The intense ringing in her ears was gone, her breath became steady again, and her heart didn’t feel as if it was about to explode. Finally, Liz could open her eyes. She took a deep breath and sat straight. Now she could start paying attention to the surroundings. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, she was satisfied. She finished the first stage of the exam, and she wasn’t a complete loser.

  Ignoring the coughs, spitting, and all the other unpleasant noises of an exhausted crowd from running for their lives. She was stunned by the beauty of the Forbidden Forest. Tall coniferous trees were standing like towers. The great giants were covered in the thick, milky fog. She could feel it breathing, as if the whole forest was one big living organism. No matter which way you glance, it was everywhere. Compared to its greatness, everything she saw before felt bleak and unimportant.

  The maze exit led them to a small patch of grass trapped somewhere in the forest. All the participants who were lucky to find their way out patiently waited for the next examiner to appear and explain their next steps, aside from the mob that pumped out at the last moment. There were a lot of people, way more than Liz imagined could pass such an unfair exam.

  Their sudden appearance wasn’t unnoticed. All the participants were staring at the late group, giving them the stink eye. It was odd.

  Why did a large group of people run through the exit at the last moment? How did they all find an exit at the same time? All of those questions would be answered when those people join their new parties.

  A space free from trees was tightly packed: dozens of campfires lit in the darkness, twice as many tents occupied by resting people. It was loud; some people seemed drunk, either happy they had completed the first stage or that they were far from the city, far from their families. That made Liz also feel free.

  Including TT, her group of loyal followers who endured the last moments together began to dissolve in the crowd, each finding new groups. Liz was standing by herself. No one even said goodbye to her. She looked around searching for TT, but he was gone. This time, he is going to do a better job of avoiding her.

  She felt strange. One moment ago, she was the center of attention; everyone needed her, and followed her into the unknown, but now she was all alone. It's like she was at the starting point again. Liz was craving that new feeling. She wanted to be needed, to matter.

  A smell of food reached her nostrils, making her stomach growl betrayingly. When she tried to approach one of the campfires, she was greeted with a rude stare. After failing to find a company, she sat alone, munching on the snacks her foster mother prepared for her.

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  Liz was tired. She was fighting her sleep, but dozed off with a cookie pressed against her lips.

  When she woke up, someone covered her with a blanket. Everyone was packing their stuff, and the chatter grew louder. As she was getting up, she recognized the blanket. It wasn’t a blanket: it was a warm cloak TT was wearing. Liz rapidly looked around but couldn’t spot any familiar shapes. TT was long gone. She folded the cloak and jammed it into her bag.

  A colossal figure waded through the crowd. The man stepped on the large cobblestone in the middle of the camp. He cleared his throat and began to talk loudly and clearly.

  “Hello, everyone. My name is Ogg, and I’m the second examiner,” he rubbed his beard and looked around.

  “Let me see.”

  He pulled a scroll from his waist pack and read it.

  “I see… So, out of five hundred eighteen participants, only two hundred and twelve passed.”

  “Not bad, not bad. Last time, fewer people were able to get through the labyrinth.”

  He was nodding, trying to assess the situation. He let out a big smile and continued talking using his whole diaphragm.

  “I guess this year, hunters are not as bad.”

  Liz was pleasantly surprised when he called them hunters. After watching the massive man long enough, she figured that it was the giant man she met in her father’s group seven years ago at the shore camp.

  “Oh, my bad, I shouldn’t call you hunters yet.”

  Damn, I will get in trouble with Zywa again, Ogg thought.

  “Anyway, let me explain how the second stage of the exam works.

  “The rules are simple. I’m gonna give you a coin.”

  When he pulled a sack from his pack, it was jingling with metal inside. He took two coins out.

  “It will have either a hunter symbol or a prey symbol.”

  He showed both coins to the people, holding them between his massive fingers.

  “Each of you will get one of them before you enter the forest. You will have to spend seven days in the Forbidden Forest, and after those seven days, you need to return with both of the coins in your possession.”

  The crowd boiled up. Liz could hear snippets of their complaints: “The whole week in the forest? Have they lost their minds?” “What are we gonna eat for those seven days?” “Should we get in the group?” “No, we don’t know what coin we’re gonna get yet.”

  Liz was trying to calm himself down.

  It’s okay, Zywa was preparing me for that. The only thing I should be concerned about is how to get the second coin. Liz thought.

  “Relax, you got this.” She heard Zywa’s voice saying in her head.

  Ogg continued, not waiting until the crowd could calm down:

  “One more thing, do not try to kill each other. Even though we’re basically making y’all fight, you are still citizens of the Zayah, and here you are also under the same laws. If you kill someone, you will face the consequences. Plus, even if you fail the exam, y’all are still valuable assets to Zayah.”

  Isn’t it obvious? Why do they make me say it every time? Ogg sighed.