The Katapies Experiment; Part 7

 Leuko 

    Our journey to the small cave was unremarkable, really. Ragnis moped a bit about having to walk so far, but he managed by Summoning a whole ton of animals to basically tote him around like a carriage. I didn’t like Ragnis that much. 

    The Shifters were nice, really. Except for Tsuni. I feel like she was there just because of Tempest. I tried to keep focusing on the matters at hand, like getting food and water; but my mind kept drifting back to Exan Malis. 

     She was a murderer. She killed people. She wouldn’t hesitate to do the same to you.  

    But what if she didn’t mean to? What if it wasn’t on purpose? What if she just killed to survive, what if you hadn’t jumped to a conclusion? Our name is tainted now. People don’t trust us. Was it really worth it? 

    It wouldn’t mean anything if we were dead. Better alive than dead. 

    Why be alive if people wished you were dead? 

    “Hey, Leuko? Snap out of it, we’ve got a problem.” Tempest stared quizzically at me for a moment and grabbed my arm, dragging me off to the entrance to the cave. Tsuni joined us, steering clear of me and sticking to Tempest. We pushed through the knot of the other Shifters and Summoners and made our way to the front. 

    A group of eight – yes, you heard that right – other kids stood there, half with smirks like they could fight us without getting a scratch, and half looking away and bowing their heads like we were some sort of invincible deities or something. 

    The Mages and Messengers. I really didn’t think they’d be traveling together, but I guess they just crossed paths somewhere along the line. The blond Mage in front of the group grinned at the eight of us in the cave with the creepiest smile I had ever seen. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something, his light green eyes glinting in the sunlight. 

    He paused for a long time, letting the dread creep over us slowly, then dropped the smile and asked wearily, “Can you let us in? Please?” 

    As two girls in the back started laughing hysterically, the blond boy continued. “Sorry about that, Amee and Clode forced me to. They said I looked the most intimidating.” He turned around to face the girls, turned back, and frowned slightly. “Flattering for me, but I’m sure it was terrifying for you guys. I’m Novis, by the way. Nice to meet you.” 

    After Novis introduced the other seven kids traveling with him, we took them in after reassuring ourselves that they wouldn’t hurt us. At least we were pretty sure.  

    Our cave was relatively small, with a large center room and a couple of caverns branching off. We had a stockpile of branches and twigs in the middle of the center room, although we didn’t entirely know how to light fires. Novis took care of that, lighting the bonfire and giving the caverns some light. 

     The first night with all sixteen contestants was fun. The Mages were hilarious and sarcastic and satirical, and the Messengers were all really sweet. Everyone sat around the fire, laughing and joking and cooking; the Shifters were good at hunting and found a couple fish.  

    The conversation stagnated for a bit, then one of the Mages (what was his name? Hydran?) asked the question none of us had thought of before. It was like one of the brainstorming questions teachers always asked you that no one knew the answer to. 

    “...What do you think the Katapies Experiment is for? I know it’s something scientific, but nobody’s ever really told me what it’s about.” 

    “It might be just to see how kids survive in the wild? No, that doesn’t seem too ethical.” Deccie shrank back in her seat, leaning against a stalagmite and snacking on a handful of wild berries. She was strictly vegetarian. 

    “Maybe it’s just a psychopathic attempt at keeping the four races in check and doesn’t actually have anything to do with science-” Both me and Soros slapped Ragnis at the exact same time, but his theory did seem plausible. From what I’d read before, the other races had to be handpicked by Katapies. It wouldn’t be unlikely that Katapies would do something like this just for the fun of it. 

    Nobody said anything for a while, then Novis yawned and asked where he could sleep. We pointed him to one of the caverns and waited as all the Mages and Messengers filtered out, exhausted. The morning came soon enough, and everyone immediately got to work. 

     The Shifters went hunting again; they knew all about foraging and how to catch animals and things. The Mages went out to get water, the Messengers were trying to take off the wire binding them, and the Summoners were... well, just staying in the cave. Everyone ruled that someone had to stay and protect the cave, and we were just the people for the job. 

    I didn't think anyone would barge in, so I just dozed off for a bit and let my subconscious take over. Exan took the front seat. Again. 

    My mind replayed the scene over and over again. I was watching myself from the sidelines, then again from above, then lastly from Exan’s perspective. I hated it. I hated watching Exan scream, hated watching the people on the sidelines gasp and cheer, hated Malvada spectating it like it was all just for fun. 

     When I woke up, it was already night. I was lying near the fire next to a Messenger – I think her name was Amee. She glanced at me behind a curtain of dark, dark purple hair and looked back at the fire. 

    “I heard the Summoners didn’t get picked by Katapies.” 

     Amee looked at me again, awaiting some sort of response. I sat up and tilted my head in a nod. “We didn’t get picked. We had to fight each other.” 

    “To the death?” 

    “To the death.” 

    “Oh.” Amee gave me a sympathetic glance and kept going. “Why did they make you all fight? Couldn’t they have just picked people?” 

    I pondered that for a moment and shrugged. “My guess is that they just didn’t want to get into a fight. Summoners are supposed to be haughty and pampered; the people running the Experiment probably just wanted to avoid rebelling.” 

    “Okay, but why couldn’t they have just made people come peacefully?” 

    “They would have rebelled anyway. Summoners love blood and gore, but they’re really overprotective and attached to their loved ones.” My mind drifted to Finis. “We’d do anything for their families. Even fight friends to the death.”  

    “Why did you choose to fight?” 

    “Well, Necron promised a better life for the four who won and their families. I have – had – two siblings. One died in the Contest. The other was too young to compete.” I sighed and smiled. “I miss her.” 

    “How old was she?” 

    “Six.” 

    “What was her name?” 

    “Maare.” 

     Amee turned to me and smiled. “She sounds adorable.” 

    “Thank you.” 

    I stood up and walked to the sleeping cavern, taking a couple of berries with me. I turned around and grinned at Amee, saying another silent thank you.