by Pia Philip
“Max as in Max?” Thomas asked as curious that she had heard of Max and not him, “Yes, he arrived I think it was this morning, did something horrible with his hair though.”
“Like a carrot right?” Sam snickered as he remembered Max’s new hairdo.
“I’m pretty sure he’ll be in at least one of your classes however I might have to change some of your choices due to certain circumstances that have risen. You can start tomorrow. I’ll come and give you your timetable personally and don’t worry Alex dear; I’ll make sure you’re in my group.”
He sent them, on their way but before they had even closed the door he was already on his phone asking for the council head.
“Well that escalated quickly,” Michael muttered as he stared at the Map he was given telling them where their dorms were. “Can anyone read a map?”
Sam took them and lead them through the maze of corridors, they passed by several classes and she was amazed at how big the classes were at least fifty students. No wonder the uniform was light if what revealing a little too much skin than she was comfortable with. They passed by a nurse’s office but Sam insisted they go in and everyone get check over and fixed up. They opened the door and stepped into a calamity zone. It was like the real A&E, Alex saw people with fingers missing, people with burnt and burning body parts. Suddenly, their bruises seemed insignificant. They slowly stepped back into the corridor making sure not to get noticed by anyone.
“That was an Emergency room, not a nurse’s office,” Michael said, stating the obvious. They eventually found out where the dorms where after an hour of hiking across the school. Alex silently made herself a pact. She really needed to get fit or be able to make the elevator if she wanted any chance of surviving in the Academy because she was pretty sure that at least half of the injuries in that emergency room where not accidents and had resulted by them being late. Alex silently hoped that maybe because she was supposed to be under full supervision because she helped give the Angels an advantage that they wouldn’t stick her out into danger like that but somehow she doubted it.
They checked into the Dorms because everyone that was 16 and 17 where stuck at one side of the school. They got told to go pick an empty room of sort and come back with the number so that they could get the key. Alex took a hold of Sam’s hand as they walked down the corridors checking to see which dorms where free. They had to walk down to the other end of the corridor before they found some. She could already imagine herself running late and bolting down the way too long corridor and around the school looking for her class. She picked a room that was nice and simple yet pretty and elegant, but the main reason she picked it was because it was across the room that Sam and the boys had picked. While they were in their chosen room picking who’s taking which bed, Sam was with Alex, helping her take the bandages off. Once everything was off, she was covered in bruises; she couldn’t help but grimace at her reflection in the mirror. She looked like she was just in a fight including knives and chairs and heavy stuff.
“I need a bath, I’m absolutely stinking,” she muttered as she sniffed her armpits, “2 days with no shower is two days too long.”
“When you’re done, call me and I’ll help you put bandages on, okay,” Sam said as he sat on her bed, he was obviously taking the whole 24 hour supervising thing too serious.
“You can go to your room you know, you don’t have to be with me all the time you know,” she laughed as she tried to shoo him out of the room.
“Yes I do, I feel guilty about the Manticore so I’m not going to leave your side unless absolutely necessary,” he said stubbornly.
“Well this is necessary,” she pouted as she succeeded in shoving him out the door, “I need privacy.”
Alex walked into the bathroom with a sigh; she needed to cleanse her skin from all the grime that had piled up through the 2 days. She felt absolutely disgusted; she scrubbed at every single pore trying to erase all the memories of the past few days. When at last she was satisfied, she lay down in a hot bubble bath, she didn’t know how long she had been in there for but she just remembered feeling at ease for the first time. Alex dipped her head under the warm water when she felt something clasp around her throat. She tried to lift her head out of the water but the hand dragged her head back underwater. She was losing air and her blood vessels were being enclosed so not enough blood was being pumped into her brain. She could feel everything start to fall apart. She was drowning, If she drowned she wouldn’t be able to see her mum again, Alex knew she was alive, somewhere, she was now certain, after all if she was on the wall in the hall, she must’ve been strong right. She grabbed the arm around her throat and dug her nails hard into them and started thrashing as she tried to take the stranglers hands off her but they were really strong. No matter how hard Alex dug her nails in, they kept their hold on her tight, soon there wasn’t enough oxygen going to her brain and she started to slip away, that was when the pressure reduced before letting go. She could feel her body slipping to the bottom of the bath tub; she was too tired to move. Her brain was still in lack of oxygen. Her first instinct would have been to reach for air but she didn’t have enough energy. Something wrapped itself around her arms and started dragging her out the tub. Couldn’t they see she was already half dead? She thought they needed her alive for their key. She guessed not if they wanted to finish her off themselves. Her head broke the surface of the water and she gulped in the oxygen gratefully as energy rushed through her body. Drowning had always been her least favorite way to die. Her body was draped over the bath tubs edge. She raised her eyes and saw Sam’s face. It was beetroot red, she went to stand up but before she even got on one knee he was already out the bathroom and the door clicked shut after him. That was when she remembered she was naked; Alex felt heat creep up her neck as she wrapped herself in a towel before walking out. Her wounds by now were completely cleansed. She spotted some clothing on her bed, Thomas must’ve had them delivered, she was grateful because she didn’t have any spare clothes. Max had bought hers back in the first city where they had encountered the chimera. Max. They would see him tomorrow, he was alright. They needed to tell him what they found out and ask what they should do. The plan had already taken a completely other turn so they no longer knew what awaited for them, she just know that Max made a promise to Martha and her mum to keep her safe and she knew he wasn’t one to go back on his word. Alex pulled on the white leggings that were left for her and draping the dress top over one shoulder, carrying fresh bandages in another she opened the door and walked across the hall, knocked on the door once and entered into the room with nothing on but her leggings and a sports bra. She was so used to people seeing her in her sports bra as she trained that she wasn’t really that bothered anymore.
“Sam in here?” she asked as she glanced across the room. There room was almost like a copy of hers except theirs was already trashed. She didn’t think guys could live in a room and keep it clean. It would probably kill them. She was pretty sure that it was a defect that every guy had.
“Alex, are you okay now?” Michael asked not caring at how she appeared unlike Zack and Lewis. Oh, my god, Lewis. Alex didn’t think she had ever met a guy that was so feeble, not only was he thick and a coward. But he was hiding behind his bed facing away from her as if the sight of a girl could damage his eye sight although by the look of some the girls in the fighting arena and the Emergency room, she was pretty certain that some of them could do more than damage his eyesight, he was going to have to get use to the idea of seeing girls in sports bras. It was ideal, giving the body freedom to move, plus its light and covers up just the right amount of stuff. The poor boy would probably burst into flames. Zack however, Alex didn’t really get the deal with Zack, she didn’t think he really liked her that much and if she had to be honest, she thought he was a terrible team leader. If anyone should’ve been leader, it should’ve been Michael. Sam walked in spotted her and walked over.
“What’s wrong, are they back again?” He
asked quietly as he steered her away from the others, out the door and back into her room.
“No, what are you on about?” Alex asked as she tried to erase the embarrassing moment that happened ten minutes ago, “I just need help with my bandages.”
Sam quietly wrapped the bandages around her waist and shoulders. For once, the silent was awkward, she hated it, but he was first to break it.
“Do you know who tried to drown you?” he asked as he finished bandaging her arm. She flung on her light but comfortable dress top.
“No, didn’t you see them?” she asked surprised that he had asked that question. He was the one that saved her after all, “Thanks by the way.”
“Yeah no problem, but I mean like I never actually saw them, I saw something black disappear when I opened the door because you had been in the bathroom for almost an hour and I started to panic, you had never been one to take a lot of time in the shower.” He explained as he sat down on the edge of her bed and leaned on his left arm, “I walked in, saw something disappear and saw your face under water. You almost died.”
“I know, I could feel it as all my energy diminished as the lack of oxygen being pumped into my brain,” Alex shuddered as she remembered the feeling. It was like cold clammy hands were on her throat whenever she tried to remember.
“I thought I might lose you so I kind of panicked and dragged you out, sorry,” he mumbled as he lowered his eyes. His neck was tomato red, the heat slowly rising up his neck and into his cheeks. It was obvious what part he was trying to forget.
‘You don’t have to apologize, you saved my life,” she reminded him as she got up and sat in the middle of the room, ‘anyway we get to see Max tomorrow and he might hopefully tell us some good news.”
“Like what, he’s changing his hair color back because no offense or anything but I’d be embarrassed to walk down the street with him without dying on the spot,” Sam snickered.
“What do we do know? Alex asked after a while.
“I don’t know, but what I do know is that it’s time you had some rest and I don’t care what you say, I’ll stay right next to you,” he said as he got up and flung the sheets open before shoving her to bed. After 30 minutes of restless sleeping Alex woke up and found Sam still staring at her although he looked a lot more in need of sleep than she was. But when she brought the topic up she was completely shot down.
“No way, I’m staying next to you watching you,” he said.
“Okay what about this, you sleep then I sleep and we’ll rotate,” she said but he didn’t give her a chance just a shake of his head.
“Well just bed with me then,” she said as she exaggerated how fed up she was. She couldn’t do this anymore, she needed to sleep. She opened the cover to the right hand side because she refused to sit on the right hand side of her bed, after five minutes he finally conceded and sat in bed with her. It brought back memories from when they were younger. They used to have sleepovers all the time.
“Do you think my mum’s still out there or have they got her?” Alex asked quietly. She couldn’t get her mums face out of her mind. She really wanted, no, needed to sleep but she was too scared in case she had another nightmare about her mother. The terrifying thought crept into the back of her mind, slowly eating away at her, what if it wasn’t a dream. This whole thing started with a dream.
“Alex, she’s alive, I know that and you know that so just keep your head up high and stay strong, we’ll find her,” he whispered to her, his breath tickling her ear. He took hold of her hand and squeezed it trying to reassure her, she gave a small smile before drifting off to sleep.
Alex woke up to the warm rays of the sun that seemed to stroke her skin. For the first time in a long time, she had had a peaceful sleep. It was still of the same room but with no eyes or the death of her mum, it was back to being ordinary. Well, as ordinary as repetitive dreams get. She curved her back as she tried to stretch out the knots in her muscles. She glanced to her right and saw that the only thing left on the bed was one and a half of Sam’s legs. She crawled across the bed and peeked over the side. Sam was sleeping in the most awkward position she had ever seen. His back arched and twisted in some deformed way, Alex couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of him. Every single part of him was a mess. He had his t-shirt half on half over his head and his hair was so tangled she doubted he would be able to get a comb through it. He shifted and his eyes fluttered open, he was in the middle of a wide faced yawn when he spotted her. He tried to make himself presentable but ended up falling completely off the bed. He gave her a sheepish grin as he pulled his t-shirt on properly before standing up.
“Todays the day,” She said beaming back at him, She was in an unexplainably good mood today; “It starts here.”
“Yeah, you should get ready, I’m going back to my room to get changed, I’m giving you 20 minutes then I’m barging in,” he said over his shoulder as he walked to the door, “the clothes are on the chair by the way.”
A mischievous idea popped into her head the moment he walked out the door. She rushed into the bath and took the fastest shower she’d ever had, mainly because she was in a hurry but also because she was too scared incase another attempt at her life was made. Alex quickly got dressed into the white and gold dress that they had left for her. She had one feet inside her sandals when she heard a door open, he was coming she could tell. She quickly lay on the floor making sure that her face was facing towards the door. She pretended to close her eyes before peeking through her lashes as he opened the door. He was carrying something because the moment he noticed her on the floor presumably dead, he dropped whatever he was holding and ran to her side. His hand was at her face, instantly he was looking for her pulse, she took slow quiet shallow breaths to lower her pulse rate. He was saying her name several times, his voice getting more and more frantic. She barely controlled her laughter, he was already sweating. He turned her body over and she had to remember to keep her body limp. She peered at his face through her lashes; he put his head on her chest listening for her heart beat before pressing it down three times. That was when she realized he was going to perform CPR on her, Alex’s eyes flung open and she shot upright. She banged her forehead against his chin. He sat in stunned silence as she tried to smother her laughter and try and seem like she had just woken up, not pulled a horrible trick on him.
“What the hell Alex! I thought you were dead!” he cried as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, “I was ready to go hunt for whoever it was that hurt you! My god, I was even willing to do CPR on you!”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” she cried out hurt at the thought that he had to force himself to do CPR on her.
“It means that you knew how much I cared for your safety and you exploited that for your entertainment,” he muttered as he stood up, “And then you blame me when I don’t believe you, your becoming pretty good at acting or should I use the correct word for it, lying.”
“It was only a joke, honestly, you take things too seriously,” she laughed as she clasped her sandals on before standing up, “Let’s get going, do you have the map?”
Sam took out the map and after informing her that the others had already made friends and were down for breakfast already, they navigated the maze of a school looking for the dining room. It was like a labyrinth. They finally managed to find it on the other side of the school. It was a mile away from the dorm which led Alex to wonder, just how big is this school?
Thomas was waiting for them at the gate, he was holding a jam packed folder, and she shuddered at the amount of work he had to do. There was no way she was going to ever do a desk job when she grew up, that she had already decided, but that depended on if she lived long enough to graduate. He handed them their time table and her mouth dropped open in shock. It was bigger and much more complicated than any timetable she had ever had. All she knew was that there were more than the normal 35 subjects a week she was used to. she remembered that the school was on every single
day of the week and she inwardly groaned, it just meant a whole lot more work especially since it was like eleven hours of school a day, just how much time did they have for sleep and homework, damn it. This meant that she would have no social life, not like she would actually get one either way. She closely examined the timetable and realized they didn’t have a Monday scheduled. Before she had even asked the question, he explained that because on the weekends, school started at 7pm and finished 5 am, they couldn’t really expect them to do another eleven hours of school work to the best of their ability so they would give everyone an eight hour break before they start class again at 1:30 pm till five. Mondays however were purely combat because they were the beginners, the recruits, the trainees.
On the back of the timetable was a smaller more compact map with a moving compass. Those things had always confused her. Holding the timetable tight in their hands, they walked into the dining room right behind Thomas as he guided them through the crowd of people; everyone they passed gave a small nod or a bow. She inwardly kicked herself at her lack of courtesy, one day that would get her in trouble she was sure. Alex heard a chuckle from Thomas; he was reading her mind again. Whatever happened to her mind shield?
He spoke to a man who sat at the side of the room; She stood rooted to the spot, trying to avoid people eyes as they searched for Max. She was first to spot him. He locked eyes with her and before she could tell Sam, he was in front of her enveloping her in a hug. It felt weird and awkward and she stayed stiff and unmoving until he moved away. He didn’t even notice her reaction; he was already talking to Sam. Asking him about what had happened to them and how they got to the Academy. Sam filled him in while Alex spotted a table of food. Copying what others were doing she grabbed a plate and filled it to the top before walking to the others. She handed the plate around silently hoping they wouldn’t take much.
