the final test

The sunrise of a new day felt like a defiance against the darkness of the previous night, Leo slowly opened his eyes, as if waking from a hazy dream, A heavy feeling pressed upon his chest, like a boulder had been placed there, He suddenly sat up, feeling like a ghost was haunting him, But this time, he wasn't bound, He found himself alone in a silent room, filled with the soft scent of sun-dusted air. A plush bed cradled him, offering a sense of security despite what he'd experienced,

Soft knocks on the door roused Leo from his thoughts,A young voice, tinged with a hint of hesitation, spoke from beyond: "Can I come in?"

Images from the past swirled in his mind, a blend of mystery and fear, He answered in a low voice, as if afraid to break the room's silence: "Come in."

A young man, his age, entered, His blonde hair was like fluffy cotton, his eyes emerald green, and his face held a hazy smile, as if trying to conceal unspoken emotions, He extended his hand for a handshake, but hesitated for a moment, Then he said in a friendly voice: "Hi, I'm Tyler; Remember me?"

Tyler looked at Leo with piercing eyes, as if he wanted to read his thoughts

Leo hesitated for a moment, then asked with a confused voice: "What?"

Tyler scratched his head nervously, like he was recalling something painful, "Well, I was a rotisserie chicken when we met, How could you forget? But you'll remember this…"

He picked up a little girl from the floor, She looked like a delicate doll, her eyes bright blue and full of innocence, her lips tinted pink Leo's hand trembled as the girl shouted in a tiny voice: "Daddy " She reached out to hug him, her eyes filled with longing.

Leo hesitated, feeling a mix of fear and regret. But he looked at Tyler, who gestured with his finger, warning him not to do something wrong. Then, he gently hugged her, feeling his senses come back to life, with the smell of childhood innocence,Tyler quickly pulled the girl away from Leo, saying: "Enough with the hugs, Mr. Christopher wants both of you."

Leo pondered what had happened, feeling the word "test" echo in his mind, Tyler answered: "It's your last test."

Carrying the girl, Leo followed Tyler, They descended into a dark basement, the air heavy with the smell of darkness and dampness, the scent of death lingered, a mix of decaying flesh and metal, announcing dark stories that only the walls knew,in a corner, Christopher sat leaning back on a chair, cleaning a pistol meticulously, His eyes glittered with a mysterious fire, Leo approached him, but Christopher threw a pistol towards Leo, who caught it,Christopher spoke in a cold voice: "I assume you know this is your last test."

Leo remained silent, trying to understand what was happening.

Tyler quickly pulled back a curtain, revealing a man who looked exhausted,Signs of torture and starvation were evident on him, He looked at Leo with pleading eyes, begging for life, As Christopher grabbed the girl and pointed a pistol at her head, he said in a threatening voice: "Now, it's your test, You have ten seconds to shoot that man, or I'll shoot the girl, The countdown begins, one… two…"

Leo held the pistol, trembling with fear, looking at Liza, He didn't want to kill her again, And the man, who hadn't done anything wrong and whom he didn't even know, how could he take his life away? The countdown was nearing its end, and he had no choice, He turned toward the man, who was pleading for his life, his hands trembling. The count reached nine.

Boom

The sound of gunfire, the bullet lodged itself in the middle of his forehead, Christopher released Liza, furrowing his brow.

"A shot to the forehead, huh?"

He turned his gun towards the back of Leo's head.

"Who the hell are you? I've been watching you since the beginning, Your actions have been suspicious, In the first test, the clock was originally broken, You didn't spend twenty-four hours, but two days, How is that even possible? You managed to avoid the hallucination caused by the poison and overcame it, And as for the pool, you didn't wake up immediately when the water touched your face and closed your airways, but stayed underwater for a few seconds to compensate for the lack of water in your body and drink, You've been awake since the moment we pulled you out of the pool, And even though you said you can't swim, when you ran out of oxygen, your legs moved like someone who had lived in water for a long time,on top of that, you tried to attack me, despite being exhausted, which is something a normal person wouldn't do, and now, out of all the places, in the middle of his forehead? If you had hit another spot, i might have believed you, Because anyone who holds a gun for the first time, it's not even likely that they'll hit the target, let alone aim for the head, You were trembling the whole time, but during your shot, in the last second, your body was stable, and your eyes were almost piercing the target directly, And you didn't hesitate to kill him from the beginning."

"Leo answered calmly: What do you mean?"

"I mean, enough with the act, Now tell me who you are."

Leo, still holding a pistol, answered: "How about you lower your gun, and we'll talk."

The air between them was suffocating,

Heavy footsteps echoed, followed by an old man, but he radiated an aura of authority. He looked at Christopher, then at Leo,

"Lower your weapons immediately."

Christopher and Tyler lowered their weapons, but Leo ignored his words. He looked at him angrily and said: "I said lower your weapons, all of you."

It was clear that his power was immense, Leo lowered his weapon, there was no point in a losing battle.

Then he said: "All of you, follow me to the office."