by K. R. Bowman
We started doing slow movements with shielding and bracing. We sparred with our partner one at a time, taking turns.
Ashlen sparred with Miranda, a Hunter, first. Miranda’s caramel skin was hard with muscle, her eyes determined. She had on tight black leather pants, a dark green sleeveless shirt that emphasized the muscles in her arms, and shiny black combat boots. Her shield sparked with lavender light. I wouldn’t want to meet her in a dark alley.
Raleigh began her match with Molly, a Protector. Molly didn’t look over the age of eighteen. Molly’s short curly brown hair bounced when she moved. Her usually dark skin had a milky tint to it since we never saw the sun. She was about five feet tall. Her face round, making her cheeks full and lips pouty. She looked like the girl who would be a professional babysitter.
The Protector assigned to Harris, Stephen, initiated the fight first. Stephen’s raven black hair fell straight across his forehead. His pale skin was a stark contrast to his hair, but his eyes were bright and a deep blue like the ocean depths. He was slightly taller than Harris, which made him about 6’3”. Stephen moved gracefully and swiftly.
I started with Irene. She was graceful and easy-going. She moved slowly enough to give me time to move along with her, but then she and Callum switched.
Callum wasn’t as slow as Irene had been with me. He seemed to know exactly how fast he could push me. More clinks and bangs of the wood hitting could be heard from my side of the space than from anyone else’s. I caught glimpses of the others slowly moving around each other like they were in a dance. The only sounds would be the soft clinks of the swords sliding across each other. I was starting to get frustrated.
Callum did not hold back. But I didn’t either. He would gain a few feet on me, then I would push him back those few feet plus some more, then he would push again. In a sudden movement, he lunged at me, swiping his sword at my middle. I raised my sword arm and turned to the side, but my feet got twisted, and I tumbled to the ground. The sword flew from my grasp, and dirt flew into my eyes and open mouth. I pushed up on my arms, coughing out dirt. Callum knelt on the ground, watching me.
“Dirt isn’t all that healthy for you.”
I glared at him. “Really? Ya think?”
He put his hand under my arm to try and help me up, but me being the stubborn person I am, jerked my arm from him and stood up on my own. I snatched my sword from the ground, facing him again.
His eyebrows arched as he took in my stance. He rolled his shoulders and prepared to attack.
I didn’t give him long to get ready. I lunged at him this time. I drove my sword at his legs, though, forcing him to jump. As he jumped, he tried to swing his blade at my head, but I drove the heel of my palm into his chin. This time he stumbled and almost fell to the ground. His knee hit the ground, but he kept blocking my blows. A small trickle of blood ran down his chin.
I aimed my sword for his head again, but this time power and light exuded from Callum’s outstretched hand. A large rectangular shield spread out, blocking my attack easily. My wooden sword hit the shield with a thud. White light sparked.
“Not fair!” I yelled, charging again.
“Irene! Now!”
As I attacked Callum, Irene moved in from the side, so I had to deflect her aim. A gust of wind blasted my face, and I coughed, trying to catch my breath. Irene had power over air. Great. Her shield burst to life, a shimmering light blue. A wind cyclone enveloped me. Every few seconds, the wind would break, giving me time to breathe but not much else. I was being suffocated. The air being pulled from my lungs burned. I screamed with everything in me, and the wind stopped.
I gasped in air as quickly as I could.
I had them in front of me, both sharing in defense and offense. My heart beat so fast I could hear it in my ears. My head seemed to get lighter, but my arms and legs moved faster. It was like everything around me slowed. They moved quickly but somehow; I was faster. I popped up behind them. Not knowing how I was doing this. The background became a blur, except for Callum and Irene. My eyes, arms, and feet followed their every move.
“Alright, enough.” The words were spoken with a rough accent, and loud enough for us to hear over the clatter of the swords.
Callum’s sword and mine met, ringing out into the dark morning. Our eyes held under the swords raised above our heads. His eyes were filled with amusement and something else I couldn’t quite name. Pride? Mine were reflecting fierce obstinance. He lowered his sword first. My sword followed. Our eyes locked together.
“What kind of display was that?” Jess came to stand beside us, looking back and forth between us.
Callum turned to him, “I thought I would push her to her limits. She needs to be pushed every once and awhile.” A small smile fell on his lips.
“Oh, really?” One eyebrow arched. I glowered at him. If only I could shoot lasers from my eyes.
“Whatever is going on between the two of you needs to be solved outside of the training circle. Here, we are training for the future. We will not be hosting any hostile feelings toward one another. You, as her Protector, are supposed to be helping her. This,” he waved his hands between Callum and me, “is not helping. Irene, I thought better of you.”
Irene’s face became stone, at the mention of her name.
Callum became more solemn and nodded his head. This time when his eyes met mine, they were silent and steadfast. He held his hand out to me, “Please forgive my rude behavior, and my pushing you to better yourself.”
“Callum,” Jess’s tone warned.
Before Callum could say another word, I spun around and began marching toward the city. Why does he do this to me? Every step brought a new pounding to my head. I didn’t even notice the footsteps behind me until I was halfway back.
“Sloane, stop. You’re acting like a child.” My head whipped back around when I heard those words.
“Callum, look who's talking. You were the one who had to show off. I’m learning, and then you go all Matrix on my ass. You and another Hunter. What the hell, Callum! You could have seriously hurt me, then I’d be of no use, and even further behind on my training.”
“I pushed you just enough to make you better. You know what, I am the best because I’ve earned it. We all walk on eggshells because we feel bad for the girl who doesn’t know anything. Who didn’t know our world existed and was dropped here by accident one night. But here is the thing Sloane, at this point, you’ve chosen this life. You chose to stay. You made your choice, and now your abilities affect the rest of us.”
“You pitied me,” my eyes went wide. If I could have sent fire into him at that moment, I would have.
He studied my face. Silence settled around us. “No, not pity…”
I waited, but he didn’t say anything else.
Motherfucking piece of shit. I whipped around and stomped back to the main gate, my boots clomping with each footfall. The fighting replayed through my head, and the words Callum had said were on a cycle. I was more annoyed than mad, with how Callum treated me. I felt like I was being pulled and yanked back and forth. I wanted to like him, but he made it so difficult sometimes. Other times it felt like I more than liked him. As I walked, a tingling sensation traveled from my toes to the top of my head.
Shit.
My feet went numb first, then my legs followed. My legs gave under my weight, and I fell forward, barely catching myself with my hands. I lowered myself slowly to the ground. People yelled, and the ground shook as they ran. My vision blurred, and then my old friend darkness embraced me.
Power. That’s all he felt running through his body. He tensed his muscles throughout his body, then slowly let each muscle release. The power surging through his limbs made him want to yell at the top of his lungs with… excitement. He kept swinging his limbs back and forth, stalking around the small room. He had so much energy. Energy. That’s what it was. Energy was flowing through him. Every sense was heightened and put into overdrive. His eyes acted as binoculars, zooming in o
n whatever he focused on. He could smell the bugs and critters racing along the edge of the walls. His hearing could pick up on the tiny unimportant beatings of their hearts as they ran along. His mouth split apart into a wide opening, what is it called? He traced the edges of his mouth, trying to remember the word for this movement. A smile? Yes, that’s it, a smile, yet, not one that shows goodness, but happiness for pain and power.
His head seared with pain. He doubled over, pressing his hands to his head. Sharp pain was shooting through his mind like needles puncturing the skin. Pictures of events and places were jumping across his mind, trying to push to the forefront of his senses.
A girl’s face popped into his mind as clear as day. Every line of her face shone brightly and was filled with complete happiness. Dark hair framed her pretty face and fell across her shoulders. Her eyes and attention were focused right on him. His heart stopped for a full second. Who was this girl?
The picture disintegrated from his mind; pieces of the image, chipping and falling away.
What was he supposed to be doing?
Power. Energy. That’s all he needed. That’s what he is supposed to be doing. He rubbed his hands together and turned toward the door.
13
I woke up to the sound of whispering, and a candle flickered on the table beside my bed. Blankets were piled on top of me to my chin. I pushed the blankets off and sat up slowly. The whispering stilled, as everyone noticed that I was awake.
Around the room, everyone was accounted for: Callum, Jess, Ashlen, Raleigh, Harris, Chuck, Irene, and even Patrice. Patrice sat on the bed beside me and patted my arm.
“Dear, are you all right? Everyone was very frightened for you. You should be ashamed of yourself. You’ve been passed out for five hours. It's past lunchtime.”
I pressed my hand to my head, “I what?” I could only stare at her.
“You should be ashamed of yourself for making us fuss over you. Do you know what happened?”
“No, I passed out like usual, but I hadn’t done that in this world yet, so I thought I was in the clear. What happened?”
Patrice studied my face for a moment then replied, “We brought you up here to check you for any ailments.” She folded her hands in her lap, “I didn’t believe it when you had first told me of your white eyes, but when we tried to check your pupils, we couldn’t because you had none.”
I sat straighter. Callum’s face was turned away, while everyone else looked at me with pity.
“Are they still white?” I spotted a smudged mirror propped in the corner and practically bounded off the bed, running toward it.
Patrice addressed everyone, “Everyone out. Leave now.” They listened and filed out the door.
I looked back to the mirror and tentatively ran my fingers around my eyes, making sure they were mine. Hot tears ran down my face. Patrice came up to me, her reflection cast in the mirror. She placed her hands on my shoulders.
“You have no reason to cry. This is good, not bad.” The wrinkles around her eyes lengthened as she smiled. “Your abilities may be different from everyone else, but different is not always bad.”
I nodded slowly and tried to steady my breathing, “What if I mess up?”
“We all mess up. If you do, we will be there to help.” She squeezed my shoulders. “Get some rest, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” She smiled again and left, shutting the door quietly behind her.
Soft knocks sounded a few seconds later. Callum stepped through the doorway with a tray of sandwiches and veggies.
I was so tired I didn’t feel like having to deal with him at the moment, except he had food… and food is the key to my heart.
I sat on my bed, “Yes?”
He frowned, “Sloane, I just wanted to apologize to you for my actions and I thought you might be hungry since you missed lunch.”
I waited a moment more, eyeing the food.
I pressed my lips together into a thin line. “Okay.”
He studied me, “Okay. Get some rest.” He set the tray on the edge of the bed and softly closed the door behind him. I felt bad for being mean. I didn’t hate him at all. I knew he was trying to help me be better, he just drives me crazy for some reason.
I snatched up a couple of sandwiches and some carrots, then tried to take a nap.
I couldn’t go to sleep. My mind was again spinning with everything that had taken place over the course of the past week. I kept going to the mirror to see if my eyes had changed again, but I saw my regular blue irises staring back.
Someone knocked on the door. Ashlen peered around the door frame.
“Hi.” She walked in and closed the door. “Listen, here’s the thing. I’m busting you out.” She leaned forward and formed her hands into a gun. She started moving around like one of Charlie’s angels. “You can’t be stuck in this room, in this building, because you’ll go cray, especially with everything that has been thrown at you. So, here’s what we’re going to do, I’m taking you out so you can enjoy yourself.” She beamed at me. “Come on, get your stuff together. We’re going.”
“Are you serious?” I asked.
She nodded and picked up my jacket. She held it out to me, “Let’s go, come on. What else will you do? Besides, we can get you better food and drinks.” She shook the jacket in my face.
I slowly took the jacket from her. She smiled and jogged to the door, opening it with a flourish, she gestured with her arm for me to walk out. I rolled my eyes and walked through the door, expecting nothing but fun.
We ended up at a small building at the edge of the city. The atmosphere was loud, with laughter and talking. It was a bar for the most part with men jabbering, or gawking at women was the main attraction. There was a kind of band set up in the corner of the building playing instruments that resembled guitars. Wooden tables and chairs were placed around the whole space with a small bar in the middle.
I didn’t recognize a single person. Ashlen led me to a table right next to the bar. She waved to the bartender, “Give me two, uh, beers.” She winked at me and sat down.
The bartender came over after a few minutes, and set our beers down a little disapprovingly, sloshing it onto the table. Ashlen rolled her eyes and pushed a glass over to me. We sat in the crowded bar and soaked in the atmosphere watching while people danced in one corner of the room. They had pushed some tables to the side and cleared a space for some room.
My beer tasted awful so I took miniscule sips.
My people-watching skills went into overdrive, which helped to keep my mind off of my problems.
“Hey, there, cutie.”
Rory leaned across the table; his hands spread out on the table. The t-shirt he wore read: ‘Cock-y.’ The letters stretched wide across his muscular chest. I guessed for better emphasis. Wow. How perfect his t-shirt was for him?
“Nice shirt.”
He glanced down, “Thanks.” He smiled wider and held his hand out, “How about a dance?”
My eyebrows rose, then pinched together. I spent a few moments scrutinizing him and his motives. I decided, what would it hurt? So, I got up (not taking his hand) and went to the dance floor. I turned to face him. He stepped right up in front of me with barely any room between us. I couldn’t help but smile nervously. He took it as encouragement though and pulled me closer.
“Dude,” I pushed him away slightly and narrowed my eyes.
He smiled again and took a minuscule step back.
We danced and danced. My eyes closed, and my mind drifted off into another dimension, where my mother cooked some disastrous meal and Mariah complained about shopping.
“Well, aren’t you two so cute?”
I jerked my head up to see a voluptuous blonde sneering at us. She was dressed head to toe in black latex and showing a lot of cleavage. Kinky much? Isn’t she sweating? I’d be wet with sweat in that thing. I was surprised to see she had makeup on. Her white-blonde hair contrasted nicely with her black outfit and blood-red lips. One hand placed on one curvy hip. H
er other hand pushed her hair back. Black leather gloves covered her hands. Her eyes measured me up and down, locking onto mine.
“Hey, Sam. We were just dancing. No reason for you to get jealous. There's plenty of me to go around.” Rory winked and smiled broadly at her. His eyes roamed over her body. His body language said he was into her, but his eyes held something close to fear in them. One hand pushed me slightly behind him.
I sidestepped him and held my hand toward her.
“Hi, I don’t think we’ve had the chance to meet. I’m Sloane.” I smiled my sweetest smile.
She glanced at my hand and folded her arms, the best she could, over her sizable chest. I dropped my hand but kept my smile.
“I’m Samantha Harris. The Protector.” She slid the black glove off her right hand, and this time she held her hand out to me with a small smile on her dark red lips.
“Sloane, wait.” Rory lurched toward me to grab my hand, but my hand landed in hers first.
An electric shock shot through my arm and buzzed through my ears, as our hands met. Stars burst from my eyes. I dimly remembered falling to my knees.
I found myself standing in a ruined old house, one that had been burned and left to the elements. A painful wind whipped around me, lashing at my clothes and body. A dark mist clung to the floor and what was left of the ceiling. The mist clung to my clothes and grabbed hold of them. I tried to move, but it was like I was in wet cement. My legs were sluggish and could barely keep my weight supported.
Now, where was I?
I pulled my weight across the room inch by inch to the leftovers of the door. The world outside burned. Falling down, with dark mist clinging to every surface. The wind whipped dirt, and whatever else through the air, flinging it in every direction. The world was deserted.
I blinked.
I then stood on the front porch of the once dilapidated house but what was now whole and new. The smell of wet paint had freshly been applied onto the siding. Shutters hung on the windows were painted a bright blue. The world was now filled with bright sunshine and a blue sky. Flowers were scattered across the fields. I blinked a few more times and stared in wonder at the world around me.