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I rubbed the back of my neck. “Look, guys, I sincerely doubt tomorrow will be a weight-lifting exercise.”

“It better not be.” Wally swung his arms around. “Or I’m toast. On the upside, I’m so exhausted, I shouldn’t have any trouble falling asleep tonight, despite my crippling insecurity about my physical prowess. Waking up may be a problem, though.”

“You’ll both do fine,” Frankie said. “We all will. You’re worrying too much. Whatever comes, we’ll figure it out. We always do.”

I wanted to contradict her, but the truth was, I liked her optimism. Ineededher faith in me, now more than ever.

We were the White Knights. Together we could conquer all.

“Thanks, Frankie,” I said. “What would we do without you?”

Chapter Twenty-Two

ANGEL SINCLAIR

Despite my exhaustion, I didn’t sleep well Thursday night. Kira and Hala were both tossing and turning, too, so I suspected they were also anxious. Only Frankie slept blissfully. When she woke, she was her useful cheerful self, although she mentioned her muscles were a bit sore.

We ate breakfast, although most of us could barely choke anything down, then assembled in Room 101 for orientation.

Once we were present and seated, Mr. Donovan entered the room. “Good morning, candidates. Today will be your first trial. We wish you the best of luck. Now, I ask you to please rise and remain still while we prepare you.”

I stood up hesitantly, not sure what he meant by “prepare.” Jonas, the student who had pretended to be the assassin in the active-shooter scenario, came up behind each one of us and arranged blacked-out goggles tightly over our eyes.

“From this moment until we reach our destination, you’re not to remove the goggles or speak to each other,” Mr. Donovan instructed us. “If you’re caught doing either, you’re immediately disqualified.”

Someone took my hand and led me down the hallway and outside, where I could hear the birds chirping. “Watch your head,” a woman said, as she lifted my leg and helped me up into what was likely a bus or a van. I was instructed to sit, so I did. Someone slid in beside me. I had no idea who it was.

When we were all loaded, the vehicle took off. I calculated a less than five-minute ride, so wherever we were going, it was close. I suspected we were being brought somewhere on the UTOP campus.

The vehicle halted, and we were taken off the bus one by one. We must have walked into a building, because a blast of cool air hit my face. We walked a bit more before I heard a door open and I shuffled forward.

We abruptly stopped. “Put your arms out, please,” a female voice instructed me.

I did as she said, and she secured something on me—a heavy vest or shirt. Something cool was fastened to my wrist.

“Hold on to me,” she said, placing my hand on her arm. “I’ll take you where you need to go.”

We walked until she suddenly stopped. I nearly fell over her. “Stay here. Do not remove the goggles or leave this spot until instructed. Once you remove the goggles, you can talk to the other participants as needed. Do you understand?”

I nodded, my mouth dry, still afraid to talk. I waited for what seemed like hours, but time passed differently when you couldn’t see. Finally a voice came over what sounded like a loudspeaker. It was Mr. Donovan.

“Students, you may remove your goggles.”

I reached up and pulled mine off, blinking a couple of times as my eyes adjusted to my surroundings. I stood in a dark cavern with fake plastic rocks and weird strobe lights flashing. Laser tag was the first thing that leaped to mind. Glancing around, I looked for the other students but didn’t see anyone else. I examined my outfit—a vest with lights and a belt with a laser gun. I removed the gun, holding it in my hand and pressing back against a fake rock.

My initial assessment was this wasn’t going to be so bad.

I’d played laser tag a few times in my life. I wasn’t great at it, but I didn’t suck, either. I figured Wally would be pretty good because he played online shooting games all the time. Physical maneuverability could be a problem for him, but I wasn’t too worried. He could hold his own. Frankie, however, might be in real trouble, not that I even knew where she was. I had a feeling laser tag wasn’t her thing.

“Your mission is to get out in under fifteen minutes,” Mr. Donovan continued. “Every successful shot is worth five points. Minus five points to whoever gets shot. Be careful if you get shot, because your sensor will light up for five seconds, making you a beacon to others. The timer on your wrist lets you know how much game time you have left and how many points you have in terms of your personal score.”

I glanced down at the plastic timer secured around my wrist. The top line, in glowing green numbers, readGame Time 15:00. The bottom line readPoints 20. So, we started with twenty points. That meant we could get hit no more than four times without scoring against someone else. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“Your chest, back, shoulders have hit boxes,” Mr. Donovan continued. “Your gun also has a hit box. You must score in the hit box to get points. Here are the rules. This is a noncontact trial. No tackling, fighting, or hitting. You’ll receive an immediate disqualification if you do not observe this rule. Also, no spawn killing and no stalking. Your primary objective is to get out in under fifteen minutes with the highest score. You shoot another player only if you want more time or you want to come out ahead in terms of points. If you lose all your points from getting shot, then the game ends for you. The person who comes through the exit first gets a large bonus. Each successive person who makes it through the exit will receive extra points as well.”

I inhaled a deep breath, wishing I could see more than just the closest area. But it was too dark beyond my immediate circle, and the momentary flashes from the strobe lights didn’t extend very far.

“If you get hurt, stop your play immediately and announce it,” he continued. “Health and safety are our top priorities. Remember, your sensors must be visible during game play. You may not cover your light or sensor. Also, no shooting the face. If you hit someone with a face shot, even if it’s accidental, you lose fifteen points. Too many mistakes with shooting, and you’ll be disqualified. That’s left to our discretion. Now, good luck, and may the best student win.”