Page 49 of Locked Souls
“If the trials don’t show them how serious this is, nothing will, and they’ll be thrown out,” I mutter. “We are done fucking around. What do you have on Malachi?”
“Okay, he’s a little different,” Jacob says, pulling out another folder. “He’s fucking huge for his age at six feet tall. He’s the protector of the trio, always pulling them out of the trouble they get into.”
“We have to make him believe his friends are dead,” Jonas rasps, paling. “It’ll gut him to know that despite being as big as he is, he still couldn’t protect them. Maybe this trial will get them to realize this isn’t a game.”
“His paper will say that he’s doomed to lose his friends, and we’ll tell him he has to find them. He’ll be the last to go in,” Jacob decides. “The gas will make his thoughts go wild. He’ll hear the screams, and then make his own assumptions.”
“Now, Hendrix,” I say. “What are his fears, according to your information?”
“His parents are drug users,” Jacob replies, and I know immediately that this is going to suck. I can already see how this is going to go.
“Prick him with something that will make him believe he’s been dosed with illegal drugs,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “It’ll fuel the idea that this is the beginning of his addiction, and that he’s about to become a slave to his parents’ demons.”
Jacob looks at me for a long moment before nodding. “I knew you two were the right people for this job,” he murmurs, pulling on his cloak and mask, and gesturing for us to do the same.
He sets up all the necessary things for the trial, sends out a text to those who will be chasing the boys through the tunnels, and then blows out a breath.
We’re ready.
“Jonas, join the others in the tunnels. Be sure to corral them toward where the gas is, after they get lost for a few minutes,” Jacob orders. “Please, don’t get gassed yourself.”
Jonas looks sheepish as I burst out laughing, despite the somber nature of today. It would be just like him to be found passed out because he got in the path of the hallucinogenic gas.
“Ugh, I won’t,” he sighs, bumping me with his shoulder on purpose as he makes certain his mask is secured.
“Let’s do this,” Jacob says as Jonas releases the latch to the back tunnels and slips out. “Connor is first, Malachi is last.”
Nodding, I walk to the door and lower my voice as I intone, “Connor, we’re ready for you. No, just Connor.”
“We’re going alone?” Malachi asks, surprised. I think he has the misconception that because they are a team, they’d continue to stay that way, and they’ve definitely been leaning hard on him.
“Everyone sinks or swims alone during the trial,” I growl, grabbing Connor by the scruff of the neck and pulling him inside. The guys yell, but I slam the door in their faces.
I’ll be the bad guy today, if it means they’ll survive this. We aren’t at peace, and we need soldiers who can survive the mind games and torture that is thrown at us by the evils of the outside world.
Shoving Connor toward Jacob, who definitely emits a scary vibe with his dragon mask, I wait for Jacob to lean forward and offer his condolences as he hands him the piece of paper. The kid’s face is pale as he shakes his head, opening the note that states:
Even in death, he’s a shitty parent. His sins now fall on you. Run, boy, run. His enemies are in the tunnels, and we’ve agreed that if they catch you, you’re theirs.
“No… You can’t be fucking serious!” Connor yells as I glare stonily back at him.
“You can run and give yourself a chance, or go back and they can take you in my office,” Jacob lies, lifting his phone as if to make a call.
“No! Okay, I’ll play. I thought I would be protected here in The Society,” Connor says as I open the secret door.
“Protection comes with passing your trials,” I snarl, pushing him through the door.
Whirling around, he starts to run, and it’s not long before I begin to hear screams, though I can’t tell if they’re his, or the people in the tunnels, who are pushing him in the direction he needs to go.
Blowing out a breath, I shut the door to the cold, sour scent of the tunnels.
“Bring in Hendrix,” Jacob says, sounding tired already.
I feel sick to my stomach as I walk to the office door, my feet heavy. Malachi and Hendrix look apprehensive as I announce, “Hendrix is next.”
Malachi starts to breathe hard as I grab his friend’s arm, and I can see he’s very close to hyperventilating. This is why he’s last. He needs to believe that he failed everyone he cares about.
This trial, I learned when I was a recruit, is as much about the demons in your mind as it is about psychological warfare.