ALMOST II

'Who are you? I don't have time for this.'

I said angrily. I was very close to attacking blindly at this point.

Why wouldn't my stupid vision clear up? It also didn't help that I could still hear the howls and growls of the approaching enforcers'. I was momentarily stunned when a femine voice invaded my thoughts.

'Buenos noches cousin, are you alright? You reek of fear.'

That's why I couldn't get a scent. Jenna, little bitch. She was a team leader for the 'enforcers' their scents were masked to allow them to sneak up on us, totally unfair, but this was a dog eat dog world event, some of us were given privileges and advantages and the others weren't. Just like the real world. I was given none at all, because apparently life had given me the upper hand. A lot was expected of me because of that.

'Jenna, to what do I owe the pleasure. You came out here all alone to make sure I was alright? I know we're family, but this is too much.' I replied.

There was a humorless laugh in my head.

'I couldn't just sit by and do nothing.'

The veiled meaning was clear, she didn't want me crossing, not because it wouldn't bode well on her record, it was just her personal beef with me. She couldn't let me succeed, she couldn't let me have this. She was a team leader for the 'enforcers'. In these trials they were tasked with hunting us down.

The narrative was, we were rogues on the run, we had to evade capture. Once we were brought down, we were out. No second chances. My dearest cousin was an enforcer, she'd been one since she turned seventeen. She got a sick thrill from seeing me fail over and over again in these trials. Sabotage, was her reason for wanting to take part in these trials. Whatever slim chance I had of succes was negated to zero because of her. Jenna.

'I'm touched what I do matters to you so much, but as you can see I'm fine.' i said.

I began to back away from her, she wasn't attacking...not yet anyway. She'd hurt me enough to slow me down and that was not even half the damage she could do. She would no doubt inform her team of my position, if she hadn't already. It was getting colder, the sun was setting, the trial officially ended when the sun set, those that hadn't crossed into the safe zone would be punished with a week out here. They wouldn't be bothered, but no one would care about

their condition either. It also meant a failing grade and if I've learned anything, it's that these people treat cowards a whole lot worse than failures. I got a tiny bit of respect for facing my failures or taking on the enforcers. That was the only silver lining for someone like me, but it wasn't a very bright one.