The Katapies Experiment; Part 1

 Tsuni 

    The first glimpses of spring are beautiful. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and trees are finally starting to recover from winter. Truly a gorgeous sight. If you want to see spring to its fullest, here’s a helpful tip; leave your annoying kid brother at home. 

    “Oh! Tsuni, look! Flowers!” Avalain laid down in the bright meadow and rolled around. “Spring’s really coming, huh? Hope you don’t get picked for the Experiment! Wouldn’t wanna miss spring!” He sneezed, complaining about his allergies and rubbing his eyes. 

     Picking four flowers and standing up, he smiled at me and showed the golden blossoms to me clearly in his hand. “These are the test subjects! Watch!” He proceeded to rip them into pieces and throw them on the ground. Apparently I got cursed with a psycho sibling. 

     He sat down again and counted on his fingers. "There are twelve kids that are of age. You’re fourteen, you’d probably be picked. Celenni... She falls somewhere on the range. Leccii too. Would Aere be picked? Huh, maybe. Ooh! Terros! I have a feeling he would be choosed.” 

    “Chosen. Choosed isn’t a word.” 

    “Wow, look at you, Tsuni. Grammar police.”  

    “You’re annoying me, Avalain. I’m going to go to Celenni’s house.” 

   I jumped off of the beautiful cliff we were sitting on, hoping desperately that the tree from my childhood was still there. I flew down and closed my eyes, trusting that no one had cut it down and opening my arms as the ground grew closer. Finally, I landed on one of the branches covered in little pillows I had sewn when I was four, shaken slightly but otherwise unharmed. 

   Avalain cheered at me from above and shouted, “Don’t get hurt, then you won’t be able to be picked for the Experiment!” Even from meters below him, I could still see him smirking. “Injured people don’t even get to be even considered. It would be a shame if you didn’t even get a chance.” 

    The Katapies Experiment. You’ve never heard of it, I know barely anything about it, but it’s been going on for millennia. From what I’ve heard, every twenty years on the first day of spring, four children from ten to twenty from each of the four Katapies races are sent out into the Disaris Forest to, well, die.  

     It’s messed up. If the four races don’t send the children, then their land will be destroyed. Avalain turned nine this year, so he’s not going to even get a chance to go in his lifetime. He’s my brother, but I don’t think he’ll mourn much if I get picked. Heck, he would probably even volunteer if he could, but the people running the Experiment are very strict about only taking kids from ten to twenty.  

     There was one more day until the Experiment. I walked over to Celenni’s house and sat down on a shoddy wooden chair in her room. “Tsuni! Tsuni, I am so glad you’re here! Listen, the Experiment’s tomorrow.” 

    “Yeah? So what?” 

    “TSUNI, I AM TERRIFIED. What if only one of us gets picked? What if we live the rest of our lives without each other? THIS IS NOT GOOD.” 

     Celenni kept pacing around her room and pulling at her blond hair, panting like a dog. Now she was walking like a dog, talking like a dog... Oh. She was a dog. A golden-furred Labrador, whining and putting its head beneath its paws. 

    Shifters. One of the four races of Katapies. They’re able to change their form to an animal. Some can change into multiple animals, but most just have one other form. The city of Vitalos (where I live) is inhabited solely by them. I’m a Shifter. Avalain’s a Shifter. And Celenni’s one, too. 

    Shifters only change form when they are feeling a strong bout of emotion. Fear, anger, happiness, everything. Some Shifters control their emotions so much that they can change their form at will, but most can’t.  

    I brought Celenni to her mom and waited outside for her to change back (Shifters lose their clothes when they change forms). She ran back outside, red in the cheeks, and we walked to the school. Vitalos had an average school. It didn’t get much funding and there were only two teachers, but they made it work. Somehow. 

     Celenni sat down on one of the benches in the dusty classroom and sighed. “Twelve kids, right? Only four need to go. Four out of twelve, that’s, like, ten people left?”

    “Eight. Celenni, have you been slacking on your studies again?” Our teacher, Spirus, strode in the classroom and smiled at her. “It doesn’t really matter, anyway. You could get picked. Let’s save the chatting about grades for after the Experiment.” 

    “SPIRUS! DON’T SAY THAT, YOU’RE GONNA JINX IT!” Celenni crumbled on the ground in an exaggerated faint, falling on the dirt floor.  

    “Did someone say my name?” Jinxe, Celenni’s longtime crush, popped his head around the door and smiled. Celenni jerked her head up so fast it hit the bench and she rolled away, groaning. 

     Leccii, Aere, and Terros decided to slip into the room just then and sat down on the benches farthest away from Celenni. Leccii pulled out a blank notebook and a sliver of charcoal and started sketching Celenni, while Aere peeked over his shoulder and whispered words of advice to him.  

     Actually, it might have been Aere sketching Celenni and Leccii giving advice. Aere and Leccii looked so similar, being twins and all that. They basically had the same personality and appearance, despite being different genders. They had gorgeous curls of brown hair cut short, dark amber skin that I envied to the ends of the Earth, and shiny blue-green eyes. 

    Terros just sat there. I’d never heard him talk. Not once. He was kind of creepy, just sitting there, staring at the front of the room, glassy-eyed and dazed. Spirus eventually took over, yapping at everyone to sit down and pay attention. 

    “Alright, everyone’s here except Eclipe, but he’s never here. I’m going to let you folks have a free day today, because four of you are going to the Disaris Forest tomorrow. Can’t pay too much attention to the ones who are going to die.” He winked at all of us and started to walk out the room, but paused and said to Jinxe, “If they don’t move, make them. Counting on you, son.” 

    None of us moved for a while after that. Jinxe eventually sat up and motioned for all of us to follow him out of the door. “You heard my dad; we’ve got to have fun! Can’t have fun if we’re too busy worrying about the probabilities of our inevitable deaths! Come on!” 

     Celenni followed him almost immediately. She’d do anything for Jinxe. It’s a bit worrying, honestly. Everyone else caught up to them and we met up with the other class in the school. Since we didn’t know anyone in the other class except Celenni’s sister, Mora, we just stayed away from the other kids.  

    The day was the same as a weekend, except with the entire school parading along together and causing a lot of ruckus. Nobody bothered to reprimand us or get mad at us, because a handful of us were set to die the next day, and no one wants to make someone’s last day alive miserable.  

     Except Avalain. I think he lives to make people miserable. He laughed and tagged along, making rude remarks at the worst times, eating all of our food, and generally being a nuisance. Thankfully, an 18-year-old by the name of Glimm from the other class took the time to drag Avalain away and give him to my mother. 

     I fell asleep that night twisting and turning, thinking of the endless Disarus Forest and the challenges I would face there. Avalain kept snoring, so it was doubly hard to rest, but I eventually passed out after muffling the noise with earplugs I fashioned from grass outside. 

     When I woke up, the smell of lavender tea filled our little shabby flat. Avalain was already dressed, wearing his cleanest clothes and struggling with his coat. My mother, pale in the face, handed me a cup of tea as I sat down, as well as clothes that the people running the Experiment had given us.  

    I put on the beige shirt, pants, and jacket, amazed at all of the pockets and buttons. Avalain handed me a slice of bread and I tucked it into one of the folds. We all sat in silence until we heard the crash of a gong at noon, then headed out, along with all of the other families in Vitalos. 

    A dignified woman was standing at a podium in the town square, clearing her throat and smoothing out a piece of parchment in her hands. “Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys. I, Glo from the Katapies government, have come to understand that the twenty-year interval between the last Experiment is nearing an end. Katapies has selected four more test subjects from the twelve candidates of age. Candidates, please step forward.” 

    I swallowed the frog in my throat as I stepped forward, forming a line. “As a precautionary measure, I shall take count. State your Shifter form and age when you are called. Aere Sonis?” 

    “Fifteen, albatross.” Aere looked terrified, shaking and sniffling, her curly brown hair flailing in the wind. She definitely looked like an albatross, with that slightly curved nose and beady blue eyes. 

    “Celenni Vilis?” 

     Celenni, who was standing next to me, clutching my arm, squeaked, “Sixteen, yellow Labrador.” 

    “Cendis Obitus?” 

    A burly chestnut-haired teen who looked thirty rumbled, “Nineteen, lion.” 

    “Eclipe Halitus? Eclipe Halitus? Is Eclipe here?” The lady looked straight at me, and I felt my face pale.  

    “Eclipe’s... he’s... coming?” 

    “Oh, okay. He needs to arrive before the names are all called, or Vitalos will suffer a terrible fate.” The woman smiled at me and kept reading the names. 

    “Glimm Flarion?” 

    “Eighteen, butterfly.” This confused me, but the more I looked at Glimm, the more I could see it; her hair was so blond it was white, and it shimmered in the sun and flickered in the wind. Even the woman reading the names was amazed; she commented on the beauty of it before moving on to the next person. 

    “Jinxe Ceraun?” 

    “Sixteen, crow.” It made sense, at least. Jinxe’s hair was jet black and flicked backward, either by gel or incredible natural bedhead. Celenni calmed down a bit after she heard Jinxe’s voice, and finally let go of my arm. 

    “Leccii Sonis?” 

    “Fifteen, fennec fox.” Again, this fit Leccii to a T. Despite looking almost identical to Aere, Leccii’s ears were pointed slightly up, like a, you guessed it, fox. 

    “Mora Vilis?” 

    “Eleven, chocolate Labrador.” Mora always grew her mahogany locks long and straight, so you could never tell what her face looked like. 

    “Myalis Gliss?” 

    “Um... ten, phoenix.” This aroused a collective gasp from the audience, as phoenix Shifters were impossibly rare. Myalis cowered under his beige uniform, uncomfortable with everyone drawing attention to him. 

    “Tempest Lumina?” 

    “Twelve, sparrow.” I tried to get a glance of Tempest, but she was short. Really short. I couldn’t even see her behind Terros, although, to be fair, Terros was huge. 

    “Terros Grine?” 

    “Seventeen, groundhog.” No surprises there. 

    “Tsuni Liquire?” 

    “Fourteen, ot- HEY!” I was interrupted by a boy pushing his way through the crowd and bumping into me. He had black hair with streaks of white at the end and cowlicks, like he’d just woken up. I’d never seen him before, but I assumed he was Eclipe. 

    “Hey, sorry. Missed the gong.” He looked back at me and smiled. “You were before me. Tsuni, right? Lead the way.” His voice was soft, and it made me so red in the face I almost fell backward. 

    “O-Otter.” I was, frankly, a hot mess. Blushing doesn’t suit me, so I quickly took the time to recollect myself and breathe. It was weird; that little moment made me immediately forget about my possible doom. 

    “Okay.” The woman reading the names pointed at Eclipe. “Eclipe Halitus, state your age and Shifter form.” 

    “Thirteen, owl.” Again, him talking made my cheeks flush again, so I zipped up the uniform jacket and pulled the hood over my eyes. 

    “Alright. Now that everyone’s here, I’m going to read off the names. I understand that this may be a sad experience for your families, so after, take as much time as you need to get ready.” Glo gave a sad smile and pulled a small roll of parchment from a jacket pocket. 

    “Leccii Sonis, Tsuni Liquire, Eclipe Halitus, and Tempest Lumina, you’ll all be going to the Disarus Forest this year. When you’re ready, tell me so we can begin.” 

    I pulled the hood off of my head and stood there, wide-eyed. Celenni ran over and hugged me, and my mother started crying and dashed over to hug me too. I blinked furiously to get the tears out of my eyes and glanced at all of the other candidates – no, I should probably call them sacrifices.  

     Leccii was sobbing and hugging Aere as tight as he could, apologizing over and over and making her promise to forget about him. Tempest was hugging her father, glistening tears streaming down her face as her mother and sisters whispered words of comfort to her. 

     Eclipe was just standing there, looking bored, waiting for all of us to finish saying goodbye, and Avalain was nowhere to be seen. I turned my gaze to the rest of the village, catching little wisps and clouds of gossip. 

    “They’re all so young this year. Usually they pick ones over the age of fifteen.” 

    “This is so strange. I should send a message to the Mages to see if they have the same problem.” 

    I even heard Glimm and Cendis talking to each other. “Poor kids. If I could, I'd take Tempest’s place. Kids that young shouldn’t be going to Disarus.” 

    After a good fifteen minutes or so, I gently lifted Celenni and my mom’s hands off of me and walked to where Glo was, where Eclipe and Tempest were already waiting. Leccii eventually came over, sniffing and rubbing his puffy eyes. 

    “Everyone’s ready? Okay, follow me.” Glo led us to the carriage she came in, mixing and shaking some sort of drink. She handed us little glasses of it and told us to drink up. 

    Tempest shook her head and gave Glo a confused look. “I... don’t really like the taste of alcohol.” 

    Glo threw back her head and laughed shrilly, then pulled on her somber face again. “Sweetie, this isn’t alcohol, just an elixir to make sure your Shifter form is truly what you say. It doesn’t have any side effects.” Tempest still looked skeptical, so Glo made herself a glass of the liquid. “Here, I’ll show you.” 

    Glo gulped down the liquid, waited a few seconds, and shifted into a firefly. After a minute, she changed back and gestured for us to try. I stared down at the clear liquid and sipped it slowly. Eclipe downed it in one drink and Leccii took a taste and frowned, then took a deep breath and chugged it.  

     The drink had a weird, saccharine flavor to it, and it left a strange aftertaste in my mouth. I barely had any time to ponder the ingredients and saw the floor coming increasingly closer as my arms turned brown and furry. 

      Yup. I was an otter. Peeking around, I saw a sparrow, owl, and a fennec fox sitting on the floor, looking dazed. All of us collectively realized that when we transformed back, we’d have no clothes, so we all panicked in sync. Glo giggled and told us that there was no need to worry. 

    “The scientists back at Katapies found a way to transform Shifters without undressing them. You’re fine, don’t fret.”  

     After we had all Shifted back and took the time to confirm that yes, our clothes were still on, Glo told us that it was time. “I know that this is sudden, but we’re running behind schedule and I really need this paycheck, so if you could get in the carriage, that’d be great.” 

    The four of us timidly stepped into the carriage, and Glo told the driver to take us to Disarus Forest. She sat down next to him, turned back, and smiled broadly at our pale faces. We all sat in silence, and Tempest dozed off eventually.  

    We arrived as the sun set, staring at the beautiful colors strewn across the sky, like some great creatures above had spilled paints and dyes. Glo led us to a small, rotting wooden platform and told us to wait until the sun had set, then follow the lights. She didn’t tell us where the lights would lead, nor why we had to follow them.  

    She left abruptly after, muttering something about a monster. Us four sacrifices had nothing left to do but wait.