Kiera
I balled my hands into fists as the Known Family glided onto the stage. Because of them, all of us humans have had to live in the miserable sectors just barely getting by.
"Welcome to the 70th Annual Trials Ceremony. As you may or may not know, The Trials will run a little differently this year. Usually, each entrant is ranked from best of the class to the lowest of the class. If you are ranked toward the bottom the list, it does not mean you are weak. It only means that you are better suited to be a Medic or Scout. This year, you all are still going to be ranked. However, if you stay below the class average for more than two of the trials, then your job will be determined right there. You will not continue with The Trials. With that said, all of you need to work hard to achieve your goals. Good luck, everyone," the King of the Known Families explained. So basically I couldn't fall under the class average because let's face it, they wouldn't let me stay here if I fell below. They wouldn't bother to make me a Medic or whatever. I would be tossed out the Sector Walls like every other human who attempted The Trials.
He was around seventy years old, but looked as if he were thirty years younger. He had thick black hair and a trimmed beard. The King was wearing a simple black robe which matched his wife's. The Queen looked like a very severe woman and did not speak at all. Her silver hair was tied up in a neat bun at the nape of her neck.
All of the Known Families had the brightest eye colors. I always thought everyone had gray eyes, but now realize that was just humans. Trev had violet eyes and the Known Families had colors ranging from orange to green and even rose. As I looked around me, I noticed that everyone had colorful eyes.
"Please allow the entrants to file out of the stadium before the parents leave," The King's Wife said.
All of us stood up and in a single file line, we made our way down the hallway with the torches. The White Sector lead the way followed my the Black and Blue Sectors. The three of us from the Gray Sector brought up the rear.
Once outside, we walked along the smooth white sidewalks until we reached The Dorm. It was a large gray structure made of bricks. We walked up to the double doors where someone from the Black Sector had stepped out of line to hold the door open. I was the last one in The Dorm followed by the door holder.
"Hey, human," said a familiar voice.
Without turning around, I replied, "Hey, Trev."
He was probably pissed at me for ditching him at the gates. He never wanted me here to begin with.
"Good luck, you'll need it," he said as he skirted around me to get back in line with his sector.
I just rolled my eyes and shoved my hands in my pockets to keep from punching something, or someone.
Someone pointed to a short corridor off to the left and said, "Gray Sector."
The two guys and I from the Gray Sector branched off from the group and went down the hall to find our rooms. Or room I should say.
There was only one door on the short hallway and apparently we all had to share it. I grabbed the door knob and twisted the door open. The room only had three beds side by side. There was no other space for anything else. There wasn't even any room to walk. One window was on the right wall that had peeling gray paint.
Groaning, we threw our bags on each bed. I claimed the bed against the wall with the window and slumped down on the bed. The comforter was itchy and the bed was hard as a rock.
The other two guys sat down on the other two beds. The one next to me was skinny and had greasy brown hair that hung limply to his shoulders. The other one had short blond hair and wasn't as skinny as the guy next to me.
We didn't speak at all. We were all too nervous to say anything so we just sat there until the sun went down. I changed into my wimpy pajamas and climbed under the scratchy covers. Considering I've never actually had a bed, this was actually comfortable. I fell asleep and didn't have any dreams.
~
Declan
I'd say about twenty entrants came to The Trials from each sector. The Black and Blue Sectors split down two separate hallways with lots of doors. Justine was still walking next to me and occasionally brushed my arm with hers. We found the hallway for the White Sector and I chose the last door on the left. Justine opened the door to the room next to mine. Apparently there were enough rooms for each of us to have our own.
My room had a large king sized bed in the center of the room. The dresser and sheets were all white. The walls were also white. Seemed like everything in this room was white. So not my taste.
I dropped my duffel bag on the ground and went into the bathroom attached to my room. The white tile was blinding as was the sink and bathtub. Too much white.
I left the bathroom and changed into a t-shirt and shorts. Shortly after that, I went to sleep. The first trial began tomorrow and I would not be late.
~
Kiera
When I woke up, three black, one-piece jumpsuits were on a hanger dangling from the door knob. I sat up on my bed and kneeled over to reach the garments.
I selected the one closest to my size that looked appropriate to fit a female. While the other two guys from my sector were sleeping, I slipped off my pajamas and slid into the jumpsuit.
It fit perfectly. It almost felt like I wasn't wearing anything and I could position my body any way I wanted to.
When the boys woke up, they quickly changed still not talking. A short time later, a bell rang and we rushed to the door. Stepping out in the hallway, the three of us rounded the corner and met up with the rest of the entrants each wearing the same jumpsuit.
We marched through The Dorm and stopped at a single glass door that read, "Dining Room". We filed silently through the door and into the cafeteria that looked like it should be serving the King and Queen.
Long tables were decorated with White, Black, and Blue table cloths, presumably for each sector. Everyone took their seats according to their sector and left the three of us from the Gray Sector standing there stupidly. I noticed a table at the back of the room completely off to the side of all the other tables. I supposed that's where we should sit.
The three of us sat down and I put my elbows on the table and made a teepee with my fingers.
"So, what are your names?" I asked them.
"Jack," replied the skinny boy.
"Aaron," said the other guy.
"Nice. I'm Kiera," I said trying to break the ice. No one continued the conversation after that.
Chefs wearing white aprons and hats walked out from the kitchen doors in the front of the dining room. They balanced multiple trays of foods in their arms professionally. They set the trays down on the tables in front of the doors and exited back into the kitchen. By some unspoken code among us, the White Sector got up fist to serve themselves. The Black Sector was next followed by the Blue. Finally, the three of us got up and served ourselves with whatever had been left over.
We plucked the remains of what was left. I loaded my plate with fruit and waffles. I didn't care that my waffles were falling apart or anything. This was the best breakfast I've had in a while, or ever for that matter. I returned to my seat and shoveled down the food. I was debating if I should get seconds when I noticed Declan staring at me. A very pretty girl was practically attached to his arm.
He raised that eyebrow and nodded at his plate then mine. His plate was still half full. Mine was empty. For a second I thought he was offering me the rest of his breakfast until he smirked. Oh God, the jerk was making fun of me. The girl sitting next to him with turquoise eyes leaned over to see what he was staring at and then she started to laugh. At me.
That's right. They eat like this all the time. And here I was acting like this was the first meal I've ever eaten. I let my hair dangle around my face to hide the mortification staining my cheeks. Seriously, why am I here if I hate all Nephilim? I don't want to be like them at all. Maybe I should have just stayed in the Gray Sector.
~
Declan
Another bell sounded and everyone stood up to dump their plates in the bins at the end of each table.
"Please report to The Trials Center," a female voice requested over the intercom.
All suddenly jittery, everyone exited the cafeteria and started to walk down the long corridor to a room we were being summoned to. Once we got there, it looked almost like a complete replica of the Training Center back home.
A thirty year old male walked up to us and joined us in the center of the room. The entrants formed a half circle around him as he began to speak.
"Welcome to the First Trial. My name is Coordinator Vlad. In this trial, it will be kept simple. You all will do hand to hand combat without the use of powers to give the humans an equal start. Are you all ready?" He asked.
"Yes," we all said together with a sharp nod.
"Alright. Then let's begin. Through random draw we have determined that the first up is Caleb of the Blue Sector versus Kiera of the Gray Sector. Good luck," he nodded to the two walking over to the blue mats.
Interesting. So the girl who broke into my room had a name. Kiera.
Caleb looks like the average Neph. He was average height and weight and nothing stood out about him. Kiera looked like a midget standing in front of him.
Coordinator Vlad blew the whistle to signal the beginning of the fight. I was surprised when Kiera balled up her fists and took on a defensive stance. It almost looked like she's done this before and may know what she's doing.
Caleb moved behind her in the blink of an eye and went to wrap his arm around her neck. Hm. Of course I knew Kiera would lose this fight. Caleb was too fast and advanced for her. The sparkle in his red eyes proved he knew it, too.
Before Caleb's arm was about to wrap around the girl's throat, she reached behind her and grabbed his arm. How could she have known his arm was there if she wasn't even faced towards him? There was no way she could have known what he was going to do.
Still gripping his arm, Kiera pulled it over her shoulder and flipped Caleb over her back. He landed on his ass and looked as shocked as just about everyone in here.
Kiera pounced on Caleb while he was still on the ground and wrapped her small hand around his throat. He smacked the mat with his hand twice to signal his surrender. Kiera leaped off of him and made her way to the back of the group with her head down.
Well, that fight was all probably a coincidence. She won't be able to win a fight again.
Coordinator Vlad went over to the board set up next to the mats and crossed out Caleb's name from the bracket. Kiera would have to face off against the winner of the fight against Justine and some other girl from the Black Sector. That should be a good fight to watch.