with my constant hesitation and hiding.

However, Scotia didn’t agree. “Indi will come with us. He’s a good enough shot and he’s quiet.”

Graec glared at her for a split second, not used to being questioned or ordered around by someone he deemed lesser than him in skill, but there wasn’t time to hesitate.