“Yeah,” I said, my voice unnaturally high-pitched. “Don’t mention it.”
Sighing in relief, I turned my cheek only to see a pair of black boots.
Ugh. Seriously?
“Time.”
I looked up at Commander Everson, my chest still rising and falling rapidly.
“Not bad, Kamoria. Last, but you got here eventually. Even your dead weight made it before you,” he said, glancing at Isabella.
I glared at him, but I couldn’t speak. What an ass. If I could’ve moved, I would’ve punched him. Okay, not really, but I was mentally flipping him off as he strolled toward the other Initiates.
“The second task is now over. Congratulations. Only twenty recruits have made it to the top, and you are one of them. Any survivors will return to The Valley of Lost Souls, where they will be escorted home. Those who did not complete the climb will have their body returned to their family,” he said. “When you are able, rise. I will explain the third task.”
Body returned? A chill crept over me. Of course, some hadn’t made it. But they let them fall to their death? Surely I’d heard him wrong. Or was this a scare tactic? Yeah, that was it. They were trying to scare us into quitting. But seriously, what kind of place was this? I was tired in my bones. Everything hurt, even my teeth. There was no way any of us would be up for this for much longer.
“Are you kidding me?” a voice asked.
I glanced over to see another recruit not far from me, barely sitting up and glaring at Everson. Beside him, a girl with long, dark, braided hair shot him a death look.
“Shut up, Eli,” she muttered. “You saw what he did earlier!”
I wanted to know what they were talking about, but I was too tired to speak.
“Remember, recruits, you may turn back and go home while you remain alive. The choice is yours,” he said.
How many of these tasks were there?
I closed my eyes. I couldn’t move. I wondered where Cody was. Had he made it?
I was too tired to look. Surely, he had.
I would check.
Later.
I awoketo the strangest lights flowing like rivers in the sky. Stars glittered high above, while dancing streams of greens, pinks, and purples hung just out of reach—the Aurora Borealis. I’d always wanted to see it.
I never thought it would be like this, though. I’d only ever seen green lights in the pictures.
I shifted, trying to get comfortable, when a pain shot up my back. I must have pulled something when holding onto Isabella. Moving slower this time, I sat up. If I survived this, I was going to be bedridden for weeks.
Warmth from a fire nearby touched my skin and lit our camp along with several wrought-iron torch stands. Others were sitting around it, a few sleeping, while some had their heads tilted back, watching the waves of color in the sky.
“Hey,” a familiar voice called.
I turned my neck too quickly, a sting of pain making me wince. It was Cody. Isabella was there too, asleep beside him.
“Hey,” I said.
“Sorry,” he chuckled as I rubbed my neck. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No worries,” I said. “I think I may be jumpy for a while after all this.”
He handed me a flask, which I accepted and pressed to my lips, gulping it down until it was gone.
“Where’s Everson?” I asked, wiping the stray drops from my mouth.
