Chapter Two:

Wednesday...

Isla, Charlotte and Elliot had been separated. The day of the first round of the Trials was upon them. Each in their own assigned room in the space pod their hearts thumped as they waited for an Intergalactic Federation's officer to arrive. According to the clock the officer was coming in ten minutes.

Isla drummed her fingers on the pale blue table as she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She thought back to her mum's silent plea "Don't pass, please don't pass," But she had to, for her dad, for Luca, for Charlie and Elliot, even for Finley who'd whispered how much he'd wanted to come with them just 20 minutes earlier.

"And for yourself," she whispered, now staring at the plain white walls that felt as if they were closing in on her. Suddenly she felt her throat closing up and was struggling to breathe properly.

I wish Cosmo and Luca were here. They'd help me to calm down. They always have.

The door clicked open, the sound bringing her slowly back into the room. A large man wearing a T-shirt with the letters: IGF on it. stood in the doorway. He approached Isla, sat down on the chair opposite her, which creaked in protrial and slammed the clipboard he was holding on the table. The sound echoed through the room as she shivered.

"Good morning Isla. My name is Mr. Snow. Today are going to start with the emotional/mental aspect of the trial. Are you ready?"

Forcing herself to look him in the eyes with feigning confidence Isla responded, "Yes. I'm ready,"

What she was 'ready' for she had no idea. Isla watched in fascination as the bearded man retrieved a small device from his pocket, which looked like a mobile phone.

"In this task you're going to pretend that you're on a forbidden planet. You are with someone who is burning up; there is only one spot left in the space pod. Will you go and leave your dying friend or will you let them go on and risk your life for them? You have 10 minutes to decide. Then you must write about why or why not you would save this person. There is no wrong answer," Mr. Snow said.

No wrong answer? Isla didn't believe that for a second, but she nodded. To her amazement he clicked a button on the phone like device and an image sprung out of it. It took Isla a couple of minutes to register that the image wasn't an image at all; it was a film.

The film projected on the walls showed two people. One, she realised was her and the other was Luca. She sat there paralyzed unable to breathe; a space pod came into view and she could see her parents waving frantically to them from inside the ship. The door opened and the person standing on the ramp of the space pod waved them over. Suddenly, Luca bent over with a sudden scream. It filled the entire room and seemed to penetrate Isla's soul.

"Come on! Hurry!" Someone called out. Isla watched as the film version of her supported her brother. Burns appeared seemingly out of nowhere and Isla, who, by now was glued to the chair, felt a sharp pain in her arm.

"Now you can make your decision," Mr. Snow said, sliding a piece of pen and a pen towards her. "Who's it going to be, Isla?"

Isla couldn't reply, her green eyes glued to the wall in front of her and the two at the side. The film was still playing and both her and Luca's cries of agony rang through the room. The officer simply got up and left at that point leaving Isla truly alone. Burns began to appear on her arms as she wrote and the pain was nauseating.

***

Elliot watched his own film in pain. The burns seared into his flesh as he tried to make a decision. He knew that it was not real, in theory, but seeing it like this and feeling the burns travelling up his back. His task was to either save Finley and Charlotte or to just save himself.

Obviously he chose the first option, but before the ghastly film stopped, he needed to finish writing his choice and, it seemed, watch as they almost died. A sharp pain went up and down his spine as he finished the last sentence.

***

Charlotte watched as her film played out before her. Tears soaked her cheeks as she made her decision. Her choice was either save Luca, Elliot, Isla or herself and she had chosen herself. Guilt ate away at her as she wrote, but the burns didn't appear on her skin like the others. There was no pain, in fact the sound of her friends and brother screaming had faded.

When the woman came to collect her paper, she frowned slightly and then smiled as she said, "Thank you for your choice."

Charlotte felt her world crack as the images of the friends and her own twin brother crying for help and going into that space ship.

"You may leave. The others will be finishing in a few minutes and you can come back at the same time on Friday. Tomorrow will be a training day and a day to get ready for the party on Monday," said Ms. Clayton.

"It's just a trial. It's not real, it's not real," Charlotte told herself over and over again as she left the room, the images seared into her brain.

Charlotte saw Finley and Isla waiting anxiously outside Elliot's trialing room and before she could sneak away Isla ran to her and wrapped her arms around her waist. Isla winced when Charlotte hugged her back due to the burns littering her arms.

"Oh my God! What happened to you?" Charlotte whispered.

Just as Isla was about to answer, Max and Karolina hurried towards them. The corridor they were standing in was getting more and more crowded as the passengers, mostly their families and crew members were waiting to see what had happened.

"What happened in there?" Karolina asked as she saw her daughter. Isla, unable to control her emotions anymore, burst into tears and flung her arms around her Mum.

Karolina caught her just in time and held her without saying a word. Max fumed as he saw the burn marks on Isla's arms.

Just then both of the twins' dad's Dylan and Roman rushed up to Charlotte who also hugged them when Roman asked, "Where's Elliot?"

"Still in the room," Charlotte and Finley whispered. Roman swore and Dylan just stayed silent, a worried frown on his face.

Before anyone really had time to process or find out what had happened to the three young adults Elliot stepped out of the room and collapsed. Finley ran to catch him and he fell into his arms. He was pale and as Finley hugged him, he cried out in pain, his back full of burns. Alarmed, the 20-year-old held him delicately. The three family's all rushed to help him until Elliot spoke, "Finley, Charlotte, Dad," His voice was hoarse and his eyes closed.

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