The Fear Trials Read Free Page A

like a finger. We hide the boat there, beneath layers of seaweed and palm fronds.
    The beach is littered with people. There are too many to count. A man digs for sand fleas. A pregnant woman holds her swollen belly. A little boy splashes about in the water, laughing as he plays with a flat tire.
    The sound is strange. It does not belong here. How nice it would be to still see the world through the eyes of a child. Instead it is all darkness and blood, danger and death.
    â€œThis will go in rounds,” my father says. “Each day, a different obstacle. We’ll stay ashore until you complete them. Even when the Dark Time comes.”
    We go right, heading deep into the trees, toward what remains of the Everglades. I breathe a sigh of relief.
    â€œI don’t want you to be afraid,” Koi whispers. He places his hand on my shoulder. “I want you to be strong, and do this right. So that you won’t end up a disappointment like me.”
    â€œI’m not afraid,” I say, shrugging him off as I duck under a thorny branch.
    The truth is that I am terrified. Everything has changed.
    We stop walking when we reach the river. It is at least half a mile wide, and murky, swirling with mud and vegetation. Sweat trickles down my back. I spot a piece of orange fabric, flapping in the wind, tied to the uppermost branches of a tree at the other side.
    â€œCross the swamp and get the flag,” my father says. He turns to Koi. “Do everything you can to stop her. Be the man I trained you to be. Not the boy you have become.”
    Koi sucks in a breath. He looks like he is going to say something. But instead, he simply nods.
    My father pulls a heavy chain from his backpack and wraps it around my ankles. Tight, tighter, until I couldn’t walk if I wanted to. He threads a lock through the chain and tosses the key into the river.
    He does the same to Koi.
    Then he stands back, nods, and utters one word. “Begin.”
    â€œI’m sorry for whatever happens next,” says Koi. Then he dives into the river.
    I follow. It’s warm, almost too warm, like something is pressing in around my lungs. And it gets deep fast. With my legs tied, I move slowly. I’m carrying dead weight. I try to use my arms at first, paddling like my father taught me. Long strokes. Deep, even breaths, as if you are running.
    The ocean has waves that help move me along, but the river is flat and still, and mostly fresh water, so it is not as easy to float. I have not trained for this. I go under. When I come up for air, my feet catch on something. My chin hardly breaks the surface.
    â€œDad!”
    â€œYou’re afraid, Meadow. Don’t be.” He watches me with cold eyes. “Stay calm, and free yourself.”
    I go under again, kicking and fighting. I manage to kick off my shoes.
    I’m going to drown. I’m going to die here.
    I surface, take a gulp of air, and go back under, forcing myself to stay calm. I bend and unhook the chains from whatever nasty thing it was caught on and push to the surface like a dolphin.
    Koi reaches the other side of the river just before I do. He drags himself onto the shore and starts fumbling with his chains.
    As soon as I can stand, I dive under and squirm out of the chains, my ankles slick with blood and mud. Then I turn and run.
    I don’t get far before Koi tackles me from behind.
    We go down, hard, and my mouth is full of leaves and dirt. Koi grabs at me, but I kick back and feel a rush of blood as my foot meets his nose. I’m only a few steps ahead when he dives, his fingers locking around my ankle. “Sorry, little sister,” he says. He twists my foot, hard, and something snaps.
    Fire, white-hot and angry.
    I have never felt pain like this.
    â€œGet up, Meadow!” my father roars. “Pain can control you only if you let it! What if it was Peri you were racing for? Would you stop then?”
    The answer is obvious. I would never stop if it