The moment they stepped through the entrance, Sloane understood why it was called Evernight.
The huge canopy of trees, and the densely intertwined vines formed an entrance archway and a tunnel-like path that blocked out the sunlight.
Only the barest streaks of daylight penetrated in.
Dried leaves crunched underneath their boots as they ventured deeper through the passageway,
They weren't the only ones. At least a dozen other girls had also chosen this entrance. They filed in, in neat rows, ahead of and behind Sloane.
"We have to stick together," Elise emphasised for the dozenth time, her eyes darting around wildly. "We can help each other with our gifts. Whatever the Evernight holds, we're stronger together than apart."
The wall of intertwined vines seemed to be closing in on them from every side.
Sloane clutched her satchel to her chest, like it could shield her from whatever danger lay ahead.
"Just because we arrived in the same carriage, it doesn't make us friends." Alexis replied pointedly, "Stay out of my way, that's the only help I need."
The tunnel passage soon gave way for the woods, and as they crossed into Evernight itself, Sloane's heart sank to the pit of her stomach.
The daylight seeped in with better ease, now that they were through the passageway, but the difference was only a slight upgrade from pitch darkness.
The bare lighting gave a full view of the woods beyond.
The trees ahead were all crooked and blackened. Branches curved in odd directions. An eerie black mist hung low in the atmosphere, obscuring the path ahead.
Distant howls echoed beyond the mist. It might have been the wind... Sloane desperately wanted to believe it was.
Still, goosebumps dotted her arms, and her heart shriveled.
This wasn't like any woods she had seen. It wasn't a passage to an Academy. It was a nightmarish hell come to life!
"What in the world..." Denna muttered in silent horror, glancing around as all the girls did. "Are we supposed...to go into...that?!!"
A round of sobbing had begun as the unspoken realization dawned. Girls huddled and clutched each other for dear life.
For a group of girls born to prestigious Alphas, Sloane guessed they had never had to suffer a day of discomfort.
"You ugly bitch!" Someone hissed, "Give me that!"
A commotion to her left caught Sloane's attention. A mean-looking girl had just snatched the satchel away from a pale faced, whimpering girl.
"But it's mine..." The whimpering girl sobbed,
"There's only ten calming pills in each satchel. What am I supposed to do if I run out?! The more I have, the better my chances at finding a worthy mate." The mean-looking girl scoffed, her fist solidified to rock and she lifted it threateningly,
She smirked cockily as the girls around her shirked away in terror, "Who knows how long it'll take to get through this dump? It'll be wasted on a wimp like you."
The commotion slowly grew as even more girls summoned their moon gifts and snatched the satchels off of others.
A few succumbed easily, others resisted, resulting in tussles.
Sloane watched with wide eyes, clutching hers tighter as she inched closer to Alexis and Denna.
"Where is that damned map?" Alexis fumbled with her satchel anxiously, eyeing the bullies stealing calming pills. "Can't believe we're fighting over who gets to impress more men. The sooner I'm out of this place, the better."
"It's mine! Let go!" The shrieks echoed all around them,
Denna frowned worriedly, her bracelet of vines slithered around her wrist, down to her fingers, swirling around them eagerly, "I don't think they'll let us go..."
True to her words, the bullies were quickly going down the line.
Sloane watched the chaos unfold, backing away unconsciously. A twig snapped to the side, drawing her attention to the swirling mist.
"They can come at me." Alexis hissed, studying the map impatiently, "I'll rip them a new one. It says here that we'll encounter some gate-keeper, to keep us moving or something..."
She scoffed, "How the hell do they plan to do that? Yell at us?"
"Guys..." Sloane stuttered uncertainly, her eyes fixed on the black mist.
She could have sworn, it had just moved.
"I think... I think there's something..." She stuttered,
She didn't get to say another word.
A terrifying shriek echoed beyond the mist, cutting sharply through the pandemonium. The earth trembled underneath their feet, and Sloane stumbled, struggling to hold her footing.
"Mo... monster!!!!" A girl cried, a finger pointed at the mist,
A glinting sharp stinger, the size of a boulder shot out of the mist with blinding speed, piercing into the vine wall behind them with a sharp thud.
Chaos ensued all around.
Girls screamed, fleeing into the woods, or scaling up the vines as the entrances all closed up, like they had never existed.
"Runnnn!!!! Into the woods!!" Denna shrieked, "Runnn Sloane!!!!"
The words sounded too distant. Sloane's horrified eyes were still fixed on the deadly looking appendage.
Cold sweat beaded her forehead. Her vision swayed, the world spinning around her.
Her ears rang and her lungs closed up, like she was suddenly pulled underwater.
This wasn't the time to freeze up. She knew it, and yet...
Someone bumped harshly into her in their haste. Sloane fell over, her face smashed into the dirt.
A scream tore out of her throat as someone stepped over her arm.
The pain sent her mind spinning. It was worse than anything she'd ever felt.
Another earth shaking shriek echoed from somewhere behind.
Sloane's mind went completely blank as she scrambled up to her feet.
Horrified screams echoed this way and that. She couldn't tell where the shrieks were coming from. She couldn't tell what direction to run to.
She spun around wildly, horror creeping down her spine.
Alexis...Denna...Elise...
They were all gone.
Dead? Escaped?
She didn't know.
So this was what it was... the Luna Hunt. The enrollment test to the most prestigious Academy in the realm...
It was a death sentence. Sancia's death sentence...
Now, it was hers.
As the realization dawned, her legs finally caught up with her mind and she frantically scrambled for the woods.