Chapter 3: The desert

When Mikael opened his eyes, he stood in a desert, like he'd seen in movies. An endless expanse of sand dunes, as far as the eye can see. Looking around, he found dozens of others, all seemingly confused and scared. The sun was uncomfortable, burning his skin. He took off his undersized jacket, courtesy of being in prison for five years. He wrapped it over his head, mimicking the movies he had watched at the orphanage on movie nights, immediately feeling like Lawrence of Arabia.

The thought made him smile.

'I suppose I must survive this…desert'

As Mikael looked around carefully, he got a good look on all those in the desert. Different ages, races and genders. Though by the way they dressed, they all seemed from the same country, only confirmed by a few military uniforms with the flag present.

One grabbed his attention, he had recognized the man from TV, a prominent general, he remembered him to be someone dependable, often speaking on important subjects.

'Large groups need leaders, he might know quite a bit about navigation and survival'

Mikael took the initiative and approached the man.

"Sir, I believe it's best we organize, surviving the desert is no easy task"

The man, seemingly in his early fifties looked up at Mikael, waking up from his thoughts.

"Well said young man, rank?"

Mikael smiled. He wanted to lie, but then decided against it, perhaps his tougher background could be seen as a strength.

"Orphanage rat, spent 10 counts in prison…Sir"

The general smiled even wider. Seemingly enjoying the joke.

"Not often you see veteran eyes in a civilian"

The general walked in front of the crowd, attracting attention towards himself, then he spoke loudly.

"Listen up! We are in a desert, without water, without food, without a semblance of an understanding where we are. The situation seems hopeless, in times such as this, optimism is our greatest asset. We must choose a direction and slowly walk forward or we will meet our deaths. I would advise to cover your head and as much of your skin as possible, if you have extra garments, please share with those who do not have enough, any objections?"

Mikael looked around the crowd, who all listened attentively. One thing he noticed was that all present seemed to have an aura of experience around them. Their gazes reflected strength or cunning, many of them seemed to be in shape, some of them in military uniforms, some in prison clothes, some wearing training gear, some simply seemed competent even if they were wearing simple clothes.

This was not a random collection of average citizens, each of them from different walks of life. The youngest must've been around 15, his cauliflower ears revealing that even he was capable. The oldest was the general, his official uniform betraying his status, likely why no one protested.

The general nodded at the crowd, looked at the sun, then at his watch and started walking. The crowd exchanged glances and started following. Those in military uniforms sped up and approached the general for a quick chat.

Soon, one of them looked back and started counting. 64 individuals were gathered in the desert. The 6 soldiers spread out, taking charge of around 10 people, with two groups having 8 and 9, not including the soldiers. Mikael was called to walk with the general.

'I wonder what he wants, taking the initiative was a mistake it seems'

The groups started walking in a straight line, towards east, with a soldier leading each one. Soon enough, the crowd started exchanging information. Listening in, Mikael realized that nobody knew much, except one kid in his late teens, who had found out that the trials were a bit random at times, and that the better the group, the more challenging it would be. Upon hearing that, people started sharing their occupations.

Soldiers, criminals, firemen, professional fighters, detectives and many such individuals emerged. Those who had mundane professions seemed to have a past that involved violence or strife, they too weren't simple. It was concluded that the challenge was likely going to be great.

"Kid, anything interesting happened during the...talk with that strange…man?"

Mikael considered his words carefully, having a long tongue was a dangerous occupation, especially in times of crisis.

"Not much, I didn't ask too much"

The general smiled momentarily glancing at Mikael.

"Personally I chose the fighter class, for obvious reasons I suppose. What did you do to end up in prison?"

Mike looked up at the general, who had revealed an important tidbit of information without realizing it, it seems he had a choice, unlike Mikael. This meant that either he was given special treatment or vice versa, though Mikael leaned towards the former.

He immediately decided not to reveal this, as the direct question regarding his incarceration did not sit well with Mikael.

'You shouldn't shove your nose where it doesn't belong, old man…he should know that, why did he ask…he doesn't trust me'

Perhaps Mikael was just paranoid, but he chose to trust his instincts. After a bit of pause, Mikael responded smiling.

"I was innocent of course, we all were and are"

The general turned to him, smiled and spoke.

"Go back to one of the groups, we shouldn't waste energy on talking"

Seed of mistrust had now been planted in both parties, so soon enough he joined one of the groups and walked quietly.

'There goes the dependable leader I guess'

Under the scorching sun, the groups endured well. No water available, no animals in sight and no landmarks. Contrary to some shows some had seen, the general made it clear that drinking urine was not helpful.

Minutes turned to an hour and even the foolish noticed, the sun did not move. It seemed to be a constant morning or late afternoon. Realizing that normal navigation methods would not work, the general stopped along with everyone.

He looked at the sun and started moving in the opposite direction. Everyone followed except a few including Mikael. A large man with scars on his face, the young kid with fighter ears, a woman with a stern but attractive face. Some office worker with tired eyes and a stunningly beautiful Asian woman. The rest paid them no mind, continuing on their tiring walk.

They all glanced at each other, seemingly making the same conclusions. With a lack of navigation, the general had moved away from the only interesting thing on the horizon, the unmoving sun, assuming that it was a trap attracting the flies.

But this little group disagreed, it seemed like a trap only a fly would fall for, of course…but the child was clear, this was a place to seek adventure, and there is no true adventure without risk and danger. Whatever the sun brought with it, they would have to overcome it.

The scarred man spoke first, squinting at the sun while they began their dangerous adventure.

"My name is Tony, bouncer with a background in special forces. I chose the Fighter class. Focus on spears."

Mikael nodded and responded in kind.

"Mi…Mikael, I chose the Fighter class with a focus on sabers and a short blade…I was also allowed to choose a second class of Elemental with an affinity called 'Storm'."

"You can do that?" Asked the young kid.

The others looked surprised, with the Asian lady looking disappointed and angry at herself.

"Seemingly so, otherwise I'm an orphanage kid, recently former convict"

"You went to prison uncle?" The kid asked innocently, earning a smile from Tony and Mikael. Mikael considered hiding it, but simply didn't feel like it, mistake or not. Tony responded in Mikael's' stead.

"Careful of this one kid, convicts are as dangerous as they come. Wouldn't want to mess with them"

The kid frowned at Tony.

"I'm not a kid and I'm not scared, I can mess with anyone I want!" This time the kid earned a smile from everyone, uplifting the mood a little bit. Tony raised his palms to the air, made a scared face and responded to the young adult.

"Woah there kid, I meant no offense, what's your name by the way"

The kid glared at Tony and spoke.

"Roy, Roy Brightson. I chose Beast, with a focus on wolves. I did Judo, wrestling, jiu-jitsu and boxing. I'm as deadly as they come in a fight"

"And you said I'm the scary one Tony, the kid's a menace, I'm terrified" said Mikael teasingly, earning a threatening look from Roy. The Asian woman spoke next.

"Makoto, professional gymnast. I chose the Elemental class, affinity Wind…Never been to prison, got arrested once though, so I'm dangerous too." Said Makoto while chuckling.

The office worker raised his head glancing at the woman.

"Makoto is a male name"

Makoto rolled her eyes.

"My mother was a third generation immigrant whose parents died young, didn't speak a word in Japanese and chose a name that she had heard once. How do you even know that…white boy?"

The office worker looked up at her.

"My brother-in-law is named Makoto…William, two-time world Muay Thai champion, though nowadays I'm better at charts…I chose Fighter, pair of batons. What about you?" said William as he turned to the last one in the group who didn't introduce herself.

The stern looking woman looked at him and spoke a few seconds later.

"My name is Mia, I'm a surgeon …I chose priest, with a focus on healing"

The group paused and looked at her.

"Any chance that healing can help with dehydration?" Asked Mikael.

"Don't know, I need a catalyst anyway"

"That's alright, assuming we don't die of thirst, that will be useful"