Inside, I was met with a small field of grass. I was surrounded by trees, the gust of wind blowing my hair across my face, and the sound of rushing water.

What am I meant to do? Is this a survival test? I look around me for resources. Luckily, I was able to climb the tree next to me.

Once at the top, I was out of breath and sore. I never really climb trees. I kept repeating "don't look down" in my head, hoping to console myself into a safe environment. Sadly, my nerves pursued and shook my limbs.

I looked across the land around and below me. A river was nearby- water. I didn't plan on killing any animals. I would have to find another way to sustain hunger. Luckily, I knew a few edible plants.

The sky began to darken, and I climbed down to the center of the tree. I could sleep there for the night. As I closed my eyes and began to drift, I heard my name called up to me.

"Lilac? Lilac, is that you?" My eyelids flew open as I looked below me. Sure enough, Jonathon was on the ground shouting up at me.

"Yeah, it's me. What? Aren't we supposed to be testing?" I groaned. I was finally going to get some rest.

"Well shoot I had no idea," he said sarcastically, putting his hands on his hips. "Get your butt down here, we're setting up a campsite."

"We? How many people do you have down there?"

"Pretty much everyone. Just missing you, Azalea, and Pierre," Jonathon began tapping his foot. "Now get down before the branch breaks."

"I'm not that heavy," I mumbled as I prepared to jump down. Landing in a squat, I fell over. I brushed my hands against my pants as I stood, and followed Jonathon back to their camp.

"How'd you get this all set up so fast, anyway? You don't strike me as the survivalist type," I pondered.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," he smirked in a dark tone.

"That's creepy. Don't do that again."

He shrugged it off and kept walking.

~•~

Once we arrived, I instantly sat in front of their fire. Sitting around it was Sara and Fey, huddled together with their hands in front of them trying to get warm.

"Hey," I smiled. They was quiet, avoiding eye contact. My smile dropped, as I realized their expressions. "Is everything okay?"

Not a single word spewed from their mouths. Jonathon sat next to me. "Don't take it personally. They haven't spoken to me either." He rubbed his hands and put them up in front of the fire.

I crossed my arms and rubbed my shoulders, as if to comfort myself. From behind the trees came David with more firewood. He dropped it in the circle before joining us around it.

"Hey, good to see you're not dead," he smiled.

"You too," I nodded and but my lip, looking back at the fire and leaning my head back on my arms. "So, what exactly are we supposed to do?" I asked.

"Survive I guess," shrugged Jonathon, throwing a twig into the flames.

Behind my back, I heard quick scurrying between leaves. I turned around to be met only by my shadow cast by the fire. I turned back to the circle, only to hear it again. This time, behind David. I hastily stood and carefully walked over to the bushes.

"Something's here..." I whispered. Silently, with ever so careful movements, I pushed the leaves away to reveal what was making the sound.

Before our eyes was Azalea, hunched over like a squirrel. "Azalea? What the heck are you-"

"To survive in nature, you must become nature," she proclaimed, before scurrying off into the distance.

"We have fire!" I called to her, hoping she would return someday. I turned back to Jonathon and David. "Well, we know where Azalea is. What about Pierre?"

"He's probably doing something similar, but more like a hunter. He's always talked about running away to the woods and only wearing leaves. The thought disturbs me," shuddered David. Jonathon nodded in agreement.

When the moon was high above us in the center of the sky, we decided to get some well deserved sleep.

We found some sticks that act as vines and used them to hold up a small shelter. Sara and Fey didn't do much.

We packed into the shelter, the cold finally settling for the night. I pulled my arms into my shirt sleeves and curled into a ball. Closing my eyes, I thought to myself.

What does this have to do with our superhero-like powers? This is really just survival tactics and abilities rather than super human. What are we missing?

I sat up and pulled my arms back through the sleeves. Leaving the shelter, I stood and looked around. For what exactly? That, I did not know. Something out of the ordinary, some kind of hint. This test wasn't what it seemed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed it. A door. A tall, broad, wooden door stood in the center of a wide field.

"A door...," I whispered to the vast darkness of space. It was to nobody around, but also not to myself. I felt alone in that moment. Stuck in a dark space, away from reality. I pinched my arm. "Ow." Snapped back into reality, I return to the shelter.

"Guys, wake up," I whispered.

Nobody moved, not even an inch. I sighed and took a deep breath.

"Guys, WAKE UP," I screamed. Everyone bounced awake, clearly agitated. 

"What could possibly be so important that you had to wake us up?" groaned Jonathon, rubbing his eyes.

"I don't think the test is supposed to be survival based. What do they learn from survival skills?" I explained, shaking Jonathon awake as he began to doze off.

"I don't know and I don't care. I just want sleep," mumbled David, laying back down and rolling over.

"Guys, there's a door. In the middle of the field. A random door. Does that now sound strange to you guys?" I asked, hoping for a change in expression.

"Yeah yeah sure..." mumbled Jonathon. Fey and Sara stayed sat up, not saying a word. Frustrated, I left the fort and walked to the flowing river. I took off my shoes and socks, sitting on the edge of the water. I let my feet hand in the water, the cold sending a sudden shiver up my spine. 

I sighed and stayed there for a while, thinking. Why make us find the door? Why put us all in the same place? Soon enough, I saw the sun rising in the distance. 

Down the stream, I spotted a metal bucket. Shaking my feet dry, I put my socks and shoes back on and ran to grab the bucket. 

Returning to the camp, I entered the shelter and poured the bucket full of water over everyone. Everyone jolted awake, spitting water and rubbing their eyes. Yelling and screaming, they were finally awake. 

"Good morning! Now that you're awake, we can get to business. In case you don't remember from yesterday, there is  a DOOR in the middle of the open field," I exclaimed.

"Okay, okay! But first, what the heck is going on with Fey?" David said, concern and annoyance filling his voice.

We all look in Fey's direction. Her body twitched in different directions, the shapes cut by lines. She seemed like some sort of glitching screen. Sara picked up a rock and chucked it at Fey. It phased through her body. "She's a hologram," gasped Sara. 

"Then where's the real Fey? How didn't you notice while you were silent together all night long?" I asked, crossing my arms. I threw another rock at fake Fey just to be sure.

Sara shrugged. "I assumed she was upset and didn't want to talk," she frowned. 

I shook my head. Surely Fey was okay, wherever she was. Azalea and Pierre must be, too. Maybe they even found each other. "Well, with the others or not, there is a mysterious door that I really want to inspect," I whined. They all sighed and stood. Mumbling under their breath, we packed some materials and wandered into the field.

Once in front of the door, we decided to search for Azalea, Pierre, and Fey one final time. 

"Ca-CAW!" we each screeched, cupping our mouths with our hands. 

Rustling filled our ears and rumbled the ground, growling and hissing surrounding us. In the tops of the trees, the faint and brief peek of Azalea's bright shoes caught my eye. "Azalea, Pierre, and Fey, we're gonna leave you here! We're going through this mysterious door," I called.

After all the effort to find them in the trees, they replied back, "okay." 

I sighed and turned the door knob, but the door wouldn't budge. "It's really heavy," I grunted as I pushed my body against the thick wood.

Jonathon rubbed his hands together and stepped forward. "Step aside," he smiled smugly. Jonathon pressed against the door, but to no avail. 

David and Sara both gave it a go. Nobody was able to open it. Finally, I slammed my body into the wood. My arm was the first thing I hit on impact, then my shoulder. falling to the ground, I yelped in pain and rubbing my arm. "Did it open?" I asked hopefully, trying to conceal my pain. They shook their heads. Sara reached her arm for mine, helping me stand.

"Why don't we act like normal people and open it together?" Sara suggested.

"Fine, do it the lame way..." whispered a voice from beyond a tree. I can only assume it was Azalea, as rabid as she was acting. 

We all pressed our shoulders against the door, using as much force as we could. Still, the door didn't budge. We fell to the ground with disappointment.

"Well, that's that," sighed Sara.

"We sure sigh a lot, huh?" commented Jonathon.

"Life is disappointing, shut up," called Pierre from the tree tops.

"You're one to talk, Mr. dream come true!" Azalea screamed.

"You wanna go?" yelled Pierre.

"Square up!"

"Hey, if you guys are gonna brawl come do it on the ground where we can watch," yelled a voice from behind us. We turn to see Fey covered in leaves and branches.

"Where have you been?" asked Sara.

"I was hung from one of those rope traps. Nobody heard my screaming, so I had to cut myself loose. Thanks for the help," she gasped for air as she walked towards us. She sat next to Sara, "hmph."

"Honestly, I didn't miss your complaining. I could hear it in my head. I hate it here, this a hoax, wah wah wah," mocked Jonathon. Fey glared at him until he shut up.

Without warning, Pierre and Azalea dropped from the trees and met in the center of the field, right before our eyes. Pierre was wearing his clothes from before, but with his jacket wrapped around his waist. His pants and sleeves were rolled up as far as possible, and his shirt tucked into his jeans. Azalea had her clothes as normal, but her hair was pulled back with a stick and her pants were tucked into her socks. Her glasses were tied around her head with small white clovers. 

Pierre was in a "spooky scary skeleton" stance, prepared on the balls of his feet. Azalea copied, but more square like. Her eyes honed in on his, making sure to not miss any miniscule movement. Fey began to clap excitedly, prepared for a show. I slapped her wrist disappointed, shaking my head. Fey frowned.

I could barely listen to this happening. All I could think about was the door opening, and why we weren't able to budge it. 

"Are you guys really going to fight over a tree you'll never see again?" asked David. They both turned to him in sync, a death glare as strenuous as could be. David put up his hands, and they returned their stares to each other.

As soon as Azalea was about to deal the first blow, a loud rattle began to shake the ground. We all stood and turned to the door, which had begun to open. 

"Who opened it?" I asked. We all looked at each other. Nobody had an answer. We shrugged, and gleefully grabbed our stuff before headed to the door.

"We'll save this for later..." I heard Azalea whisper to Pierre in a menacing tone. I could have sworn a growl was given in return. We entered the bright glow of the door, met with something we never expected.