Capture the Flag

Chapter 6

A knock sounds at my door just moments after I've changed into my uniform. 

"Come in," I say, lacing up the boots that came with the uniform.

One of the men who originally kidnapped me comes into view. "Hello Barrow, my name is agent Calrk. I'm here to escort you to the lecture hall"

"I know who you are," I reply snarkily, remembering everything he did to get me here. He lifts an eye brown and smirks at my tone, but I just sigh and follow him out the door.

We walk side by side through the pristine hallway. There are a series of doors on both sides, similar to the ones I came out of.  Ahead of us, I watch as other people dressed as I am are ushered out of their rooms. I see a boy with cropped hair, who I identify as Drew Hayes, and another who's the ginger from Seattle. Everyone looks just as confused and discombobulated as I feel.

"Keep moving," Clark shoves me gently as I had been slowing down. This must be all the experiment candidates, I think to myself, as I watch more and more guys ushered out of their rooms dressed in uniforms. 

We follow the hallway and are eventually corralled into a larger space, looking just like I pictured a college lecture hall might look. A large screen in the front, and tiered rows of seating that look as though they could at least host a couple hundred people. Clark leads me up the stairs towards the back and motions for me to sit in one of the chairs, him sitting directly to my left. 

I begin gazing around at all the candidates, taking it all in. I recognize most from their profiles and manage to place a couple faces to the names. Im not the only one doing it, however, and I end up locking eyes with a very muscular guy named Blake. I think over his profile that spoke all about his history for violence and fighting and I can tell I do not want to mess with him. I look away.

Another guy in the crowd, Ezra, seems to share the same eye as I do as he scans the room. I am surprised to see him staring at me, but I just assume it's because I am the only girl in the room. He opens his mouth to say something just as Agent Strickland takes the stage.    

"Hello everyone! My name is Agent Strickland and for  those of you I have not met, I will be one of the testing informants in this process. I'm sure many of you are feeling tired and confused, but let me relieve some of your anxiety by providing you with a clear perspective of what is going on"

The monitor is turned on and we see a slideshow of images of battles and wars from the past. "Many of you are aware of our country's need for technological advancement. We cannot spare more lives in future wars otherwise we can be expectant of a massive population deficit. To be able to fully prepare ourselves for forms of future combat, we need to develop a new type of robotic soldier. It must prove decisive, powerful, but almost human in it's ability for tactile decision making. That's where you all come in."

The video projection morphs to picture individuals running around carrying blue and red weapons, looking like a game of laser tag. "Our psychology department has developed an experiment to understand the best operation needed for this machines. We plan to use the intelligence and skill provided in your youthful minds to reflect most accurately the adaptations needed for this programming..."

"This is some bullshit!" One of the guy shouts, standing up and moving towards the screen. His guard tries to wrestle him down but they both end up tumbling down the steps. A few more people stand up all shouting and pushing their way towards the front. 

"SILENCE!" A guy in his middle age strides in from the entrance, looking rather pissed off.  "Would you all sit yourselves down please?!"

The room seems to stop as everyone is staring at this man with one arm of flesh and the other of titanium. Scars and blisters wrap around his face and neck, and her limps so deeply you'd almost think he'd need a cane. Everyone is silently maneuvered back into their seats at this distraction. 

"Thank you, Mr. Avery" Agent Strickland says, looking a bit flustered from the commotion. "Everyone, this will be your combat and strategy instructor during your time here on-site. He will teach you  everything you will need to know about the game"

"What game?" the guy named Luis asks, as he adjusts his glasses on his face.

Strickland sighs, exasperated. "The game is called, what you may have previously known in your childhood, as capture the flag."

She gestures to the scene as video clips of people running through landscapes with colorful armbands plays.

"You have each been chosen for your unique skillset and way of thinking that we believe will be beneficial for our creation of our newest combatant robot. We will be measuring your skills and your way of thinking through a game you will play with your fellow subjects. We will play this game often with varying teams and rules depending on the day of play"

"So we're here to play capture the flag?" the surfer kid named Kieran asks.

"Short answer: yes," Strickland answers, frowning at all the interruptions. "Your job while on our site will be to learn the game, master it, and perform with your utmost skill and proficiency each time. All the information surrounding the game itself is housed on the monitors in your room. That's where you will conduct your individual studying of the game and strategizing. The rest of the time you might be meeting with your team or with Mr. Avery for training"

Multiple hands fly up in the air with questions.

"Yes Blake?" Strickland asks, calling on one of the hands.

"So what if I refuse?" he says, with a calculating smirk, "You can't legally hold me here. In fact, we could all choose not to participate in your little game and then what? You get nothing from us"

"That is a fair point, which is why I wanted to discuss the reward," Strickland eyes each of us while saying this. "While you are here, we will take care of you. You will meet with our psych evaluators weekly, get healthy meals, and have all your needs accounted for. With that, there will also be a form of compensation. If you play well in the games, are working hard, and completing the tasks we ask of you, you will receive a weekly compensation. If you manage to win consistently and stay in the game, at the end of your time here you will receive a check for 10 million dollars"