I rushed over to Nick. “Are you all right?” I asked.
“Ya, I’m fine. It barely hit me, but it hurts like hell.” Nick laughed lightly in between groans.
“Here, let me help you.”
My attacker had stabbed my shoulder, but Nick’s injury was much worse, and I had the S.S. Pill helping me regardless of my muscle fatigue and injuries. Besides, I always healed quickly. Blood poured out of Nick’s stomach, and he couldn’t move. I put my hand under his armpit and pulled him up. His hands and clothes were drenched in his blood, but it looked like the bullet grazed his side, not actually piercing his flesh. I pulled his weight onto mine and helped him limp back to The Shadows.
Nick groaned, growing weaker with every step. He finally fell unconscious, so I carried him in my arms. He wasn’t light, and it made it harder for me to walk, but I didn’t have a choice. It pulled at my shoulder and put stress on my joints like pricking weights. I could see The Shadows, so I yelled for someone to help me, but no one came. I passed the last tree and saw David teaching a class. He ran over and asked what had happened. I couldn’t waste time explaining; Nick needed help. He instructed one of his students to get Sam while he sent another student off to get a hover-board. Both men ran off without saying a word.
I slowly knelt down, carefully placing Nick on the ground. Sam finally arrived and started to examine the gunshot wound. He announced that the wound wasn’t deep and that Nick would be up and going in three days. A thin but worried smile appeared on everyone’s face.
Sam took Nick away on the hover-board. Maxime was racing toward me. “This better not be your blood,” he said. I tried to move, but he held my shoulders. His hand was putting pressure on my fresh cut and it hurt.
“No, it’s Nick’s,” I answered as I tried to mask the pain he was causing.
“What happened?” he asked as he led me to his cabin, still directing me by my shoulders. I told him about the guy in the forest with the red-clothed mask and how Nick had been shot, but he still stood behind me until his door had closed behind us. Finally, he took his hands off of me and spoke, “I’m sorry, but your shirt is ripped as well as your sweater and wound dressing.” I stood in the middle of the room, shivering, as he fumbled through some bags.
“I washed your clothes yesterday! I’ll have to find you something to wear, but for now, put this on. I’ll be right back.” He handed me a roll of wound dressing and left. I slowly pulled my sweater and shirt off as it tore at my shoulder.
I suddenly noticed that my shoulder had been bleeding a lot more than I had thought and the blood on my clothes wasn’t only Nick’s. I wiped most of it away, but it just kept bleeding. I knew that Maxime would lecture me on how to be careful, but I couldn’t stop the thick, red liquid from oozing out.
“Can I come in?” Maxime asked from the other side of the door.
“Hold on just a second,” I quickly answered as I hurried to wrap the new wound dressing around me. I ignored the blood and hoped that it wouldn’t seep through. I told him to come in. He quickly opened the door and shut it behind him, not letting any cold air in. I realized that I wasn’t wearing a shirt, but after having spent so much time with him, I didn’t care.
“Nick is conscious. He has the same story as you, only he’s almost certain that the guy came from Aramis and that you had been hurt as well. Are you?”
My heart sank; I couldn’t lie to him.“I’m fine. He just hit me a couple of times, that’s all,” I tried to brush the question away. He was as stubborn as his brother. Besides, I didn’t know where Aramis was and had never heard of it before.
“Alex, if you’re hurt, I need to know.” He sounded sincere as he looked deep into my eyes.
“I’m fine,” I repeated.
“Turn around,” he instructed.
“Why?” I was afraid that my cut had bled through the wound dressing.
“Because Nick said the Aramissian cut your back with a sword.”
“I’m fine!”
Maxime was frustrated and didn’t want to argue. He accosted me and turned me around.“Yesterday I told you to be careful! Alex, you need to tell me if you’re injured. I’ll take you to Megan.”
“No, it’s not serious. I just need to stop the bleeding.”
“Then take off your wound dressing and lay on my bed. If you’re not going to take care of yourself, at least let me.” Maxime sounded annoyed but caring as he walked out of the room.
I did as I was told. I slipped off my boots, lay on the bed facedown, and pulled the sheets up to my waist. I was cold and uncomfortable with my exposed breasts against Maxime’s bed. He knocked before entering.
He sat on the bed next to me, and I could hear him going through a bag, taking some things out, and putting them on his lap. I felt his warm hand rest on my skin, then the stinging pain as he touched my shoulder. His hands moved gently and fluidly along my back, and I closed my eyes.
“You’re lucky; it’s not deep and won’t leave a scar.” His voice was soft and melodic. “This might be cold,” he warned.
I felt him pour a cool liquid onto my back, and I shivered as it froze my skin and bit my cut. “It stings,” I murmured.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. His hands gently palpated my cut with cotton. I felt him place the gauze on my back. It hurt as he taped the bandage to my shoulder, but I stayed silent.
“There,” his voice was calm. “I’ll have to change it tonight again. Try to be careful.”
Maxime rose, but I wanted him to stay. I wanted him to come back and lay down next to me, but I stopped dreaming and got up.
The tape pulled against my skin as I dressed. I heard the lunch bell ring and ran outside. Maxime was waiting for me, guarding the door.
“Thank you,” I told him.
We walked to lunch silently. Without a sweater, I was extremely cold, although I still had the body-warmer around my neck.
“You’re frozen and your body-warmer isn’t working,” he said. I took it off of my neck and looked at it. He was right; it was broken. Maxime gave me his body-warmer; I put the device on high and placed it around my neck. I felt heat run down my spine and warm every part of my body.
When we reached the tables, everyone was already sitting down and eating. I sat next to a guy named Richard, and Maxime sat at the end. Richard wouldn’t stop talking. He had heard about what had happened to Nick, and he wouldn’t stop asking questions. I found him to be extremely annoying.
“So you fought a guy armed with a gun and a sword? That’s so cool!” I couldn’t believe Richard was in his late thirties, early forties. To me, he seemed like a ten-year-old.
“I didn’t really fight him,” I answered.
“The Aramissian attacked you when you had your back to him! A coward! I bet you taught him a lesson he’ll never forget.”
“Not really.” I smiled, thinking that if he had known that I was a sixteen-year-old girl who had fought him off, then yes, I had taught him a lesson.
“And your shoulder was bleeding the whole time!”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“And Nick couldn’t help you!”
“Actually, he did.”
“You’re awesome!”
I needed to get away, so I ran to get my staff. I got back just in time to help my group clear off the table.
“Where were you?” Maxime yelled at me with dark, green eyes.
I didn’t understand; what had I done wrong? “Getting my staff,” I could barely force out the words.
“On your own?”
“Yes.”
“You could have been attacked!”
“The chances were very slim, and I wasn’t.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Then what is?”
“That you should be more careful!”
Maxime turned to face the whole group. “Because Nick and Sam are absent right now, Alex will be in charge,” he announced as he gave me a serious glare that meant be careful or else. Then he left.
Me? In charge of a group? I didn’t know what I was doing, but I instructed everyone to get their hunting gear, and we met back at the long tables. I split everyone into groups of two and three before entering the forest. I was with Timothy and George’s brother. I couldn’t shoot because of my shoulder, but I felt the need to be there with my group. We came back with three deer and one boar. It was a feast in our eyes, and my group members were proud of what they had caught.
Afterward, I asked John to take me to Nick’s cabin.
I knocked and heard a faint voice telling me to come in. I slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside. It was pretty dim. The cabin was just like mine only it had more weapons and uniforms. Nick was lying on his bed with an IV sticking out of his arm.
“Thanks,” he said in a strange, lifeless voice.
“It was nothing. You would have done the same.”
He shook his head in disagreement. “No, I wouldn’t have. You don’t know who Aramissians are, do you?” He laughed lightly. My cover had been blown.
“No, I don’t.”
“Trained assassins.” He looked away as he continued, “I don’t know why they were near The Shadows, but I think Andrew does. He’s been acting differently. I think he’s hiding something.”
He’s hiding me! I thought. I quickly tried to change the topic, “So where should I put your staff?”
“Anywhere; it doesn’t matter.”
I leaned it against the wall, next to all of his other weapons of swords and guns as well as lasers and knives.
“How’s your shoulder?” Nick asked genuinely.
“It’s only a scratch. Thanks.”
“Who’s in charge of the group?”
“I am.” I looked away, unsure how he would feel that I had taken away his authority.
“Good,” he said.
“Is there anything you want me to do in particular?” I asked, taking control of my new role.
“Actually, there is. I need all of the armor turned into Andrew. He’ll take care of the rest.”
I nodded. “Anything else?”
“Keep an eye on Andrew and stand up to David for me.” Nick smiled. I said goodbye, wished him a speedy recovery, and left.
Maxime had been waiting for me when I arrived at his cabin. “Because of your shoulder, we’ll do something slightly different. It’ll be fun.” He had a huge grin on his face, as if his idea was going to make a fool out of me. He took out a long piece of black cloth from his bag. He stood behind me and brought the cloth up to my eyes and tied the ends together. The world plunged into darkness, and I couldn’t see a thing.
“You’re going to learn to be more aware of your opponent, your surroundings, and yourself. It requires a lot of trust, and you shouldn’t expect to actually win. This could be considered realistic, but if you are in a situation like this one, good luck.” Maxime laughed.
I felt defenseless blind. His large, warm hands rested softly on my shoulders as they spun me around. I was dizzy but able to catch my balance quickly. I stood still and tried to hear him move, but couldn’t. I felt a strong impulse in my left arm that he was standing right next to me. I turned in that direction, and my staff hit his.
“Good. Much better than I’d expected,” he said with a spark of excitement.
He then struck my lower back, avoiding my cut, and the fight truly started. It was a guessing game for me. I heard his footsteps on the crackling leaves, and his breath gave away his position, but I was always a step behind him, getting bruise after bruise. After some time, I just let the random impulses control me and was hit less often. I wasn’t necessarily hitting him, but I was getting less beat up, and that was a big improvement. The movements became more fluid with time and experience, as though the whole thing had been choreographed. My instincts became my method of sight. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked fairly well. Unexpectedly, my shoulder hit a tree and a throbbing pain flew up and down my spine, paralyzing me.
“Are you all right?” Maxime’s voice was filled with worry. He pulled the blindfold down and looked at me with his big, blue eyes. “We should stop.”
We picked up our belongings and left. It was so dark that removing the blindfold hadn’t changed much. I followed him closely, placing my feet in his footprints. We could see light emanating from beneath the door to the showers. When he opened the door, a burst of light shot out as if being released and freed, chasing the darkness around us away.
“I’ll help you take the gauze and tape off of your shoulder.” He placed his bags down and waited as I slipped my shirt and body-warmer off. I turned around to face the showers and gently unraveled the wound dressing as it was still sticking to my bloody shoulder. It hurt. What used to be white was a velvet burgundy with swirls of rose-petal rouge. It was still bleeding excessively, although it should have stopped hours ago.
I finished unwrapping the stained, protective layers and dropped them onto the wooden floor. I could feel Maxime’s warm breath prance around my neck, but he remained silent. I was cold, shirtless, but his warm hands sent my blood racing in every direction. He slowly pulled off the tape as it tugged my skin. It was painful, but I swallowed, not wanting to twitch and yell. My eyes filled with water, and tears trickled down my cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I know it hurts. I don’t understand it. You’re still bleeding, but it’s not deep. It doesn’t make sense. Something is off. I’ll take a closer look at it when it’s clean. Do you feel faint?” He was almost stuttering in confusion.
“I’m fine, thanks,” I said as I choked back tears.
“No, you’re not, and it’s useless to tell you to be careful.”
I heard him leave exasperated. I finished undressing and did my best to not use my shoulder and avoid getting blood all over the place. I turned the shower on and stepped under the water, which stung and burned my shoulder. The liquid was red, and the scent was heavy. I closed my eyes and let my tears join the red pool.
“Maxime? You can come in!” I shouted, trying to conceal my sobbing voice.
I heard him turn the water on in the shower next to me. I could tell that he was under the running water, because the sound of rain became lighter and thinner as though it were drizzling on soft grass. I waited for the water to turn clear again before stepping out, but it wouldn’t. I warned Maxime that I was getting out as the pool at my feet turned to a faded red. I took my towel and quickly dried myself off. The towel turned red. I dressed halfway and waited by the door with my stained towel around me. I was cold but didn’t say anything. I heard him turn the water off and step out. He went through his bag, still quiet. I caught the clear sound of his footsteps approaching me. As I felt his warm hands slowly wrap around my neck, I closed my eyes.
“Keeping yourself warm is part of being careful,” he said as he wrapped the body-warmer around my neck. “You shouldn’t stand by the door. It’s cold.” He turned me around so that my back was to the mirrors. “Because your towel is already stained, I’ll use it to absorb your blood if you don’t mind. I’ll get you a new one tomorrow.” He pressed the towel against my cut. I closed my eyes and focused on his relaxing touch instead of the burning pain.
“Andrew! We need to talk!” someone was yelling from outside. I jumped. My heart crashed. I was shirtless. “Can I come in?” the voice called out.
Maxime turned his attention back to me and asked, “Do you mind if David comes in?” I shook my head and lied as I said, “No,” but Maxime knew me too well.
“You can tell me when you’re uncomfortable. I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to,” he said, then shouted to the door, “Just wait a minute, David. I’ll be right out!”
“Hurry up!” David’s impatient voice pierced my ears.
Maxime walked toward the sink, turned the water on, put something under the running tap, and walked back to me. “This is cold and might sting a little. I’m sorry,” he warned. I twitched, and he took his hands off of my back and stepped away from me.
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br /> “It doesn’t make any sense! I don’t understand. Are you sure it was a sword that cut you?”
“Well, yes. I didn’t see it, but I don’t see what else it could have been. Why?” I replied, completely confused.
“Your cut won’t stop bleeding, and it looks like a second-degree burn. It didn’t look like this before. It’s almost as if it’s getting worse . . .” Maxime’s voice dropped, and I panicked. Why had he stopped talking? What was going on?
“David! Run and get Sam now! Make sure he brings everything with him!” Maxime yelled.
“I can’t run!” David called back.
Maxime told me to stay put and ran to the door. “Try to keep your heart rate down,” he said, then closed the door. My heart raced, although I did my best to calm down. I remained still and listened to the arguing outside.
“We need to talk,” David repeated.
“Not now,” Maxime said in a rush.
“Alex can take care of herself!”
“Not now, David.”
“Now is the perfect time!”
“No, it’s not.”
“Why not? Because a girl is waiting for you?” David said accusingly. My blood boiled as I listened to him.
“What?” Maxime yelled.
“You heard me.”
“David, it’s not what you think. I was—”
“Save the excuses for The Shadows.”
“I’m serious!”
“And you think I’m stupid?”
“David, I don’t have time for this. Not now. We can argue later. I’m sure you won’t forget,” Maxime said.
They lowered their voices, and I couldn’t hear what they were saying. And then their voices disappeared, as if they’d run off into the forest. I just sat there alone and freezing, feeling so vulnerable and scared. David’s words were eating me up inside. I wanted to scream, pound my fists. I wanted to unleash my inflamed energy. It was a killing burden, but all I did was swallow my rage and push it out of my mind.
Someone knocked, jolting me out of my thoughts.
“Alex, it’s me. I’m coming in,” Maxime entered. “Here’s the problem: Sam is waiting outside and needs to see your back,” he said, trying to catch his breath.
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