by SM Olivier
I barely refrained from grinding my teeth, knowing precisely what he was referring to. “Troy,” I said in a voice of warning.
Lincoln looked over at me with a smirk. “I knew she was there the whole time.”
I groaned and put my head on the table.
“Did I miss something earlier?” Jaxson asked as we entered the class.
Since our previous classroom was nearly destroyed, they moved us down two floors. The new environment was almost three times the size of our last room. I assumed they designed it with growth in mind. It looked more like a high tech office than a school room.
Pristine white tables in four rows lined the middle of the room. Comfortable black chairs were arranged so that they were facing the opposite work center. Computer monitors were on each workspace, complete with planter boxes filled with plants. They even added cherry red couches along the walls. White cubicles, with books sporadically placed, were arranged around the room against the royal blue and bright yellow painted-in squares on the wall.
In the back of the room was a glass-enclosed area. The glass door had the words Study Room painted on the door. Inside that area, there was a boardroom-like table with red chairs surrounding it and black couches along its walls.
I really liked the new area. It didn’t feel like a classroom. It felt like an office space that encouraged deep thinking. I really enjoyed the vibes in the room—inane, I know.
“What do you mean?” I asked as I logged onto my computer.
“I feel like you didn’t tell us everything about your first jump,” Jaxson stated as he took the seat next to mine.
“It had to have been pretty bad,” Kade said with a wicked grin as he took a seat across from me.
“Not talking about it,” I stated resolutely.
Kade laughed at me, and I gave him a mock glare.
“I’ll find out,” Jaxson stated with a grin.
“Find out what?” Rachel asked taking the seat beside Kade.
“Blake has a secret,” Kade informed her offhandedly.
“Oooh is it a good one?” Rachel asked expectantly as she rubbed her hands together. “How are you feeling, Blake?”
I looked up at her and knew exactly what she was probing for. I wavered for a moment between the truth and avoiding the question. She was one of my closest friends. She had the right to know.
“Great,” I said before producing a small ball of flames.
She squealed, happily clapping her hands.
“Blake Thomas,” Mr. Bates gently reprimanded as he exited the study room. “Remember no practicing of gifts during class.”
I heard groaning and looked up to see Ben, Mike, Taylor, and Rick coming into the room.
“I thought we were coming to a cool school,” Mike groaned.
“Don’t lie,” Ben teased as he walked into the room. “You were just hoping to get away with more crap than you did at Knightstown.”
“I take it you’re Mike then?” Mr. Bates stated as he peered at Mike over his glasses.
Taylor guffawed. “Your reputation proceeds you!”
“I received all your transcripts the other day,” Mr. Bates told them. “Just because this isn’t an environment you are accustomed to doesn’t mean it’s any easier. Isn’t that right, Mr. Bell?”
Jaxson had been busy producing an illusion of a parrot that bore an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Bates. He even had the same spectacles and green vest on. The parrot had been bobbing its head up and down as it walked back and forth on the table closest to the door.
Ben, Taylor, Rick, and Mike had tried to hide their laughter while everyone laughed.
“Yes, sir,” Jaxson said making the parrot disappear before Mr. Bates turned around.
“Jaxson James,” I tried to say with a straight face.
“What?” he said with an unrepentant smile.
“Okay,” Mr. Bates clapped his hands. “Everyone take a seat. Class starts at 0800. I expect you to be seated and ready by 0800. If you are from Knightstown, your login is still the same. Once you are logged in, you will notice it looks a lot like what you are familiar with. However, you will now see the additional drop downs at the top. Each class you were taking is there, as well as each assignment and its deadline.
“You are more than welcome to complete your assignments early. You are not allowed to fall behind. If you feel like you are, I suggest you talk to me immediately. Unlike at your previous school where you just received a poor grade, and maybe banned from playing your sports, here it’s a little more serious. This is also your job. And much like a job, if you fail to perform, you will get fired. Just as quickly as you were brought here, you will be taken back to where you came from. Some of you may have come here on a whim or because you thought it would be fun. You were mistaken. You are in a unique position with superior abilities, so your expectations have been set accordingly.
“For the SC team, I will be taking you into the study center where I will show each of you how to log in. I apologize in advance. Some of you might be at a disadvantage, but we will discuss that in the study center.” He pointed to the lab in the back of the room. “For the rest of you, get to work.”
“So, I need the details,” Rachel said as soon as the door closed.
“What details?” Mike stated before taking a seat next to Rachel.
“No details,” I said quickly before clicking on my English assignment.
With my continual bedrest the last few weeks I was ahead in everything. I was really hoping to finish the school year early. Even though my future was still murky, I still had to continue plugging away at it.
“Are you going to tell us the truth about why you weren’t in the exercise with us?” Mike asked as he sat back in his chair. He was apparently in no hurry to get to work.
“Man give it a rest,” Ben stated before taking the seat next to mine. “You know she just got shot.”
“Which wouldn’t have affected her performance and her gifts,” Mike scoffed. “Dom thinks it was a way for attention, like it always has been with her. She thinks Blake’s broken. She hasn’t been using her gifts. I’m just wondering why…”
“Dom?” Rachel asked in confusion.
“Adams,” I said in a bored tone.
It shouldn’t surprise me that Mike and Adams had found each other. They both took delight in making other people miserable.
“His new FWB,” Ben said drolly.
“Eww,” Rachel said with a scrunched-up nose. “It doesn’t surprise me, though. Just remember, Mike, when you lie with dogs, you may get fleas.”
“You should know since you are a bitc−” Mike started to angrily spew.
Enough! I glared at him. Then I smiled over at Jaxson. What should his punishment be? I asked him silently.
He grinned. We’re back! he said in a singsong voice. They always said silence is golden. Maybe he should be silent and get to work. I’m sure he has a lot of work to do.
“Mike,” I stated with a sickly-sweet grin. “I think you should remain silent for the rest of class and you should really buckle down and do your work.”
I didn’t even bother silently compelling him.
Mike immediately snapped forward in his seat and began to furiously type away at his computer.
“She doesn’t look broken to me,” Ben chuckled. “How long can we expect this blissful silence?”
“All through class.” I exaggeratedly batted my eyelashes.
“Yes,” Rick and Taylor fist-bumped each other.
I smiled before getting back to work. Damn, it felt good to be back!
Chapter 21
“We need to evolve our training plan just as our adversary continually develops theirs,” Kirk Ford stated as he mounted the steps in front of the room. “Today’s objective is simple, score the most, find the hostages, and get them out safely.”
This place never ceased to amaze me. Every time I thought I was becoming familiar with it, I found out I was wrong once again. I was aware that the
re were tunnels that led to the adjacent mountain. I hadn’t known that Paul—or Will, for that matter—had been developing it.
Right now, we stood in a room that was larger than the simulation arena, but the similarities were there. Our training group was assembled in front of what looked like standard walls, but even from our angle, we could see that the walls had no roofs. I looked up and noticed that they had a viewing area, lined along the outside, shaped in a U above us. In fact, it was similar to the training arena at Knightstown.
“There are several rooms behind that door,” Kirk pointed towards the double doors behind him. “There are trainers and other teams in there. Today you are on the offense. The scoring is simple.” He pointed to a large screen mounted on the wall behind us. “You have thirty minutes to rescue your people. How quick you do it determines the points you will receive. Not getting injured gives you points. Creativity also earns you points.
“Your teams have already been predetermined. Each team is comprised of gifted and ungifted alike.” He pointed to the screen once more. “We will be giving you each a packet with as much intel as we have, along with who your captives are. Choose a team lead just as you would in the field. Come up with a game plan. You will be given your intel, and I’ll provide you with twenty minutes to study it. The teams are posted on the screen along with the order you will be going in.
“Please don’t take this lightly. There will be healers and doctors on standby.” He held his hand up towards the viewing areas. “The gifted will be using their gifts, and the nongifted will have these.” He held up a gun that looked like one used for laser tag. “Everyone will slip on their vest, and much like laser tag, if you are hit, your vest would light up. But here, if you light up, you’re dead. Good luck!” he yelled gleefully.
I wish I had a gun at my disposable. I always wanted to play laser tag. I would have to ask the guys if they had played before.
“Great, a healer,” Noah groaned, bringing me out of my reflections. “I was hoping for a little action.”
I looked up at the screen and noticed our faces were on display and grouped together. As I looked for my picture, I heard some echoing groans around me, but I couldn’t tell if it was because they didn’t like their teams or didn’t want their assignments. I continued searching for my face and smiled.
It looked like they had put us in teams of ten with a techie. On my crew was Lincoln, Remy, Jace, Troy, Drake, Jaxson, two Non-guys, and a Non-woman I had never trained with. Our techie was Darren, which pleased us all.
“Aww man they’re stacking the deck,” Terrance said in a feigned disgruntled voice.
“Whatever,” Remy said with a satisfied grin. “You have Gavin, Sierra, and Jemmy. You guys will be alright.”
I looked up at the board and noticed they had Marcel, Dawn, and Ford (Rayce) on their team. I believed they were a formidable team as well.
“It was a stacked deck before, not so much now,” Marcel laughed. “It took them over two hours to clear the simulations last week.”
The rumors hadn’t circulated yet, and I hadn’t seen them at lunch since Jaxson and I had skipped. Other than my immediate family and Rachel, no one knew we had our gifts back. They had been part of the team in search of looking for Lincoln and me last night, but they could only speculate what we had been doing. No one really expected me to make the connection with Lincoln so fast. Hell, I hadn’t.
“Eff me,” Gavin cursed under his breath before he nearly tackled me and drew me in close. “They’re back and stronger than ever,” he looked over his shoulder at Marcel.
I looked over Gavin’s shoulder as he embraced me and noticed Jemmy. She was still avoiding me, and I still had no clue what to do. She had been late to class this morning. She sat away from us, keeping to herself. And for the first time in a long time, she was sans makeup.
Rachel had confided in me that Jemmy had her first appointment with Dr. Wong yesterday, but she was uncertain how it went. She said Jemmy was avoiding her and Dawn as well. Part of me felt like I needed to talk to Jemmy and the other part of me felt like I should wait for her to come to me.
“Dammit,” Marcel cursed. “I guess we have to work harder.”
“Guess you do,” Jaxson said with a smug smile. “Although, even your hardest won’t be enough.”
We were given a room twenty minutes before our turn. So far, three other teams had gone before us, and all but one of them were able to successfully complete the mission. It came as no surprise that Adams’ side had failed to achieve their objective. Mike, Adams, and one of her friends had caused their team to fail.
She had been teamed up with Ben, Rick, Mike, Taylor, Georgia, Texas, a person from the SC team that I had yet to meet, plus Adams’ friends. Ben had been the team lead, but Mike and Adams had gone against his wishes and got them caught in a trap.
We weren’t able to see the other teams in action, but we knew each team was given different obstacles. The captives were also moved in each scenario. I’m sure some similarities were inevitable, but they really tried to shake things up for each group. Not that we were sharing notes or anything.
“Here are the hostages,” Darren stated as he displayed their pictures on the screen in our room.
Each of us had a folder sitting in front of us. Darren also had it displayed on the screen in the front of the room.
I studied each one of the hostages’ faces. There was six of them in total. Three men and three women.
“This is the blueprint of the building,” Darren commented before another image was put up.
“Wow,” Drake stepped forward to get a better look at the plans. “They’re pretty detailed.”
“Check this out,” Darren said excitedly as he clicked on one of the rooms. “It’s like we can take a virtual tour.”
“That can really come in handy,” Drake said with a satisfied smile.
“My thoughts exactly,” Darren stated.
The plans we were all given were the same. Where they placed their hostages and where they planned their attacks changed in every scenario. They didn’t want us comparing notes, not that any team was willing to divulge that information. The only chatter we had heard so far was the from the defensive teams who were playing to win.
“The intel given to us say that there is a total of fifteen hostiles,” Darren stated. “We have no further details on them. Further rules are located on the last page. When we get the green light, I’ll check to see if they have cameras inside the building replica. Go ahead and slip in your coms now, and we will do a radio check.”
We all grabbed our earpieces and did our radio checks.
“Mine isn’t working,” Jaxson frowned.
“Neither is mine,” Drake added.
“I suspected that might be one of their angles,” Darren had a self-satisfied grin on his face. “One of the teams we sent out last week never checked their coms before leaving, and it caused a lot of issues.”
“Good boy, Darren, good boy,” Jaxson said in a patronizing tone.
Darren held up his middle finger to Jaxson.
“Yay, I’m number one,” Jaxson cried out excitedly.
Over time, Jaxson and Darren had developed a relationship akin to siblings. Darren made dumb jock jokes about Jax and Jax made nerd jokes towards him. To me, their jokes were borderline cruel sometimes, but they both enjoyed their banter, so I bit my tongue.
“Darren, can you bring the plans back up?” Troy laughingly requested as he shook his head. “Okay, so they have a lot of places to hide.”
“I think that we should split up and divide and conquer,” Elvis, one of the Nons, said.
“I don’t think that we should,” Remy countered. “It didn’t work out for the team that failed, so I’m not repeating their mistakes.”
We had elected Remy as the team lead for this exercise, but we all knew it worked better when we talked things out as a team and came to a conclusion together. I knew Remy wasn’t trying to shut them down, so I’m sure the
re was a reason he didn’t want to split up. With the area, we had to cover I thought it was a great idea.
“If there isn’t a camera feed in there, I can jump our hostages,” Lincoln spoke up. “It looks like each room is distinctly decorated. Darren, once we get in there, I’ll describe the location I see. Could you point us in the direction we need to go in?”
“Um,” Darren cleared his throat. “Yeah, man, sure.” Darren was still slightly starstruck by Lincoln.
“I think we should have Jace, Lincoln, Drake, and Blake run the point,” Remy said after a few moments of contemplation. “You guys will be the first line of defense and offense for us. Lincoln, you jump. Drake keeps the forcefield on us. Blake is prepared to compel anyone we encounter. Jace, you can seek the people out to feel their emotions.
“Elvis, Troy, Cam, and Sylvia I need you to be our eyes at all times. You guys will shadow the lead team. Jaxson and I will bring up the rear. I can’t move walls, but I’ll use my brute strength when needed. Jaxson, you do your thing, and if you want to entertain the Judges while you do it, you have free reign. Anyone have questions or concerns?”
We all exchanged looks and shook our heads.
“Did you just give me free reign?” Jaxson asked with barely contained excitement.
Remy sighed deeply. “Yeah, please don’t make me regret this.”
Jaxson grinned like the Cheshire cat, and Troy, Drake, and I laughed. This should be interesting.
“Okay, I’m up,” Darren stated. “We’re live in three minutes.”
I almost felt anxious. I felt the butterflies unfurl in my stomach. It had been some time since we had to use our gifts together and work as a team. Adding four people we’d never worked with before didn’t calm my nerves any, either.
“We’ll be fine,” Jace reassured me as he pulled me in close and kissed the top of my head.
“Stop reading my emotions,” I said in a tone of disgruntlement.
He chuckled. “It’s been some time. You need to learn to block me again.”
“I shouldn’t have too,” I lightly bit his chest.