The Keeper Exams

Chapter Thirty - Nothing In Her Way

User: AvengingDemigod

Name: Maris Gold

We were sitting in some metal room, medics in stark white uniforms hobbling around healing our wounds. One came over to me and sprayed the fine blue mist into my cuts and burns and I winced as the burning medicine slowly patched my skin together. The medic then poked me with a fine needle and injected more of the blue liquid into me, the burning feeling spreading throughout me, healing my internal injuries. I walked over to a set of medical beds and laid down. "I'm sorry," Roman said. He came over and sat on the bed across from me. "For what?" I needed water, my voice was cracked and strained. I cried a lot when they pulled us out of the tasks, not for myself or Roman, we survived. I cried for Andreana, for the other people that didn't make it. They wanted a leader, what kind of leader kills her own kind. "For everything I couldn't protect you from," he said, his own voice shaky. "I had to literally beg for my life.""I don't need you to protect me," I said quietly. "I need you to watch out for yourself. The thing that would kill me, is knowing that you died because you were trying to save me." The medics continued to swarm around us, the other apprentices in the room standing around in silence. They were facing their own imaginable horrors I'm sure. I've killed before, I can't imagine that most of them have before these tasks. "I know..." He trailed off and I looked up. Roman was quiet, he rubbed his eyes, tears running down his face. I was hit with a wave of regret, I must have said something stupid. Like usual. "I'm sorry," I went over and sat next to him, then made him look at me. "I'm sorry.""No, no, you didn't do anything wrong," he pulled me tight against him and I hugged him. "Who knew it would come to this?""Come to what?" I asked. I didn't want to move, didn't want to do the next task, I didn't care. "The first time I met you, when we danced, I was actually pretty intimated by you. You looked so confident, like you already knew you would win the whole thing," he paused. "I never knew I would get to hold you like this."My mind drifted back to the dance, to the pact Andreana and I made. Who ever made it to the end, they would end it all. No more tasks, no more people dying for stupid reasons. "Andreana and I, we agreed that if one of us made it to the end, we stop all of this. No more of these little keeper exams."Roman twisted me just enough so that our forehead were touching, his warm breath against my face. "That's a good idea, I'd like to do that too. No one in their right mind would want to be apart of this," he said. I smiled. "Well that's good, it's more of chance with the two of us. And what do you mean you were in intimated by me. I should still scare you."He laughed and played with my hair a bit. "You do, you do.""You better be. I don't want to loose my reputation as one of the scariest people on earth.""I don't think anyone could beat you at that," he said with another laugh. "Apprentices," we both looked up to see a guard member standing at the doorway. "There is no time to waste, follow me to your next task."The other apprentices left the room and we followed but stayed behind. Roman took my hand in his and I smiled lightly. "What do you think the next task is?" I asked. "Probably something worse than the last one," he said. I looked down. How could anything be worse than loosing your best friend. "But I mean nothing you can handle.""Congratulations on making it this far," a woman said. Kate. I clenched my fists and pushed through the others. I would kill that woman with my bare hands if I had to. Roman quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "You can't do anything Maris. At least not here, not now.""I'm going to make her pay for what she did, for sending innocent kids to die. I don't care what happens to her after this," I said. I remembered that she too would die once her little glowing medallion was passed off. I was angry though, I was practically shaking. But the woman that was talking here was just a screen, I couldn't hurt her. "I know, I know," Roman held me against him. "So do I, but not now. You'll get your chance Maris, just think, if you win this you get to take what keeps her alive. You'll be the one that kills her." Some of the other apprentices looked at us and I fought off the urge to tackle one of them. "You will be surviving in a harsh environment on your own," Kate was saying. "Roman, Zander, and Samuel are going to the Feral Forest. Sabrina, Crysalis, and Loira to the Deadly Desert. Maris, Ripley, and Luke to the Wicked Wasteland."I froze. "No, we can't be separated, not again.""Damn it," he looked at me. "Wicked Wasteland? That doesn't sound too friendly." I looked up at him. I survived years on my own, years fighting for my life in a crumbling world, where everything was torn down and destroyed. I could survive a wasteland, Roman couldn't survive a forest. He doesn't have my ability to talk to animals or smell what's poisonous and what's not. Roman laughed. "What don't worry, I have some jungle skills.""Okay, okay, fine. Just while you're there don't worry about me, don't even think about me. Just survive."Roman frowned. "I'll try, you better do the same though.""Please, how do you think I've survived all these years," I said with a smirk. "I love you."Roman smiled. "I love you too." He leaned down and kissed me, bringing me close against him. I faintly heard Kate say good luck and then we were surrounded by a bright white light. I landed on a wooden platform and looked around. We were in an ocean, the water sizzling. I saw two other platforms, three people on each. I saw the two next to me, though they were unfamiliar. "Avenray," I whispered. Before either could move I jumped up into the air and flew to the large island in front of us. It looked like a dump, wrecked cars and broken buildings. There were massive sand dunes filled with shards of glass and chunks of rusted metal, the ground littered with even more of the junk. "Everseray." My wings dropped and I walked through the area cautiously. I appeared to be alone, the occasional squeak of a rat echoed off the buildings. "What happened here?" I asked quietly. My mind went through all of the possibilities; wars, natural disasters, then the worst image filled my head. Did the we do this? The hybrids? The ruin could easily be caused by elementals, wraiths and psychics destroying people's minds. I climbed over a small dune and jumped down, still scanning the area for anything of use. I grew up in places like this, although there was more people around. Humanity didn't do a very good job of protecting the homeless or the people that lived in poor countries, though they claimed to. These hybrids at least feed me mostly okay food. My stomach growled a bit and I forced the thought of food down. I had grown soft being in these competitions. I had three meals a day, training wasn't even that intense. I even began relying on my magic more than my own skills. "Unacceptable," I shouted. I didn't need powers before, I don't need them now. The wind began to pick up a bit and I looked up at the sky. It had started to go dark, clouds building and quickly covering the blue. Rain started slowly dripping, then pouring. I ran down the street I was on looking for suitable cover and ended up in a main courtyard of some kind, a large over grown garden. There was a giant metal pole, a torn up flag fluttering at the top. I stopped for a minute to catch my breath and in that moment lightning struck the pole, the force throwing me back into a wall. The breath of was knocked out of me and I almost collapsed, my breathing sounded like there was holes in my lungs. I forced myself up and saw the clouds were reaching down to the earth, swirling in a circle. "Damn," I turned the opposite direction and kept running. Tornados, very dangerous. In this place anything would kill me. The winds began to pick up, sending dirt and debris flying. I ducked under a chunk of flying car and curled up into a small ball as large slab of concrete was slammed into the ground near me. I crawled behind the concrete slab and looked around frantically for shelter against the storm. I found a building that was still primarily intact. I stood up and waiting for a small opening in the storm then ran forward and smashed through the glass doors. The glass cut my arms but I ignored it. I was in an office building, some chairs and desks scattered around, the remains of other objects scattered around. Another car went flying through a window and I dove out of the way as it slammed into the wall behind me. I flipped a metal desk and sat behind it, tuning out the storm outside. I carefully picked the glass out of my arms and then pulled off my shirt, tearing it into small strips, then wrapped the larger gashes. I am stronger than anything this competition can throw at me. Tornados, murderous apprentices, lava lakes. I wrapped my hands in my shirt, making makeshift wraps then wiped away the blood that dripped. I smiled at the wall, clenching and unclenching my fists. I am stronger than this, so I will win. And nothing will get in my way.