Shadowed Light

Drink this

Clara woke to the sound of shuffling feet. She sat up groggily and was immediately hit by the smell of...blood?
It was metallic and bitter and sent her back to that one time Emily fell out of a tree and badly cut and broke her arm.

Clara shivered at the memory.
She looked around the dorm, surprised to find it empty. Hadn't she heard shuffling?

Clara jumped out of the bed, pulling her hair out of its now messy pony tail and ripped out the pins. She didn't have her own brush so just used one of-what she assumed-was another girls staying in the dorm. She knew it was gross, but what was a girl to do? Using the pins from her hair, she pinned her dress at the back so it was a tighter fit and looked less like a blanket. When she was satisfied enough, she pulled on her military jacket and white trainers before stepping out of the dorm to follow the smell.

It wasn't hard. She walked down the white halls for what felt like five whole minutes before seeing something.
Clara's breath caught in her throat when she realised what it was.

A long smear of blood, starting at one wall which she guessed opened up to a hidden door, and ending at the door leading to the kitchens.

Clara swallowed the large lump in her throat and powered on. The door swung open and she stepped inside, immediately gagging from the smell.

She froze.

Stood around the large table in the centre of the kitchen were at least a dozen people. Not as many that had been in the canteen earlier, but enough to make her feel anxious and queasy. They all wore white, she realised immediately. A stark contrast to Clara's own clothes. They all turned when she entered and the first person she recognised was Thomas. He immediately walked over to her, smiling a little shyly. Clara was too scared to return the gesture.

"See, I told you she'd come." He said to the people all watching them. "Clara, your meant for this division, aren't you?"

"This what?" Her voice shook as her eyes darted around the room.
"There are three divisions, Clara." Craig explained, appearing out of nowhere.
"You can tell us apart by the clothes we wear. White are the peace givers. We go out and we try and form alliances and truces with the demons."

Demons?! Was Clara hearing him correctly or did she need to go back to sleep? Or was this just a dream itself?

"Grey are the healers. They take care of soldiers wounded from the battle. And finally there is black. They are the leaders and they are the ones who fight the demons."

Clara's head spin, but yet again that small voice spoke in her mind again.
He speaks the truth. The only question, which division are you?

Clara shook her head. "What is all of this?"
Thomas began smiling like a mad man. "This," he gestured around the room. "is your choosing ceremony. To determine whether you belong with the peace givers or not."

"And if I don't?"

Thomas frowned. "Well, then you must belong to a different division. At the minute your just a batie, a newby who is yet to be chosen."

Now Clara was frowning. "What do I have to do to see if I belong in this division?"
"It's pretty simple, you just have to drink this." Craig said, producing a silver challis from behind his back.

Clara's whole body tensed when he put it under her nose and she was hit by that putrid smell again.
"You want me to drink blood?" She demanded, beginning to hyperventilate. "What if I'm a vegetarian?"

Craig chucked. "We know your not. Besides, there is a chance you won't actually taste the blood. If you are one of us, then the blood will taste like blood and you will immediately spit it out. If not, and you belong to a different division, it will taste like water."

Clara bit her lip to stop her panicking breathing. "And you've all done this?"
Everyone around the room nodded, it made her feel like some sort of queen and these were her subjects. Although, she doubted any queen was forced to drink blood to determine her reign.

Clara took the challis from Craig, seeing nothing else to do. The voice in her head had been leading her the right direction so far, she just had to hope it would do it again.
Her stomach rolled at the smell and she closed her eyes. There was a white flash suddenly.

Blood. She could smell blood. So much blood she felt as though she was drowning in it. She could feel fire. Burning her skin off the bone and leaving deep scars. Screaming. So much screaming.

Clara's eyes snapped back open. Her mouth hung open in shock and she realised everyone was watching her with strange expressions. Craig and Thomas shared a worried look, making Clara think they knew something she didn't. Before she could tell herself not to, Clara put the challis to her lips and drank.

She drank until there was non left and wiped the back of her hand across her mouth, leaving a smear of red. Thomas was watching her with large eyes. "Give it a moment," he told Craig who had begun to shake his head with failure.

"It can take a moment for her body to process what's happening."
Clara looked down at the empty challis in her hands and let it drop to the ground. The next minute, she was joining it.