Hope Released

Deception

     Side to side, the wind swept across the underground arena. A maze of obstacles often used by the phasers of my group was now a battlefield for each individual. Late this night we were all awoken in panic to the sound of screeching yells and banging on all doors. The voices indecipherable I ran over to Skye's door who opened it before I could knock. He wrapped me in his arms in fright of myself being harmed and must have been relieved to find me standing there. Together we made our way to the door and unlocked it to find people streaming out of their rooms and rapidly making their way to the main floor. Confused, we followed. 

     That was where we found all of our captains standing in line in front of the archway into the training room. People looked to each other for answers when our captains didn't say a word and we were quickly ushered down into the basement. A low ceiling and damp, cold, stone walls greeted us and a few long tunnels later we were gathered in front of the large maze. This was where Flyte spoke, revealing to us that we were to not be afraid but rather aware that any situation of worry, doubt, and fear may await us whenever we were needed and sent out to protect Awetony. This was only a drill but we needed to fully cooperate and understand that this event might occur as it had happened years before. 

     So here I was somewhere in the midst of obstacles that beckoned me forth to the end. Heavy eyelids and a racing heart slowed me down but I had already made it through so much. One of the captains who specialized in teleportation and powers similar to it had us all appear in random areas within  the maze. A booming voice told us that our objective was to use our abilities to find a way out as fast as we could. If we were to find another trainee we were to confront them with our powers and continue on. It was a lone war and you alone were to be the survivor if you tried hard enough. I found myself surrounded by two walls that ran parallel to each other; one made of sleek metal that had no grooves or dents to climb up it with, whereas the other wall was made of harmless vines.. or so I thought. I walked hesitantly alongside it thinking I could climb my way up and see what was around me when the vines began to move closer to me when I stood near it. Like a magnet to metal they followed my movements until I moved far away enough that they no longer detected my presence. From then on I stuck to the steel wall and continued on. My plan was to make a right then a left and continue that pattern.

     Right, left, right, left, until I hit a dead end or another living trap.  

     Each wall appeared different from the rest. Some were clear and I just caught a glimpse of another person disappear around a corner as I came by, others had round holes in various sizes that would allow me to slip through to the other side, and yet others were just simple hedges. Wide and tall corridors of these walls continued on and on and I eventually started to hear strange sounds. Getting closer I realized that there was a battle going on just around a bend. Still in my shorts and t-shirt that I went to bed in I felt quite exposed and wary. Only the light of my glow leading me on, I moved without thought. It was already too late to sneak past when a Tiger and a tall slim girl with a black bob and pursed lips saw me. The girl had several scratches running lengthwise down her arm but had no other injuries. The tiger, someone from my training group that I couldn't recognize, just seemed out of breath as its sides heaved. 

     Without warning the Tiger leaped and I instinctively threw my hands up to cover my face as I knew I wouldn't have enough time to run. Eyes shut tight I felt claws graze the side of my face but nothing else and I opened my eyes in surprise to find that I had created a small shield of circling water before me.

     A laugh of relief almost escaped my lips but before I had a moment to myself I realized the girl had disappeared from her earlier position. I felt a kick collide with my back and  I almost toppled over towards the preying Tiger but managed to catch my balance. Another sudden pinpoint of pain lashed out at me from my side and I just caught a glimpse of the girl at my right side before she sped away.