Trials

Chapter 1- Noah

         "Then I will sleep... Forever." Noah shivers and puts the book down.

         "Almost finished with that, sweetie?" His mother calls from the kitchen. 

            Noah slams the book closed and walks to the kitchen. "Yeah I'm done!" He grumbles. "I hate having to read this Ancient Greek crap. Antigone is now wasting my time! So yeah! I'm done!" Noah snapped. 

         His mother shook her head. "Noah, I know you're upset about tomorrow-" Noah folded his arms on the counter. Honestly the worst time his mother could speak at the moment. 

         "Sometimes I just wished they'd give me a story with a happy ending." He sighs as he traces his finger around the small bumps in the countertop.

      His mother put down the dishes and crossed over to him to rub his shoulder comfortingly. "I miss her too." 

       She gives a weak attempt at a grin. Noah closes his eyes. He was not in the mood to have this conversation with his mother, but of course, like always, it was unavoidable. 

        "Why did she choose to escape?" He croaks. His mother doesn't respond. "Why did they put me in the same trial she left in!" He cried, louder. 

        His mother shook her head slowly in despair and went back to the dishes silently. Noah hated it when she got like this. When she'd just shut down at the mention of his sister. Nally meant so much to him. And so did he to her. So the night before she threw away her life for freedom and left him- was a day Noah would never forget. 

           He could remember every second of that night:

          "Headphones! How did you get this!" Noah barks in surprise. Noah's father smiled. 

          "Our Trial. There's just so many resources! Happy birthday, son!" Noah hugs his father tightly. 

           This was one of the best gifts he'd ever got. 

           "Woah! The mighty soldier Noah actually wants to hug his father! This is a miracle from the heavens!" He jokes.. His mother burst into dramatic laughter. Noah punched his father's shoulder playfully. 

          "You'll only get this tonight, so don't get too comfortable!" Noah laughs. 

          "Well I'll take it! Come here you little-" Noah squeals as his father wrestled him in for a bear hug. 

           His mother gives his eerily quiet sister a questioning glance. 

            "Natalie? Do you have a present for your brother? Being thirteen only lasts a year." She prompts.  

           "It can wait, " She spoke monotonously. "He should get to bed. It can wait till morning." Natalie brushes back her short hair away from her eyes.

         "Well then it better be good, Nally!" Noah says with a hopeful smile.

         Noah's mother gives a disapproving shake of her head "Honestly Natalie, "it can wait till morning"? What could be so amazing that it-"

       "I can give my present to my brother when I want to, Barbra!" She snaps. 

      Her mother steps back in surprise. Noah cringes back as his father's enraged gaze fixes on Natalie's somber amber eyes.

     "I think it's time for all of us to go to bed." His father says as he tries to hide the anger in his voice.

      "I was just leaving," Natalie growls as she pushes past him and storms off.

      Noah didn't say a word as he retreats to his room. Of course, he knew he should be mad at Natalie for ruining the night of his birthday, but he wasn't. Because something was very wrong. Natalie never acted like this. She'd been the favorite. The beloved, sweet child. Noah knew Natalie would be in tears if she ever said something like that to someone. Not to mention her own parents. His mind began to throw out thousands of horrible possibilities.

      Noah pushes himself under his pillow to try and stop worrying. But he knew that he would probably get no sleep tonight. He never did on nights like this. Paranoid, maybe, but Natalie had taught him to survive off of cautiousness. It kept him alive. When so many others had died...

       Noah jumps up as he heard his door creak open.

      He sighs in relief.

      "Oh. Nally. You scared me-"

       Noah stops abruptly as soon as he looks into her glossy eyes as they start to water. She clutched a small, gray box, carefully tied with a strip of black leather. Her face was a whole mixture of worry. Unfocused and distraught. It wasn't that worried Noah most. It was the small, uncertain twitch of fear her body displayed as her hands shook. Noah was suddenly more scared than ever.

      Natalie approached him slowly. She opened her mouth to speak but shook her head instead. She set the small box on the bed gently and sat down.

      "Nally...?" He says.

       Natalie sniffs. She gave a weak attempt at a smile then took a breath.

       "Your- present." She gulps.

         Noah stood in confusion until Natalie nods quickly.

       "Open it." She responds with urgency.

      Noah reaches across the bed and carefully pulls off the black leather ribbon. He lifts open the 

box gently.

      He slowly lifts out a small silver pin. On its metal design was written the word "FREE."

      "What's it mean?" Says Noah.

      Natalie offers another reluctant grin.

       "It means that you can be free. Free of worry, pain, this nightmare called the Trials. I felt like it was nice so I traded to get it as the last gift I ever give you-" She stops. She gave a pained smile, but her tears broke out. She tries to clear them from her eyes quickly.

      "Leave? What are you talking about Nally? You can't just leave!" He reasons.

      "I won't be here when you come back, Noah. I'll be gone. Long gone. I promise you that I'm trying to protect you. I would stay if I had the choice." She sobs.

       Noah shook his head in denial. "Are you going to escape? Nally, I know people have done it before, but it's a risk and-" Noah stops as the tears start to pool in his eyes as well.

       Natalie grabs Noah roughly by the shoulder

      "Listen to me, Noah! The trials- mine- it's not what you think- I mean- just- be careful, okay?"

       Noah pushes away frantically.

      "I don't believe you! You can't leave!" He begs.

      Natalie's face showed more pain than ever.

      "LISTEN to me!" She snaps.

      Noah was instantly quiet.

      "This will most likely be our last night together, little brother."

       Noah sadly understood.

      "Do you have to go?" He sniffs.

      Natalie nods sadly. "Horrible things have happened. Noah, I need you to promise me three things, can you do that?" She says.

       Noah nods.

      "First. In any circumstance, you NEVER trust anyone. Understand?"

      "What about Jay! She's my best friend! She keeps all my secrets!"

      She shook her head.

      "What about our parents?" He says.

      "No one, Noah." She states with a frown.

      Noah was quiet.

      "Also, I'm sure you've tried before, but Noah, now you mustn't ever try to escape your trial. Ever."

      "But what about the people who have broken out? What about you?"

      "I said NO Noah!" She growls.

      Noah's backs up, frightened.

      She sighs. "And lastly, you must keep that curiosity to yourself, little brother. And no showing off. No hidden talents. You must convince them you are the most ordinary, nonthreatening person on the planet."

      "But-"

      "No!"

      "I was going to ask who you meant by them?"

       "I don't- never mind." She sighs.

      "Please promise me, Noah. And make sure to not tell Mom and Dad about me till tomorrow night." She adds.

      "Okay, I promise Nally." He says.

      She hugs him close and both of their tears spill out on the bed.

      "I love you." She cries.

       Noah's vocal cords were drowning in tears.

       Noah clutches her tighter when she starts to let go. Once she left, Noah stares at the FREE pin, sitting on his bed. All night. Never sleeping.

      The next day after he came home from the Cave Trial, his parents informed him of his sister's absence. Noah was horrified to learn that she did escape. He trusted her. And his sister had lied and left him alone forever.

      Noah had retreated to his room for the night. He was so nervous about tomorrow. Just like every two years, he knew, he would be assigned a new Trial. He was already fifteen, which meant he'd qualified for the fifteen to sixteen age rank. Most of his friends from his old Cave Trial were going into the Glacier Trial though. But, Jay wasn't. Jay would be in the Rainforest Trial with him. 

       Every day. Seven to five. Then back to his small little home where he'd work on his required texts until late. Barely any sleep whatsoever. He slept mostly through the Cave Trial. But The wet rainforest left no room for naps. Besides the sleep issue, Noah was sure he'd be happy to be Noah Rainforest now instead of Noah Cave. Yet, he was much too anxious to enter his sister's old Trial. The one she escaped from, abandoned him in. Now he only had his parents. And Jay. He'd asked his parents a million times to take him to their Trial. But just like every other Trial, the Fac Trial was off-limits for anyone but its participants. Noah wondered about the other Trials so much. How many people were here? How many Trials? Why were they here? Why were they banned from speaking a word to anyone else about their Trial?

             And most of all, Noah wondered about the outside world. The one he's read in all of his assigned texts. The one his sister escaped to.

          Escape. The word felt weird in his head. Like a small feather floating in his brain. Escape wasn't impossible, in fact, many people were rumored to escape their trials. They were legends. Every kid in his trials would share stories of the ones who left. Noah had never really thought about it till Natalie escaped. He'd been in the trial system all his life. And he was happy there. Yes, every Trial came with dangers, and they lost at least one kid every couple of months, but he had learned his place. He didn't bother questioning why he was here. He just assumed that what they did in the Trials, survive. After all, those who question receive harsh punishment from the Silent, the strange men in masks who never spoke a word. Noah had learned to fear them a long time ago.

      Noah still followed Natalie's explicit instructions. He didn't know why. He guessed it was just the last piece of her he had left to hold on to. That and the pin. He had followed her orders and all but squashed his curiosity and questions. He didn't stick his nose where he didn't belong, he followed rules, kept questions to himself, honestly, Natalie had been a fool to think he couldn't handle that on his own. Maybe she was just trying to save him from a good beating, but she should've known Noah to be wiser than that. As for her other instructions, she nearly forgot. Of course, he was careful with his trust, but he was as Natalie said to be without trust. And her honestly hated the idea of escape ever since Natalie left him. He didn't want to do that to his parents and devastate them like when Natalie left...

      Noah sat in his room twirling Natalie's pin with his fingers. He ran them along with the smooth silver backing. It reminded him of her. Well, nearly everything reminded him of her. The Rainforest Trial would traumatize him tomorrow with memories.

      Noah lay in his small wooden bed and for the first time in a while, he wondered. About where Natalie had gone to. Why she chose to leave him. How she could have escaped. And most of all, why he was here in the trials...

      He must've thought hard on it because his questions soon faded into sleep.