Thread: Last of Us: A Story of Two Souls (BMD x EldritheWhisperwind)

Wow, there are only twelve people here? Mariah looks around at the small group of finalists. As she scouts her competition she sees someone familiar, its the young man she met yesterday morning. Besides the young man, she didnt recognize the rest of the competitors. But one thing she realized was that everyone there was fairly young, no older than maybe thirty-five. A loud clock chime resonated around the barracks, signaling that it was noon and that the second half of the Guardians test would start. A woman dressed in a basic guardians uniform and Julie Maxwell walk up and take their positions at the top of a small wooden podium that stood along a section of the barracks dark weathered gray wall. Julie then clears her throat, Will the finalists please come up to the podium. Before we start, you need to sign in. One by one, the group of people stated their name to the woman in the uniform as she checked the names off on her clipboard. Once everybody was signed in, the woman took the clipboard to the Mayor and stepped back. Looks like only twelve people bothered to be here on time. There were fourteen of you chosen, but it seems that they werent serious. Says the Mayor, with a tinge of disappointment. Wait, Im here! My name is Jerry Mason! Yells a man as he runs toward the podium. Once he reaches the podium he is exhausted and places his hands on his knees to prop himself up while he catches his breath. Your late. Mr. Mason, were you aware that you were supposed to be here at noon? Its exactly three after. Julie sternly looked down at the man. Im sorry maam. Doesnt matter if your sorry or not, you were still late. She turns toward the woman standing behind her, Lydia, please escort Mr. Mason off the barracks property and then escort the rest of the candidates to the training course. While Lydia was busy forcing the man to leave, the mayor continued to address the twelve people standing in front of her. Today, you will have to participate in a training course that will test your speed, strength, endurance, agility and mental focus. You will be paired up in teams of two, you both are responsible for each other and one cant complete the training course without the other. The crowd of people broke into a soft chatter while they waited for Lydia to return. Im sorry madam mayor. He was very reluctant to leave. The mayor nodded to Lydia before departing to take her position on top of the barracks for a better view of the training course. The finalists were quickly placed into groups of two and herded to the course. Mariah was matched up with Andy Collings, the young man she recognized. You ready for this? she asks. I hope so. You ready? As ready as Ill ever be Andy slightly scrunches up his face, Hey, uh, Im sorry about the other day outside the hotel. That guy has been begging for tickets for weeks now, I couldnt take it anymore and I lost it. Its water under the bridge. You can make it up to me by being a good partner. She replies before taking her position at the starting line. Once everybody was lined up and ready, Lydia yelled. Alright, candidates, you can do this. Ready. Set. GO! twelve unified bodies lunged forward into a sprint. Mariah seemed to be slightly faster than the rest of the bunch and made a selective decision of slowing down so that she didnt leave her partner in the dust. The first obstacle was the car tire run hop, which Mariah and Andy completed with ease. Followed by the rope wall, the belly crawl under barbed wire, uneven three-tiered log jump, twenty bar pull-ups and ending with a two mile run. Mariah and her partner were the first to cross the finish line where they instantly collapsed from exhaustion. Once the remaining competitors had crossed the finish line and taken a ten-minute rest, they continue onto the second half of the course that involved teamwork. The obstacles ranged from helping each other get around an obstruction to climbing over tall walls and once again Mariah and Andy were the first ones to finish. Im so glad youre a girl and your light. Remarked Andy as he took a big swig of water that was offered to them. Mariah nodded and grabbed a cup of water for herself. Lydia cups her hand over her mouth and makes announcement, All right everybody, you all have done fantastic. Get some rest. In just a few minutes the leader of the Guardians Desmond Thompson will be here to evaluate the test results. Mariah makes sure to keep stretching and working her muscles incase there was more to come.