“I’m basing it on when the next person starts. So far Ophelia was faster than Harbor but slower than Chloe.”

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Rayelle sighs. “Promise me you’ll wait to start, Elisha, so I don’t look bad.”

“You’ll do fine,” I say. “I’m the one who should worry. Everything is so new to me. If we took a vote, I’d probably win ‘Most Likely to be Sent to the Farm.’ You only have to be faster than me.” My stomach tightens with anxiety. I’ve been studying extra hours with Allard, but this will be the true test of my belonging at Keystone, and I desperately want to prove I’m worthy of my place here.

“Hey, none of that,” Sophia says. “You’re both going to be great.”

“And if, God forbid, one of you gets sent to the Farm, we’ll hide food in the woods so you have something to eat while you ‘survive the wilderness’ to find your way back,” Stewart adds.

Rayelle and I look at each other, and I see the same terror coursing through my veins reflected in her eyes.

“Hopefully it’s all laser fields and fitting into tight spaces,” I say.

“That would be nice.” She smiles weakly.

Up ahead, Garrett enters the bunker. Stewart starts his watch and notes Liam’s time. “Meh. He’s probably safe,” he mutters. “This should be interesting, though.”

Everyone falls silent, and it seems like the entire line holds its breath.

I’ve tried to stop replaying our run-in in the Vault, but every time I close my eyes, he creeps in. I can’t understand why he tried to help me—or why things went south so quickly.

It feels like hardly any time passes before Toby enters the bunker and Stewart declares, “Fastest one yet! Three minutes, twenty-nine seconds. And you know he didn’t fail.”

The time to beat… Even though I’m mostly scared of failing, part of me wishes I could beat Garrett just to prove I’m the real deal, that I don’t cheat. But that’s probably impossible…and then I’d have to compete in the Quest. Nobody needs that pressure.

The line moves forward until it’s Rayelle’s turn.

“Good luck,” I whisper.

With a meek smile, she disappears inside.

Too many minutes pass for Rayelle to have beaten anyone’s time, and finally, it’s my turn.

“You’ve got this, Elisha.” Stewart starts his watch.

With a deep inhale, I walk through the door. It takes a moment for my vision to adjust to the dark, but when it does, I see scaffolds and ladders leading high into the rafters. It reminds me of one of the soundstages I visited in my previous life, but without the cameras. At least the visible cameras…

To my right, Weiss waits. “Toes on the red line,” he commands.

I stand poised at the ready, squinting up the ladder at what I guess is the entrance to an air-conditioning duct, remembering the last thing Allard told me:

Overthinking is your enemy. It can lead to wrong decisions. Trust your gut.