Unclassified; Zero and Still Standing

Squad 11-D had long since left their Base. The forest surrounded them once more.

Branches swayed gently overhead while light filtered through the canopy in broken patches.

Like every other day, conversations drifted from one end of the squad to the other.

Laughter rose every now and then.

Someone teased Reggie.

Carrots argued with someone over whether mushrooms counted as vegetables.

Grover quietly settled the argument before it became another one.

Everything sounded normal.

Yet it wasn’t.

Every laugh carried a trace of uncertainty. Every joke ended just a little too quickly.

Everyone knew what awaited them.

11-A.

Soraya led the way as usual. The map rested in her hands.

Her eyes remained fixed on a thin circle inked around one section.

Several identical circles were scattered across the map. Each was labeled.

D-1.

D-2.

D-3.

And so on.

Every one represented the jurisdiction assigned for that day’s Directive.

Today, her attention rested on D-4. The territory shared between Squad 11-D and 11-A.

Her brow slowly furrowed.

It was farther from their Base than any previous jurisdiction. Practically on the opposite side of Zone 25.

The same side Yesu had gotten lost in.

Soraya frowned.

So that was the Academy’s game.

The farther they operated from Base, the less realistic transporting a captive became.

She honestly hadn’t expected anything less.

Isaiah walked beside her, occasionally peering over at the map.

"That’s really far." He whistled softly. "No wonder they announced today’s Directive earlier than usual."

Soraya simply continued walking.

After a moment, Isaiah spoke again.

"I’ve actually been wondering about something."

He waited to see her reaction. He got none.

"This morning, why did you suggest ignoring the day’s Directive and just hunt Scales, only to end up insisting we follow Capture and Bounty?"

Soraya didn’t answer immediately.

"I wanted the squad to see the easy way out first." She kept her eyes on the path ahead. "Before I burst their bubble."

Isaiah looked at her.

She smiled faintly.

"But it turns out," she admitted, "they were far more determined than I gave them credit for."

Isaiah looked her over in surprise.

"You know, you’re starting to sound a lot like Miss Heaven."

Soraya stopped in her tracks. She slowly turned to him.

Isaiah froze. He instinctively shrank backwards.

Several students looked over, sensing trouble.

Then Soraya smiled.

A warm, genuine smile.

Isaiah blinked. Then let out a relieved breath.

Soraya laughed softly.

"I couldn’t possibly compare myself to Miss Heaven." Her smile widened. "Have you ever even seen that woman smile?"

Isaiah laughed.

"No. I’m pretty sure she’s physically incapable of that."

He mellowed down, looking at his boots.

"And besides," he added, "you shouldn’t compare yourself to her."

He smiled.

"You’re much nicer."

A beat.

"And cooler too."

Soraya said nothing and resumed walking. But the amused smile remained on her face.

A few moments later, it disappeared.

She stopped once more, studying the map carefully. Then she looked ahead.

"Yesu." She called without glancing back.

The conversations behind them gradually died away

Yesu left James and the guys she had been walking with and made her way to the front.

Soraya held the map toward her.

"You’ve been around this side of the Zone already." She pointed toward the marked route leading into D-4. "Most of these symbols indicate steep slopes."

Her finger traced the winding path.

"There are too many of them. We’ll lose valuable time if we take them all."

She looked at Yesu.

"I was wondering if you knew a shortcut."

Yesu studied the map for a few seconds.

"We could just take the route I used yesterday."

Soraya shook her head.

"That wouldn’t be a smart choice." Her voice became lower. "The destruction that senior left behind, is still evident there."

She looked toward the squad walking behind them.

"The squad only just regained some morale. I don’t think seeing that battlefield again will help."

Yesu thought for a moment.

"What if we find the stream instead?"

She traced the blue line running across the map.

"If we follow it upstream, it’ll lead us almost straight to where we need to go." She glanced up. "And we’ll avoid most of the hills."

Soraya lowered her eyes to the map again.

The stream wasn’t far from their current position.

After a brief moment, she nodded.

"Alright." She folded the map shut. "We follow the stream."

***

Somewhere along the stream close to D-4, the atmosphere was tranquil.

Only the rushing of the water accompanied by the sounds of nature disrupted the silence.

Seth emerged from the bushes up hill and gently made his way down the slope.

He held an empty water bottle in one hand and a map in the other.

Immediately he got to the bank of the stream, he paused.

There was a fish out of water.

It lay limp on the rocky ground at a reasonable distance from the stream.

Seth walked over and squatted before it.

He gently poked a finger at it to see if it was dead.

The fish’s tail swayed slightly in response.

Seth noted it was very weak, barely a few seconds away from dying. Which meant it had been out of the water for up to five minutes.

He dropped the map and water bottle he was holding and carefully picked up the fish.

As he stood, something caught his eye.

Someone rather, who was sitting on a rock nearby.

Apollo.

Seth noticed he was scribbling in a notebook, like he had been doing since Trials began.

Apollo looked up from the book the moment Seth’s gaze rested on him.

His eyes flickered to the lifeless looking fish in Seth’s arms, then he was back to his notebook.

Something suddenly occurred to Seth. He frowned and immediately rescued the fish by gently putting it back into the water where it belonged.

The fish didn’t move.

Seth waited.

A few moments later, the fish swayed from side to side.

It swam away.

A faint smile appeared on Seth’s face, then it faded.

He turned in Apollo’s direction.

"Are you a psychopath now?"

The question came out calmly. More like an observation than an accusation.

There was no visible reaction from Apollo. He didn’t even bother glancing up.

Seth sighed tiredly, pushed up his glasses and went to get his water bottle.

He dipped it into the stream.

"That fish did nothing to you." He said, staring at the water.

"Neither did I."

"Then you should’ve said so."

"Psychopathy is a sensitive subject. I didn’t want to get involved."

On hearing the statement, Seth glanced sideways.

Apollo was looking at him.

Seth got to his feet.

"That’s right." He said. "You never do get involved. Not even when the people around you need help."

Apollo made a show of considering it. But he looked totally uninterested.

"I assume you’re referring to the day before yesterday?"

Seth’s expression hardened.

"I’m referring to every day. But you obviously wouldn’t know that. Because in the world you live in, only people with something to offer matter."

His voice was still calm. Still observational.

"It’s self-centered."

Apollo stared straight at him.

The stream became quiet once more.

"What did you just say?"

A sharp voice cut through the tranquility.

Both boys looked behind.

Mahirah was making her way down the slope like a warrior charging down at the enemy.

"What did you just say?" She repeated, stopping in front of Seth.

"Say it again. I want to hear it."

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