Inside the lighthouse, Savoi and Farouk felt uneasy as they heard more footsteps and talking from upstairs. Farouk’s badly injured arm required first-aid before they could continue.. Savoi patched his shoulder with a blueish green salve. The fresh scent of aloe soothed the pain and calmed his nerves. She gave him a nod of encouragement, and he left her by the doors to divert any opposing threats. About halfway to the midlevel section, Farouk encountered nine cadets who had also breached the lighthouse.

They sized him up and quickly dismissed his less-than-intimidating stature. Farouk unsheathed the dome-shield from his sphere.  A Delta female cadet, who towered over counterparts, smirked and retracted an electromagnetic stick of dynamite. Just before detonation, Farouk reversed his shield. An explosion happened and sent electricity back to the other cadets. The violent explosion blew Farouk and the cadets a great distance apart. Suddenly, a rather pudgy girl with blonde pigtails clumsily sprung on top of him after avoiding being hit with the bolt. Farouk seized the last sphere from her utility belt and knocked the girl off with a punch to the face.

Farouk felt regretful, knowing most likely he had broken her nose. He carried on to retract a chemical grenade from the sphere. All of his limbs throbbed like fire in his veins. He limped to Savoi to hand her the grenade, but slumped over and fainted. Yoshida’s voice echoed in his mind. He remembered the promise to protect Savoi. Seconds later, Farouk launched himself up and began again. Drops of blood moistened the corner of his mouth. He arrived by Savoi’s side, exhausted and battered. She was no better off, as her face was covered with purple and black bruises from the blasted slivers of the doors. Fragments of the doors broke, but the impact of the rocket was not enough to demolish the doors.

Savoi planted the grenade by the doors, then dragged Farouk away a few feet back. She laid on top of him to shield him from the blow. This time, the doors disintegrated with only the hinges left behind. Yoshida, Roudan, and Shevchenko came hurling through the blasted entryway. Their hearts stopped for a moment saw at the sight of their fellow squad members laying lifelessly on the badly damaged marble floor. Yoshida was visibly beside himself with grief until Savoi finally roused. Straightaway, he embraced her, then examined her for signs of injury.

Savoi firmly protested being fussed over, especially since it was Farouk who needed attention. She briefed the team on Farouk’s heroism and her desire to reach the top of the lighthouse. Roudan agreed to escort her, while Yoshida and Shevchenko covered them. The team strategized to use Farouk as a decoy to lure incoming opponents so Savoi and Roudan could ease up the stairs undetected. Yoshida was certain his defensive attack would hold them off long enough for the plan to work. Shevchenko vowed to defend the already wounded Farouk from more harm.

Only a few minutes passed by before it was time to put the plan into action. The team split in teams of two, leaving Farouk displayed on the floor in front of the entryway. Fortunately, he remained unconscious and could not fretfully object his role in the ruse. Three Bravo cadets haphazardly entered the domain. The young men were worn out and mangled from the scuffle on the beach, but determined to complete their assignment. With weapons drawn, they peered down at the motionless body, completely unaware of the impending ambush.

Roudan gave a silent signal with the wave of his hand, then his team rushed the Bravos with heavy rounds of laser fire. He gripped Savoi by the arm, then whisked her away to the stairs. Yoshida and Shevchenko kept the Bravos engaged, while outside onlookers watched in terror at their intensity. The plan seemed to work accordingly until they heard General Benavides over an intercom inside the lighthouse.

“This is your five-minute warning. The exit exam will conclude in five minutes. Remember; the team with the most flags will be the winner of this simulation.”

All the clamor of laser fire and fighting turned into shouting. Roudan became concerned for the rest of the team. He looked at Savoi as she continued to climb the stairs. She felt him pause, so she stopped in a panic. Her eyes pleaded with a determination that he could not oppose.

“Well kiddo, this is as far as I can go. I have to get back to the team,” he said.

Savoi smile and nodded, feeling relieved that he did not command her to abandon the mission. It was more than curiosity which drove her up the stairs. Savoi felt a knowing in her gut that something important awaited her at the top of the lighthouse. The pair clinked the nozzle of their laser pistols, as if to toast each other’s success. Roudan made his way back down the stairs, while Savoi continued on her way.

When he descended to the bottom level to the entryway, Shevchenko was kneeling beside Farouk while Yoshida was in a shouting match with the other teams. Alpha squad had collected just under thirty flags over the course of the exit exam. All the other teams claimed to have just as many. A computerized scoreboard flashed on the wall. Each team member read the scores silently before General Benavides called out the numbers.

“Delta points, twelve. Charlie points. Twenty-one, Alpha and Bravo are tied at twenty-nine.”

“Wait a minute. How can you claim to have so many flags?” Roudan shouted. “If my memory serves correctly, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta squads spent nearly this entire exam attacking us. When did they have time to pick up more flags?”

“There’s no way in hell any of you mutts have collected as many flags as our team,” Yoshida barked.

“We won this match fair and square,” Shevchenko chimed in.

Yoshida nudged Roudan on the shoulder. “Unless they rigged this exam,” he said.

The shouting resumed for several minutes, then an A.I. hologram appeared before them. They watched in awe as Savoi came out onto the gallery at the top of the lighthouse. She circled the perimeter twice before stopping. The rain kept her vision blurry, so she extracted a rifle with a scope from her utility belt. Savoi honed in on an image hundreds of miles across the ocean. General Benavides began a countdown for the conclusion of the exit exam.

“Five, four, three—”

Savoi locked and loaded her weapon, took in a deep breath, and fired a sonic bullet towards the image. The hologram followed the bullet to its intended target, which was a cellular tower that hung a giant flag. Once the bullet struck, sonic waves recoiled back towards the lighthouse. Yoshida draped Farouk over his shoulder, and everyone inside immediately evacuated. The burning flag hit the water, adding a final point to the Alpha squad’s total.

Roudan and Shevchenko rushed around the other side of the deteriorating lighthouse. Savoi had no choice but to jump before the building collapsed. Roudan and Shevchenko quickly extracted Kevlar parachutes from their spheres and tied them together. Savoi dropped so fast they nearly missed catching her. The other teams were so impressed with the Alpha squad’s flawless synchronization that a frenzy of cheers overtook the beach.

Shevchenko was relieved Savoi was safe and unharmed. Years of well-nurse raw resentment faded into exhilaration. Savoi had come through for them in the end, when it mattered the most. By then, Farouk had awakened. Yoshida filled him in on the details before the medics came to tote him away on a stretcher. He watched his team mates reunite, and his heart swelled with pride that he was an Alpha.

~The Waring Robins~