Chapter 6

A Chapter by Addi

It was time. Sebastian had barely slept the night before, so as he was yanked out from under a pile of blankets, bleary-eyed and freezing, he felt more tired than he had before getting into bed. Not exactly the perfect state to enter an important- and possibly life-threatening- task in. Groggily, he pulled on his clothes and made an attempt to flatten the front of his hair, where one tuft was stubbornly sticking out. Eventually he gave up on it and, after Ed pointed out that his shirt was back-to-front, straightened up his clothing. He hung around at the back of the group as they filed out into the sunshine, Kerry chatting away at his side. Instructor Hodges was waiting there to escort them to the challenge area. They had no idea what lay ahead of them, and they followed Hodges in apprehensive silence. To say that Sebastian was nervous would be the biggest understatement of the year. His legs seemed determined to disobey him, wobbling unsteadily beneath him, and though it was a warm morning, he had to suppress a shudder as they came closer and closer to the challenge, whatever it was. Curiously, the sky was becoming progressively darker, though Sebastian did not notice it until it began to look more like early evening than seven o’clock in the morning. Still the world around them gradually darkened and finally someone dared put forward a question.

“What’s wrong with the sky?” Benjamin ventured, glancing quickly at Hodges to see his reaction. But the man merely smiled thinly, his dark eyebrows drawing together slightly.

“You’ll soon find out,” he replied. Several people made noises of exasperation, which made Hodges’ smile widen even further.

Eventually, thirteen anxious men and women arrived at the edge of a forest, thick with slender green trees that winded up far above their heads towards the sky, which by that time was almost pitch-black. A lone figure stood beside a tall gum, a flaming torch in his hand. As the light flickered across his face, Sebastian recognised King Siotan.

“It is good to see that all of you have made it through eleven weeks of training,” said Siotan, his voice booming out in the eerie silence. Sebastian could only see a few metres in front of him now, which was a daunting feeling, if he was right in thinking they were going into the forest ahead. “However,” continued the King, “nothing could prepare you for what you are about to face. Things will happen in this challenge, lives will change. I beseech of you to take it seriously. You are going to be in a kind of danger you have never experienced before, and it is going to be brutal, frightening and fantastic. Take with you every ounce of skill you have: you’ll need it. Now. This first challenge is something of an… obstacle course. You will be making your way through there”-Siotan gestured at the forest behind him, and Sebastian’s stomach somersaulted- “and meeting many different… obstacles. The first one to come out the other side of the forest will win the challenge. The last will be eliminated.”

“Your Majesty, what’s going on with the sky?” asked Jeremiah.

“Will we be getting torches?” queried Abigail, looking with concern at the suffocating darkness around her.

“Ah, the sky,” said the King, his teeth glowing as he grinned. “Yes, that was one of my more brilliant ideas. It is a very powerful illusion: only the strongest minds can resist. I doubt that any of you will be able to, and I’m sorry to say you will not be getting torches.”

“So we’re supposed to blunder through there in the dark?” demanded Celeste incredulously.

“Yes, my girl, it is a true test of your skill,” answered Siotan calmly. “Now, at the first drum beat, you will get into position.” For the first time, Sebastian noticed the large drum at the King’s feet as the torchlight wandered. “I can guarantee you there will be a good deal of pushing as you start off. Do try not to fall over, won’t you?”

“Yeah, like we’re going to try to fall over,” said Celeste in an audible whisper. Siotan ignored her.

“On the second beat of the drum, you will begin. Running may seem like a good tactic to you, but if you happen to get… entangled in something in your haste, the challenge is pretty much over for you.”

As the first drum beat echoed around the clearing, there was a scramble to get into the best position. Ironically, Celeste was the first person to fall over in the struggle, but no one took any notice of her and some of them even stepped on her in their haste. People pushed and shoved to be first in line, but Sebastian stood dazedly at the very back as he felt a small jab in his side. He looked down to see Kerry’s elbow digging into him.

“What?” he said, not looking at her.

“Come on, Sebastian, stop being an idiot. If we have to get through that mess in the dark, we’re going to do it together,” Kerry smiled. Sebastian was hugely grateful for his best friend at that moment as he slipped his hand into hers. Siotan raised his arm for the second drum beat, but Sebastian didn’t hear it. His ears seemed to be blocked and only when he saw the people ahead start forward did he move. Kerry walked beside him and they had just enough time to register a winding path beneath their feet and a river sparkling ahead, when the King blew out his torch behind them and they were thrown into pitch blackness. If it wasn’t for the comforting hand in his, Sebastian would have stopped right there.

“This is awful,” whimpered Kerry, as she bumped into Lillian just in front of her.

“It’s worse than I imagined it,” agreed Sebastian. “I don’t know, Kerry, I don’t know if it’s worth it.”

“Well we’re here now, aren’t we? We can’t go back, so we may as well give it our best,” said Kerry and, tightening her grip on Sebastian’s hand, she started moving faster, leading him deeper into the forest and further away from help. With every step, Sebastian heard a strange noise, probably belonging to several huge, hairy beasts just behind them. He could almost feel their breath on the back of his neck. He couldn’t see where the others were, he couldn’t see anything. It was the most frightening feeling of his life. Slosh. His foot was dumped unceremoniously into something distinctly wet.

“Kerry…” But her hand was gone. Kerry was gone. His one and only hope, gone. What was he supposed to do? How could he go on? Had she fallen somewhere? He had lost her. He had let her down, and now he was alone.

“Sebastian!” cried a familiar voice and Sebastian found himself smiling. The hand was back in his grip, warm and comforting. “It’s water, Sebastian, I put my hand in. I think we’ve reached that river.”

“What are they trying to do, drown us?” gasped Sebastian. He could picture a smile spreading across Kerry’s face.

“There has to be a bridge, right? Or a way around it. All we have to do is find it.”

“In complete darkness. Yeah, should be a snap.”

“Don’t be negative, Sebastian. Positive thinking, remember?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Oh, honestly! I could leave you here to fend for yourself, but I’m not going to because we’re friends. The least you could do is act a little bit grateful.”

“Trust me, Kerry, I’m grateful. But we’re never going to get through this!”

“Shut up and let me think.”

Kerry made her way into the river, and after a few loud splashes re-emerged and groped for Sebastian’s hand again.

“Well, it’s definitely too deep to wade through,” she confirmed. “Do I have mud in my hair?”

“Well I can’t see, can I? Anyway, I don’t know how you can be worrying about a bit of mud right now…” said Sebastian, shaking his head.

“And if I hadn’t been holding onto the bank with all my might, the current would have swept me away, so we can’t swim across,” continued Kerry. “There has to be another way.” She heard a crash behind her and felt Sebastian’s weight dumped on her toe. “What are you doing down there, moron?”

“Tripped,” Sebastian mumbled. “Tree root or something. Don’t know how you went into that river without seeing anything.”

“I wonder where the others are, whether they’ve gotten through this… Why don’t you go look for a bridge in that direction? I bet I’ve got mud in my hair!”

Sebastian walked ankle-deep into the river then trudged along for a while, waiting to collide with anything hard or unnatural. It felt like he had been going for hours, though it was really only ten minutes or so, before he tripped on something hard that creaked underfoot. After picking himself up from the mud, he stepped onto whatever it was and, very carefully, he walked across. At the other end, he found himself on dry land. He walked across what must’ve been a bridge a couple more times, just to be sure, and then he called out for Kerry. He had no idea how far he had gone, whether she could hear him or not, but it was worth a try. And sure enough, he heard a sloshing noise in the distance, becoming louder and louder, until it stopped right before him. Sebastian stretched his hand out in front of him and his palm collided with hot, clammy skin. Surely it was Kerry.

“Who’s there?” he asked of the darkness.

“Wait, is that Sebastian? Are you Sebastian?” came a high-pitched, happy voice; definitely not Kerry’s.

“Yes, who are you?”

“Oh, thank God, it’s Octavia,” sighed the voice. Octavia fumbled around in front of her. grabbing Sebastian’s earlobe, then his shoulder, then finally grasping his arm.

“Oh hey, how’re you going?” he replied. “Have you seen Kerry?”

“I haven’t seen anybody!” The challenge seemed to be putting everyone, even Octavia, in a bad mood. “And as for how it’s going, it’s not. I found this river, and almost got swept away by the current, so swimming’s a no-go if you don’t already know. Oh, and before I even got to here, my leg got caught in some tangle vine and God I had to pull to get myself out of that one. I though it was over for me. But then I heard your voice, and I thought that I may as well see if anyone else has found anything, so I came over. Can’t help you with the Kerry thing though.” Sebastian felt his stomach backflip. Where could she be? What dreadful thing had happened to her?

“Well, there’s a bridge here. You’d better go across, I’m waiting for Kerry.”

“Really? You sure? Well, alright then. Good luck, Sebastian.” Octavia reached out to squeeze his hand gently, but the comfort in the gesture was somewhat lost when she accidently grabbed a handful of the skin on his stomach. She let out a half-hearted burst of laughter, and then Sebastian heard her turn and walk off cautiously, the bridge creaking beneath her feet. He was alone once more.

“KERRY! KERRY!” Sebastian bellowed into the night: there was no response. He looked around frantically, and the blindness nearly drove him to insanity. It was as if someone had super-glued a blindfold over his eyes. He tried and tried to pull it off, but he couldn’t; he was lost in the darkness. Gradually, it was swallowing him, consuming him. He didn’t want to keep going. More than once, he thought about simply curling up into a ball on the ground and waiting until someone came searching for him and pulled him out of hell. But Sebastian did not want to be the coward. So he stayed rooted to the spot, leaning against the side of the bridge, waiting for Kerry to hear him. It seemed like hours before he heard a loud splashing behind him. Sebastian sprung to his feet and spun in a circle, searching wildly for the source of the noise, though he knew he couldn’t see it.

“Sebastian?” That was definitely Kerry’s voice.

“Oh, thank God!” cried Sebastian, relief flooding over him. He strode in the direction of the splash, and bumped straight into Kerry, who stood ankle-deep in the river a few metres from the bridge. “I found a bridge.”

“Fantastic,” replied Kerry. Sebastian was sure that she was grinning. “Sorry I took so long to come. I started looking in the opposite direction, and something wrapped around my ankles and pulled me down into the river. Nearly strangled me to death. I think it must’ve been choking seaweed, I read about it in a book of plants. I fought for a while and eventually pulled myself all the way out of the water, and the seaweed shrivelled up when it made contact with the air, I guess.”

“Lucky you read, huh?” laughed Sebastian. “I ran into Octavia. She went over the bridge a little while before you.”

“She’s doing okay then? That’s good. She really is lovely; I wouldn’t want her to be eliminated first challenge. Mind you, if we don’t hurry up it could be one of us!”

Sebastian half expected the bridge to collapse as he tiptoed over it, but it held firmly in place and both his feet landed firmly on the other side. He had no idea how far away the other side of the forest was, and the thought that he could be trapped in the intimidating darkness forever was one that sent a wave of panic rushing through him. He and Kerry kept walking forward still, even though they didn’t know where they were going or what lay on the path ahead of them. It was only minutes before Sebastian felt his foot sink into the ground, and he let out a scream of anguish as he found he couldn’t pull it out. He heard Kerry’s footsteps come to a halt as she searched around madly for him.

“Kerry!” he hissed, scrabbling around in front of him for something he could hold on to for support. There was nothing there. “I don’t know what’s happened, my foot’s stuck. There must be a hole or something but I can’t get up! And I can’t see, which isn’t exactly helpful!” Standing with half of one leg sunken into the ground, with the other unable to extend to its full length, was very uncomfortable, not to mention frightening. “I really, really hate this whole thing. I think I’d prefer to be eliminated right now, or even dead…”

“Don’t you dare talk like that, Sebastian Worth! I’ve known you most of my life and I never thought you’d be one to give up. Don’t let me be wrong,” said Kerry forcefully. Sebastian closed his eyes for a moment, picturing the living room in his home, with a crackling fire, the oil paintings… the warmth, the light… and his mother, rocking gently in her chair as she knitted. His eyes snapped open again and he felt a new determination rise up inside him. He couldn’t go back to that, to her incoherent mutterings and a life of enslavement; at least not without putting up a fight.

“It might be quicksand,” he suggested, squinting down at the ground though he knew it wouldn’t help.

“Might be,” agreed Kerry, “but we’ll probably never know for sure. What we need to do is get you out of there.” Her smile faltered slightly as she said this- she had no idea how to get her friend out of the ground- but Sebastian never saw it.

Kerry grasped her best friend’s hands and tugged as hard as she could, but, almost immediately, she knew it was no good. Next, after bumping into things and falling over a few times, she located Sebastian’s half-buried leg and tried to dig up the earth that enclosed it, but to no avail. It was definitely not quicksand: Kerry’s nails scratched along something hard and cold, sending a chill racing down her spine. She couldn’t make so much as a dent. It was like concrete. She didn’t know what to do; there was nothing she could do. There was no way around this. Sebastian would be stuck in the ground forever, or else lose his leg, or even his life. Maybe the ground was poisonous. Maybe it was killing him here and now as she watched on, powerless to do anything about it. Kerry didn’t know what to tell him. She, who only minutes before had insisted that he not give up, that she could help him. But she couldn’t. Sebastian was out of the competition, for certain. There was no hope left for his victory and Kerry didn’t want to be the one left. Well, maybe she wouldn’t, given she would probably be the last to finish the challenge with all these delays. For a fleeting moment, she caught herself thinking of the possibility of leaving Sebastian behind. The King would surely send someone out to help him once she had finished. And he would probably be ok. Siotan would have to know a way to counter all of the dangers he had placed around the forest, wouldn’t he? But Kerry couldn’t do that to Sebastian. He would never forgive her, and she would never forgive herself.

That was when they both saw it: a single, tiny flickering of light in the distance. Though the light was dim, Sebastian’s eyes watered for a moment as they adjusted to the unexpected scene. It seemed like a lifetime since they had been outside the world of pure, relentless black. But here it was, a little orange spark, and even as they watched it began to grow bigger, gradually at first and then with a greater sense of urgency. And Sebastian realised it wasn’t a light expanding: it was something moving closer. As the light began to flow out across them, he could make out his surroundings. It was the happiest, most relieving moment of his life. The forest was beautiful: the tall, leafy trees, some with chocolate brown trunks, others soft cream; the long, winding trail before them, seemingly less intimidating in this moment of light and triumph; Kerry’s perplexed but comforted grin as she exchanged a glance with him. But what held Sebastian’s gaze was the fiery bird that had now zoomed across and landed on the ground before him, light bouncing off its reddish-gold feathers.

It was the most beautiful thing Sebastian had ever seen. Had he been standing properly, the bird would’ve come up to about his knee. Its eyes were dark, but the flooding light reflected in them, dancing across the pupils. Its feathers, so brightly coloured, looked smooth and silky. Sebastian was sure this creature was a friend, not a foe. How could something so stunning be a danger? It was a long moment before he realised Kerry had spoken.

“What?” he asked, peeling his eyes away from the bird to glance at her.

“It’s a phoenix,” she repeated in a hushed voice. As Sebastian’s gaze returned to the creature before him, he realised Kerry was right. It was a phoenix. But what was it doing there? How could it possibly help him? Kerry had stretched out a long-fingered hand to stroke it, watching its beak carefully in case of an attack, but there wasn’t one. Kerry felt the soft, warm feathers against her skin. It was so, so beautiful. The phoenix cawed gently at her touch and Sebastian found himself smiling. Kerry had always had a way with animals. People too. They calmed with her touch, relaxed at the sound of her voice, as if she had a kind of magical power.

“What do you think it’s here for?” she asked him, still fondling the bird’s feathers.

“I don’t know, but I guess we’ll soon find out,” Sebastian replied, eyes fixed on the fiery creature before him. He had never seen a phoenix before. Heard about them, definitely. But there were about as many phoenixes in Hansville as there were rich nobles: none. The bewitching, majestic creatures had been the topic of many old campfire tales and myths but Sebastian had always doubted that they even existed. Now, seeing one right there in front of him, he knew it was a moment he could never forget.

It happened suddenly. One moment they were all just sitting around, the phoenix idly preening a wing, Kerry caressing it absently, Sebastian staring around at the eerie light that engulfed the trees around them. It wasn’t as strong and broad as daylight, but more like firelight… And then the phoenix had opened its beak, and was leaning in towards Sebastian’s leg, still buried under immovable ground. Flames shot out of the bird’s mouth. Red, yellow, orange. Astonishingly bright, dancing flames. They came in a steady stream and twirled around Sebastian and Kerry, weaving in and out around them. Sebastian braced himself for the heat, and for the pain of being burned alive, but it did not come. Eventually, the fire faded away and he mustered the courage to look around. Surely he would see blackened forest, ash where Kerry lay, the darkness once more suffocating him. But instead, everything seemed as it had been before. Well, almost everything. Sebastian finally noticed, with a jolt of excitement, that his leg was freed. The enclosing ground had simply disappeared. It took a lot of jumping around to get the circulation back, but he was alright. He could walk. They could be on the move again. He looked back at Kerry, and realised that the phoenix still stood patiently at his feet, giving him the light he needed so desperately. Sebastian bent down to look the creature right in the eye.

“Thank you,” he whispered, and really meant it. An almost undetectable inclination of the head, and the bird was off in a flutter of fiery crimson-gold wings. Its feathers brushed briefly against his face, lightly touching his eyes, and then their saviour was gone. With it, the light began to disintegrate, too, and Sebastian felt the familiar sense of dread begin to grow inside him.

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