My neck had a crick. I took a moment to try to stretch it out as I tried to catch my breath. Bright light filled the room. I rubbed my face and groaned. Why can I scream and moan, but I cannot voice my thoughts?

What was that dream? Everything seemed so real- especially the pain. I massaged my stomach; it twinged not from hunger but from the memory of the last slice.

"Rise and Shine." Dr. Frost's voice yelled from outside. I frowned, wishing Scott stood there instead. I guess I had gotten used to waking up to the nurse checking on me. I walked through the doorway while holding my breath but sensed no pressure this time. Dr. Frost's long silver hair drew my attention. The strains weaved into intricate braids showing off three different shades of sparkling grey. A knee-length white lace tunic dress accentuated her lithe frame.

Dr. Frost appeared more athletic than I imagined. It was incredible what a white doctor's coat and loose scrubs could hide. A large basket wove from lavender-like plants hung from her arm. I waved. She smiled, "I came bearing workout gear that should fit even when you gain a bit of muscle. We'll have others made so you can wear what you like." She handed me the gifts. "Go change. I'll wait." She shooed me back into the room.

Exposed, with no door on the doorway, I found a place to swap clothes. I squeezed myself tight against the furthest corner trying to stay out of view of wandering eyes. The clothes resembled closer to a sports bra and long underwear than training attire, but I liked the look of the dark forest greens on my pale skin. I found thin, almost translucent tights to wear under the shorts. After putting them on, my legs resembled dark green branches covered in vines. I didn't find any shoes, but the bottom of the tights had an excellent grip on the wood floor.

I found a comb and hair tie. I did my best, bunching the rat's nest of hair in a ponytail up and off my shoulders. I didn't work too much on detangling but left my two dreads hanging, tucking them behind my ears. I could do more later. I placed my dirty clothes in the woven container, unsure what I should do with them, and left them next to the cot.

Looking around, I checked for creatures only to observe Dr. Frost nodding with a frown. I stepped out of my temp digs. Dr. Frost smiled. "I'm glad I got the size right. How do you feel?"

I nodded.

"Come on. I'll walk you to the evaluation. I'm not supposed to tell you much because Alpha wants to observe your reasoning in action. See what you can figure out independently. But since you haven't grown up here, I'm going to give you a few warnings every youngling knows."

I nodded, listening as we walked through the empty ghost village. Where were all the people? Already Training? Eating breakfast?

"Please pay attention. We won't have time to go over this again." Dr. Frost's voice brought me back to the present. The sternness snapped my attention back to the doctor.

I gave her an "I'm sorry I messed up" look, hoping to convey my apologies.

She brushed me off. "You're forgiven, but you must focus. Alpha's tests will push you not only physically but mentally and emotionally. We only hunt when needed leaving the innocent at peace. When in doubt, choose the least harmful path. Lastly, never eat anything that looks like a cranberry. Red is bad. Got it?"

I gave her a tentative nod.

"Sometimes, your test can trigger bad memories or feelings of deja vu. Don't get distracted. You can and may end up hurt. Find a resting hut. If you make it there before nightfall, you'll find fruits to snack on. Most people don't find the safe zone on their first try. If you, like many others, do not make it, you have to survive all night in the forest being hunted. I assume she will pick something to terrify you. I expect the same beasts you hid from in the building. Time is funny in the maze, don't linger. Let's hope you find the right one." Dr. Frost bit at the sides of her fingers as she thought about any other quick advice.

I slipped my hands on hers and gave a smile. It's going to be okay. I sensed it. And even with my nightmares, I ended up well-rested. My mind had many questions, but Scott would keep his word and tell me when we met next.

Dr. Frost gave me a smile back. "You would have been a great match for Scottie." As soon as the words slipped out, she slapped her hand over her mouth.

I glanced at her with confusion.

"I don't mean to matchmake. Ignore me. I suppose I can't help it, but I want the best for you both. I doubt Scott explained how unbelievable you survived your baptism. You are exceptional, gifted by our Goddess. I believe you stand with five others baptized in Lake Pandora, and none are human like you. Our ancient texts say you began walking a pair of fated paths once exiting the lake. In one, you find agony, death, and failure. On the other, you find peace. Both tracks are dangerous. People die, sometimes those closest to you. Over the millennia, thousands have tried and failed to find their fated. Though it's become less common in the last two generations. As a child, my mom told me anyone baptized in Lake Pandora's water, the Goddess gives a holy name. When you wake, if you wake, the name is only shared with your soulmate who searches for you until their last breath." She sighed. "What little girl doesn't imagine finding another person perfectly matched to them, to love you the deepest of all others?"

I pointed at her.

"No." She laughed. "I found my husband the old-fashioned way- a friend of a friend. We bonded during an Independence Day Celebration on the beach during my college years. Everyone saw me as a determined book nerd, but I needed to learn all I could, medically, from the humans. Nothing could distract me. I realized before long I'd be called back home to pass on my knowledge; Yet, he found a way to wriggle into my heart." She smiled, perhaps thinking of her husband.

I wanted to ask her more, but my attention focused on a sandy volleyball court. A muddy stream of liquid marked the threshold. In the center of the court, wooden slats stood in place of the net. The boards had carvings on them, but I couldn't tell what they were from where we stood.

"Well. I'm sorry I can't prepare you more for this. I can tell you about your first task. Find the right glowstone. It will shed light on your second. There's no time limit to this first eval, but I wouldn't dally. Alpha gets impatient, and when they're bored, things are complicated." Dr. Frost patted me on my shoulder. "Good luck." I heard as I held my breath and stepped over the stream.

**

On my tenth birthday, my mom took me to a circus that overtook the empty fields of the old Corp Farm. The farm's heyday was long gone, and most months, it was just mud trails people would sneak onto and ride bikes or buggies. However, a traveling circus or outdoor music festival would take up the fields a few times a year. Fascinating to watch them show up a week early and turn mud into a circus.

The sketchy amusement park rides were always filled, which always confused me. Who wants to ride those things? They put them up on Thursday, and the barf buckets are up for two weeks. Then they tear it all apart. Like who trusts that? Not me, and mom knew that.

Mom also noticed I wasn't a fan of the big top, but it was her favorite part. I hated it. I hated watching and knowing the creatures who make us smile were treated cruelly by their keepers. They don't wake up one day wanting to learn tricks which just happens to make us humans laugh and smile. These tricks don't come naturally. Poor things are whipped, stung with electroshock, and starved, all so we can cheer because they made a conga line.

The whole time mom and I sat watching, I busied myself memorizing the audience's faces. No matter the age, most people laughed, pointed, and talked. They ate big corndogs on sticks and fluffy sweet funnel cakes with whipped cream. A weird juxtaposition to view such pure joy knowing for the act some poor elephant or tiger merely tried not to be dealt pain behind the curtain.

I liked watching the contortionists and the beautiful flying trapeze artists doing daring feats. Still, my favorite experience happened when we left the tent of cruelty.

A big blue and white pavilion stood closest to the old farmhouse, doubling as the concession stands and ticket counters. In the opposite direction, our next destination awaited. Mom held tight on my hand, weave-leading me through the maze of screaming amusement rides, loud happy music, and the shouting of hawkers trying to make me 'try my luck' at a carnival game. Fat chance.

Our destination ended up being after the chaos. We were towards the back of the fair in the open fields past the crowds. A large group quietly surrounded a pit. Home to a super-secret fire show where the thrill-seekers could get really close to the fantastic, dangerous acts, which technically shouldn't be at the fair.

Imagine acts the circus folk wanted to perform. The ones the insurance companies would need a new change of clothes afterward if they actually watched them. A man and woman dressed in matching black and white clothes caught my eye. She had a vest that looked like it had been through a grinder and lit on fire while her hair and make-up looked prim and proper from the neck up. She didn't have the clownish makeup of some of the other performers. Instead, I awed over the sparkles of colors over her skin. Beautiful.


I stood stunned, watching the woman slide a progression of longer swords down her slender throat. The man would quickly snatch them out, causing me to scream. I thought for sure, her throat would be slit. Of course, we cheered once we realized she appeared unharmed. She would do acrobatics with the swords in her. I couldn't believe it.

The man liked to play with fire. His thirst for flame was only outmatched by his steady hand. He threw flaming knives at the statuesque sword swallower while she balanced upside down with a long thin blade running down to her belly. He waved me over. He gently held my hand and ran my fingers over her throat. I tried to steady my excitement, but I couldn't help but squeal. Amazing, I thought. She righted herself with a flourish and withdrew the sword allowing me to take the blade and slice a melon as if butter and not fruit.

The woman's dark, intense brown eyes sparkled at my reactions. In her thick accent, "Do you want to see something special? A secret so even when you leave, you can't tell a soul."
I nodded without question.

My mom looked like she wanted to say something, but instead, her eyes raked the knife-thrower. She smiled, "Of course!"
"My brother will take you to it. You will be staying after the fair ends. Stick close to Marius."
My mom's smile widened as she talked excitedly to him. He seemed about her age and smiled just as big as her. Their eyes barely left each other. He led us to the part of the field that had ten black fire drums. People made little groups warming their hands over the flame. I stood near Mom, but far enough to give her privacy. I didn't know the last time I had seen her smile since dad died. She laughed playfully, swatting at his arm. He smiled bigger and talked more animated as he explained something to her, his knives and sister both long forgotten.

One by one, the rides and lights turned off; the crowds' loudness disappeared with only a tiny select group near us. A big burly guy yelled at some young teens who tried to sneak over near me, but in the end, I was the youngest still here.

Marius rolled up his pants showing off his muscular calves. "I have a special treat for you, young ladies." He winked at Mom and me. She laughed. "I am going to attempt to walk over this pit." I cocked my head aside. Not five minutes earlier, they poured sand over a section of dirt the size of an 18 wheeler. It didn't look special- beige sand like one might notice at a beach. Two burly guys walked over to the drum in front of me. I didn't notice the drum had handles wrapped in rubber or something similar in the middle. They dragged the drums and poured the red and yellow glowing charcoal bits dumped on the ground.

My jaw dropped. I felt the heat almost immediately on my face and shoulders. Marius waved his hands about, "The trick many do not know is that you must wait for the air to make a crust." He walked over to a white smooth ceramic square which contrasted beautifully with his dark umber skin. After warming ourselves by the simmering embers, a blackened crust covered the red and yellow glowing rocks. He smiled. "The coals are ready." I took a deep breath as he did, and he strolled from one side to the other. I don't think I breathed the entire time. When he made it to the other side, we cheered. And for a moment, I thought I saw magic.

When we drug ourselves home, I couldn't sleep. I studied hours of videos of fire walkers and decided I wanted to do it myself. I knew in my gut mom would disapprove. Therefore, the next day, I kept my plans a secret. She went off to work, and after school, I made quick work of tearing up the backyard. I stole a bucket of sand from a local school which I poured over the dirt. Though it definitely didn't cover it. I made plans to retrieve more before mom got home and stopped me. Mortified didn't describe her. She radiated anger. "What did you do to the yard? Is that sand?"

I, of course, matter-a-factly explained my plan and my prize for my honesty- a grounding. My dreams of being a fire walker died after only a week, as far as my mom realized.

I stepped over the threshold and stumbled upon the sand topsy-turvy from the sudden memory. The sandy pebbles rippled with warmth. I could almost hear Marius, "The trick is ignoring the head.  Move slow enough not to take rocks with you but quick enough to move to the other side. You should never linger."

I rolled my feet to keep from catching on the sand, making my way to the wooden slats to identify the carvings. I noticed a gemstone on top of each slat above the carvings. I couldn't read the etchings, but I assumed it was the village's language. My eyes zeroed in on the center gem, which looked like a light pink quartz the size of a thumb. The other gems colored the rainbow, but this one pulled me as if tied to each other on a string.

I didn't stop. I snatched it from the short wide timber and kept my walk steady. When my fingers touched the gem, the sand bubbled into round rocks of red coals. I jumped onto the nearest board pulling myself up and away from the newly forming flames licking on the wood.

A cool breeze, seemingly on my side, changed direction, forming a blackened path solidified by the wind blowing between the timbers. I lowered myself on the blackened coal, thankful for my luck. I entered a dark cave. The trail turned to stone, and the heat dissipated the deeper I walked. Like the emerald stone in my hut, the quartz glowed a small pink light.

The creeping weight of fear lingered, as getting lost was a real possibility, especially when I came across my first diverged path. The passageway crowded in, making me claustrophobic, even with the bit of light. I didn't have a phone compass to lead me around. What direction should I go? I calmed my breath long enough to make a decision. I etched an arrow in the loose dirt to track where I had already been.

I found my first dead end. Once my hands met the cold stone wall, my heart dropped, and I had to take a moment to calm myself. My heart pounded in my ears. Now what? Turn around and go the other way. Breath Lana, you can do this. I must have been in zombie mode, but I found my way back to the arrow by running my hands on the cool wall and slashed through the line. I would know it's a dead-end if I stumbled across it again. I also sketched a new arrow going the only other way with my foot.

I trudged on, losing track of time. The twists and turns this tunnel took made it hard to visualize. My now scratchy throat needed hydration. Once I made the acknowledgment, the sound of a raging river found my ears. I followed to find the tunnel opened into another cavern with a wide underground river intersecting the walls. The water teased me. I couldn't reach it.

The roaring rushing water scared me. Falling in didn't sound fun, and I had no idea where the rapids might take me. It sounded thunderous on the left, so I figured a smashing waterfall death would be my fate if I slipped. I searched the stones for buttons or levers. I didn't notice any rocks for me to hopscotch over. I didn't have a rope. Stumped, I moved to sit down to ponder this next test?

I heard sniffling, a sound which pulled me into another memory, this one more torturous.