They walked along the gravel path skirting the vast training field. Distorted shadows stretched long at their front as the late afternoon's sun rays shone bright in golden beams.
"I will leave you here," Mr. Lee said, then turned, leaving Leon at the center of the field and the path to the dormitories.
Back into the proctors' building, images of Leon reeled on the cracked screens.
The day Mr. Lee dropped him. The afternoon he rushed out of school like a thief.
The day he shoved Tiger's thugs out.
The morning he reached the assembly ground on his first day for the Shattered Land trial.
And the evening Lieutenant Hayes dropped him off.
At the front of the console, the pale-haired lady sat calmly in an ergonomic executive chair. She grabbed an AN/PRC-148D IMBITR from a drawer in front of her and cleared her throat.
A sinister smile tore on her lips after she pressed on a number that had a label, L.H., written boldly on it.
