'Crap! What the hell is he doing here?!'
Ruby had postponed her Fourth Ordeal for over a year under her aunt's incessant prodding. In the military, disobeying orders was taboo, and all the elite members of the Prodigy Program respected Colonel Hale greatly. Ruby was no exception.
The year of training in isolation had been particularly hard on her and her mood had deteriorated over the past few months to the point where her former friends refused to approach her.
Of course... She now knew why... The end of her third Ordeal had been more than a shock to her. Her whole life had been called into question. And her former comrades who had survived almost as long as she had were no longer fooled either...
Who could hang out with a two-faced sociopath like her and trust her with their lives in wartime? No one.