“Thanks," I whispered as she took off, swinging a rifle over her shoulder. Her hip holsters now held two pistols and the taser was gone. All of the Wardens looked more intimidating than usual and it only served to remind me of the danger waiting for me once the trial began.
The people in front of us were moving forward and being armed with knives and guns which they slid into their belts and holsters.
When it was my turn, I picked my weapons with care, fixing four throwing knifes along my belt, a pistol in a holster on my left hip and a pump action shotgun which I slung over my back. I topped it off with as much spare ammo as I could fit into my pockets and moved aside for Taylor to collect his own weapons.
I spied Grey lined up in the ranks in front of us and ducked my head. My injuries were mainly healed, though my skull still felt bruised and tender in places. I was lucky he hadn't shattered my cheek bone and I had no inclination to repeat the incident.
Taylor and Evan followed me through the crowd to the ranks on the left hand side of the unit as I moved away from Grey. With a bit of luck. He’d get himself killed out here sooner rather than later and rid the world of his presence.
We waited while the last convicts were armed and took their positions within the ranks. I could feel my pulse quickening and my palms growing slick the longer we stood there and I began to feel anxious for this whole thing to start. My mouth was dry and I licked my lips, trying to regain some moisture as we waited.
Taylor placed his hand on my back and I smiled up at him, trying to stop the trembling in my limbs. It was quiet. The air was alive with tension and the seconds dragged by endlessly as we waited for the command to begin.
I tried to slow my breathing but my pulse was thrumming uncontrollably. I didn't want to think about what might happen when we entered those trenches. I wanted to run, to get away from the Lawless Trials arena, the city and everyone in it. What kind of people sent two teenagers out into this for an honest mistake anyway? We could die out here just so that they could make a point.
I glanced at the distant forest again, wondering why no one ever took the chance at running. An image of the contaminated humans entered my thoughts. Overlong arms and mutated claws that could rip a person apart in a moment. Hungry eyes which had haunted my dreams as a child. The staring, gaunt expression of a monster that was all too human. And even if there weren't any of them left out there, it was what I would become if I was exposed to the contaminant. That was why no one ran. Death would be better than that.
"Forward!" a cry went up and the crowd around us roared as they surged towards the arena.
I blinked away my overactive imagination as Taylor grabbed me and dragged me along with him, his fingers digging into my arm as he fought not to lose me in the crowd. The crush of bodies was claustrophobic, which was definitely made worse by how damn short I was. People shoved and jostled as they made their way onto the arena and we had no choice but to go with them like we were being tugged along in a current.
The crowd finally began to thin as everyone split off in different directions and Taylor tugged me aside as we let the rest take the lead. I jumped down into a trench, quickly followed by Taylor and Evan. Everyone was disappearing into the labyrinth ahead of us and we held back as they raced away.
"Maybe it won't be so hard to survive this after all." I shrugged at the two of them as we tucked ourselves into a crevice to let the fighters surge on by.
Once the last of them passed, we cautiously followed. The walls of the trench got higher and higher as we moved along which made it gloomy. We were effectively herded onwards behind the rest as the winding path continued and I fought against the fear which was clawing at my insides.
It was eerily quiet as we slowly made our way further in. I was so focused on the path up ahead that I jumped at the sound of my own footsteps as the ground gave way to a huge puddle and I splashed into it. The rest of the soldiers had disappeared while we were hidden and I started to doubt whether it had been a good idea to get left behind. This place was eerie and the shadows were too thick. I couldn’t help but imagine enemies at every corner and my poor heart was working on overdrive as fear kept my pulse racing.
The trenches were wet, cold and dim. The lack of sound was the opposite of reassuring. I wanted to believe that we were alone, but my skin prickled as if eyes were following my every move.
It didn't take long for us to hear the gunshots start up ahead of us. I peered around a corner to see several of our fighters, dressed in our black camouflage outfits pinned down behind a brick wall by about twenty of the opposition in dark green.
"Send for back-up!" one of our guys shouted desperately as he saw me lurking by the trench entrance and I took the opportunity to flee gladly.
We turned back the way we’d come, looking for anyone else from our unit who we could send for help. We took a left at a fork in the trench and found six of our guys readying themselves to move forward.
"Back down the trench. Our fighters are pinned down by a brick wall. Around twenty opposition," Taylor said as they spotted us.
They nodded their assent, turned our way and surged in the direction I pointed without another word.
I had no intention of heading back towards the fighting, so we took the next left and found ourselves at the entrance to a huge tunnel made of corrugated metal. It opened up before us and revealed a damp passageway that turned left again sharply, cutting off the view of what lay ahead.
I glanced at the other two before heading on down but Taylor caught my arm and stepped ahead of me. I frowned at him as I let him take the lead. But I wouldn’t continue to do it every time we moved into danger. I was no one’s damsel in distress and I was determined to hold my own out here.
Once we turned the corner, it was pitch black inside the tunnel. Every move we made echoed around us, and I shifted to the side to hug the metal wall as we moved on. A few shadowy shapes were just visible around us but I couldn't make out anything properly and the darkness was terrifying.
A loud splash made me yell out and jump backwards into the tunnel wall which echoed dully with a metallic thunk. I scrambled to grab my pistol from its holster as I strained my eyes in the dark, hunting for an enemy
“Sorry! It was me. There's water here, I didn't see it." Taylor's voice came through the darkness and relief washed over me.
"How much water?" I hissed, blinking furiously as I tried to see anything in the blackness.
“Hang on," Evan said and a moment later a light flickered on. He held a small flashlight out in front of him and he swept it around as the tunnel was revealed. Taylor was illuminated in the wide space, his boots submerged in a pool of water which stretched on ahead of him.
"Where did you get that?" I asked.
"They said I could have one in