The Assassin Trials - Sneak Peek - Bridget & Toby

Hello everyone,

I have another sneak peek for you! This one is a little out of place and isn't in the beginning. Here, we learn why Bridget and Toby were chosen to be Inductees for this year's trials. Toby is one of the Inductees in the trials.

We don't know much about Toby as he is someone Bridget doesn't necessarily hang around with. However, he is a character that she observes a lot. Through these actions, I love Toby. I hope you will too.

Is there a sneak peek scenario you would love to see?
​- Amy :)
​“How… how did they find you?”
            “I was flagged,” I whispered.
            “But why?” I looked over at him and just watched him. He kept darting his eyes between his screen and me. “We might not know who flags us, but they tell us why.”
            “Manhunt,” I whispered. I closed my eyes for a second and relaxed against the sofa. “I was playing manhunt. I have no idea if it was at my house or in the school playground.” I shook my head. “I never played alone, so I don’t know why I was singled out.” Toby just stared at me. “I lied; I know why. It was a game where you ran, hid, and got chased. I was never caught. I was good.” I shook my head and looked up at the screens. “It was so stupid to play. I can’t imagine how insensitive I was.”
            “You were a child,” Toby said.
            “A stupid one.” I wrapped the blanket tight around me in hopes that it would cut off some circulation somewhere. Maybe it would let me sleep for a little bit. “Whenever we did the physical fitness test at school, I was always at the top. My grades were always good too. The manhunt took it over the top – I had all the qualities they were looking for in an Assassin.” I shook my head again. Saying it out loud, it sounded unreal. Having your fate chosen when you were young. “What about you?” I asked.
            “I asked for someone to flag me,” Toby said. He looked over at me and shrugged his shoulders. I could see some regret flash across his face as he turned back toward the TVs. “At the time, I didn’t want to go to school or work afterward. I was just a young, stupid boy afraid of his future.” Biting his lip, I could see that he wasn’t sure what exactly he could tell me. I wasn’t sure either. Could I be trusted with this? He chose to be here just like the Elitists. He was no better than them. “I forgot about the part where I would have to kill people. I thought of it more as protecting people.”
            “When did you decide?”
            “Last year, when I was eighteen and just graduated high school.” His gaze moved down from his screen and onto the scoreboard now. “Everyone was moving on without me. My friends were getting accepted into colleges and my girlfriend got pregnant.” I tried to keep my face from showing what I was thinking, but I knew it was. If he looked at me, he would see how horrified I was to hear that. “I didn’t want to think about any of that and I was lazy. I thought when I survived these Trials that it would give me an automatic job and be surrounded by people with the same minds.” He turned to me, and I watched as he registered my face. “Clearly, we are all on different pages here.”
            I nodded but didn’t say anything. I didn’t feel like I needed to. He didn’t need to hear my judgments when he was looking for reassurance. Besides, this was the only interaction I have had all day and it felt normal. Maybe like I was in a dorm room.
            Something that Toby didn’t want to experience.