Making my way down the hall, I followed the last few trailing trainees back towards the main corridor. But my pace slackened, and soon they were out of sight. I walked slowly, thinking about what we had just learned. About not trusting and relying on the innocence of someone, based merely on their appearance.
The thoughts continued to circle through my mind. But as I neared the classroom, I was startled to hear voices coming from within.
Eden. And she wasn’t alone. I pressed my body against the outside wall, blending into the shadows.
I knew it was wrong. I should just leave. But I was too curious.
“I hate having to do it over and over. It doesn’t get any easier,” her voice carried out, tight with emotion.
Whoever was with her didn’t respond.
“I lie to these kids by not telling them what happens to everyone who enters Proletariat. They have no idea what awaits them. They’ll never know and they won’t remember.” There was a short pause before she continued. “Why does it have to be done?” her voice faltered off as she spoke these last words.
“There’s no choice. It has to be this way,” came a deeper voice. My heartbeat quickened. River. “We can’t change anything. The rules were set long ago, and no one is going to be able to change them. Not now. Not ever.”
Eden’s voice came again, lower now. “It’s getting worse you know. The talks about more control. To avoid any chance of resistance. But what does that really mean? How much more control could they possibly have? And how?”
“I don’t know,” was River’s curt reply.
There was a silent pause. “There is another reason the thought of this happening is affecting me so much.” Her voice was barely above a whisper now.
“Your sister?” he guessed slowly.
She let out slow breath. “I just can’t stop thinking of her. Of my twin. It’s been so many years since I’ve seen her, but it doesn’t matter how much time goes by,” she said in an anguished voice. “The pain of missing her has never lessened.”
Silence filled the space. “You’d thought she’d end up in Combatant as well?” River asked, his voice softening.
“Yes. I thought we would be together. I thought both of us would be chosen for Combatant. But she lied to me about how well she was doing in the challenges.” Eden hesitated a moment, then said, “On the day of the decision, I had already been called into Combatant. And was waiting for her to be called to join me.”
I inched myself closer to the doorway, straining to hear every word now.
“I almost fell to my knees when the lead trainer called out Proletariat. Everything went numb. I just remember standing there, watching as she stumbled towards the other trainees already selected for that Division, barely able to see from the tears streaming down my face. I was devastated, and so was she.”
Her voiced cracked as she whispered, “We’d been together our whole lives, River. We were two halves of a whole.” Anger worked its way in. “But they separated us. And now she is in Earth Society and I’m here. And I miss her every single day.”
In Earth Society. Her twin sister was back home. And then it hit me like a brick. Why Eden had looked so familiar the first time I saw her.
It was because I’d seen her before.
Well, not her actually. But someone who looked exactly like Eden. Her mirror image. The short, blonde-haired woman standing in front of Mason and me while we waited in line at the Distribution Center. She was Eden’s twin.
Eden’s words continued to float out into the hall where I stood and I tried to focus on them. “If I had known then what happens to those placed in Proletariat as I do now, I... I…well, I don’t know what I would have done.” She sighed resignedly. “The past is over. What happened to Willow and all the others is done. But the future. The future that lies ahead for those who have yet to enter Proletariat. That future is what scares me the most, River.”
He stayed silent. Fearing they might exit the classroom and find me, I quickly slipped away. Everything I just heard circled repeatedly through my mind. What hadn’t Eden known about Proletariat back then?
What didn’t I know about it now?
✽✽✽
A couple days later we had another stealth training session. As much as I’d tried over the past two days, I couldn’t erase Eden’s words from my head. But I also knew I couldn’t reveal what I overheard. So for now I just kept it to myself.
Making the most of the four hours we had that day, I successfully made it through every single station. My confidence growing, I was finally ready to begin the last task, the wall climb. But as I approached I noticed someone else already standing there.
Ivy.
Heading over, I watched as she put a foot on the wall, scanning the surface above her nervously for the various foot holds, preparing to climb. I stepped up beside her and lightly tapped her on the shoulder.
“Ivy.”
She twisted around, a smile on her face. Seeing it was me, however, she stepped away, quickly backing into the wall.
“Oh,” she said, her voice cool. “Hello, Sage.”
I motioned to the wall. “I haven’t tried the climb yet. Is this your first attempt?”
There was an awkward pause and her eyes shifted a little from one side to the other. I could almost see the wheels spinning as she tried to think up an answer. “Uh, no,” she stammered. “I actually just came down, so I’m finished now. I was just about to go to another station.”
Letting the rope fall to the floor, she moved away, heading towards a small group of trainees I had seen her with previously, Raine and Coral included. Sighing, I reached to the ground and picked up the rope she just dropped. The girl lied about climbing the wall just to get away from me.
Sometimes I wondered how she’d feel if our places had been switched. If she knew how I felt…knew the guilt I carried with me on a daily basis. Would that make a difference?
Pushing the old thoughts that continued to haunt me aside, I took a deep steadying breath and glanced at the wall, studying it. Sheer, imposing, it rose up in front of me. A solid panel, the smallest of notches carved into it. Those were the footholds. I traced one with my fingertip. A barely-there indentation. This would be harder than I realized.
I glanced over at the trainer on this station. It was the same man from the train. Immobile as his spiked black hair, he stared back at me through his dark sunglasses. He didn’t offer a word of advice about how to climb up.
Fine. I could figure it out on my own.
Gripping the rope in my gloved hands, I placed my right foot against the wall, feeling along its surface for until I found a notch larger than most. Clutching tightly to the rope, I lifted my other foot, pressing it to the wall. Each step up was harder than the last and I desperately clung to the rope as my arms began to burn. I was almost halfway up when it happened.
As I took another step, my right boot suddenly hit a small slick rock on the surface of the wall and slipped off. Thrown off balance, my left leg gave away as well. For a moment I dangled there. One long, terrifying moment.
Until I lost my grip.
Flailing in the air, I let out a yelp, falling to a heap on the rubber mats below. Fortunately, I had only been about six feet up, but it still hurt.
The trainer stared at me. He made no motion towards me, but instead just stood there, every part of him a hard line, eyes still shielded by his ever-present sunglasses.
I truly hated those sunglasses.
But I could imagine what was behind them. It was the same way many of the trainers looked at me, Flint and the frizzy orange-haired lady included. With such contempt. But why? What had I done to deserve their hate?
Shakily, I got back up to my feet. Glancing around quickly, I could see there were several heads turned in my direction, their attention grabbed by the commotion my fall had caused. And one of those heads had a pair of cobalt blue eyes centered on me. Of course he’d seen me fall to the ground, making a fool of myself. A coup
le others from Fire Society, Cayenne included, who were standing around him smirked, but he just stared, his face expressionless.
My cheeks burned with embarrassment. I wanted to run out, run away from their sneering faces, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing me give up.
I grabbed the rope angrily. Not wasting any time, I raised my leg and began to take the first few steps up the wall. Avoiding the traitorous slick rock from before, I kept climbing, pulling myself up. My arms ached with the effort it took to keep myself from sliding down, but I wouldn’t let go. I wouldn’t let myself fall again. I was going to make it up and over the wall this time.
Inch by inch, the top came closer and closer until finally I gripped the edge and swung my leg over, straddling it. Breathing hard, I felt a smile creep across my face. I’d done it!
Gazing the twenty feet back down, I could see most everyone had gone back to what they were doing before I fell. The trainer looked away as well, almost purposefully. Only one pair of blue eyes remained on me. After a moment I was surprised to see him give me an almost imperceptible nod before turning away.
Letting out a low breath, I grasped the rope and slowly made my way back down. Maybe I did have a chance of getting through this after all.
✽✽✽
That night I lay in bed, unable to sleep. Twisting and turning beneath the blankets, but still wide awake. Memories from Earth Society were running rampant through me tonight, as they would every so often. Memories of the two people who’d been my best friends. The two people I’d lost.
I sat up and brought my knees into my chest, resting my head upon them and wrapping myself into a tight ball. Images appeared, and I couldn’t stop them. I couldn’t hold them back. Finally giving up the effort, I let go, feeling myself sucked in.
Back four years ago. Back to Juniper and Shale. To the three of us heading home from school, only to stop off at Juniper’s house as usual. Juniper’s house, with the bright red door I’d always loved. But instead of completing homework that afternoon as we were supposed to, it turned out they had something else entirely on their minds…
“Sage,” Juniper said, after we’d been working in silence for a while. “Shale and I have been discussing something and we want your input.”
“Sure. What is it?”
“We have an idea and we want to know how you would feel about it.”
“Umm...okay,” I said, the telltale tingles of nervousness prickling inside me at his tone.
Juniper paused, casting a glance to his side, but Shale just nodded reassuringly at him. Returning the brief nod, Juniper turned back to face me and took a deep breath.
“We want go down the trainee path,” he said, the words tumbling out. “We want to follow it down through the field and into the woods and see where it goes. We want to know what we aren’t allowed to know.” Shale, less forward than Juniper as usual, nodded in agreement.
I stared at my two friends for a moment, so similar in appearance with their short brown hair, and warm eyes, though Juniper was already a full head taller. They watched me earnestly, waiting for my reply.
Finally, unable to keep it in any longer, I burst out laughing. “Funny joke,” I managed in between my snorts, shaking my head and smiling at them.
But neither joined in my laughter.
“Come on. Stop messing around.”
Still nothing. I could feel the smile slowly disappear from my face as I looked back and forth between my two friends. They were serious.
“This is crazy,” I gasped in disbelief at what Juniper was proposing we do. “How can you even suggest it? Did you just forget about the guards? You know what will happen if they catch us.”
“So what if they catch us,” retorted Juniper flippantly.
I couldn’t believe his words.
“So what…so what…,” I stuttered, but he cut me off before I could form a complete thought.
“Yes, so what?”
I started to shake my head in disbelief. He wasn’t making any sense. Neither of them were.
“Sage, don’t you want to know what else is out there? What is down the path leading to the Training? Where it goes? And what it’s actually like beyond these walls?”
I fell silent, listening to his words. “Well, yes, of course. But like I said, what if we were to get caught?”
Shale spoke up this time. “We can leave early in the morning. No one will even be awake. We’ll run down the path to the woods and see what’s there. It won’t take long,” he urged. “We’ll be back before anyone even realizes we’re gone.”
I didn’t say anything. The logical side of me knew how stupid and dangerous it was to even consider doing something like this. But I couldn’t deny how I began to quiver with excitement at the prospect of finally learning what was down that path.
Shale continued. “Look, I’m not saying we will find out answers for sure. We may not discover anything. But at least we’ll have tried.”
It was ridiculous. It was foolish and idiotic. We could be caught so easily. But…if it was as they said and we were back before anyone even realized we were missing, it might be possible. Yes, it might be possible, I thought, slowly convincing myself.
“What if,” I said hesitantly, “We take all these precautions, leave early and come back quickly -- what if, somehow, we still get caught?”
“Well,” answered Juniper calmly. “At least then if they catch us and take us away, maybe then we’ll finally find out what is beyond these walls.”
I couldn’t deny that the idea of it, as preposterous as it initially seemed, was thrilling. And the risk we would be taking seemed minimal. This could work.
“So, Sage. What’ll it be?” Juniper asked, his head tilted slightly, waiting for my answer.
I looked back and forth between their eager faces. Biting my lip, I grinned at them devilishly. “I’m in.”
I remembered leaving Juniper’s house that evening. Saying good-bye to his mother and father. Shutting the thick red door behind me. And looking back, waving to him in the window, as I walked home.
That was the last time I could look at that house without feeling a hole of loss rip deeper and deeper into my heart.
CHAPTER 15
“Can we please take a break for a minute?” panted Aurora, crouching down, hands on both knees. Taking a few steps back, I nodded, trying to catch my own breath. It was the next afternoon and another Combat training session. This time we chose our own partners and practiced weaponless combat. The goal was to knock your opponent to the ground while you remained standing. And after about thirty minutes of practicing together, Aurora and I had each knocked the other down five times.
I gazed around at the other trainees, assessing who had paired up. Ivy was with Raine. Finn was with Lark. And Cayenne and Cinder were together. Surprising as they were the only male-female pairing.
As my eyes continued to travel amongst the group of us, I searched, trying to find who Rowan had partnered with. Finally spotting him across the field, I could only see the back of his opponents’ head. It was covered in short, red hair. They continued to circle one another, each assault met with an equal defense, the fight evenly matched. Trying to get a better look, I shifted a few feet over. Suddenly, as his opponent kicked a leg out, clearly intending to slam it into Rowan’s shin, Rowan grabbed it and managed to flip him to the ground.
My eyes finally fell upon the boy lying there, grinning as Rowan held out a hand and hauled him to his feet.
Cirrus.
My mouth gaped. Why did they choose to pair up? I didn’t even realize they knew each other. A frown crossed my face and I tore my eyes away, glancing around some more.
My eyes fell upon those trainees from Fire Society and I couldn’t help but stare. While most of those from Earth, Air, and Water had partnered with each other, the walls that originally divided us growing less and less distinct with each passing day, this was untrue of those from Fire Society. Just as they still only
ate together, only spoke with one another, here they had only paired with those from their home Society.
And there was a reason for it. They fought ferociously, relentlessly. I continued to watch the group, mesmerized by the intensity of their fighting, each movement as controlled as it was forceful. My gaze fell upon the one with the cobalt eyes. His opponent was nearly as tall, blonde hair tied back into a taut ponytail. I realized it was the same guy who’d been in the front of the line, entering the first door during our Emotion training session.
Watching them in this physical battle was both fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Just one of their blows would have caused me to fall flat on my face. But the pummeling of fists seemed to have minimal impact, neither exhibiting any sign of weakness.
But as they continued to fight, I noticed a strange difference. The one with the ponytail was smirking as he fought, taking obvious enjoyment out of every punch that made contact. But guy with cobalt eyes…he was stone-faced, mouth set in a hard line, eyes emotionless. Fighting because he was required to, not because he wanted to.
Ponytail managed to get the upper hand for a moment and pinned the arms of Cobalt eyes behind his back. Pulling down a little, Ponytail lifted his leg slightly, angling his knee. Immediately, it was clear what he intended to do.
But before he could sink his knee into Cobalt’s spine, there was a shout of pain. Cobalt had managed to kick his foot back, slamming it into Ponytail’s leg. Sputtered cursing filled the air, but a moment later it choked off, the reason why obvious.
Grabbing Ponytail and taking a hold of his shirt collar, Cobalt lifted him off the ground, holding him there, feet dangling several inches in the air. It was even more impressive given how close in girth they were.
I didn’t have to glance around to know I wasn’t the only one staring now. Almost everyone had stopped their own practicing to watch the fight. After another moment’s pause, Cobalt threw him down roughly. Ponytail hit the ground hard, stumbling backwards and falling. Everyone was silent, tense, waiting to see what would happen next.
Awakening Earth and Fire: Earth and Fire Trilogy Book 1 Page 12
