The Zodiac Trials

Chapter One

Aria awoke, her head pounding.

As she opened her eyes, she expected to be doused with dappled light as it filtered through her blinds, expected to be swamped with the warmth of her covers, yet there was only darkness and cold. Yawning, she squinted through the dim lighting, waiting for her eyes to adjust.

Aria noticed, after a few moments, that she had fallen asleep on a desk. That must be why my back hurts so bad, she thought to herself. She spun around, taking in what she could see. As far a she could tell, she was in some kind of office. Wincing, she noticed that her underarms were sore. She looked down and saw that she was wearing her best top, her scratchy black sequinned one, with a miniskirt. What the?!

A wisp of a memory flickered through Aria's mind, as she recalled preparing for a party with her friend, Cassiden.

Spicy!, he had laughed in his French drawl as she struck a pose in her chosen outfit. You might even outdress me one day!

Rolling her eyes, she had grabbed a bundled up map and threw it at him, mussing up his sunshine blonde hair as he ducked out of the way. You'll pay for that!, he had shouted, aquamarine eyes glinting.

Maps were Aria's passion. Be it drawing and annotating maps or even just reading one, cartography was what she felt the happiest doing. She remembered that it was a map of the Swiss Alps that she had thrown at his head.

So she was preparing for a party? She wasn't really a party person, but having just transitioned, she was feeling fierce and confident with her now-attuned body. How much did I drink? It must have been enough for her to forget everything that had happened and fall asleep face-first on a desk.

Stretching, Aria stood and made her way to the curtains, enjoying the way her bare feet sunk into the plush carpet. She would have to find her shoes on her way out. With a flourish, she flung the curtains wide, expecting to immediately be shrouded with sunlight. When she wasn't, her first thought was that she was glad, for being drowned in sunlight would have only exacerbated her hangover. Then, she was confused. Shouldn't there have been a window there?

Aria curiously inspected the window. It was boarded up with what looked like... metal? She was in no place to think, but Aria didn't question anything. All she wanted was to go home and get back in bed.

She turned away from the blacked-out window, inspecting the office area. The room was quite dusty, with a shadowy spot on the desk where a computer must have been. Aside from the desk, a swivelling chair and a beanbag, the room was empty of furniture. Aria coughed and waved her hand in front of her face, trying to breathe normally. It smelled like no-one had been in the room for years, and the dust was tickling her throat.

After a few moments of searching, Aria found her silver stiletto sandals buried in the beanbag. To hell I'm wearing these with a hangover, she thought to herself. I'll carry them instead.

She padded over to the doorway, shoes in hand. Slowly, she twisted the door handle and left the room.

***

Penn stopped in their tracks as they heard a door click open. After hours of searching the empty house, they were cautious to hear a new sound. Over the silence, they trained their ears on the light tap, tap, tap, of bare feet on the wooden floor. Who could it have been? Slowly, Penn drew towards the next corner, knowing that the person was mere metres away.

Without warning, they heard a loud thud and a whispered curse word. Penn peered around the corner to see what had happened, and saw a girl bending over to pick up a pair of sequinned stilettos.