The Black Stars by Dan Krokos Page B

freshen up, drink some water, meditate … whatever you humans do. Then find your way back. Be there in ten, and don’t be late.” Po darted back into the hallway, then leaned back through the doorway. “The heart,” he said, tapping his chest, then disappearing.
    It was a good thing Mason had paid attention to the many turns they’d taken. Tom looked at him quizzically. “Uh, you know how to get back?”
    â€œYep. Pay attention next time, Renner.” He clapped Tom on the shoulder, who playfully shoved him back.
    â€œI was just testing you, ” Tom said. “I know exactly how to get back.”
    They took in the room around them. The bunks were identical, the beds neatly made as they would be back at Academy II.
    â€œSo,” Mason said. “Is this another test? Figure out which one is ours?”
    â€œNo idea,” Tom replied. “If all the tests are like this, though, it should be a pretty easy ride.”
    Yeah, that isn’t going to happen, Mason thought. Neither of them could afford to think anything was going to be easy. Or safe.
    They spent a few minutes exploring the room, careful not to touch anything that wasn’t theirs. Each bunk was big enough that a student could sit up and pull a desk out from the wall. Or at least it appeared that way; Mason and Tom didn’t want to monkey with anything. He was sure they were still being monitored in some way. All he could really think about was the communicator: if they didn’t get the devices back, things would go south rather quickly.
    They drank from the bathroom faucets, which created neat little waterfalls that dropped into basins. Then they stretched, wanting to be prepared for whatever the test threw at them.
    Mason and Tom walked back through the different hallways, coming across exactly no students or teachers or anyone.
    â€œI do not like this,” Tom said quietly, as they approached the great room where the rhadjen had gathered.
    It was completely empty, not a soul in sight.
    But there was now a circular door at the far end, behind where Master Zin had been standing. Mason couldn’t say if it had been there before.
    â€œJoin the club,” Mason replied. “I guess we go through there.”
    â€œA brilliant deduction,” Tom said.
    Mason did not know what lay beyond the doorway, and the uncertainty made his stomach feel as if it were full of writhing beetles. The deadly, spiky, smelly kind found on Nori-Blue. But he had a mission, and he would not fail, not if he could help it. The thought of being placed with the Stones made him start sweating, but he’d made it through worse. They both had.
    Mason and Tom shared another look, then walked across the room to the circular doorway. Once they passed the threshold, the door slid shut behind them with the heavy sound of grinding stone. They were plunged into total darkness and a silence so vast Mason could hear the blood running through his veins and the quickening of his breath. The floor began to drop.
    â€œJust an elevator,” Tom said in the darkness next to him.
    â€œJust a dark, weird elevator,” Mason replied.
    Tom gave a nervous laugh. They descended for a few minutes in total silence. Mason missed the gentle whoosh of an ESC lift; the absence of sound gave the unpleasant sensation of falling forever.
    Finally, after the longest minute of his life, the doors opened on a small cave cut from the rock under Skars. The cave had two doors, one on the left, one on the right.
    â€œI guess they want us to split up,” Tom said.
    â€œA brilliant observation,” Mason replied.
    They walked to the middle of the cave. The left door had a label on it that read MASON The right door read THOMAS
    Tom stuck out his hand. “Good luck, my friend.”
    Mason looked at Tom’s hand, then pulled him into a hug. After a moment, Tom hugged back.
    Then they went into their separate rooms.
    Mason’s was dark