Casters (Book One: Star Caster)

Chapter Seventeen

I take off down the same path as the previous girls, now that those traps have been detonated already. The Glyphs glow on and off. Sometimes being visible, sometimes not. The sounds of girls screaming in horror and agony surround me.

Who invented this torture?

This should be illegal!

This is child abuse!

"Let's go ladies! We don't have all day!" Coach calls.

I step on an invisible one and my leg gets sucked into quicksand.

Someone trips over me and face plants onto another, also quicksand. I cringe as her head gets sucked in.

She makes her own glyph uses her air magic to blast herself out of the hole. Mud gets all over me.

I pull and pry and my leg but soon find myself in last place.

Finally, I get it free.

The perks of being last, not a lot of traps left.

Of course, unless I want to be first in line for something called the fear simulation I better get a move on.

Curse these short legs!

Another glyph appears right in front of me but I jump over it last second.

I watch a girl to my left get frozen in place.

Teleportation would really come in handy right now.

I step on another one which turns the ground in front of me to ice. I slip forward and fall on my face. I quickly get up and go again.

I catch up to Dariyah who struggles to get her ankle free from a plant vine that wrapped around it.

We lock eyes as I pass her.

She soon pulls free and runs up next to me.

I look at her and she pushes me.

I land on another and a bright flash right in my eyes blinds me momentarily. I stumble around rubbing my eyes and step on several more. A water geyser shoots me in the face, I fall on my butt right into quicksand.

I can hear Dariyah's laughter getting farther away.

I rub my eyes with one hand and use the other to try and pull myself free.

When I do get free, I step on another that shocks me.

"Ugh!" I grunt in frustration.

I'm only halfway when the winner crosses the line.

I finish last, only because just before I crossed the finish line I got blasted back by wind.

Coach O'Ryan walks over to me and stares down at me as I stare at the sky.

"Be here early tomorrow," she says.

I clench my jaw and force myself to sit up.

She offers me her hand but I slap it away and get up and stomp off to the locker room.

Stupid Wi—

I sigh out loud and grab my stuff and walk out of the locker room.

When I walk into Cyrene's office I'm still in my muddy, soggy, and singed gym clothes.

I plop on her couch.

"Whoa, what happened to you?" she asks.

"What is the fear simulation?" I ask.

I'm on the verge of tears but hold it in.

"What happened?"

"Just answer the question!" I snap at her.