Chapter 6 Hell is Cold #3
“While it is difficult to enter, as many of you have learned, it is more difficult to escape. In your second task, you will be tested on your physical ability to survive. For those not up for the challenge, this will be your last chance to turn back. The second task will begin when those who wish to leave are escorted from the valley. I will not be fielding questions. Should you wish to continue, enter the tent. For those of you who will return to your mundane lives, stay where you are,” he said.
Angry shouting erupted. I flinched.
“What! That’s not fair!”
“We’re starving! How can we do another task like this?”
Annoyance threatened to trigger my impulsivity, but I stifled it and swallowed the sarcasm trying to fly out of my mouth. How could anyone, after what we went through, think he gave one fuck about how we felt about this?
“Silence! Make your decision,” Commander Everson shouted. “And one more thing. Only the first fifty recruits will be accepted.”
Several others started shouting. They were right. This entire situation was a hit young adult book from the aughts. It was stupid to argue with him, and yet, they were going to do it anyway. All of this was absurd, and we were probably going to die out here.
I didn’t want to listen to it. My nerves were fraying and retwisting into knots as the noise increased, my head pounding. If I had any chance of surviving the task, this chaos was the last thing I needed.
I stood abruptly and headed for the tent.
The noise was bothering me more than anything Commander Everson was saying.
And, of course, they were going to weed us out.
It made little difference what the next task was—it was going to suck, and the less I thought about it, the better my chances would be.
I went into the tent, relieved to find that I was alone for a moment.
Why were the others trying to get into this place anyway? I knew why I wanted to get in, but how many people here were trying to find answers for their completely messed-up existence? What was their excuse for putting themselves through this?
I leaned against the support beam, grateful for the moment alone. A few moments later, the door flap shifted.
A young woman entered, her dark curls spilling over her shoulders. Rosy cheeks. Bright brown eyes. Confident and beautiful. Not nearly wretched enough for what we’d been through.
She was wearing one of the issued black cloaks, but beneath, she wore fitted clothing that looked more appropriate for winter than most of the others. She came and sat opposite me against the other beam when she saw me.
“Hey,” she said with a smile, speaking with a slight English accent. “I’m Isabella.”
I smiled back. “Anna.”
“This place is pretty wild, huh?” she said, glancing at the tent opening.
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m questioning my sanity for agreeing to this. Did they knock you out and dump you in the wilderness, too?”
Her eyes widened, and she nodded slowly. “I wasn’t expecting that. If I hadn’t seen the smoke from the fire, I wouldn’t have made it here.”
“You could see the smoke?” I asked, remembering the storm.
“Mainly, I smelled it,” she said. “I found a small pass through the mountains.”
I nodded, my attention drifting as a few more recruits came in, resignation etched into their expressions. “Any idea what this next task will be?”
Isabella shook her head. “Probably going to put us in a ring with a bear and see if we can make it out.”
I almost smiled at the joke but stopped quickly.
What if it was something like that? I tried to imagine what I could use to make a weapon out here when the flap whipped open again. Several more recruits came in, and I noticed the redhead from earlier—Cody. He caught my eye and made his way over.
“Hey,” he said, nodding at me and giving Isabella a quick wave. “Decided to go for it, huh?”
I nodded slowly. “We came this far. Can’t turn back now, right?”
Indecision hung between us as we tried to digest that. Glancing between the two, I let out my breath, breaking the silence. “What made you guys decide to come to Nightfall?”
Isabella perked up first. “My father works there as a groundskeeper. It sucks not being able to see him or know anything about where he is all the time. So, I decided to come to him.”
“Oh, wow. That’s crazy,” I said. “So, he didn’t tell you anything about this place?”
She shook her head.
“How about you?” I asked, glancing at Cody.
He shrugged. “I got the letter in the mail and decided, why not. I didn’t have much worth staying for.”
A flicker of something heavy passed over his face; one that was too familiar.
“What about you?” he asked.
I seized up, words not forming quickly enough. I should’ve been expecting that question. Cody didn’t miss it as his demeanor shifted minutely—he knew what darkness felt like. The kind you experience too young to understand it. When it's raw and you don’t know what to do with it.
“I came here because my mom attended when she was younger,” I said, finally composing myself. “I wanted to learn more about where she went. I lost her a few years ago.”
Cody nodded, but it was clear he was trying to read me. It made me want to laugh. It would be nice if he could. I wasn’t sure what I was doing half the time. All I knew was that I wanted to know what she was running from.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Isabella said. “From what I can gather from my father, Nightfall’s an incredible place, if you can get in.”
The flap snapped open. Commander Everson stood in shadow, his outline silhouetted by eerie, muted light. The next task was here.
“We’re ready to begin.”