Scrutiny

They walked to the testing ground. In nice weather, bright and sunny, with not a rain cloud in sight.

Kayle felt the weather was a good sign that things would go well for the both of them.

She had already signed up for the two of them and made sure they got the paperwork out of the way.

So now all they had to do was just show up.

Of course, the two girls weren't the only hopefuls praying for a miracle that day.

They passed other eligibles saying their goodbyes to their family.

Receiving that last hug and kiss and all the encouragement they would get before they had to set out on their own.

The event would start at 10 a.m. giving everyone ample time in the vicinity to show up before the gates closed.

The girls had set out at least an hour and a half before opening time in a bid to reach early but they weren't the only ones with that bright idea.

By the time they neared the testing grounds they had to join a long line that curled outside the gate.

It was moving at a snail's pace.

There was nothing more Zyra hated than standing in line. Already she could feel her patience wearing thin.

Standing under the blazing hot sun didn't help either because it just made her more irritable and thirsty.

She recognized only a handful of girls from her area.

The rest had traveled far because their clothes looked dusty.

They had bags under their eyes.

One boy kept falling asleep while standing and his friend had to keep nudging him awake.

"Kayle!" A familiar voice shouted.

They both turned to look in the direction of the voice.

It was Athena Headley, a good friend of Kayle's, the only one who didn't turn her back on their friendship when Kayle's parents died.

She was escorting her younger sister Chloe through the test as far as she could.

They both had dark brown hair and piercing green eyes.

Both Headley girls were gorgeous when they smiled.

The young ladies were dressed in their Sunday best and could easily turn heads without trying.

Athena had already done the test and failed.

So she continued to work under her mother as a seamstress for those that lived on the outskirts.

It was under her guidance that Kayle learned to sew so well as they were fast friends.

Both would often fantasize and tease about sewing each other's wedding dresses when the time came.

Athena had made Kayle promise that she would also keep a watchful eye on Chloe for their mother's sake.

Athena didn't mind that Kayle hadn't ever invited her over to their home.

She knew her friend struggled financially and respected her right to privacy.

While Athena had a bit of a wild streak in her, her sister was the opposite.

Chloe was a bit of a crybaby no one expected her to pass the test but still, they sent her anyway because it was required by law.

If you turned twenty-one without doing the test you would be imprisoned and forced to do hard labor for up to twenty years.

No one wanted to end up in the labor camps, food was scarce and you were lucky to survive a day.

Aside from starvation, as women, they could also face harassment and brutal beatings.

Guards knowingly turned a blind eye because that would be one less mouth for them to feed.

Most of the people sweating it out in the labor camps were hardened criminals and would easily kill you for looking at them the 'wrong' way.

It wasn't a future anyone wanted and it could easily be avoided by just doing the test.

By the time they reached the entrance, it was almost eleven o'clock.

The guard asked for their names, and they gave them to him. He shouted out their names to a group of workers seated at a panel.

They searched and crossed their names off the main list and the three were granted entrance behind the castle walls.

It was at that point that Athena had to say her goodbyes to her little sister.

They hugged and Athena told Chloe that she should wait for her under the shade of the big Oak tree.

The first opportunity she got to leave she should take it.

Chloe promised that she would and Kayle said that she would personally see to it that she left.

At noon the gates were closed and whoever didn't make it in would have to try again next year.

A loud bell rang out and the crowd was silenced.

A lone man walked up a raised platform where the mike and podium had been erected.

The crowd eagerly anticipated his speech.

Rolf Peterson was a high-ranking officer in the wolfbeast human army.

His suit was expertly tailored and displayed a wide array of badges that were polished to perfection and glistened in the sun.

There was a representative for every social class in the Terranite hierarchy and he was dressed differently from them.

It didn't hurt that he was young, handsome, and very tall.

He had the typical Terranite brown hair and tawny gold eyes.

He began his speech and she didn't hear a word he was saying.

Zyra was too busy ogling his muscular physique.

Rolf wore navy blue form-fitting trousers that encased his muscular legs snugly with a matching, white ornate long-sleeved shirt that was currently trending in fashion for men.

He offset it with a thick, expensive navy blue Jacket, that should have had him perspiring like crazy but yet he barely wiped his brow.

His boots and belt were made of the finest quality of leather and she wasn't the only lady eyeing him.

She looked around and saw that the other girls were practically salivating, had he blown them a kiss they probably would have swooned.

She could see why he had been chosen to officiate the opening ceremony.

He was charming and magnetic and even the boys in the crowd openly admired him.

The highest honor one would ever get was to be recruited into the Terranite army.

Very rarely were women ever chosen so neither she nor her sister had any worries on that account.

Now was the moment they had all been waiting for, he was finally going to explain the rules of the test.

He made it sound so simple.

There were just under a thousand applicants waiting to do the test.

Batches of applicants would be released into the maze at the same time.

They would enter the maze blindfolded and would need to leave the same way.

Failure to do so was grounds for disqualification.

It was expected that people may fight or kill each other to ensure that they ended up in the chosen three hundred.

If they could make it out before nightfall they would pass and move on to the next stage of their lives.

Every year the initial test changed and those that managed to pass it signed a contract that forbade them to speak on the test or face instant death if the contract was breached.

Rolf made it quite clear that it would be dangerous.

He expected that more than a few may not even survive.

By showing up promptly they had done what was required by law, to reach inside the gates before they closed.

There would be no shame deciding in not to do the test.

All they had to do was sign a non-disclosure and they could return home.

Three hundred women decided to do just that. Chloe was amongst them.

She looked so relieved that for a moment Zyra felt envious of her.

All the males were staying behind, they would never live it down as men if they went home a coward. It was a matter of Terranite male pride.

The test was designed to whittle them down from seven hundred to three hundred applicants.

It was expected that one hundred of them would join the army and the remaining two hundred would be evenly split up amongst the households.

The remainder were told to line up again and this time they were scrutinized from head to toe by the guards.

Probably checking for weapons or any devices like a compass that could give them an edge on the competition.

A few were instantly disqualified when they were found carrying pocket knives and smaller weapons that could have easily gone undetected.

"Every year it gets worse."

"This rabble is not fit to join the army."

No one in their right mind wants to join your stinking army Zyra thought but she kept that comment to herself.

The maze had many entrances but only one exit.

If you tried to exit through an entrance you were instantly disqualified.

Oh no.

To Zyra's dismay, the sisters were separated and forced to enter the maze from different entrances.