She was wearing one of the issued black cloaks, but beneath, she wore fitted clothing that looked more appropriate for winter than most of the others. She came and sat opposite me against the other beam when she saw me.
“Hey,” she said with a smile, speaking with a slight English accent. “I’m Isabella.”
I smiled back. “Anna.”
“This place is pretty wild, huh?” she said, glancing at the tent opening.
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m questioning my sanity for agreeing to this. Did they knock you out and dump you in the wilderness, too?”
Her eyes widened, and she nodded slowly. “I wasn’t expecting that. If I hadn’t seen the smoke from the fire, I wouldn’t have made it here.”
“You could see the smoke?” I asked, remembering the storm.
“Mainly, I smelled it,” she said. “I found a small pass through the mountains.”
I nodded, my attention drifting as a few more recruits came in, resignation etched into their expressions. “Any idea what this next task will be?”
Isabella shook her head. “Probably going to put us in a ring with a bear and see if we can make it out.”
I almost smiled at the joke but stopped quickly.
What if it was something like that? I tried to imagine what I could use to make a weapon out here when the flap whipped open again. Several more recruits came in, and I noticed the redhead from earlier—Cody. He caught my eye and made his way over.
“Hey,” he said, nodding at me and giving Isabella a quick wave. “Decided to go for it, huh?”
I nodded slowly. “We came this far. Can’t turn back now, right?”
Indecision hung between us as we tried to digest that. Glancing between the two, I let out my breath, breaking the silence. “What made you guys decide to come to Nightfall?”
Isabella perked up first. “My father works there as a groundskeeper. It sucks not being able to see him or know anything about where he is all the time. So, I decided to come to him.”
“Oh, wow. That’s crazy,” I said. “So, he didn’t tell you anything about this place?”
She shook her head.
“How about you?” I asked, glancing at Cody.
He shrugged. “I got the letter in the mail and decided, why not. I didn’t have much worth staying for.”
A flicker of something heavy passed over his face; one that was too familiar.
“What about you?” he asked.
I seized up, words not forming quickly enough. I should’ve been expecting that question. Cody didn’t miss it as his demeanor shifted minutely—he knew what darkness felt like. The kind you experience too young to understand it. When it's raw and you don’t know what to do with it.
“I came here because my mom attended when she was younger,” I said, finally composing myself. “I wanted to learn more about where she went. I lost her a few years ago.”
Cody nodded, but it was clear he was trying to read me. It made me want to laugh. It would be nice if he could. I wasn’t sure what I was doing half the time. All I knew was that I wanted to know what she was running from.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Isabella said. “From what I can gather from my father, Nightfall’s an incredible place, if you can get in.”
The flap snapped open. Commander Everson stood in shadow, his outline silhouetted by eerie, muted light. The next task was here.
“We’re ready to begin.”
Chapter 7
Elegance in Human Form
