"Stop." Instructor Ross got in between them before Bradley could charge at her again. He asked Charlie, "Can you still get up?"
She nodded and pulled herself up, giving the Instructor the okay signal. "Go," Instructor announced.
Charlie didn't want to lose by just dodging his attacks and consequently compromise her evaluation.
"You’re sure you can survive this, cupcake?" Bradley taunted her. Charlie took a step back to check her surroundings. Unfortunately for her, the room was cleaned out for the session. No items or furniture were in sight. "Nervous?” Bradley mocked.
Fear is not the threat. Charlie remembered and she was back at her sessions with Natalia, listening to the infrasound. She remembered how she’d pinned the guard against the wall. A smile formed on her lips. She smiled thinly and dared Bradley, "Are you?"
Bradley smirked and changed his stance. In a split second, he charged towards her again, and Charlie braced herself. She willed him to be pushed away, but the force merely made him pause so he could regain his balance.
"That all you got?" Bradley sneered as he took two more strides and was at her throat. His arm encircled her neck and she was pinned against his body. His muscles tightened around her neck, so she scratched at his arm while willing him to be pushed away. But Bradley was heavy, and his superhuman strength kept his feet planted on the ground, resisting the force she tried to muster up. She heard the Instructor ordering Bradley to let her go, but he defied the order. She gasped for air, trying once more to free herself from Bradley’s grip, but he resisted. “You can’t use the same trick on me three times, you know,” Bradley whispered in her ears.
Charlie opened her eyes and willed herself to be pushed upward instead. She lifted off the ground, her feet kicking wildly in midair, causing Bradley’s grip to loosen. But his arm was still around her shoulders, and he pulled her back to him. Charlie scratched his arm, and in a desperate attempt, bit his hand. She tasted blood as Bradley screamed and yanked her down to the ground with more strength than he was supposed to use. One foot landed hard on the ground in an awkward position, snapping something within. Charlie grimaced and writhed in pain as her body hit the floor, whimpering as Bradley moved to strike. Instructor Ross forced Bradley away from the scene; then gave an order for someone to take Charlie to see the nurse.
The sterile smell of antiseptics entered her nostrils when she awoke in the infirmary. Charlie propped herself up in the bed and peered between the curtains to see a nurse sitting by the desk near the door. She tried to move her leg but winced at the pain in her ankle. Charlie removed the blanket covering her and saw the ankle brace. She remembered how her fight with Bradley had ended, and remembered Patrice volunteering to take her to infirmary while the training session continued.
"Sorry about yesterday," Patrice apologized on their way earlier. “And sorry about the ankle.” Charlie couldn’t remember how she’d responded, though she had faith enough in herself that she was sure to have done it well.
The sun’s muted orange hues suggested it was late afternoon. Charlie slept for a few hours and missed the rest of the training. She had no doubt gossip about her injury would be aplenty when she returned to the dormitory.
The knock on the door signaled a visitor. Charlie adjusted her position to get a better view and saw Hilary and Otto enter the infirmary. Hilary ran to her bed and hugged her tightly. Charlie winced when her leg moved. “Oh, sorry!” Hilary exclaimed.
“Still alive and kicking?” Otto asked and patted her on the shoulder.
“Not kicking, but I’m fine.” Charlie said with a smile. Her friends laughed at her joke.
Hilary hopped on her bed and announced, “We heard what happened and didn’t want to be at the cafeteria when Bradley starts bragging about it.”
Charlie rolled her eyes, “Let him, I don’t care.”
"Heard from Kio that he played dirty," Otto said with a frown on his face.
"If by dirty you mean trying to choke me to death, then yes." Charlie told them. Hilary's lips formed a big O of surprise that turned into a contemptuous pout. Charlie shook her head, "Do you guys know why that guy hates me? I mean, he's a bully but he seems to bear a grudge against me personally. What did I do?"
Two pairs of uncertain eyes met Charlie's. Both Otto and Hilary were not sure of what to say. Hilary opined, "You see, Bradley was really jealous Jeanne was so quickly promoted while he got stuck here with us. Obviously, you remind him of her, and you seem to be in the good graces of Ms. Pitt, which adds to his displeasure. I think he secretly suspects you're Jeanne in disguise, so he wants to put you down."
Charlie gave a nervous laugh. "He thinks I'm Jeanne? But you know what my power is. I've shown it a lot of times already, and it's not the same as Jeanne's, right?" She watched Otto and Hilary give each other perplexed looks before Otto moved over to sit on the other side of Charlie’s bed.
"Well, Bradley is just being stupid. He'll come up with anything against anyone he thinks is a threat to him. I mean, he even got Madison on his side to protect his own interests."
"Madison?" Charlie repeated. "What does she have to do with it?"
Otto shrugged, "She's not really as bad as you think she is, not until Bradley got her wrapped around his finger. Madison has potential. She's a mimic, so she can use everyone's power. I think Bradley keeps her on his leash so she won't overcome him too."
Listening to Otto’s description of Madison formed an odd feeling in the pit of Charlie’s stomach. Whether it was because she disagreed with him or it was something else, Charlie didn’t want to conclude.
"I don't know, Madison has always been a pain," murmured Hilary. "Also, Madison and Jeanne didn't really get along well."
This intrigued Charlie deeply. What was Jeanne really like? Would she even accept Charlie with open arms if they met? A lump formed in Charlie's throat and swallowing became difficult.
Hilary changed the subject. "Oh, right. You know Jeanne isn't the only one who got sent to the advanced training center."
“Oh? Who are the other ones?"
"Just one. Aaron, he had the power of intangibility," revealed Hilary. At Charlie’s questioning look, Hilary clarified, "It means he can make himself physically untouchable, like a ghost."
"He was in our batch, and he was really nice. Bradley treated him badly too. He was small, like me, but he was agile and it really pissed Bradley off when he couldn’t get a grip on Aaron," Otto chuckled. “Aaron sure had a way of having fun with his powers.”
Charlie asked, "So only Jeanne and Aaron have been sent there?"
Hilary nodded, "I guess you can say they're really gifted."
"When were they sent there?" Charlie asked, and Hilary's eyes furrowed. "What?"
"When were they transferred to the advance training center?" Charlie repeated. Hilary and Otto exchanged looks once more.
"Was it last year?" Hilary asked Otto.
"I think so." Otto answered her.
There was something odd about their statements, or really the way they said them. The way they looked at each other made Charlie think they couldn't remember details. Charlie asked one more thing, "What's in the Advanced Training Center anyway? Our training here is already hard to begin with."
"We've never been there," Otto simply said. "So we don't really know."
The face of the blonde nurse appeared at the curtain. "Visiting hour is over, kids. You better head on to the cafeteria for dinner."
Hilary hopped down from the bed while Otto gave Charlie another pat on the back. Charlie was about to stand from the bed as well, but the nurse stopped her. "Charlie, you must stay for the night. We'll get you dinner from the cafeteria later."
Charlie's brows met in protest. "I just have a sprain, it's nothing serious."
"But you mustn't move that ankle anytime soon, sweetie," the nurse told her. Charlie was about to argue she had the brace to reinforce her ankle, but the nurse was already leading her friends out. Otto waved and Hilary blew Charlie a goo
d night kiss before they disappeared from her sight. Charlie slumped back on the bed, frustrated at how a sprained ankle held her captive in a patient's bed.
In the dimly lit infirmary, Charlie fell into a deep sleep. The dream started dark and cold. She felt cold air blowing on her hair from above, and she was lying still. She tried to move, but couldn't; not even her eyes would open. Fear entered her mind though she tried to suppress it. Gradually, she opened her eyelids and light filtered through her vision. She blinked, one, two, three times before her vision cleared. She was in a white, small room, a fluorescent light glowing over her head. Her eyes darted everywhere, taking in images of a door as white as the room’s walls and a tiny window. Voices echoed beyond the door and eerie silhouettes moved in front of the window. The door clicked open, and a figure entered. But Charlie’s vision blurred once more, preventing her from seeing her visitor’s face.
CHAPTER 9: Best Served Cold
Limping to the dormitory, Charlie met pity, apathy, or mockery from her fellow students. None of them was to her liking. But she trudged on, refusing to appear weak. With effort and determination, she reached the second floor and made her way to her room when Madison and Bradley appeared around the corner.
"Oh, my. Bradley, what did you do to her?" Madison exclaimed, acting concerned as her eyes focused on the Charlie’s braced ankle. Charlie wanted to avoid them, but Madison walked up to her and grabbed her on the shoulder. "Come on, Brad. You must take responsibility for helping out the handicapped here." Madison flashed Charlie a smile that made her look like a young Cruella DeVille. Charlie pulled her arm from her grasp.
She reached for the keys in her pocket, but as she was about to enter the key in the hole, it struggled free from her grip and floated right into Madison's hands. "Charlie, sweetie, don't be like that. Brad just wants to apologize for his bad behavior yesterday." Madison looked at her boyfriend over her shoulder, who scoffed.
"Apologize?" Bradley repeated.
"Yes, apologize to Charlie, dear," Madison told him.
"Alright." Bradley clasped his hands together and told Charlie, "I'm sorry for being stronger than you, Charlie." He laughed at her and Madison chimed in.
Charlie grabbed back her key, quickly, unlocked it and slammed the door on them.
The nurse had ordered her to rest and take things easy for a day. But doing so because of a sprained ankle was tantamount to subjecting herself to more taunting. So Charlie had ignored the warning and jumped out of infirmary bed, wincing from the pain as her foot hit the floor. The painkillers weren’t enough. Too bad there wasn't a student around with the power to heal.
Charlie relished the comfort of her bed after spending the night at the infirmary. Another odd dream from last night bothered her, but that was easy to banish from her thoughts. Facing a major setback in her performance was her main issue. She pulled her bedside table open. There lay the locket engraved with her original name. She mouthed the name. Cate.
What would her life have been like if she led it as Cate? Perhaps she wouldn't have been separated from Jeanne. Perhaps she would also be at the ACT with her sister and not dealing with the wrath of Bradley and Madison. Charlie buried her face in her pillow, forcing her what-if thoughts away. There was no point pondering; the past was the past. But today offered the chance to excel and achieve her goal of joining Jeanne at ACT.
After her humiliating defeat against Bradley, she needed to redeem herself. Charlie forced herself off the bed to the shower. She hid the brace under a thick sock and rubber shoes and made her way to the training room.
“Charlie?” Instructor Ross greeted her. “I thought the nurse advised you to take a day’s rest.”
“I’m alright, Sir,” she claimed. “It was just a sprained ankle. Nothing I can’t handle.”
Instructor Ross eyed her quizzically, doubting her claim. But he moved away and said, “If you think you’re ok, then I’ll give you one shot.” Charlie beamed with delight, and joined the formation of students.
“Alright!” Instructor Ross’s voice boomed to get everyone’s attention. “Yesterday was a pitiful day. All of you performed poorly against the contenders. Now, I did say that I wasn’t expecting all of you to win, but I did expect to see you having a fighting chance!” The tension amongst the students filled the air.
Charlie inconspicuously looked at the others and noticed she wasn’t the only one who had sustained an injury. A fresh bruise marked Ted’s cheeks and Patrice had a torn lip. “But I expect that at the very least, you learned something from yesterday’s experience. Can I look forward to improvements on your performances today, ladies and gentlemen?”
“Yes, sir!” The students answered like soldiers.
“Very good! We’ll be doing the same routine as yesterday. Given Bradley’s conduct during the session with Charlie, I decided to cross him off the list for today.” Charlie let out a breath. At least she wouldn’t have to face him again. As if on cue, three guys entered from the door. Kio and Vladimir were expected, but the new addition made Charlie raise an eyebrow.
“Meet Otto. Power: Ice and cold manipulation,” Instructor Ross announced. Otto spotted Charlie in the crowd and grinned at her. After Instructor Ross clarified the rules, the trainees were sent to the mezzanine to observe. First to spar on the floor was Jian and Otto. “To our audience upstairs, I don’t want you to just sit back and enjoy the fight. Watch carefully, learn, try to think what you would have done if you were in Jian’s position,” reminded Instructor Ross before giving the go signal to Otto and Jian.
Watching Jian use his power on someone else was quite a show. The illusionist plunged his opponent in a different reality and the victim had to fight through the illusion. Charlie watched as Otto began to see things they couldn’t. Jian used this opportunity to attack his opponent; he charged towards Otto. He landed a kick on Otto’s leg, making the latter stumble back. But it wasn’t enough to subdue him. Otto threw a punch in the air, missing Jian by only a few inches. Jian sidestepped and thrust his fist into Otto’s side, just under the ribs. Wincing, Otto smiled and grabbed onto Jian’s hand. Jian pulled away immediately, but icicles formed around his wrist, creating a spiked bracelet. Otto closed his eyes and lifted his palm in a general direction. The ice around Jian’s wrist grew spikes that kept on growing. Jian tried to break the ice, but his many attempts were futile. Slowly, the ice crawled up his arm and began to cover his torso. “Okay, I give!” Jian announced, and Otto was released from his illusions. Instructor Ross declared Otto the winner and the two lads shook hands good-naturedly.
The next few battles weren’t as exciting as Otto and Jian’s. Most did little to utilize their powers for combat, and some showed little control at all. Instructor Ross was disappointed by their lack of improvement. The last called was Charlie, and as she expected, she was assigned with Otto, because fate likes to play that way.
She smiled at Otto when she reached the floor and he held out a hand to her. “How’s the foot, Cinderella?”
Charlie took his hand and laughed, “It’s fine, and don’t call me that.”
Otto smiled and asked, “Tell me the truth, would you rather have me take it easy on you or not?”
Charlie punched him on the shoulder. “Don’t you dare.”
When Instructor gave the go signal, Charlie and Otto took their positions. Otto still had a smile on his face as he sized her up. For a moment, they remained like that and Charlie felt the pressure. Initiating the first attack, she willed Otto’s left leg to unbuckle. Otto felt the force and bent his knees, but it wasn’t enough to make him stumble. “Nice try,” he told her.
Charlie charged towards him but with a wave of Otto’s hand, the floor turned cold and Charlie slipped as if on ice. She flinched at the pain on her injured ankle. She reached around and willed Otto to fall to the floor.
Charlie scrambled to her feet and pinned Otto on the ground with her powers. “Not yet,” he said, and swung his leg to hit her uninjured one, causing Charlie to lose
her balance and her grip on him. Charlie landed on all fours as Otto rose and lifted Charlie to her feet, locking her with his arms under her armpits.
“You’re not using your powers creatively, Charlie,” he whispered, his breath smelling of peppermint. “You know you can do more than just pull and pin people on the ground, right?”
Charlie stomped at his feet, making him release her with an "Ouch!"
“Was that creative enough?” she said grinning.
“Yes, but you didn’t use your powers,” said Otto. “There are different ways to skin a cat, Charlie. Look around. Be creative!”
“Enough talking!” Instructor Ross scolded them. Charlie looked around as Otto had told her. The floor was empty, all equipment including tables and chairs were moved away. What could she use? Then, a glint of light caught Charlie’s eyes. Something from Otto’s belt was reflecting the light. It was the key to his dormitory room. Charlie’s smile widened. Her eyes scrutinized Otto's attire and her own. There were things around she could use.
“Today, please!” Ross’s voice boomed again and Charlie used this as her cue to charge at Otto. But instead of running directly towards him, she willed Otto’s shirt collar to be pulled over his face. Blinded by the shirt, Otto crashed on the frozen floor he had created when Charlie swung her leg around. She pinned him with her hands, but Otto twisted his waist, pushing Charlie off him and flipping her over to land on the ground, thus changing their positions.
“You’re learning,” commended Otto.
“Yup,” Charlie confirmed as Otto was lifted off her, floating inches above her in the air. She rolled out of the way before releasing Otto. He hit the ground with a soft thud. "Umph!"
Charlie got up and pulled the chain locket over her head. She used her powers to make it whiz around Otto. While he was distracted, Charlie slammed her shoulder into his chest, making him stagger back. She grabbed the locket and was ready to charge at him again, but her feet wouldn’t take off from the ground. She looked down to see ice forming around her rubber shoes. Otto’s mischievous grin taunted her. Charlie pulled on her leg, but winced again when pain shot up her ankle. She studied the icicles and made a stab motion with her hand. A gap formed in the ice and she pulled it outward, shattering it completely. The cold numbed her ankle, allowing her to run towards Otto again. Otto changed into a defensive stance, but Charlie stopped midway and willed Otto’s shoes to be pulled sideways. Otto hit the ground again and slid away until one of his shoes gave in and came off his foot.
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