The Oath

===(This is my entry for the writing contest)===
I woke up for the fifth time tonight, nearly bathing in my own sweat. I wiped the salty droplets from my forehead and turned over to face the clock. It read 5:47 in the morning. 
A distant BOOM sounded from outside. The Midnight Kingdom, I thought. They’re firing again. It was April 18, my birthday, the day when I would be taken away for the Trials of the Moonlight Kingdom. The Judge would choose twenty people, and there weren't many sixteen-year-olds in this area. It was common culture now, since it had been practiced all these years.
That wasn’t the only thing wrong. Currently, the Midnight Kingdom was sending bombs over the walls of the Moonlight Kingdom- my home. This was just the worst time for it.
I let out a long sigh and laid back down on the mattress. I stared up at the ceiling for a moment, then flipped over again and brushed my dark dirty blonde hair out of my eyes. 
I flipped the blinds on my window and stared up at the brilliant shining stars. I treasured the sight of them for as long as I could, for it was nearly a certain possibility that I would be joining the other teens that had not survived in the Trials. 
Dark smog-filled clouds were about to cover the shimmering lights, coming from the debris of some home that had gotten destroyed. The Midnight Kingdom was going to take over this one soon, I knew. It was only a matter of time.
What a birthday. I thought with a deep sigh. I watched the stars fade as the sky lightened and the time turned 6:15 in the morning.
I yawned, pulled off the covers from my legs, and sat up, looking around my room for the last time. It was plain- a bed, a desk on the other side of the room, and a closet. The dark blue wallpaper was peeling and torn, exposing rotting wood underneath. The room was small but had three windows on every side that was poking out of the house, which was perfect for me. 
I loved to look up at night and see the stars and the world around me. It was better than living in a beaten up house with no windows. I still lived in this crappy house though.
I slid out of my bed and dressed into a solid colored black shirt that was torn at the edges, and some jeans that- of course -had holes in them. I looked at myself in my cracked mirror and sighed. 
“It’s the day.” My voice sounded raspier than usual, though I didn’t care, and with those words I walked down the stairs. 
The sitting room and kitchen were apart of one room, so I could see everything all at once when I was at the fourth step or so. There wasn’t a front hall, just a door that had two windows on either side.
My little sister that was two years younger than me- Christiane -was sitting rigid on the moldy and busted couch in the sitting room. “So… You couldn’t sleep either.” She said, looking at me closely just as I was about to step onto the rotting wood floor of the room. “How can you tell?” I asked, walking over to Chris and sitting beside her. “Jay, believe me, your expression and your eyes say enough as it is.” Chris replied. I nodded and let my gaze drift off. I knew I wasn’t going to be like myself today.
A few minutes passed and a loud THUNK sounded from just outside the front door. Both of us flicked our gazes up just before Mother came crashing into the room, her eyes wild and scared. Her face was covered in dried tears and muck. 
“Mother?!” Christiane jumped from the couch and rushed over to her, steadying her with gentle hands. Mother shook her head hard while leaning on Chris’s shoulder. “They’re coming! They’re coming!” She yelled at me. I jumped from my seat, immediately knowing what that meant.
The servants of the Judge were coming for me, and if you wouldn’t come willingly, you would be taken by force. I rushed over to the closet and grabbed two slices of the precious bread our family had left. Mother stumbled over to me. “Take it,” she put her shaky hand over mine, “and do whatever you can if you get chosen. Survive. Don’t ever stop going until your last breath.” Mother gave me a quick hug and I nodded curtly. “I will fight ‘till the death, my heart beats diesel.” I said, and started towards the door.
When I was almost there, loud pounding sounds came from the outside. I opened the door. “Jay Marie Fearles.” The muscular man stated from in front of me, his eyes as cold as ice as he looked into mine. “Yes.” I said. 
He grabbed my arm and hustled me to the street where seventeen other sixteen-year-olds waited.
I turned and saw Mother and Christiane at the door. Mother looked scared, and Chris looked like she knew I would survive. I wasn’t so sure I would, even though I said the oath that I would fight until death. "Farewell." I whispered.
The Judge’s servants hustled us all down Pepperhorn Road, collecting one more teen before heading back the way they came. 
Scared families peeked out from behind doors and windows, some weeping because their own child was in the line of teens. As I passed my house again, I found myself looking desperately for Mother and Christiane. They were gone.
After that, my face was somber and my hands were clenched tightly into fists. I was alone for good. As we marched down the street like slaves following soldiers, I reminded myself of how few there were of us sixteen-year-olds. Now I know why Mother was so desperate. There was no doubt that I would be chosen by the Judge. All of us would.
~
About twenty minutes of walking later and we neared a train that stood on dirty tracks. “Come.” The servants of the Judge hustled us into the train. We sat in seats against the wall. One was empty. When we were all seated, the servants slammed the door shut.
I looked around at all of the kids near me; almost all of them looked scared. “Miko, we can get through this together.” I heard one girl tell a boy that was sitting across from her. He smiled weakly, and I cringed. Only one would survive, so that meant either one would die, or they both would. “Emily, please… don’t say anything.” The boy that I was guessing was Miko looked down, away from the girl whom I thought was Emily. They both fell silent.
I thought to myself as the train started up, I should probably try to make alliances now… so that I won’t come out weak to others. I would want to be as strong as possible.
I didn’t say anything though, and to my dismay, neither did anyone else. Emily and Miko were the only ones who had spoken on the whole trip of a few hours.
I dozed off a few times, and woke up remembering every time that I was going to the Trials. I also remembered the bread that I had with me. At least I had that.
The train lurched to a stop and we all perked up, alert. The door slid open and we stepped one at a time out of the train.
“Good evening, everyone. I am Jack Hunter, your trainer. I would like to show you around our training grounds, then you should get yourselves acquainted with each other.” He gestured for us to follow him and we did. We walked towards two big doors, and they opened automatically for us.
It was very plain- the aisle way that led to another door. When that opened, I gasped at the sight of what was inside. It was definitely a training ground now. There were weapons stacked against a wall- of all sorts -and targets were set up at the end of what looked like metal lined hallways.
We walked into the room in surprise, and before we could do anything more, the door slammed shut behind us with a BANG. “Welcome to this place, kids. Now, test what you know and make some friends.”
==Chapter Two==
I looked at Jack Hunter, then at everything around me, then at the kids. They looked around at each other too. Some held hostel expressions, some looked scared, and there were very few that were actually calm. I was surprised to find that I was one of those few. Instead of talking to others, I looked around at the hallways with targets and weapons. 
I walked away from the crowd and carefully picked up a small knife from a table. I looked at the target, got into position, closed my eyes for a brief second and let out a long breath. Then I threw.
I heard a loud thunk and I peeked out of one eye. I almost couldn’t believe what I saw- widening my eyes in surprise. The knife was smack dab in the center of the target, wobbling from the force. “Oh my gosh.” I whispered, and looked around to see if anyone else had seen. Several kids were staring open mouthed at the target, then they shifted their gazes to me.
I picked up another knife and threw it swiftly at the target. I heard it whistle through the air and hit not even centimeters away from the other knife.
“Who are you?” A voice sounded from behind me. I turned to see Jack Hunter, his expression was filled with curiosity. “Jay Fearles.” I murmured to him, looking up in a slight panic.
Mr. Hunter stroked his chin in deep thought, circling me. I was beginning to worry that he was going to kill me.
“Well, Miss Fearles… follow me.” He gestured for me to follow him to the next station, and I was aware of many pairs of eyes watching me as I went. “Do this.” He stood back and watched as I picked up a spear from the rack. I held it expertly in my hands, aiming for the target, then let it go. It flew through the air and I held my breath as it thunked on the target.
Bullseye. Again. “Impressive. Now for the next one.” I went over to the next station, this time it had a bow and arrows with multiple targets hanging in the hallway. I picked up the bow and put the arrow in its place.
When I was younger, I used to take my own bow and aim for the trees on the high hill of my nabors’ backyard. I knew my results on this station would be even better than the last... somehow.
The other kids began to file around Mr. Hunter and I, watching to see what would happen. Only a couple decided to stay back and practice at their own stations. “Go.” Hunter whispered inches from my ear.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, feeling the bow firm in my hands. I opened my eyes and let the arrows fly instinctively. They hit all of the targets one at a time in record speed.
There were multiple gasps from behind me as the arrows finally stopped flying. “I-I…” I turned to look at Jack, my eyes wide. “Come with me.” Jack didn’t look angry, but satisfied. This scared me even more. He grabbed my arm and hustled me across the room.
“Where are you taking me?!” I screamed, and struggled against Jack. I didn’t punch him, because I wanted to keep my promise to Mother that I would stay alive. 
I was surprised when Mr. Hunter responded, “I’m taking you to the Midnight kingdom to an elite Trial Games. There are few that are like you. Why you ended up in this place is unknown to me…” Jack pushed me through a door after entering a code.
The room that we entered was dark, and shortly after I went into the room, a hood went over my head and everything shut down.
~
“Wake up! Jay, it’s me, Christiane!” I heard a faint voice from the outside of my closed eyelids. I jerked awake at the mention of her name. “Chris?” My vision was blurry for a moment, then she came into view. No.
“CHRIS?!” I screamed, shaking her shoulders. “WHAT-” My little sister hushed me, then spoke in a softer tone. “I’m not what you think I am. You are not who you think you are. We are elite beings of ultimate power. I never knew that you were like me until an hour ago.” All of what she was saying was making NO sense.
Then I remembered who I was, where I was, why I was here. The Trials in the Midnight Kingdom. In the land of my enemies. Right. Tears slid down my cheeks as I looked around me, then back at Chris. 
I was on another train, slumped against a bare wall, except this time we were the only ones in it. Explosions sounded not far away from the outside. The war was raging.
“Chris… I don’t understand how you got here, but you need to leave. You’re too young. You can’t…” I drifted off, clenching my jaw. “Jay, listen to me. After they took you, and they found out what you could do, they took me. I already knew that I had ultimate power, but the Judge didn’t know. There is NO getting out of this. You need to survive. You’re right, I’m too young. You have the advantage. You took the oath but I did not.” My vision grew blurry again with tears. I couldn’t leave Chris. Not like this, not now.
“You have to take the oath!” I shouted. “No, this is your destiny. It’s yours, Jay.” Chris looked so deathly calm it scared me. “NO!” I pulled my little sister into a tight hug and I slowly fell asleep, listening to Chris’s heartbeat going along with the bombs falling outside and the rumble of the tracks.
==Chapter Three==
“Get up.” This time it wasn’t the gentle and loving voice of Christiane, but one of the Judge’s servants, or so I thought. A scratchy hand yanked me to my feet and I looked up. This man wasn’t like one of the men of the Judge, but one of the Midnight Kingdom. His eyes shone a hint of guilt and fear, and he stood taller.
“You are doing this against your will.” I told him, trying to look as calm as possible. The man didn’t say anything, except dropped his gaze and hustled me outside. I noticed that he looked like he wanted to respond, but- not to my surprise -there was a whole two dozen guards waiting for me outside.
The dreary sunlight was blinding for a moment, but when my eyes adjusted, I realized it wasn’t the sunlight at all. It was the large bright lights blaring down on me. The sky was actually exactly like the Moonlight Kingdom’s- dark and smoggy.
“Come with me.” The man shoved me down the gravel road. When the lights finally passed, I was introduced to a proper look at where we were headed. I couldn’t help but let out a small gasp.
In front of me stood a building of such magnificence that I thought it was a palace at first. Its walls looked as if they were made of pure marble. I knew what marble was because I had once seen a guard drinking from a marble jar. It was only once. The Judge had once claimed after that, that things of such purity shouldn’t be shown to people of our rank. That comment had stung me in my heart pretty bad, although it was the same reaction to every comment he did make. I have eventually learned to live with it. As I am trying to cope with everything happening right now.
He herded me to the door and swung it open with ease. He shoved me inside and slammed the door shut. I knew the guards were probably circling the door now, just looking for an excuse to get a dangerous girl like me dead.
“Come forth, Jay Fearles.” A satisfied voice sounded from inside the house. Three huge windows surrounded a tall shape standing behind something that looked like a desk. The light behind them was affecting my sight. Why have blaring spotlights shining on a house? What was so important about spotlights?
How this man knew my name didn’t bother me as much as the lights for some reason, but I walked forwards with much reluctance. It wasn’t like I had a choice.
“Meet your contestants.” The man said once I came close enough so that I could see him better. He had a short neatly trimmed beard and piercing green eyes that made my blood turn to ice. Those words…
I turned to see five other people standing beside me. They were so silent and frozen in place, I almost didn’t realize they were there for a moment. I widened my eyes in sadness and despair as I saw my sister staring at me among those people. “Miss Fearles, I have also come to realize that this girl,” he gestured to Chris, “is your sister. Her name being Christiane Fearles.” The man let a ghostly smile creep at the edges of his mouth.
From how the room was dark and the lights making his silhouette sharp as a knife, his smile only gave the room an uncertain and even more disturbing aura to it. I resisted the urge to cringe and only stood deadly still. 
Instead, I turned my head to face my sister. Her expression didn’t change. “That is correct, sir.” My voice came out shaky. “Good. Now, stand over there. I’ll signal them to pick you load up. Jack Hunter will be training you; I’ve recruited someone else to train the now so called, “little league” of the Moonlight Kingdom.”
I fell silent and dropped my gaze, walking over to stand beside Chris. This is it, I thought, the end. I’m sorry Mother. The oath won’t protect either of us now.
==To be Continued...==
Category:Nightjay's Work
Category:Literature
Category:Original Stories
Category:Original Stories (Finished)