by A. A LEVINE
Holli doesn’t fit the usual Orion profile. She’s physically out of shape, has no muscle tone and her endurance sucks. But she’s smart and creative and finds ways to make things work for her. She’s a fighter and those are also qualities we need. Out of everyone here, she’s the only recruit to take it upon herself to run extra miles in her off time. Sometimes it’s in the gym, other times it’s on the jogging trail. She recognizes her weakness and shows that she wants to get better.
From what I just saw, she’s also very perceptive and has great spatial awareness. I was holding my breath waiting for the ball to connect and was mentally screaming a warning to her. She ducked at the last minute before the ball made contact, but the confusion on her face after she avoided the collision threw me. Instead of being pissed that they were using her head as target practice, she looked as if she was looking for something else or someone else to be behind her.
John comes into the office with one of those tabloid rags in his hand. Unlike the recruits, we’re allowed Internet enabled devices but John prefers to go old school. He’s a tracker and goes out looking for new breakouts and rogue paranormals. He insists he finds a lot of his leads by reading that trash, because the most unbelievable stories might be the ones that have the most truth. Poltergeist in a house could be a teen with telekinetic abilities. Someone says they had an inexplicable urge to help someone because God was talking to them, telepath. John says any clue can be used to find a breakout.
We have computer programs, algorithms, and actual telepaths that can do it all faster and better, but on this, he refuses to come into the technological age. It’s funny really. Someone so young, already so set in his ways.
“What are you up to?” He asks as he takes a seat at the table. I wave casually at the cameras. “Ah, recruit watching.” He peeks over at the screens. “Anything good on?”
“Nope. Same boring rule abiding recruits.” I say it like I’m upset, but that’s far from the case. Recruits getting out of line require more paperwork than any of us care to deal with. Not that we’re expecting them to be on their best behavior for long. The shock of being here hasn’t completely worn off yet. But, we’ve been doing this job long enough to notice a trend. It’s a timeline we can set our watches to. After the first endurance trial, when we make that first cut, the recruits will be ready to blow off some steam and that’s when their true nature starts to show.
He glances at the screen again. “What’s the turtle up to?” She’s emerging from the dorm wearing sneakers and athletic shorts. I watch her docks her iPod into the sleeve on her arm and plugs her ears heading towards the jogging trail.
“Evening run.”
He watches for a few more minutes and dismisses her turning back to his paper. It’s like I said, none of the recruits are at the point where they’re doing anything interesting or getting out of line.
Chapter Six
Holli
I do a mental headshake when Gwynn rolls her eyes at me as we pass in the hall. I sure hit the roommate lottery with that one. I think I’m giving girls a bad name by being the weakest link in our class, but she makes sure that I know, that she thinks it too. There are no encouraging bonding moments happening between my roomie and I. Or any of the other girls, come to think of it. It’s like they’ve all formed this athletic super crew and I’m not invited. Chloe is my closest female friend and Dax and Matthew from my Calculus and French class round out our little group. I was never Miss Popularity before, but I’ve sunk even further down the ladder if that’s at all possible.
Aiden’s voice pops in my head. Forget what they think about you. What do you think about you?
I think I don’t care what they think. I think I can do this. I’ve been doing this. I step into the classroom and take my seat, second row from the front, and open my book to this week’s lesson. Physics- well all science and math- are my favorite classes, because the more I understand the universe, the more I can understand me. I’m excited about today’s lesson. I may have read ahead a chapter or three.
Xander's head pops through the door and does a sweep around the room. All the training officers do it. They show up in random classes to do a head count. I think they’re checking to make sure no one’s ditching. It’s usually a quick once over and then they’re gone. But sometimes, like today, they walk into class and help themselves to a seat.
I try to ignore the fact that he’s taken the seat that puts him one row behind me off to the right. I say try, because it’s kinda hard to do. When the teacher is talking, and it’s easier to focus on the lesson. Most of the students in the class are seniors. I can see when one nudges her friend beside me. She gives her a small nod and they both do a poor job at hiding their giggles. I glance over my shoulder just in time to see them casting flirtatious looks in Xander’s direction. I get it. He’s good to look at and only a few years older than us, but they couldn’t they at least keep it together until class is over. Their whispering is distracting.
I scribble some notes in my spiral book and put an asterisk by a concept that leads to a question. I snap my head around again, when one asks the other if she thinks Xander’s aggressive in bed. When they see the shock on my face, I get dirty looks, like I’ve lost my mind for eavesdropping.
I sneak a peek at Xander wondering if there’s a rule about inappropriate comments about training officers. I mean it’s got to be worth at least two demerits. Right? He’s not writing it down, or looking at them in censure. Nope, the intensity of his stare is focused on me. I pin my eyes forward and slink down in my chair, properly chastised, because I should totally be paying attention to the teacher and not the chicks behind me.
Thankfully, after that, they fall silent. Maybe he gave them the death glare too.
When the class is over, I bolt from my seat, to put distance between us. I’m way too embarrassed to risk having to walk in the same direction. In my haste to get away from him I almost smash into John and Alex.
“Where’s the fire recruit?” Alex asks as she sidesteps out the way.
“Well shit, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you move this fast before turtle.” John mocking tone has insulting undertones. Xander exits the room and they look from him to me. John’s lips twitch like he’s trying to suppress a laugh. “Is she running from you?”
I feel my cheeks heat and I hurry down the hall. My embarrassment turns to anger, which puts some extra pep in my step. The lights in the stairwell flicker when I pass and there’s a hum from the PA system echoing through the halls. The noise causes a ringing in my ears and there’s a pinching feeling between my eyes and the lights are making it worse. I’m suddenly unsteady on my feet.
My next class is Study Hall and I brace my hand against the wall as I make my way to the library. Once inside, I make a beeline for the second floor and the table in the back that’s obscured by two bookcases. The time here in the quiet should help with the sudden shift of my equilibrium and then I’ll be ready to endure the hell-scape that they call gym.
The final bell of the day rings and I avoid seeing or running into anyone on the trip back to my room. I fling myself on my bed and close my eyes wishing the day would reset. It seems like everyone was in an extra talkative mood all day. The people in the library were talking in a low roar, the locker room was extra gossipy and my Trig teacher might as well have been a substitute. He was missing for the first five minutes of the class and when he showed up; he was too distracted to teach and kept muttering too loudly about a missing grade book.
He passed out a pop quiz and gave us permission to leave as soon as we finished. The fifteen minutes it took for me to complete the quiz worked in my favor. I now have ninety minutes to kill before I have to be at my self-defense training. I close my eyes inhaling deeply letting today’s negative vibes melt away.
Her grades won’t be enough to keep her here. She needs to show a significant improvement. Endurance trials are a week away.
I know; that’s why I’ve already given the package t
o the administration office. Her name is the first one on top.
I bolt upright in bed. My heart rate is galloping, because the nightmare, felt all too real. Panic is chewing on the edge of my frazzled nerves, as the last vestige of the dream lingers. I glance at my watch and let out a shaky breath. I’m okay. I didn’t oversleep. I still have forty minutes to get to the training building. I change into my muted grey workout clothes and secure my hair in a bun. I learned the hard way that a long swishy ponytail can be used as a weapon against you, so now, I keep my hair tucked out of reach of grabby hands.
Ashland throws Wes to the mat for the fourth time, and I listen as John calls him overly aggressive, too cocky and then quips that that’s why he’s getting beat by a girl. There’s a nervous chuckle that ripples through the room. John’s finds an area to critique with everyone that enters the ring. Today he’s being extra cruel. When he uses Matt’s parent’s recent split to hurt him, it strikes a nerve with me, and before I can stop myself I’m lashing out at him.
“Just because you’re our training officer doesn’t mean you have to be a dick.”
John looks around the room before stepping closer to the edge of the ring. “What did you say?” His tone is menacing and under any other circumstance, I might be scared, but maybe my dream was just my subconscious’ way of getting me to admit the truth. I’m already on my way out the door. Besides, it was wrong what he said to Matt. I’m not going to let him intimidate me into being a silent contributor to his horrible behavior. I raise my chin and enunciate each word. “You don’t have to be so mean to get your point across.”
He raises those thick brows and points to himself. “Me?” He shakes his head and presses his lips together. “You got it all wrong. You see; I’m the nice one.” He points to Xander. “He’s the mean one, and I think you running your mouth, just caught his attention.”
John presses a button and I watch the metal shutters come down around the room, meaning the s-chips are off and this is now a closed session. “Turtle. Middle of the ring.” He can’t be serious. I’m not on the schedule to spar today. Someone shoves me from behind and I stumble to the center of the mat.
“Since you think you can talk to me about the way I train my recruits, I’ll give you a chance to convince me to do it a better way.”
My nerves set in and my bravado fails me. He’s on edge and his tone is cold and quiet. “What do you mean?” Well there you ago, another demerit earning question. Guess I’m not nervous enough to keep quiet after all.
“I mean if you survive five minutes in the ring with Xander, I’ll be nicer to you and your classmates. If you don’t...” He lets his voice trail off, but the implication is clear. If I don’t last, then he’ll double down on his douche behavior and make an example out of me.
“Lemme guess, you’ll think of something fitting for my punishment?”
“Recruit, trust me when I say, your punishment is the ring.”
He nods to Xander who steps forward. Moving his neck from side to side like a fighter. John takes a drink of his water before asking, “Four or five?”
Xander looks at me as if sizing me up. His eyes are empty and his posture is unassuming. He’s not in his usual fighting stance and I hope like hell they’re not about to make me do extreme twenty count body builders. Those things always make me want to puke by the time I get through number three. “Let’s make it eight.”
I stare at them in confusion until the first medicine ball comes flying at me. I barely have enough time to duck out of the way before the next ball wizzes by my head. I watch Xander closely and when the third ball comes at me I have my confirmation that he’s a Kinetic. Four of the round weights hurl at me from different angles and I manage to catch one with my hands, dodge two by doing a hop skip and a poor mans version of the matrix, but the fourth ball hits me in my back.
I’ve been hit four different times, with six balls in motion. I see the countdown on the clock and bite back a curse word, because only a minute has passed. We’re at the two-minute mark all eight medicine balls are in the ring and I can barely keep up with them as they fly around me. Sometimes spinning in a circle over my head. Other times at my feet. I’m ducking and dodging in this one-on-one game of dodgeball, yet Xander doesn’t seem to exert any effort at all.
We’re supposed to learn to control our powers during our Internship, but most people here already have a handle on the basics. Not me. My gift has always been wildly unpredictable. I hear someone yell lookout behind me and I duck. Another person mumbles my feet are going to get pummeled and I jump out of the way. After three minutes I’m drenched in sweat, my head is hurting, and my arms, legs and stomach are sore. I’ve lost track of how many times he’s hit me.
“Come on X. You can do better than that.” John urges.
“What are you thinking? Double up?” He asks
“Uh, let’s go big. Try a triple.”
Xander nods and all eight balls are spinning towards me at once. I feel three distinct blows. One in my knee causing my legs to buckle. One on my back forcing me to my knees and one on the side of my head knocking me over. I hold my hands over my face and curl into myself as ball after ball smacks into me. They may only weigh three pounds but they pack a punch. I hear somebody chuckling and imagine I hear Aiden leading a cacophony of voices, telling me to get up because Forbes don’t quit.
I feel the ions in the air crackling against my skin and hear that hum again like the one from the PA system earlier. I tune it out prepared to ignore whatever message is about to broadcast through it. I focus the sound of Aiden’s voice telling me I can do this. I see his eyes looking back at me, supporting me the way he did when we learned to ride bikes, like the first time I jumped off a diving board, and the first time we took the car out without permission. With Aiden I’m fearless and strong. I slowly climb to my feet and scrub my hand across my face clenching my fists at my side. I imagine him squeezing my hand and watch Xander’s eyes widen in surprise.
The medicine balls are back in motion and I watch him closely. I dodge the three he sends my way and duck as he brings them back towards him. I’m locked on him now, and I can see into his head. I no longer have to wonder where the next attack will come from because I see it the moment he thinks about it. I count and counter each ball and avert being hit. My count is short. I’ve only avoided collision with six. I spin around in confusion when I realize too late that two of the medicine balls are missing. They connect with my chest simultaneously, knocking the wind out of me. My eyes burn as I struggle for air, and John calls time.
He steps back into the ring looming over me. “Not bad, recruit. You made it the full five minutes.” I’m still wheezing and my eyes are wet when I finally meet his eyes. He presses his lips together in a thin line that gives no inclination of what he’s thinking or feeling. I think I’d rather prefer the snarl, because at least that way I’d know how much trouble I’m in.
He turns his back to me and addresses the group. “Let today be a lesson to you. The soft are easily defeated and if this were a real-world scenario, your classmate here would’ve been dead twice over. Speaking up may seem noble, but it’s not. People will find and exploit any weakness and use it to make an example out of you. None of you have full control of your powers so your job is to listen no matter how the lesson is delivered. When you can beat Alex, Xander or me in the ring then I’ll loosen up the reigns. Dismissed.”
When the last person leaves the room, I confront Xander. “I think you bruised my ribs.”
“Good.”
“Good?” I hiss. Not sorry. Not my bad. Not oops. Just good. “You’re proud of yourself? You could’ve broken them.”
“And then you’d have had to learn to adapt and work through the pain.” He looks disappointed when he peers down his nose at me. “Did you hear anything John just said? Outside of these walls, there are people who will fear you if they find out you’re different. And what they fear they hunt. If you’re hunted and need to stop so someon
e can coddle you when you bruise your knee, you’re dead.”
“And the blows to my head, what, a concussion is good to?”
“They were barely taps. If I wanted to hurt you Holli, I would have.”
If he wanted to hurt me? If that was holding back I’m afraid to think about what would happen if he weren’t. He turns his attention back to putting the medicine balls away.
“You know you did okay for a while there.”
“Thank you.” I say because I’m not sure how to respond. I mean, is this a compliment or a build-up for more critique?
He grabs the end of a mat and motions for me to take the other side. We pull it to the corner to stack with the others. “You’re a telepath, right?”
“Yes.” Our official gift coming out party happened at the end of week two. Everyone knows who can do what now and I’m happy to report, I’m not the only telepath here.
“Anything else show up on your testing?”
“Nope. Nothing else.”
“You sure?”
Two gifts? As cool as that sounds I’d be a mess, trying to juggle more than one. “Yup. Just the one since I was a kid.”
He narrows his eyes and shrugs, whatever thought he had passing through them, before he dismisses it. “At the end when you were countering all the medicine balls at once, I felt like you may have been sending them back at me.”
Sending them back? What does that mean? I shake my head emphatically. “The only thing I was doing was trying to read you and play dodge ball. You had so much kinetic energy going it was like a boomerang in the ring.”
“Dodge ball huh?” He looks at me like he’s waiting for me to say something else. After an uncomfortable pause he walks away, calling over his shoulder. “Holli, just so you know, I wasn’t generating that much energy and some of those balls, I never decided on what to do with them.”