In the middle of this vast, open plain, we wait.
The sun rises, and we're all getting tired, hungry and thirsty. It's obvious the aliens aren't going to bring us any food, water, or anything of the sort.
They want us to suffer.
But more importantly, they want us to be weak and vulnerable. Which we are, but they clearly don't think we're there yet. I suppose they want us as physically tired and worn down as possible to terrify us the most.
Why, then, they had us sleep the night before I don't know.
Maybe there is some other reason for this...?
The older woman who has been working with the alien all this time turns to us.
"In half an hour's time, the alarm will sound and your training starts. Run from the rock. Run as far and fast as you can." She turns to point at a rock in the middle of the clearing, just beside where we are. It's large, and flat, like a boulder.
I swallow.
I've got half an hour to try and prepare for the upcoming trial. For the things that the older man told us would be coming.
...I guess I shouldn't call them things. I should say predators.
It reminds me how dangerous this is.
"Where are we running to?" Mia asks.
"It will be evident." The older woman answers. She doesn't say any more.
Mia turns to me and frowns, giving an exaggerated shrug of her shoulders, as if to say 'what can you do?'
Eric's lips purse.
Hestia's grip tightens on my arm, and I reach down to take her hand.
This isn't something I want to do.
I don't think I'm a very good runner. I never did sports. I didn't jog in the morning or evening.
My stamina isn't the best.
I'm probably in a lot of danger, then, if they plan to release predators on us.
But there isn't any choice but to run.
The alien says something else, and the woman nods.
"We are leaving." She tells us, turning to leave.
Mia shakes her head in confusion. "Leaving...? All of us....?"
Eric touches her shoulder. "I guess we'd best get ready." He says. His voice is quiet. "Come on."
"...Yeah. Okay..."
Mia continues to look in the direction of the aliens as they disappear, confused and rightfully suspicious.
Eric looks...
Resigned, maybe? Annoyed, definitely.
They're unleashing animals on us an can't even be bothered to be present for it. That is...
Undoubtedly pretty cowardly.
But then again, they don't think of us as anything more than slaves, do they?
We're nothing but property to them.
And the way the older man spoke made it sound as though they don't really care if they lose some of us.
They just need us to fear escape, to fear even trying to survive without them.
Once the aliens are away, Eric leans in to murmur in her ear.
"...Look at the edge of the forest."
"...Okay."
Eric and Mia look over the treeline. They look at the shadows. Eric frowns, but Mia doesn't look concerned. "They've left us here. And we have a half hour to prepare." He says, his voice grim. He's clearly worried about something.
Which.
Is the chase we're about to be in. Obviously. But at least he has an excuse to look worried now.
"Right. But prepare for what? A race....?" Mia shakes her head.
"They are going to release some kind of predator to chase us, to scare us." He mutters, voice low. His gaze flicks across the rest of the trainees around them, as if he's worried about being overheard not only by our captors but by unknown fellow captives.
"What?!" Mia hisses, her voice dropping to match his own. She doesn't look surprised though. She looks annoyed.
"We'll need to be fast." Eric's voice is quiet, serious. "I'll try to help the people around me, but..." His eyes narrow and he glances over to the other end of the field, where the other group is standing, not close to us.
They are talking quietly amongst themselves.
Eric's eyes flick to Mia. "...How good is your endurance?"
"Uh." Mia purses her lips. "Pretty okay, I guess." She glances at the others. "...We need to get to the other group, if you're right about this."
Eric purses his lips, then shakes his head. "It'll take too long, especially if they ask how I know."
She squints at him. "And how do you?"
"I'll tell you later. Just trust me for now."
She clicks her tongue, evidently unimpressed. "Right." Her tone is dry and disbelieving. "Fine. Okay. You're being weird. But..."
Her gaze flickers out to the shadows that are barely visible on the treeline again. Her expression carries more worry than before.
"Yeah. It does seem like we might have something coming." She agrees.
"Let's stick together. If we have to run, it's best not to get separated. None of us know this place well enough to get out safely on our own."
Get out...
Is that the right term for escaping predators through an unknown forest....?
Maybe.
But it's semantics.
What matters is surviving.
Not getting split up is...part of survival. That's why I'm holding Hestia's hand.
I just need to hold on and make sure I don't let her get separated, even as we're running. We have to be together, to protect one another, if nothing else.
Even if I fall behind Mia and Eric and the others, I'll still be able to watch and protect Hestia.
Mia nods slowly. She seems to have come to the same conclusion.
"Okay." Mia mutters, and her gaze goes back over the rest of the group.
Her voice drops so it's almost impossible to hear her. "Are we...going to escape this in one piece....?" She asks. Her voice is unsteady. It's unusual for her to show uncertainty, fear.
Eric looks over at her and reaches to touch her shoulder gently.
He gives a faint smile. "Yeah. I think so." His voice is quiet, calm. "...Just...stay together. We'll get out of this."
"Okay..." Mia's voice wavers slightly, but then she smiles back, her eyes glimmering, that spark of her usual energy returning..
She looks down, and her hand reaches out to grab Eric's free one, then turns to me. "...Let's do this. Together."
"Yeah... Definitely."
I swallow.
...I'm just not as good at projecting optimism as Mia is.
But.
I'm still gonna give running my all.