Trials

Chapter 3

               Liam stayed quiet, but his gaze never flinches away from Noah. The new kids let out confused murmurs that ripple throughout the crowd. It was one of the only rules the kids may have a problem with. 

             It was true that kids spent most of their time in the trials trying to escape. Because, everyone's Trial was a prison cell, basically, one of the main distractions was the promise of an escape, and collecting supplies, of course. Noah had known some kids who'd absolutely lost it in the Cave Trial trying to escape. With claustrophobia, night bugs, and the dark, for some kids that prison cell was a t*****e chamber. Many thought they could escape it. Well, there were all sorts of theories on why they were here and not out there in the real world. Many believed in the Trials as how they were named, a test, and the ones who passed were the ones who escaped. Escape wasn't common or even likely, but it was possible, and for the kids, that small spark of hope was enough. Ever since Natalie had escaped, Noah had dismissed the idea of that being his true purpose. Natalie had been so upset. Winning the game by escape just couldn't be the answer... could it?

      "Settle down!" Liam yells. "My strictest rule is my most important one! And all in good reason!"

      Noah jerks away as Liam grabs him roughly.

     "Here, take my friend Noah for example. I'm sure you've all heard of his sister!"

      It was true, everyone knew about Natalie. Word traveled fast. And when you have a sister that was considered a legend, people watch you a lot more carefully to see if you manage to follow in her footsteps. Perhaps that's what Natalie had meant, "be careful".

      "-and I'm sure you'd be pleased to know she escaped in this very Trial." He says carefully.

      This brought up stirs of many new mutters of excitement, and also anger towards Liam. They all waited anxiously for him to continue and tell them why to avoid this dream.

      "And, I realize that you may look up to that girl, I myself have wondered about the escapees, but no my friends, you should look at them all as selfish outcasts."

      It wasn't the "selfish outcasts" that causes Noah's heart to jump so quickly, but his beginning words. Noah hadn't even realized Liam's age meant he had been with Natalie. Perhaps even as friends! Maybe he even knew why and how she escaped! What she was like when Noah wasn't around! The thought made his heart leap and break at the same time.

       The crowd let out confused whispers and Noah's skin burned as the target of their placid stairs.

         "You see, Natalie escaped, yes, but to where? Would you rather be lost and alone? Maybe she was even beaten to death by the Silent!"

      Noah froze. It was a possibility he hadn't considered.

      The kids now talk in hushed murmurs.

      "We have rules for a reason. To protect this Trial and provide the supplies necessary for other Trials to succeed. So think of the Rainforest Trial as a tool, not a cage needing a key. Now, I believe in unity and communion so I want the senior member to be showing the new kids around. That is all. Dismissed."

          Kids dispersed in every direction and the mossy clearing soon became quiet with only a few hushed voices left. Noah found Liam speaking to a boy with ginger hair and a girl with long brown hair.

        "Excuse me?" Noah interrupts, stepping towards the boy cautiously.

         Liam glances at Noah out of the corner of his eye without turning his head.

        "Rynn, Cecile," He says quietly. "Give us a moment."

      They both nod politely and turn to the direction most of the other kids went.

       "You used to know my sister," Noah had meant it as a question, but it came out like more of an awed statement.

       Liam narrows his eyes. "Haven't you learned your lesson not to mess with me?" He growls. Noah doesn't budge.

      "You knew her."

       Liam finally gives up and rolls his eyes. "Yes, I know her." He corrects.

       "You mean you've seen her since she escaped!" He says excitedly. "How is she! Did she mention she missed us? Why did she leave? Did she say how? Where did you see her!" Noah surrounded Liam with his prickling questions.

         "It was only once." Liam sighs. "I saw her back only a year ago. I was still the oldest in this Trial, and I was tasked with finding lifesaving herbs for my friend Aslyn, who was dying from the poison of a dart frog, from within the deep forest. I'm the only one strong enough to fend off the jaguars that lurk there, so I volunteered. It was... dangerous, but Aslyn begged to come as well, and he did need those herbs soon, so I let him. It was easy enough... there was always risk, but we didn't see a single predator. The only trace we found was a stale patch of blood from an old kill. But then I saw her. It was Natalie. I tried to ask her where she'd been, why she came back, but she went wild. Her eyes were slits. Her hair was matted and she was covered in bruises. She attacked us. Gave me this scar-" Liam pulled back his collar to show a reddened dark line. "-I tried to stop her, but she became a lunatic. She was insane, Noah. She killed Aslyn right before the Silent came and dragged her away, screaming." He pauses for a terrifying moment. "I've never told anyone..."

       Liam looks down. Noah stood frozen in shock. Liam was lying. He had to be. Natalie was gone. She was in the world his texts described. She wasn't here. She couldn't be...

       "It's not true..." He murmurs.

      "Why do you think I have that rule, Noah? Waste of time and responsibility is one thing, but a deranged psychotic killer-"

       Liam shook his head. "I will not have anyone like that in this Trial."

      "So it's only about this Trial? What about the kids in it?" Noah questions.

       "I don't expect you to understand. She's your sister after all."

        "And what about that kid Zach!" Noah snaps. 

         Liam side-eyed him. "What about him?"

         Noah's temper went up to a boil. "Oh I don't know, you banished him to the Deep Forest to die!"

           "And then maybe he might learn a lesson.

            There are no second chances for kids like him." Liam looks down at Noah's pleading eyes. With exasperation, he sighs."FINE! I'll organize a party to bring him back!"

             "I'll come too!" Noah declares.

            "Absolutely not!"

            "What? Are you going to banish me as well? I just want to make sure Zach is okay!"

           "Fine. Don't blame me when you're ripped apart by a Jaguar though." He grumbles.

          "Great! When do we leave?"

         Liam's eyes go wide as if he could hardly believe a word Noah was saying. With a pause, and then finally a frustrated sigh, Liam gives in to his eagerness.

          "I'll fetch you in about an hour for our little expedition into the Deep Forest." He mumbles.

          Noah nods eagerly as Liam runs to go join Rynn and Cecile.

           "Woah!" 

         Noah turns around to see a boy with dirty blonde hair and another identical boy with slightly darker hair standing behind him.

         Mya rushes forward."Nathan! Were you spying on them!" She frowns.

         "What! Of course not. I just happened to catch the word deep forest out of Liam's mouth and I had to find out who it was today." He says frankly.

            "You're really going into the deep forest by choice!" The other boy says with widening brown eyes.

           Mya sighs in frustration. "I'm sorry about them, Noah. They love to scare new kids." 

             Nathan let out a short laugh. Mya gave him a glare. "Noah, these are my brothers, Nathan and Josh." She says in frustration.

            "Howdy." Nathan grins. 

            Josh give a shy, awkward smile."So the deep forest? Wow." Josh says.

             Noah shrugs. "What's so bad about it than just a few jaguars?" Noah asks. 

            "What's so bad!" Nathan's eyes widen. "There's not only MAN-EATING jaguars, but venomous snakes, poison-tipped thorn bushes, bloodthirsty plants, and it's the darkest part of this rainforest." Nathan shivers. 

           Noah pushes back the terror.  "Well we need to find Zach. And Liam can fight off the jaguars at least." He reasons.

            "Then I'm coming too!" Mya declares. 

             "No... Mya... "Nathan starts."I've made up my mind, Nathan. He's right. And if Zach's in trouble, I want to help."

             "You're always getting yourself into places where you don't belong." Josh observes.

            "Yeah, well, maybe some good will come out of it this time." She responds boredly. Mya grabs Noah's hand and starts to walk away.

              "Where are you going!" Josh calls after them.

            "I think you know." Mya mutters back. 

            "Be reasonable, Mya." Pleads Nathan.

           Mya lets out a disgustful sigh and pulls Noah away. 

           "Mya-" Josh starts to say.

           "GOODBYE Josh!" She snaps.

           "Where are we going?" Noah asks as she leads him through the underbrush.

          "A place I've wanted to go to for a long time." Replies Mya with excitement.

         She grips his hand gently and follows an unclear trail deeper into the damp, green forest. 

         Noah finds his anxiety returning as he carefully steps into an area filled with vines that littered the forest floor. Eventually Noah tripped over a branch and scrambled to his feet. There could be poisonous bugs, or plants he could've fallen in! But to his dismay, Mya cracks a laugh. She points at him. There was a trail of vines wrapped around his face. He snorts and brushes it off. Mya helps clear some of the vines that made a home around his feet, and the two set off again. 

          Soon the undergrowth and trees thin out, and amber rays of sunlight lap at their faces. It was the first sun Noah had seen in years, and though fake, it was magnificent. Mya waves her hand through the light cast down to the dampened ground, as she was in awe as well. She grins back at Noah.

            "This isn't even the best part!" She grins. Noah stares in surprise as she disappears behind a larger cluster of trees. 

           Noah follows her carefully when he hears the slight rustling of bush and leaves. He appears on the other side, to be greeted with a bright gape of sunlight. The light made Mya only a silhouette against the green. She stared ahead at a grassy hill. A hill. In the middle of a wet, canopy of trees, was a slope bathed in light. It was a phenomenon beneath the jungle thicket.             

             Noah was speechless of the healthy green grass. Mya ran up the hill excitedly. Noah didn't hesitate to take off his Trial boots and socks and run barefoot up the grass. He dug his foot into the grass, relishing in the softness under his toes. The view atop the hill was even better. It wasn't tall enough to see above the canopy, but with the beauty of open sky, and larger leaves of the trees, Noah felt safe for once in a long while. 

               "Nice, isn't it?" Mya smiles.

               "This place is beautiful." Noah says in a whisper, as if a voice would disturb the delicacy of the moment. 

            Mya lays down, letting her legs and arms sprawl out among the blades. Noah sits down, placing a hand down to lightly touch the grass. 

            "My brothers found this place awhile ago." She explains. "This is the only thing I've been looking forward to in the Rainforest Trial."

            "Your brothers shared about their Trial with you?" Noah says in slight surprise. It was against the rules to talk about your Trial to anyone. 

              Noah had seen what kinds of punishments the kids who just wanted to share something exciting got. 

             "Please don't tell!" Mya exclaims. "They'd always tell me about whatever Trial they went to, even if we all were in separate Trials. Mom and Dad never knew, it was just- our thing- even when we were little."

              "I won't say anything." Noah promises.

             Mya lets out a sigh of relief and sits up. 

             "Do you think it's a mistake?" Noah asks. "A grassy hill with the sun gleaming down in the middle of- the rainforest?" 

              "I don't think anything this beautiful would be a mistake. I saw a cluster of daisies at the bottom, maybe this place is a reward for us- from whoever created this Trial." 

            Noah nods solemnly.   Daisies were Natalie's favorite. Even though he'd never been in a Trial with one, it made Noah's stomach twist all over again. And then he thought about what Liam said. Natalie came back- she murdered a kid. And she never came back for him...

              Mya immediately recognizes the mixture of negative emotion across Noah's face.

              "What's wrong?"

             Noah sighs. "My sister. She left me. She said she'd never- and now that I'm in her Trial-"

             Mya quiets Noah as she places a gentle hand on his lap.

             "Thanks." He murmurs. 

             "Noah she escaped! She's probably being pampered like one of those lapdogs!" Mya says.

            Noah stands angrily. "That doesn't mean she should've left me!" Noah yells. "She LEFT me! She's not coming back!" He cries as the tears fall from his eyes. 

            Mya doesn't say anything. She seems a bit hurt though. 

           Noah lets out a frustrated yell and starts to walk away.

           "Noah!" Mya calls. He doesn't look back."Noah!"

           He doesn't turn around, but he stops anyways. "She told me not to tell them about her absence until the next night, you know. It was like everyone else knowing would jeopardize her. She was scared. I think she was running from something- or someone." 

            Mya stares at him for a minute, puzzled. "What do you mean? They found out about the escape!" She says.

             "What're you talking about?" Noah asks. 

             "They- Noah your parents spread the word. That day. They were the ones who told the Silent Natalie was gone. I know because my parents gave Josh and Nathan the biggest lecture that night." She croaks.

             Noah shook his head. Had Natalie ended up telling them? But- they had been in shock when he'd told them that night. Noah opens his mouth but swallows his confusion. 

               He glances at the pale purple sky. It was an unnatural dimming, but after no sky in the Cave Trial, Noah nearly cried at the dazzling colors that danced in the sky; purple was his sister's favorite color.

                "It's sunset." Mya says in awe.

                 "Yes." Noah whispers absently. "Wait...ohh no! Liam's going to have my head! I have to go!" He yells.

                 "NOAH!" A voice calls from the thicket.

             Jay steps out of the brush, picking thorns from her hair. "Liam wants you for his mission! I'm going too! He sent me to fetch you."  She explains.

               Mya gives him a small questioning look. He gives her an apologetic smile in return. 

              She shakes her head. "Then I'm definitely coming." She says.

               Jay raises her brow in amusement. "I'm sorry, who are you?" She snorts.

              Mya strides halfway down the slope to meet her. She sticks out a hand. "Mya Rainforest. I'm a friend of Noah's."

              She shakes Mya's hand reluctantly. "Jay. I'm a friend of Noah's as well." Jay emphasized the word 'friend' with a slow hiss. 

                Mya clasps her hands together and falls back beside Noah. Noah let out a grunt as he walks between the uncomfortable tension.

                He gave Jay a warning glare. 

            She'd always been protective, and she sensed his anxiousness when he walked into the Trial. Jay was also very cunning. So it surprised Noah, even more, when she never spoke a word to Mya on the walk back.

                  "How did you find us?" Noah asks as they reach the outskirts of the small camp Liam had helped establish in a big clearing. 

               She let out a chuckle. "Clearly you underestimate me and my skill for tracking." 

                 "You? A tracker? When the trials burn." He snorts.

             Jay rolls her eyes. "Honestly, you couldn't have picked a muddier route." She hisses, flinging mud off her boots. 

            Then Noah's jaw tenses when he spots Liam approach with two other people. A girl, with dark hair and pale skin, stood holding the hand of a boy with dusty blonde hair. Liam nods. 

          "Noah this is Grayson and Arianna." He introduces.

         "Ari." The girl corrects. 

         Noah nods politely. 

          "They are my two strongest," Liam says. "If anyone can fight off jaguars, they can."

        "Sure, now let's go," Mya urges, walking off.

        "Oh, yeah, Mya and Jay are coming," Noah adds. Liam glares in severe displeasure but doesn't say anything. 

          "If Zach wasn't running, then the trek is about an hour's walk from here," Grayson explains. "And the sun is setting; the Trial's almost over for the day. We need to leave now." He commands with a warning hidden in his voice. 

         The trail to the deep forest was better than the trail to the hill. Fewer vines, not as much mud, and the mist started clearing after awhile. For only a little while, however.

          Mya spent the whole hike pestering Liam, while Grayson and Jay discussed proper battle tactics. Noah found himself beginning to speak with the ever so silent Ari.

          "So how long have you been in the Trial?" 

         "It's my first day," Noah says proudly. "I'll bet I'll only stay a year or two, but Liam's proof that that's not always the case," Noah says.

          "Yes, you're right," She confirms. "It's been about a year since they moved me in here."

          "Moved you?"

            "The Silent." She sighs. "I was put in the Marsh Trial, even though I was too young. One day, the Silent just... gave me a different Trial." 

            "Can they even do that?" Noah says, his stride quickening a bit.

          "Apparently so," Ari says. "They've seemed to been breaking their own rules." She observes.

         "Like Liam?"

         "Yeah, but my parents like it that I'm here though," Ari added.

          "Really?"

         "They seem proud of me or... I don't know," Ari pauses, then elbows Noah. "Thank goodness I'm not allowed to talk about my Trial. I don't think they'd approve of my monthly expeditions to the deep forest with Liam,"

          Noah smiles. "You're the first person I've found to have real humor," Noah says.

          Ari shrugs. "What can I say. It's all I can do. Plus, Grayson says that's why he loves me; it's part of my charm."

           "You're together?" 

            "Eight months, " Ari admits. "And counting." She steals a look at Grayson to where Jay was arguing with him passionately about whether to guard the face or the throat. 

           They both snicker a bit. 

           "Yep, slaying jaguars bonds two people I guess." Ari responds with a repressed laugh. 

           "Alright, everyone! We're here!" Liam yells.

           Noah shivers at the sight. He could barely see two steps ahead because of the mist and darkness. Vines and bright plants littered the ground and every now and then a bug anywhere from a speck to the size of a rat darted past their eyes.

            Noah saw Mya jump as a growl through the mist met their arrival.

            "We're here to find Zach," Liam reminds them. "Dead or alive."