The Lost Chapter.Those who have read ‘The Trial’...

The Lost Chapter.

Those who have read ‘The Trial’ know all too well that punches aren’t pulled and brutal twists are the name of the game.

I won’t get spoilerific here, but there were some big moments that ended up being more shocking to the reader than even I had anticipated. I had no idea just how much of a connection the readers would form with some characters, especially given the amount of material I ended up cutting that involved some of the greater and lesser women.

With that in mind, there was one particular chapter that was left on the cutting room floor in order to ensure the pace of The Trial was never lost.

It involved Faye and the, briefly mentioned, Romero sisters with whom we know she had a prior relationship. Long story short, I thought the relaunch (which is now just an excruciatingly short time away) was the perfect time to slightly rework this chapter and bring it back into the fold.

So without further ado, here is a completely FREE and all-new revamped chapter from PULSE: The Trial.

Enjoy!

Section 1.9

Faster.

Faye’s legs were heavy and her breath short as she sprinted and hurdled along the riverbank.

Faster.

The sunlight seemed to dwindle, working in the favor of whatever forest-dwelling predators she could hear growling as they tracked her overhead. 

Faster!

The mud at her feet was wet and slippery, evidenced by the fresh scars across her knees after having lost her footing more than once already.

None of it mattered. The clock was ticking. She had to find Stella. There was no telling how far the creature had hauled her upstream and what fate could be awaiting her friend at the other end of the river. With all the uncertainty, the only thing pushing her on was the single thing of which she was certain. 

Stella’s alive. Of course she is. I just have to find her.

Her friend wasn’t going to meet her end at the hands of some random tentacle-monster. Not after all their training. Not after all the work they had done to come this far. And not alone. She just had to catch up and find out what kind of shape Stella was in. Then they could get on with their impossible mission.

Despite her haste, Faye skidded to a halt and ducked down behind a wide-barked tree. She had definitely heard something. Voices. Even with the common goal of escaping the Trial, she couldn’t risk bumping into just anyone. It could work to her advantage if she were to run into someone like Miriyada or Sophie. Following in their footsteps could save her a lot of trouble. But if she wandered into the clutches of a group like Haley’s, it might not end so well.

To her delight, when she peered around the trunk, a pair of familiar faces were visible a few meters ahead. Faye rose from her hiding spot and slipped between a series of branches, making sure her approach wasn’t a surprise to the two girls. In these conditions, sneaking up on someone, friend or not, wasn’t a sensible course of action.

“Faye?” It was Ellie who spoke. She had her cousin Rami’s arm over her shoulder as she helped her limp forward.

“Hey,” said Faye, as she found herself instinctively slipping beneath Rami’s other arm to assist. “Good to see some friendlies. I was getting kind of bored of all the gnashing teeth and tentacles.”

“Tentacles?” asked Rami, her voice laboured.

“Never mind,” Faye replied. “Let’s keep moving. I don’t like the sound of whatever lives in this forest.”

With Ellie’s help, they charged forward, carrying Rami through the shrubbery. It wasn’t easy, given how the bushes curled across their path and the vines intertwined, forming thick impenetrable curtains. They had to check back and forth to find easier ways for their injured classmate to travel.

Faye kept glancing down at Rami’s right foot. There were claw marks all around her shin and ankle, while the foot itself was wrapped in what looked like the material of Ellie’s ripped top. She was hesitant to ask the question on her mind, but she had to know.

As Faye pushed Rami up over a bulky winding root, Ellie took her by the hand and helped her up next, bringing them face to face for the first time.
“Ellie… where’s Juanita?”

Her classmate’s eyes went wide and her lip trembled, which made a lump rise in Faye’s own throat.

“She didn’t make it.” It was Rami who replied. Ellie turned away and slipped back under her cousin’s arm. Faye followed suit, already realising that she probably shouldn’t have asked. “It was one of those flying things. It swooped down and grabbed her. Then it just… just let her go.”

A tight knot formed in the pit of Faye’s stomach. Stella, too, had nearly suffered a similar fate at the claws of the airborne marauders. But she had been able to rescue her friend. Her classmates were clearly feeling the anguish of not being able to do the same.

“It was my fault,” said Rami.

“Stop it,” Ellie replied.

“No El! You know it was. I got bit by that stupid cat and I’ve been slowing us down ever since. It’s the reason she’s dead. And it’s the reason you should have left me behind already!”

“Shut up!” Ellie put her hand over her cousin’s mouth as her cautious eyes looked to the skies. “This isn’t the time or place. Let’s keep moving.”

The distraught look on Rami’s face told the whole story. She didn’t want to be the reason any more suffering came their way. And yet, there was no way her cousin was going to leave her behind. Especially not after already losing one of their trio. Ellie could no sooner abandon her family than Faye could discard her own best friend.

“Where’s Stella?” Rami asked. “She isn’t—”

“We got separated.” Faye found herself quick to reply. “But she went along this river. So I’ll find her somewhere along it.”

Rami looked troubled once more. “I’m holding you back too. You should be with her. You need to go on ahead.”

Faye didn’t look into the grey eyes of her classmate. She would find too much truth in them, along with a decision she was avoiding having to make. She really should have been pushing on ahead. Rushing to find Stella. Every second in delay worked against finding her. But these were her friends too.

Maybe… maybe if we can find Stella, together, we can all help each other get out of here. What if two or even three people aren’t enough to survive. Maybe if we’d worked together from the start, everyone would still—

“She’s right,” said Ellie. “We can manage on our own. You should go.”

“That’s not what I meant,” said Rami. “The two of you need to go on ahead. Without me. Meet up with Stella and get out of here. I’m not going to make it, El.”

“I told you to stop.”

“No! Not this time. I’m not going to let—”

Rami didn’t get to finish her protest as a hideous howl trumpeted from the tree tops and a ball of black fur lurched in their direction. It hurtled into Ellie, knocking her back as she tripped over a rock and splashed into the river.

Rami’s arm slipped out of Faye’s grasp as the shaggy creature unfurled and snatched her classmate up into its six arms. The grotesque monster howled once more as Faye clamped her hands around Rami’s wrist and tried to haul her back down. Faye won the battle of strength and took two steps back as she attempted to pull Rami clear.

The creature, which resembled an ape less and less by the second, had other ideas as it whipped its long tail around and sent it shooting towards Faye’s head. She only saw the inch-long stinger at the end of the tail a split-second before it reached it her face, barely giving her enough time to shift out of the way. The distraction, however, was enough for the creature to tug Rami out of her arms and begin shuffling back up the tree.

Ellie was back on her feet and shouting. “Give me a boost!” she demanded, as she rushed towards Faye.

Faye braced her arms as her classmate’s foot came up, and she launched her up the tree. Ellie grabbed her cousin by the injured leg and held on tight as she desperately tried to bring her back down. Wrapping her arms around Ellie’s knees, Faye put all of her weight into helping as Rami yelled in pain.

The creature wasn’t strong enough to fend off the both of them, and Faye knew if they could just hold on it would have to relent sooner or later. But the sound of additional howls from above put the odds against them. Five more of the creatures slinked down from the branches and immediately brandished their sinister stingers.

Rather than targeting Ellie and herself, the largest of the group sunk the tip of its tail into Rami’s chest, causing her screams to stop.

“No!” It was Ellie’s turn to yell.

The other attackers followed suit, stabbing at Rami repeatedly, stinging her all over her body. Blood seeped from two dozen wounds until eventually her body went limp. Another stinger swung in Ellie’s direction, and Faye tumbled back to pull her classmate out of harm’s way.

With Rami’s body now free, several of the creatures scurried back up the tree, spiriting their classmate away into the dense jungle above. The others, however, continued to howl and glare menacingly.

“Ellie,” said Faye. “We have to go.”

She wondered whether, if it had been her, the shock would have been too much for her to overcome, leaving her to succumb to the same fate as Rami. But Ellie, regardless of how she must have felt, wasted no time in rising to her feet and taking off through the jungle.

They rushed through the increasing darkness, scraping and tumbling as they went, with the howls of their pursuers still whistling in their ears. They ran for what felt like forever until eventually there was silence. Silence that was inevitably a bad sign. Ellie must have thought the same, as she slowed to a jog up ahead. But it was too late. A few steps later, they were up to their knees in mud.

Faye reached around to her backpack. “Do you still have your rope?”

“Had to cut it,” Ellie replied.

“Okay. Don’t worry. I can pull us both out.” As Faye reached around to her back, the wet sludge enveloped her thighs and bubbled up to her waist.

“Stop!” said Ellie. “You’re sinking faster. Look.” She nodded her head towards the tree that hung lopsided over the edge of the mud pit and the web of vines that were dipping a meter or so from Faye.

“What about you?” Faye frowned.

Ellie shook her head.

“Didn’t you just have this discussion with Rami?”

“Yes. And now she’s dead, isn’t she?”

“Ellie…”

“This isn’t a discussion.” Ellie took her backpack and tossed it to safety across the forest, causing the mud to reach her chest.

“Ellie Stop! What are you doing!?”

“There’s some gear left. Might be of use to you. Find your friend. And get out of here.”

“Would you please just shut up for a second.” Faye rubbed her temples. “Let me think. I can help.”

“You can. I’m just not the one you’re supposed to be helping. You always told me you and Stella had a plan. So go and put it into action.”

Ellie waved her arms around, causing the mud to gargle and spit as it drew her down into the pit. Seconds later, she was gone.

Faye stared at the vacant hole in the dirt until, eventually, it closed back up. She wiped a tear from her eye and stretched forward, reaching her fingers out until she could feel the slippery tendril of the vine in her grasp. She squeezed it until her grip was firm as the mud filled her ears and pushed its way into her mouth. Looking up and taking a final deep breath through her nose, she tensed her body and pulled on the vine.

Her head dipped under the surface of the pit and everything went dark. The seconds felt like hours as she pulled her way up the vine and the blackness returned to color. Inch by inch, she hauled herself out of the muck, until she felt the security of solid ground.

Faye stood tall and swirled the mud in her mouth, spitting it back into the pit. At her feet was Ellie’s discarded backpack. She wanted to leave it there. Undisturbed. Maybe she should even bury it. A gesture of some kind, to her fallen classmates. But this was the Trial. There was no room for weakness. No reward for compassion. Ellie had both learned and taught that. The hard way.

She pulled the bag and open and found three daggers. One for each of them. The Montero sisters. She tucked all three into her own pack and turned away from the pit.

She was late. And no more friends were going to die today.