The Third Stage recruits, having heard murmurs from their instructors, felt a growing imperative to observe the newest recruits navigating the Warrior Class course. They were positioned near the end of the track, watching the strongest of the Wolves, those who pushed themselves relentlessly, not just to finish, but to undermine others in a cutthroat race to the finish line.
Malachi, one of the strongest among the Third Stages, strode unhurriedly towards the beginning of the track, his eyes scanning all participating Wolves, assessing if his assistance might be needed. Yet, a growing curiosity gnawed at him. All Third Stagers could complete the course; it wasn't easy, but none of them ended up dying anymore. So, he pondered why these First Stagers warranted such intense attention.
His steps remained unhurried, but he noticed the crowd thicken, their chatter growing louder, the closer he got to the course's starting point. Reaching the commotion, he saw a group of defectives, along with one wolf, all sound asleep, huddled together on the ground, snoring away, seemingly unfazed by the monumental task ahead. Malachi felt a surge of disgust. This was what everyone was gawking at? It felt disrespectful. He sneered at the sight.
Looking across the way, he saw their instructor, Thomas, sporting one of the biggest smiles he'd ever witnessed, standing patiently, watching the sleeping First Stagers as if nothing were amiss. This prompted Malachi to look closer, wondering if there was something he wasn't seeing, something he didn't yet know. Before long, others in his class joined him, all staring in bewilderment at the unconventional group.
A dark-brown-haired boy was the first to stir. Malachi didn't recognize him, but the boy appeared somewhat dazed as he awoke, looking around at the multitude of eyes staring at him with a hint of confusion.
Ryan scanned his surroundings, taking in the sea of watching eyes. It felt unsettling, like being in a fishbowl with an annoying child tapping on the glass. He stretched his limbs before deciding he would check out the next task, to figure out what lay ahead for the rest of them.
He had barely taken two steps towards the intimidating chain-link fence that disappeared into a dark, towering tunnel, its holes oddly small, barely large enough for hands, let alone feet.
"It's called the Vertical Scream," Johnny informed him, stepping to his side. The name was literal. Participants had to climb roughly 50 meters into the air, within a small, dark tube barely wide enough to turn around in. The chain-link fence was the only means of handhold. One needed to grip the fence with their hands alone and drag themselves up. And if they lost their hold, they'd crash to the ground, screaming. Hence the name: Vertical Scream.
"I don't think everyone will be able to do this one," Ryan mused, wondering how Trinity would approach this, what plan she would devise. He knew he could probably climb it with extreme difficulty, but he could make it happen.
"Have some faith in your mate," Johnny said with confidence, patting Ryan on the back in a friendly gesture.
Ryan frowned, his eyes snapping to Johnny. What made him think Trinity was his mate? "She's not my mate," Ryan stated clearly. His lip working up an amusement.
At his words, a stillness descended upon the air, as if he had uttered something profoundly wrong. Looking around, he noticed the way all the Wolves around him narrowed their eyes at him before shifting their gaze to Trinity, still sleeping on the ground, completely oblivious.
Boris felt his eye twitch in frustration. He hadn't told anyone that Ryan wasn't her mate. He knew if everyone thought they were mates, no one would dare try to court his daughter. He was using Ryan as a shield. He had just assumed Ryan wouldn't openly declare that Trinity wasn't his mate.
Thomas had to suppress a laugh. The rumors about Boris's extreme protectiveness over his daughter were absolutely true. Thomas felt a pang of sympathy for him. His daughter was garnering a lot of attention, and soon enough, it wouldn't only be the younger pups of the pack circling her. Not when they realized she wasn't like every defective they thought they knew. This one was different.
"Hmm," Johnny responded simply. So she wasn't taken. He couldn't help the shift in his mindset. All this time, he had thought of her as the mated girl who was friends with his sister. But now that he knew the truth, a persistent curiosity sparked within him.
Ryan didn't like the way people were looking at her, or the gleam in Johnny's eyes.
Walking back over to Trinity, he sat next to her, placing his sweater over her, obscuring everyone's view. He wasn't her mate, but he wouldn't let anyone take advantage of her. No one here was good enough for her. He openly glared at anyone who so much as glanced in her direction, including Johnny. No one would get to Trinity without going through him.
It didn't take long for the others to slowly begin waking up. Trinity was one of the last to open her eyes, but once she did, everyone looked to her, silently wondering how they would tackle this next daunting task.
Johnny had already briefed her on the next leg of the course. Trinity was nervous, but she wasn't without a plan.
"Okay, not all of us are killing it in the arm strength department," she said with a light laugh. "But the tube is tight. I'm thinking, keep your back to the fence and use your bare feet on the tube to propel yourselves upwards. Still keep a grip on the fence, but it's your legs that will get you to the top."
Mona stepped forward, looking up the tube, already visualizing herself plummeting to her death. "And if we fall to our death?" she asked. There was no way Mona was climbing. She didn't care what plan Trinity came up with. The first two tasks were challenging, but this one felt like too much. She truly believed they would all just drop. Fear tightened its grip on her.
"Look around. There are over sixty wolves surrounding us. You don't think one of them would be able to catch us? And we have a wolf with us. Johnny can go last. Anybody that falls, he'll catch them," Trinity stated, pointing at Johnny as she scanned the fearful faces.
Without a word, Trinity decided it would be best to prove her point. She took off her shoes, tying the laces together before leaving them on the ground. Climbing the fence, she used her toes, as uncomfortably as it was, to get inside the tube. Once inside, she held on with her arms for a few moments before securing her legs to the wall. Climbing up a few feet, she took a deep breath, and then let her legs drop.
Tucking her arms tight to her body, she couldn't suppress the scream that tore through her throat as she dropped. Her hair whipped wildly around her face. She closed her eyes in fear. She knew it was crazy to drop, but she understood that some of them needed to witness someone being caught before even attempting it themselves.
As expected, Johnny acted quickly, catching Trinity with ease. Her eyes were squeezed tight. When she opened them, she noticed both Thomas and her father just steps away, seeming to have halted when they realized Johnny would catch her first.
"See?" Trinity said, a smile on her face as she clenched her shaking hands so the others wouldn't notice. Hope flickered in the eyes of her teammates.
Johnny felt she was crazy. Yes, he could catch any of them, but to intentionally fall just to prove a point was a bit much.
Ryan didn't approve of her stupid stunt, but he understood her reasoning. Without pause, he quickly pulled Trinity from Johnny's arms, settling her back on her feet. He noticed the slight tremor in her body. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her tight to his chest.
"Don't do that again," Boris reprimanded his daughter in a low voice. He'd been terrified when he heard her scream, believing she had actually lost her footing and fallen.
Trinity gave him a sheepish smile and nodded her head. She definitely wouldn't do that again.
Thomas felt a bit stunned that Boris had moved so quickly. He knew Johnny could catch her, but Boris had simply moved on instinct. Tapping her father's shoulder, he guided them back to the edges of the field so they could continue to watch.
"Your pup is brave," Thomas commented.
"Reckless, too reckless," Boris bit out the words with anger, still furious that she would do something so dangerous.
"I have an idea," Jess said to the group. She didn't like feeling like dead weight. It was bad enough to be left behind by Ryan, but she felt like her brother was also leaning more and more in Trinity's direction. It made her want to try and contribute in some way.
Everyone waited for Jess to speak. Trinity was glad that someone else had an idea. She was just going off what she would do. In a desperate struggle for survival, striving to reach an end goal, one couldn't afford to do it the way someone bigger, stronger, and far more experienced would.
"We still have the rope. Could we not untie some of it and make small ties as we go up for footholds?" Jess felt a little awkward. Her idea wasn't as seamless as Trinity's; it would probably take a lot more time. But everyone would be able to do it easily.
Smiling at Jess, Trinity went over to the rope they had continued to bring with them to each challenge. She was the first one to start untying the makeshift rope.
"It's better than my plan," Trinity said happily, a genuine smile on her face.
Jess felt the anxiety building up in her stomach release at her friend's words. Sometimes, at moments like this, she understood why she always felt guilty any time she let envy build up. Because Trinity wasn't selfish or conniving. She didn't always want to go first. She didn't care who went first. She was easy to please, and happy to change her mind. A wave of hope washed over Jess.
Timothy was the first to go. He used Jess's method for the first few meters of the chain link before reaching the tube. Once in the darkened tube, he turned his feet to the wall and started to push himself upwards. When he got tired, he used the bit of rope he had and tied it to the chain link to make a foothold. With a foothold in place, he stood tall as he caught his breath. Grateful that they had two methods of getting to the top, he felt a surge of hope. It didn't take him long before he reached the top. It was a large platform in the sky. Looking down, he could just make out his small group; they looked like little ants. The sensation made him feel a bit dizzy, so he stopped looking down. The breeze was cooler up here as it whipped around his body. In a way, he felt free at the top—alone, but free of every wolf problem that lay below.
Person after person climbed until they reached the top. Once everyone was at the top of the platform, they noticed the next course would be a bit different. The growing crowd below murmured, a mix of awe and speculation. "Did you see that?" one spectator whispered, "They're actually thinking their way through this." Another added, "I've never seen anyone take a break mid-course. What are they playing at?" A third, more cynical voice chimed in, "Just wait, this next part will break them. They're still just defectives."
The next section didn't require any fast thinking or fancy makeshift equipment. It couldn't be thought through. It was a rope bridge. Participants would have to step foot over foot on a rickety, swaying piece of rope in the sky. The drop was as far as they had climbed.
This wasn't about skill; it was about mental fortitude, Trinity noticed instantly.
"I can't!" Jess declared. She didn't need to think about it. She wouldn't be attempting this, not in any fashion. No one could convince her. This was where she stopped. Fear was a palpable weight on her shoulders, trapping her in its icy grip.
"I can carry you across," Johnny told his sister simply. All she'd have to do was close her eyes, and he'd get her to the other side.
Jess shook her head stubbornly. She was afraid. Too afraid to even try. "How do you get down?" she asked firmly.
Johnny didn't want her to give up, but he could see in her face that she just wasn't going to keep moving. "Come back down the way we came, or jump on this side. Someone will catch you."
Jess felt her heart still in her chest. Neither method seemed reasonable for getting down; they were extremely high up in the air. She had watched Trinity fall earlier and be caught, but it wasn't her brother down there waiting. It wasn't her father watching on the sidelines. She felt like she didn't have a choice, that it was already made for her. "Carry me across," she said quietly, a whisper of hope that she could make it through clinging to her.
Johnny pulled her up onto his back before making his way across the thin rope. With every step, he swung back and forth, trying to maintain his upright balance as his sister dug her nails into him. He swayed precariously, gripping the ropes that were tied to the top, pulling himself upwards every time he started to fall to one side or the other, trying to get to the other side as fast as possible.
Timothy went next, moving as slowly as possible. He felt like his core muscles were screaming in agony as he had to constantly engage them to keep his body stiff and upright. The rope had no inherent stability. With every step, every gust of wind, he was just a moment away from swinging wildly in the air. But the success of those before him, and the presence of Trinity, fueled a growing sense of hope. He would make it across.
Trinity was the last to cross. She still hadn't put her shoes back on, opting to keep them around her neck. Her first step onto the rope sent rough fibers scraping against the soles of her feet. The ropes she held onto on either side felt just as rough, made worse by how tightly she was gripping them. With each step, she tried not to look down, to keep her eyes straight ahead, fixed on her group waiting just on the other side. Unluckily for her, a strong gust of wind blew, making the entire rope bridge swing wildly. Losing her footing, she fell at the last minute, grabbing the lower rope with both hands.
She heard a chorus of gasps and screams from the onlookers as they all watched her dangle far above the ground, wondering if she would soon let go. Murmurs rippled through the crowd: "She's done for!" "No way she pulls herself up from that!" But a few voices, those more impressed, whispered, "Look at her grip! She's still holding on!"
Trinity swallowed her scream, taking a brief rest. She swung her legs twice before latching onto the rope above her. She knew there was no way she'd be able to pull herself back up. So instead, she slid her body across the lower rope, her back facing the ground, making her way across slowly. She felt the strain in every single slide, the bite of the coarse rope causing rug burn across her legs. The thought of giving up flickered, but the sight of her team on the other side, their faces etched with concern but also with trust in her, pushed her onward. Their increasing reliance on her was a heavy but motivating weight.
She didn't know she had reached the other side until her head bumped the wooden platform. Without words, Ryan pulled her up onto the platform, hugging her to his chest. He knew someone would catch her if she fell, but he was scared to death just thinking about it—about her plunging down to the Earth, hoping someone would notice and act fast enough to catch her.
"Don't keep going last," he whispered into her ear, hating that she would always be the one without immediate help, the one no one would be able to run after. He didn't want her to go last anymore.
"I won't." she breathed out shakily, ignoring the pain in her legs from the raw skin.
The small group parted to let her see the next task. It was monkey bars descending towards the ground. Trinity felt like she could breathe easy on this one. Her fall had given her the answer. Essentially, this was a ladder downwards. Most might try to swing on the descending bars until they reached the bottom, but Trinity knew this was a ladder, and a ladder was far easier to traverse. A surge of renewed hope coursed through her, knowing they had come this far and could figure out this final descent.