Testing (I)

<Kiyro>

Oct. 4, 2054. Sunday. 2:30 PM

Kiyro sat on the gym floor with over fifty people of different ages and sizes wearing the same outfit: black shorts and a white t-shirt. He was not too thrilled about being here at the gym. The testing of abilities was bound to happen, but he wished he could slide out of it the whole day.

Unfortunately, they caught him slipping away behind the Academy building. He knew he wouldn't have been found if it wasn't for the tracking device on the silver collar.

With a frown plastered, Kiyro sighed as he leaned back. His feet crossed in front of him while he waited for the examiners to arrive. He was a bit peeved that they took longer than the students to arrive. The one that walked in from the door was none other than Angel twirling his silver cross chain in his hands, walking behind him was Angela with her white lab coat that she always wore and her trailing golden locks flowing behind her. Her glasses slipped forward as she pushed them back up—a large group of people in black suits spread out across the large gym.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen." Angela was the first one to speak up. "We will have our monthly examinations. So I expect you to do your best because there will be consequences."

A young man sitting across from Kiyro raised his hand.

"Yes, Ling?" Angela tapped her pen impatiently against her wooden clipboard.

"What would the consequences be, if I may ask?"

Everyone was on edge when Ling asked such a question. Rumors were flying around that the consequences led to inhumane experiments. Even Kiyro quietly listened to what Angela said.

"You want to know?" Angela drawled out her words, making the surroundings tenser.

Ling slowly shook his head; he was unsure if he should continue asking.

"Death."

Everyone gulped and froze.

Angela gave them a beautiful smile. "I'm just kidding, you know. I always wanted to say that once." Even though she joked, Kiyro couldn't help but feel that there was a bit of truth behind those words. If it was not for the rumors that seemed to spring up every time the Academy administered a 'test,' one couldn't help but feel uneasy at the predicament.

"Well then," Angela clicked her pen and clipped it to the board. She gently lowered it and walked forward. "The test is quite simple. First will be the practical physical examinations. They won't take too long. Then we will be going to the Psychic portion. We'll start with a simple run." She directed them all towards the cones that the men in black were setting up.

Kiyro got up and followed the group that all started to line up, waiting for their turn.

"Angel will be taking one half while I'll be taking the other. We will be timing your 100-meter dash. The first one up is Abbey Zaro." Angela called out. A short girl with a black ponytail stepped forward. She walked over and got ready to run.

Angela walked over towards the end and held up a stop timer.

"Well then." Angel smiled his usual gentlemanly smile. "I'll start on my end. Xerxes Bion, please get ready." He then walks towards the opposite side of Angela and stands there with a timer.

A young teenager with skinny arms and legs stepped forward and waited in line.

"When the alarm goes off, it signals for you to begin," said Angela.

A man in black steps forward with a small round gun-like object. He raised it above his head and shot it off in the air. A loud popping sound reverberated inside the room, and both ran forward.

"14.05 seconds for Miss Zaro."

"13.24 seconds for Mr. Bion."

Angela quickly jotted down the numbers. The testing continued, and Kiyro watched the students run forward. Out of the whole group, only two broke the 11 seconds mark. It was one man that looked around the age of twenty-four and a young girl that could pass as a middle schooler.

"Silvia Sylvester."

"Kiyro Koga."

Kiyro walked over, squatted down, and was in a running position he remembered seeing in the Olympics. He wondered why everyone was literally almost on their hands and knees, ready to bolt off when the whistle blew. Then, he tried the same position just for the hell of it.

"What the hell is he doing?"

People's voices started to whisper behind his back.

"Is he from a track and field team?"

"I don't know. I guess he's really serious about this."

A tinge of heat ran up to his cheek, Kiyro felt a bit embarrassed that he was in such a position, but now he couldn't just get up as if nothing had happened. He calmed his nerves and faced forward toward his end goal. A loud bang-like sound echoed, and Kiyro sprinted off the ground. He felt a surge of power bursting through his legs and up into his body, pushing him forward in leaps and bounds. Without a second thought, he ran.

"10.15 seconds," Angel called out when he clicked the stopwatch. "Not bad." He smiled at him.

"13.22 seconds." Angela voiced out the time and was busily scribbling away.

Kiyro released a breath of relief and went back toward the group.

"Nice." A young man with messy brown hair replied cheerfully, giving him a thumbs up. "You got the highest time out of the group. Do you do track and field?"

"No, I just wanted to try it out. I saw it done at the Olympics before."

"Pfft." The young man snorted and laughed. "Never heard someone ever try doing that just from watching tv. My name is James." He stuck out his hands to shake.

"Kiyro." Kiyro took James' hand and shook it.

"Well, these physical exams are pointless. If you know what I mean."

"I'm not so sure about that. They must have a reason for doing all this. If not, then we wouldn't be doing any of this."

"True. Maybe it's just me because I don't like doing physicals. I'm not fast on my feet or strong."

"Everybody has a different thing that they are good at."

"Yea. What I'm looking forward to is doing the psychic exams. I got a thing or two up my sleeves." James chuckled as he boastfully stated.

Kiyro wasn't too sure how he should reply. He was curious about what he would have up his sleeves, but at the same time, he wasn't so sure of what else to think.

They did push-ups, sit-ups, jumps, dashes, weightlifting, and even weight-throwing through the next hour. Kiyro passed most of the exams by being in the top three. First, however, he needed to figure out what would happen if he failed. So he gave it to the best of his abilities he could.

"Well, now that is all done with." Angela clapped her hands, bringing everyone's attention back to her. "The next test would be initiated in a one-on-one interaction with one of us. You will be entering the room on the left." She pointed towards a small room with a large glass-tinted window that showed the interior. In addition, two large T.V. screens were plastered above the glass walls, showcasing the room's interior.

Everyone walked over to the T.V. to see what they would be doing. What Kiyro saw was two rooms divided by a wall. Inside each room was a table and two chairs. The room was plain white and yellow, making anyone who stepped in feel empty.

"Abbey Zaro and Xerxes Bion. Miss Zaro, please come with me, and Mr. Bion will be with Angel."

Both of them stood up and followed through the door. Everyone gathered around in front of the T.V., wondering what they would be tested on. Angel and Xerxes went inside the left room, while Abbey and Angela went in the other. They both sat across from each other.

"What are they doing?" People started to chat, all searching for some answer through the T.V.

Angela and Angel both pulled out a stack of cards. Each one of them faced down and spread out in front of them. They could see Angel's and Angela's mouths opening and closing, but none could hear their voices. On the T.V. were the student's faces and the picture of the cards hidden in front of them.

"Yep, they're doing the stereotypical guessing game for Remote Viewing," James spoke. "People who don't have the ability will fail, while those who do will pass with flying colors."

"Though, is there a need to do this? What's the whole point? What do you mean Remote Viewing?"

"That's a good question. Doing a guessing game is all good, but it's quite useful in practical use. The more specific you are at visualizing what it is, the better chance that you are powerful in that ability." James thought for a moment and continued speaking. "Remote viewing differentiates itself from other psychic abilities in following a set of protocols. For example, remote viewing uses a blind "target" or items to view a place or the numbers psychically."

Kiyro quietly watched the whole testing begin. From card guessing to talking with each other, Kiyro needed help to hear and understand exactly what was going on. He wondered why they were showing everyone what they were doing. For what purpose, he needed to figure it out.

"Look. Look." James pointed out as they saw the Xerxes concentrating on his hands in front of him.

What they saw amazed everyone. Xerxes was holding a small piece of tissue paper rolled tightly into a small stick handed by Angel. At first, Kiyro wondered what purpose it was even used for. Xerxes was staring intensely towards the paper; a couple of minutes passed till finally, a small gray smoke started to appear from it.