The Testing

In the morning, they set off on their bicycles. They find the body of a young woman with a crossbow quarrel (arrow) in her stomach. The contents of her bag have been stolen. Cia removes the girl’s bracelet to take back to Tosu City; they place her in a fissure in the ground and cover her body with rocks as a form of burial.

The next day, they find the road. It is smooth and well maintained, which makes Cia nervous. They test it by throwing rocks to see if parts of it will explode. When it doesn’t, they resume traveling. Though the road improves the speed of the journey, it also makes the pair more visible. They stop near a river after traveling over 45 miles, then bathe and forage for food.

Three other travelers approach. Cia invites them to eat. The boy asks why Cia would help them; she says it’s what she was raised to do. The kids—Vic, Stacia, and Tracelyn—saw Cia and Tomas pass them on the road. Tracelyn says she can’t understand how or why candidates would attack and kill, but Stacia says the officials are “looking for candidates with a killer instinct” and suggests the willingness to do so shows strength (194).

In the morning, Stacia and Cia talk. Stacia thinks Tomas is Cia’s boyfriend. Cia and Tomas leave the others behind. When they stop that night, Cia locates a small microphone concealed in the Testing bracelets and knows that the officials have been listening to them.

Cia removes the couple’s bracelets and takes Tomas aside to tell him what she’s found. He says he’s been thinking about how to save their memories after The Testing. Tomas tells her that he’s in love with her and he wanted to say it without Dr. Barnes and his people listening. She tells him she thinks she loves him too.

In the morning, Cia wakes with the sense something is wrong. She peers through a crack in the wall and sees a bear or wolf-type animal. Many animals were mutated in and after the war, becoming vicious and aggressive. Cia spots another animal and wakes Tomas. They make a run for the road with their bicycles and only just make it in time to avoid being attacked. When they’re sure they are far enough away, they stop and hug each other, eat breakfast, and drink some water. Cia notices Tomas is bleeding again because his cauterized wound has torn. Cia sews the tear, treats it with ointment, and gives Tomas pain pills. He is too weak to ride, so they spend the rest of the day walking and find an abandoned city rising on the horizon.

Cia and Tomas discuss the likelihood the officials intend for the candidates to interact with each other in the city. They can see that one of the fence lines runs right along the edge of the city. As they encounter forks in the road, they see that options other than the main road have been cut off by demolished and fallen buildings, herding everyone onto a central pathway.

At the first junction, they choose a direction and test the passable rubble by throwing rocks at it. It explodes, so they return to the junction and go the other way. Cia realizes they are navigating a maze. They spend many hours in the heat trying options and having to backtrack.

In the morning, they begin hearing other voices and explosions from different parts of the city. Someone approaches. Cia can’t bring herself to shoot them, and it turns out to be Will. He is injured but refuses to let Cia look at the wound until they’ve left the maze. He found a non-motorized scooter, but it was destroyed by an explosion. He has wire from the storeroom, which Cia will be able to use to make snares to catch animals.

They make their way out of the city and stay together for the night. Tomas is wary of allowing Will to stay with them, but Cia says they can at least be together while they look for food and water. Cia leaves camp to forage and trap food. She comes to the fence and encounters a gray-haired man smiling at her from the other side.

The man throws a bag over the fence and leaves. In the bag, Cia finds bread, cheese, raisins, and a bottle of water she determines is clean and pure. She can’t share most of this with Tomas and Will because she’d have to tell them about the man and the officials would be able to hear them. She transfers water into the canteen and hides the food in her bag.

They walk more, but don’t find water. Cia suggests one of them take a bicycle and scout further off the road for water. Will volunteers, but Tomas says Will could just take the bicycle and leave without them. Will is angry but admits someone could do that. Cia interrupts their tense conversation by saying she’ll go.

Cia marks the path as she goes with strips of sheet and finds a shallow stream where she fills and purifies their canteens. Before she can leave or arm herself, she is attacked by what she soon realizes is a mutated human. She shoots it, which draws more of them to her. One of them painfully scratches her arm, but she manages to escape after having to shoot another three of them, which she feels guilt and regret about. Safe, she cleans her wound and applies anti-infection ointment.

She camps alone for the night in a tree and wakes with her arm still sore. She turns back to find Tomas and Will and gives them water. Something has happened while Cia was not with them, but they will not give her details. They stiltedly say they ran into another candidate and nothing important happened, but Cia can tell something is wrong and they are keeping a secret. They come upon a small town and part ways, but Will tells Cia to watch out for Tomas because he “isn’t the nice guy he’s pretending to be” (239).

They leave Will behind. Cia’s arm is still throbbing. Tomas won’t tell her what happened with the other testing candidate. The next day, when they stop to camp, Cia sees the man beyond the fence again. She takes off her bracelet and goes to meet him.