I woke up to a cold, wet, and hard floor. I tried to lift my head, but it was rather heavy. The cool wind stung my cheeks. My hands were stinging with scrapes and scratches, I looked over to the side and saw a little girl looking down at me. She had long hair cascading down her back, and was wearing a white dress that flowed upon the wind and went down to her ankles. She looked at me with an expression of sorrow and doubt.
"I would help you if I could." The mysterious woman had told me,
"Why can't you?" I asked.
"I'm only allowed to be your guide and not to help you." She replied.
"Why do I need a guide?" I asked.
"Stop asking questions and come with me." She said as she pulled me up to my feet, "my name is Brystal, and you are?"
"I'm Katniss, but please call me Kate," I responded.
"Well Kate, please keep up," Brystal commanded, a firm tone in her voice
"Okay," I responded. We walked a little longer until I saw a big gate, "what's that?"
"Kate, welcome to the in-between!"
"The in-what?" I asked,
"In-between, let's go!" She said as she pulled open the gates. Brystal led me down the hallway, and up to a door. "This is where you'll be staying."
"Umm, how do I get in?" I ask her.
"Place your hand here," she said, as she pointed to a tiny panel. I slowly lifted my hand and rested it on the panel. It suddenly glowed green.
"Welcome," the speaker said, its voice echoing off the walls. I walked inside, and the door closed behind Brystal and me.
"Wow..." I say.
"The room will change to your needs for as long as you are here. Look, the bed is changing," sure enough, the bed slowly melts into a king-size bed, with a Purple comforter, and a perfect white feathered pillow.
"I love it!" I exclaimed.
"My room is across the hall. If you need anything, knock twice."
"Okay, bye!" I looked out the window to see the sun setting. I walked over to my bed. When I touched the bed, instantly, all of my junky clothes turned into a long, purple, silky nightgown. "Woah... I think I'm going to like this place," I said, as I laid down in bed. It then molded into a small twin-sized bed. Then to just a blanket on the hard, wood floor. I immediately fell asleep.
I woke up with a start. Slowly, I stood up and went over to my mirror. The person in the mirror didn't look like me. She looked too pretty. She was wearing a uniform, it was black and dark gray, and her hair was pulled back in a bun. I looked down- to check if what I was seeing was real and if I was still sane. I looked like the girl in the mirror! This cannot be happening. I looked down at my shoes and saw that I was wearing heels. Okay, I'll just have to get used to it. I looked out the window- the sun was rising. I walked across the hall and went Brystal's dorm. "Brystal?" I said, knocking twice on the door.
"Hello, Kate!" She said, flinging open the door.
"Why am I wearing this?" I asked. Then I looked over and saw that Brystal is wearing the same uniform, the only difference is that hers is dark blue.
"Well, I forgot to tell you, you have to compete in a bunch of challenges before you can stay here forever."
"... And if I fail?" I asked, with a little uncertainty and anxiousness in my voice.
"You get kicked out. But don't worry, you've got this," she said, "now come on! The first challenge awaits."
"..."
We walked to the main room. When we got there, there was a big obstacle course. With monkey bars, an army crawl under a net, and a rope to get up to the top of the course. Then, there was a buzzer you were supposed to ring once you were on the top. "I'm supposed to do this?" I ask in disbelief- to no one in particular.
"The last five people will be disqualified from the trials. I wish you all luck." The spokesperson said.
"Good luck Kate!" Brystal said, then proceeded to run off.
"Great, no actual knowledge and I'm alone," I grumbled, well knowing that there was a big chance that I might lose.
"First up," the sound of a paper being crinkled was heard,"Team Blue. That means you're wearing blue." The woman at the speaker said.
"Good luck, Brystal," I mumbled under my breath. Brystal charged forward, across the monkey bars- her hands reaching for one bar after the other in a swift manner. Then, she crawled on her stomach so fast that she was the first one to complete it. She then scurried up the rope and slammed her palm onto the buzzer, its sound was echoing all throughout the stadium. Brystal was still in it!
"Team black! You're up." The lady said. My nerves were all over the place, I was distressed. Without knowing so, I bit my lip. I felt some sort of liquid pool up into my mouth, it had a salty and metallic taste- it was blood. My pulse sped up, I began to breathe heavily as dots filled my vision. I felt nauseous. The last thing I saw was Brystal running towards me, then, I was introduced into a void of black.
