After the two-hour science test, we were ordered outside. It was midafternoon, and the sun beat down directly overhead, baking the dusty earth. A car waited for us near the gated entrance of the compound, engines humming, a man in a suit standing at the front. I was surprised, and a little wary. Testing wasn’t over yet, far from it; why would they have us leave the school premises now?

The doors were opened for us by black-suited Talon employees, and we climbed in without a word, knowing questions were useless and never answered. The car pulled out of the gate, and the school soon vanished in the rear window.

As usual, it was cold in the car. A little too cold for my liking, but the tinted glass between us and the driver prevented any questions or requests to turn down the AC. Ember gazed out the window, eager to be out of the compound and away from school, no matter the situation. I was a little less enthused. Not that I wasn’t happy to be outside, of course. I just didn’t know what Talon had planned. Why were they taking us out of school in the middle of testing?

“Where do you think we’re going?” I mused out loud, watching the desert speed by beyond the glass.

Ember shrugged. “Who cares? We’re out of school and not stuck in testing for six hours. They could be taking us to the gas station and I wouldn’t complain.” She thought about it, then shrugged again. “Maybe they’re taking us to see the movie early, because we did so well?”

I grimaced. “I highly doubt that.”

Abruptly, the car made a sharp left, cruising off the narrow private road and bouncing into the desert. Startled and now even more wary, I watched the road disappear as we went deeper into the middle of nowhere.

Just as I was about to run some crazy theories by Ember, the car slowed and came to a rolling stop in a billow of dust. With a faint buzz, the glass separator rolled down a few inches, just enough for us to see the top of the driver’s head over the rim.

“Get out. Both of you.”

I looked out the window. There was nothing beyond the glass. No gas stations, roads, signs or cars. Nothing but desert, stretching to the horizon in every direction.

“Here?” Ember asked, echoing my confusion. “Why?”

Questions regarding orders were generally discouraged or went unanswered, so I was surprised when the driver answered. “Part of your testing,” he replied brusquely. “The first to make it back passes. The other fails.”

My stomach dropped, and I stared at the driver, wondering if he was serious. “What happens if we come back together?”

“Then you both fail.” He made a gesture with two fingers, indicating that we leave the car. “Go.”