Intractable

Chapter 7

I take another step down the hallway, occasional drops of water falling from above and landing on the top of my head before dripping down the side of my face. My cheeks almost feel as though I've been crying, and given our destination, I might start soon.

Today is our first day of training. The safety of assessments has finally come to an end. I know there are a few ways this day can go, and I'm terrified. My palms have been sweating and my heart has been racing for the fifteen minutes I've been awake.
           
I know my head start should bring me comfort, but I can't help but acknowledge the fact that some of my peers are bound to be jealous. If I'm lucky, I'll prove how badly I needed the head start and they'll feel bad for me. Then again, needing the head start means this will be the hardest year of my life and my odds of survival could plummet. I just wish I knew how I'd perform without it so I can determine how I should try to perform with it.
           
Our group comes to a closed set of metal doors. Somehow, I keep ending up at the front of the pack.
           
"Open it!" one of the women who were placed in charge of us our first day here calls.
           
I grab the cold, silver handle on one of the doors and push. I take a deep breath before I step through and enter the room before me. The space is large and dark, the dim lights spread too far apart throughout. Orange cones sit in various spots on the concrete floor, and arrangements of silver bars are set up. Overall, the room looks like an obstacle course from elementary school. Maybe Coterie prepared me for this better than I thought.
           
"Welcome to your first day," an automated voice booms over loudspeakers in the wall behind me. "Your first task is to complete an obstacle course. Five of you have earned a five-minute head start. Whatever your completion time is, five minutes will be deducted from it. Your scores for this task as well as all others you'll complete during your time here will be recorded by Collation faculty and used to determine your placement next year. Good luck to you all."
           
"An obstacle course?" a boy behind me asks. "I thought this was just a race."
           
"It is," one of the women says. "Your start times will be staggered. Finishing in the bottom five percent won't bode well."
           
No pressure or anything.
           
"The five with a head start will go in their own group. The rest of you will go in groups of twenty."
           
That's not so bad. Nick and Devin will be looking out for me, right?
           
"One more thing. This task may be deadly."
           
A horn blares and portions of the floor under some sections of the course open up. If I can't hold myself up on some of the bars, I'll fall into a pit.
           
This just got so much worse.
           
"First group," the voice over the speakers says. "To the start line."
           
Devin grabs my hand, and we walk over to the red strip on the floor together. She stands to my right and Nick stands to my left. My heart is pounding, and I think I'm gonna be sick.
           
Another horn blares but nothing happens.
           
"That means go, first group!" a woman calls.
           
I take off running. My legs want to sprint, but my brain knows I need to pace myself for this. I've never been much of a runner, so there's no telling how this may go.
           
I make it to the first set cones and am grateful for the arrows on the floor telling me what to do. I zigzag around them and make my way to the first set of metal bars where a laminated sheet of paper tells me to grab the first and make my way across them one-by-one. Monkey bars. Thank you, Coterie!
           
I pass the first set easier than I expected. My upper body strength isn't impressive by any means, but it's enough for this.
           
I come to another metal bar, this one hovering above the middle of a massive hole.
           
"We gotta jump to it and swing ourselves across," Devin says.
           
"What if we miss?" I ask.
           
"Don't miss," Nick says, jumping immediately. I close my eyes and wait for a scream that doesn't come.
           
"He made it!" Devin says.
           
"Out of my way!" Olivia yells from behind me. She runs and jumps to the bar without a shadow of a doubt. Her hand barely makes enough contact for her to swing her way across, but she does it.
           
"You wanna go first?" I ask Devin.
           
"No, I'll go first at the next one." She shakes her head. "You got this."
           
I take a deep breath and take a few steps back. A running start would probably be good for this one. I close my eyes and start running, opening them before I have to jump.
           
The feeling of my body flying through the air is almost magical. The wind against my face, gravity seeming to have no effect on me. And then my hands grasp the metal bar.
           
"Go, Mackenzie!" Devin cheers. "Swing your legs!"
           
I do as she says and release the bar. This time, flying doesn't feel so peaceful. I land hard on my butt on the other side of the hole. Half of me is upset about the pain, the other half has never been happier to feel it.
           
I stand up and turn to face Devin. A boy has appeared next to her, and he takes off toward the hole. He jumps and I can tell he's going to come up short. His fingertips graze the bar, but he isn't able to grasp it. My heart freezes as his body disappears into the darkness below.
           
A single bell chimes.
           
"What is that?" I call to Devin.
           
"Death notification," she says slowly. "Move over, I'm coming."
           
I want to close my eyes, but I know I have to cheer her on like she did for me. I step aside and start clapping my hands. "You got it, Devin! Come on!"
           
She runs and jumps, grabbing the bar and swinging herself over to my side.
           
"You made that look so easy." I laugh.
           
"Let's go." She grabs my hand and pulls me further along the course.
           
We reach a series of bars that start at the ground and ascend to a platform about twenty feet off the ground. Climbing a ladder isn't so bad, but the platform is filled with bars arranged so that we'll have to maneuver our way over some, under others, and through a couple. At least I can't fall into a dark pit if I mess up on these ones.
           
Devin leads the way up the ladder, and I nervously follow her. We reach the top, and I'm suddenly hotter than I was on the floor.
           
"Is it warm up here?" I ask.
           
"Yeah." She nods. "The bars are heated. We'll burn ourselves if we touch them."
           
"You're kidding."