章 12: (1)Survival Test

After all the staff withdrew from the field, the candidates found themselves overwhelmed, to varying degrees, by the new situation.

There was one major exception: Alexandre was a little amused by the sudden change of schedule, but it didn't worry him. He knew that he could do whatever was required of him. But for the other candidates? This new test would be extremely difficult for all of them. They were all trapped in this containment zone that had no food or shelter… and, above all else, no water.

Surviving for three days for no water would be an issue for many normal people to begin with, but all the candidates were already in varying stages of dehydration because of their intense running. The medical team had administered some emergency saline hydration, but that was only a first aid measure. It wasn't sufficient to bring anyone back to normal levels. A normal person needed between 1.5 and 2 liters of water per day for the body to function properly, and almost everyone had already consumed whatever water they'd brought along.

However, it seemed that most candidates hadn't yet realized how difficult it would be to survive for three days. Most seemed to be happy just to have passed the first test and to be given time to rest. Some chatted among themselves and others even laughed.

Alexandre smiled grimly to himself as everyone else relaxed. He took careful stock of his belongings and found that he still had a half-full 1.5-liter bottle of water. Unlike the other candidates, Alexandre's unique biology had made the test pretty easy so far. He'd not sweat very much. Even still, he only had 750 ml of water left—only about enough to fill three drinking glasses. Surviving on this amount for the next three days wouldn't be an enjoyable process.

Meanwhile, William was draining the last of his own water. At first, Alexandre assumed William was just as ignorant of the problem of hydration as everyone else. However, instead of discarding his water bottle like most of the others, William walked around and picked up the empty bottles scattered on the field. He then brought these to the northmost edge of the field and set them up just outside the square.

'I see,' Alexandre thought. 'He's planning on trapping rain, if possible, or perhaps morning dew and condensation. I wonder how he expects to deal with the violence that will begin when everyone else gets really thirsty…'

Marlon, on the other hand, was making no plans to conserve water. He'd swallowed every drop he had left after the Shuttle and, for the moment, felt pretty good. The medics had bandaged his ribs and sprayed cold numbing gas on his sore muscles, which had given him some relief from his pain. It was much better than it was before, at least… though far from perfect. He decided that his best strategy was to rest now while other people exhausted themselves further with their plans. When the time came, Marlon would just "borrow" whatever water he needed. 'I won't act so stupid and soft again,' he thought. 'I've got to look out for myself from now on.'

***

The first night began to fall on the test area.

The candidates had brought thick, warm clothes, but the cold bit right through all their layers and chilled them to the bone. In this month of January, temperatures fell well below freezing at night. It wasn't something anyone was used to enduring.

It wasn't long before the beginning pain of dehydration gave way to the insidious threat of hypothermia.

Then several candidates let out agonized screams in the middle of the dark night, screams that had nothing to do with the freezing air, and the test really began.