"How long have we been here?"

In the dark cavern that carried the smell of moisture, three individuals gathered around a small fire kindled by damp wood and a thin shirt, all were exhausted and quite malnourished from days of constant running and fighting. None of them were above the age of 25, but not young enough to be completely helpless. Laying near them were weapons made of decent quality, and though there were signs of constant maintenance, the edges of their blades and crossbow bolts were chipped and covered in black, dried blood.

"In this cave, or this stupid island, Rex?" Spoke one of them. They were the older of the three, with a voice soft with fatigue that barely escaped their slight form. But the sarcasm was without malicious intent, rather a genuine attempt to brighten up the somber mood around them.

The brunette boy, Rex, managed to muster up a weak, yet amused glare at his companion with his amber eyes. "Don't be a dick, Ave. The first one." He ended his response with a series of soft coughs; by his own count, it had been over fifteen hours since his last sip of water. Since then, he'd lost count of how many times he had to practically ravage the hordes of obstacles to ensure their survival.

The last of the trio spoke up, her little voice even more breathless that it was almost drowned out by the constant trickling of the water above them. "About five. Tianlong's been gone for half of that, I think." Brushing a curly blonde lock out of her face, the girl scratched another mark onto her jeans with a piece of charred wood she'd fished out from the fire. Carefully flicking off the excess black soot, she turned her soft blues back to the falling droplets before her. "And it's been about ten hours since any of us had anything to eat."

"Half of me wants to know how you're keeping track of all of that, Amie," Avery said, hands digging inside their ragged backpack for any possible morsel that they could share. "Damn. All out. I knew we should've stocked up more at the last checkpoint." They closed the bag back up with an irritated zip, and in their hand was an inhaler wrapped securely in tissue paper. With an appreciated nod, Rex took the inhaler, removed the chipped red cap, and began his much-needed routine while his companions discussed their next moves, as well as an alternative plan in the worst-case scenario.

Inhale, then exhale completely. "We might need to move soon." said Ana Monica.

Place the mouthpiece between the front teeth, then close the lips around it. "Let's wait for another thirty minutes. We can't leave without Tian." Avery was rolling out the yellowed map, dark eyes scanning for their current location.

Press down and breathe in deeply. "We can't waste more time here, Avery. You know more than anyone that we can't go any longer without getting to a replenished checkpoint."

Remove the inhaler, and wait for three seconds. "I'm thinking, alright? Tian's just around the corner, I'm sure. Then we can go around here, pass these woods and there should be a checkpoint." They picked up the piece of charred wood and circled their next destination, but their frustration was clear from the aggressive movement of their hand, followed by a snap that shortened the length of the wooden piece.

Breathe out slowly. "What if he won't come back? It's almost three hours since he left, Avery, we can't keep holding on until he comes back." Ana Monica said, as frustrated as their companion as she hissed out every word. "For all we know, he could be-"

"Do not," With a heated glare, Avery shuts down any attempt for Ana Monica to conclude her words. "finish that sentence, Ana."

An uncomfortable silence enveloped them all, saved for the continuous trickling droplets of water in rhythm with their heartbeats.

"Let's wait, guys." Rex finally spoke up, breaking the thick tension, and turned to face his friends. "At least for another thirty minutes, then we can head out to look for Tianlong." He carefully recaps and wraps up the inhaler before handing it back to Avery, then turns back to tighten up the laces of his boots.

Ana Monica's eyes widened as she protested. "Rex, if we do that then we'll be in much more trouble than any of us can deal with right now! Especially you!" She then turned her gaze towards his abdomen, where the bandages covering a slash wound were. They needed antibiotics, more painkillers, and clean dressings, having run out of their initial supplies after an earlier incident during their expedition.

Rex was leading them through a particularly rough encounter, through rain and wind until he lost balance, having stepped onto a slippery rock ledge and tumbled down into a cave mouth, cutting his side on a jagged edge. He also managed to smack his head onto another rock, blacking out on the bottom of the cavern to the sound of Ana Monica's scream.

When he came to, an hour had passed and their remaining companion, Tianlong, was already gone. Out for a quick scavenge and recon. That was Avery's response as they dressed up his wound with the last of the supplies, while Ana Monica built a fire for them with the woods she'd gathered earlier.

But Rex, the ever-stubborn one he is, only shakes his head. "We need to stay together, Ana." He reasoned. "Besides, Tianlong is strong. He'll come back to us." He cast Avery an understanding look, which the other returned with a thankful gaze.

Ana Monica chewed on her lower lip, staining it with a flushing red after she let go with a deep sigh, resigning from arguing with Rex any further. They're all exhausted, hungry, and a bit fearful. Any conflict would simply tear at their bond and be the end of them all, just like it did to so many others who were placed in the same situation as them. So she relented and leaned against him for warmth.

Avery uses a wooden stick to tend to the dim fire, dark eyes staring into the embers while their back rests on the tattered backpack. The orange light truly highlights the exhaustion on their slim face, bringing out the darkened skin around their eyes like a shadow of melancholy. Rex could tell how much pressure weighing on their psyche; all relating to his injury, their current situation, and the living nightmare that they were forcibly thrust into, about Tianlong.

Rex himself, however, was still in despair at their cruel predicament, and it's been more than three months since they were all randomly selected for this abysmal experiment. The nightmarish attempt at containing a man-made terror and perhaps, a cruel game for some elites at the expense of those like Rex, crudely named "The Rotting Test". The teen found himself slowly drifting into slumber, with the memories guiding him into the darkness of his own mind.

He could still remember the day he received that wretched letter, all pristine in its seeming innocence, yet within the parcel, it was carrying his execution. He was just a normal teenager the week prior, goofing around at school and trying out his first cigarette at age seventeen behind the oak near campus, winking at giggling girls and celebrating their baseball victory over the rival district with his friends, as the life he always knew will still be there when he wakes up to the arriving dawn. Then the letter came in its white envelope along with the red stamp that reads " Confidential Government Notice" and his name printed in heavy black ink.

"Dear Mr. Alexander Drake," he can still recall those words from that day, one by one as his eyes scanned over each letter. "You have been randomly selected as one of the test subjects for the new experiment conducted by the Union of Scientific Discoveries' branch of Human Studies that will commence this June. Your presence will be required at approximately 11 PM at our private airport for you, along with the rest of the subjects, to board and begin your journey to Orcus Island on May 29th this year." But what finally broke him into hysterical tears was the following passage, and the physical example the day after, just like how those damned words had promised.

The neighbor's daughter, Emilia Johannsen, screamed a piercing wail that echoed throughout the street before packing a duffel bag, stuffing her wallet with money she earned from work, and ran away that night. Her folks saw the same letter lying on her desk, panicked, and went out on a search before calling the police for their precious girl. Everyone, including himself, joined the search. And it was Rex himself who found poor Emilia around 2 o'clock in the morning by herself, in a field 50 miles away from the city, and brought her back.

She was dead, three hours before her discovery, by multiple gunshots to the torso. The Johannsens seemingly moved from their home two days later before burying their daughter, but Rex knows the truth. The sirens from the police car, the sobs of Mrs. Johannsen when she saw Emilia's body, and the screams haunted his dreams that night, then it was vivid nightmares of him laying in the dark grass just like Emilia.

Rex Drake will never forget that moment; he could practically trace every single step he took on the road to her, the scent of crushed grass stained with the sharpness of blood and metal that had led him to her final destination. Emilia was lying at the bottom of the ravine, surrounded by the bright red of her life long gone. She was facing him, amber eyes vacant as they stared back at his own terrified blues.

He saw the fallout right after. The Johannsens were gone the next day. All traces of them seemingly vanished into the unknown, their names, especially Emilia, became a curse that must not be spoken. A once vibrant neighborhood had fallen into the gloom of dread, and Rex knew what he must do. His family had enough children, more than he would risk defying for his own life.

So on the destined night, he snuck out of the beloved home of his former life, making sure that the letter was burned and left no evidence of him leaving, except for an antique silver dagger. It was a secret gift from his late Uncle, Carlton Junior "C.J." Drake, who told him that it will protect Rex when he couldn't. The blue-eyed teen was led onto a black car by men in suits, it was too dark to make out their faces, so he sat anxiously until they reached the private airport. The blindfold was wrapped around his eyes before he could step out of the car. After that, there then came the boarding of the helicopter where the lightest sobs were snuffed out completely.

He soon boarded the helicopter, where he saw so many other despairing faces lining the seats before him. They were around his age, some were younger or slightly older, gaze blank as if their souls had escaped the man-shaped shells that were once so lively. As they take off from the lives they knew, Darkness is the cotton veil above their eyes, as the subjects remain still on their cargo of destruction. No one dared to cry or scream and laughter is considered the cruelest joke to life itself in the current situation.

So, the atmosphere was silent if not for the helicopter's blades chopping through the air, and the occasional cough from the soldiers around them. Rex can feel their piercing gaze on every inch of his being, so he tried to attract some kind of blissful ignorance to the heavy lump in his throat as the eyes continue to observe as if they are feeding on his fears.

The wind howls louder, indicating that they are landing on the man-made island, their isolated prison in the Pacific. Rex almost laughed at the irony. The blindfolds soon obscured their sights once more, as if to amplify their terror for the feast. As one by one the sacrificial lambs marched, roughly guided by tight grips and gun nozzles, more sounds began to manifest. Rustling of leaves, birds singing with their wings fluttering through the summer air, the faint symphony of water rushing somewhere away, and the shuffling of feet on the ground below. He tried the best he could to savor those noises while he was still alive.

The creaking of steel bolts suggested a door had been opened, a light rush of cool air twirled around his face before Rex was pushed down on his bottom on a cold floor, the sudden movement collided him with someone else who let out a quiet yelp of surprise. Then the metallic shuffling of their handcuffs being open, the subjects began to pull the blindfolds from their eyes, receiving vision after God knows how long of darkness. Rex blinked out the spots in his iris, as he observed the surroundings he realized that they were sitting in a dark room with wooden crates lining two walls and no guard in sight. Worse of all, he took in the faces of the people who shared the same tragic fate as him.

Middle school students, teenagers around his age, and college students who barely reached their true adult stage. Around fifty to sixty kids were trapped in a room confused and frightened to tears, some younger ones began to wail for their mother while the older participants tried their best to come up with any solution to escape. Lab rats in a titanium cage made for amusement, that's their role as test subjects in this demented game.

Rex heard a quiet sob and turned to his side to see the person he knocked into earlier; a girl, who couldn't be a day older than he was, of fair skin with a dash of freckles, her shoulder-length ash-blonde curls framed the cherry-shaped face and those tear-filled dark hazel eyes. She's built with a petite form, but some lean muscles on her legs suggest exercises involving Track or something similar, and a few inches shorter than he is.

Placing a gentle hand on her trembling arm, despite the fearful flinch, as he attempted to comfort her with soft hushes. "Hey, hey. It's okay, I'm not here to hurt you, I promise." Rex reassures the blonde with a dazzling grin, sharp canines and all. The said girl relaxed slightly as she stared into his blue eyes, a soft smile of her own complimented her small face, and the background noises of the world faded blissfully. If only things would stop here, forever. No test, no need for survival, no fear, just this, just living.

If only.

"I'm Alexander, but you can call me Rex. What's yours?" He had introduced himself, hoping to remember the girl in case anything went wrong with her, and hoping that she would remember him and vice versa. She hesitated for a bit, then her voice whispered in a serene, soprano tone. "Ana Monica... Um, that's my entire first name if you're wondering..." Ana Monica, Ana Monica, Ana Monica. Rex recited the name into his mind like it was a verse from the Holy Writ, and it remained there. He smiled again, wider this time, therefore showing his canines even more, and she returned it once more, trust clear from her soft gaze.

But the moment between them was interrupted, by the panicked chatters of everyone else when an announcement siren sounded out suddenly from the speaker above them. A monotonous, feminine voice began, and Rex couldn't hate Siri or Alexa more than ever, because all three just succeeded in leaving a sinister vibe, and nothing could remove it.

"Greetings. You are all selected for the Union of Scientific Discoveries branch of Human Studies' newest experiment: The Rotting Test. You are to survive on Orcus Island for a full year, using nothing but the weapons provided in this room from the wooden crates surrounding you, items along with supplies scattered across the island, and your abilities to make it out alive."

There's more crying now, from at least a quarter of the kids here, but the dull voice continues on.

"You are up against an epidemic of Homo Necrosis Immortuos, or undead that are infesting this island. In a few moments, the main entrance of this room will unlock, and you will be vulnerable to your newly assigned predators. A few reminders to keep in mind while the entrance is still locked:

Number one: One melee and range weapon per test subject in this. The amount of ammunition is available with the ranged weapon concealed in their crates.

They began to crack open the containers for weapons in disharmony. There was pushing, yelling, and scuffling during that time. Holding Ana Monica securely in his arms preventing her from getting squished, Rex managed to grab himself a metal baseball bat and a 9-millimeter pistol with 3 bullet chambers, a Browning Hi Power.

God, his dad would have killed for this thing since it stopped producing a while ago. The crate also contained a belt that he wrapped around his left thigh and secured the remaining chambers onto after loading the gun. Turning back to Ana, Rex saw that she had already equipped a compound crossbow, a quiver of 20 or so bolts slung over her back. Her face, though still a bit scared, was now determined and further exposed due to those long blond curls being tied back, showing the grit on her face as she observed the world in front of her.

Ana gives him a wave to follow her. Rex nodded and extended an arm for her to hold on as he dug for more supplies, they were getting off this wretched place together, alive.

If a weapon malfunctions or simply wishes to assemble an arsenal, replacements are scattered everywhere on the island.

"Fan-fucking-tastic." Someone breathed out a sigh of relief, a crate cracked open and they were gone. An arsenal for the fittest, inanimate companions for ones who are determined to rise above a sea of corpses alone and roar at the sky in anguish. Rex wonders if he would be that creature of life or just another in the rotting mountain of bodies.

Number 2: An essential health kit is available along with the weapons, this is just the basic equipment recommended for every subject. There is a surplus of different or similar materials that you can scavenge.

A voice, deep baritone, and a slight accent Rex couldn't make out near them conversing with their companion. "...here...you're better with them...anyway..." With a rustle of items being stuffed into one single baggage, too loud and hectic to make out the rest, the teen once again keeps Ana Monica close. Both were anxious, the negative energy buzzing in their bloodstream laced with adrenaline was an intoxicating concoction. They're ready for whatever comes.

Number 3: Final warning, there is no guarantee of survival individually. If you wish to accompany another subject, do not lose them.

"It's going to be okay... I'm here..." A promise from one to another. Will it be fulfilled? Rex did not know, but he was willing to take the chance.

Rex has the metal bat gripped so tightly that his knuckles turn bone white. Rex turned to look at the girl by his side once more, taking in her hair and eyes before they were to be dyed crimson red. "Dear God, anyone out there. Let us return in one piece." He prayed silently to himself, throat refusing to open for air as fear clogs him. The locked door gradually began to open, and a cold puff of air entered as this occurred in a countdown...

Commencing the Rotting Test in 5...

Ring around the rosy...

4...

A pocket full of posies...

3...

Ashes, ashes...

2...

We all fall down.

1...