Chapter 3

All of us looked at each other in fear before I dashed towards where the noise came from. The others followed closely behind. Although none of us spoke of it, deep down, we all knew what had happened. We silently prayed that our fears would not come true, but the chances were slim.

I thought of all the other times I had witnessed my friends fall. I thought of all the times I felt despair. The countless number of times I thought that I would die, that I would never make it out of here, that I would never achieve freedom.

I always wondered when it would be my turn. Sometimes, as I witnessed my friends die, I wished that I would be next, just so that I did not have to go through the grief of losing someone I care about again.

As we neared the site of the noise, our fears were confirmed.

The land was barren from the explosion, Where there used to be green lush grass was now a small crater and in it, a mangled body. We gasped at the horrific sight, but our shock was short lived.

In the distance boomed a loud voice "Head to the west gate now!" We decided to do as we were told, lest we suffer the same fate as the boy. It was as if they wanted one of us to die before letting us proceed. As we navigated the treacherous terrain, filled with hills and dense forests, we finally got to the west gate. It was slowly opening and a bright ray of light spilled out, like molten gold. Under much more different circumstances, I might have even stopped to admire it.

Most of us quickly recovered from the shock and grief. We were desensitised to the deaths, as we had all seen it happen a countless number of times. Although it may seem strange, we were relieved as the doors opened. Whenever this happened, it meant that the trial was over, and that we would be able to go back to our cells to rest for the day.

However, this time, this was not the case.

As we walked into the room, we were greeted with the sight of a huge body of water. It was at least two-hundred metres long and wide.

"First a giant grassland, and now such a huge body of water?" I thought.

As usual, I scanned my surroundings for any threats. But this time, I was also paying close attention to Wisp and his every move. First, he scrutinised a wall for any clues, then he went over to the edge of the platform and stared down at the water. With the tips of his fingers, he skimmed them across the surface of the water ever so gently before moving on. He checked every nook and cranny of the room, leaving no stone unturned. But nothing was happening.

I assumed that we had to board the boats provided to us. There were four boats, just enough for the eight of us. I got into a boat with Wisp while Frey got into a boat with Jack. After everyone was ready, we set sail for the middle of the water body, or rather, we used the heavy wooden oars provided to us to painstakingly row our boats to the middle of the water body.

However, even after rowing to the middle of the water, nothing was happening.

"I know!" We all turned to see where the voice came from. It was Jack. After he had our attention, he began to explain his theory. "I believe that this is a test of our strength on water. This means that they are trying to get us to fight and kill each other in this trial, to find out who the strongest is!" He announced. I disagreed, but the others nodded their head in agreement.

I prepared myself for the fight, knowing that the others thought that Jack was right. Soon enough, the chaos ensued. Everyone was trying to push each other into the water with their oars. It was like a joust but on water and instead of one opponent, there were three. Although I was trying to reason with the others, so that we could cooperate and find a more peaceful solution, none of them were listening.

Time passed, but to me it might as well have already ended. Jack himself got knocked into the water by an oar that was coming at him from behind. The moment he touched the water, I saw a large silhouette emerging from the depths. Sensing danger, I yelled at him frantically to get back on the boat, but it was too late. A monstrous creature leapt out of the water. It was at least forty metres long, and had several tentacles. "The Kraken...so it was real", I heard Wisp mutter under his breath.

As Jack entered the Kraken's mouth, I heard a loud crack and flinched. Even though I was not within its jaws, I could still feel the pain as I saw Jack's lifeless body in the Kraken's mouth. Bone and flesh made the man, but the soul lies true. This...this was not something a normal person would do.

It was debatable whether the manner where the children met their maker was of much concern to them. Death was permanent, however it arrived. And it was arriving more often, almost as if he was running impatient and wanted to kill us quicker. This was bad news for us.

"The Kraken? Isn't that a myth? Besides, what is it doing here?" I thought as I stared at the creature incredulously.

The Kraken started flailing its arms in a wild rampage in an attempt to hit us, but they were easy to avoid. The aim was off, and it was clumsy. "Pincer!" I cried out to Frey, and he looked funny at me. "Corner him on the sides," I said. "Now!"

Both of our boats swerved hard to the sides, met at the back. Wisp showed a grasp of rattan from his hand- "Just in case," he said, "people like you screw up." We used it, tied the rattan at each end of the boat, ours on the left and Frey's on the right. Blood from Jack's death was floating above the sea, a red mass that obscured what laid below. This was worse than dying; this was living under death.

As expected, the trial had just started. The Kraken levitated, its eyes glowing bright red, flailing its tentacles to create huge waves of water that were give or take five metres tall. It was a tsunami, coming at us from all directions.

And as if that wasn't enough to have to deal with, the Kraken roared, and bright red gusts of fire shot out from its mouth.

"What is with this man and the colour red?" I thought briefly before reality came back knocking.

So now, there was a torrent of fire, tsunamis and tentacles coming from every direction to kill us. Frey shouted something, and I shouted back, "What?"

"Diversion!" Frey shouted. "Count of three!" A violent splash of fire echoed on the side, rocking our boats wildly from side to side. He took out a fishing knife, and with one swift cut severed the rattan connecting both vessels in half.

"What is he doing?" Wisp cried out. "He'll die!" He moved to change course, but I swatted his hand away, and I said, "Get the rattan, and drape it on his side." Wisp moved to the other side of the boat, flinching as another large wave splashed grandly near our boat. The other two boats, with four terrified kids, they could do nothing but abort their boats.

"Three!"

The kraken shrieked and swung at Frey, but he dodged down and just managed to avoid it. "We won't hold for long!" Wisp shouted. One other boat was still floating here and there as its last remaining person on it tried to dodge the kraken. He gestured to us, and from his boat threw another thread of rattan. Wisp caught it, and tied it to our end of the boat.

"Two!"

Another swing, another dodge. A twist of flame nicked the edge of the third boat's hull and decimated it. The person on board rowed backwards and started to pull us out. "Now!" I said to Wisp, and he threw the rattan in his hand out to Frey's boat. Easily it flew, gracefully through the air, and landed in Frey's hand.

"Now!"

Frey jumped off the boat just as a whirling wave crashed into his boat, smashing it into smithereens. Frey was unconscious by the time Wisp managed to pull him aboard our ship. On Frey's bare heel, buried within its skin was a splinter from the boat's wreckage, and blood was seeping out of the injury.

"Come!" Wisp beckoned to the other one, the one who had helped us, but just as he was about to leap off the boat, a tentacle smashed down on it, sinking it. Nothing resurfaced.

With that pain in my heart, nothing to hold on for, we could only run. Although to where, although what happens next, it's just us.