Survival (Sorrowfeld Academy Book 1)

by Bob Dattolo

  “I have magic! Not a stricken any longer!” Was that too pathetic? Hard to tell on top of the other acting I have going on.

  “Once a stricken, always a stricken. I hope you like pain, because it’ll be starting soon enough. You have…50 more feet.”

  The leaders whooped like crazy and started running even faster. My stagger improved a bit more, but not anywhere near what I can do. To my shock, the front group ran up and stopped next to me as Colin stared at me again, “You’re so pathetic. You shoulda killed yourself before coming here. You won’t even be here a day, then you’ll be a cum filled corpse drained of magic.”

  “Bare hands…gonna use my bare hands…” my run slowed abruptly, although not a ton, which got the front group to laugh like crazy and continue on. I could feel coach’s magic start up as Riley and Paige slowed next to me.

  Paige shook her head, “You gotta run faster than that, her spells hurt like a bitch!”

  I didn’t get a chance to answer before the spell hit me. I expected screams of anguish. I expected pure agony tearing through me. I expected to be forced to run faster, trying to outrun the devil himself as he feasted on my soul.

  Umm, honestly? Reggie treated me pretty well, and he fucked me harder than this.

  And I came.

  Everyone in the front group laughed like crazy as Coach called out, “Don’t bother hiding it, stricken! Everyone here’s been hit with it at least once. You’re not impressing anyone by holding it in.”

  Oookay? My first attempt at a weak scream was pretty bad. It just made people laugh harder. So I increased it a little as my run went one tiny step faster. The screaming continued through the laughter, but I noticed that those that were lapped a second time ahead of me weren’t being hit with it. I also noticed that the pain didn’t increase. Didn’t get any worse. Honestly, I might be able to fall asleep to someone hitting me with this if I put my mind to it. Lord knows I had to do that enough times after the couple would leave me. It’d take a solid month of healing for me to be back to normal, with weeks at times where I couldn’t even begin to walk.

  My spell went off again after another few laps, and I had enough water on me to look like I’m really suffering and crying. That brought on more laughter. Everyone that ended ahead of me watched me barely make it through the last lap, all the while crying and begging her to stop.

  Coach laughed the loudest when she blew the whistle, “Oookay! Now that that shit show is done, line up! We’re gonna do some old-fashioned calisthenics. Stricken trash? You get to be front and center. Every time you can’t do what I tell you to do, you get hit with the spell again.”

  “You can’t do that!”

  “Trash? I can do whatever I want. I’m the coach here, not you. Now, get over here. Everyone else? Line up. We’ll start with jumping jacks!”

  Have you ever tried on purpose to fuck up jumping jacks while making it seem like you’re struggling to do them right? How about stretches? Burpees? Pushups? The class devolved into outright laughter maybe halfway through, with her telling the other kids to just sit and watch and enjoy.

  Her words.

  She hit me with the spell nearly constantly at that point, making it harder for me to carry on and really sell my failure. I swear, I’m not sure if I saw this that I’d believe it. At all. Yet they all seemed to love it and think it just the funniest fucking thing they’ve ever seen.

  It ended with her shoving me back down from my third set of pushups and standing on my back. “Okay, class is over! Everyone head on in and change. I’ll see you all on Monday.” She stomped, getting an aborted scream from me, “Have fun watching trash here die tonight. Colin? Don’t be too hard on her but bust a nut or three.” Then she hopped off and kicked me in the side.

  I was not expecting that, so the short bark was real. As was hiding my face so that no one saw the flash of utter rage.

  Coach Walters? You just got added to my list.

  Chapter 16

  Kaylee left me, crying, before I even reached the dorms. I’m not sure if she’s upset at the thought of me dying or at the thought of losing an ally. Or maybe both? I hate to think that she might be worried about losing an ally more than me being dead, but c’mon, I have to take into account the craziness going on here.

  Who raises their kids to be like this?

  I mean, besides the supernatural community.

  I don’t get this. At all. Why wouldn’t we want our kids to grow up and get along? Okay, dragons have more of a territorial thing going on, but they’re dragons. Mages don’t have anything like that, at least not that I’ve ever heard of. Plus, it’s not like people can’t get along with others. That happens easily enough. I may not have been able to do much at Reggie’s place, but he didn’t outright ban everything for me. I’ve watched enough news over the years. Well, you know what I mean. Other than some high-profile fights between powerful mages, dragons, or a mix of the two, most of the time it’s pretty much normal stuff. The fighting seems to be more connected to loss of business and things like that.

  Well, except the territorial garbage.

  Dammit. This is so…I can’t even…No words for this. None.

  As it is, I’ve spent the last hour playing with my magic and practicing various things. Trying new options. Combinations of things. Casting two spells at the same time, one doing one thing and another doing something completely different. It’s harder than I had hoped, but I was able to do it. At least somewhat.

  That had me practicing even more, trying to come up with things I might be able to do against Colin. Now that I’ve played up my weaknesses, maybe I can steer this in the direction that I’m hoping for. He needs to underestimate me, then I might have a shot in hell of making it through this. It helps that I’m far stronger and faster than anyone here knows, I’m just not sure how I rate against him. He was at least somewhat winded at the end of the run and did have minor struggles with some of the exercises. Yet even that? He could have been sandbagging things as well.

  Ugh. My latest round of spells faded a hairsbreadth before the door opened. Parece came in, looking at the ceiling as if expecting to see something up there. She closed the door behind her and watched me as she crossed to her dresser and began stripping. She did it without a care, getting on clothes that aren’t her uniform. Once that was done, she went and sat on her couch.

  I’m so tempted to say something about her being naked to see if I can get a blush or something like that out of her, but if my time with Reggie taught me anything, it’s that that would be impossible. Very much so.

  She gave it longer than I thought, “You’re too calm about this.”

  Hmm, “Too calm? I’m not sure how to answer that. Assuming that was even a question.”

  She leaned on her knees, looking me up and down. “I heard about you in gym. How slow you ran. The issues with the exercises.” She looked at my clothes again, my gym clothes. “Here’s the thing. I wasn’t there, so I can’t say. But I said it before.” She paused, and her spell went out again, blocking sound from leaving our area. “You had dozens of light balls moving all over the fucking place. Bouncing from things. I’ve been doing magic for years, and I can’t get that to happen. I can’t create that many light balls. They were different sizes. Different colors. Moving at different speeds. I can’t even guess how hard that is to do. Yet you pretended that you couldn’t even cast a light spell in class.” She held up a hand as I inhaled to respond. “None of that was a question. I saw what I saw. I get hiding things if you can, especially here. But there’s more than that. What I heard about gym? It paints you as being a weakling. Barely able to do ten pushups. Barely coordinated enough to do five jumping jacks without fucking it up. Your run was supposed to be pathetic, with Coach hitting you with spells like half the time and making you scream.” She tilted her head to the side, “Here’s the thing, though. I’m a dragon.”

  “Right?”

  “I’m a dragon. Want to know what I picked up, even though I wasn’t ev
en there?”

  “Umm, sure?” Where’s she going with this?

  She tapped her nose, “Want to know what I don’t smell? Sweat. Tears. The stories were that you were screaming, begging, and crying for like eight of 20 laps. That it continued most of the rest of class. If you were really in pain? If you were really that exhausted? If you were really that sweaty, I’d be able to smell it. I came back expecting you to be curled up in a ball, realizing how fucked you are. Yet you’re not. You’re sitting here as calm as can be. Yet you still look sweaty. You still look bedraggled. Worn. Tired.” She tilted her head the other way, “You have dirt on your face, which shouldn’t even really be possible.” Her eyes lit up before she sat back against the couch. “You’re faking. Faking it all.”

  That could be bad. “It all being what?”

  Her eyebrows went up, “Interesting. You’re not saying you’re not faking. You just want me to narrow down what I’m talking about. That’ll allow you to weasel your way out of things. Here’s what I think. Your story about being kept? That was the truth. You gave specifics. You smelled a hundred percent honest. The fact that you were stricken? Also truth. All truth. Now, let’s talk…not lies, but things you’re hiding. Your magic. You were honest when you said you didn’t have it except the first day and then again like two weeks ago. The hiding started with the fact that you can cast at least the light spell. To top it off, you more than likely taught yourself how to do that since getting here. Meaning, since yesterday. You said that you couldn’t cast anything with the cops, and that was also true. So we have someone that’s new to magic that can cast light better than I can, but she’s hiding it. We have someone that went to gym and ran so slow she was basically tortured for most of the run. Then she was so disjointed and uncoordinated and weak that she was hit with the same spell for the rest of the class. All the while showing everyone just how pathetic she is.” A smile grew, “How does any of that sound?”

  Hmm, “That sounds…imaginative.”

  “Not a denial. Not an agreement.”

  “I’m not sure one’s needed?”

  Nod from her, “True. You got me there. One’s not needed. That, in and of itself, is also telling. To cap it off, I came in here and you’re not crying. You’re not worried. You smell perfectly fine. Eager, almost. Confident. Something that someone in your shoes shouldn’t be when heading into a challenge with someone that outweighs you by double and that has had magic for years. That means you have something up your sleeve.”

  Should I go for a little honesty? Why not. “Up my sleeve? Not quite. I didn’t want to get into a challenge. At all. That was so not my goal walking in here. Except, like I told you? I won’t put up with being hit. From anyone. Even if I die right afterwards. For this? I’ll say that I’m trying to pad things in my favor. Like you said, he’s huge compared to me. He has more time with his magic. It can only help me if he underestimates what I can possibly do.”

  Her smile got a little bigger, “Interesting.”

  “Now, here’s the question. You have your suspicions about things. Are you gonna tell Colin?”

  Barked laughter, “Not only no, but hell no.”

  “Why not?”

  She spread her hands before resting against the arm of the couch, “It’s like this. I’m a dragon. I’m decently powerful. Colin has more magic than I do. You? I can’t tell. I don’t know what you learned from your dragon, but we’re pragmatic by nature. Given where we are, in my mind, it makes more sense to possibly have Colin taken out than to have you dead and him more powerful. If you win, then that would seem to make things easier for me. Or at least less deadly.”

  “Except we’re not exactly friends. Hell, Samantha pretty much hates me too.”

  She shrugged, “We may not be friends, but we’re not enemies. Yet.”

  “Things can slide that way quickly?”

  “You haven’t been part of our world long enough to really get it. Quickly? Instantly, is more like it. You should have heard the stories my parents told me about being here. That their friends told me. Every one of them was double crossed at one point or another. Every one of them did the same in return. Friends go to enemies here in the same breath that they’re friends again. So, we’re not allies but we’re also not enemies. If you lose, then I get the room back to myself again and get to pick through your stuff for anything that seems worthwhile keeping. If you win? Then I haven’t made an enemy. But, just a note? That’ll make you even more visible to people. If you win and absorb his powers, then people will really start to wonder. They’ll start to think you’ve been hiding things. They’ll think that maybe, just maybe, the girl that represents all of our fears and hatreds might just be a force to be reckoned with. Samantha? Some of the others? Maybe even me? The hunt will be on. We already know that you’re prone to challenging. That means that any of us can manipulate you into challenging us if we think that we can take you.”

  That’s…that’s fucking horrifying.

  She nodded at me, “Now you get it. You’re worried now, which you weren’t before. One thing to note? If you’re gonna win, either beat him so hard that everyone else wants to back off? Or do it so ineptly that you can get another challenge or two out of it and absorb even more power.”

  “That’s some fucked up recommending you got there.”

  “Welcome to Sorrowfeld Academy. Where our deaths rest around every corner unless we’re willing to gamble with our lives, or else accept the mortmagi or having our power drained to get away.”

  My nerves faded over the next few minutes. She shrugged as she watched me get centered, “You’re too much. You’re so freaking calm. You know you can die, yet you’re so calm.”

  “I’ve nearly died. At least once every other month, someone would nearly kill me for something or other. I lived in fear of him deciding I wasn’t worth it. I worked my ass off to prove to him that I was loyal and his. I did everything I could and then some. I could have died at any time. He set up enough tests for me to possibly fail. Ways to escape if I chose to try to take advantage of the dropped gun. Lost phone. Unlocked door. Window. You name it. I’m basing everything off of that. It took quick thinking and paying attention to everything to survive, and that’s my goal. If I go into this terrified, I’ll fuck up so quickly. All of this is at least loosely hinging on him thinking I’m a pushover before I even step foot in the circle.” I flared my shirt, “Sweat. Dirt. Tears. I’m gonna play it all up to the fucking hilt and then hopefully make him choke on his errors before he dies.”

  She laughed and stood, “You’re too much. You should touch up your sweat and all of that, I heard they had it lined up for 5, and that’s coming up pretty quickly. The headmaster should be here to escort you. The good money right now is on you running. Or hiding and needing to be dragged.”

  My eyes lit up, “Any good bets on me winning?”

  Another laugh, “You’re kidding, right? I don’t think I’ve seen anyone bet that you’ll even last five minutes. Unless you’re broken beyond belief and he’s fucking you.”

  “Umm, I won’t swear that he won’t get a dick in me before this is done, but any chance you’re willing to put money on me winning? Split the winnings?”

  Is that a real smile? “How much we talking?”

  A knock at the door stopped me from answering. It sounds official, so I shot out of my seat, “Can you get that? I’ll be right back.” I’m thinking the bet isn’t gonna happen.

  She nodded as I skedaddled to the bathroom as her silence spell went down. It took all of five seconds to get enough water onto my shirt to make it seem like I’ve been sitting here in terror. It’s a good thing I took my bra off earlier, because the extra sweat makes it obvious that I’m missing one.

  Tears in place, making nice tracks through the faint dirt on my face, I stepped back into the room to find Headmaster Anderson at the door. His shoulders fell as he saw me. “You’re really here.”

  “Uhh…ye…yeah. I’m here. It’s time?”

>   His lips pressed together, I think in mental pain at what he’s seeing and picturing happening here soon. “It is. You’ll come?”

  I made sure my hands were shaking as I crossed my arms, then put them down at my side, then on my hips, “Uhh, yeah? I’m…I’m ready. I mean…I challenged him, right?”

  Now I can smell his despair, “You did. That you did. It’s time. So come with me. I’ll bring you.”

  “Tha…thank you?” More trembling, this time of my jaw.

  He backed into the hallway and motioned to the side for me to join him. Parece is left in the door facing me, and she has wide eyes and a silent well done for me as I pass her. I wasn’t expecting it, but she fell in behind us, stopping at the neighboring door and collecting Riley and Paige before we made it too far. They weren’t as silent behind us as you’d have thought.

  Other kids began appearing in the hallways, although not many of them. To a person, they have looks on their faces like I’m a stupid bitch and about to get what I deserve.

  Shockingly enough, Shane is down near the doors as we reach the outside. “Huh, you didn’t run. Shocking.”

  “I, uhh, gotta kill Colin, right?”

  “You’re so fucking stupid.”

  He fell in behind us, and I went for a whisper to the headmaster, “What…umm…what’re the rules in this? No one would tell me. He said he was gonna rape me before he kills me?”

  He nearly tripped, which I tried to hide reacting to, “You don’t know the rules? You challenged him and…you don’t know the rules?”

  “Umm…I…No one would... Can you tell me what they are?”

  Shane snorted behind us, “Sooo fucking stupid. I can’t believe I didn’t get you to challenge me. Colin’s a lucky fucker.”

  “I’m not sure what to say? It’s…almost anything goes? No outside weapons. No outside support in the way of spells. People can yell things to you all they want, but they can’t interfere.”

  “What about him…doing that to me?” I fought for fear, trying to actually feel it so that Shane would smell it.