Jackson-

I looked at the quadrants filled with Test Subjects and cringed as the guards dragged out multiple bodies from each of the compartments. The sight was depressing but revealed the truths of the evils of human nature, and yet it was only the beginning. At some point the picture became so gruesome that I had to look away, and instead busied myself with wiping down the invisible wrinkles and lint off my coat, then I focused on the details on my badge. The Laminated plastic square simply stated my name, along with my position in this facility: Jackson Royce- Mathematician/ Chaos Theory.

I smiled as I reminisced the video of a man named Ian Malcom trying to explain the chaos theory to a pretty blonde, just by using a few drops of water. It was interesting though, she was smart, he knew it, and yet he still attempted to flirt with her by using his brains to impress. That video clip brought a smile to my face, and for a second, I had forgotten the situation.

The printer beeped as my formula started to print, and I looked around apprehensively, but everyone was preoccupied with the spectacle of tortured Test Subjects, that they didn't realize what I was doing. The second the printing was complete, I took the warm paper, and stuffed it in my lab coat, and I sighed in mild relief. What I was about to do could land my head on Warlord's plate... literally.

Narrator-

By the end of the first week, only twenty-five people remained per quadrant. The first few hours after waking up in the laboratory were an absolute nightmare. The Test Subjects weren't allowed to sleep for a period of time. The second they started nod off, they were shocked awake.

Once the Head Scientist noticed that the body count was dropping too quickly from the electric shock, he had the scientists in each quadrant wear earplugs, then out of nowhere, music started blaring all over the quadrants. The sound pierced the ears of the unsuspecting people. They grinded their teeth, while a few struggled to free their hands to block their ears.

The children screeched and yelled, while the elders grunted and fidgeted. A few suffered nosebleeds, while a number began to bleed from their ears. The music played for hours, eventually many could feel their heartbeats match the loud rhythm of the unpleasant symphony that resonated throughout the quadrants.

Being seated for hours, their legs went numb, their fingertips ran cold, and bags formed under their eyes out of exhaustion, as their mouths and throats ran dry.

There was a giant digital clock on each wall of the quadrants, and the second the clock read 06:00, the music stopped. Sighs of relief could be heard all around, the Test Subjects were glad that the ordeal was over, but that moment was cut short.

The Warlord's face once again displayed on the screen, and the Test Subjects knew better than to trust the sickening smile that sat on his lips.

Adina-

The quadrant was finally quiet after hours of torturous noise. A girl that sat next to me hadn't moved for a while, and I noticed a single stream of dry blood running from her ear, and down her neck. I wanted to whisper to her to see if she was okay, but I decided against it when the door to the quadrant opened. The same group of scientists that questioned us the day before came back along with guards, and one by one, five more people were dragged from my quadrant.

After the scientists exited the quadrant, the video of the Warlord began to play.

"Good morning friends, I pray that your first night in our custody was pleasant enough, and from now on, consider last night's routine as tradition. Putting all pleasantries aside, testing will begin in approximately two weeks. I believe the Head Scientist has already explained how the experiment will take place. However, not all of you will make it to testing. Here is where we begin the thinning process. You will all endure a series of challenges, and I can assure you many of you will not make the cut."

The Warlord's hands were clasped on the table, while he looked into the camera and continued, "At the end of this process, there will only be five members per quadrant, and these twenty lucky individuals will be the ones that help change our way of life. Only the smartest and the strongest will survive, so with that said... May the strongest win." And with those final words, the television screens switched back to shots of the quadrants.

After the Warlord's speech, a board titled "Body count" switched from thirty-nine to twenty-five, which meant that overnight fourteen others had already maxed out.

I sighed fearing for my life, and wondering, how did I get into this?

Matthew-

I shook my head slowly, as a guard unstrapped a boy that sat to my left and dragged him away. This was completely messed up, and to think human nature couldn't get any worse. This Warlord was pushing his limits way outside the norm.

By the time the guards left my quadrant with the dead bodies, the body count became forty. Ten kids had lost their lives.

The one time I would possibly ever want society to discriminate against me, it completely screwed me over.

Jackson-

I looked over my shoulder, as I silently made my way down the cold hall that led to the pharmacy. The formula I came up with required dangerous and rare chemicals, but I couldn't make frequent trips down to the pharmacy, or else my actions would be deemed suspicious. The Head Scientist was a very vigilant individual. I couldn't risk putting anything past him. If he even suspected my plan, he would make sure I got the proper and fitting retirement.

I breathed out of my nose, as I made my way to open the pharmacy door.

When I opened the door, I came face to face with Vivian.

I gasped out of surprise, my heart skipping a beat out fear and surprise as I said "Vivian! Didn't expect to see you down here."

At my words, I acknowledged the two guards that stood behind her.

Her eyes glistened mischievously behind her dark-rimmed glasses as she kept a stern face and replied, "I should say the same for you."

Her words alone had the alarms going off in my head, and I took small step backwards. She smiled at my actions, then snapped her fingers as two guards suddenly appeared behind me.

She approached me and stared me straight in the eyes and said "mathematicians on this team have no need for the pharmacy. Do not let me catch you here again, or next time, you will be escorted to the boss. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." I confirmed curtly, then turned to face the guards, as they stepped aside and let me through.

My heart was racing as I took a deep breath and headed back to the floor.

This was going to be harder than I thought.

Narrator-

The two weeks went by in a blur, and as the Warlord promised, only five people remained per quadrant.

Over the two weeks, the Subjects found themselves enduring many unexpected tasks. Some tasks required strength, like when they were escorted to the indoor gymnasium and had to endure long hours of gruesome exercises. Other tasks required smarts, such as when it was time for the daily readings and assignments, and all subjects young and old alike were given comprehensive materials to solve. For the tasks which required pure luck, such as using weapons in hand-to-hand combat, only the fastest and most agile of subjects made it through with minimal injuries, while others suffered the loss of fingers, ears and nay vulnerable pieces of flesh.

Some of the exercises left the subjects traumatized, such as the games of chance including Russian Roulette and human target practice.

By the end of the two weeks, the Subjects were drained physically, mentally and emotionally. There was a day when two of the Subjects got into a brawl and were both taken out simply because of their stupidity. The rest of the Subjects thanked the heavens for the day they were named the remaining and final Subjects. And while scientists and guards collected their bets by the douzens, the Subjects prayed that the worse was over.

If only it was ever so easy.

When testing was to begin, the Test Subjects were changed from the thin paper gowns, to dark , along with grey tennis shoes. Each sweatshirt had the name and test number of its owner written on the left breast, then the Head Scientist acknowledged each quadrant member by their name.

In quadrant Centa, there was Peter, Mary-Ella, Simpson, Beth and John. In quadrant Beta, Matthew, Valerie, Laury, Noah, and Emily, were all that remained. In Exa, Adina, Lauren, the twins Khairo and Khiran, along with Jasper, remained alive. In Dina, Jonathan, Chamille, Sarah, Jones, and Frank, made it through.

The thinning process left many devastated and troubled.

Emily, an 11-year-old female, witnessed her twin brother being taken away, and when he didn't return, her tears ran unending.

The final members in quadrant Centa were barely making it through. The Exa individuals who survived played their cards right, by keeping their mouths shut, and following the rules. The Dina members surprisingly held their own, but at the end of the day, everyone was holding on by a thread.

Adina-

I looked around my quadrant and observed the other four people in the room with me.

There was Lauren, another girl, black hair with red streaks, vanilla skin. The twins who had an exotic eastern European vibe about them, with olive skin and dark brown hair, and Jasper, an Australian born individual with curly blond locks, and a slight accent whenever he spoke.

We all sat in complete silence, we weren't allowed to talk to one another, if we tried, we'd get shocked, and frankly, talking to complete strangers was not worth the pain.

Lauren-

My eyes stared back at Adina, the plain girl with extremely curly brown hair, round eyes and light brown skin. She kept looking around, and it was starting to bug me.

When the Warlord explained that there only had to be five people remaining per quadrant, I had to make sure I was in the top five. I've been doing a good job playing the good and obedient girl, but I was bidding my time. I would make sure that daddy annihilated these sickos!

Jackson-

With the two weeks being up, I had to start being reckless in my plan, time was running out and my serum was not even close to be ready. I had managed to salvage most of the ingredients I needed, but the most crucial piece was down in the pharmacy and I've yet to get a chance to go down there again.

I was so busy focusing on finding out an alternate ingredient, that I missed the entourage of guards that suddenly trapped me in.

"Well, Well, aren't we hard at work." Came the Boss's voice from behind me, stunning me and distracting me from my work.

"Dr. Archer, what's going on?" I chuckled knowing that there was no way I would make it out of this unharmed.

"Well, if you must know, it has been brought to my attention that certain chemicals have been lacking from our pharmacy, and Dr. Vivian here," he added as he nodded towards the smirking woman, "explains that you have shown some interest in our pharmacy, and I just wanted to know if there was anything I could assist you with. So, tell me, what exactly do you have there?" Questioned the Head Scientist as he grabbed my notebook, and studied the scribbles imprinted on the pages.

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, it looks to me like a formula for a serum." Stated Vivian, the mischievous fire burning in her eyes.

"I think you're right." Replied Dr. Archer as he smiled, but my stomach dropped, knowing better than to trust the smiling scientist.

He stared down at me, as a creepy sneer played on his lips, then he handed the notebook to Vivian, as he commanded, "place this on my desk, I'll be sure to bring it to Warlord's attention, and as for you Mr. Jackson, Guards, take him to quadrant Beta, I think he will make an excellent Test Subjects."

Before I could protest, I found myself being dragged none-too kindly to quadrant Beta. I attempted to struggle, but the guards didn't spare a second to familiarize me with the metal batons they carried. I grunted as air whooshed from my stomach when the baton struck my limbs and stomach. I'd be lucky if I didn't have a broken rib or two.

My captivity was displayed in front of everyone in the lab, scientists, mathematicians, doctors, and guards alike all stared as I was taken away to the quadrant.

The guards threw me onto a metal chair that had dry blood splattered all over it. The second I was seated, the restraints were locked in place, as one of the scientists placed a helmet on my head, while a sinister and sadistic smile played on his lips.

Khairo-

I watched as the guards strapped in a man with short brown hair and light eyes. He seemed more angry than worried, but when he was fully exposed to my view, I realized that he was one of them. Well at least he used to be.

"Well Jackson, I think this position fits you better. I never really liked you anyway." Stated the scientists that towered over him.

Just as he finished his sentence, the Head Scientist walked in.

He was a bald, tall man, with a stern face and harsh voice that made you cringe with a simple syllable.

"Pity Jackson, you were always a smart one, just not smart enough to survive in our environment." Stated the Head Scientist, with his arms wrapped behind his back.

"If you're going to kill me, just do it now." Said the man named Jackson, as he struggled against the restraints.

The second he did so however, a shock ran through his body as he cursed out "Son of a Bitch!"

"Oh I'm not going to kill you, but there is no space for six people in this quadrant, so kill..." hummed the Head Scientist as he spun around, his brain calculating while his eyes landed on each of us until he made his choice "him." He declared while pointing to Jasper.

The second Jasper realized who he was pointing out, he gasped as he said "No! NO!"

Jasper began to struggle against his restraints, just as power shocks began a marathon across his body.

All this was broadcasted for everyone to witness.

Jasper screamed, he grunted and gargled as sweat plastered his blond hair to his forehead. I looked around and took notice of the girls in the quadrant closed their eyes, as the new member of our quadrant stared on stunned. My brother at some point turned away, just as Jasper's head hanged limp, his chin resting on his non-breathing chest. The odor that rose from his corpse made me gag, but the Head Scientist was not even phased by the image.

I couldn't help but wonder... how cold-hearted was this man?

After a minute, the guards unlatched Jasper's cadaver and dragged him away.

There was an eerie silence after that ordeal, none of us made a sound, it was as though the entire lab was as mute as death itself.

The Head Scientist noting the fear and disgustin our eyes smiled, as he announced in a debonair tone "Let the testing begin."

_________________________________________

Hey guys! 

Here is the latest chapter. Hope you Enjoyed! 

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-Tania.