“How long does it take to reach there?" asked Amelia.

  “If everything was normal and we had normal roads, it would take no more than four hours and thirty minutes. However, the roadways have been worn down too much over time, and the monsters are constantly destroying them while fighting us or each other. Considering all of this, it will take us around a day and a half or two at worst.” said Lieutenant Rakes.

  “We'll make half-hour stops at four different checkpoints along the journey. It will give the driver a break and allow us to stretch our legs and, who knows, beat the snot out of a few monsters if we run into some.” said Lieutenant Houston.

  “I thought we still needed more training to do that.” asked Kyle.

  “Not you. Us. We're stuck in the underground city tutoring new cadets. But once in a while, we get to go to the surface and indulge in a little bit of a hunt. It helps us to keep in touch with our combat skills. It's also a great change of pace for us shut-ins." said Lieutenant Houston.

  “So, do we have to stay in the truck and deal with motion sickness? Or are we allowed to stretch?!” asked Clarence, who was looking quite green.

  “Of course, kiddo. Though you shouldn't veer far from the truck.” said Lieutenant Rakes.

  “You know, looking at your physique, I wouldn't have guessed you had motion sickness," said Elena.

  My physique's got nothing to do with my insides, urrrghhh... all-terrain vehicles are the worst," said Clarence as he retched again.

  "Hang in there, big guy," said Matthew.

  The rest of the journey went by as the all-terrain trailer trucks made their way across the landscape. The convoy comprised four all-terrain vehicles transporting 160 cadets and four tank units. Each vehicle was given a group of 20 soldiers who formed a square around the trucks. The vehicles were outfitted with sophisticated adjustable suspensions to deal with uneven terrain and partially ruined roads. The convoy arrived at its first checkpoint at Concordia, a small city on the outskirts of Kansas.

  Despite facing no creature ambush, it took them about 5 hours to reach the checkpoint. Everyone got out of the trucks and stretched their legs. Clarence ran to the side of the road and emptied his stomach, while Sarah rubbed his back.

  “Man. That must suck.” Said Kyle.

  “Well, I hope he feels better after emptying his stomach.” Said Jack.

  “Hey, You wanna do a little sparring practice, Jack?” asked Elena.

  “Heh. You’re on.” Said Jack.

  “I wanna join too!” said Amelia enthusiastically.

  “The more the merrier.” Said Elena.

  After thirty minutes, the convoy resumed its journey. They encountered a couple of beasts along the way, but were dealt with by the escort. This time, it took almost eight hours to get to the second checkpoint at Overton. After growing accustomed to the shadowy ceilings of the cave, the cadets were filled with awe as they looked up at the night sky on a clear moonlit night. However, the sightseeing was cut short by the instructors as they called everyone back.

  “Don’t worry. You’ll be able to see this almost every day from now on. So get on. We need to keep moving.” Said, Lieutenant Houston.

  The journey continued overnight, with the cadets sleeping in the trailers. The cadets were roused at the 3rd checkpoint about 4 p.m. The early morning brought with it a light summer breeze from late September. Though it wasn't hot, it was something the cadets sensed after spending so much time underground, where air temperatures were mostly modulated. What used to be normal was now a source of awe for everyone. The final portion of the journey took around 9 hours to complete as the trucks had to climb a mountain to access the facility. It was a large structure built near the edge of the mountains. A massive reinforced wall surrounded the site, which included a 100-square-mile training ground and a 150-square-mile area that housed the living quarters, canteens, and hangars where the MATE mecha suits were tested. The walls were lined with massive turrets that guarded the complex from incoming monsters. The complex also had a big underground storage room for food and other necessities. The facility's gates swung wide as the convoy arrived, watched over by guards stationed on top of the wall. The vehicles came to a standstill on the open land. The Cadets debarked from the trailer and stretched out their tense bodies in the afternoon light. The temperatures plummeted by a full ten degrees Fahrenheit compared to the metropolis and flat areas. Cool air blew across everyone's faces, partially waking up the groggy cadets. A squad marched onto the field and took up positions in front of the crowd.

  “Cadets!! Form up!!” said a soldier from the welcoming committee.

  Immediately, the cadets assembled in an orderly fashion according to their squads. A soldier from the committee stepped forward. He was in his 40s with a French beard, black eyes, and dark skin. He took to the center of the crowd and began to address the cadets.

  “Welcome! To Fortress Maximus, one of hundreds of training and patrol sites scattered across the continent. I'm Major Bill Washington, and we're here to drill you on the essentials you learned in the training academy, teach you safety and precautions, and have you join regular patrols under the care of your supervisors. By the end, you will be tough and capable soldiers, ready to venture into the woods and do some pest control. Now I'd like to see what you studied at the 'Outlanders Training Institute'. I heard you were the best batch of cadets we'd ever had. I'm eager to see what you have to show. Follow me to the training arena.” Said Major Washington with a serious look on his face.

  “But..um.. sir? We haven’t even gotten our things from the trucks yet.” said Elena.

  “Didn’t you hear me?!! I said follow me to the training arena. You can worry about your baggage later. Besides, they’re better off left there. It’s much more convenient.” Yelled Major Washington.

  “What do you mean sir?” asked June.

  “It means, that those who I find to be useless to this division, are heading home in these trucks this evening itself.” Said Major Washington in a cold tone.

  “WHAAAT!!!!!???” exclaimed everyone.

  “But we’re already cadets in this division sir. Nobody told us we’d be sent home if we failed!” said a cadet in the crowd.

  “Yeah! Nobody gave a heads up ya know. It’s not fair.” Exclaimed another cadet.

  “Oh, quit your belly aching would ya? Do you expect life to be fair all the time? Besides, monsters won’t give ya warnings when they wanna pounce on ya and tear ya to shreds. Now get in line.” said Major Washington.

  “Oh boy. This may not be good.” Said Jack.

  “Why not? This’ll be a walk in the park. We’ve taken on so many monsters in the simulators. Surely the real thing wouldn’t be a challenge either.” Said Clarence.

  “That's it. We were limited to simulators. Those things just provided visual cues and informed us how these creatures would attack us; perhaps not even that. We do not know how we will do in real-life scenarios.” Said Jack.

  “Now that you mention it, it makes sense.” Said Elena.

  “No matter what, we still need to impress the major.” Said Sarah.

  “Nothing left than to do our best.” Said Kyle as they walked toward the arena.

  They entered an enormous open area with sections of steel running along the ground like a grid around the perimeter of the arena and activated their armor.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Listen up! There will be 4 tests, Each for one of the regiments. I’ll explain the test to each regiment when their turn comes up. Now, for the first test. All scouts form up.” Said Major Washington.

  The scouts from each squad stepped forward from the crowd into the center of the arena.

  “Now, each of you selected a random grid square. Then you and the other scouts in your team will enter the square and prepare to confront whatever is behind the gate. You'll have to combat these things in that space for ten minutes. Now begin!” exclaimed Major Washington.

  “OK, which one do we take? It’s not like we know what’s behind those cages. We have equal chances of facing off against a weak or a strong monster.” Said Amelia.

  “Hmm. I get the feeling that it doesn’t matter which one we take. There’s some kind of a hidden message in what he said to us.” Said Jack.

  “What do you mean Jack?” asked Elena.

  “Well. He didn't say whether we had to kill the monsters we encounter to pass the test. He just said, 'Fight these things for 10 minutes'. This could be a time limit for killing them off or a time limit for a survival test. It could even be a time limit to K.O. the monsters too.” Said Jack.

  “yeah, that makes sense.” Said Elena.

  “Whatever the case, we need to pick a grid. I see most of the guys have taken a square and are heading toward them.” Said Amelia.

  Jack, Amelia, and Elena move to one of the grid squares and wait for the exam to begin. As the last of the scout cadets enter their square, the major looks over to the arena wall.

  “All right! Activate the compounds!” Yelled Major Washington to some soldiers in the guard posts situated on the area wall.

  Immediately, the grids began to rise and form a square cage around the cadets.

  “What the-?” said Jack in a bewildered tone.

  Before they could assess the situation, the doors opened, and a red eye stared back at them. Immediately a gigantic mouth with massive fangs pounced at them.

  “Scatter!!” said Jack.

  The three scouts activated their nanocube jetpacks and managed to scatter in time before the beast could capture them in its jaws, but they were thoroughly disoriented as they lost their balance and slammed into the walls around them.

  “Owww! What the hell??” said Amelia in a perplexed tone.

  “That didn’t go like it did in my head.” Said Elena.

  “Guard up. We’re not in the clear yet!!” yelled Jack as the ghoul hound that emerged from the cage started running toward Jack. Jack narrowly avoided it with his jetpack. He tried rolling on the ground to rebalance himself, but instead of tucking into a roll, he crashed on his shoulder.

  “AAAH!” yelled Jack in pain.

  “Jack! You okay?” asked Elena.

  “Yeah, kinda. I guess this is the downside of those simulators.” Said Jack in a painful voice.

  Meanwhile, Major was standing inside one of the guard towers and observing the events that were unfolding in each grid.

  “As we suspected. These kids still have a lot to learn. Despite being cutting-edge technology, those simulations fall short in one critical area. They cannot mimic how these cadets would feel if they were to execute acrobatics, which are critical in close combat with the monsters. The cadets don't even move from their positions. They can only run because of the treadmill-like stages they stand on. But that's it. They understand what they need to do, but their bodies don't know how to do it.” Said Major Washington.

  “Excuse me, sir. Isn't it dangerous to let them fight these things? Their bodies aren't used to such intense actions.” asked Lieutenant Rakes.

  “Yeah, I know. That's why I have a crew ready to step in if they get into trouble. However, this is a fantastic technique to assess their adaptability to a situation. I gave them ten minutes inside the grids. I expect them to survive for at least half that time.” Said Major Washington.

  As the Major watched on, Jack was thrown back to a wall hard and fell to the ground.

  “Jack!!” yelled Amelia and Elena as they ran toward him.

  “Oww, owww!! I’m gonna feel that for a while.” Said Jack in pain.

  “Maan!! This is extremely frustrating!! It used to be a piece of cake to take these things down in the simulator but it’s starting to be a real pain in the butt now!” said Amelia angrily.

  “What do we do?” asked Elena helplessly.

  “We have to start thinking on our feet. We can’t use jet packs, so what? If we come up with a solid plan we can beat it. We’ve got 8 minutes to spare. Plenty of time if you ask me.” Said Jack confidently.

  The beast pounced on them baring its fangs, but the group dodged the attack by a hair.

  “What’s your plan Jack?” asked Amelia.

  “I’m gonna go Batman mode.” yelled Jack.

  “The hell does that mean?” asked Amelia.

  “Just watch.” Said Jack as he reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a blue glowing cube.

  “Form magnetic grappling gun.” Said jack.

  The next instant, a grappling gun with magnetic pads appeared in Jack’s hand. Just as the beast launched another attack at Jack, he fired the grappling gun and pulled himself out of the way of the creature’s attack.

  “Move up the wall!” Said Jack.

  Amelia and Elena copied Jack and formed grappling guns. They fired them at the wall around them and reeled in the rope, suspending themselves from their grappling hooks while keeping their feet on the wall.

  “Jack! Come one!” yelled Elena.

  Jack fired his grappling gun at the wall and reeled himself up just before the beast could grab him.

  “That was a close call.” Said Jack as he joined Amelia and Elena.

  “so what? We wait out here?” asked Elena.

  “No. we’re gonna take it out.” Said Jack.

  “How exactly? We’re not even able to maneuver around with the jetpacks. How can we attack when we can’t move properly?” asked Elena.

  “I’m gonna have some fun here. The two of you need to keep it distracted. Fire at it, taunt it. Just keep it off me for a while would ya?” Said Jack.

  “Care to let us in on your plan?” asked Amelia.

  “Ohhhh, you just keep watching.” Said Jack with a wide smile under his helmet.

  “Hey!! Over here you ugly mutt!!!!” yelled Elena while firing her handheld plasma gun.

  “You want a dinner entrée? come and get me!!!!” yelled Amelia as she yelled and fired at the beast too.

  The ghoul hound stood on its hind legs, attempting to reach Amelia and Elena, but they reeled in the cables and dragged themselves higher up the wall, just a few inches beyond its reach. Meanwhile, Jack went sideways to the beast's left side, into its blind spot. He sprang from the wall onto the monster's back. When the monster realized someone had gotten onto its back, it began moving erratically in an attempt to throw the person off. However, Jack had firmly gripped one of its protruding spines with a conventional grappling hook pistol that he created using the cube. The beast began bouncing around and ran rampant inside the compound.

  “yeaaahhahahahahaaa!!! Yeeeeeeehaaaaaw!!!!” yelled Jack excitedly.

  “Whoa! That looks kinda fun.” said Amelia.

  “Be careful Jack!!!!” exclaimed Elena.

  From the guard tower, Major Washington had noticed Jack’s actions and was watching him ride the beast.

  “Well. That’s something you don’t see every day.” Said Major Washington with a smile.

  “Heh. Look at him go. He’d make an excellent rodeo rider.” Said Lieutenant Rakes.

  “All right. Time to end this.” Said Jack as he materialized a shock gauntlet on his right arm. He charged the gauntlet for five minutes before striking the hound's spine. A huge shockwave spread around the compound as the beast screamed in pain and succumbed to the ground. Amelia and Elena lowered themselves to the ground and walked toward Jack as he jumped off the beast's back.

  “That’s not fair, Jack.” said Amelia.

  “What? I knocked out the thing right?” asked Jack.

  “You didn’t let me in on the fun.” Said Amelia as she hit Jack’s arm.

  “Sorry. Maybe next time?” said Jack.

  Suddenly, the wall to their right began to lower and open up to the arena. They walked out of their compound and headed to their squad.

  “They exceeded the minimums I expected of them. They beat that thing in 6 minutes. I suppose that is to be expected of James and Mary's children. I see that the other scouts are not doing badly either. They also understood the downsides of simulator training and focused on survival. Only a handful are struggling. I got them pulled out from their test areas. Only three minutes left.” Said Major Washington.

  Meanwhile, Jack, Amelia, and Elena were catching up with their squad

  “Dude, that was awesome!” exclaimed Matthew as Jack, Amelia, and Elena joined their group.

  “You guys were watching?” asked Amelia.

  “Yup. That was a really good idea, Jack. Using grappling guns as an alternative for jetpacks. We were starting to worry about what we were going to do about mobility.” Said Sarah.

  “I agree on that.” Said Simon with a soft smile.

  “And your joyride was awesome too. You’ll make a fine rodeo rider Jackson Foster.” Said Kyle Jovially.

  “Thanks, guys. The idea came in a flash. But it still has its downsides so be careful using it.” Said Jack.

  An air horn sounded to signal the end of the test, as the walls lowered and the cadets walked out of their test zones. They gathered in the center of the field as the Major turned on the PA system.

  “Well done, scouts. You have performed as expected. Although I didn't specify if you had to defeat the creatures you were fighting, you all made it through the 10 minutes I had allocated. The primary rule should always be survival. There are always monsters out there that are too powerful for a single squadron. In such instances, you should retreat and wait for reinforcements, or disengage from combat entirely. Never win at the expense of your life or your entire squad. This is especially relevant to you, squad leaders, as you are in charge of leading your teams. Now, then. Next up are the snipers. All snipers remain in the middle of the field. The rest of you head towards the boundaries.” Said Major Washington.

  “Good luck Sarah. You too, Simon.” Said Amelia.

  “You got this girl.” Said Elena.

  “Thanks.” Said Sarah.

  “Break a leg, man.” Said Jack to Simon.

  “Right.” Said Simon with a nod.

  Jack and the rest of the team moved toward the end of the field, alongside the other teams. After the field was cleared, the PA system came on again as the Major issued instructions.

  “Cadets, ready yourselves.”

  The cadets took a ready stance as the Major disengaged from the PA system and gave the technician near him a command.

  “Activate birdcage.”

  Suddenly, massive metallic walls rose from the earth in all directions, enclosing the sniper cadets. The walls grew higher and higher until they met at a single spot and formed a dome.

  “Holy-“ said Kyle in an astonished tone.

  “That is so sick.” Said Matthew, just as astonished as the others.

  “Begin the test.” Said Major Washington.