Blood Awoken

by Elle Grace

  “Tell us all exactly what happened Viola?” Colt was looking frustrated. “We need to get to the bottom of this.” He was mad there were more hybrids in his room I could feel it.

  “Lance and his mates. They were planning to kill me, they wanting to throw me off the main building, make it look like I did it to myself.” I summarised quickly.

  “Did they do anything else?” Colt looked terrified of the question and I could feel what he was hinting towards.

  “No thankfully, although it was suggested. One of them stopped that from happening.” I said quietly realising just how much danger I had found myself in.

  “Thank god.” He said under his breath. “Those cowards! I am going to kill him when I see him.” Colt was raw with anger.

  “I fought back though.” I muttered.

  “I can see you did.” He soothed looking at me, holding my hand in his for reassurance. Everyone watched us intently, Tristan came bursting into the room.

  “Viola,” Tristan knelt beside the bed. “I am going to level with you because we are in a bit of a predicament and do not have much time. I called the infirmary, but they are dealing with someone who fell off the roof of the old building last night. I’m assuming that had something to do with your incident?” He asked and I nodded. “Well they cannot come up here and William has had guards positioned all through the corridors stopping recruits from going anywhere as we have that mandatory training exercise simulation starting in less than twenty minutes.”

  “Okay?” I questioned.

  “We can’t fully heal the wound here in twenty minutes. I luckily had some paste in my room, but it is not enough to sort out your side and healing tonic will take too long.” He stated. He had grabbed a first aid kit and unloading it on the bed next to me. The minutes that followed were a mad scramble as Tristan dressed the wound on my side after applying the odd smelling paste and placed a bandage on me. Doe was ready to help me get dressed. They had brought clothes up from the dorm and I suddenly realised how the hybrids had ended up in the room as Tristan barked orders at them. Once I was dressed, everyone turned to me, worry was the expression of choice for all of them.

  “Can you walk?” James asked concerned.

  “Of course, she can.” Colt barked. “She is a lot tougher than you think.” I think he thought he was being supportive, but I needed help.

  I grimaced as I sat up and got off the bed. I tried to stand but pain seared through my abdomen. It was not going to be easy to hide the injuries. Doe fashioned my hair in a way to cover the wound on my head.

  “I can, but not all the way.” I said defeated.

  “Lie back down and rest.” Tristan ordered. “We have a few minutes before you need to be moving anywhere and a few minutes might make a difference with the paste.” He needed to tell his face to match the words he was saying because they were not telling me the same thing. I felt too weak. For a moment I contemplated telling them all the secret I had uncovered during the attack.

  I did as I was told and laid down. I decided keeping my mouth shut was going to be the best thing for everyone in the moment.

  30

  Colt

  5.30am 11th September 2025

  A knock came at the door, it was the last thing I needed with half the commanders and hybrids in my room, not to mention a hybrid lying in my bed. I opened the door carefully so the visitor could not see inside.

  “Director Dubois has requested to see you.” An assistant stood unimpressed.

  “Did he say why?” I asked. Worrying a little. I could explain everything though so I would be able to get out of any trouble.

  “Do you think he would have told me?” The assistant rolled his eyes rudely. Most of the assistants hated their jobs and I could not blame them in the slightest.

  “I guess not.” I mumbled. “I need to get dressed. Wait there for me.” I slammed the door. I ran over to the bed. “Vi, I have to go to a meeting. Tristan will look after you until I get back okay?” She nodded and I left the room carefully. God, she looked pale, I thought.

  The assistant walked me silently over to William’s office.

  He knocked at the Director’s door and I was told to enter. I opened the large oak door and was not surprised by the old-fashioned wood panelled office that greeted me. It was dark and incredibly out of date.

  “Ah, Colt, good to see you. Take a seat.” He smirked at me and I did as I was told. “It was a big night last night.” I was wondering if he was referring to the ball or what happened after the Ball with his son.

  “Yes, it was Sir.” I responded carefully, unaware of how much he knew.

  “We also had an incident.” William was suddenly more solemn.

  “We did?” I asked, pretending to be unaware.

  “It seems that someone attacked some of the recruits and a commander last night.” He said eying me. I was unimpressed at the version of events he was sprouting.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “No one is particularly sure, Lance was involved, he was one of the attacked. As you can imagine this is something that is of great interest to me.” He continued. “I have some photos.” He handed me a stack of A4 images showing me some of their injuries The photos had clearly been taken at the infirmary and luckily Viola featured in none of them. They were pretty graphic, and I was left a little unsure as to how Vi had done all of that and escaped. None of the three attackers looked pretty after she had finished with them. It made me question her again, the girl I had trained could barely throw a punch a few days ago and now she was throwing people off roofs and rearranging faces. It all seemed odd.

  “Yeah, well I imagine your son is receiving the best possible treatment.” I snapped a little, placing the images down.

  “That is beyond the point Colt. There was an attack on Inperium grounds last night and I intend to get to the centre of it.” William barked.

  “I think you should probably bring your son in here and get him to describe what happened.” I said carefully.

  “One of the human recruits was thrown from the roof of the main building. He will survive but it will be a while before he recovers.” William was angry. He obviously knew that his son was behind it all.

  “Why am I here?” I asked.

  “Because I am convinced it was one of the new hybrids and I want you to find out which one.” William ordered.

  “Why not just check the security cameras?”

  “Someone erased the footage.” He said coolly.

  “Hmmm, I wonder who had access to do that.” I said sarcastically. Lance had really covered his tracks. I was angry. Lance had stabbed Viola and she was lying in my bed looking terrible and he had the audacity to spin some yarn to the Director about how he had been attacked. He really was a manipulative jerk, I thought.

  “Just find out which one of the hybrids is behind it.” William said calmly before I do.

  “How?”

  “In the simulation, work it out and then report them to me. I will make sure they are thoroughly punished.” He smirked again and I knew that meant he would kill them. I had to make sure that he never found out that Vi was the one who was on the roof.

  31

  Viola

  6am 11th September 2025

  The assistants we had met a couple of days ago led us down the gravel path just past the main house. We went through a gate that led into the woods. I was half carried, half held up by some helpers who took it in turns to aid my journey. By the time we reached the woods I was pretty much able to walk on my own and I was grateful to Tristan and his strange witchcraft paste. I looked around for Colt as we walked. I was disappointed not to see him. I owed him a thank you for his help.

  “How are you feeling?” James stood next to me. “I was so worried earlier.” He said softly.

  “I think everyone was.” I replied.

  “No, I was incredibly worried about you. I don’t know what would have happened if you had not been alive when Colt found you.” He sounded u
pset. I smiled at him. He was clearly upset that Colt had found me and not him.

  “We don’t have to worry about it now.” I stated. My fingertips brushed against his and for a brief moment we took each other’s hands. The warmth that radiated up my arm from where his hand held mine felt right. It confused me. The small crowd of people we walked amongst hid our moment of togetherness from view, but I let go quickly so that nobody could see. It was too much of a risk.

  We were told to stop in a small clearing where a small temporary podium had been set up. More pageantry, I thought. I looked around at the faces of those who had gathered, I recognised them all from the procession to the arch two days before. Everyone looked nervous and excited, except for a small pocket of people including Lance and Caitlyn who looked bored until they noticed me and began pointing and laughing. Lance had a smug face on his face as he looked me up and down. I think he was a little surprised to see me standing. I was surprised to see him looking as well as he did. They must have some really powerful stuff in the infirmary, I thought. Even for humans. I was lucky I had some friends who were there to help, I thought.

  I had never experienced bullying in my life and suddenly here I was experiencing what can only be described as the worst bullies in the world. It was an incredibly strange situation to be in.

  I looked behind me and spotted that Colt had joined the group. I instinctively stepped away from James a tiny bit feeling guilty. I at least owed that to Colt.

  “Good morning.” William had stridden through us to the podium. He wore a particularly vile velvet jacket that was plum in colour. He smiled at us all as if nothing had happened the night before. I found it hard to believe that he had not heard about the incident on the Inperium grounds especially when someone was found to have fallen off the roof and it had all involved his son. “Welcome to your last session of training. This year our recruits will be placed in a very special elite team with a single project in mind. This final training session is aimed to set you up for the project. It is a simulation of a situation you may find yourself in. Please take it seriously and remember your actions are being watched and analysed within this training simulation to help us place you further.” He spoke to us all. I hoped he was being honest about our actions been watched. I also hoped it meant that Lance might refrain from trying to kill me in my sleep whilst we were in there. “Good Luck.” He said dramatically at as he pointed to the huge thick steel wall. It must have been at least 6 metres tall and looked almost impossible to break into or out of. A door opened in the wall. It was completely disguised when closed. We were beckoned to walk inside. Once everyone had cleared the door it was closed and sealed, vanishing back into the wall. We looked at each other cautiously not knowing what was coming next.

  32

  Viola

  8.30am 11th September 2025

  “Welcome recruits to our state-of-the-art training facility.” A voice surrounded us as a man spoke from a control box at the top of the furthest wall. “In this arena you will find that all the scenery is very real. Such as the trees and the buildings. However, the enemies you face in this training facility are all simulations. Now be warned they can hurt you and you can hurt yourself by doing things like falling off the scenery so be careful. Each of you is now being handed a special emergency alarm. It makes no sound, but it alerts us here in the control room that someone is hurt and needs help. So only use them when you need them.” The soldiers passed around some small devices that looked like the miniature keyring torches you could buy from any normal newsagents. People began to put them away. Others played with them, the temptation to press the button dancing across their faces.

  “Do you think I could use mine now and get out of here?” I whispered to James who stood incredibly close to me, his fingers continued to brush against mine, letting me know he was there for me. He stifled a laugh. I glanced behind me to see Colt watching me.

  “Next we will hand around some backpacks. These packs have enough provisions for a few days as well as other necessary things such as first aid kits. This will be the only provisions you will receive so look after them.” The voice from the control box continued. “The first training exercise.” He spoke as if he was reading from a card. “Somewhere in the area is a vampire nest. They have stolen a vital and important artefact from the Inperium organisation, a turquoise amulet, and it is your job to retrieve it with minimum causalities.” Some people looked at each other and jested how simple it sounded. “You will work in two teams against each other.” Other people began to negotiate their grouping silently. “The teams will be chosen by combat as it is traditional. The order of picking will be decided in a traditional Inperium way. Two people will fight each other, and the winner gets their team of choice. The other will be placed in the opposite team. They will fight in the traditional circle. The winner is the one of them that pushes the other from within the circle then they can choose a team. The fight will continue until all recruits have been placed.” Feeling my side burning I felt terrible that I was going to have to fight. I looked like death and was sure nobody would want someone who looked as sickly as me to be in their team. “Commander Lance please step forward.” I began to feel really bad for the other team leader, I imagined Lance would fight really dirty in the training simulation. I hoped he was weaker than he looked from the night before. “Commander Colt, please step forward.” I swore under my breath with happiness, at least there was a team I wanted to be on. “Commanders you may choose your guardian assistants.” Lance instantly chose Caitlyn and Colt was left with Tristan which he seemed rather pleased about. “Recruit Viola and Recruit Chelsea, please step forward to fight. I looked around as the candidates around me stepped out of my way. Even James pulled away from me suddenly. I walked gingerly to the front of the small crowd and stood next to Chelsea. In front of us a white circle was painted on the ground. “When the recruits are ready please enter the circle and begin.” The voice ordered us onwards, and I looked pleadingly at the onlookers. Colt, Tristan and James all looked as worried as I felt. We stepped into the circle and Chelsea instantly threw a punch which I managed to move out of the way of quickly. I retaliated with pushing her straight away, but she maintained her balance. She was not really trying to fight me. I think she felt awful about the night before.

  Lance looked mad and I knew what he wanted, he wanted Chelsea to kill me. He wanted to do his best to give Colt a team that consisted of enemies. Knowing they would probably kill him in his sleep. I vowed I would not give him the satisfaction. Chelsea stepped forward in the circle; I was ready for her. I kicked at her hard and she jumped out of the way. Nearly straight out of the circle line. A few of her friends groaned as they realised how close it had been again. Colt frowned, disappointed. Chelsea once more stepped closer into the middle of the circle. She was ready. Fury suddenly on her side as her friends jeered at her. She landed a strike straight to my side that nearly had me keeling over with pain. She knew my weak spot. I was at a disadvantage. She laughed and I sideswiped her legs causing her to tumble out of the circle quickly. She swore at me as the bell dinged announcing my win. “I choose Colt’s team.” I said quickly. He stepped forward to grab me and help me out of circle.

  “I don’t know how you did that.” He whispered to me. “But I am glad you did.

  The next two fighters were called up. James and Tim. They began to fight.

  “I’m glad you picked my team.” Colt whispered to me as he watched the fight.

  “What other team was I going to pick?” I half smiled.

  “I suppose.” Colt smirked.

  The rest of the fights were fairly uneventful. Colt’s team ended up being the expected seven, mostly hybrids. We had James, Cameron, Mike and Sam join Tristan and me. I looked at them, pleased with their choices. It was hybrids again humans.

  Lance’s team lay decked out on the floor once the fight was over, they were exhausted, and I could not believe it. We had given them a real run for their money. I looked at the tea
m around me who all were cheering and smiling. I placed my hand to my side and pulled it away revealing the wound had bled through the bandage. I felt dizzy, I was not sure how much more of this ‘training’ I was going to be able to endure. Tristan looked at me his face full of concern, he knew I was not doing too well.

  33

  Viola

  9am 11th September 2025

  Tristan led the team up a small hill. He knew the training ground much better than any of the rest of us did. He explained it simply as he had helped to build the scenario. Once we were out of ear shot of Lance and his team, he had explained my predicament to the rest of the team, and they all understood when Colt flung me over his shoulder and carried me up the hill the rest of the way as I had begun to feel faint. Much to my dismay.

  A small stone cottage sat the other side of the brow of the incline.

  “I knew it was still here.” Tristan exclaimed proud of himself. The rest of the team gathered their breath as they walked down towards the building. “It’s a little bit shabby but it should be a decent enough shelter for us.” He explained as he led us inside. The cottage had three medium sized rooms cluttered with some old fabric furnishings. Colt gently placed me down on the sofa and brushed the hair off my face.

  “She is looking worse, Tristan.” He said worried. I must have looked pale. Tristan came over to me and lifted the bandage he had placed earlier.