The atmosphere in the field remained tense. Looking around, Jace noticed how the sea of people parted themselves into groups.
Jace considered it a travesty that a War, no matter how societal, was taking place in the large open-air…beauty. Thinking about it, maybe the heart was making him dumber. It was certainly doing a number on his mind.
The field was a…field, a bed of grass surrounded by orange tracks. What was intriguing about it, though, were the dozens of equipment piled at the side.
From a distance Jace could spot the bench presses, weights and even monkey bars. Jace sighed, the constant droning of murmurs filling his ear.
Then a loud voice boomed out. He turned to see Instructor Bailey adorning a dark uniform, the familiar logo of the UAE on her chest, and brown boots. She stood on a crudely formed earthen stage, a wide smile playing on her lips.
She spoke, her voice soft and a bit scratchy, yet reaching even the far-ends of the field. "Hello?"
Clearing her throat, she continued. "You all should still remember me. It's only been two days since we met. I hope those days have been fun. This one won't."
The crowd fell silent as the words dropped. Clearly the speech from Orientation still reverberated in their minds. Threats of death always managed to stick around in the mind.
A yawn escaped Jace's lips as he became aware of how heavy his body felt. Clearly, the time spent lying on his floor for more than a day had not been put to good use.
Details and vague explanations fluttered into Jace's ears, most of them flying away. The words droned like a calm lullaby.
That was until the words stopped. Jace's eyes snapped open, the previous lullaby gone. Instead of the field he had once been in, he now found himself in a dark empty room.
The room was dimly lit, dark enough to stop Jace from seeing every detail yet bright enough that the general outline remained visible.
That included the pillars–five of them–right in front of him, all supporting a structure Jace struggled to catch a glimpse of.
Jace noted the sweet-smelling scent spreading across the room. It was pungent, the scent almost choking him.
The question of how he had somehow appeared there came up but a sudden pain forced it back down.
The pain racked inside Jace, almost like a hand was pounding at his skull, screaming to be let out. Clutching his head, Jace could feel the pain intensify, like drums striking every nerve.
"Oh dear. Is he still alright from the fold?" The voice came, soft yet filled with a hint of playful power.
Jace focused on it, ignoring the pain and attempting to latch back onto reality. His mind jumped onto the last word spoken–folds. Folds.
Jace knew them, his mind dredging back up all the things about them. In the past, before Humanity had become the InterPlanetary Conquerors they now were, a method of travel was needed. A team of scientists had provided that, managing to create artificial wormholes that resulted from the folding of space. Thus the name, Folds.
Humanity had expanded on that idea, learned to control it even to precise measurements. Even with that, they were still dangerous. Only certain organizations or factions could create and utilize them, organizations such as the Military.
As Jace pondered on that topic, a light from above shone, momentarily blinding him. His eyes shut as he heard another voice, this time masculine. "Lower the intensity. You're blinding him."
The brightness reduced as Jace's eyes cracked, scanning around him for the voices. His eyes stopped at the structure he had noticed, the details now a bit clearer.
The structure still loomed above him but now five seats could be vaguely noticed. And in those seats sat men, or women. Jace wasn't sure who they were, all he was sure of was that they were like sovereigns, scrutinizing his every move from the skies.
A voice in the center–Jace dubbed Shadow 1–asked, "Your name?"
Jace almost sighed before stopping himself. They already knew his name, but Jace wasn't going to tell them that. Instead, he responded in the same dry tone. "Jace Blank,"
A simple 'hmm' was heard and that was it. A period of silence settled into the room, Jace struggling not to scratch his ear that had begun to itch. The pain was gone, for the moment.
The previous warm voice–now Shadow 2–came again, the voice soft and filled with warmness "What race?"
A sigh of disappointment almost leaked out, but keeping it in, Jace answered curtly "Black and Asian."
His response was either too sharp or not at all what the Shadow expected as she mumbled softly, the previous warmth gone. "I see."
The pain seemed to feel the same way as the woman as it struck unexpectedly before vanishing.
Silence once again settled, the pain playing a game of hide and seek. It would appear, forcing Jace to almost scream, only able to let out the tiniest whimper, and would vanish so swiftly, Jace was forced to question whether there truly was a pain.
"–the invasion?"
"Hmm?" Jace voiced out, the pain in his head disappearing. A random thought that the answer to his second question was Human rang, but Jace didn't have time to regret. The voice sounded again in a bored disinterested tone–Shadow number 3. "The year of the Invasion. What was it?"
"2035, no 6." Jace stumbled, the pain returning as if to torment him. The cause of the pain had now become a question in Jace's mind yet the best he could think of was it being a side effect from the heart.
The 3rd Shadow yawned loudly as if bored. Jace struggled to gauge whether that yawn was meant for him or he was simply bored.
Another question arrived, the voice stern–Shadow number 4. "What city did the invasion begin in?"
Jace almost frowned at the questions. They were overly simplistic. He responded, ignoring a sharp bout of pain.
"Nowhere, or rather everywhere. Different attacks occurred in different locations and it's impossible to know exactly which attack came first."
The same voice pressed on. "The date, what about that?"
Jace responded instantly, the sharp pain gone "There's no set date. Apparently, everyone forgot to check their calendar,"
The response to Jace's joke was silence. Silence and a disdainful scoff from Shadow 2.
A question arrived from the man in the center–Shadow 1. "You have five men to defend a ruined city and you're surrounded by at least 50 Raches. Retreat is not permitted and there is no assurance for reinforcements nor communications from above. What strategy do you employ?"
Jace's mind raced as he answered, partly a joke, partly the truth "Do nothing. Swing the doors wide open and welcome the Rache with open arms."
The voice probed, "The Empty Fort. Why?"
Jace cleared his throat feeling his fingers skirt around. "I would think the Rache into thinking it's a trap. Studies show that while the Rache rely on instincts and have dificulty communicating, they still possess reasoning capacity comparable to humans. I'm banking on that."
Shadow 2 butt in. "So what, your strategy's a prayer to God? Praying for some wish or imaginary fantasy?"
Pain shot through Jace's skull as he blurted out. "Sure, maybe my strategy's a fantasy. But it is beyond fantasy for me to lack able men, lack a proper communication line, lack reinforcements and still defend a city."
Panting, Jace bowed, filling his air with lungs. As he did, the thought of what had just happened clung to him.
He lifted his head, intending to say sorry before stopping. He couldn't say sorry. He couldn't show weakness or show that he might have made a mistake.
The hall quieted as no one spoke, the only sound the fuming breaths from Shadow 2.
Finally, as the breaths subsided, Shadow 1 spoke, his voice as stable as always. "You're stranded in a forest type planet. With you are a healer, a scout, a mechanic and a combatant. You've found an exit at the other side of the planet but you can only take three with you. Who are you dropping?"
The question washed over Jace. With it was pain. The same pain that had tormented him. Jace bit his lips struggling to keep the pain under control and not blurt out like he had done before.
Jace knew the question. His dad had taught him about it, showed him. He knew all the variations, the answers to those variations, the tricks commonly employed.
This question had none. There were no tricks. It was plain and simple. Who would you save?
Jace spoke, the answer bitter in his mouth. "I would sacrifice the mechanic. Everyone else is needed due to the unique setting and–"
As Jace spoke, he felt sick. This was the Military's way. To view everyone as pawns on a board. None of them were of any significance. All that mattered was the goal.
The pain erupted in Jace's skull and with it rage. Rage at the military, at their system that demanded nothing but sacrifices. Jace was done being a pawn. Whether it was the pain, his anger or just his personal ideology, Jace wanted to crush that board.
He wanted to destroy that system that demanded sacrifices. To shock the Shadows who looked down on everyone. To give them an answer they would never expect. And so he did.
"I would like to change my answer,"
The voice's tone remained unchanged and unbothered "Go on,"
"I would sacrifice myself."
For a second there was nothing. The voice asked, still unchanged with a hint of something underneath "Why?"
Jace struggled to look for the words "We're in an unknown planet and even with the exit, we have no idea where that leads. There's a chance of sufficient materials being found that can help the group escape the predicament."
Shadow 1 asked, the voice now filled with interest "You're comparing the chance that the mechanic will magically be needed with the chance that your team won't need your guidance and direction. Doesn't seem anything close to equal?"
Jace was sick of them challenging him, so he challenged them. "If my team still needs that guidance, then it means I'm not as good as leader as I should be,"
Silence reigned in the fold as nothing happened. The room remained motionless, so much so that Jace thought the Shadows were gone.
That was until the fifth and final Shadow who hadn't spoken throughout, proclaimed. "Thank you for your time."
And with that, Jace was ejected out of the fold.