Young Writers Society

Hazel Jay

It was stuffy in the newly-found room, kind of hard to breathe. Hazel glanced to her left, and her eyes lingered Luke, who was next to her, for a second. His eyes were hardened, concentrated. He was trying to figure this out, obviously. But what confused her was that...well, it was hot as hell (no pun intended) in here, and he wasn't even breaking a sweat! Hazel knew she should be concentrating, trying to figure out how to escape this room, but it was burning up in here.

Hazel looked forward, and watched as a few of the creatures left the room, probably too hot. She would leave, but she had to solve it. This. All of it.

As Hazel swayed in the room, she closed her eyes for about 30 seconds, trying to focus, think, concentrate. But, shockingly, as she opened her eyes, she was met with the sight of the familiar, all too white room that she'd woken up in before. The air was cool, and she wiped away the excess sweat lingering on her forehead.

The room never ceased to amaze her.

Hazel sighed, relieved. But, also annoyed. She felt as if she'd failed in figuring out something. That was the first thing she couldn't do that involved concentration. That room was so awkwardly made, with the steam, and the heat, was it meant to make it to where you couldn't think? Maybe Luke got something. She was still amazed that he didn't even sweat in that crazy room, but he was an Augmented Human, so there was probably some reasonably cool explanation as to why he didn't/did a lot of things.

Just as all the creatures appeared back, Computer's voice greeted them, and her technological, spaced out words explained to them what was to happen next.

Hazel didn't pay much attention, but she caught something about a Mountain, and having to get out by using your bracelet. Eh. She'd figure it out when the time came.

Hazel set out to find her only friend, and spotted him by a rack, examining these suit type things that hadn't been there before.

The girl raised a brow, and approached him, staring at the outfits that looked exactly the same, "What's this?"

"Hm? Were you not paying attention, Hazel?" He asked, grinning.

Hazel shrugged, and pulled out one of the suit. The fabric was weird. And the design wasn't normal.

"Computer said they were for us if we needed clothes." He said after a second, trailing his finger along the sleeve of one of the outfits.

Hazel brought her arm up to her nose, and took in a bit whiff, almost choking, "Yep. I need one."

Luke let out a joyful laugh, and she stared at him for a second, before shaking her head and looking around, "Where am I supposed to change?"

The boy shrugged, "I'm sure you can fins somewhere with enough privacy to slip it on."

Hazel's face scrunched up, but she set off on search for a deserted area, in hopes of taking off her dirty clothes.

After maybe 5 minutes of wandering around, she found a small area that would cover her small body long enough for her to strip down and put on the strange outfit.

The girl pulled her shirt over her head, and kicked her pants on, trying to be quick with it. Once she fully kicked her pants away, she pulled the suit on, and stretched out her arms, examining the material. It felt as she she weren't wearing anything. The clothing was so light, and she found that she could move easier.

Hazel picked up her old clothes, and clutched them to her chest, finding her way back to Luke. She wondered if he was getting tired of her. The constant talking, big words, strange languages- but then again, he did the same thing she did. They got along perfectly. They rambled, talked with extended words that most wouldn't know, they understood each other, in a nerdy way. They could talk about nerdy things without one thinking the other was a friggin' nerd, which was pretty cool.

She pulled her light brown hair up, and sighed as the cool air hit the back of her neck. How refreshing. Once she stumbled upon her friend, the two found places along the glitching wall to sit and talk.

Hazel frowned at the boy, "But, see, hypothetically speaking, If I were to use an energy gun against the glitch, right on the spot that was the most sensitive, and it happened to work, there wouldn't be anywhere to go. Seeing as the walls are somehow built to hold weight, even if it does give a bit of a shock to the person against it."

Luke thought for a second, then gave small wave of his finger, "Even when hypothetically speaking, there's no way an energy gun could puncture such a strong force. Yes, it glitches. And yes, there's definitely a weak part, but something as small, even though it's powerful, as an energy gun couldn't do any harm to a professionally made, electric wall."

"Funny how you call it that, Sev," She'd grown fond of his last name, and Sev seemed simple and nice. "If it actually were an electric wall, like you say, then using math terms, the electric force from the gun would work with the electric force of the wall, canceling it out, no?"

Sev frowned, and tapped a finger to his half-human face, "I'm not following, Jay."

Hazel cleared her throat, and stared intently at the boy, "A negative times a negative equals a positive, yes?"

Luke nodded, removing his finger from his face, and gave an equally intent look back.

"Then say we...come across said electric wall, and we shoot the weak point with the electric gun from maybe 5 feet away, there would be enough power in the two to cancel the wall out, right?"

Luke's eyes brightened a bit, and he nodded, grinning a bit now, "You get so into our talks."

Hazel frowned at the sudden change of topic. She liked talking nerdy with him, but with a small shrug she replied with, "It's fun."

Luke gave a joy-filled laugh, and looked around at the creatures around them, "What are your ideas on the others?"

Hazel stared out at them as well, "As in, the different creatures?"

The boy nodded, and she bit her lip softly, "I find them intriguing. I'd never believed in species other than what we'd found on earth, but there was always a part of me that wondered. And, that part now has it's answer."

Just as he was about to respond, Computers voice spoke up loudly, alerting everyone in the everlasting room, "Habitat 100% loaded."

Hazel groaned, already tired of the random habitats. At least she had Luke with her, though.

Lorrin

The rest of the creatures are in the white room now. There is a long silence, broken only by the occasional conversation. Aileen is humming to herself as she looks around, and Gunnar is watching me closely. I'm trying not to glance at him as I sharpen my scimitars, my cloak lying beside me.
"Do you know how to use those?" Aileen suddenly asks.
Someone walks passed, giving me a dirty look. I ignore them and run the sharpening stone pointedly across the blade.
"Of course I do, they're not for decoration," I tell her. I'm still not so sure about this human, but she seems alright.
"What else can you do?" Gunnar asks.
"Oh look, Kiv Jmirivida has decided to speak," I smirk at his frown.
"Seriously Lorrin," Gunnar growls.
"Well ... I can see in infrared, though it's automatic when I'm in my snake form. Which ... I can change into at will. I have the blades that come out of my wrists. They're ... generally triggered by my mood and need to be moved every twenty-four hours or so. Um, what else? I can adapt really quickly ... um, I have a knack for finding a way out of any place and ... I'm really good at annoying people," I smile wide as I list off some of my ... talents.
"Can you shoot fire from your hands?" Aileen asks, chuckling.
"Err ... no," I frown. "Only witches and demons can do that."
"Where did you say you're from again?" Gunnar asks, an eyebrow raised.
"A planet called Raksha," I say proudly.
A long silence stretches between us, and I finish sharpening one of the scimitars. Light glistens beautiful, with her glossy finish. I run my finger over the engravings in my native language. Dentae spent hours on end carving the words on my blades. He hasn't told me what they say, and I can't read. Yeah, sad but true. Most Snake-Children are illiterate. I have a large vocabulary only because I love words, and Dentae and I have some pretty bizarre conversations.
Putting Light down, I pick up Shadow and start sharpening the blade. Gunnar moves closer to look at Light, and I watch him cautiously out of the corner of my eye. He reaches a hand out to touch the blade and I hiss at him.
"What?" He asks, blanching.
"Don't touch my sword," I snarl.
"Do you mind if I look at it, Lorrin?" Aileen asks.
I smile at her. "Go for it," I say merrily.
Gunnar gives me an incredulous look and then crosses his arms over his chest. "Why does she get to touch the sword?" He growls.
"Because she asked to," I poke my tongue at him.
"Well can I look at it after her?" He bites out.
I smile wide and innocently. "Sure!"
There is a dim buzzing sound and I look around, eyes narrowed. The screen from eariler appears and everyone turns around to look at it. My heart rate goes up as I wait for the computer voice to speak.
"Well done, survivors," the pleasant female voice sounds throughout the room. "You have passed the first challenge. As a reward, you may sleep on mattresses. A small panel will be provided for you to select a simple meal and any healing requirements. You may check if you need anything by scanning your bracelet across the scanner bar. There will be no questions tonight. Sleep well and I will wake you tomorrow at five in the morning." Computer pauses for a second. "Good night."
"Jeez, talk about computerized," Aileen huffs as she gives Light to Gunnar.
I finish sharpening Shadow and hand him to Aileen, who smiles at me as she takes it. A pannel appears out of the ground and someof the creatures go over to type in foods and scan their bracelets.
"Hey Gunnar," I begin sheepishly.
"Hmm?" He looks at me and raises an eyebrow.
"Umm ... can you help me with the -"
"Of course," he rolls his eyes. "You don't know what a computer is."
"I do too!" I yell. Gunnar's raised eyebrow rises higher. "It's ... umm ... technology!"
He shakes his head and Aileen giggles. "I'll help you if he won't," she says. "Hey Lorrin, what do the words on the swords say?"
"Erm ... I don't actually know," I find myself blushing. "I um, can't read."

Jay

The blast went off just as I reached the hologram wall. I ran through the fake wall, vaulted a bench, and was through the trapdoor and into the banquet room seconds before the blast consumed the entire room above. I landed and breathed a sigh of relief, then, a movement. A disturbance in the air came from behind me, I whipped around to find the Archangel unconscious at my feet, his left leg burned beyond recognition. Just then, computer spoke.

"Well done, survivors," the pleasant female voice sounds throughout the room. "You have passed the first challenge. As a reward, you may sleep on mattresses. A small panel will be provided for you to select a simple meal and any healing requirements. You may check if you need anything by scanning your bracelet across the scanner bar. There will be no questions tonight. Sleep well and I will wake you tomorrow at five in the morning." Computer pauses for a second. "Good night." I looked at the Archangels burnt leg, it was fully black and skin was already starting to peel off. I hoisted him onto my shoulder, careful not to touch his leg, and carefully made my way to the scanner bar. The Archangel spoke, but it was a dreamy voice, a far off whisper to an ashen past.

"no.....no don't. Lucy.....lucy, no stop.....STOP......LUCY!"

He thrashed for a minute and I stopped, then he fell silent and I continued to the scanner. Once there, I scanned my wristband and asked for burn ointment, bandages, and a wheelchair. A minute later, the items appeared. I gently placed the Archangel into the chair and set off into the crowd, searching for......Aileen, yes that was her name. After a few seconds scanning the crowd, I spotted her. She was sitting with Gunnar and Lorrin, marveling at the two swords Lorrin was sharpening. I made my way over as quickly as I could. She saw me coming, smiled, then noticed the Archangel. Her eyes widen in shock. I reached her.

" It's bad." I said. She looks at the burnt leg.

"I can heal the burns and regenerate the skin, but I'm not sure I can heal anything internal." She looks worried. I hold up the bandages and ointment."

"That's what this is for." She nods and sets to work. In minutes the burns are healed and the blackened skin looks good as new, but an angry red mark runs under the skin up to his knee. Aileen shook her head, I carefully uncapped the ointment and ran it across the mark, reaching under the skin. Immediately the Archangel screamed, it was a cry of desperation and mourning, I bit back tears and focused on keeping my hand still as it glided across the mark. Pain, sorrow, and the death of someone undeserving of it always pained me. The temple I had trained in taught me deep emotion to all others no matter how evil or undeserving, "Show love and care to the world and they will return it." Those were the guidelines I lived by. I finished applying the ointment and bandaged the mark.

"Can I leave him with you?" I asked Aileen. She nodded, I thanked her and walked to the mattresses now materializing near the corner of the room.

Morn

Sleep was good.

Morn slept deep into the night, dreaming of a better time, a better place, where he had been happy.

Lucy was with him and Morn felt young and whole once again. The feeling took him by surprise. Morn couldn't remember the last time he had felt whole, those days were naught but distant memories.

They were dancing in the park. The sky was dark, the lights were bright, the table was set with delicious foods and nice cold drinks. The party moved all around the couple and it was for the first time that Morn noticed Lucy was wearing white. A white gown complete with a veil and a golden ring. At this Morn laughed with delight.

He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed like that.

The night was all but spent when the two finally went home. Home was not far so the two decided to leg it. They walked till dawn and dawn was just short of perfect. The sky to the east lit slowly at first and the soft orange of the sun barely peeked above the dark horizon. Then came the yellow, its golden wisps tentatively reaching up, up, up. Finally, the sun, in all its glory burst from the cocoon of beautiful color to shine upon the waking world and bring warmth to the day to come till the silent night come creeping up behind and take the world back into the realm of dreams.

It was magnificent, it was elegant, graceful, stunning. It was beautiful, and Morn didn't remember the last time he had seen beauty.

Gunnar the Great

Now that Aileen was looking after the crazy guy that was acting... well, insane, I guessed that I had to show Lorrin how to use the bracelets. Her glare could sink a thousand ships, worse than the ones that I had seen at the bar. And that was saying something. Somehow, it really frustrated me -- and I had dealt with much harder things than Lorrin.

Sighing, we walked towards the panel that Computer was referring to, and stood in a fairly long line. Silence was the only thing happening between me and her, not even glancing in each others direction. To be honest, I was too busy eyeing up all the strange beings that were around.

Finally, Lorrin spoke up, telling me rather than asking me to speak. "So, Gunnar, what can you do?" I wanted to act dumb and say: 'what ever do you mean?', but I knew she meant my powers. Even some one stupid would understand. After all, everyone here seemingly had abilities.

"Why do you ask?" I replied casually, knowing my side tracking would annoy her. If she thought she could annoy people, she hadn't really met me. Besides... she wanted to get to know more about me. And I could easily show her.

"Just tell me, Kiv Jmirivida," she retorted, glowering straight at me. I laughed at her expression, either making her want to join in, or making her want to slice my head off. With her poker-face look, I couldn't really tell.

Folding my arms across my chest, I finally answered, "I can null a person's powers. Stopping them completely."

Her eyebrows raised, looking comically unimpressed. "Uh, is that it?"

My face dropped, like a heavy sinking stone. Pouting a little, I said, "Who needs great, fancy powers when you can fight like I can? I've practically dedicated my life to being strong, fast and good aimed. Back home, hardly anybody crosses me."

A smirk imprinted on her lips, she nodded, as if to say: "wow, Gunnar, that sounds great." Being in this bloody room was making me less sure about myself -- I didn't like it in the slightest. And Lorrin wasn't helping either. She was so... stubborn. So strong willed. She was, well, she was like me. Personality clash.

Despite our uneventful conversation, we had come close to the panel. To be honest, I couldn't wait to sit down and have a good, non-poisoned meal that I could tuck into. And somewhere to rest my head. Not only was I fed up of being in this lousy place, I was tired. Just, tired. Hopefully Lorrin wouldn't decide to kill me in my sleep.

"You got family back home?" I suddenly heard her ask. Turning to her, I saw her face was a little softer than usual. She mentioned having a brother. It must've been a bit of a touchy discussion.

"Nope," I replied, pausing. "I mean... maybe. I don't really know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" she questioned, as if I was some sort of idiot. Scowling, my arms tightened, my very being tensing. It was touchy for me too. I hated talking about how I lost my memory. Somehow, it made me feel weak.

"Well, I, um." I cringed slightly. "One day, I woke up... and I -- to put it simply, I have no memory of who I was, who my family is, what I've done -- nothing."

Her eyes flickered slightly, staring at me. I didn't even want to know what she was thinking. Probably how stupid it all sounded. Or maybe that I was lying. I couldn't care less.

Suddenly, we were at the front, the panel waiting for us. I gabbled a hurried 'come on', and stepped forward, Lorrin by my side. Without a word, I grabbed her wrist and slid it into the panel, a bright blue light gliding across her fob. Looking in amazement, Lorrin gazed at it, making me wonder what it was like back on her home planet. But I tried to shake the thought away.

"What do you want to eat?" I asked. "I feel like having BBQ chicken." Then I grinned.

Lorrin
With a full belly and a warm, soft bed – well, as soft as it gets lying on a cold, hard floor – I finally feel at ease. Aileen is tending to the psychotic human who has been rambling for the past few hours and it’s really getting on my nerves. He’s just lucky we’re not actually allowed to kill, or I’d have slit his throat ages ago!
Gunnar is lying in his sleeping bag, eyes wide open, mouth a flat line across his face. I watch him for a while – I hope discreetly – thinking about what he’d told me earlier. He lost his memory? How? Did a demon take it? Wait, no, he’s not from Raksha. But I remember Dentae telling me once demons aren’t limited to just our home world. And Dentae once had to leave this universe to track down a demon. Did he go to Gunnar’s world?
I avert my gaze and let it wander over the room. The lights have been dimmed significantly to almost pitch darkness, but still with light for even the dull visioned creatures to see. Which is okay with me because my eyes can adjust to any light, though I’d prefer it darker. And pretty much everyone present in the room is lying down. I was upset to find that there weren’t too many deaths today. There is still a large number of odd creatures here.
“What are you doing, Lorrin?” Gunnar’s voice brings me from my thoughts.
I turn to look at him. “Lying down, what does it look like?” I snap. His stupid questions and comments get on my nerves, though I know it’s sometimes just for his amusement. Which is why I play along too. Gives me something to do!
Gunnar gives me a droll look. “I can see, I’m not blind. What are you thinking about?” He rephrases his question.
“Not enough creatures died today,” I answer honestly.
Gunnar blinks in astonishment. “I don’t know what surprises me more, the fact that you answered, or the fact that you were thinking that!” He says with a chuckle.
A sound catches my attention, and I sit up quickly, eyes scanning the semi-darkness. I can’t tell where the noise came from, but it sounded quite familiar. It was the sound of a metallic object tapping lightly on glass. It was the sound Dentae would make to signal he was home.
“Lorrin?” Gunnar whispers.
My head turns this way and that. No way could Dentae be here. Maybe it was another creature rolling over, or something. Maybe it was a zip hitting the ground? Or a knife being tapped on the ground? Or maybe it’s my mind playing tricks on me, because I miss Dentae and want to be home with him.
“Lorrin, what is it?” Gunnar half growls urgently.
I slowly turn to look at him. “Nothing. It was … nothing. Don’t worry,” I say and lie back down.
He stares at me for a long time and I close my eyes. Silence spreads throughout the room and I open my eyes again. Gunnar is still staring at me, brow furrowed as he thinks. I try not to smile with amusement. This guy clearly has patience, or he’s determined to creep me out. Which is failing because the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen was the face Dentae pulled to …
I slowly sit up and look around, turning on my infrared vision. I don’t see any sets of black circles to say that eyes are open. And there are plenty of snores and loud breathing. I turn my infrared vision off and look back at Gunnar, sitting up properly and crossing my legs.
“Okay, why are you staring at me?” I whisper.
“You … are weird,” he begins, slowly sitting up.
“That was a beautiful statement, Kiv Jmirivida,” I retort.
“What does that mean?” He asks after a heavy silence.
“Mr Glare,” I poke my tongue at him.
“Yeah, you’re definitely weird,” he shakes his head.
“We’ve established that already,” I roll my eyes. “Now that I’ve answered your questions, you answer mine.”
His eyes widen. “Which one?” He asks tentatively.
“Why were you staring at me?”
“Oh, I wasn’t. I was just thinking,” he smiles.
“About?”
“What you haven’t told me about yourself,” he smiles evilly. “So spill.”
My eyes narrow at him as I think about that. I have nothing to lose except his trust. And if I open myself to him, then he’ll – hopefully – trust me more. And then, if I show that he can trust me, maybe he’ll tell me more about himself. I mean, he did say he lives to be strong, fast and a good shot. With a bow? Hardly. His arms aren’t built for it. I wonder what with then. Maybe that thing that makes a loud bang. He has it in his jacket.
“Okay,” I take a deep breath. “I’ll start with … um … my age. I’m eighteen –“
“wait … you’re only eighteen!” He barks in shock.
“Shut up!” I hiss, looking around. No one stirs. “Yes. I’m only eighteen. Just so you know, my kind’s maturing age is sixteen. Which means I’m an adult at sixteen years. So you can close your mouth and I’ll keep going. Before I was eight, my brother and I lived with our parents in a house. A nice house, too, I might add. One night my Dentae … err, my brother and I went out to um … explore. When we got back our … the whole neighbourhood had been destroyed and our parents were … dead. Demons had killed them. So we lived on the streets, sleeping in abandoned houses every now and then. I’d be on my own most of the time because my brother would be on the mainland being an assassin for some Lord. Apparently the world is full of amazing and different things. Dentae told me about the Laxians, with their weird but beautiful accents … oh right. On Raksha – in the North – there are two northern most islands, a mainland, a south-western island and then the Southlands. I live on the north-western island called Shae’Lian. The Three Kingdoms – Laxia, Faraxis and Portianinia – are on the mainland. Portianinia is where all the technology is. If my brother had let me come to Portianinia with him, I could have learnt about technology and gotten us out of here,” I frown, and Gunnar gapes openly at me. “So um … yeah that’s me!”
“That’s … okay … I didn’t expect that. So you have a brother … Dentae?” He tilts his head to the side.
“Yeah, he’s twenty-two. Still quite young. A Snake-Child reaches their prime around thirty or forty,” I beam at my knowledge. My parents had taught us well.
“Okay … so if you’ve never left your home island … and you can’t read, how do you know about all these places, like where they are?” Gunnar asks sceptically. The way he’s said it doesn’t seem to add up from an outsider’s perspective.
“Dentae showed me a map of the world and showed me where each place is. I have a good memory, so I don’t need to read. Besides … I’ve never actually had a need to read before,” I smile. “So it doesn’t matter.”
Gunnar stares at me and then yawns. “Look, I’m going to try and sleep. Don’t kill me while I do, please,” I smile wide, “and I suggest you do the same.”
He lies down and I sit there, wondering what Dentae would be doing at this moment, before I lie down. After a moment I shift into my snake form and try to rest. Soon the heat in the sleeping bag disappears and – with my mind half working – I slither over to the closest source of warmth … conscious of having to dodge a big, white, fluffy head.

Morn

Morn awoke to torment that was reality. He sat up agonizingly slowly and looked around. The lights were on and all the prisoners of the room were awake, strolling about or sitting on their mattresses. The scene was peaceful yet the stale air dripped with anticipation, the masses were waiting for their next trial and Computer had yet to make an appearance.

The Archangel struggled to get to his feet yet found he could not. Looking down, he examined his leg. The skin on the outside seemed to be fine but the muscle stretching down to Morn's ankle was clearly destroyed and walking proved to be impossible. Groaning in frustration, Morn fought back the demon that lurked inside him, berating him for not giving it control and lay back in his bed, resigned, defeated.

He waited for what seemed like ages. The minutes, centuries the hours, millennium and Morn began to wonder if he would turn to a husk before their machine god ever appeared. Yet time was meaningless in the room. You would look up and all you would see was the same white ceiling, pristine and perfect, like a blindfold that hides you from the havoc outside. But he was one who knew, who had lived through that same hell and had found shelter in this cloth across his eyes, in this fog of lies. And so he waited, resigned, defeated, for the next trial to rear it's head.

Finally, that same giant screen in that same spot in the back of the room blinked on and Computer answered it's people's pleas.

"Today, you will be put into groups of twos and threes. I have seen your attempts at alliances and will put these bonds you have created to the test. Your bracelet will tell you who you are teamed with. Your habitat will consist of mountains and valleys and the occasional woodland. Your goal is to reach the end of the map and input your bracelet data. This challenge will earn you food, water and any gear of your choosing. Whoever does not make it above sixth place will be terminated. As you can see, the stakes are high. You have an hour to prepare. Good luck."

And with that, Computer shut off. Morn sat up, his interest piqued, who had he made an alliance with? Glancing at his bracelet Morn glowered at the name. Jay. He despised Jay for there was a sense of superiority about him, a sense of supreme power masked in the guise of calm modesty. It was infuriating how he was just better than Morn. The Archangel would not accept anyone who was better than him. Thus Morn would murder him. When he slept, when he had his back turned, it did not matter. Just the fact that he would kept revolving around and around in his head.

His first kill, there was something satisfying about that.

Luke listened trough the announcement, patently listening, assimilating and recording.
"Habitat 100% loaded."
Sheesh, why so soon? Sounds like one damn desperate computer.
The whole white scape morphed around them. the walls looked as though they were morphing into sky, how they managed the dimensions Luke had no idea. Luke felt the ground morph below him, the hard white synthetic floor changing into hard, unforgiving rock. The whole process looked like a zany stop motion animation, flickering around like a slow frame rate.
All of a sudden, it stopped. The whole scene had changed to a beautiful landscape, the glare of the room's walls changed to a clear sky. The sounds of nature surrounded them, and birds tweeted in trees. The company seemed to be standing on an unnaturally flat plateau of rock. Probably to make it easier for computer to load.
"Here we go again." Luke said to nobody in particular.
"What exactly did Computer say we'd be doing?" asked Jay.

We gotta head across this landscape. It didn't say to where, but I guess we have quite a trek. It says we're to work in twos, and we have to scan or trendy new bracelets on a terminal on the other side. Sounds fun?
"Sure. But where are we headed?"
"I dunno. But that looks hopeful." said Luke, pointing at a large rock, further down the valley in which they stood. It stood proud of the treeline.
"I see what you mean." said Jay, "it doesn't seem to fit, does it?"

The aliens were gathering themselves, pairing off. A crowd of them stood on the peak of the rock, supposedly bickering. But the noise of their irritated chatter died down, as it was replaced by a louder noise, a strong buzzing. It grew in volume, until the air was vibrating with it. The whole company was silent now, breaths collectively held in fear and anticipation.
"I don't know about you," whispered Luke to Hazel, "but methinks we'd better run."

Morn

The rumbling grew louder and Morn watched as the rock rose slowly into the sky. A collective gasp came from the group of creatures behind him but Morn just kept watching. The rock had risen completely out of the forest and was now hovering far above the tops of the trees.

Just then, two figures came running towards the group, shouting in panicked voices. Morn reacted first, grabbing the creature behind him and pulling it over his torso. The rest of the people turned and sprinted along with the harbingers just as the rock came crashing back to earth.

The shockwave blew through the trees, smashing them to the ground and in no time collided with Morn and his meat shield. The force of the blast knocked the two of them to the ground yet Morn weathered it unscathed. The same could not be said for his shield. Morn hopped up on one foot, the other useless, and limped his way over to the massive hole the rock had made. Voices came from behind him and Morn grimaced. The others, at least some of them, had survived.

Morn stood at the edge of the precipice and looked down. The walls of the hole were smooth with no sign of handholds and Morn could not see the bottom. The others had arrived and were all gaping in awe at the massive crater. Then Morn noticed it. Barely visible above the darkness, runes began to appear. Morn gazed at them yet could not decipher their meaning.

Morn turned away in disgust but something caught his eye. At the edge of the crowd, a human girl stood staring at the runes, her lips moving. She was reading them. Morn swept towards her and caught the girl by the hair.

"What does it mean!" Morn growled yet all he received was a kick in the stomach and a punch to the face.

He had underestimated his foe and had not seen the robotic boy standing next to her, murder in his eyes.

The girl straightened and the boy snapped a gun into his hand.

"You move, I shoot."

Luke had not been expecting attack, but, thanks to his training, he was alert. He felt the cold metalised plastic of the gun in his hand, and turned his left eye's [power down so he could have a clear view down the sight.
The situation was tense. Both he and his foe new the rules of the Room. Kill and Be Killed suddenly had a whole new meaning. But this person wanted information, and Luke guessed that if he let him go now, he'd come back for it later, again and again knowing that Luke couldn't kill him, until he got it.
So Luke had two options. Firstly he could shoot this newcomer somewhere that wouldn't kill him, but would hamper him to the extent he couldn't overcome them at any point. Luke chose the other option.
"You want to know what it says. What would we get in return if we told you?"
Suddenly this newcomer changed. Luke wasn't sure how, but something about his body language flipped. He wasn't aggressive anymore, but calm, relaxed, and almost arrogant. Arrogance ain't natural when you've got a gun in your face.
"Sure I do," the person said, "and you can call me The Archangel."
"Maybe not," said Luke, "what's your real name?"
"Morn, to my friends."
"Well being a friend of yours is not something I aspire to be, but nevertheless Morn, what can you offer us?"
"I got navigational skills!"
Morn was beginning to irritate Luke. There was no way Luke was going to put up with him just so he could use his navigation.
Luke took the first option.
With one easy and practiced move Luke drew his blade and cut Morn deep in the leg. Morn cried out in pain and fell to the ground. It was only a flesh wound, but it was deep. He'd need assistance to move any distance quickly, friends to help him, and Luke honestly doubted he had any.

Hazel pinched the hem of her suit and let out the breathe she'd been holding as she stared at Luke. He'd just stabbed someone. Literally. Just sliced their leg open. Well, not someone. More of something. The 'Archangel', as he'd called himself. How odd.

"Tā shuí zhuīqiú tā de dírén bì mièwáng de shíhòu jǐyǔle tā yījù.." The words slid between her lips before she could stop them. This was becoming quite common- her speaking in a language she'd never spoken in. But why was it happening? After being transferred here- to the white room- she'd developed an extended vocabulary and a built-in translator. Were they powers? If so, they weren't much of a difference than what she'd already had before she came here. But who knows what else she could have developed?

When she blinked, Sev was staring at her, and she turned to hide her now crimson cheeks, "I think I have a built-in translator."

"I've concluded that already," He states, though you could tell he wasn't thinking about that. Something else occupied his mind. "Are you okay? He grabbed you."

The runes. She hadn't figured out what they meant before the crazy man had attacked her. Hazel touched her head and sniffled, "Technologically speaking-"

"Hazel," Luke cut her off, and she shifted her eyes over to meet his. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," She paused, and tore her eyes away from his. "How are you?"

Hazel wasn't listening, as she should've been- instead, her brilliant mind was concentrated on the runes that looked as if they'd been carved into the electric wall. The markings weren't familiar. Even with her supposed built-in translator, she had no idea what she'd been looking at, and that frustrated her.

"Jay?" Hazel shook her head and looked back at her friend. "Did you hear me?"

"I..." No, she hadn't. It was the simple fact that she couldn't read the runes that threw her off. She couldn't contribute to the solution. "No, sorry. I'm just..."

"Thinking? I can tell. Anyways, I believe we should find a way to navigate our own way up the mountain. Also, did you translate what the runes said? I know Morn attacked you while you were reading it, but you had to of gotten something, right?"

Right. Wait, no, wrong. Hazel shook her head and turned her face away, embarrassed, "I saw the runes...but I...I couldn't translate it. I don't know what it said."

"So why are you beating yourself up over it?" He asked unexpectedly. "You can't read it. What's the big deal? The language is probably an ancient one- one that wasn't programmed into your system."

"I don't even know what language it is!" Hazel exclaimed, throwing her arms out to the side.

"If it is a language," Luke paused, as if processing something. "Was it symbols?"

"Runes, Luke. Yes, they were symbols," Hazel snaps slightly- though, she didn't mean to. Be rude towards him, that is. He was only trying to help figure this out.

Hazel thought of the words she'd said earlier: "Tā shuí zhuīqiú tā de dírén bì mièwáng de shíhòu jǐyǔle tā yījù.."

What language was that? Chinese. What does it mean? He who pursues his enemies shall perish when given his sentence. Why did she say it? Because she's a freak.

"Concentrate. I need to concentrate," Hazel shook her head and glanced around at their surroundings, "Let's get to work, then."

Lorrin

My eyes narrow as I look around from the edge of the rock platform. Gunnar is standing beside me, his body angled away from me just that much to tell me he’s still upset with me. Apparently waking up with a snake curled up on your chest is worthy of getting the cold shoulder. I haven’t apologised for scaring him yet, either. I’m not going to until he looks at me, which he has yet to do.
We’re surrounded by mountains, thick with forest. There are a few valleys, and I can see water, the shine almost blinding in the sunlight. Narrowing my eyes more, my vision becomes infrared, and I notice a few red and orange splodges. My vision returning to normal, I turn to Gunnar and Aileen.
“There are animals, or living creatures, in the forests and valleys,” I say.
“How do you know?” Gunnar asks unbelievingly. His voice has a cold, hard edge to it that worries me.
“I can see them,” I roll my eyes.
“How are we supposed to get down to the forest?” Aileen asks from behind us.
I face her fully. “We may have to climb down,” I say, biting my lip.
Aileen nods, turning to Gunnar. The way she looks at him makes me wonder about humans all the more. Is she … attracted to him? I don’t know, I don’t know much about humans. But I could take a guess. Gunnar notices us staring at him and he turns to Aileen, smiling tightly.
“I’ll help you if we have to climb down, Aileen,” Gunnar says.
“Okay,” she smiles.
“Or, you could both try and find a way down, like a path or something, and I’ll just jump,” I offer sarcastically.
Gunnar turns to me and grabs my shoulders, shaking me. A hiss rips through my throat, but I let him vent his anger by shaking me. When he stops, I just stare at him, an eyebrow raised.
“You can’t … this isn’t your home, Lorrin,” he growls. “You don’t know what’s out there, you can’t just be so casual about everything!”
“Is this because I scared you before?” I ask, trying not to smirk.
“No, this has nothing to do with it! You’re just … so … you need to take this seriously, you can’t just jump off the rock!” Gunnar has a wild look in his eyes.
“I think he’s snapped,” I turn to Aileen, who is watching us with a shocked expression. “Gunnar, please, calm down and take your hands off me before I break every bone from your shoulders down.”
Gunnar removes his hands and glares at the ground. “You’re so frustrating,” he growls.
I look around and notice a small path leading down into the forest. My dark eyes rove over the rock as others seem to be looking for ways down, some finding other paths. I frown and start walking over to the path I’d spotted first. I suppose I do need to take this more seriously, but I can’t help it. This just seems like one big adventure, even though I miss Dentae like crazy.
“Lorrin!” Gunnar and Aileen yell as they run over to me.
“If we follow that path, we might be able to get to the tag spot,” I tell them.
“And you can survive out there?” Aileen asks, fear in her eyes.
“I’m a Snake,” I flash them my fangs. “Besides, if we encounter any problems, I have my scimitars. I can protect you both.”
Gunnar huffs. “I’m sure I can look after myself,” he growls.
“I’m sure you can,” I roll my eyes and start walking down the path, into the forest. Into the unknown.

Luke paused. Hazel seemed nervous, and Luke felt on edge. He didn't know why she was behaving like this, but there was probably a reason. Hazel wasn't one to be worried without a reason. Was it because she was still scared of the way she could speak new languages? He guessed not, although it would probably still be worrying her slightly.
"Hazel, is something worrying you?" He looked at her intently, studying the dilation of her pupils, as she paused for an answer. After a moment she shook her head, and smiled.
"Not really. Where do we go from here? She looked calmer now, but Luke still guessed something was bothering her. He decided to leave it for the time being.
"Looks like some of the others have found paths down. Shall we follow them?" He extended his hand , and Hazel flinched. Now Luke understood.
"Hazel, you're not afraid of me are you?"
She paused, and looked nervous. "You just stabbed a man. You cut his leg open..."
"You realise I'm an assassin? I've killed over a hundred men in a single evening before." As soon as Luke said it he realised he had said the wrong thing. Hazel looked suddenly terrified, and started backing off slowly.
"Hazel!..." But she was already running across the rock, and getting to one of the stone flights of stairs, was engulfed in the descending crowd.
Luke could kick himself. He'd just frightened away the only friend he had in this place. He hoped she came back soon. He suddenly realised he had started crying, and immediately deactivated his tear duct. That wouldn't help. He had to complete the challenge, and he had to find Hazel. With resolution, he walked to wards the steps where Hazel had descended moments earlier.

Jay

Jay watched from the other side of the crater as Hazel, that was her name right? Turned in sudden horror and bolted down the hillside. Luke had said something to her. Jay waited for Luke to leave, then walked over to the fallen Archangel.

Immediately he knew it was a deep wound. Why Luke had to be so brutal? He did not know, either way, Morn wouldn't be walking for awhile. The archangel lay stalk still on the ground, eyes closed, he looked almost serene. Jay bent down and ripped of a piece of his tan cloak, then, positioning the leg and cleaning the wound as best he could, slowly wrapped the strip around his leg. Morn stiffened, face contorting in pain, but said nothing. Jay tightened the makeshift bandage, then stood up, where had Luke and Hazel gone? He'd assumed they'd run off to another side of the platform they were on, but he couldn't find them. A thought struck him, he looked to Morn, had he said something about navigation? Jay bent down and whispered into Morn's ear,

"I am a friend, I am your friend. I need to know where Hazel and Luke have gone. Can you tell me?" Morn shuddered, then slowly pointed to the left. Jay looked over to the route Hazel had taken all the way to....smoke coiled in the distance. They were running right into a native tribe, whatever they were, he was sure they didn't take kindly to armed strangers. Jay took off, jumping into the trees that lined the path. Stealth wasn't a problem for him, he just hoped he could get to them fast enough before they got into trouble with the natives.

I clutch my hand to my chest and attempt to catch my breath as I glance around. Where the hell was I? A large boulder to my left, steep hill to my right, it was as if the room didn't want me trying to get away from Luke, the guy that was keen to violence. Murder. He acted as if it were nothing.

'I've killed over a hundred men in a single evening before.'

The words echoed in my mind. How could he say that so nonchalantly? As if that's what everybody did? As if it were normal? It wasn't. At all.

I could hear his feet crunching against the ground behind me, probably not far. I'd have to face him in a few minutes, probably. Maybe even in a few seconds. I didn't want to.

How could you take somebody's life? Who in their right mind thought that they were the decider of life and death? Then again, maybe Luke wasn't in his right mind. Maybe he was psycho. Schizophrenic. Or maybe he just did what he had to...to keep himself safe.

"Hazel, I've said that I'm sorry over 10 times!" His voice called to me, and I shook my head, willing myself to continue to move. I scaled the boulder to my left as quickly as I dared, and began to ascend the small hill when a constriction on my wrist pulled me back. "Stop running from me as if I'm a monster."

"You are a monster." I couldn't say that, though. When I didn't turn his way, his grip on my wrist tightened, and I tried to tug it away, only to fail.

"We don't have time for this, Jay," I shivered when he called me that because nicknames were for people who were honest friends and- what the hell was I thinking? I'd never even asked him if he'd killed anyone. I didn't even think about asking him if he had. "Please, just come on."

I shake my head, but rip my arm away from his hand as soon as his grip loosens, then stomp back down the hill. I didn't want to look at him. I didn't want to think about him. I didn't want to talk to him. But, that seemed oddly impossible. He had a way of speaking to me, looking at me, that made we want to talk to him and look at him and it made me angry because-

"We're off track. Come on," His cunning voice interrupted my thoughts and I frowned at the ground. Maybe I only liked him because he was a living computer. Literally. Or maybe because when he looked at me, his eyes were just on me, my face, so determined to only acknowledge me as I spoke. Maybe I liked him because he actually payed attention to me, listened to me, actually cared about what I was saying. Because we were the same, yet- "Hazel, are you coming?"

I look up and our eyes meet. He was in front of me now, the bottom half of his body facing front and the top half of him facing me, his eyes hard and thoughtful and so welcoming. I wanted to slap myself because I'd done what I didn't want to do- I looked at him. That's all it took for my feet to begin moving. One look at him. How pathetic was that?

He didn't say anything as we walked, but I knew he wanted to. I kept glancing up at him without realizing it, analyzing him, what he was doing, the facial expressions he was making as he thought of whatever he thought about. His lip kept twitching, and there was this leaf stuck in his hair that I desperately wanted to pluck out just to touch him, to feel the heat that radiated off of him when we did touch, but I couldn't do anything except walk and fumble with the hem of my suit.

We found the stairs that I'd nearly tumbled down when I was trying to get away from him, and I shook my head as we walked up them and kept going. Why did it throw me off, knowing that he'd killed people before? It threw me off a lot, but it also kind of comforted me. Knowing that he was capable of fighting for the two of us made me feel a lot better. Knowing that he was there and would do everything in his power just to make sure the two of us were safe comforted me. And I didn't know why.

It wasn't long before he cleared his throat and broke the silence with, "If it makes you feel better, I don't exactly like killing the crooks I have to deal with. It's just my job. You understand that, right?"

I wanted to just cross my arms and not talk to him, just completely ignore him, but everybody has their professions. Everybody got along somehow, and it wasn't my job to judge him for what he did. I nod, and bite down on my tongue before I can open my mouth. If I spoke, I feared my voice would break, and I didn't want that. I didn't want to show that I was even remotely afraid- though, he probably guessed that.

"Hazel," He sighs, and his voice is tired, defeated, and I suddenly feel bad for not saying anything. I feel bad for not answering him correctly. "If you don't want to talk about this, then we can talk about something else. What about the layout for this obstacle? It's odd, isn't it?"

It was odd. The levels were off, and you could see a slight glitch is the sky. It shifted every two minutes- I'd figured that much out. I nod again, and rub my chin as I say, "I'm sorry. I ran from you, I acted as if you were the bad guy. I wasn't thinking."

"No, I shouldn't have just said that. It was foolish of me to think you'd handle that news perfectly fine. I forget that mortals aren't exactly used to murder being something common," He says, and I have to stop walking, but only because of the noises. The slight whispers feeding off of each other, coming from everywhere. I blinked, and turned to meet his eyes, only to find him still walking. After a second, he stops, and turns to look at me, "What is it?"

I hold up a hand to shush him, but the whispers had already dissipated, leaving us in a silence I couldn't bear, "Dammit."

"What?" He was walking back to me now, his eyes wild with confusion. I frown and suck in a breath, then shake my head. "Hazel?"

"Nothing, I just...thought I heard something," I pause, glancing around before I nudge his chest with my hand and usher him forward. "Let's keep going."

Before I could start walking again, his hand clamped around my wrist again, and I nearly lost my balance. I turned to look at him, my face twisted into a frown, and said, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Do you smell that?" His face was in the air, his nostrils flared out slightly. I sigh, but tilt my head back and take a whiff of the air, catching a hint of, what...smoke? It that what that was?

"Somebody probably started a fire to keep warm," I shrug, not thinking much of it. "Come on, Luke."

He'd began walking, his hand still attached to my wrist, so I was being dragged along with him, "No, it's not that. There's somebody..."

A distant, high-pitched scream pierced my ears, and I jumped as a razor sharp spear whizzed right past my face, grazing my cheek as it flew. What the hell?

Luke yanked me to the ground before another spear came out of nowhere, just inches above us. I could've been impaled.

"What the hell is going on?" I snap, feeling a slight sting on my cheek. A trail of wet liquid slid down the side of my face, and I thought I was crying, but when I pressed a finger to it, the liquid was red. Oh.

Luke glanced at me, then raised his eye brows in shock as I frowned, "I didn't realize it got you. Are you all right?"

I shrug slightly and wipe the blood from my face, ignoring the stinging so I could concentrate, "I'm fine. Can we move before one of us is killed?"

Luke glanced around, and when an arrow sailed right by him, he ducked lower and nodded. He grabbed my hand and tugged me forward, urging me to go first. Where the hell was I going to take us? I take a step, but stop when I see somebody running toward us, his eyes wide with fear, his chest heaving as if he'd been running for a long time. I recognized him, but I didn't know his name. I'd seen him a few times in the White Room.

"I'm too late, dammit, I'm too late! Come on, don't just stand there! We need to get out of here!" He yelled at us. I raised a brow, confused. He was looking for us. Why?

When I make no attempt to move, Luke gets a better grip on my hand and propels me forward, then starts dragging me towards the unfamiliar man. What?

The guy waited a few seconds for us to reach him, then took off up the slope we were standing on, not looking back to see if we were coming. I picked up my feet and Luke and I started moving quicker.

Who was this guy and why were we following him?

A nice stranger, helping you get away from the random people trying to kill us, of course.

But why are they trying to kill us? Are how'd he know how to find us?

Because you crossed their territory, and he probably followed you.

Their territory? We've been here for maybe an hour, who the heck had already claimed territory, and got weapons?

The people who were already here.

Who was already here?

The Natives.

Oh, God, why hadn't I thought of the Natives before?

You were too preoccupied with your crush.

Crush?

Your precious Sev.

Excuse me, inner me? I do not have a crush on Luke.

Yeah, you kinda do.

I shake my head. I really need to stop talking to myself, because I didn't make any sense. I did not have a crush on Luke.

It's obvious that you're attracted to him.

"Shut up!" I snap, though my eyes widen when I realize I've said this out loud.

"Huh? I didn't say anything," Luke's deep, rough voice grumbles as his eyes concentrate on the guy ahead of them.

"I-I..." I shake my head, and urge myself to run faster. I pray he doesn't look over, because my cheeks were bright red and I felt dizzy and, God, I had a crush on Luke Seven.