by LJ Andrews
Killian's mouth gaped. "How did he fall so slow?" He whispered to a bubbly girl next to him. She flipped her auburn hair, whipping him in the face.
"The floor is connected to sensor's in our belts, silly," she chirped. "If we fall the sensors measure our velocity and decelerate our fall by pressurizing the air around us. The faster we fall the more pressure builds up. I'm sure Sam's fall was rather uncomfortable, it probably felt like he was being squeezed in a tube."
"Wow, that's genius," Killian said in awe.
"I know right!" She gasped. "Sometimes I would love to just go spend a week with all the brilliant engineers here! Fascinating! I mean who would think—hey let's not have any more broken recruits from the rock walls. Let's break their falls with a super awesome sensor!"
Killian smiled at the girl's enthusiasm until Aidan blew his whistle silencing the group. Two more recruits went up the wall, each one faring well. Killian was nervous, Lucan hadn't climbed yet and neither had he. His stomach dropped with only four recruits left. Two were called leaving Lucan to be his climbing competitor. Killian rolled his eyes. Aidan knew what had happened during training the week before—Blake said he'd told him. But he continued to partner him with the only recruit that showed a distain for him.
"Thomas, Lucan. You're up," Aidan shouted after the two female recruits had both made it safely to the ground. "The current winning time is a tie between Neah and Drew. If either of you can beat two minutes and seven seconds, you win the codes."
Killian gulped and stepped up to his side of the rock wall. There were no harnesses, just faith in the hidden sensors in the floor and his belt.
"He means when I win the codes, I think Aidan forgets who I'm competing against," Lucan whispered for only Killian to hear. Killian turned away, seething internally, but not letting Lucan see. A desire to beat Lucan overcame him, it was the only thing he wanted. He wanted to win the codes just to prove to Lucan he wasn't a weak nobody. Surprisingly, his mind was calm and locking his grip onto an ice crusted, jagged stone, began his climb.
Killian focused hard on blocking out the swift shuffles of Lucan's climb on the other side of the wall. He imagined Lucan nearing the top while he was only feet from the bottom. Lucan's relentless taunts of his victory shadowed his calm focus. Shaking his head, he determined once more to win the codes to the training center.
As his mind focused on his goal and decided that would be his outcome, an image of the red-rock and fine sand appeared in his mind. He could see himself climbing swiftly up using the perfect crags and crevices in the stone wall. The image was so vivid, but clearly he was climbing the icy glacier. At that moment, the wall shifted— hot red stone, with slippery sand grains, rested under his hands. Killian lost his footing slightly from the surprise. His heart pounded in excitement as he’d just been thinking of the red rock and it had almost appeared on cue.
Continuing upward, he focused hard on finding the right jutting rocks for his footing and grip. He no longer cared where Lucan was, determined he would succeed for himself. Killian's biceps were throbbing, but he didn't stop. As he continued up the slippery sand stone, he quickly found his form and began climbing quicker. In his mind, a new image came into play, the rock wall was shrouded in a thick darkness. If he used his focus enough and kept his head down he could easily see the bulbs from his belt reflect on the black rock and light the way upward.
Killian smiled, having no idea how the premonitions were happening, but he confidently continued to climb the Ignisian stone wall. When the darkness came after the shift, Killian instantly dropped his head to use the glowing bulbs. The anticipation of the impending shadow helped his nerves and he didn't stumble in the least. He was pleased to hear the shuffle of feet and the gasp of recruits when Lucan’s wall fell under the blanket of black too.
The small bulbs cast a greenish light against the black stone that illuminated every crevice. He moved swiftly, never lifting his head to see his progress. A whispered chant was filling his ears from below.
No, I'm not hearing this right, he thought. Below him, he heard his name with cheers of encouragement seeping up the rock wall. The recruits were chanting for him. Suddenly, Killian felt his head pound against a barrier. Looking up, he realized he'd made it. He was at the top. Without hesitating, he began his descent. Halfway down, the cheers grew louder and more excited. In his mind, he knew the darkness would not last—he'd seen the shift already. He was ready for the freezing rock that cut into his raw skin the remainder of his descent. Jumping from the wall onto the padded floor, he was immediately surrounded by the group of waiting recruits. Sam gave him a mighty slap on his shoulder. The excited girl jumped up and down continually saying, "Did you see that, he went so fast!"
Killian was beaming. His excitement and glory were overshadowed for a moment as he thought about the mind tricks. He'd seen every change in his mind—he felt like he had cheated even if he couldn't help it. Could other recruits do such things? The strange occurrence was something Connor would need to know about.
A loud thud shook him from his thoughts. Lucan had finally descended off the wall, and was fuming. His face boiled as he glared at Killian. Lucan's hateful gaze was shrouded by Aidan's large body stepping in front of him.
"Thomas! Wow, I would never have expected this from you. I mean that in the kindest way. You completed your climb in one minute, fifty-nine seconds!" The group cheered, even though he had beaten them all. "I can honestly say you have surprised me. That isn't easy to do. I have no doubt you have special Custodis abilities," he whispered to Killian. Aidan rose and faced the group. "We have our winner! Killian Thomas, you have earned the codes for the training center for one week. You now have unlimited access. Use it wisely! Come to my office and I'll give the codes to you." Killian's stomach ruffled in excitement. He'd never accomplished anything praiseworthy, and for the first time in his life, he didn't feel mediocre. Even Lucan's biting glare couldn't steal this moment from him.
Late that night, Killian heard a knock on his door that startled him awake. He made his way to the large wooden door nervously. It was late, but he assumed it would be Connor to ask if he'd had any strange happenings—which he had.
“Who is it?” he asked abruptly.
“Death!” an over exaggerated voice replied, followed by a group of people chuckling. Killian smiled and opened the door finding Blake, Dax, Sophia and Mercedes huddled in the hallway.
“What are you all doing here?” Killian whispered. It was well after midnight, but they all had a playful look in their eyes.
“All we do here is train, sleep, eat, and train some more,” Blake said. “A rumor is flying around here that you have been given the codes to the training center!” Killian laughed. Word spread quickly about his victory earlier.
“Come on Killian! Let’s go have some fun. It’s so serious around here lately,” Dax said, giving him a false pouting face.
Mercedes looked at him, flashing an excited smile and small wink. He smiled back at her, thinking it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to relax a little. He had never had a real group of friends, but this small crew meant something to him.
Killian laughed and closed the door behind him, walking into a sea of satisfied slaps on his shoulder.
The typical empty hallways seemed even eerier and silent once everyone was sleeping. He found it odd that the office didn’t have a guard or watchman at night, only the upper floors had nightly patrols. The cool steel floors of the training hall chilled him, but the excitement of breaking the rules and having fun as a group filled the coldness with a strange warmth.
"You're not going to give us the codes?" Blake asked as Killian slipped over to the door to type the code.
"Sorry...I feel like I finally earned Aidan's respect today and I'm not supposed—"
"Kill, relax. I know you can't give them out," Blake said, punching his shoulder like he used to.
While Killian typed in the code to the door, Sophia bounced up and down. It was evident she was anx
ious to shoot her bow without anyone scrutinizing her technique. Blake stood patiently waiting and Dax flirted with Mercedes by swatting her hair into her face. She laughed and gave Dax a playful shove. Killian knew Dax was a relentless ladies man, but still felt a pang of jealousy at the banter.
“Okay we’re in,” he said, happy to split up the flirtatious behavior and let them into the room.
The friends piled in to the room and ran—Dax and Sophia raced of course—to the practice field. Mercedes stood next to Killian. She seemed a little tense but still excited.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this. We could get into so much trouble.”
He laughed at her and noticed two black bands on her wrists holding small but vicious looking knives. She immediately relaxed as she met the target. Before he knew it, he watched as the knives ejected into her open palms and flew through the air as she threw the pair together at a small round target; she was only off from the center by half an inch. Killian was amazed at her accuracy and Blake let out a long whistle when he saw the knives. Mercedes held her hands, palms up once more and instantly the two blades dislodged from the target and landed back onto her bands.
“Wow, you have caught onto the weapon training a lot faster than I did. In fact, I think you might be better than me.” Blake said.
“That’s not true. Andy, our group leader, said you were one of the fastest recruits to pick up combat,” she said tossing him an unusually small cross bow with small arrows, as well as a larger bow. Blake laughed and expertly aimed both bows. The arrows soared through the air, around Dax and Sophia, who stood in the way of the target and landed in perfect grouping even closer to the center than Mercedes’ knives. Blake smiled proudly. Glancing at Killian he tossed him a spear.
“Come on, aren’t you going to throw?”
“Honestly, I don’t know how I’ll do. You saw, I'm not the best with the weapons. I don't think they like me,” Killian answered half joking.
“Oh, come on, you just have to will it to do what you want, remember?”
Killian licked his lips nervously. Dax and Sophia had stopped their speed shooting game with their bows, to watch.
“Really, I’m pretty bad.”
“Come on Kill, you’re a Thomas, right? Stop being modest!” Sophia’s silver eyes sparkled.
Killian smiled, he wished he was being modest. Why did Sophia have to throw the Thomas name around like it automatically made him a perfect fighter? Killian had been told recently by Blake that most people believed he was going to be the lead recruit mostly because of his name. His father had been the lead recruit, and so had his grandfather all the way back to James Thomas. Killian had shrunk under the pressure but had not let on to his feelings.
He reeled his toned arm behind his head and pressed the button, releasing the hidden points. He had to admit that although he'd only been at the Praetorium for three weeks, he'd been pleased with the change in his physique. The constant training was shaping his muscles so his uniform didn’t have to shrink as far to fit his frame.
The spear warmed his palm, he focused on the weapon and where he wanted it to end up. Releasing the spear, he saw it speed through the air; it hit the target with a loud, clap. The spear pierced deep into the target, tearing some of the material around the puncture site.
Sophia’s mouth opened slightly, Dax looked confused, Blake laughed and Mercedes looked at him sympathetically. The spear had pierced the very edge of the Malumian target; if it had been a real Malumian Wolf, it would only have angered the creature making it more vicious.
“What was that?” Blake laughed. “You did better than that the first time you tried—does someone here make you nervous Kill?” Blake stooped over, as his own sarcasm made him laugh harder. Killian glared at him and folded his arms, feeling quite embarrassed.
“I told you,” Killian pouted. “I try to will the weapons, but it never seems like I get a connection.” Mercedes nodded and told Blake to be quiet. Blake stood straight again and wiped a tear from his eye.
“It’s okay,” Dax said. “Not everyone can have the accuracy and aim like I have with Medusa.” Blake rolled forward again laughing as Dax kissed his bow and flexed his bicep.
Killian endured the teasing for several minutes before they all grew tired of the joke and made their way to the climbing walls. This, Killian knew he could master, especially after this morning. He wasn't surprised when Sophia beat everyone on the dark climb, but they didn’t praise her much since she was from Cimmerian and was used to the dim lighting. Killian out climbed everyone else, which he was proud of. This time, he'd done it without his strange visions. He even came in before Dax, putting him in a sour mood for a while.
The group found themselves after hours of climbing, throwing, even developing their own obstacle courses in the ice pools, collapsed on the grass of the practice field. They laughed and shared stories of their embarrassing moments at the Praetorium and tales of their families. Sophia’s father remained in Cimmerian, so she was allowed to visit during one month out of the year. She puffed up with pride saying he was a direct guard of the throne room of Queen Maurelle. Killian was surprised to learn her mother was Sasha, his realm school instructor. Sasha also worked with Mercedes in the Beastian section.
Dax came from a lengthy line of recruits. They had been some of the most effective guardians of the borders of the Hemisphere, because of their skill with weapons, but also their strength.
“Dax, you haven’t told them about your softer side,” Sophia teased. Dax's tan skin reddened and his flamed eyes brightened in a fierce orange “Don’t let him fool you all he’s quite a tender heart.”
“Zip it Soph, or I’ll tell them about the time you thought you were blinded by one of the lights because you missed the target. She actually sent herself to the clinic and wouldn’t leave even after Shannon cleared her of any blindness. Can’t you imagine Sophia just lying there shouting “I’m blind, I’m blind” and Shannon rolling her eyes?” Sophia’s mouth hung open, shocked that Dax had told the story.
“Oh, Dax you monster. Mercedes, have you ever wondered why Dax isn’t a Beastian? He sure knows a lot about the creatures, doesn’t he?” Mercedes nodded and looked at Dax, who hid his face knowing Sophia was unstoppable. “He loves the animals, no adores them! He has been caught so many times feeding the little garden elves and the Glacien reindeer that are in the stalls around back. Oh Dax, what a softy.” She teased him and pushed him over. Everyone laughed because it was surprising. Dax by all appearances was intimidating and fierce, to imagine him stroking a reindeer was amusing.
“Killian, I have to admit,” Mercedes said. “Oh, maybe I shouldn’t say anything.”
“No, you can, what is it?”
“Well, I was surprised you said you aren’t that skilled at fighting. I would have thought…well, before we came here you were a…” She blushed not sure if she could continue.
"Oh,” he mumbled. “No, I didn't really learn anything there." He felt anxious talking about this with her. Admitting his imperfections caused him unease.
“What? What were you?” Dax asked suddenly.
Blake glanced over at Killian, knowing the truth. Mercedes blushed, obviously embarrassed for putting Killian on the spot.
“Well, I—uh...” Killian cleared his throat, preparing to confess his greatest shame. “I was in prison. I was on my work release program when Mercedes and I were brought here.”
“Whoa, I have to admit, I never saw you as a criminal,” Dax said. There was a strange hint of awe in his voice.
“I met Killian a year before, just by chance. He was very nice. I’m sure he didn’t do anything huge,” Mercedes spoke up trying to salvage her part in bringing it up. Sophia nodded in agreement with her.
“He wasn’t a criminal,” Blake said bitterly. Killian smiled at him. Blake was obviously still upset by the unfair sentence Killian had been given. The other three members of the group stared at Killian, silently urging him to say more.
&
nbsp; “You want me to tell you why I got locked up don’t you?”
“Only if you want to,” Mercedes said, trying to hide her curiosity.
It was only natural. Killian and Mercedes had grown closer together over the two weeks she'd been at the Praetorium. He had almost forgotten the position he had been in when they were attacked by the wolves. It was amazing she hadn't asked before now. A tug of uncertainty pulled at him, what if she didn’t like what she heard? What if it changed her opinion of him when she heard his cowardly abandonment of Laura? He conceded he would be curious if the roles were reversed. If he wanted to continue getting closer to Mercedes, the truth would come out eventually.
"It's not a happy situation. I... I didn't become a good person in prison. I stopped caring for others, I only looked out for myself. I've tried hard to change since I've been here," he said trying to prepare them for his story.
“You’re a good guy, Kill,” Blake said softly.
"We would love to hear about it if you want to tell us," Sophia said in a kind voice.
Taking a deep breath, Killian began to tell them about his life before the Praetorium. "I was brought up without parents, as you know. After bouncing around a bit, I lived with a family for ten years, until I was eighteen. The lady was nice, but she never stood up for herself to her husband.
"His name was Richard and Laura was his personal punching bag. I was at one point too, until I got bigger than him." Killian glared at an empty space as he drifted back to the horrible memories. Mercedes reached over to him and grabbed onto his hand, sensing this was difficult for him. Killian thought he heard Dax murmur disgraceful. Shaking his head, he gave her hand a grateful squeeze before continuing.