by H. J. Lawson
"I'm sorry, I am sorry," I say as I throw the axe toward Kai. “Kill them all,” I add.
“I plan to. Go,” Kai responds as we hurry to the door and make it out of the torture room. Our bodies are unharmed but our memories will be haunted by the events of the trial forever.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Aaron and I wearily sit at our table in the dining hall. There are only forty kids left—after five trials.
After the second trial, Aaron and I realized Ryder would never look after Lakia. He would always protect himself, no matter who was next to him. Because of this, I would always hold Lakia’s hand through the trial: it was the only way to keep her safe. Each time it was just as hard as the next; she’s not as fast as me, which slowed us down. But because we knew what was happening, it was easier to plan our next steps.
During one of the trials, I think the fourth one, Ryder nearly pushed Aaron in front of an oncoming vampire. Luckily for Aaron, he knew Ryder’s move, and managed to get away just in time. Unfortunately for everyone else standing by Ryder, they weren’t as lucky. Ryder has so far pushed five kids into the vampires’ arms to die, and that’s just the ones which I have seen. No doubt there are more … many more.
Some of the other kids who remain also pushed other kids in front of the vampires to protect themselves instead of fighting against the vampires.
The kids that remain are the strongest of the group, and the most cutthroat, the ones who will do anything to save themselves. What kind of slayers are they?
There are some that aren’t cowards, the ones who go into the waiting room and fight off the vampires for the weaker kids, or the ones who help in the torture room, when Aaron and I are trying to free the poor souls who are tied up in chains. We can count on them; they are the true slayers.
Every evening Aaron and I have the same routine, washing each other’s bodies clean from the blood and horror that the trial brings, hoping that one day the memories will wash away forever. Maybe that’s why they give you the devil’s breath every night: no human should remember these horrors. I wonder how many more of these days I can survive before my brain gives up on me.
Aaron, like me, drinks most of the water then throws it up, but we leave just enough in the bottle to send us to sleep and block out the nightmares.
I know no one else has worked out the water is being poisoned, or if they have, they haven’t said anything about it.
If at any point the trial changes—which it hasn’t for the last five, except the vampires seem to be getting stronger and faster, but the so are we—I doubt Lakia will survive the trial.
As the trials go on, the conversations in the dining room have diminished. Most people stare out into nothing, a blank, vacant look on their faces, as if something is missing, because it is—their memories have been taken from them. Others look at themselves like they are looking for something. I know what—the wounds that should have been there but have now healed.
We all have the dark shadows under our eyes. Without having a mirror I know I look just like them. I can feel the darkness of death trying to enter my body, forcing its way in with the horror that the trial brings.
The same morning announcement ends, the repeated words from Commander Cheng. Exactly the same as every other announcement before the trial.
My body unwillingly stands, ready to do it all over again. How many times will we have to do this? I know the answer.
I slump back down into the uncomfortable chair. Can I call in sick today? Say I have a headache, and I can’t do the trial … something, anything not to repeat the same day.
Other kids have done this. I think before the second … no, the third trial, a girl left saying she was going to the nurse … did she ever return?
I look around the room to see if I can see her, but she’s not here. That doesn’t mean anything. She could have died at the hands of a vampire.
Aaron’s eyes lock on mine; the brown warmth of them has started to dim as the horror leaves its scars. They are becoming hollow with the horror; we are surrounded by death and betrayal.
He shakes his head as he comes closer to me, and folds his lips into his mouth, as if to stop himself from speaking.
I place my head in my hands and push my fingers through my hair. Morgan’s words and the words of the ladies on the train drift into my head: If I can’t train they send me home ... If I don’t do the trial they will send me home.
Surely I’ve learnt enough to protect my family … but they will wipe my memories when I’m on the train. That’s if there is even a train waiting to take me home. Why would they? If they don’t care about kids dying in the trial, why would they send us back on the train? They wouldn’t …
I feel as if this is the last trial, the trial of all trials, what we have really been preparing for.
“What could be worse than what has already happened?” I ask Aaron as we leave the dining room.
“I don’t know,” he says, shaking his head, “but we have made it this far, we can do this.” He leans down and kisses me, then releases me before I’m ready.
I wrap my fingers around his t-shirt and draw him up against me, then kiss him more deeply, needier.
We both pant for air as we break from the kiss, both wanting more.
Aaron places his hands on my cheeks. “We will be together soon,” he says.
“Let’s get this over and done with. I don’t think I can take any more trials.” The words fall from my mouth before I can stop myself. Aaron’s eyes widen as he takes it in. If they are listening, they will know we haven’t been taking the devil’s breath as we were meant to.
I shrug my shoulders. It's too late now, and I can’t take it back.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The lights are on. There are no flashing ultra-white lights when we enter the training hangar. It's empty like before, but now as I look around the room I can see the dirty red stains on the cement floor from where people were murdered.
I jump back into someone else’s body as I realize I’m standing in a spot where kids died. Their dry blood is beneath my feet. Another person shrieks as they also notice it.
“Watch it.” I feel large hands pushing me forwards; I turn to see that it's Ryder. Damn, he’s right behind me.
I jolt away from him.
“Jumpy today,” he snarls, smiling at me.
“Leave her alone,” Aaron says as he comes to my side, placing himself between me and Ryder. I hate either of us being next to him.
I take Aaron’s hand and pull him closer to me, away from the others.
“The trial has changed,” I whisper into Aaron’s ear, so closely that my lip brushes his earlobe as I speak.
“I know, stay by my side,” Aaron says so only I can hear.
The doors at the other side of the room open, the ones from the earlier trial that the vampires came through … this time no one walks through them: we are meant to enter one of them.
Everyone glances back and forth between each other. “Looks like that’s where the trial is,” someone from the crowd says.
No one moves, as if their bodies are telling them to run the other way … but I know we can’t.
There are weapons in that room, well, hopefully, if it's the same as the other trials. Each day there have been fewer weapons in the room … and I don’t think today will be any different.
It'll be to our advantage to get to the viewing room first, and get a weapon.
I pull Aaron forwards, and we move toward the open doors.
The sound of heavy boots on the cement rings out as the other kids follow our lead.
My thought was correct: there are five stakes on the white table Aaron and I quickly take one, as do the other three behind us.
“Give me that,” I hear a boy snap.
“No, it's mine,” another kid yells back.
“Hey,” I snap at the kid.
I turn to see a bigger kid now holding the stake. It will not be long before someone tries to take
mine from me.
Aaron has the same idea as me, and we quickly get out of the viewing room into the white safe room.
The door next to us opens. Aaron and I both have our stakes at the ready. My heart pounds as I prepare myself to attack.
Then to my surprise Ryder steps out with Lakia by his side, both carrying guns, with smiles on their faces.
“Ha, what you going to do with that?” Ryder laughs as he nods toward my stake.
“Are there any more in there?” Aaron asks, pretending he didn’t hear Ryder’s stupid comment.
“Nope, there were just five.” Ryder smiles greedily, as if he’s better than us.
I look past Ryder and his gloating face, down the hallway. Well, where the hallway should be: there is a wall there now, as if the hallway was never there.
I turn around to see a new doorway, which was never there for past trials … this is new.
As if the camera hidden in the speaker saw me staring at the door, the heavy metal door begins to slide into the wall.
A cool breeze drifts into the room. The hairs on my arms spring to attention, as if it's the first time I’ve ever felt a breeze before. I can feel the tingle of goosebumps over my arms as I realize the door has opened up to the outside, revealing a brick wall as high as the eye can see.
I step toward it and peer upward. I can see the stars peeking out from the night sky. They have been playing with the time, as I thought—it's the middle of the night, not morning as they made us believe.
I can feel the urgency from the others behind me, as they want to see what is through the door.
“Let them go first.” Aaron speaks softly as his body presses up against mine. He nods, indicating toward Ryder and his gun.
Everyone piles out of the safe room and into the darkness of the outside. Like drones following orders, they are so eager to leave the safety of the room for the unknown, Lakia and Ryder get dragged away with the crowd.
“We know the only way out of this trial is to go through this door. All the other doors are locked,” I say.
“Come on then, let’s go see what’s hiding in the dark. I’m going to guess vampires.” Aaron smiles smugly.
“I think you may be onto something there.” I laugh at him. I know it's nerves that are making us joke around at a time like this, but it does feel good to smile, even if it's because I have no other emotions left to share.
“Let’s go see who the baddest slayer is,” Aaron says as he edges through the doorway to the outside.
“Well we know who the worst is,” I say.
“Ryder,” we both say together, smiling.
Outside, cool air enters my lungs. It's dry, like the ground beneath my feet. I gasp as if I have never tasted it before.
I drag my fingers across the walls on either side of me. They are an arm’s width apart, and also dry, breaking away under my fingers as if they have been here for years, worn away with time and exposure to the harsh outside conditions. The walls are too high to climb; they look as if they go on forever. They lean in against each other, blocking off any guidance from the moon.
There is a turn in the wall; Aaron’s fingers are firmly wrapped around mine. I know at some point we will have to let go to fight, but right now I need him to be close … it's as if I get my strength from him.
The little light illuminating our way starts to fade. I look over my shoulder to see the door closing, sending us into darkness once again, with only the moon and the stars above us as our guides.
Aaron squeezes my fingers with his to comfort me in the darkness.
I turn to him. I can see the whites of his eyes, and a sliver of his teeth as his lips part for a small smile.
“I’ve not heard any screams. Have you?” I ask Aaron as we keep walking. I have my hand with the stake out touching the wall as a guide. I expect at some point there will be a turn or something.
“Nope, I’ve heard nothing. Which is really weird,” Aaron says.
“Yeah, it is. Let me see if I can hear something,” I say. Aaron falls silent.
I block everything out, which is easy because it's so quiet, too quiet. I can hear my heart pounding with every step I take. There is nothing else.
“I can’t hear anything,” I say.
“Wait,” Aaron says, pulling me back. “It's a dead end.” I reach my hands out in front of me: there is a brick wall. I move my hand to the side, and there is another wall.
“There must be a gap on your side,” I tell him.
“There’s one here,” Aaron says as he pulls me toward the gap.
We move down the next path. “Are we going down a slope?” I say.
The slope gets steeper, making us move forward quickly; we are almost running down the slope now. It feels like it's a forty-five-degree angle.
“We’re moving too fast,” Aaron says as we pull each other forward. I glance upward; the stars have disappeared …
“We’re underground!” I scream as I slam up against the wall, then I am crashing to the ground, pulling Aaron with me.
Chapter Thirty
The ground disappears beneath us. I reach my arms out as I try to grab hold of anything to stop me from falling. My breath is knocked out of me as I crash onto a lower level.
Aaron lands on top of me, pushing the last of the oxygen out of my lungs.
He pushes himself up off me. “Sorry, Sadie,” he whispers as he reaches down and picks me up.
No single part of my body hurts more than the other. That means nothing is broken, but that’s the only good thing ...
In the distance, where faint screams are echoing, I can see a flicker of light.
There is a muddy, wet smell around me … and the rotten smell of death. “There are vampires down here,” I tell Aaron, tightly gripping my stake.
My mouth dries up with fear as the screams of pain get louder. The smell of rotten flesh makes me retch. I force the fear that coats my stomach back down.
The orange light flickers as we get closer to it: it is a flame, a torch burning on the wall. It means that there is a way out ... There has to be ... unless they are planning on killing everyone.
I grab the wooden torch; I see other holders on the wall when I move the torch. Others must have taken them; there are two tunnels to go down. Neither look inviting, and both are pitch black.
"Which way?" I ask Aaron as he grabs another torch.
He moves his torch to investigate both of the tunnels, then shrugs.
"Neither of them sound inviting," Aaron says. He's right: the screams of pain come loudly from both sides.
I look down at my torch; the wind pushes it toward the right. "We should go left, that's the way the wind is coming from. Hopefully it leads to an opening out of this maze from hell," I say as I look at Aaron. His face looks even hollower, as if he's more dead than alive as the shadows bounce over his face.
"Sounds like a plan," Aaron says as he enters the tunnel. Our hands are occupied with our torches and stakes. All I want to do is hold his hand, but it's just not possible.
The chilling screams get louder as we enter the tunnel, as do the sounds of gunshots. My heart pounds with every shot.
It feels like the tunnel starts to curl around: both tunnels seem to be leading to one place.
As we take another turn, I can see a glowing orange light coming from the end ... this is where the screams are coming from. The overwhelming smell of death is everywhere. "The vampires are here, and by the smell of it there are loads of them," I tell Aaron.
As we get to the edge of the tunnel the urge to see what is happening takes over. I poke my head around the edge of the wall.
It looks like an underground world for vampires. The roof is as high as the ceiling in the hangar, but underground. It’s an underground bunker, with loads of rooms and a walkway overlooking the middle of the bunker. It looks as if it holds all the vampires ...
Is this where they have been holding them while they wait for the trials? Waiting to feed on us?
The heart of hell is beneath the metal walkways, the living fighting with the non-living for their survival … the living are losing. It appears as if they were taken by surprise. There are two tunnels leading into the middle of the bunker, and one has to be the exit … but which one?
Some of the vampires are kneeling, others are in a standoff with the remaining kids. All I can see is their heads moving as they devour their breakfast. The ground is stained with blood, gray snowflakes layered on top: they must have taken some of the vampires out.
A group of kids have their weapons drawn in front of them. Wild terror adorns their faces, along with blood splatters. I can see Ryder with his gun in front, but where is Lakia?
How many vampires are down here? I peer down and look at them. I squint my eyes together to get a better look. “Oh God,” I say as I drop down to the ground.
“What?” Aaron whispers, concerned.
“Look at the vampires,” I tell him, stretching out the words as shock hits me.
Aaron’s face freezes; he sees what I see.
We know the vampires’ faces: it's the other kids from Sector 105 … they have turned into vampires … our friends… they let our friends become vampires.
Aaron arches his head backward and inspects the tunnel ceiling, shaking his head as if he’s cursing God.
He was bitten like them, but he was given treatment to stop him from turning into a vampire. They could have stopped them turning, but they didn’t. Instead they turned them into killers … and we are their prey.
I place my arm around Aaron.
“We have to go down there. Our only way out of here is through them,” Aaron tells me, and I know it's the only option.
“I’m not going to leave you,” Aaron says as he gently pushes the tears off my face.
“Promise.”
“I promise,” he says as he kisses me softly on my cheek, then stands, pulling me up with him.
We drop our torches on the ground and head to the edge of hell.