The cafeteria wasn't supposed to feel like a warzone, but it did.
Not because there was a fight—yet—but because the tension was thick enough to slice with a combat knife. Students clustered at tables like rival packs, whispering about the upcoming simulation, eyes darting toward the screens on the wall that still read "PAIRS PENDING."
Elara sat with her tray untouched, poking at grayish food she refused to eat. The smell of processed protein mash didn't help.
Tamsin sat beside her, eating enthusiastically like she'd never heard of the concept of poison. She popped a cube of synth-fruit into her mouth, chewed, and pointed her fork toward Elara's tray.
"You're going to waste all that protein gel? That's practically a sin here."
"I'd rather die hungry than die with that in my stomach," Elara muttered.
Tamsin smirked. "That's dramatic. I like it. But seriously, if you pass out during the sim because of low blood sugar, I'm not dragging your corpse uphill."
Elara arched an eyebrow. "Noted. I'll try to die downhill."
"You always talk like you've seen this whole place burn before." Tamsin leaned in, eyes glinting with curiosity. "You've got that whole haunted-backstory vibe. Ever consider bottling it for intimidation spray?"
Elara didn't answer. She stabbed her food once, twice, like she could force it into submission.
Tamsin chuckled. "Okay, okay. I'll stop pushing. Just promise me one thing."
"What?"
"When the simulation starts, and things get dicey—don't go full lone-wolf. It's more fun if we both survive."
"I'm not in the mood for fun," Elara said flatly.
"Then at least stay alive out of spite."
"You'd think they'd announce pairings already," Tamsin muttered, mouth full. "Or maybe that's the point. Keep us sweating. I swear I saw one guy about to have a psychic nosebleed from anxiety."
"They want panic," Elara said. "It's better data."
Tamsin tilted her head. "That's a dark take. I like it."
The screen flickered. Students went quiet.
NAMES began scrolling—names, ranks, photos, and finally, pairings. The simulation was no longer a rumor. It was a death lottery.
Elara leaned forward.
PAIRING: ELARA MOEN & ELRIC VALE
Tamsin let out a low whistle. "Oh, damn. You pulled brooding piano boy."
Elara didn't react, but her jaw tightened.
"I was hoping you'd get paired with me," Tamsin said, mock-pouting. "I bet we'd be chaos queens together. Real storm-and-flame energy."
Elara stood. "This isn't a game."
Tamsin grinned. "That's what makes it fun."
---
Orientation for the survival simulation was held in the amphitheater. Instructors laid out the rules—minimal supplies, unknown terrain, hostile conditions. Pairings would be dropped into the artificial wilderness and graded on cooperation, navigation, and live combat scenarios.
"Your objective is not to win," Instructor Rehn barked. "It's to survive. Together."
Most students groaned. A few exchanged sly, conspiratorial grins.
Elara remained silent.
As the orientation ended, she slipped away from the crowd and made her way back to the dorm. Her bag was already packed. She'd been ready since last night.
Inside her room, the walls were bare. She didn't keep mementos. Except one.
From the bottom drawer of her locked case, she pulled out a small photograph—charred at the edges, warped from heat. The image was half gone, but the faces remained: two smiling girls, one of them unmistakably Elara, younger and less guarded. The other, older. Her sister.
A flicker of heat passed over her skin.
Flames. Screaming. The sound of breaking glass. Oxygen sucked from the room. Her hand pressed to a door that wouldn't open. Smoke choking every breath. The other girl yelling her name—
She blinked, and the memory broke.
Her hand trembled as she slid the photo back into the drawer and locked it.
Someone had lied to her about what happened that night.
And this academy—this cursed place that trained killers and called it discipline—was the only thread that remained.
She wasn't here to survive.
She was here to find the truth.
---
Outside, the training grounds had already been repurposed into the edge of the simulation zone. Beyond the fences, an artificial wilderness stretched—forests, cliffs, rivers. All controlled by academy tech, all deadly in the right context.
They stood in line, each pair receiving orientation from a bland-eyed assistant with a metal clipboard.
Elara found Elric near the edge of the line, silent, staring at the forest like it had personally insulted him.
He didn't look at her when she approached. "I don't suppose you're a team player."
"Not unless the team's efficient."
He snorted. "Great. We'll die fast, then."
She crossed her arms. "Not if you keep up."
He finally met her eyes. "That's not how it works here. The ones who survive don't just keep up—they know how to lie, cheat, and bleed without blinking. I hope you learn fast."
Before she could reply, Instructor Harrow's voice boomed through the loudspeakers.
"Simulation begins in ten minutes. Last chance to withdraw."
No one moved.
A buzz filled the air as the gates opened. Students surged forward, pairs melting into the wilderness. Elara and Elric moved together, footsteps quick, silent.
Within minutes, the academy was gone, replaced by pine and underbrush, birdsong distorted by surveillance drones.
"We go high ground first," Elara said, scanning a nearby ridge. "Better vantage."
"No argument here," Elric muttered. "Just watch your back."
They climbed, fast and light. Elara's boots slipped once on loose gravel, but Elric caught her arm without thinking. They didn't speak about it.
At the top, they crouched behind brush, scanning the terrain below. Already, distant sounds of battle echoed—screams, explosions, the buzz of unstable abilities.
"This is a culling," Elric said, voice grim.
Elara nodded. "They want to see who breaks."
"Then let's not give them the satisfaction."
A quiet fell between them.
But something moved in the forest below. Two shadows. Not students. Not academy drones. Something else.
Elric noticed too. "We're not alone out here."
"No," Elara said, eyes narrowing. "And I don't think that's part of the test."
---
END OF CHAPTER 4
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