Page 87 of A Sky of Storms
She ignored my question, her eyes seeming to lose focus as she sat in the rain. “Will you take my body back to our parents?”
Tears blurred my vision as I looked at her. I’d done this. I was just as much a monster as she. “I—of course I will.”
“Come here,” she said softly. “I need to tell you something.”
I padded forward slowly, kneeling before her in the mud and leaning in so I could hear her over the rain. She took the back of my head, pulling me closer in the nearest thing to an embrace that we’d had in years.
Her lips brushed against my ear as she whispered, her voice turning hard. “You will never win.”
Then she thrust a blade into my gut.
I flinched, barely feeling the cold sting of the metal, gasping as she pulled me closer still, hugging me until her strength gave out and she toppled onto her side. I wheezed as scarlet spilled down my front, the water turning red as the blood of Augers ran freely.
My body began to shut down, my strength failing me as I felt the overwhelming need to lie down and close my eyes. I curled onto my side, mirroring Victoria as we lay head to toe, two sisters defeated by each other’s blades.
The beacon glimmered above and the odd shimmer of a gold coin shone within the murky water. Bodies floated around us, the area filled with death and destruction. Never had I seen such a display of human savagery and wasted life.
We weren’t just in a crater anymore. We were in a mass grave.
As I turned my eyes to the finish line in the distance, my last hope was that the others had made it. That Kendra, Zane, and Noah were safe and would live to see another day. Maybe one of them would even go on to win the crown and rule this kingdom.
I smiled at that thought, even as my life drained away little by little. Death had come for me, but I could take comfort in the idea of a better world. I trusted Kendra to keep Ethan and Hadley safe.
Free.
Just like I would soon be.
Iranfortheedge of the crater with Noah slung over my shoulder. The rain soaked me through, making the whole thing worse than trying to swim with jeans and a woollen jumper on. As I reached the top, I stumbled through the forcefield, landing on the muddy ground on the other side. Noah groaned, rolling off me, and I took a moment to catch my breath. We’d been travelling all night and nearly the whole day, and my legs were as jiggly as jellyfish.
“Another two worthy Potentials!” the Overseer called and for a split second I was ecstatic instead of tired because I had finished the first trial. Then reality hit and my happiness dissolved like a bath bomb in a tub.
Crossing the finish line of a race should have been an epic moment when streamers got thrown and you were showered in sparkling wine, some hot girls handing you a massive gold trophy. Turns out that’s not what happened at all. Instead, my bestie was barely alive, Starfish was off fighting her bitch of a sister, and Kendra and my other two best friends were nowhere to be seen. I expected an adrenaline rush at the end of each trial, but not like this.
A nurse came to my side, handing me a med pill which I swallowed like it was a lifesaver. Once I felt like my energy was coming back, I stood, glancing around at the other Potentials who’d made it here. There weren’t as many as I’d thought there’d be which was good, but also a total bummer. These conflicting emotions were totally bogus. I wanted to beat the competition, but it seemed like a lot of unnecessary death.
I began pacing back and forth in front of the forcefield. The rain was pouring all over me, which I couldn’t complain about because it was both refreshing and comforting being wet, but my anxiety was at an all-time high. Not a single drop of water was going to wash that away.
“Where the heck are they?” I groaned, throwing my hands in the air. “I need to go find them.”
“You can’t go back once you’ve crossed,” Nolan said from where he was kneeling beside the nurse, helping to patch my bestie up.
“These rules are bogus,” I grumbled, focusing my eyes back to the crater, then whispering to myself. “Where are you Starfish?”
She’d better arrive any minute. Fallon had promised she would get here and I’d be so pissed if she broke it. We’d come so far after saving Noah and then following the beacon all the way to the test. As usual, Victoria had to ruin it. That woman was like sand in your underpants.
“The sands have almost fallen. This trial approaches its end,” the Overseer announced in her calming voice. Fallon always made a face when the woman spoke, but I liked hearing Celeste speak. She really knew how to tell a story. Though right now, I wasn’t entirely impressed by her words. “Our victorious Potentials will soon be known.”
“There’s more coming!” one of the Potentials shouted. I looked to where she was pointing eagerly, my stomach plummeting into my boots.
“No one good,” I mumbled, my shoulders dropping.
Five Potentials were running to the finish line, covered in blood and mud but with grins on their faces as wide as a blue whale. They obviously hadn’t noticed the shadows looming on the horizon. Shouts came from my side of the forcefield, but they couldn’t hear the warning and soon loud screeching told them all they needed to know.
The Potentials’ wide smiles morphed into panicked screams as the giant bats came into sight. They really were horrifyingly ugly things. Flapping their wings with a vengeance, they sailed through the rain towards the terrified Potentials who were desperately trying to run through the slick mud towards us.
They never stood a chance.
The bats dove, some carrying their prey off into the skies whilst others landed on the Potentials, clawing at their backs and tearing into them with their fangs. It was a massacre, but the bats weren’t done once the bodies were lifeless and shredded beneath them. They launched back into the sky and flew towards us. Screeching loudly, they propelled towards the forcefield, hitting it with a loud boom that rivalled the thunder.
