Silence.My body felt heavy and I couldn’t breath properly.Did something happen?Ugh, why do I feel so uncomfortable?Suddenly, a certain smell bombarded my nostril.It was a familiar smell since it was the one that hit me the day dad left me.A fire!Opening my eyes, I found myself in an unfamiliar location.It was mostly dark but I could just about make out a few things due to the little flames engulfing a few areas in the room.Of course, I had to close my eyes and open them again to get accustomed to the low light and even then, I ended up squinting.A burned room with shelves piled over each other and debris all over the ground.Looking back, instead of the bed I slept on, it was a slab of broken concrete.Ugh, no wonder I was so uncomfortable.I was laying down on stone.In any case, what’s going on?Where am I?... Wait a minute.Is this a trial?It happened so soon?... This is unexpected.Looking down at my body, instead of my sleeping attire, I wore a leather jacket with jean

Thinking back now, it’s been a little over 7 weeks ( 70 days ) since I became a cadet in the Academy.During this period, I’ve experienced combat training, backbreaking exercises and problems with keeping focus.Through it all, I wouldn’t say I was a full fledged Explorer.Nope, I’m a long way from that.But there was a difference and I was thankful for that.Maybe it was a little irresponsible though to suddenly put us into such situations where we were forced to take on monsters that we’d normally never have a chance against.Roberts said something peculiar.That the suppression used by the examiners was strong enough to ensure that the monsters we faced in the nightmares were never stronger than we could handle.But that was bold of him to say considering they don’t have a say in the scenarios each nightmare is set in.How are they so sure that the monsters are being suppressed?What if it’s just the Dreamer playing a game.That thought process was forced to come to a halt however

Ugh, what happened?My head hurts.Why can’t I move my body?Am I paralyzed?Am I dead?No, stop panicking.Take deep breaths.Hmm, okay let’s try to recall what happened.The storeroom, zombie, then… Ugh, it hurts!Fuck!Gritting my teeth, I force my eyes open and I’m greeted by a night sky…. Wait what!The shock of what was before my eyes allowed me forget the temporary paralysis I felt as I bolted up.Unbelievable.Is this what the sky looks like?I’d never seen it before but dad always said it was one of the wonders of the outside world.So much space.I could hardly breathe at what lay out there.Of course, this sky was without the stars and clouds that dad spoke about but that should be because this is just a nightmare.“Brother Jerry!”I look over to find Lincoln rushing toward him.He looked quite haggard, to the point where a simple thought came to mind.Mad man!Ahem, anyway.“It seems like we survived. Did you just wake up?”Lincoln shook his vigorously. “Not at all.”It wa

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Leah remarked as she paced about. “The Fog appearing in a trial?... How is that possible?”I had already asked myself the same question and I had pulled up a blank thus far.“The Otherworldly projected in the trials are supposedly meant to be at a level where we can handle them with enough wits and skills. Based on my time here, there’s never been a recorded instance of the Fog appearing and making a move.”Wait, so it has appeared before?“Are you saying the Fog has appeared before?”Phoebe nodded. “Yeah. This should be the sixth time. The previous times, it only made a brief appearance before receding like a lie. In fact, the rumors were dismissed as an attempt to spark fear in cadets but now that it’s happened in a trial I’m in… I can’t help but recall them.”Based on how she was talking, Phoebe was definitely a year older than us.Why?... Because this was a new year and only a month had passed so far.There hasn’t been any rumor about the Fog appeari

( Leah’s POV )A strange stench permeated the atmosphere.It was different from what I had to deal with in the sewers.No, unlike the sewage, the stench wasn’t because of the refuse.It felt like it was born out of the monsters that roamed the streets.Monster rats, zombies… Some moved in groups and the others moved solo.I didn’t plan on engaging them though.It was beyond me to attempt that with my condition.Unlike Jerry and Phoebe, I don’t have a Stigma to better my chances in a fight.Hah, I guess it doesn’t matter.I wonder when that thing plans to leave.Across the street from where I was, a giant rat with a pole stuck in it’s eye was on a rampage.Zombies didn’t escape it’s wrath as it gnawed on them with scraping metallic sounds following as it bit down on them.The scene was too gruesome to watch but I couldn’t turn away.My target was a building not too far from where it was.Based on its skyline, I made a bold guess.I might have a chance to scope the city from up there.J