The AFTER Trials #wattys2016

Chapter Two

Gabrielle inhaled deeply. She was at Cadence University a week later. She was sitting in a small room with six other teenagers. She knew everyone, but hadn't spoken to most of them in a long time. Kaedyn, a tall lanky brunet, and Elijah, a short, muscular blond, were talking in hushed tones in the corner of the room. Elizabeth looked like she was going to murder someone in the next five minutes, and Roselle and Zahara, a petite brunette, just looked sad over the whole issue. Luke Garrett was watching Gabrielle. She blushed and turned away quickly. This became very awkward very fast once the two boys' conversation ended. They all sat in silence for a good ten minutes.

"Oh, good, you're all here." Tessa entered the room, holding a large box. "Come here, all of you, and get your gear."

"... Gear?" Luke asked.

"Well, you aren't going to a different dimension wearing those." They all looked around at each others clothes. They were all wearing clothing bearing the colours and symbols of their kingdom. Blue for Elizabeth, white for Gabrielle, black for Luke, purple for Kaedyn, navy blue for Elijah, red for Roselle and green for Zahara. The girls wore dresses, and the boys wore suits.

"Uh.... None of us have any other clothes than these." Roselle scoffed. "We are royalty, after all."

"Of course." Tessa chuckled forcefully. Her smile dropped immediately, and she was back to a very serious expression. "In this box, you will find a black, full body suit, with your kingdom's symbol embroidered on the shoulder. Come get them, please." She put the box down and walked out of the room swiftly.

"Uh, is there anywhere we can change?!" Roselle tried to call after Tessa, but it was too late. The doors closed on Roselle and cut her off. Everyone stood awkwardly clasping their suit. It seemed to be made of a very flexible and pliable fabric none of them had ever seen before. It had little pockets in some odd places; on the right side of the right leg, on the breast, and on the left shoulder. There was also a hood. They looked around for a private room where they could take turns changing, but there was none.

"Well, we could overturn these tables to create barriers and the girls could change on this side and the guys could change on that side?" Elizabeth suggested halfheartedly.

"Yeah, sure." Gabrielle and Kaedyn replied in unison. Gabrielle blushed. She hated this about herself. Being so pale, she blushed very obviously, which usually happened around all boys. And he was very handsome. They proceeded to overturn the tables and people began changing into their suits. Gabrielle was shocked at how well it fit. It was snug to her curves and wasn't uncomfortable in the least. The little silver fox on her shoulder shone bright against the black. She looked down at herself and was embarrassed. She was the youngest there, so she was naturally smaller than the other girls in more ways than one. Roselle and Elizabeth's suits were much more flattering than hers. She felt uncomfortable now. Zahara tapped Gabrielle on the shoulder. Gabrielle inspected the strange white deer like creature with golden horns on Zahara's suit, noticing at that same moment that she and Zahara were around the same height.

"Don't worry about them. It doesn't matter." Zahara smiled, knowing exactly what Gabrielle had been thinking. Gabrielle smiled at her.

"Thanks."

On the other side of the tables, the boys were changing. Kaedyn and Elijah seemed like they were very awkward, but Luke couldn't care less. He was the first out of his clothes and last into them. He took his sweet time

They all stepped out from behind the tables. Everyone's suits were exactly the same, except for the little embroidered symbols. They were all so different, just as the children were. A knock sounded.

"Everyone decent?" Tessa's voice called.

"Yes." Everyone chimed.

"Alright, let's go." Tessa opened the door and everyone walked out of the room, leaving behind their old clothes. "Before you can go through the Portal, you need to train both physically and mentally to prepare you for this. You will see things that aren't real when you pass through the Portal, and you cannot be distracted from your task by these hallucinations."

"Um, what exactly is our task, anyways?" Roselle inquired. Everyone nodded along, wanting to know why they were there.

"All in due time, children." Tessa smiled briefly and continued down the corridor. Luke and Kaedyn exchanged a curious look.

"So, do you know what the point of all this is?" Roselle whispered into Elizabeth's ear.

"Ugh, no. I don't know any more than you do. Now leave me alone." Roselle shrugged, but didn't step away from Elizabeth. She felt uncomfortable to have someone standing so close to her by choice.

"Alright. Here are the living quarters. There are three rooms, so a boy and a girl will have to be in the same room. Roselle, Elizabeth and Zahara, you are in room 1. Elijah and Kaedyn, you have room 2, and Luke and Gabrielle, you have room 3. Get settled, in and wait for a letter to arrive to tell you what to do next. Get settled in quickly, please." Tessa said quickly. She then left and they were all left standing in the hallway.

"Gabrielle, if you're uncomfortable staying with Luke, then he can bunk with the boys and you and Zahara can share room 3, or something." Roselle offered patronizingly.

"She'll be fine, Rose." Luke laughed. "God, I'm not some creep. She's, what, like twelve?"

"Almost fifteen." Gabrielle mumbled.

"Oh. Really?" Elizabeth chuckled.

"Yes, 'really'." Gabrielle glared at Elizabeth.

"Hey, let's get settled, okay?" Zahara interrupted the tense silence that followed.

"Whatever." Elizabeth scoffed, entering the first room on the left. Luke and Gabrielle lingered in the hallway. Luke cleared his throat.

"Ladies first." Luke gestured towards the door. Gabrielle nodded and entered the last room. Her jaw dropped. It was huge. It included a kitchen, a bathroom, two separate bedrooms and a lounge with a sort of electronic screen hanging on the wall. "Wow." Luke came in behind her, shutting the door gently. "Nice set up."

"Do you know what that thing is?" Gabrielle asked, pointing to the screen on the wall.

"No. But I think it will tell us what to do next." Sure enough, after half an hour of waiting around, every room's screen lit up with a message from Tessa. It read:

Hello children. As it is your first day, we want you to feel as comfortable as possible, but we haven't much time, so we will save the relaxing for later. Please report to the room indicated in red on the map in the desk drawer. Thank you. Tessa Celeste.

Everyone made their way down the maze like halls to the room indicated in red. When they arrived, they were in a massive room with all types of different weapons, obstacle courses and machines that were unfamiliar to them.

"Welcome to your first day of training, kids." A voice said from behind them. They all turned around to see a woman and a man. They appeared to be related in some way. "Let's get started." She clapped her hands, smiling, and the man smirked.