Aaron entered the dark room with worry withering his heart. Mackenzie had already entered about five minutes ago and now it was his turn. Cold seeped through his skin as darkness crept around him. It seemed to have turned the room into an endless open space where there was no escape but yet there was still some type of floor.
It creaked and moaned under him as he walked deeper inside. He could not see anything and couldn't even tell when he blinked. His eyes hurt from straining to pick up a single slice of light but there was none, just darkness. It was silent as well. No sign of the people that went before him. Fear leaked in as it seemed to never end.
Then as his hope drained from him sound of footsteps came from his right. He turn but was knocked over by another person. He grunted and a clicking sound came from somewhere. Aaron rubbed his arm which had been under him as he fell, pain was coursed through it.
   A bright light turned on all of the sudden around him which made him cover his eyes for it seemed to bright.
      "Aaron Welton?" A raspy voice sounded from above. Aaron looked up.
A tall man with dark skin stood above him. His mouth was straight and eyes hard. He was looking at a clipboard in his hand.
"Aaron Welton?" His deep voice boomed again.
"Ye—yes?" He responded in a squeaky voice.
"Sit." The man pointed to a wooden chair in the middle of the circle of light.
    Aaron stumbled to his feet and sat in the chair but remained wary.
     "A long time ago, science predicted that the sun was going to kill off every being on Earth. People believed that a group of people, a small group will be able to survive and save everyone else. It was written in rocks and the sky they had said. A group of people who could walk on the sun. Do you believe in such things?" The man asked him. He gulped.
    "I don't believe in bedtime stories." He said softly, turning as the man walked around him.
    "Hmmmm, do you remember hearing about the nuclear war that broke out because of it?" That was all he said for a long time. He stood there writing down notes on his clipboard. Aaron nodded after a second. As he waited for the next question he started to doze off when the man gave a sudden motion making him jump.
     "Pick a weapon, Aaron Welton." He was pointing at a row of sharp and dangerous weapons. There were bows and arrow, knifes, swords, spears, axes, and an atlatl.
     Aaron got up slowly glancing at the man and shuffled to the open area. He looked at the weapons with fear, what were they going to make them do? His eyes rested on the spear with a detachable top. He grabbed it and felt the woven wood in his hands. The handles seemed to be made by the ancients, the top of the spear had a crafted stone turned into a sharp tip. Below the butt of the stone, feathers rapped around the long stick's top with a brown string and beads hanging from it. There was a latch to separated three inches of the top of the spear from the rest of the handles. Leather wrapped around the places where his hands grabbed it. It was beautifully made.
Aaron looked up at the man with his hands still clasped around the spear.
"Is that what you have chosen?" He asked with softness edging his voice. He seemed to think it was a good choice.
"Yes..." He responded with a little more confidence in his voice. The man nodded.
"Here, you'll need this. My name is Jethro Turner by the way." His voiced boomed through the room as he reached down and grabbed a medium sized backpack and extra spear points and string.
"Urm- Mr.Turner, what is in this bag?" He stuttered. "And what are we going to need these for?" He asked. Mr. Turner looked him in the eyes and frowned in sadness.
    "You will be sent into the Burning Factor, it is the first test out of three. You will have to survive and defend against other immunes and the climate out in the Desert world. Then you will go to the Dreaming stream, then the Death Consequence. We are putting you kids in the Burning Factor to see if you are really immune to the light and the sickness." He gave a sigh and looked down, not making eye contact with Aaron.            
"Wh-what?" He stuttered as worry and fear made it's way to his heart. What did they mean by fend off other immunes? He thought while glancing at the spear. He will have to find Mackenzie and Irene.
          "That is all I will say for you need to go now, here through this door. Just don't loose that pack and spear, it'll save your life." Mr. Turner gently shoved him towards the door.                              He reached over Aaron's shoulder and turned the knob to open it. Dry hot air mixed with sand exploded from the opened crack in the door making him cough and sputter as it itched the back of his throat. He closed his eyes as sand made them sting. He felt the man's hands leave his back as he fell on the burning sand in the sandstorm. He looked up squinting and glanced around him. his hands were nearly buried in the sand and his legs seemed to be on fire. The world around was covered by racing sand and patches of blue from the sky above. The rest of the scene seemed to be a mixer of oranges and light browns. He looked up and his eyes watered as the gazed at the huge red sun. He was alone.
He looked behind him and gasped. The place he was in was gone, only the desert and sandstorm zoomed where it stood. The only way to his friends was gone. Only the burning Earth waited ahead of him. Aaron stood up and looked around one more time in hope to spot a single sliver of movement but none came. He was alone without his friends. The Burning Factor has begun.