The Trials

Left Hanging // Chapter 7

With my pounding heart, I stand up and feel the eyes of the other Potentials looking at me. Avalon stands up before me, standing up straight and seeming to have a confident ego. He must not want to show weakness to the other Potentials, and to anyone watching the Trials. We both begin to walk towards Meredith. My hands are cold, from nerves I first assume. However, I need to start remembering that I bonded with the ice element, and the cold is a normal thing. 

We approach Meredith, and she gives us a smile, but not one of joy. It seemed more forced than genuine. She opens the door behind her and we follow her. Behind the door was a big staircase, leading down, presumably to the basement. The walls are concrete, dull and cold. The stairs seem to go on and on for a few moments, before we reach a smaller room, with a table in the middle. Yet another door awaits at the end. On the table lies both my rapier, and a bow with a quiver. Our respective weapons. 

"Here, you have a few moments to prepare yourself before your final Trial" Meredith tells us, as she leans against the wall near the back door. This is the most relaxed I've seen her yet. I wonder if she has bonded with an element. It seems that Cameo does, but does that include all the guides? 

Avalon grabs his bow first, tilting it to both sides, analyzing it pretty hefty. He probably is being super cautious due to the accident of the 2nd Trial. I don't blame him. I grab my rapier, and notice the small engravings on the handle as I wrap my hand around the hilt. I swipe it downwards at a diagonal motion, and I feel my hand go very cold, along with the rapier itself. I'm ready, hopefully.

"You two good?" Meredith asks us. I give her a nod immediately, but Avalon doesn't. I look at him and he's looking at the ground, nervously pulling his bow string. I wanted to ask him if he was okay, but I was immediately cut off by him knocking an arrow, but keeping the bow at his side. I could feel the electricity rippling off of him and the bow. 

"Bring it on" He tells Meredith and I notice her smile before hiding it quickly. Again, her and the creepy unintentional smiles. 

"Very well then" She begins, and opens the door behind her. "Best of luck Mr. Fallon and Mr. Atlas." Avalon steps before me, and I follow closely behind as we enter through the doors. The door clicks locked behind us. What lies before me takes my breath away.

Inside the large and tall room, is a gigantic chasm with ropes and string bridges all over, hanging above the giant chasm. From where I'm standing, I can't see the bottom. It's like those rope courses you see at amusement parks and stuff, except no harness and nothing to catch you at the bottom. Only a gigantic hole. Hanging way up top, as my eyes follow all the towers and ropes, is a large circular crystal. It's perched on a table towards the top. Before I can decide what we need to do, the same booming voice from all the Trials, start speaking. 

"Mr. Fallon and Mr. Atlas, glad to see you here" He begins. I hear the honesty in his voice. "Your task is simple. Reach the top of the ropes course and achieve the crystal. You are working as a team. Only one of you need to gather the crystal in order to finish this Trial" He finishes. Easy enough, right? I want to think that but there has to be some sort of added measure. Some obstacle. 

Just as the thought approached my mind, a few small discs appear from nowhere and some of the pixel figures appear again. Of course it can't be that easy. Avalon fires an arrow and it directly plummets through one of the figures, and destroys it. 

"What's the game plan here?" He asks me, as I ready my rapier. "One attacks and the other captures the crystal?" He offers that as a suggestion. 

"No, it's too obvious" I tell him. "There's got to be another way. There's always another way out" I tell him. One of the hologram figures approach me and and run towards it and slice my rapier through it's side. The crystal is at the top, and there's a death pit waiting at the bottom. The higher we climb, the higher the risk of our death is. "Avalon, we have to bring it down to us" I tell him. "We have to be smart about this" 

Avalon kicks one of the figures in the gut and destroys it with a punch. "Bring it down? Isn't that more work?" He asks. 

"No, the higher you go, the less support you have. Less stands, less bridges. More chance of dying" I tell him slicing through another figure. I run towards one of the towers and start to climb up it, but struggle while I'm holding a rapier in my hand. I make it to what seems the 2nd layer, and I see Avalon a good 10 feet below me, still shooting. "Get up here!" I yell at him. 

He seems to take the hint and runs towards the same tower and climbs up to my platform. The figures are starting to climb the tower as well. More and more and appearing. We are becoming outnumbered. "I can hold them off while you make your way up" I offer to Avalon, offering a scaling technique. 

"No, you're outnumbered. We are outnumbered" He tells me back. 

An idea shoots into my head. It's crazy, in a sense that I could die. But at this rate, sitting here will get us killed. There's a strong rope stretching across the chasm, and the crystal is sitting at the top. If what I've learned is correct, then this plan should work. Fingers crossed. 

"Avalon, when I tell you, I need you to shoot and aim at the crystal and knock it over. Alright?" I tell him, and take my rapier and begins to cut off one end of the rope that stretches across the chasm. It's a tough rope, and my rapier is struggling, but I eventually have it cut off. I lay my rapier down next to Avalon, and grabbed the rope with one hand. I'm going death swinging. 

"Orion, you're insane" He tells me. I hear the concern in his voice. 

"Chill out, I'll be fine" I joke with him. Why do we make puns in such a terrible time? "Avalon, on the count of three, shoot the crystal." I tell him. He gives me a nod, and I stand at the edge looking down. There's blackness......this pit will kill me if I hit the bottom. 

"One, Two...." I take a deep breath and hold on tight. I'm being too reckless but it's too late. 

"Three!" I yell and push myself off of the ledge, my body leaving the platform and I begin to swing across the chasm. I see Avalon aiming at the top of the room, and an arrow flies. I reach the other end of the chasm, and begin to swing back towards Avalon. The crystal above me is struck by the arrow, and starts to fall. 

I reach the other end of the chasm, and momentum pulls me back the other way. I let go of the rope with my right hand, my left still attached to the rope. My left hand becomes glazed in ice and the rope and my hand freeze together. I'm not going anywhere. The crystal falls above me at a fast rate, and I hold out my right hand, and feel it drop into my hand. I pull it close to my chest and stay close to the rope. 

I am left hanging above the bottomless chasm, crystal in hand. The figures disappear and then it hits me like a wave. 

We completed the final Trial.