The Hall

I didn't sleep that first night.

I dont think anyone did. Connor stayed on his side, facing away from me, towards the wall. His breathing was calm but twitches in his feet signified that he was awake. He was thinking. As was I. Kamil, it turned out, slept in the posture of a corpse in a casket, and his silent-seeming breathing matched. He looked straight at the cieling for all of the night.

I however, would toss and turn occasionally, examining the cieling, every minute detail, from the chipped part in one corner, to the un-primed part next to the light fixture, which was itself the most simple one I'd seen in a public building. Literally just an LED coated with a white, glassy, diffuser. Had it only been a day since I had slept in my own bed? With my own sheets? With my own ceiling, and table, and chair? I thought about it too much. I missed it, but again, I had asked for it. I wanted the simple life to change. Just like Miss Danter I presumed, It was my time to change. It's funny how that works to be sure. We want something new and refreshing, until it happens. We hate the simple life until it gets complicated. It's like buying a car, sure it has the new smell and doesn't have any problems, and even maybe you can afford it. But the second that you buy it, it becomes a liability. Insurance payments, upkeep, and oil changes make it seem like less of a good change as it becomes older. And slowly, but surely, you begin to re-examine your past car. Was it that bad? Was this new one that good? I mean, it still got you from point A to point B. And over and over the cycle continues. From clothes, to foods, to even expierences in life.

How I missed my family.

It must've been around 2 or 3 in the morning when I finally decided to stand up off my bed. The only light was coming from underneath the door into the hallway, but it was more than enough to see through the room. In a corner, I saw all the luggage that we had brought with us. They had taken it off the airplane for us and taken it to our rooms without us knowing.

I creeped to my luggage, one big gray container with 2 weeks worth of clothes, toothbrush, and the like. They said we only needed to bring clothes for 2 weeks, that they'd give us clothing beyond that. I slowly ran my finger across the zipper until I found the handle and slowly opened it, careful to not alert or annoy my roomates. Of course, because both of them were awake, I caught Connor looking directly at me and Kamil was most definitely watching me from the corner of his eye. Connor said nothing, only peered on through the darkness, in curiosity. I reached in my luggage in the dark with only my hand. I didn't want to completely open it and cause a large noise. My hands fished around through the clothes until it hit something sleek and metallic. I grabbed it and brought it into the dim light to inspect it. It was my uncle's knife.

There had been no airport security when we boarded the plane. This was special because the government's power or something of the sort. When I found out, I made sure to shove it in my suitcase. I wanted a momento I guess, although I didn't expect It would still be there when I got my luggage back, but here I was, with it in my hands.

"Woaah..." Cameron finally whispered. "Dude, that looks sick."

He got up as well, walked over and looked at it with me.

"It was my Uncle's," I finally said.

"How'd you get it?"

"He let me have it," I lied.

"That's soo cool, it looks really expensive. What does that say on the handle?"

He reached out his finger to the little engraving on the black, mettalic handle. It was three letters, NFG. "Not for Glory" he had told me when I was younger. That was kind of ironic I had thought, because the whole point of hunting was usually for the sport as opposed to the actual food. It was supposed to be for glory. Uncle Lannon had then looked me into the eyes and told me, "Son, glory brings everything but glory. If you want to be proud of yourself for something, be proud that you are not." That was when I first started realizing how weird my uncle was. "Besides," he had told me, "The knife is usually what you skin with, not what you hunt with." That made me even more confused, because who skins an animal for glory if you already shot it? Hunting didn't make sense to me. It was playing for death.

"Not for glory," I responded.

He nodded and looked at the blade. Some of the dried blood was still on there.

"You caught something recently?" He asked looking at it.

"Yeah, it was a deer that I skinned."

"I didn't know you were a hunter."

"I'm not," I clarified, "My uncle just let me use it to skin the deer."

"I see, so he's the hunter."

"Yep."

"So why'd you bring it?" He looked at me inquisitvely.

"Its a momento of home, reminds me of what I left behind," I responded.

He looked at me peculiarly, "what's so good about home?"

He was a good person. He didn't seem like a perfectionist like Damian and I kinda liked that. he was good and he cared. So I told Connor everything that I hadn't before. From my sister Andrea and her hugs, to my Uncle and his scars. and to my mother and her impact on me. We were two boys sitting in the night, finding comfort in knowing. I told him my life story and he told me his. How his parents died. I noticed that when he talked, he would look up and down, from looking at my eyes, to the blade in my hands. He wasn't fearful at all. He trusted me. When he looked into the blade his mouth would curl upwards a little bit in the dark room, showing something of a smile as if he could see his family, his lost dog in the blade. He looked calm and collected, at peace with himself and his past. He was who he was, and he accepted that. How I wished I was him. The night went by, and soon enough, we had fallen asleep on our beds telling stories.

▲ ▲ ▲

The next morning we were woken by guards knocking on our doors telling use to get ready. Much to their surprise, Kamil opened the door immediately.

"Let's go," said the guard.

Connor, Kamil, and I followed them back to the mess hall where breakfast was already situated for us. We we're the first ones there. Soon enough, everyone else made it in, just as tired it seemed from a collective lack of sleep. We ate, very quietly, as everyone's anxiety was turned up, wondering what they were gonna make us do. What was the first test? I tore through my breakfast because I hadn't eaten the day before. I was famished. Once we were all done eating, they broke us into our letters, and all done quietly speculating about what was to come, it came.

We were shown, in single file, to our first test.

"It's very simple," a guard said stopping us walking through new hallway, "just sprint to the other side of this hall."

This hallway looked different than the rest, the ground was made of the same polyurthane that you would see at school. Only this track only went forward for about 200 meters, at the end of which was a big screen.

The guard looked at us and said, "Im ZZ-9, but y'all can call me Z. B-01 goes first and B-99 goes last, makes sense? Just run across as fast as you can, and one at a time so we can time you."

He turned to us, "any questions?"

Some people definitely had questions, but we kept them to ourselves.

"Good, where's B-01?"

A short girl with black hair walked forward from the crowd of people and took her place behind the line.

"Here I am," she said.

"Alright then, ready?" he asked.

"I guess."

"Okay, go when you're ready, and make sure to go fast."

As he finished his sentence, she darted forward, triggering a sensor or something, as we saw the time begin on the other side of the hallway. She ran as fast as her feet could take her. After 5 seconds, the guard pressed a button on the wall, and the wall started lighting up at the start. It then lit up another meter forward, and then another, and soon it was chasing her down the hallway. As she ran, she looked behind her to see the light, and having seen it, she began to run faster. She was now halfway there and the light was getting closer and closer to her. The guard looked at us.

"If she doesn't make it under 40 seconds, she loses."

"What does losing mean?" a kid asked from the back.

"It means," he said looking back at her as she came near to the end, "she loses."

Right as I thought the light was about to reach her, she passed over the finish line. 38.877 seconds. She stopped and starting panting heavily, scared as she didn't know why she ran from the light on the wall. She made it.

"If you lose," Z said, "You lose your chance in this program."

"Does that mean we go home?" someone asked.

"It means that you better run fast. Now, where's B-02?"

A boy came forward, and darted forward whithout a word. He ran even faster than the girl. His legs were longer, and he seemed for athletic. The light began to chase him but he kept his cool. He ran at the same pace, making good time. He crossed the line with the light quite behind him. 30.297 seconds.

We took our turns racing, B-03, B-04, and so on. The first one to not make it was B-07. He was overweight and stopped halfway. Once the light passed him it turned red and flashed. He stopped to breathe and looked back at us and at Z, who was clearly dissapointed.

"How unfortunate," was all he said before the ground underneath B-07 suddenly broke open. The look on his face said it all. He screamed as his body dissapeared from our view, like a mirage. Our gasps at the fight was quite audible and Z spoke up.

"Listen," he yelled to gain attention, "There is a simple fact of life, there are tests, there are trials, and you must prevail. A leader must be capable to pass any test thrown at them, and B-07 didn't."

"Is he okay?" someone asked from the back.

"If you're so curious, you can go with him," Z replied. "If not, you can run the track, make it to the the other side, and pass the test, its your choice. Now where's B-08?"

We kept on taking turns, most people made it across, 40 seconds wasn't too hard but it wasn't easy by any strectch of the imagination. When it came time for Kamil, B-23, my heart began to really race. The anxiety was deadly scary. 3 people hadn't made it, and I was scared to be the fourth. Kamil was a fast runner, in fact, it seemed that he was one fo the fastest so far. He reached the other side in a fast 28.455 seconds, a record so far. My turn.

I walked up to the line, looked at it dreadfully, my stomach began to turn inside out, and the food I had eaten was thinking about coming back out. I took my place and looked back at Cameron. He looked at me, the expression in his eyes said it all. Don't get caught behind.

And I ran. I ran like I had never ran before. I wasn't the fastest, but I was pretty fast as a kid. I was banking on that helping me out. I moved my feet as fast as they could possibly move. I turned my head for a split second to see the light. It appeared and began moving. I turned away immediatly and looked at the finish line. I was getting close. The B-02 boy looked with at me with his eyes widened. It was going to be close. The girl closed her eyes. I ran, breath after breath, I could feel my lungs fighting for thier lives. My heartbeat was fast enough that I couldn't feel the rhythm. And I crossed the line and collapsed on the floor. A few seconds passed before my head stopped spinning and I could regain movement abilities. I picked up my head to see Kamil, his hand outstretched to pick me up.

"Not bad," he said, looking at the scoreboard.

I ran it in 32.024 seconds.

"Thanks..." was all I could muster through my heavy breathing.

"Don't be happy just yet," Kamil responded, "It's your friends turn." He looked across the hallway. Connor took his place. He looked across the hallway to us, he looked at me. He nodded, and with that, he took off. He looked straight at me as he ran, with intensity. He was determined. He did not want to be the only one to not make it to bed that night. Luckily for me, I was to tired to be focused and to tired to pay quick attention, and luckily for him, he made it to me within a reasonable time. 33.001 seconds. I beat him, but he didn't collpase on the floor like I did. By now, I was able to focus and pay attention.

"B-26!" Z called.

I remembered the number, but from where? I had heard it before. I think Damian had told me on the plane. I looked across the hallway. It was Becca Miess. The girl that Damian had loved more than anyone I know. The girl that I hadn't seen in years. She walked up to the line.

I looked over to her. She was never really known for her speed. "Becca!" I yelled. She picked her head up to look at me. Her eyes widened with first curiousity, and then then she remembered me. Or I thought she did. I did change, but who else would know her name here? She looked back down, visibly shook. Why did I have to say that?

"Who is that?" Cameron asked.

"A friend from Abilene."

"Well, she looks like she's about to stay like that," he said pointing to her.

She was running, but she was shook up and seemed to run too slow. The light began to catch up to her as she grew nearer and nearer. She was looking down for most of the run. Only towards the end did she end up looking up. For sure she noticed me now, she looked directly in my eyes. The light drew even nearer as she reached the end. She was maybe on her last 5 meters when the light reached her. It flashed red and she jumped at me, "Kane!"

I reached out and managed to barely grasp her arm, but she weighed too much. I began to fall into the hole. It seemed 50 feet deep, maybe 60. Maybe enough to survive if I fell. Luckily, Kamil had a hold on me. I was on the edge, holding her off the edge.

"Pull on my hand!" Kamil said.

"Kane! Hurry! I can't hold much longer!" Becca yelled. Her hand was slipping.

Cameron reached and grabbed my hand as well, and together, him and Kamil brought me back on solid ground. With their help, I was able to bring Becca onto solid ground. She got to her feet and looked at me.

"Thanks," she said looking at the ground panting.

"Look," Kamil said pointing to the screen, "Her time."

She got a time of 52 seconds. I looked over, across the hallway, to Z. He looked at me and shook his head. He had said that 40 seconds was the limit. I looked back at Becca, "Guess that's another problem for another time."

"B-27!" I heard Z call.

A saw another girl step forward and ready herself.

"It's Emma! She's one of my roomates," Becca exclaimed.

Her roomate ran fast, faster it seemed than I did. She made the time quite handidly. 32.776 seconds. Right on my tail.

"Thought you were almost done there Becca," Emma said stopping to catch her breath.

"Yeah well, blame him," she said pointing to me.

"Wait, who's he?"

"That's the guy I told you about."

"I'm Kane," I reponded putting out my hand.

She looked at my hand, and back up to me and wasn't exactly impressed. Her eyes were vivid green and her hair was bright blonde, probably dyed. "Emma," she said, lightly touching my hand and looking back down the hall. "Now come on Bailey," she said looking towards what I assumed was the third girl in their room.

"She'll do fine," Becca reassured her. "You said she was faster than you, no?"

"Yeah, but she's antsy," Emma replied, not reassured.

Bailey began running, she was definitely fast, maybe close to as fast as Kamil, though not quite. She ran with a weird pace though, as if she had a previous injury in her right leg. As the lights began, she looked back. She took a little to long to look back and lost some time. She still looked in the clear. She was going to make it. She took another look, but this time, her right leg gave way because she wasn't paying attention. She fell down on her face, only to look up to see the red lights on the wall. She looked over to us and yelled, "Emma!" With that said, she fell into the abyss.

"No!" Emma cried.

She fell on her knees sobbing. Becca was fast to help her, "It'll be okay Emma, she'll be okay. The fall is survivable." Emma's looked up at her, said nothing and fell into Becca's arms.

"Bailey, Bailey...." was all she could mutter.

"It's okay, it's okay," Becca carressed her. "Im sure she's okay."

Emma got up and went to sit down next to the wall that was still flashing red. Her body was illuminated by the red that had sent her rooomate down.

"I get that it's sad," I whispered to Connor, who was just standing there. "But why is she crying that bad? A few others fell in."

Becca turned me aside, looked me in my eyes and said, "Bailey was her sister, she lost her sister Kane."

I stopped in my place and sat down. What if I had died? What would Andrea go through? I couldn't stand to imagine it. Losing someone like that. But we knew what losing was. Losing my father, but that was when I was young. Emma and her sister were much older than I was. I couldn't imagine losing Andrea, just the thought of it sickened me to death. I sat down, as the feeling rushed over me. What if I didn't return home? What was this place, was it worth coming here? I should've just stayed home. I should've stayed home, at least we would be together. What had I done?

It wasn't the home I missed, It was the people I missed. All I wanted to do was to go home. I missed it so much.