Knight's Realm (Chapter 1)

Chapter One ;
    I can’t decide whether I want to compete against him, or just kill him now. And yet he sits there, on the wall opposite me, with that arrogant smirk that I know all too well, as if my nerves weren’t already on edge as it was.
He was the one to break the silence, “Are you ready?”
    “Are you?” I reply.
    My voice has a hard edge to it. Chase and I have been best friends since we were born, but today we are enemies. Normally, The Induction is just for one person. When they turn seventeen, they choose their weapon, go through a series of short tests, and earn their title. But as fate would have it, Chase and I were born on the same day, making The Induction a competition. We both had no idea what tests were going to be given, or whether we would have to kill one another or not.
My eyes were wandering everywhere but on him. They took in every detail of the tunnel they were in. The gray stone walls, the rusty barred gate in front of them, all looked so familiar, but foreign at the same time. She finally forced herself to look at him, only to find him already looking at her.
    “Lyrica. Calm down.” He turned to fully face me. “I’ve been your friend for seventeen years. You know me, and I know you. We’re going to get out of this.”
    “How can you be so sure?” I searched his familiar blue eyes for any sign of reassurance.
    He took my chin in his hand, “Have I ever lied to you?”
    It took me a moment to process the question, searching through my memories to find a fault, but came up open handed.
    “No, you haven’t. But what if a test is to kill me?”
         He didn’t have time to answer the question before the bars slowly opened and a voice spoke over the loud speakers.
         “Today we have a special Induction; two students, both born on the same day, Chase, and Lyrica. Both will be put through 3 tests at the same time, making this more of a competition then a test. One will remain victorious, and one will fail. Will both students please step forward and choose your weapon?”
         I shot Chase one more look, he had his eyes trained on the weapon table. There was an assortment of metal, ranging from daggers and swords to bows and arrows. But I knew Chase all too well, he wasn’t into material weapons. He liked to play with fire. I knew where his weapon was, his lighter would be sitting in his front pocket. I remembered the time when he first showed it to me, it is a metal lighter, with his name engraved on it. He wouldn’t tell me where he got it from, but he never lets it out of his sight.
         I, on the other hand, am into the material. I walked over to the table and tested several blades with my thumb, before finally coming to the decision of a dagger. It didn’t look like much, the blade was cut to have little indents and rough edges, but I knew how much more damage it would deal that way. I just hope it won’t be to Chase.
         I walked to the center of the arena and stood right next to Chase, I could feel the heat of everyone in the crowd staring at me. The speaker came on again.
         “Your first task will be to navigate through Shadowed Passage. At the end, there will be three goblets. One will instantly kill you, one will kill your opponent, and one will contain the secret on how to win the first test. Clues on which one to choose will be dropped along the way, but you must work to find them. Students, please stand in the waiting area until the bars drop.”
         The walk back to the waiting area was one flooded with emotions. If I don’t find the clues, I could kill Chase, or myself. Where are these clues going to be hidden? What if Chase kills me by drinking the wrong liquid?
         “Hey, how about we give your boyfriend a little show?” Chase said with a smirk.
         “Chase, don’t get him mad. He already doesn’t like you.”
         “Well, that hurts my feelings.” He said sarcastically, “But, you know what that means?”
         I couldn’t help but smile at him and his carelessness, “No. What does that mean?”
         “That means I’ve got nothing to lose.” He winked.
         Before I could respond the bars flew down in front of us and before I had time to react, Chase bolted off towards the door to the first stage. I took off after him and we both stopped at the door.
         “You have one hour. Good luck.” The speaker announced, and the doors flew open.
         Immediately following the doors was two pathways, intended for us to take separate paths. I turned around to ask Chase if we should just go down the same path, but as I turned around, he had already disappeared around his path. I looked down mine, but all I could see was shadows and darkness. I took my first steps carefully with my hands out in front of me, only able to see a few feet in front of me. I immediately started getting frustrated. How was I supposed to see the clues when I can’t even see my own feet? 
         “Need help?”
         An unfamiliar voice spoke behind me, and I spun around as I felt my heart rate accelerate.
         “Who are you?” My voice cracked.
         “I’m your test aid, of course. You get one per test. But I have to warn you, I don’t know how much aid we are exactly. You can ask us questions, but we can lead you down the right path, as well as the wrong path.”
         He looked like a normal human being, but there were these little flickers of color scattered throughout his body that kept slightly flashing. “What are you?”
         “Well that’s a simple question, not sure how that’s going to help you find the goblets, but whatever floats your boat. I am a human protocol halogen. Now are you just going to ask me inane questions for the next hour or are you going to attempt to pass the test?”
         “You’re pretty rude for a halogen, but I suppose you’re right. Any tips on how to get started?”
         “Nope. I can’t answer general questions like that. You have to ask specific ones.”
         “Okay well. Is there any way to make it easier to see in here?”
         “At your first decision point, there will be a light source.”
         I started to get even more frustrated as I started walking forward. I ran my hands along the narrow tunnel walls feeling for any clues or turns. After about 15 feet of walking, I saw the faint glow of light.
         “My first decision point.” I said aloud.
         “Precisely.”
         I ran towards the light, eager to regain my sense of sight in the darkness.
         “Woah there. What’s the hurry? You just ran past your first clue.”