The Apostate Trials

Chapter 1

First came the days of solitude.
After the days of solitude came the trials.

It wasn't the sounds of that solitude which crippled him with a bloodcurdling fear.

       Not the putrid smell that turned his stomach raw with nausea, twisted and pulled. Not the horde of crows that so savagely tore into the pale flesh of each limp body that nested before him, their lips stained scarlet. Not the apocalyptic landscape or the fact that each person who so desperately clung to life would eventually meet a much worse fate. Nothing. None of it bothered him in the slightest.

      He'd been caged for days on end; watched as those who found ways to escape were mowed down by machine gunfire, viciously torn to pieces─the assault not stopping until their bodies had literally been ripped to shreds, leaving them not the tiniest slither of hope.

No clothes. No food. No memory.

He couldn't recall a single thing; his life before, family or friends, how he ended up in such a predicament, all of it drew only blanks, poisoned him with a mangled fear.

       He'd begun to doubt his grasp over time─days had passed─the allotment allowed for many to accept their fate as caged cattle. Some died of hunger a lot sooner than expected. Others froze to death, the winter too harsh an impact. The rest were smart, used the tools at their disposal to craft fires─the twigs, leaves, and bullet shells─all without leaving the vicinity of their cages. When hunger became too much, a handful did the unthinkable to the scavenged bodies before them. They all did, even he. Survival meant absolutely everything.

       Utterly alone. Devoid of all communication except for those that remained diligently caged beside him─he desperately clung to that one memory he somehow managed to piece together as time slowly passed; it was of his name, Noah. He repeated it whenever the silence became deafening, afraid he'd lose sight of it if he didn't keep it close.

       The others had begun to remember their names as well─comradery was quickly becoming the next step forward in their caged lives, some of which passed the rainwater they managed to catch onto those less fortunate, others the charred left overs of caught squirrels and rabbits, crickets even.

Noah remained neutral, as did many others. They kept their resources to themselves, afraid that each meal they ate would somehow be their last.

       In total there were thirty-seven cages, ten of which had been emptied during the first few days, nine contained deceased bodies. For the second week it had driven them crazy, the sights and smells, the fear. Everyone that managed to survive was well adjusted by the third. Capturing food using the bodies of the deceased was the easy part; killing that food is where the difficulty resided. While some found ways to break the bars of their cages at attempts of weaponry, others used those bars to sharpen makeshift wooden spears and knives. Noah was among those few.

One girl in particular used the stems of nearby plants as string, made a contraption that caught and instantly killed any animal lured into it. She was definitely the most efficient of the bunch.

But the more time passed, the more Noah began to long for a freedom beyond his cage. It was driving him crazy; many of the others stank.

       While using the restroom came easy for the boys, considering the only thing each needed was a wooden bowl for bowel movements, a majority of the girls were of less fortunate standards. Some simply refused to use leaves as a means of cleaning themselves in front of boys, their egos vast. Others didn't care either way. And some boys, for whatever sick reason, was turned on by that endeavor.

      It quickly drove a wedge between the opposite sexes, arguing amongst themselves, often sabotaging one another. Before long, the fear was replaced by waves of heated hostility as fighting within the group grew more common. Some guys felt the need to prove themselves superior; others were absolute horn-dogs, disgusting creatures with...disgusting hobbies. Even with the cages, Noah truly feared for the fate of the girls. He often shook off those dark thoughts with a bite of his lip.

       Noah's own deteriorating hygiene had begun to raise flags, although he couldn't quite figure out why. Water was scarce and rain wasn't entirely common. While some preferred to waste their water in the stupidest of ways, Noah valued his life far too greatly─for whatever reason his caged existence still held worth.

       That was what often plagued his heart with darkness, as arbitrary as it appeared. He still valued life. Viewed it as far too precious to just simply give up on. Despite being contained in a small space that allotted him just enough breathing room to toss and turn at night, being forced to eat undercooked wildlife because his fire was never strong enough; Noah still desired to live, craved a world far beyond those bars, a world he desperately wanted to be reminded of, to fill that gaping hole in his memory.

       And laced deeply within those strong desires of unanswered curiosity was a burning desire for solitude. Why was he caged alongside people he didn't know or like? Who did this to them? Why were collars placed so smugly around their necks? Constant tugging and pulling revealed the collars to somewhat have merged with their skins, subjecting them to an even greater fear. This was all someone else's doing. And for that, he swore they would pay, felt the hatred he held in regard for them growing more profound each day.

       Noah couldn't fully come to terms with acceptance towards his situation as easily as the others did, his eyes resting on the clouded sky, his mind particularly blank─he heard a few others bickering amongst themselves, an argument over who could catch the most rainwater, to which he exhaled a weary breath. It was still early morning on what he guessed to be their thirty-fifth day, give or take a few hours; their argument had awoken a great many, others remained soundlessly asleep on their makeshift pallets.

       Noah's gaze temporarily locked with the girl stationed further ahead of him, her complexion pale, the tousled strands of her chestnut hair lusciously draping past her slim shoulders, her soft, hazel eyes stern, eyelashes thick; her face flustered a bit, her jaw perfectly round, her brow furrowed as Noah's eyes browsed her. From her moderate bosom to the curves of her slender waist, her legs long─her body truly appeared to be utterly flawless in every aspect.

       She shifted subtly under his glare, covered the exposed parts of her body further; Noah bit his lip, profoundly disappointed with himself. It was a common occurrence for them to lock gazes, they've been doing so ever since the start, never uttering a word, only sitting there in silence─it was the first time Noah had been caught examining her, and he felt truly pathetic for it, in every literal sense of the word.

He sat back with a sigh, blankly staring at the latch to his cage which simmered a vibrant crimson, almost like the course of blood he'd witnessed in the past month.

       The smell of death calmly knocking on his doorstep. The sound of over a thousand hushed voices softly caressing his ear, an older woman's in particular, telling him to live. It often repeated itself whenever he rarely found his mind deprived of all thought, a voice that sounded so familiar yet distant. A warm, mushy feeling tugged away at his chest whenever he heard it. Without any traces of doubt, that voice belonged to someone special, someone who cherished him.

       His gaze narrowed onto the hatch, as if willing it to turn green and open. He had imagined it happening several of times, what he'd do when it did, where he'd go─how the others would react to their newly found freedom. Would they make a run for it, escape, savagely attack one another? To survive they've had to be ruthless, willing to sacrifice any and everything for supplies, even their deceased cellmates, all without batting an eye. But who were they really? Friends? Family? Strangers? With a lack of memories no one knew for sure. But one thing for certain was that they all held one thing in common─they were merciless survivors. Because of that, there was absolutely no way they could truly trust one another.

       So, when it did happen, when that hatch turned green mere seconds after his pondering and the cages fell open─Noah stood motionless, as did the others, mutely staring at one another, awaiting someone to make that first move. Then all hell broke loose; those days of solitude were only just beginning.