The Trials Of Life

chapter 1

I woke up to a cold hard floor in a dark room. I had no clue where I was, who I was with and why I was here. As the memories started flooding back, I remembered a strange man coming into my classroom at school and taking me to a strange aircraft, hands yanked behind my back. A cloth with foul smelling stuff on it was placed over my face until I passed out.  And now I was here.

Bright lights suddenly flickered on, and a loud voice boomed "come here" everyone squinted to see where the voice had come from. There was a man standing at the front on a stage. We were in a large hall. "Now!" He yelled. Everyone scrambled to their feet and hurried to him. I was one of the last, I recognised some familiar faces, but none I was friends with, until ashton snuck up beside me. "Stay with me leah" he whispered.  He looked as scared as I was.  Ashton was quite hot, but I didnt fancy him.  We had become friends because my old boyfriend was friends with him. I was glad to have him here, everyone seemed to have paired up already. 

This weird man on the stage looked like the guy who had captured me back at school. And I think he knew that too, from the way he kept looking at me. He stood staring at  everyone for a while, then shouted "let the trials begin!!" Everyone looked at each other confused.  "Does he have to keep shouting" ashton muttered, which was a big mistake because the man marched right up to his face. However he didnt say anything, but when he walked past his hand brushed my stomach which sent a small shiver down my spine. "What trials?" I whispered.  The instructor turned around and gave me a small stare. "I am your instructor.  You do not need to know my name. You are here for trials, not for tonnes of questions to be asked" he narrowed his eyes at me, then walked away. "You will do everything any of us adults say, if you don't, there will be consequences" he continued. "Now line up in two rows of five. We are going to begin our exercise class" he said. No one questioned, everyone scrambled to get in line. Me and ashton were separated.

Two ladies dressed in bright sports clothes, which contrasted with the dull colours of the hall, walked onto the stage and music began to play. "copy us" they sang, jogging on the spot. everyone did as they were asked, for they were too scared of what would happen. I glanced at ashton, who gave me a slight nod and I turned to face the front again, to see the instructor staring at me from the corner of the room. I tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling that you get when someone stares at you, but I couldn't shake it off. he made his way over and stopped right in front of me, and I stopped jogging. "well?" I asked. he slapped me round the face, the sound bouncing off the cold stone walls. "hey!! don't touch her!" ashton yelled. by now everyone was looking. the instructor walked over to ashton and punched him in the stomach. "I'm teaching you all to be tough, now I gave no one permission to stop. especially you" he pointed at me. The exercising continued, I didn't dare to say anything else, or even look around me, I focused on the wall in front of me.

we were just finishing off stretching our muscles when I felt a pair of hands rest on my waist. I ignored the shiver that it sent down my spine and forced myself to be calm. "what are you doing" I hissed. I knew it was the instructor. "meet me in the little room opposite the canteen at 8 tonight. do not be late" he murmured in my ear, only so I could hear. "and why would I do that" I said, still looking at the wall. "lets just say things will get worse if you don't" he hissed, then  kissed my cheek and his hands left my waist. I was terrified.

we had the rest of the day to do what we liked, so me and ashton took a wander to get our bearings. we discovered a gym, garden, our dormitory, a lounge and the canteen. I noticed the little room straight away. we decided to sit in the garden for a while, out of the whole place this seemed to be the only thing that was colourful and pretty. we found a bench, with a fountain in front. a gardener worked in the distance. "what was that instructor doing to you earlier?" ashton asked, breaking the silence. "what? oh nothing" I lied. "leah he had his hands all over you" "he was just correcting my posture and telling me some tips" I said. "really leah? that's the worst lie ive heard. he looked like he was trying to get with you or something" ashton said. "well he wasn't!" I snapped, getting up to head back indoors. "leah.." "leave me alone" I cried, running back in.

the tension between me and ashton was unbearable later in the canteen. "look ashton, I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier" I sighed, not liking the silence. "its okay. sorry I kept pushing. I believed you really, I just wanted to look out for you" he said, but the look on his face told me he still thought I was lying. "thank you. but you really don't need to. I can look after myself" I replied. "its just...he's a grown man. and your 16 leah. that makes you vulnerable" he said. "yeah I know, but nothing is going on. can we stop talking about it now?" I asked. he nodded, still unsure. we finished our meals, and headed back to our dormitory. we weren't there long when a woman bustled in with a big box. "swimsuits" she said. everyone looked at her. "what for?" I asked. "showering" she replied, pulling out a big black bundle. "showering?" someone questioned. "yes your showers are communal. we figured you wouldn't want to shower naked together. come and collect your size" she said. the girls got black bikinis and the boys had black shorts. "can you tell us what's going on? like its seems like a prison but there's too many facilities for that" someone asked. the woman sighed. "I'm afraid I'm not allowed to say anything but the facilities are for your comfort during your trials. it wont be like this for many more months" she replied. there was a series of groans and "months??" shouted out, but the woman stuck to her word. she didn't say anymore about the trials, whatever they were. "if I could tell you I would. I know it must be very scary and confusing for you but I really must say anymore" and with that she headed out.

I checked the time. it was 7:50. 10 minutes. my heart was thumping so hard and a sickening feeling crept into my stomach. I didn't know what was coming, but it wasn't going to be good. I needed to leave. trying to stop myself shaking I got up slowly. "where are you going?" ashton asked. "ah just for a walk. need to clear my head and get some fresh air" I replied. "wait! ill come with you" he said. "nah don't worry. I feel a bit sick actually. I don't like anyone seeing me be sick. I just want to be alone" I lied. "oh ok" he sat down, looking disappointed. "I'm sure ill be fine once ive had fresh air. ill be back soon" I said. "okay" was the only reply I got. I felt so bad, lying to ashton like this, but what else could I do? if I told him the truth he would kick off and worry sick about me. I didn't want the attention.

it was dark and creepy in the hallways and I felt like someone was watching me with every move I made. it was also very quiet and I forced myself to walk faster. I located the little room opposite the canteen and made my way to the door. I looked at my watch again. 7:55. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. it swung open, and my heart jumped. that horrible familiar voice boomed : "your 5 minutes early. even better"