A Beacon in the Dark

Adrien trudged through the dense underbrush, his every step heavy with exhaustion. The night was pitch black, with only the faintest slivers of moonlight piercing through the thick canopy above. His shoulder still ached from the earlier encounter, a dull throb that reminded him of the danger lurking in the shadows. He had no idea where he was or how far he had wandered from where he'd awoken, but the cold bite of the night air and the hunger gnawing at his stomach pushed him to keep moving.

The silence of the forest was broken only by the rustling of leaves and the occasional distant hoot of an owl. Adrien shivered, his clothes offering little protection against the chill. The food he had smuggled out of the mess hall earlier was long gone, leaving him with an empty belly and a growing sense of dread.

As he stumbled over a fallen branch, his eyes caught a flicker of light in the distance—a warm, orange glow that stood out against the inky darkness. His heart leaped in his chest. Torches. People.

Relief washed over him, and with newfound hope, he quickened his pace, ignoring the protests of his tired muscles. As he drew closer, the flickering light revealed a small group of people gathered around a clearing. They were students, just like him, but they seemed far more prepared for the situation than Adrien was.

Their bags bulged with supplies—extra blankets, flasks of water, and what looked like proper food, not the meager scraps Adrien had scrounged up. He wondered where they had gotten all of this. Did they visit the store before the test? Or had they planned ahead, unlike him? Either way, Adrien's need for help outweighed his curiosity.

With a deep breath, he approached the group, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. "Hey… uh, I'm not here to fight. I'm just really tired and lost."

The group turned to face him, their expressions shifting from surprise to suspicion. A tall boy with a stern face and a torch in hand stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he sized up Adrien. The flickering light cast shadows over his features, making him look even more intimidating.

"Who are you?" the boy asked, his tone wary.

"I'm Adrien," he said, his voice weak. "I'm from the other team, but I don't want any trouble. I just need a place to rest."

The boy's expression softened slightly, but not enough to make Adrien feel safe. He looked over Adrien's disheveled appearance—the dirt-streaked clothes, the cuts and bruises that marred his skin, the exhaustion that was written all over his face. Adrien was no threat, at least not in his current state.

The boy's lips curled into a smirk, and he turned to his companions. "Looks like we found ourselves an easy capture. What do you say, guys?"

The others snickered, nodding in agreement. Adrien's heart sank as he realized what they intended to do. He was too tired to fight, too drained to argue. All he wanted was to rest, to close his eyes and escape the nightmare that this test had become.

Before he could react, the tall boy grabbed his arm, pulling him forward with surprising force. Adrien stumbled, his tired body offering little resistance as they forced him to his knees. The rough bark of a tree bit into his back as they pushed him against it, and in a matter of seconds, they had his hands bound tightly with a length of rope.

Adrien winced as the rope dug into his skin, the coarse fibers chafing his wrists. He looked up at the group, their faces lit by the flickering torchlight. They were grinning, clearly pleased with their catch.

"Don't worry, newbie," the boy said with a chuckle. "We'll take good care of you until the end of the test. You won't have to do anything—just sit tight and wait for us to win."

Adrien's mind raced, but his body refused to cooperate. His head slumped forward, the exhaustion finally catching up with him. There was no point in resisting, not when his energy was spent and his chances of escaping were slim. For now, all he could do was hope that this group wouldn't be too rough with him.

As the group continued to laugh and make plans for their next move, Adrien's thoughts drifted back to his parents, to the safety and comfort of his home. He wished more than anything to be back there, to be free from this nightmare. But for now, he was at the mercy of these students, his fate uncertain.

The tall boy patted Adrien on the shoulder, as if to reassure him, but the gesture felt patronizing. "We'll keep an eye on you, don't worry. Just try not to make things difficult for us, okay?"

Adrien nodded weakly, his mind too foggy with fatigue to respond. His thoughts were a jumble of fear, anger, and despair. He had no idea how he was going to get out of this, but he knew one thing for sure: he couldn't give up, not yet.

The boys didn't pay much mind to Adrien until day fall, which gave him time to rest up and gain back the energy he lost when he had fought with the masked attacker. When he woke up, he managed to lift himself up from his resting position while tied up, and say some food Infront of him. Without much of a choice, he had to eat it like he was a animal.

It wasn't as humiliating as it would have been inside the facility where food was offered on a silver platter. Now it was being offered on dirt. But food was food, and survival was the only choice he had. Yes, the only choice he had was to survive. Some part of Adrien was hoping that the voice would speak to him and tell him to attack them. Whenever the voice spoke to him, it was like his body was being given a order that he couldn't deny, and his body could adapt to the strength required for a task instantly. That would really make an escape possible. 

After he was done eating, he looked around himself, and saw five of the boys minding their business. But Adrien wasn't fooled that easily, he counted seven last night, meaning that two of them were unaccounted for, and it was very possible that they could be waiting for him to make a move. But he wouldn't give them the satisfaction. Orr, he was reading into it way too much.

Adrien decided to sit there and wait for them to wake up, hoping that he could find a way out of their grasp, which sounded ironic since he put himself into their grasp. But, here's the way he thought about it from a very tired mind.

He needed a safe space to sleep. He didn't care about progressing that much in the facility, as he really was only going to be there for as long as they could hold him there. So this test wasn't that much of a priority for him, he just wanted to survive. So instead of sleeping somewhere where people could access him, he would be in a camp of heavily armed people. And no one would steal a capture from their own teammates, so the only people walking into a team of 7's camp would be enemies, and in the crossfire, he would make his escape. He had really thought it through, or as much as his exhausted mind would allow him.

He heard some noise behind him, and swiftly turned his head back to see what it was. It turns out it was two kids, dressed head to toe in light combat gear, nothing too bulky. They both were equipped with bows and one of them had a dagger tied around his waist. One of them seemed familiar, and it took a second for it to click. 

"Whoah, Rylan, is that you? Remember me, from class?" Adrien asked the boy, sure it was the kid that really didn't fancy him at all, but maybe the little conversation they had would mean something. From an outside point of view though, it was Adrien being a naive child. He smiled up at Rylen which really put the nail in the coffin.

Rylan lifted his foot up and brought it into Adrien's chest, kicking him to the ground. The other kid was about Adrien's age, about 8 to 9 years old with a buzz cut and plain brown eyes. It seemed like he wanted to help Adrien, but couldn't do more than lift him back up.

"Tch, like I would know captured trash like you! Now shut your mouth and get your ass up, we're taking you to the main base."

******

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