"Your objective is simple. Enter the trial grounds. Locate and collect Scales. Then find your assigned base and secure it."

Mr Ryco looked across the class.

"The base must be secured by seventeen hundred hours."

Silence followed.

Then almost instinctively, students glanced at their watches.

Two thirty.

A few faces immediately changed.

They had barely two and a half hours.

Some looked nervous. Others began calculating routes, distances, and search time.

Competition.

Before any of them could react, Miss Heaven stepped forward holding a big paper box.

"Soraya." She called, not raising her voice more than normal.

Soraya stepped out of the formation and strode to her.

Miss Heaven handed her the box.

"As leader," came Mr Ryco. "You will take charge of your squad, give field commands as you see fit, maintain order and ensure no member gets left behind."

Miss Heaven nodded at the box.

"Open it."

Soraya opened the lid.

Inside were walkie talkies, digital tracking bracelets, a map and a strange looking device.

"Forward." Miss Heaven ordered the rest of the squad.

They advanced one after the other.

Soraya handed them each a walkie talkie and a bracelet to wear.

Then under the guidance of Mr Ryco, each member scanned their thumb fingerprint on the strange device. Once scanned, their name would reflect on the screen.

"You will register attendance in this manner before and after each directive." Mr Ryco said. "If anyone fails to clock out at the end of any day, points will be deducted from your squad."

He looked around.

"And if any member is left behind or goes ’missing’, points will also be deducted."

Soraya took the map from the box, rolled it open and peered into it.

"I hope you’re good at reading maps." Mr Ryco said, handing her a compass. "The survival of your squad depends on it."

Miss Heaven gave one last displeasing look at her students.

Now squad members.

"You may begin."

***

The forest was quiet.

Too quiet.

Towering trees stretched endlessly ahead, their canopies blotting out much of the afternoon sunlight.

Beyond the facility fence stood a massive steel gate.

Several soldiers waited beside it.

One of them checked something on a tablet before raising a hand.

The gate slowly began to open.

Metal groaned.

Students exchanged looks. No one moved, not immediately.

The forest beyond looked less like a trial ground and more like a place people avoided.

"Move."

Miss Heaven’s single word shattered the hesitation.

Soraya adjusted the map beneath her arm.

"Let’s go."

Squad 11-D crossed the gate.

The moment they entered, the scale of the forest became apparent.

The trees were enormous.

Roots thicker than a man’s waist twisted across the ground.

Bushes and undergrowth covered nearly everything.

Visibility dropped dramatically after only a few meters.

Soraya stopped.

"Everyone gather."

The squad formed around her. She spread the map open.

"Our base is here."

Several students leaned closer.

A red mark sat deep inside the forest.

Far away.

Too far away.

"We don’t have enough time to search randomly and still reach the base before seventeen hundred."

"Then what do we do?" Isaiah asked.

Soraya thought for a moment.

"We collect Scales while moving toward the base."

A few students nodded.

It was the safest option. No unnecessary detours. No wasted time.

"We stay together." She looked at each member. "No one wanders off."

Her gaze lingered slightly longer on Finch.

Finch yawned. "You’re hurting my feelings, Prefect."

Soraya’s gaze was steady.

"This isn’t a class test. Everyone must participate."

Finch sighed dramatically.

Reggie raised a hand.

"If we’re just collecting Scales while heading to base instead of activity searching, I don’t think we’ll be able to get enough points."

Isaiah nodded in agreement, turning to Soraya.

"He has a point. This might be the only chance we have to accumulate points without much competition."

A few students pondered on it.

Soraya straightened.

"So what are you suggesting? Surely you don’t expect us to split up. We’re in unfamiliar territory."

Reggie raised a hand again.

"It might not be a bad idea. From the class pairings, we will mostly be at a disadvantage so we have to take a risk. It’s just Class B today, we can handle them."

Yesu had been watching quietly. She cocked her head on hearing him speak.

So Reggie could be sensible after all.

Farida, always the optimist, spoke next.

"How about some of us go in search of the base while the rest stay behind and hunt? We have walkie talkies, we can communicate."

The brawny redheaded girl who students called carrots snorted.

"Hats off for making use of your brain princess, but how do you expect the ones left behind to find their way to the base in time or at all?"

Farida scowled at her.

"No squabbling." Soraya snapped. "We have bigger fish to fry. And we’re running out of time."

She looked around.

"We don’t have anyone with Eidetic Memory. Can any Mental here figure out a way to store the map info for the hunting party?"

The few students with Mental Class Abilities shook their heads. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Soraya thought for a moment, then took a breath.

"Shall we take a vote then?"

Her squad members were surprised. In normal circumstances she would have monotonously made a decision.

But then again, these were not normal circumstances.

They voted.

Eleven students voted for sticking together.

Eight voted for splitting up.

It seemed like the former had won.

Then Soraya frowned in concentration. Nineteen.

Someone had not voted.

Yesu.

Soraya faced her.

"What are you waiting for? You are a member of this squad, are you not?"

Yesu was thinking.

The markings on the map were very similar to the ones Arrow had given her to find her way on the first day to Echelon.

"Can I study the map for a few minutes?" She asked.

Everyone looked puzzled.

"I’m quite familiar with the markings and pretty good at finding my way, so I think I can memorize it." She concluded.

Now the squad was surprised.

"Are you Mental Class then?" Carrots asked.

Yesu shook her head.

"Not really. But I think anyone could do it with focus."

Her squad members frowned in complete doubt.

Soraya studied her for a moment or two, then she glanced at her watch, looked around and sighed.

"Fine." She said, handing Yesu the map. "Study it carefully."

The squad stared at Soraya in shock.

Did she just entrust their survival to a newly transferred Zero?

Soraya didn’t look at anyone, her full attention was on Yesu.

"Study it like your life depends on it. Because it does."

Her tone was threatening.