Fair Game

2 - A Really Warm Welcome

  Whew! This chapter was longer than anticipated. Anyway, enjoy!

  Wren woke up with a start, to hear three loud bangs on her door. At first, she thought she was back in her own house, because making a loud noise to wake her up is something that Nyx or Ash would do. She got up from her bed, or at least she thought it was supposed to be her bed, because it was about as comfortable as the stone floor.

  A rough, muffled voice came from outside the door, "Up. Main hall. food. Now." This was all the voice said, before footsteps indicated that they went to wake the next clueless victim up.

  Wren hadn't had any food since she got to the training camp, so any mention of food was enough to get her moving. She yawned, stretched her legs, and was nearly out the door, when she glanced back at her bag. She walked over to it, pulling out a small dagger. It wouldn't hurt to have it just in case, Wren thought as she stepped out of her room. 

  She hadn't really been paying much attention when she arrived, her mind had still been busy processing the fact that she was basically volunteering herself for a painful death. But the hall was probably the gloomiest place she'd seen. Ever. 

  It was a long, narrow passage, with what looked like at least thirty metal doors, identical to hers. Last names were scraped roughly into the doors, but it didn't look like they were organized in alphabetical order. Wren guessed they were divided into age groups and that this wasn't the only gloomy hall in the building. It was an army they were trying to make, after all.

  Wren walked down the hall, absentmindedly looking at the names on the doors while trying to figure out where the main hall would be. After two dead ends and passing about one hundred boring metal doors, Wren started to hear distant chatter. She followed the sound and few people who were walking in that direction, until she stumbled into an enormous room filled with hundreds of people talking, laughing, or yelling at the top of their lungs. She was quickly swept in with the wave of people interring the room being elbowed and stepped on several times in the process.

  She had just settled  into a not-completely-packed area, when a loud, shrill, piercing screech came from across the room. The chatter suddenly stopped in dead silence, as every head turned to the direction of the noise. A tall woman dressed in long, dark, and flowy robes, stood on a raised platform, holding some sort of whistle. From what Wren could make out, she had jet-black hair, fairly tan skin, and a glare that could kill. She had such a vicious air to her that Wren wasn't surprised when the people closest to the lady backed up, hurriedly.

  "Welcome," She began. The lady's voice was sharp and clear carrying through the large room like a gust of icy wind. "You have all been brought here for a reason. We have been observing each of your fighting abilities. Your strengths, weaknesses, and your ability to work individually or in a group." 

   Wren was lost in thought. How had they been monitoring all of these people? Probably not too closely if they chose me,  she thought, dully. When Wren's father spoke of the leader of this training camp, Wren had not imagined this. She had imagined some barbaric, war-crazed, slightly deranged person, with a bloody axe at their side. This lady was unusually calm, considering the large assembly gathered in front of her, who were silently judging her every word. She didn't seem very war-crazed and looked really, quite sane. Still, not what Wren had been picturing.

  "I'm sure I'm not exactly what you all imagined," she continued, looking slowly around the room. It was only for an instant, but Wren would have bet her sharpest dagger that the lady's eyes landed on Wren and her gaze landed on her, before she looked on. Wren shivered. "but I assure you I lead this organization for a reason." The headmistress then went into the details of where the bathroom were located (at the end of each hall, separated by gender), and rooming.

  "You all will begin training in two days. This should be more than enough time to let you settle in and get used to your surroundings. You all have a weapon you favor, I would advise brushing up on your techniques. You'll need it." she finished ominously.

    A long silence followed, her words still sinking in. 

   The silence began to get uncomfortable, when a sudden burst of laughter came from a tall, muscular, blonde boy. The boy looked about seventeen, with scars all across his face and slashes on his arms, a few hadn't completely healed yet. He was one of the closest people to the lady, leaning against one of the walls. And he was one of the only who did not look intimidated by her. "You really want us to go through with this?  A lady as the leader of the organization for an elite army? I came here to be a soldier in a war, I doubt you've ever so much as cut someone. There's no way I'm taking any orders from you."  He said, distastefully. 

  Guards who were surrounding the assembly began to close in on the rude boy. But before they could get near him, the lady had produced three throwing stars with one, rapid hand motion. She threw the deadly weapons, which made a whizzing sound as they zipped through the air, hitting the boy with precise aim. Wren couldn't see exactly what happened, but she heard the shrieks of terror and thought with absolute certainty, He's dead. 

  Cliffhanger! You'll just have see what happens in the next chapter . . .*evil grin*