Phase One

Kian stepped out into the hallway feeling more energized than ever. Though the building was dark, he could see clearly within its hallways. He could feel the slight vibrations from doors opening and closing and the people moving under his feet.

Although the smell of rubbing alcohol was almost unbearable, he was excited to use his newly enhanced senses outside. He leaned against the wall, eagerly waiting for Kaisra to come out.

Later, Kian paced the hallway, back and forth, his hands on his hips. He stopped and looked towards Kaisra's registration room. They had been doing the procedure for nearly an hour. A discomforting chill crept up his spine. 

Something was terribly wrong.

He cursed at himself for not going in with her. As her friend and appointed body guard, it was his every right. He shouldn't have left her alone. He resumed his pacing, letting out an exasperated breath. He hated having to wait like this. He hated feeling powerless.

Then he heard a crash.

A panicked scream.

He forced the door open and rushed inside. Kaisra was face up on the procedure table with a medical respirator strapped to her mouth and with a doctor on top of her performing CPR. The assistant was in the back corner, pressing the palms of her hands hard against her temple. Strewn at her feet were shards of glass.

“No…no she can’t be dead…” she said with widened eyes.

“Stop freaking out and help him! Hurry!” Kian demanded desperately.

Suddenly Kaisra sucked in a large breath and opened her eyes. The doctor gently pressed the respirator against her and told her to breathe. Kaisra fidgeted, then twisted and turned so much, Kian was almost certain that she was having a seizure.

“It hurts!” she cried, “Everything hurts!”

“Lady Kaisra…” the doctor began.

“Make it stop!” she howled as her vision rapidly shifted from normal to inverted and back, “Whatever you did to me, make it stop!”

“Sir Kian,” the doctor said, “please, if you could try to somehow calm her down-ˮ

“What did you do to her?!" he yelled, "This is insane. Look at her!”

The doctor roughly grabbed both Kian and Kaisra’s hands and locked them together.

“She needs to fight through her symptoms, but she needs to calm down first,” the doctor begged impatiently, “Please Sir Kian! Or she will make it worse!”

Kaisra screamed out in agony. At this rate, she thought her head would explode. Kian's heart skipped a beat, both at seeing the doctor and Kaisra in such a distressed state. He finally took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and turned to Kaisra.

“Kaisra,” Kian said, leaning over her, “the doctor says you have to calm down for it to get better.”

Her eyes darted frantically to different spots of the room.

“Hey, hey. Look at me Kaisra.”

She finally forced her eyes to focus on Kian.

“Relax. Breathe. Everything is going to be okay. You just need to calm down.”

He squeezed her hand.

Eventually, her breathing slowed to a normal pace, though everything still hurt. Tears were streaming down her face, but she was no longer crying out in pain.

Kian turned towards the doctor, keeping Kaisra's hand encased in his.

“What did you guys do to her?”

The doctor sighed and replied, “Everything I was assigned to do by Emperor Daedalus, I assure you.”

“I don't believe you," Kian snapped, "The emperor would never do anything to put Kaisra in that much pain. I'll ask one more time: What did you do to her?”

“That is classified, Sir Kian.”

“By who? This could’ve killed her!”

The doctor looked to the floor.

“If she fights through the symptoms successfully, it would have been all for her benefit." he explained. "Yes, we took risks. But if she pulls through, they would not have been in vain.”

Kian turned back towards Kaisra. Her eyes were squeezed shut. The room was flooded with silence. 

     

Half an hour passed by before Kaisra opened her eyes again. The pain was mostly gone. She began to sit up. Kian held a hand out behind her in case she was to fall backwards.

“I’m fine,” she assured him, managing a grin.

Kian smiled back, relieved.

The doctor cleared his throat.

“Excuse me for the interruption, but it’s time for the second phase of your YDSs. Lady Kaisra, your father sent this for you. He wished for you to put it on after your registration.”

The doctor held up a black jumpsuit covered in shiny armor with matching black boots. Kaisra slowly slid off the table and grabbed them from him. The doctor and assistant walked out and shut the door behind them. Kian didn't move an inch.

"Kian?" Kaisra asked. 

Kian crossed his arms and turned around. 

"I'm not leaving you by yourself again. Hurry up and get changed. I'm not looking."

Kaisra quickly discarded her clothes and zipped up the jumpsuit. It was tight, and she had to pluck at it until it was comfortable against her skin. Once she slipped on her boots, they both walked out of the registration room.

“This way,” the assistant called from down the hallway.

The two of them followed suit.

She led them to the backdoor of the building. The steel doors opened to a single file line of military jeeps that were waiting patiently for their arrival. A chauffeur directed them to the first jeep, and once they got inside, they all took off. Kaisra blinked as she looked around. She noticed her vision was clearer, crisper. She could hear the hearts of everyone close by beating and the sounds that the Earth made around them. She could feel everything's movements, however slight. The vehicles stopped just outside of the city.

“Single file!” a general shouted as he stepped out.

Everyone followed him and did as they were told.

“Now, I think it is the time you understand what your first YDS is consisted of. You will all be split into groups of three. We will be having one group of four because of the numbers. You will be making your way through these tunnels.”

Everyone looked behind him at the large cave entrance. The darkness waved at them from inside.

“Deeper within these tunnels is a place we like to call the Forgotten Catacombs. Your goal is to retrieve a gem that looks like this one.”

He paused to hold up an sparkling, green stone that was tied to a string.

“And,” he continued, “to make it back safely. Your installed chip heightens your senses, as some of you have already figured out, and will support you throughout this…maze, if you will.”

Kaisra and Kian’s eyes met in concern. Someone weakly raised their hand.

“What if we get lost? Or trapped?” they asked.

The general smirked.

“Why, that would be a shame now wouldn’t it?