Today was the start of Parker's physical evaluation.

  Despite the discomfort the term brought, Parker had learned that an attendant would not physically evaluate their body or person. Instead, Benson made it sound more like a fitness exam from middle school. Essentially, Parker would be subjected to a rigorous PE class.

  That was almost as discomforting as the idea of a physical because Parker had never done well in those types of classes. They did their best to prepare: a light breakfast, and some dynamic stretches, and then they only took the necessities along to the evaluation.

  With their tablet in hand and wearing a rough gray tracksuit that EA had provided, Parker made their way to face the first real challenge of the Gamble. Rather than heading to the gym or the North Evaluation room, that they had gone to the day before, the instructions on Parker's tablet led them further into the EA facilities.

  The dull gray and off-white halls seemed to stretch on impossibly still, so it was hard for Parker to gauge how much further they'd gone into the facilities. There were a few more auditoriums, according to the door placards, and then finally they reached the room they were looking for: Health Examination Room Four.

  A feeling of dread settled over Parker as they entered the room. It was like every fiber of their being was warning them that things were about to get worse. The feeling was well-founded. The evaluation was truly terrible.

  The room reminded Parker of a dance studio, with a giant mirror on the far wall. As soon as they stepped into the room, the mirror reflected an incredibly underwhelming image of Parker. They looked miniature next to the door that they had just walked through. The floor was a rubberized soft shell that absorbed Parker's steps as they walked into the room. Various dumbbells, barbells, and resistance bars set about the room waiting to be used.

  In the center was Parker's evaluator. Much like Benson, the evaluator was wearing a dull gray smock. However, unlike Benson, this one was waiting impatiently with a flaccid look. Parker thought it was an expression at first, but it turned out to just be the way the evaluator's face settled.

  Instead of a conversation or an explanation, Parker was immediately subjected to a barking set of orders to follow. From stretching their limbs to the max to lifting as much as they possibly could, to various body motion exercises, it was all Parker could do to keep moving. While Parker had never been one to truly push themselves during exercise, they had kept up on what they thought were the basics. They often went through the paces of controlled breathing. Parker was well-versed in stretching, both static and dynamic. Walking, jogging, and even lifting small weights had never been outside of Parker's reach. However, the physical evaluation showed just how lacking Parker's efforts had been.

  In the end, Parker collapsed on the soft-shell floor of the examination room. Completely drenched in sweat, Parker could only look up to see the flaccid-faced evaluator's jaw set firmly, eyes hardened in disgust. Parker had not even gotten his name, just the general idea that the evaluator disapproved of Parker.

  The only consolation was that they were alone, save for the evaluator. Parker could not imagine struggling so absolutely in front of other Gamblers. Especially when Parker was supposed to be considered a peer.

  Eventually, the disgust on the evaluator's face shifted to pity. He spoke in an almost chilled voice, "Substandard, by all physical accounts. Strength, abysmal. Stamina, shallow. Agility, nearly passable. Constitution, low."

  After a moment, Parker recovered from the score. Then the evaluator added more, as if to reassure them. "Thought, not the worst scores we have seen lately. Performance in other areas might carry you through."

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The evaluator clicked a button on his lapel. It was a barely distinguishable circle of a darker shade of gray. Then he spoke into the attached radio, "Parker Apis, provisional pass in the physical evaluation."

  It was just enough to keep going, but it was also the best that Parker could do. The physical evaluation had pushed and fully shattered their limits... revealing that those limits were not very high at all.

  Just like with Benson's initial evaluation, Parker was moved onto the next stage, but the anxiety started to rise. It had formed with Benson's accounting of their flaws and lack of talent, now it grew like a weed in Parker's chest when the physical evaluation crushed their hopes of proving Benson completely wrong.

  It seemed to Parker that the evaluators expected them to be good at something, anything. They expected some skill or unknown talent to surface that would make up for all of Parker's shortcomings. Parker had been waiting for a similar revelation most of their life.

  Part of Parker knew that there was a surefire way to get through this, it went back to the first question that Benson had asked. Why had they applied with a fake identity?

  Parker wanted to get through this Gamble on their own merits, no matter how little they were. They did not want to rely on the merits of a family that had never accepted them. A family that had left them out in the cold, so Parker had left them behind.

  The fake identity had been well crafted. Parker had spent a modest fortune to get it from a friend of a friend of a drug dealer that Parker bribed for the introduction. It had been enough for Parker to fly halfway across the world, charter passage on a boat to get closer to the Elemental Archipelago, and then get on that final fishing boat, but it had not been perfect. Someone at EA had seen through it and now, regardless of Parker's intention, the Apis' name would haunt them at least in EA's records.

  When Parker returned to their room, all feeling drained from their body. There was no energy left, not for sleep, reading, or preparing. Parker crumpled into an awkward pile on the couch and did their best to lounge. It was an awkward contortion of muscles, but as the stiffening pain settled in, it was the only comfortable position.

  The rising anxiety was the only thing that kept Parker from passing out entirely. It was a voice coming from the base of their neck that told them they were unfit for this Gamble, not just physically. The voice said that they should've just died on the way and not bothered to waste anyone else's time.

  It took all they had left to ignore the voice and slide off the couch. On the ground, Parker was able to get into a makeshift meditative stance. Their back propped up against the couch and knees bent barely pushing up against the cushioned coffee table.

  Parker steepled their fingers and sought after a quiet corner of their mind. Fighting the anxiety. Ignoring the voice chattering behind their ear.

  After a minute of deep inhales and shallow exhales, a minute of measured inhales, holds, exhales, and patient thoughts, Parker was finally able to focus on a solution. The material evaluation was in two days. That would be their chance to truly succeed.

  Parker was aiming for exemplary, rather than just passing. They needed something to overshadow the provisional pass that they had gotten so far. If Parker couldn't rely on the revelation of a skill that they didn't know they had, they would just manufacture the success before the evaluation.

  The reading had already inspired Parker to change up their gear. Now it took precedence over everything else. Even without relying on their family, Parker spent their life savings to chase this Gamble. However, much like most first-time long-distance hikers, Parker had perfectly prepared a lot of the wrong stuff. They had novelties, comforts, and at least twenty pounds of gear that would not serve them personally at all.

  After upturning their pack in the middle of the room's floor, Parker started to sort the gear into three piles: keep, trade, and recycle.

  Unfortunately, the keep pile was small. Of all the gear, Parker could only outright use a dagger, a poncho, an emergency tent, a first aid kit, and spare clothes.

  The recycle pile was not much larger. It consisted of several pairs of extra clothes that would weigh Parker down and wouldn't be necessary for months if at all. They kept a few staples: long-sleeved shirts, durable pants, two jackets, and a vest but everything else would be turned into reusable cloth or scrap.

  According to their tablet, there was a facility in the building where Parker could either do the recycling themselves or let someone else handle it for a fee. Parker had been hoping for a third option: helping them learn how to do it.

  The hardest part of the recycle pile was severing the emotional connection. Those items were most of Parker's old life and they would soon be destroyed. It felt like they were stacking up the final kindling on the last bridge they had left to burn.