The Exiles (Book 1 of the Exiles Series)

Eighteen

By morning everyone was once again perky. We barely had time to dress before the first people began to arrive. Because it was so cold and snowy outside, all of us decided that it would be better to train inside, at least for the time being. Once everyone had arrived, Nicole gathered everyone in a circle on the floor.

"It's too cold outside to train today," Nic told everyone. "So, we're training in here today." Someone raised their hand. "What are we going to do today?" the kid asked. Nicole glanced in the direction where the boy sat. "We're just going to talk," she replied simply. What about even I wasn't sure.

"You guys all know how to survive on this island," Nic began. "So today will be easy. In war, and even in life, you have to be on high alert. The question is: are you?" Several people nodded, though no one seemed to understand or care. Nicole didn't notice this, but I did.

"Come on, you guys," I scolded. Everyone stared at me in surprise. "Nic understands this stuff. You guys need to learn this. If you don't, things will go horribly wrong. Magnus is more dangerous than you think. You need to be on high alert to win this." I bowed my head, finished. I thought I was going to get in trouble for interrupting Nicole's sermon, but all that followed my speech was silence.

"Talia's right," Sasha said. "You guys need to focus. We all believe in you, but you have to listen to us if we want to win." Everyone nodded, looking focused once more.

Nicole began to speak again. She convinced the audience that high alert was essential, and much more. I tried to listen intently, though it was hard. My mind was still in another place. My head remained there for the rest of the day, and the rest of that week. All the while we kept training.

One day, when it was sunny and warmer, we went outside to train. Nicole instructed everyone to bring their bows and a few arrows, and supplied both to people who didn't have them. Then, we made some targets out of branches, twigs, and whatever else we could find. For the remainder of that day, everyone took turns shooting at the targets. A few people got bull's eyes. Nicole was pleased with everyone's progress.

As the weeks passed, everyone improved. Surprisingly, we saw no danger anywhere. There were no arrows fired at us. None of Magnus's soldiers came near the base. Perhaps it was because of the cold. No matter what, the quiet was appreciated.

I couldn't help but wonder where Magnus was. Was he at his base, preparing his army for the coming fight? Or was he at home, maybe sharing a bowl of stew with his friends? I had remembered the warmth from eating in the Center with Magnus. When we had been friends, before this mess got started. I wanted to see him again. I needed to see him again. Maybe we could make up and everything would be normal again. But for some reason I doubted that that would ever come to be, at least for awhile.

One evening when spring was near, just the two of us, Nicole and I, sat in our boots and shawls around a crackling fire. Dusk was falling. Because it was still technically winter, Nic told me it was safe to be outside at this time. In fact, she told me, this would probably be one of the last weeks we could do this.

"I've noticed that you seem to be a little out of it lately," Nicole observed. "Is everything alright?" I nodded yes, though I was hardly paying attention. Yearning thoughts of Magnus clouded my brain and dulled my senses. Stop it, I scolded myself. Don't think of him. Live in the present.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I murmured. "It's almost spring, that's all. You know what that means."

Nicole nodded and grinned wryly. "The battle," she beamed, eyes alight. "I can't wait to kick butt. Our army is unstoppable." She kicked anxiously at a pile of slush. Spring really was almost here. The days were longer and the temperatures were growing warmer with each passing day. Already it was almost too warm to be wearing my coat while sitting at the fire.

"When are we going to attack them?" I asked. Nicole shrugged. "Soon," she murmured. "I want to do it at night. It's sneakier. And with spring approaching, we have little time before the spiders wake up from hibernation. I don't know about you, but I don't want to have those guys to worry about." I nodded.

"We can't afford to lose people to the spiders," I agreed. "It won't be pretty if we do."

Nicole gave me a serious look. "It's not going to be pretty anyways," she replied darkly. I shivered, though I wasn't the least bit cold sitting by the roaring flames.

Suddenly, Nicole stood up. She bent beside the fire and tossed handfuls of sand onto the flames. Sparks flew up and the fire sizzled into ashes.

"We should go inside," Nic told me, standing up and wiping her sooty hands on her pants. She started towards the house. I stayed seated for a moment longer.

"What's the rush?" I called. Nicole turned to face me, her tan face looking black against the fading sky. "We need sleep," Nicole told me. "Your mind and body don't work right if you don't have enough sleep."

I slowly stood up and followed Nicole back to the house, where Sammy and Sasha would be waiting. "What's so special about tonight?" I asked Nicole.

Nic glanced back again, not looking the least bit impatient. "Tomorrow is going to be our last day to train," she explained, waiting for me to catch up to her. I trotted after her.

"I guess I haven't discussed this with the others yet," Nicole told me, strutting purposefully ahead of me. "But I was thinking--Magnus and his army wouldn't expect us to attack this early, right?" I shrugged. "I suppose so," I replied. "I mean, I wouldn't."

"That's what I thought," Nicole said. We were almost to the house. The lanterns were on inside, casting a warm glow across the surrounding landscape. We could hear Sasha and Sammy discussing something in the house. "So, I thought we could do it tomorrow."

Immediately, my lips clamped shut and my face went pale. "What?!" I nearly shouted. "Y-you can't. I mean, we're not ready."

Nicole laughed and put a hand on my shoulder. "Relax, Talia, it's fine," Nicole assured me. "We've made so much progress. Everyone has improved so much. We'll do great."

I stepped ahead of Nic and pulled open the door. "Nicole, I..." I stammered.

"It's a bit soon, I know," Nicole told me. "But it will be fine, I promise. We know the plan, we know all the skills that we need to. We'll win this. It will be one night, that's all."

Exasperated, I ran my fingers through my hair. No, no, this couldn't be happening! I wasn't ready for this. I couldn't face Magnus tomorrow. Twenty-four hours wouldn't be enough time to sort through my feelings. I was so scared my hands were shaking.

"Earth to Talia, Earth to Talia," Nic teased, poking me in the arm. "Hey, are you okay?" Instead of responding, I bit my lip and hurried into the house. Sasha and Sammy were just settling into bed. They looked up when we entered.

"I'm fine," I muttered, tripping over Sasha and Sammy's feet and towards my spot on the floor. In truth, I was anything but fine. My heart sped fast in my chest. I couldn't believe this was happening.

Nicole blew out the lantern just as I was laying down to sleep. Heeding Nicole's advice, I tried to get some rest, but it was impossible under the circumstances. I hoped the next day would never come.