"Do the rules still apply now?" Danny didn't think they did, but it didn't seem like a good idea to try to escape if it was still against the rules. (Whenever you want him to find the tunnel, just tell me then say no when he asks if anyone else felt that bc that's how he's gonna find it)
Anna grinned. Max won everybody over.
max turned to look at Danny. "Not necessarily. Escape from this facility is still prohibited, however the trials have begun, and only one of you can find your way out of here and into the next challenge."
Tessa slunk out of the forest and hissed at Max. "You."
Anna turned to Tessa, still holding Max.
She stalked up to Anna, pointing at the robot cat. "Where the hell is my brother?"
The cat blinked. "He is fine. We merely moved them to a different place so that the survivors would not interfere with your trials. Here, I will confirm." He projected a screen showing Ronan shredding thick walls apart. It looked very realistic.
Enderstorm stepped away from the cat as it projected the picture, fascinated.
Max ended the projection and watched their reactions.
Tess still didn't look happy, but she did seem to get an idea from Ronan while he roared and shredded walls. She didn't say what–didn't say anything. Warning flag #1
Max paused, and a few clicking sounds could be heard. "He can't get out. we don't want to hurt any of you, please be aware the first challenge has begun, and if you haven't escaped within the allotted time, the trial is over and you have failed."
Enderstorm turned back to the deer she had hunted.
“Who knows how to cook this thing?” She asked, shifting into dragon form and beginning to skin the deer with her claws. It was a very messy process, as claws are not proper knives.
Anna turned. "I think I do… if we have time. Although, we haven't eaten yet, so they'll just have to wait. If you can skin it, I can cook it."
(he's gonna go exploring now cause I'm bored). "I have an idea," he said abruptly. "Maybe I can sense what the plants do. How they're going to try to kill us, so we can avoid it. I'm going to go exploring. Does anyone want to come? In case I fall into a pit and can't get out," he added hastily, trying to hide the fact that he didn't want to be alone, and also uncomfortable at the sight of the deer.
After a painstaking process, Enderstorm finally had the deer ready, and relit the dying fire.
“All yours, Anna.” Enderstorm went to sit near the fire and clean her claws.
"Yeah, I'll come. Anna stood and walked over to him. "Maybe we'll find that way out Max was talking about." she grinned at him.
"Oh, one minute." She knelt by the deer and lifted strips of the meat, hanging them across some stones near the fire. She put other stones in the fire itself. "when these heat up, we'll switch the meat back and forth until it's cooked, unless we could find something to wrap it in, like with baked potatoes." Then she joined Danny for the walk.
Tessa stormed off on her own, flapping her large wings and shooting into the air and the thick mist, disappearing.
Anna sighed. "Oh well. If we need to hurry, Endie, you can just keep blowing fire on them, like grilling them."
Enderstorm sat hungrily, waiting for the meat to cook. The smell was enticing, and her stomach rumbled, revealing her dragon-sized hunger.
"Yeah." He scanned the area around them and walked determinedly toward a large tree. He felt a kind of hum in his body, and as he walked closer to the tree, it grew stronger. He figured this was probably the right way.
"just go ahead and torch it until it seems done." Anna laughed at Endie's eagerness.
Anna followed Danny.
Tessa soared above the forest, cooling her heated skin in the mist while taking care not to get electrocuted again. F##king trials my steaming ass. (sorry, but Tess swears a lot, especially when alone) I'm about ready to just blow this hellhole to smithereens. I don't give a shit if it breaks some bullshit rules. I want out. She searched her mind for that sliver of a soul that was not hers, but eerily similar. Please find me. I need help. She closed her eyes and flipped onto her back, circling the arena with just her senses. Her own kind of training exercise.
They continued for a few minutes, following the hum. As it intensified, he had to stop every so often, getting used to it. All of a sudden, his entire body vibrated with an intensity unlike anything he had ever felt. Then…nothing. "Anna," he gasped, eyes wide. "I think we just found something. Be really careful, we don't know for sure if this is dangerous. The other plants seem pretty calm, but there…" He pointed to a patch of dirt in front of them. "There was such a big hum and then there was nothing."