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The sound of footsteps echoes in the hallway as I’m carried further away from our room in the packhouse while my brain struggles to try to discern how many sets of them there are. Are all the squad leaders here, or just a select few? Other than Tristan’s warning about the general theme of the initiation, they haven’t let me in on any of the details. I’m going into this basically blind- and although I now know I’m not in any real danger, my adrenaline is still pumping.
I’m jostled in Madd’s arms as he carries me down the stairs, boots clomping against the hardwood floor when he reaches the bottom. Then he makes his way out the front door, the early morning chill biting my bare arms as he brings me to a waiting vehicle, the rumbling engine already running.
“Toss her in the trunk!” someone hisses in a whisper.
“Absolutely the fuck not,” Madd growls defensively.
“C’mon, I had to go in the trunk.”
Fucking Ares.
“I’m not putting her in the trunk,” Madd reiterates, the flat tone of his voice brokering no room for argument.
“Fun hater,” Ares grumbles.
A car door opens and Madd shuffles me around in his grip, sliding into the vehicle and settling me in his lap. More doors open and close as the others climb inside, and I feel Madd lean his head down close to mine, the stubble on his jaw catching on the hood covering my head and shifting the fabric.
“Doin’ alright, babe?” he asks in a whisper so low that only I can hear it.
I give him a subtle nod, not wanting to betray the fact that he’s checking up on me. It’s sweet of him to do it, but I’m not afraid. If anything, I’m amped up to get this initiation underway. The others have all done it and passed, so how bad can it really be?
My stomach flip-flops as the vehicle starts forward, leaving the packhouse driveway and pulling out onto the road. I’m not sure where we’re going, so I just relax against Madd’s chest, pressing my ear against it and listening to the steady thump of his heartbeat while we drive. With the hood over my head and the frenetic energy coursing through my veins, I’m clueless as to both our destination and how much time passes. After a while, though, the vehicle comes to a stop, the engine shutting off and doors opening.
Madd climbs out, carefully adjusting my body in his grip.
“Hey, how come I got slung over someone’s shoulder and she gets to be carried in like a bride?” Ares whines, followed by a groan from what I picture as him taking an elbow to the gut.
I’ll have to find out who did that and thank them later.
Madd just grunts, not even dignifying him with a response as he starts walking, the distinctive thick scent of pine registering in my nose.
We’re somewhere in the forest.
My pulse picks up tempo, a fresh bout of adrenaline flooding my veins as my skin prickles with anticipation for what’s to come.
There’s a creak of what sounds like an old door, followed by footsteps thudding against a wooden surface. A musty scent permeates the air, telling me we’ve entered an old building of some sort, though it can’t be anywhere that’s frequented. The air is stale, reeking of years of disuse.
Madd’s muscles ripple against me as he lowers me down, the warm safety of his arms leaving me once I’m securely planted on a firm surface. “You’ve got this,” he whispers to me before moving away, his footsteps shuffling backwards.
Time slows to a crawl, a tortuous minute stretching on for what feels like an eternity as floorboards creak with the movement of people around me. I don’t move, don’t speak- just wait in suspended anticipation for what’s next.
“If you’re going to be one of us, you’ll have to face each one of our fears before facing your own,” a deep voice announces; one I recognize as belonging to Archer Raines. “You’ll have until noon to complete the challenges and collect the keys. Time starts now.”
I hear the scuffle of retreating footsteps, wondering where the hell I am and what I’m supposed to do with that ominous set of instructions.
What challenges?
What keys?
Something suddenly slams down loudly above me, a lock clicking into place, and I finally move. Aiming to get to my feet, I kick out a leg, but my knee crashes into a solid wall.
Ouch.
I change tact, drawing my leg back in and pivoting to go the other way, but when I kick out my opposite leg, I encounter another wall. I try to push up to stand and the top of my head bangs against a firm surface, which is when confusion really starts to set in.
Am I in a fucking box?!
“Find your way out, initiate,” Avery says firmly, her voice coming from somewhere nearby.
