When Mark awoke, he heard shouts around him. People were angry. A large mob of people. Mark was on his knees on a hard surface, his hands restrained behind him. He couldn't see.
"And now I will call upon a randomly chosen transfer who shall, if he wishes, put an end to this monster!" someone near Mark shouted, presumably to the crowd. There was a rustling sound next to Mark, and, for a suspenseful second, the announcer said nothing. When he finally did, he shouted, "Caleb Watkins!"
Caleb. Mark's best friend. What was he doing here? What was going on?
The crowd cheered. Mark could hear footsteps. "If you complete this task," the announcer said, "You will automatically move to the next stage of training."
"This criminal!" the announcer said, "Is guilty of several crimes, among them arson, murder, and terrorism! You, Caleb Watkins, must put an end to his life."
"Yes, sir," Mark heard the familiar voice of his friend say. Mark could hear footsteps again. He heard the clicking of a gun, and felt something tug on his head. Something slipped off of his head, and Mark could suddenly see again. "Mark?" Caleb said in surprise. He stood but a few feet away, holding a pistol to Mark's forehead.
"Caleb," Mark said, "Don't listen to them, they're wrong. I didn't do any of those things on purpose. I-"
"Kill the Unnatural!" said the announcer's voice from behind Mark.
"I can't!" Caleb said, the gun shaking in his hand.
"Do it and prove yourself worthy of Sector One!"
"Kill the Unnatural!" The crowd cheered.
"He's not a criminal!" Caleb pleaded, "He's my friend!"
"We all have to make sacrifices for the greater good," the announcer said, "Kill him!"
"No! I won't!"
"You must!"
"No!" Caleb threw the gun, and chaos broke loose.
The crowd surged forward, trying to break through the barrier of guards who stood to keep them under control.
"I was afraid that you would refuse," the announcer said, seemingly disappointed, "However, this could work to our advantage."
Two guards came up behind Caleb and grabbed his arms. "Wait, what're you doing?" Caleb said.
"If you will not kill an Unnatural, perhaps you should become one," the announcer said as the guards dragged Caleb off kicking and screaming.
"Choose another transfer!" called someone from in the crowd.
"No!" the announcer said, "This was a test for the boy. We will still be able to use Mark Konners for our good."
"Wait-" Mark began to say, pleading for answers. However, he saw darkness again and faded out of consciousness.
Kyle saw it coming too late. Even if he had had enough warning, he doubted he would have been able to warn the others. What he saw was just too strange. He wouldn't have been able to comprehend what it was.
Out of nowhere appeared a tall woman. She had three eyes, each a different color. She appeared out of the air and kicked Gabe in the head, knocking him out. She disappeared into thin air. "What was that?" cried Phoebe.
"Duck!" yelled Kyle. Phoebe did so, and the woman appeared again, flying over Phoebe's head. "She's going for Phoebe!" Kyle said. Stephen disappeared and reappeared next to Phoebe, where he blocked another blow to Phoebe. "Watch out, Kaytlen!" Kyle yelled. Kaytlen threw water forward, connecting it to the woman's body. However, the woman was not affected. The woman just threw the water back at Kaytlen, sending her flying backwards. The woman disappeared before the water could hit the ground. Kyle tried to see where she went, but only saw darkness. Quite literally, actually, for he felt something hard hit his head, and he went down.