Syndicate of tribulation

Chapter 13

same POV...

"Skills assessment is commencing in 10 minutes" a voice boomed. We turned to look at Blake and a bunch of people with him. We all got ready, and I took all the arrows Amo made for me. Exploding ones, slime ones, mist ones – in unusual colours too! And my favourite of them all, sleepy gas. Now, the gas one isn't like knockout gas because then I would get knocked out too if I used it and that would be useless. Sleepy gas makes you woozy when you breathe it in. It disorients and confuses you. Even if you wear a gas mask you cannot escape it. There is only one mask that can protect you from it and Amo made only one for me. It's now part of my outfit.

We must wear our outfits for the assessment. We all got new ones when we got back to England. It's identical to our old ones just newer. The assessment is taking place outside the house. It's a makeshift arena type place. They have turned us into evening entertainment. A bunch of employees for the division Blake works for came to watch. The assessment is quite simple really. The participant goes through 3 rounds - varying levels of difficulty and different skill sets are needed for each round.

Round 1 is close range where it's just 1v1 winner has to push the other one out of the ring which has been stated by a giant red circle in the middle of the makeshift arena.

Round 2 is medium range, which is the participant versus 7 different people, they don't all come in at the same time and the whole purpose is to get the attackers onto the floor.

Round 3 is long range and includes dodging attacks from far away attackers. You have to successfully dodge their assaults for 5 minutes straight.

I can already imagine the merciless pain I'm going to feel after all of this.

The assessment commenced. Amo went first. I watched intently in the stands. He quickly got passed the first round and moved onto the second. Using his rod and all the amazing things he installed in it he was able to knock all the assailants on their ass swiftly. I didn't know he installed an electric shock device in his rod...? Interesting maybe I should get an electric shock arrow.

The third round for him proved to be a bit more challenging. It was insanely hard though. They threw wat seemed like dodgeballs in his direction continuously and he failed to block them all.

Dax was next. He was struggling with the first round and ended up being knocked out of the ring. The second round was interesting to watch though, he had really improved with his boomerang. Using it skilfully to knock down all the attackers as they came rushing towards him. He also did very well on the last round surprisingly, though he did get hit a few times.

I was next. I sucked at hand-to-hand combat, so I had to be smart. I could use one of my arrows but that might create a disadvantage for me in the next round. A big burly man stood opposite me. I assessed him. His shoelaces were loose, and he favoured his right leg. He came barrelling at me and when he was at a comfortable distance, I used my mist arrow and shot it right in front of his left foot causing him to lose his balance. When the smoke erupted I dived into the cloud of it. I aimed at his laces and the rolled out of the cloud but not before kicking his back so he would fall forward. He fell out of the mist and his wrist had passed the red line meaning I had completed the first round.

For the second round, I decided to use my slime arrow. It created a thick, slippery fluid that knocked people on their ass whilst I aimed some of my ball arrows at some people's head. (Ball arrows – the tip is a ball instead of a point) I completed that round quickly. The last round is where I really sucked. I wasn't able to dodge a single one. I already know if Tyro and King where here they would complete every round flawlessly.

My body was bruised from the battering of dodgeballs I received. I didn't stay to watch Eustace, but I heard she wasn't able to complete a single round.

The next day we were given roles in the infiltration taking place soon. I was in team Brava. We were one of the attacking teams. We would start by surrounding the camp and when the commotion starts, we would slowly move in. So, a short and medium range team. Amo was in team Brava-Scott. He would start or with my team but when commotion starts, he would break off and go assist team Scott which is the team that will already be in the building causing chaos. Eustace was also in team Scott. She would help them get in undercover by using persuasion but she was also going to be amidst the fighting so she has had to undergo some intense short range combat training because they really need her, and she mustn't be a liability when it comes to fighting. Dax is in team Alpha with Blake. They will deal with the security and whatnot. He is going to be the hacker that gets us in without raising suspicions.

Today is a gift. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. If we successfully complete this mission, then maybe it is and if we fail then...

I wonder how Kings doing. She could probably complete this whole mission by herself or with Tyro in a matter of minutes. I put her on such a high pedestal because I don't want to believe that anything could ever overcome her, that anything could ever defeat her. Blake still hasn't gotten word on her wellbeing but right now they can't find any bodies even though they are still searching.

A deep feeling settles in my chest. How do we know we can trust Liam Winters? This could easily all be a trap set out if any of their gang members were ever captured. It seems unlikely but I still can't seem to shake the feeling of dread that whirls like a storm inside of me.

The mission was taking place in Spain. I always wanted to go to Spain. But not like this. This will tarnish my beautiful image of the lovely country forever.

Sometimes I wish whoever is authoring my story to skip all of this and get to the good part, get to the part where I'm happy and unaffected by the evil of this world. But no... They just keep throwing me trials and tribulations for their sick enjoyment and entertainment [A/N: Sorry Domo <3]. We arrive at the location when the sky is as black as the ink that stains a writer's hand. The plan starts as soon as Team Scott are in position. Wheeling 2 giant crates, Eustace and 2 other people dressed in black attires similar to the ones of the guards circulating the warehouse, approach the gate. Eustace says somethings and after a few seconds the guard lets them in.

The world is still and quite for what seems like forever before the sound of 2 beeps on the radio of Team Brava's leader. We start moving forward. "Don't die in there, I'm begging you" I whisper to Amo as his team leader shouts order for them to rush inside. He gives me a curt nod and a kiss on the forehead before scurrying off with his team.

What seems like thousands of people rush towards us as we step into the warehouse compound. According to Liam Winters, Thursday is the day that the compound is least populated. There shouldn't be this many people here. Something isn't right. We don't have nearly enough people to fight this army they have. The operatives that were inside come bursting out the door of the warehouse as smoke comes pooling out with them, I use a bunch of mist arrows to allow them to be obscured to the attackers but only a few make it through the mist. Amo is dragging Eustace through the mist as he uses his other arm to cover his face. We do our best to retreat but unfortunately not everyone makes it. There were about 40 of us and only 6 returned.

I knew it was a trap. From now on I'm always listening to my gut.