Inter Mundos (Between Worlds)

Twenty Six: The Trails From Hell

It was the morning of finals. There were no classes; everyone was participating in one giant event that would test our skills and determine if we would be the next few to journey forth with the captains. It was exciting to think about traveling the sea of space with Captain James Pleiades Hawkins. But everyone was thinking about that, whether they wanted to sail with Captain Amelia or Captain Kate, or whoever. I wasn't the only one with this in mind.
Maria was busy getting ready while I was sitting on my bed still contemplating everything go on around me.
"Are you going to get ready?" Maria asked as she put her hair up. She was almost ready to go. All she had to do was put on her boots.
I nodded with uncertainty. "I think so. I mean, I'm ready as I'll ever be."
Maria grinned. "Briar...you're not even dressed yet. Do you know where to go?"
I nodded again, this time with more enthusiasm. "Of course. Lucard made triple sure." I stood up and stretched.
"Good," said Maria, "then I will see you there. I'm going now so don't expect me to slow down for you." She left before I could say another word.
I groaned, taking off my pajamas so I could properly dress myself. I put on what looked very similar to my usual uniform, only this time it was black and tighter. I was glad to have lost a stone in weight; fifteen pounds to be exact.
Our uniforms were designed this way and made to be stretchy for the physical activity we were to perform. And since my hair was short I needn't do anything with it and left my room as soon as I was ready.
On my way to the back of the school grounds I stopped by the cafeteria and grabbed myself a donut and a pear...you know, to even things out. And to wash it all down I snagged a juice box. Today everything was free for us students since it was the hardest day out of the year. It was the school's way of showing its students appreciation.
Appreciation? My butt! The academy was tough, although not nearly as tough as University.

As I scarfed down my breakfast and chugged my juice I made my way to the back yard. It was more like a giant field and a stadium was set up. There were thousands of people and I felt my breakfast turning in to something I didn't want and suddenly felt nauseous.
There was a table where a few teachers and the principle sat.
"Over here, Miss Edwards." Said the principle. I slowly walked over as a few students got in line behind me. "You are in class A, correct?" I nodded as I watched the principle scan a list. "Please, see to Mrs. Larson."
I took the piece of paper I was given and looked down the table. I didn't know these teachers so I had to look at all of their name tags. Finally, I found Mrs. Larson. "Hi," I said.
Mrs. Larson was some type of Alien with bright orange skin and pale blue eyes. She was terrifyingly beautiful. "Miss Edwards, I have been expecting you."
"Am I late?" I asked.
She chuckled. "Of course not. You're early." She handed me a badge with my name and class type.
"Won't this get dirty or fall off during the finals?"
Mrs. Larson shook her head. "No. Hold it up to your chest on the left." I did as she said and the badge snapped on to me like a magnet and seeped into my uniform. It was as if there was never a badge to begin with and it gleamed. "And now nothing will happen to it during the finals." Mrs. Larson.
I looked out at the vast crowd of other students lining up in different rows. "How do I know where to go from here?" I asked.
"You see the thin gold line on the badge? Stand in line with the gold flag." Mrs. Larson told me.

I turned my heel and looked up to find the gold flag three rows down. Unfortunately, neither Maria or Lucard where on my team. In fact most of the students I was with I didn't know. I'd barely walked by them in the halls and now I was going to have to depend on them for whatever was to come next.
When everything was right and we students were situated a loud pop echoed throughout the field, or in this case, the newly built stadium. We all looked up to see the captains walk out on to what looked like a balcony, only these were front row seats. Admiral Blake walked up to speak through the micro-phone; his finger tapped on it to make sure it was working.
"Dear students," he began. "You have all made it through a very difficult year, but only a few of you will be selected to join the captains on a voyage." He explained all of the rules, telling us that in order to achieve greatness we would have to work as a team in order to make it to the end. Of course we all knew that, but when he told us that not all teams would be here for the end, a knot tightened in my stomach. If we failed as a team, we failed altogether.
I could see Jim up there with the rest of the captains. I gulped, feeling his eyes on me. If I messed up that was it; all of my hard work would have been for nothing. I looked at my team, suddenly realizing why they were set up this way. We're not always going to be surrounded by people we know. There will be days when our lives will depend on people we know little about.
When Admiral Blake finished his speech a by-standing teacher was there to tell us the rules of the first trial: each team would be given a ball, one to match the color of our team, and take it to the other end of the field without it dropping or breaking. It seemed easy enough, but when we were told that whichever team did not succeed they would automatically me excluded from the finals.
There was a total of six teams and we all divided into three separate groups. And above the stadium a scale-like shield, much like the ones on the ship, covered all our heads. This was one way to keep out pirates or any other unwanted guests.