Prep Guide to Survival

Day 2

Kiah felt another jolt of electricity surge through her spine, forcing a sharp gasp from her lips, and she bit back a groan. She raised her head instinctively — only for a precisely aimed stun dart to hit her shoulder.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," she hissed.

She was currently enduring an upgraded version of the low crawl.

That morning, before the sun even peeked over the clouds, the same shrill alarm from the day before had ripped her out of sleep. Again.

Considering they had returned late and exhausted the previous day, she was pretty pissed about the lack of sleep. But she couldn't complain. Warden Gregory didn't give a damn.

After another capsule ride, they were dumped into what felt like the pit of hell.

A hundred-meter crawl through a narrow cave filled with tangled razor wire, crumbled debris, and electrified pipes. Pools of black coolant coated the ground, making the surface slick and unbearable.

Every twenty seconds, a wave of electricity would pulse through the puddle, sending a shockwave through it.

And if that wasn't enough, lifting your head for even a breath earned you a stun dart from the automated turret along the wall, which would leave you temporarily paralysed in place for the next zap of electricity to jolt you awake.

The razor wire cut their backs mercilessly.

The air was thick with the stench of chemicals coming from the black coolant. It made it harder to breathe.

It was an uncomfortable exercise. The puddle underneath them was dangerous, the wires above them were deadly, and the turrets on the walls were terrible. There was no time to catch a breath.

As her body slowly came back under her control, Kiah forced herself to keep crawling. She was convinced Warden Gregory had a personal vendetta against them. This was just too much.

"The Wake Crawl." He had named the exercise proudly. "Burn in the dirt. If you can withstand this, you are one step closer to becoming a resilient Rebel."

She groaned as another jolt licked her spine.

"How are you holding up back there?" Wayne called from just ahead of her.

There were five caves, and they had to split up evenly. Kiah had about six people crawling right behind her.

"Shut up and keep moving." She snapped.

If he didn't move faster, everyone behind them would get mad. They had to finish the course before the time ran out.

Oh, did she forget to mention the time limit?

If they didn't make it out in twenty minutes, they'd be denied both breakfast and lunch.

Kiah's stomach clenched just thinking about it. She was barely feeding as it was.

"Glad to see you're doing fine," Wayne replied dryly, picking up his page with a strained laugh.

Another wave of shock rolled through them, and everyone groaned simultaneously. Someone yelped as a dart landed on them.

'Lord, have mercy,' Kiah thought bitterly.

***

Day 4

Damn alarm.

Dress up.

Capsule.

Wasteland.

"The Smog Run," Gregory had announced with far too much glee. "Eyes closed, mind open. Get to the end of the underground maze and try not to die."

Now, Kiah found herself once again in a waking nightmare. Hands bound behind her back, a cloth tied firmly over her eyes, and a toxic fog filling her lungs with every breath, while standing at the entrance of a gigantic maze.

The rules were simple. Find a way out. The longer they stayed in the maze, the weaker they would become. The only way out was to reach the end before their bodies gave out from the poisonous haze.

The catch? They couldn't see, couldn't touch, couldn't even talk much. They had to navigate the maze by a bell, which rang at the entrance at random intervals, while also trying to ignore the false echoes blasting through the speakers.

They had been shown the maze's layout for just five seconds before being blindfolded. It was long enough for some to catch the first few turns, but not nearly long enough for most.

Kiah, however, was good with maps. Technical drawings had always been her thing, and her memory was sharp. She had burned the structure of the first half into her mind the moment she saw it.

The buzzer went off, and everyone scrambled, trying to find a way out before the fog's effects started to kick in. Most initiates formed teams since this was not a solo project.

"We have to go left at the first turn." She whispered, knowing Naya, Wayne, and Kira were nearby.

She was confident she could lead them to the middle. After that, they would rely on the hard way to get out of here. The bell.

"I caught that too." Wayne confirmed. "Let's go."

They moved carefully, backs grazing the wall so they could count the turns by feel.

"You guys are so cool. I wasn't able to catch a proper glimpse of that map before it—"

"I'll advise you to talk less. The more fog we breathe, the faster it gets to us," Kira cut in sharply.

That shut everyone up.

Talking would just make them breathe in the toxic fog faster. They would only be able to talk when necessary.

But it appeared many people hadn't realized yet, since yells and screams of frustration echoed through the maze. People bumped into walls, each other, or tripped over a trap or two on the floor.

They reached the second turn and pivoted left.

Kiah focused.

"We have to go two rights, then a left." She said in a hushed breath, just loud enough for the group.

They shuffled forward slowly, still following the wall to avoid the hidden floor traps.

When they finally reached the last corridor Kiah had memorized, she slowed to a halt, a pensive expression tightening her face beneath the blindfold.

"What now?" Naya whispered beside her.

Kiah hesitated.

"I don't know."

"I think it's a right turn. It has to be." Wayne said.

Kiah frowned. A single wrong turn could land them in a trap. The fog was already getting thicker in her lungs. She could feel her thoughts slowing.

'Eyes closed, mind open… eyes closed, mind open…'

Kiah chanted to herself as she steadied her breathing, trying to tune everything out.

"It has to be right." Wayne urged again.

"What if it's left?" Kira countered.

'Come on.'

Kiah clenched her jaw, blocking them out.

Then—

She froze. Her ears twitched.

A faint, almost imperceptible ringing echoed in the distance.

"Do you guys hear that?" she whispered.

"Hear what?" Kira asked.

"The bell."

They fell silent and strained their ears.

At first, they heard nothing. Then slowly, it came. The sound was soft, steady, and distant.

"There it is. I hear it." Naya gasped.

"It's coming from the right. We go right." Kira confirmed.

Without hesitation, they turned and followed the sound. At every turn, they paused and listened for the sound again, and then slowly proceeded.

This process continued for a while. It felt like a lifetime.

Each step grew heavier. The fog clawed at their lungs, their muscles screamed, and their senses dulled.

By the time they stumbled into the open air, coughing and gasping, the world spun beneath them. One by one, they collapsed just outside the exit, soaked in sweat and panting.

Kiah lay on the ground, chest heaving, but a smile tugged weakly at her lips.

They made it.