Feral → newt, tmr

Bonus Chapter 1

Chapter 1 ━━ Escaping The Maze

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The icy fear and panic Vera has been experienced so often the last few days sweeps over her once again in full force. This is it. They are going.  

Trying not to think about it, to just act, she grabs her backpack and heads for the West door of the Spring. She finds Aris and Rachel talking to each other near the left side of the door within the crowd. Chris is next to his twin brother, picking at the string of his bow while he stares at the ground. A quiver of arrows hanging over his shoulder.  

"You sticks ready?" Vera asks when she arrives and turns to Aris. "Aris, this was all your idea, so it better work. If not, I'll kill ya before the Shades can."  

"Thanks." Aris says. He looks at Rachel, who is shifting from foot to foot, wringing her hands. "You okay?"  

"I'm fine." She answers with a small smile, clearly not fine at all. "Just anxious to get it over with."  

"Amen, sister." Chris says. He looks the calmest to her, the most confident, the least scared. Vera envies him.  

When Harriet and Sonya finally have everyone gathered, Harriet calls for quiet, and Vera turns to hear what Harriet has to say. "There’re eleven of us."  

"That's it?" Aris asks with a raised eyebrow.  

"That's it." Sonya confirms.  

Aris nods and pulls the backpack he is holding onto his shoulders and hoists a thick wooden pole with barbwire wrap around its tip. The thing looks deadly.  

"Make sure you’ve got your weapons. Other than that, isn’t a whole lot to buggin’ say—you’ve all been told the plan. We’re gonna fight our way through to the Shade Hole, and then we’re gonna get payback on the Creators. Simple as that." Sonya states, pulling up her blondie hair into a bun.  

Vera barely hears her, seeing Beth sulking over to the side, watching them from a distance. Her gang, who decided to stay with her in the Spring, is behind her like they're guarding her.  

Vera feels a rising tide of worry that somehow Beth will screw everything up.  

"Shouldn’t someone give a pep talk or something?" Chris asks, pulling Vera's attention away from Beth.  

"Go ahead." Harriet motions her head to go for it.  

Chris nods and faces the crowd. "Be careful." He says dryly. "Don’t die."  

Vera might laugh if she could, but she is too scared for it to come out. A soft hand squeezes into her.  

"Great. That's bloody inspiring." Sonya answers, then points over her shoulder, toward the Maze. "You all know the plan. After three years of being treated like mice, tonight we’re making a stand. Tonight we’re taking the fight back to the Creators, no matter what we have to go through to get there. Tonight the Shades better be scared."  

Someone cheers, and then someone else. Soon shouts and battle calls broke out, rising in volume, filling the air like thunder.