SORTING GAM
DAY THREE CULLING TEST
EATING HALL

Sheil woke with a dull pain underlying the  numbness in her right arm, and a loud banging noise, her head felt as if someone was trying to rip it open from inside. There was the smell of rubbing menthol, sharp and distinct. Her eyelids feel weighted shut, light glowing through them in a reddish-yellow assured her that at least she hasn't been dumped in the red dun for the familiars to feast upon. Her brain is waking up now albeit slowly, but with a primal surge of adrenaline that should carry her up to standing but cold, heavy limbs disobey. And her eyes refuse to open no matter how much she tries to pried it open.

A background noise, soft intermittent footsteps, the sound comes to the forefront now as it gathers speed, the chirps closer together. The shuffle of footsteps brings warm fingers that press her arm lightly. Even before she opened her eyes, she knew her environment wasn't familiar to her. The air was heavy and damp, pressing against her skin like a clammy shroud. Where am I? The question popped into her mind unbidden. When she had enough strength and decided to open her eyes her vision was blurred and untrustworthy.

All she saw were moving shapes of light and dark, of color and shadow, an indistinct shape, alien, jig-saw puzzle. Her right hand still feels dead and refuses to obey her directions, She tries to rub away the dirt fogging her vision with the fingers of her left hand, and while she does, one of the jig-saw shadows speaks.

"Ah, you're awake. Praise the red God, I was beginning to wonder if you are dead," A pleasant voice said, but the noise felt like the person was intentionally shouting. Sheil feels like screaming at the voice for making such a loud noise near her, but she feels grateful that she at least can hear properly. She feels wet clothes wipe her eyes, making her vision a bit better and less foggy. It must be blood she felt in her eyes while she tried rubbing her eyes.

"We'll soon take care of that, your eyes probably won't open wider for a couple of days though, you got it all swollen up," the voice said again, in assurance. Sheil was lying down on her back, on a grassy surface, she realized. She sat bolt upright, the sudden movement intensified the pounding in her head and ear. A quick look around and found herself somewhere completely unfamiliar, which proves her first thought right. 

“Finally,” said Yalowel under her breath. Sheil looks around her, but she can only recognize bits and pieces and some of the people passing them by, she can't remember why they are all outside. One of the girls turned her way and Sheil's memory suddenly flooded back, Her head pounded anew. “How long was I out?” She asked in a croaking voice.

“Few minutes, definitely not up to an hour.” Yalowel answered her. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"My mouth tastes like the underside of someone's

boot. And my jaw feels as if someone resets it, also my arms. I don't know. My head hurts." Sheil answered, trying to take stalk of her injuries. "What happened?" She asked Yalowel after a few seconds of silence between them.

"You fainted, probably from exhaustion. You never did learn your fight-stance and strategy well, even in class your head was always in a cloud, it was probably why you get exhausted easily during the fight," Yalowel said and grimaced.

"But what really happened? After the fight I mean," She asked, while trying to stand up, but her feets still feel as if they are sleeping, she could feel a needle like prickles all over both her legs.

"I wasn't watching you keenly, but my guess is that you fainted right when the second alarm rings," she answered, supporting Sheil to stand up.

"I remember hearing the alarm sounds, but I wasn't sure if it was the alarm or my ear ringing," Sheil admitted and hopped on her legs. At this rate, she is not sure she would be able to walk by herself for a long time, her leg feels dead to her, as if they are not part of her body.

"Immediately after the alarm, they started counting bodies. Even those who weren't dead, but were injured, lying down on the floor or couldn't stand up on their own, they counted them. There was this red light that showed over them as they counted them." Yalowel Explained, Sheil nodded for her to continue, but she regretted that action immediately, her head would fall off if she nodded or shook it again. But Yalowel already saw her gesture and she continued with her explanation, "I looked around for you in the people that remain standing, it was difficult to see if you were amongst them, but it was pure luck and your white hair that saved us both the stress. I saw you, were you slumped down on my second random eye check of the hall. I walked slowly and fast too, to your side before the counting gets there, so I managed to hold you standing, till the light passed over us both and continue on to more lying down bodies,"

"Merda re," Sheil was shocked but she still managed to mutter her gratitude quietly.

"Don't thank me yet, we aren't out of their eyes, they may still catch us and they will surely kill us both, for treason," Yalowel said and looked around them.

That's true, they are still out here and she can barely walk on her legs.

The blood pounded in her ears. Her heart thudded in her chest. Her hands shook. Her feet tingle. Her vision disfigured, as if she were looking through a fish-eye lens. She had to get away. They had to leave this place. She couldn’t stay near that damned hall any longer. She couldn’t look at it. There was too much of a risk of someone walking out of it and trying to be a law abiding gliders. There is a chance anyone of those girls who passed them by before would go and report them to the administrator. She was stranded, with legs that felt dead and currently useless. 

If Yalowel carries her, it would surely cause more speculations amongst the assassin glinds, which could lead to someone reporting to the administrator. If Yalowel didn't carry her, they are still too close to the testing hall. She turned to Yalowel, took a long, slow deep breath, then started dragging her feets with a strength she didn't know she had, they rounded a corner out of sight of the hall. There, they can't see them again and they are walking towards the food hall just like the other girls. 

She feels extremely tired, but they were out of sight. That was all that mattered. Sheil clutched Yalowel's arms, her hands wrapped so tightly around it that her nails dug into Yalowel's arm. Breathing was hard. Really hard. As if she’d just run the Longest Race. She started crying, even without knowing her reason for crying. Yalowel rubbed her back and she cried harder, her chest growing tight as bile rose in her throat. Yalowel gives her a few minutes to cry, while she holds her and rubs her back. She has yet to understand the reason why Yalowel has been acting weirder to her in recent days, but she is not going to question the hand of fate that sends Yalowel to her at her moment of need. Realizing they may draw attention the way they are standing, Sheil moves back and wipes her tears.

"I'm glad you saved me, I'm glad you didn't leave me there," Sheil said in between hiccups.

"All that is in the past, let's get something to eat and prepare for tomorrow. Who knows what test they will give us tomorrow, and we still have two more days to go, so please try to regain your strength and stay alive," Yalowel

"How many girls died?" Sheil managed to say the words out, while they continued towards the food all with Yalowel holding on her waist.

"From their counts, fifteen girls are dead, ten severely injured and five girls, who probably fainted, we're counted too, making thirty girls out of the test. Currently there are seventy of us and in the next two days, you already know what to expect," Yalowel finished.

"I can't believe thirty girls are gone, just with the third test," Sheil muttered.

"Better believe it, and also believe that there are still more girls to go, so stop being all mopey," Yalowel answered her.

Sheil decides to keep her thoughts to herself, she doesn't want to anger the girl that saves her from the same fate as those dead girls. Even though her mind is full of questions, brimming with curiosity on why Yalowel has singled her out, but Sheil is currently in a precarious situation. Yalowel has always been a strict adept follower of the rules, it is one of the reasons she Excel to be their head girl. If Sheil voiced out her thoughts about the injustice of their current situation, Yalowel may just decide to throw her to the administrator.

They walked in relative silence and soon reached the food hall, using her left shoulder to push the door open, Yalowel turned to her and asked in a low voice, "can you feel your legs yet? I don't know if I can continue to hold you till we reach the food bowl,"

"I think I can walk on my own now, thank you," Sheil answered, even though her legs still feel like jelly, she managed to stand on her own and offered Yalowel a quaint smile.

Satisfied with her reply, Yalowel dropped her hand and marched into the hall, Sheil followed her in a slower pace. Making sure she didn't rush lest she fall down on her face. The inside of the food hall was quiet, so quiet that at first, Sheil thought there was no one in the hall, until she entered fully and saw all the girls quietly eating their food without conversing with one another as usual.

The atmosphere of the hall was gloomy, just like Sheil each of the girls is probably feeling the loss of comrades, girls they've spent the last seven years with, they are all in mourning, but no one will openly admit that.

Deciding she is too tired to walk all the way to.the food bowl, Sheil detoured and found the nearest seat to sit down. Yalowel showed up at her side a few minutes later with two trays, filled with two yellow-colored rounded fruit, two small white rounded fruit, a bowl filled with grainy food with yellowish substance mixed with it and a cup containing milky water. She places one of the trays in front of Sheil and turns around.

Sheil turned around too, to see what she wanted to do, Yalowel walked a few paces away from her table, and took one available chair from another table. She carried it nimbly and walked briskly towards the table Sheil was sitting on. This shocked Sheil, they are not allowed to sit together at the food hall, looking wildly around like a child caught stealing, she realized other girls were as shocked as her too at Yalowel's attitude.

Glaring at almost all the girls that caught her eye, including those who frown at her blatant disregard of the rules, Yalowel brought her chair back, she placed it beside Sheil and sit at a table barely big enough for one person, not bothering with all the other girls around she started eating her food.

Well, if she didn't get killed in the fighting hall, maybe getting caught eating together was how she will get killed, Sheil thought and decided to start eating, if she will die she wants to die with a full stomach.