It had been three days since I was Unlocked and received my first notification. Since then, I haven’t seen anything new pop up in my vision. I asked my father about it, and he said most people receive further instructions once the Trials begin. “Keep your head focused and your eyes straight. It’s about preparation now. We have to do everything we can before you ascend the stairs to the world above.” He handed me another round of ammo and nodded for me to fire at the target at the end of the tunnel.

  I unloaded the clip, sinking five out of the six shots directly in center mass, with the final shot hitting the portrait's left shoulder.

  “A bit off target on the last one,” My father said. “Keep your shoulders square when you fire and squeeze the trigger, don’t pull. Try again.”

  I let out a nervous sigh and felt my heart beat hard against my chest. It was excruciating trying to keep a calm demeanor the past few days. People had been congratulating me as if I won an award or came in first at some competition. But I knew better. They didn’t want me to see the pity in their eyes or hear the cautious whispering behind my back. I saw and heard all of it. The worst of them was from my friends. I was the oldest in my group of three. The next to turn sixteen was Aiden. Her birthday was set in June and was only a few months away. After Aiden, there was India. Everyone called her Indy, and her birthday was the month after Aiden’s. I had seen the two of them talking together, words quiet and hands covering their mouths. I still heard what they said though an effect from the echoing tunnels of The Quarters.

  The three of us grew up together here in the underground world of The Quarters. A series of forgotten subway tunnels, warehouse storage facilities, and abandoned factories. They were all connected by a series of empty rooms hidden away from the world above. Safe from the Fallen States. It was one of the few places still safe from the creatures roaming the surface and tomorrow I would leave my world and enter another.

  There was one consolation to all the misery I was experiencing. I wasn’t the only one who would partake in the Trials. Most of the time, a single person would attempt their run on the surface due to how few children were being born. However, this time, two of us would run the Trial, and the other person running was Theo Fletcher. I couldn’t stand the guy. The son of the famous [Midnight Ranger], Lupin Fletcher. The only one in our colony to have reached the max level of 100. He had maxed all his skills in the [Thief] Class Pathway and his specialization of [Archery]. He was the leader of the Outriders, the men and women who scavenged the surface for supplies and faced the front lines of the Fallen States.

  As a kid, I always wanted to join the Outriders. To be one of the few who acted as the heroes in this maddening world. All those dreams are shattered under the scrutiny of Theo. A self-obsessed snob who thought he was better than everyone else. A notion sprouting from his lineage. He always said he would be the one to finally end this cursed world. Promising he would slay the Fallen and bring back what was lost. He was an arrogant tool, but I couldn’t argue with his skills after all; his father had trained him personally. Theo said he knew exactly what Class Pathway would open to him. Same Class as his father. The same Pathway and specialization. He would be the next [Midnight Ranger] and take over for his father.

  A sudden ringing pierced my ears. My dad had stepped up next to me and fired off a shotgun. He pumped in once and shot it again. I put the pistol in my hand down and covered my ears in anticipation of another shot. Instead, he lowered the barrel and looked at me.

  “We have a limited amount of ammo to use, and you need all the practice you can get,” My dad said.

  I picked up the gun again and examined it in my hands. I don’t know what I was hoping to see as I looked at the weapon. It was a standard Glock, something my dad said the police used to use often. It was black and sharply angled, and its handle had a textured pattern to it. No matter how much I concentrated on it, I received no new notifications. I was hoping that during the days before my Trial, I would get a taste of what itemization and my Unlocked display would look like. But no luck, and all I saw was a simple handgun.

  “What if… What if firearms aren’t the specialization for me?” I asked. “I don’t even know if the [Soldier] Pathway will open to me.”

  “I don’t expect you to choose the [Soldier] Pathway. I’d love to have you here with me tending the gardens. However, if you have a gun in your hands, then you’ll be a lot safer up there. I’ll feel a lot better knowing you can handle yourself in combat. In my Trial — Nevermind. Let’s put the guns away. You have one more night before the Trials. Let’s go get a meal.” My father took the pistol from my hands and stored it away in a duffel bag we borrowed from the armory.

  “I’d feel even better if the armorer would spare a few weapons for the newly Unlocked, but supplies have been low as of late, and the Outriders have taken most of the weapons with them.” My dad lifted the duffle bag onto his shoulder. The only other weapon inside was a shotgun, but we only had two shots to use. “Find a weapon fast. Keep moving. Everything is valuable. Got it?”

  I nodded in agreement.

  “Good,” He tossed me the bag. “You can carry it.” With a wrinkled smile, he pulled himself up on the subway platform, a difficult process for someone who looked sixty but was only in his forties. I thought about helping him but my father was a proud man and wouldn’t accept the help. He finally managed to get himself up then turned around and lent me a hand. I could have pulled myself up without his help but accepted it anyways.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  We ascended the stairs leading out of the subway terminal, my dad’s hand placed on my shoulder and a weak smile on his face.

  The colony came out to see us off. Over a hundred people had gathered in the main foyer of an old mall. The branching halls broke off from this central room had been barricaded with rusted vending machines, plastic benches, and broken glass doors. The rotating entrance near the southern end of the room had ceased functioning years before. All the shopping centers had been cleared of their supplies and the high-glass ceiling was plastered with old newspapers to prevent light from peeking in.

  There were only two exits from the foyer. A chained doorway led deep into the mall’s parking lot. It had been unlocked on this day, and everyone was drawn out for the ceremony. The other exit was an escalator leading to the second floor of the building and a series of glass doors that opened up to an atrium. From there, they led down a narrow hall that opened to the streets above. A rusted storage gate had been erected around the base of the escalator to prevent people from leaving or from things above getting in. Today, the gate stood wide open, and I stood waiting for Mr. Hoppers to turn the generator on and activate the escalator.

  I wasn’t alone where I stood. Theo stood to my right and was shaking hands with several of The Quarters First Unlocked. There was his father Lupin, tall and fair with a neatly trimmed beard and dark hair cut short. Next to him was Layla Young, the [Seer], a Level 33 [Magus] who specialized in [Thaumaturgy]. She was there to maintain the safety of the event by making sure there were no Fallen nearby. She had a skill called [Precognition], which allowed her to peer outside the building without ever leaving its safety. She was a key part of the functioning of The Quarters and was made Overseer of our colony. Her black curly hair fell low over her shoulders, and her white smile shined bright from behind her dark lips. She wore a loose-fitted shirt tucked into waist-high jeans and sneakers, which used to be white. The final person was Layla’s daughter, Makena. She took part in the Trials last year and received the same Class Pathway as her mother but with a specialization in [Chaos]. Makena was the newest member of the Outriders and a mystery to me. I didn’t know what [Chaos] meant, and I had never seen her use any Skills.

  “Registration will be handled by Makena. She’ll also be your trainer,” Layla said to Theo.

  “Makena is a wonderful choice, son. She’ll be an excellent trainer,” Lupin said, nodding his head in approval. “She’s part of my division, after all. Only the best.”

  “Perfect,” Theo said. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

  I couldn’t stand listening to him. Hadn’t even started the Trials and already he was being prepped for success.

  “Keep out of sight. Stay close to the shadows, and if you can’t find a weapon, try to improvise. Anything can be used as a weapon.” My father had been talking the entire time while I was trying to hear what was going on with Theo. By the time I realized it, I had already missed half of what he said. “Ward, are you listening? Pay attention.”

  “Yes, sorry. I hear you,” I answered.

  “Do you? Seriously son this isn’t the time to lose focus. I need you to do your best. There are no maybes out there. Only certainties. You either live or you die. Come back home to me. Promise me you’ll come back,” My dad had grabbed me by both shoulders and looked me deep in the eyes. “Promise me.”

  “I promise, Dad,” was the only thing I could say.

  “Tala, get back here!” A gruff voice called out from the crowd. I turned to see a girl come pushing out of the crowd to stand next to me. She looked as though she had been crying yet her eyes were fierce and kept straight at the escalator. A man followed her, most likely her dad, and grabbed her by the arm pulling her back. “Tala stop this.”

  “What is going on here?” Layla said, stepping past my father and me.

  “I’m taking the Trial,” Tala said.

  “No you’re not. You’re coming back with me,” Her dad said. He was a short man with short hair and beige skin. He had light tan shorts on and a Hawaiian shirt.

  “No, Dad. You can’t hide this anymore,” Tala said, pulling her arm away. “I… I received my Unlocking. I’m sixteen.”

  Her dad’s expression changed from anger to defeat. “Why Tala?”

  “You know you can’t lie about this anymore, Dad. I have to take the Trial or else… or else I won’t make it. You of all people…” Tala turned her attention away from her dad and briefly looked at me. Without another word, she walked up to the base of the escalator and waited.

  “Benji, is it true? Is your daughter sixteen now?” Layla asked.

  The man didn’t answer, instead, he began to cry. Layla tried to comfort him with an embrace, but before she could do anything, the generators kicked on, and the lights in the room flickered to life. Along with the lights came the drumming of the escalators spinning to life. Benji walked back into the crowd before anyone else said anything.

  I watched as Tala stepped onto the escalator and made her way up and out of The Quarters. She never looked back. Next, Theo hugged his father and followed behind the girl. There was a chorus of subdued cheers as people waved him off.

  I knew it was my turn, and even though all I had to do now was step up to the moving stairs, my legs froze. My heart raced, and my breathing started growing haggard. I thought I was going to faint when something held me tight. My father hugged me close. His arms were a welcomed strength keeping me up.

  “You keep your promise. You understand. Come back to me, son.” My father stepped back, his face weathered with worry and his eyes burning with tears. I nodded my head and took my first step into a new world. I received my next notification.

  [Stats Distribution Initializing]

  [Stats Allocated]

  [Connection Codex Unlocked]

  Warden Pierce

  Class: Unknown

  Specialization: Unknown

  Level: 0

  Condition: Unharmed

  Title: Starter

  Stats

  Body: 3

  Mind: 1

  Spirit: 2

  Combat Power: 180