CHALLENGE X

Only The Beginning Part 1/2

This is only the beginning.

Three months after they had all received the news.

Narrator's POV (Alexander focus)

Spring had sprung, and the birds were chirping and chattering to their heart's content. Lush green leaves covered every bush and tree, and flowers bloomed and basked in the sun. It had rained two days earlier, but most of the water evaporated, leaving behind the delicious smell of wet chlorophyll mixed with soil. A nearby traffic jam caused loud honking in the streets, combined with the screaming of everyday British road ragers. Which place would anyone guess this be? It's England, that's for sure. Newcastle Upon Tyne, to be exact! It was the best city to live in for a week, especially since it is near Scotland.

This city was home to many university students seeking opportunities. However, two specific teens went to live there for a more specific reason.

Alexander had just moved into the city with a friend of his father. It was more practical than giving him an apartment of his own. His father sent him money though through his bank account so that he could spend on food and maybe a souvenir. He was grateful for his father's consideration. He knew he wasn't as cruel as his mother. It made him happy to have a loving parent in his life. With groceries in his hands, Alex was sauntering back home, singing Kalinka to himself.

Alex wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings, allowing himself to drift into his thoughts. He wondered how things were back in Russia, hoping his sister was all right. He was praying the best for her. Questions about reality and career paths began flooding his head, upon many other thoughts.

Along came the thought of the reason he was staying in this city in the first place. He was starting to over-contemplate whether he would come out alive from it all. What kinds of people would he be with? What exactly was he going to use to survive? He had studied about the challenge during his trip to England. He was not too happy after figuring out that dying may be an outcome for him. A sick race, he thought. Were they doing this for entertainment? Maybe they don't want to get their own hands dirty. He knew the authorities would be in charge of most of the problems happening in the world, but to throw barely developing adolescents into the mix? And for what? There was limited information in the articles he dug through. He even dug through old books about it, Pete's sake! He looked for anything he could get related to what he was getting into, and it wasn't enough to satisfy. He wanted answers- No. He NEEDED. ANSWERS.

Time went utterly slow as he walked, he had been sure at least thirty minutes had passed, but it had only been five. Stuck in thought, desperate to come up with a sufficient answer. He was gradually, going down into the whirlpool that was his negative and overwhelming emotions.

Said Whirlpool stopped and threw him out of the water. How come? A petite girl on roller skates bumped into him and fell backward, which caused him to go back to reality. From what he saw, she had no helmet but wore a grey bonnet with a red ribbon on the side. Her hair was dark cherry blonde, and she had a brown cardigan and black pants. Her roller skates were made of leather that was good quality with sturdy black wheels. He chuckled at the fact that she had fallen and he had merely been pushed back a single step.

In comparison, this girl seemed so fragile and tiny.

He placed his groceries gently on the floor and helped the girl get up on her feet, or skates as you may want to call it. Then the girl shrieked, flinching once he touched her. She backed away the minute she was standing. It gave the impression that she was scared, maybe of what he might do. All he wanted to do was be nice.

"Easy now." His voice was patient, trying not to startle the fawn before him. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl looked just as frightened for a second, before examining the guy up and down. Her expression was calm now though she still seemed confused about his intentions. She approached him a little.