The Trials

Chapter Three

The outfit picked out for me was a skintight one-piece similar to a wet suit that I would wear tomorrow when they plucked us from our beds and placed us right into the battlefield to seek out our enemy. To be honest, I was slightly nervous for today only because I didn't want to show off any skill that I may have to the others. Most of them were already on edge around me due to my comments at the dinner table. Others didn't like me because Erick seemed to favor me. At least, that was what was being said.

I knew to survive, I would have to make an attempt at making friends, but that was much easier said than done. Women were much harder to get along with than men, possibly because we were all similar in our own ways. Before I knew it, breakfast was over, and we were led to the back of the mansion, where over three dozen of Erick's men were waiting to begin our training. To no surprise at all, Erick was nowhere to be seen.

We all started with something light, running through tires. One of the troops stated that it was essential for us to be able to run around obstacles on the battlefield. Being quick and quiet was a skill we must master. From there, it progressively got harder. I had to fake a smile most of the day and force myself to listen to the other women without speaking, hoping that playing as I cared would get me further. It still didn't seem to do much to anyone other than Karoline. I didn't have to pretend around her as much as the others. She reminded me a lot of my mother before my dad passed. My mom was so carefree then, like a young woman in love. Only when my dad passed did she change, or as I like to call it, adapt. My mom was always so dependent upon my dad. The heartache she went through when losing him was one of the toughest things I've ever had to witness. The love they shared wasn't forced but real, which was a rarity in our town. We were all free to marry whomever we wanted, but most married to benefit themselves or the family they had already created.

Mom used to ask me if I would someday marry Adan. I guess that most people believed that was something we would do because we were naturally drawn together. We always hung out together and were rarely seen apart, but that was because I could be who I truly was with Adan. He shared many of the same views I did about Erick Barrett and his barbaric use of women's lives. I remember one day that we were fishing by the lake behind my house to try and get something to eat for our families, that hadn't eaten in days. I didn't know the first thing about fishing, but Adan did. His dad had taught him before he passed. Adan helped me to line the reel as best as we could, but the waters were quiet for hours. All we had to do was talk. He asked me then if I would ever get married and think about having children one day. My answer was immediate, no. It would be cruel of me to bring a child into this world to suffer as we had to day in and day out. Even if the trials didn't exist, my answer would still be the same. It would be cruel and unjust to bring someone so innocent into the world only to worry if I could feed them on a daily basis. I think that's why my mom and dad only had me. The worry of bringing another child into this world was too much to bear.

"Ms. Ellery, would you like to go now? You are holding up the line," commented one of Erick's soldiers.

I hadn't even realized that the line was moving. It probably wasn't the best idea to get stuck in my head when I needed to focus on the task before me. I moved up onto the platform in front of me, facing another woman one-on-one. They wanted to see our combat skills as well as survival skills. I had no doubt that I would lose because I hadn't ever had the use for combat skills before now. I always thought if I were to make it to the trials, I would undoubtedly lose because there were much stronger women in other towns. However, I didn't need to think like that now. Even if I had no combat training, I had to act as I did for my mom's sake.

Trinity was the name of the woman that I was facing. She had this nasty smirk on her face as if enjoying using me as her personal punching bag. Trinity managed to strike me first a few times. Still, I paid close attention to her movements, realizing she was repetitive. It only took a few minutes in combat with her to dodge all her attacks. This may be my skill, after all, anticipating my enemies' movements. I did this without striking her once. The soldiers didn't like the fact that I wouldn't strike her back, only because I knew that's what they wanted. They wanted to pin us against each other to kill us off faster in the trials because that meant that one woman would grow closer to our enemy, which was what Erick wanted most. He had no time for games, but as long as I was here, I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of doing what he ordered me to do. If I were to walk to my death, I would do it my own way, in my own style.

After half an hour, Trinity was so winded that they ordered us to stop. As we walked down the platform, she pushed me, knocking me to the ground hard. "What the hell are you doing, Riven? You may not take this as seriously as the rest of us but know that the minute we are out facing the trials, I'll come for you and end you. Those that do not take this seriously shouldn't be here any longer."

I spat at her feet as I eased myself back up on my feet. "Look around you, Trinity. All of this is a game and has been for years. Don't tell me that you are stupid enough to buy the fact that Erick Barrett hasn't found another solution after all these years. He continues to throw us into these trials because he can because it's power." By now, I had gained a circle of women, listening in to us bicker back and forth. It may not be my brightest moment, but I'll be damned if I go down without a fight. "All of you need to wake up and see who the real enemy is, or no woman will ever win the trials." I stammered passed Trinity, hitting her shoulder on purpose as I made my way back to my room inside the mansion. All eyes were on me now, but I didn't care. I hoped that Erick Barrett saw my outburst so that he could see I saw right past his façade.

It was two hours before Karoline joined me in the room, sitting on the floor in front of my bed. "You made quite the skeptical today out there. Undoubtedly Lord Erick Barrett is very displeased with you."

"As I care," I responded. "If I'm to walk right into my death, shouldn't I be able to have my last say? It was probably the best decision he made not making the trials public to all those across the towns. They may actually begin to see him for who he truly is."

Karoline turned around to me, placing her hand on my arm reassuringly. "While that is true, your behavior is frequently updated with your family. Lord Erick already has you right where he wants you, obedient or not, but your mom is the one that stands to lose the most here. That's what we all keep in the back of our minds here. That's the sole reason we are all so obedient. If I could, I would march alongside you and stand up to him once and for all, but I have my family to think about, my brothers and sisters."

I knew she was right, but it was hard for someone like me, who had so much hatred for Erick Barrett, to act as if I was obedient because he ordered me to be. Adan would be high-fiving me right now while my mom may give me a stern talking. It was a fine line to walk because either way I turned, it felt like I was disappointing someone. However, I knew if my dad were alive, he would tell me to fight with everything within myself, to only ever be who I truly was. Like it or not, this was me.

"I'm sorry, Karoline, but this is who I am. I can't pretend like everyone else here. It just isn't in my nature. I would understand if you no longer wanted to be my ally. Those women will be coming for me just to shut me up for the sake of their own families. You shouldn't subject yourself to that."

She scoffed at me as if I had said something absolutely absurd. "Not in a million lifetimes, Riven. Despite your lack of disobedience, I like you and think you have a shot at getting us further. I'm not the only one that believes it, either. No woman in the history of the trials has ever had anyone stand up to Lord Erick as you have. While some women like Trinity think it's a bad thing, most of us think that's what it will take to win the trials." She climbed up in bed beside me like a child and curled underneath my arm. "The trials are scary, or so I've heard, but the thing they should really be afraid of out there is you. Nothing is stronger than a woman's mind and her will. Remember that, Riven," she said softly as she fell asleep cuddled beside me.

We were awoken by trumpets playing, signaling that it was morning. Panic began to set deep inside me, my chest tightened, but most of all, I felt anger. Today was the start of the trials, and only one of us would walk out alive, or none of us at all. According to Erick, the enemy set up ruthless trials before we even get close to the leader. We would have to survive them all while Erick himself kept track of our every move.

There was no time to get up and shower, to take our time. We were rushed out of our beds and into our outfits. Downstairs we found bags for us with our names on them lying at the door with Erick standing in front of them.

"Good morning, ladies, and good luck to you all out there. As I said before, I strongly believe this will be our year of victory, and we can all go back to sleeping soundly in our beds without worrying about our enemies' next attack." I rolled my eyes. To my knowledge, our enemies haven't attacked once. They have only defended themselves against Erick's attempts to slaughter them. "It is so important for you women to stay strong. Remember what you are out there fighting for, and more importantly, remember who the real enemy is," he said while looking right into my eyes.

Oh, don't worry, Erick. I know exactly who the real enemy is.

We were hauled out in groups of ten in big, heavily armed trucks to take us to our destination. Once there, we would be dropped off while the soldiers stayed back, not daring to venture into the trials themselves, not anymore, at least. However, I believe Erick's soldiers never really ventured into the trials toward the enemy. I believe he had the people in our towns to it from the beginning. He only added himself into the stories because no one person made it out alive to verify his story. Of course, this is just my own thoughts, but proving that was almost damn near impossible.

I was loaded into the third truck along with nine other women. Karoline was in the truck in front of me. I think Erick did that on purpose because all the other women from my room were on the truck with Karoline, except for me. It took approximately three hours to get to the first trial. The truck came to a dead stop, and we were ushered out as quickly as possible, and the moment the last woman stepped on the ground, the trucks retreated. I looked out at the open field around me, instantly smelling the stench of death fill my nostrils. The trees in front of us were our first objective. We would have to go through the rugged terrain to get to our first trial, where I'm sure not all of us would survive. The snake pit, according to Erick. I'm not sure if the information he provided me was accurate, but I had to assume it was true, but I had no idea what it meant.

Each of us waited for all the trucks to drop off every woman and waited for the alarm to ring. Erick signaled an alarm when he was ready for us to start. If we took off before the alarm, he said that it would bring our enemies down upon us, but of course, that was a scare tactic that most decided to believe.

Once the alarm rang, I took off running. Within seconds, Karoline was by my side, following each of my movements. Mostly, I ran to put some distance between Trinity and me. I knew she wanted me dead and wouldn't hesitate to kill me because I made a fool of her yesterday. Karoline and I made it to the woods first, which is where we began to slow ourselves down a bit. We didn't know how far into the woods where the snake pit was, but it must be massive to cover this much area. I made slow, thought-out movements while pushing forward. There was too much adrenaline running through my body to pay attention to how terrified I was.

Karoline was about to open her mouth to speak when I saw it. She wasn't paying attention and was getting ready to step into the snake pit. I panicked when I heard the scream echo through the woods, even though I could see Karoline in front of me. I quickly grabbed her and pushed her back.

"What the hell, Riven?" I pointed in front of her, and she covered her mouth in shock at what she saw. "Oh, hell. Thank you."

There was a pit alright right in front of us, but it was more like a lake. It went on for as long as I could see in front of me, and all I could hear was the hissing of snakes everywhere around me. I quietly sat back and watched a few other women attempt the snake pit, only to meet a painful death. So, we couldn't touch the pit at all, or the snakes would be all over us, but I didn't see any other way around it. Somehow, there must be a way to go through this without the snakes attacking. Maybe a few bites wouldn't be so bad, but that thought was quickly shot down when I saw one of Trinity's friends get bit once, and in a matter of seconds, she was gone. I was missing something here, but I couldn't take much longer to figure it out. The longer we were here, the closer night became, and I didn't want to be anywhere near these woods when dark fell because something told me that there was something far more sinister in these woods than snakes.