17. Deacon

After a few hours of moving toward our destination, the forest begins to become too dense to travel outside the paths. If I hadn't spent months getting ready to dominate this training, this subtle change in the landscape wouldn't even register to me. But I know better. Nothing is a coincidence.

This path is intentional. Any other option would take hours to get around. The leadership set this bottleneck up on purpose. This was a way to ensure any cadet who was on the correct path would have to travel through here. The question is, why?

I slow my pace, tapping into my wolf. No sounds of movement. No out-of-the-ordinary noise. Not even my partner makes a sound.

Turning to face Marcus, I see him crouched in a similar position to me, using a tree trunk for cover and concealment. His eyes shift as he takes in our surroundings. The longer I observe him, the more competent he proves to be.

Logical. Doesn't complain. Pushes back when needed. Able to handle himself in a fight. I bet if they knew any of this, he wouldn't be my partner.

I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't know enough about this recruit.

When his eyes find mine, he shuffles silently forward before speaking.

"They herded us here. This path is intentional," he whispers, surprising me that he was able to come to the same conclusion. "Any idea what we might be walking into here?" he asks.

"Could be anything. A challenge. A trap. An obstacle. Everything is planned out, so we have to play their game. What are your strengths unshifted?" I ask so I can come up with a divide-and-conquer solution if needed.

"Endurance, speed, close quarters combat, engineering. I'm shit at land nav, which I will rectify if I make it through this, and have zero alliances to lean on here," he rattles off quickly, again surprising me. This time with his honesty.

Something about him reminds me of Luca. His belief in people.

I take a page from Grace, and I shove my defenses down to return his honesty with my own.

"I'm solid in land nav, logic and understanding, politics, and standing alliances. I'm fast and strong. I struggle with processes, interpersonal relationships, and ego," I finish shrugging because I'm sure that last one has been obvious in our interactions so far.

"Ok, so I'll leave the talking to you since you know everyone unless you sound like an asshole, then I'll be the good cop." He smiles, grabbing a drink from his pack before offering me some. I look at the offering for a long moment before grabbing it and taking a drink, knowing he drank first to show it was given in good faith.

Ok, Grace. I hope your optimism works in my favor here.

"Keep to the treeline on our right as we move. Watch where you step. It wouldn't surprise me if they set something that requires one of us to save the other, or hell, even choose if we want to save the other or continue alone. For the record, I'll save you. They made the rules abundantly clear at the beginning. Cross together, or you're out. Anything that pops up here could be bullshit."

"Well, let's hope I'm not out for Alvarez. Pretty sure rule four said I can't attack another cadet during the challenge. Killing one seems like it would fall under that," he says, attempting for nonchalance while a flash of fear shows behind his eyes at the notion he won't be allowed in.

"Self-defense and attacking aren't the same thing," I state, hoping to reassure him while wondering why I have such a strong urge to do so.

Hard to think of him as the competition when he reminds me so much of Luca and has Grace's sunny disposition.

"Kinda hard to prove when one of the parties is dead," he says, all the lightheartedness vacant in his tone as he drops his face, pretending to look for something in his cargo pocket.

Uncharacteristically, I grab his bicep, forcing his eyes to mine, partially to focus him and partially to show my support.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing you have an eyewitness of who started the fight," I say with nothing but cool seriousness in my voice. "They have an adjudicator on site. This isn't the first time a cadet has died, and it won't be the last. They only have about a 60% completion rate. Between injuries, dropouts, and deaths, our chances are slightly better than a coin toss," I say, trying to lighten the mood some with dark humor.

He laughs; it"s low, and I can tell he tried to contain it as he coughs to cover the act.

"Well then. Time to flip a coin," he says, rising from his position and nodding for me to continue.

Sticking to our plan, we move methodically along the right tree line. We're both careful of our steps and the noise level. An accidental twig snap behind me has my head whipping back to see Marcus diving to the right seconds before the ground falls away.

Well, he was right about being fast.

"My bad," he apologizes.

My eyebrow lifts, and I walk to the edge of the trap to see it appears to be an old well. Deep as shit, and about four feet wide. I can't see the bottom, but the brick and stone above-ground attachments have been removed, and a makeshift cover was created from fallen branches.

He would have survived, but he definitely could have broken something, and getting him out would have been a time-consuming bitch.

The snapping of limbs pulls my attention, and I see him pulling together some branches.

What the fuck?

He drags them to the mouth of the well and replaces the cover he broke, taking a moment to ensure the coverage is sufficient before coming back in line with me.

"We don't need anyone knowing we came through first," he states plainly, which makes me realize we haven't seen a single trap sprung on this path.

Could we be first?

Hope flares within me, and I take off again, spending more time looking for areas where I can't see the dirt or snow beneath.

As the sun begins to set, we see the area they have been guiding us toward. A ten-foot clearing in the trees. At the center stands a table with twenty-five envelopes evenly spaced out. A large poster lays at the center of the table with something written on it.

We are first. None of the envelopes have been taken.

My heart soars triumphantly as I realize what an advantage this could be. Marcus stops next to me, concern etched on his brow.

"Trap?" he asks.

"If I were to guess, it's a challenge, but there's no telling what tricks they have in mind, so stay sharp," I order before returning my attention to the clearing. We take our time to scan the treeline around the space, both of us tapping into our wolves' sight and hearing. After not seeing anything that appears out of place, I take the first step out into the open on my way to the table.

OK Rod, what do you have for me?