Calgacos

by Aubade Teyal

  **********

  Endurance began with everyone gathered in the main courtyard. But, unlike fitness, no-one was changed into lycra. There were close to forty, uniformed boys milling around the courtyard, jeering and mocking each other, as a fine drizzle, light as a cloud, moistened their skin and clothes.

  Once Bambridge arrived, a nervous silence, like a vacuum, sucked the noise out of all gathered. Bambridge barked once, and everyone shuffled into lines: Feliformia, Caniformia, Aves and Perissodactyla. Lennox lined up behind Mannik at the back of Feliformia. She noticed Mannik’s eyes looked whiter and larger than usual.

  'Today's task simple.' Bambridge's voice was low and rough. He looked at no one directly. His pupils lurked at the bottom of his low lidded eyes, his eyebrows, rough as bracken, merged with his thatch of hair.

  'We drop you with nothing, no rations, no weapons, no tools. Your aim is to be the first house to get all its members back. The winning house gets as much as they can eat from the kitchens tonight. Last house back gets diminished rations.'

  There was a slight swell of noise at this announcement.

  'Trucks,' Bambridge ordered. 'Go.'

  'What's happening?' Lennox asked, as they followed the flood of boys out through the main gates and along a stone track round the outside of the castle walls.

  'Each house has their own truck driven by one of the prefects.' Mannik explained.

  'Some are better drivers than others,' Rick added.

  The compound was tucked away behind the school in a natural hollow, built low and covered in grass, so that it appeared a part of the landscape.

  'And we've got Zac at the wheel!’ Connel was unmistakeably smug.

  Mannik gave Lennox a meaningful look, and dropped back to whisper in her ear.

  'Zac doesn't believe in using the brake. Ever. He expects us to jump out. The others like that. They think it gives us an edge.'

  Connel was the first to vault up the tailgate into the Feliformia truck, the others quick on his heels. Lennox watched, and waited. She was in no hurry. As she had expected, Mannik waited for all the other boys to go ahead of him before scrambling up.

  'Come on,' Connel yelled to her from inside the truck, impatient. 'This is a race you know, Len. We want to get moving.'

  She leapt up in one swift movement.

  'Don't ever...' she began, then froze, lips parted.

  Sat in the passenger seat beside Zac at the front of the truck, was Kellas.

  He was dressed, like the rest of them, in camouflage trousers and a fleece top, and he was looking down the length of the back of the truck, straight at her. In the half light of the truck, his eyes were bright like a flame, and his face pale as marble.

  '...call me Len,' she finished, lamely. She sat, too forcefully, onto the nearest space on the truck bench, scraping her back on the side. She was furious with herself for the blush she felt rising up her neck.

  To her relief, the truck engine started almost immediately, a deafening rumble that sounded like gunfire, and Zac pulled away.

  The most of the journey, Lennox sat mute beside Mannik, staring out the back of the truck, watching the landscape, while the others tried to shout over the noise of the engine. She already knew that the school faced south, and the garage compound was round the back, facing north. The track on which they travelled led further north, but also to the west. She wanted to be sure not to miss any changes in direction.

  They drove for over an hour, the truck winding round hills, through valleys, and eventually off the track through open moor. Eventually the truck slowed, Kellas pointed at Mannik and Rick, and they jumped out. Ten minutes later, Kellas' lucent eyes met Lennox's, and he nodded. She sucked in a deep breath, and sprang from the rolling truck. Moments later there was a thud behind her; it was Henry.

  'Come on, then,' Henry was unmistakeably disappointed. He clearly considered being assigned the girl as his partner a misfortune.

  The truck rumbled on across what looked like a sheep's path. Lennox watched it for a moment, wondering when and where the next drop would be.

  'Don't worry about them,' Henry told her. His voice was as low as Bambridge's, though his skin was peppered with acne. 'We're supposed to make our own way. Follow me.'

  'What about strength in numbers?'

  'Not what we're taught,' Henry replied. 'Keep the enemy blind. Don't let them even know you exist. Large numbers attract attention. Travel in pairs whenever you can.' He gave her a sidelong look. 'Can you move a bit faster?'

  It was clear his expectations weren't high. Lennox had to clamp her lips together to stop herself from snarling. She breathed deeply, and replied simply,

  'Try me.'

  So he did. He broke into a long legged run across the uneven moor. Lennox followed easily. He glanced back several times, saw she was following closely, and said nothing. They ran for a long time through the gentle rise and fall of the open moor. When woodland appeared in the distance, he veered towards it, though to Lennox it appeared further west than they needed to head. But she didn't question him. For the time being it was simpler to follow. He knew the land, and he knew what was expected of them.

  Once they were under cover of the trees, he finally stopped, and sat on a fallen trunk.

  'Tired?'

  'No.'

  He stared at her hard, at her ivory skin, her chest, her neck, her incandescent eyes. She was barely out of breath while he was breathing heavily, his brow beaded with sweat. He could not help but see he needed the rest more than she did.

  Running was the one thing she was good at, even her father had noticed. He had taken her out, walking, climbing, running, always pushing her to go further, or faster; and she had not let him down. He had looked at her, his eyes glowing, and she had cherished that approval. It had been seldom given.

  'We need to speed up' Henry warned her, sticking a hand into one of his many trouser pockets and pulling out a chocolate bar. 'I've still not seen any landmarks I recognise and the others will be expecting us.'

  She nodded. Feliformia could only win, if they all made it back in good time. She didn’t want to be the weak link.

  'Then why have we stopped?' she asked.

  In reply, he tore the wrapper off the chocolate bar, and ate half in one bite.

  'What about you?' he asked. 'Aren't you hungry?'

  She shrugged. She had brought nothing. She had nothing at Calgacos, neither money nor tuck. It had been more than 5 months since she had last heard from her father, and she had run out of money months ago.

  His eyebrows puckered.

  'Apparently you did well in your med tests.'

  He made it sound shameful, criminal.

  'But you don't believe it, do you?' She challenged him. She could read it in his face.

  He stuffed the rest of the chocolate into his mouth.

  'Let's go.'

  Henry tried to push their pace, make them faster, but it was trickier. There were trees, bushes, thickets to weave round, and the ground was uneven. The wood became denser, older, darker, the gaps in the foliage sparse, and the light thin. Lennox could only see the sky in pockets, distant and blue. Then, far out amid the sea of trees, back from where they had come, Lennox heard a sharp snap.

  She darted forward and placed a hand on Henry's arm. It was hot and slick with sweat.

  'What?' he asked.

  'There's someone behind us.'

  His expression changed instantly and he lowered himself into a crouch.

  'Where?'

  She pointed with a crooked arm behind them and to the east.

  He scanned the woods where she had pointed and shook his head.

  'I can't hear anything.'

  'But I can.'

  'How many?'

  Lennox arced her neck, then froze, sifting through the maze of sounds she heard in the wood, focusing on just the unnatural crackling of the forest floor.

  'One.' she said. 'I think.'

  ‘No, it will be more. Two at least, an a
mbush from one of the other houses.'

  Henry's eyes widened.

  'Gram!' he decided. 'Run.'

  He took to his heels at once. Lennox matching him, side by side. But very soon, she knew they were making a mistake. Whoever was behind, had quickened their pace too. Together she and Henry were slower, noisier, and easy to track. Apart, she would be faster, quieter, and safe.

  Abruptly she changed direction, sprinting away from Henry, North-West, away from where the school lay, away from their pursuer, towards unknown land. It was the last direction anyone would expect her to go, the last direction they would want to go, and she was guessing they wouldn’t follow her.

  But she was wrong. She was followed, and as the sounds of pursuit drew nearer, and louder, she realised she had been right. Whoever was behind, was alone, like her.

  She pushed herself, stretched her legs long, leapt over the undergrowth, and yet her pursuer still closed in. Whoever it was, they were determined to catch her.

  She tried to think calmly. She had nowhere to run to, no sanctuary. She knew nothing of the land here. And if caught, she had nothing but her bare hands.

  There was only one choice: she had to hide.

  The undergrowth was sparse, dark ferns and brambles between the bare trunks of pine trees. She could run for 10 minutes, 20 minutes, and find nowhere suitable. So, instead of running, she dropped, instantly and silently, to the ground, laid her head on her arms, and hoped the thin covering of ferns would do the job. But if someone stepped on, or near her, the game was over.

  Now all she could do was wait, and listen as her pursuer slowed, and yet continued to draw nearer, and nearer.

  Too late, she realised her mistake. Her pursuer might have seen her fall. She was like an animal, caught in a trap, helpless.

  She readied herself to run again. She had to do something. But before her body could respond, there was a change. Her pursuer halted, waited, and watched. The wind whispered through the forest. The silence stretched on, and she began to doubt and question every rustle, every creak. She had no idea if her pursuer was still present, or had moved on, she dared not move. Fear had her as a hostage, she was as motionless as if tied down.

  Until someone spoke her name,

  'Lennox.'

  A small cry escaped from her mouth, and she scrambled up to her feet to face the unknown speaker. To her utter amazement, she saw Kellas walking towards her in the fading light, his hair burning, his eyes glittering like a dying star.

  He stopped close by her. She could see the muscles in his neck, the ice blue veins in his hands as he looked her up and down scrupulously, meticulously, as if he were searching for something specific.

  'Did you see someone?' she whispered. ‘Someone else…’

  She tailed off. She wanted to say more, but she was on the edge of her self-control, and she refused to appear hysterical.

  He answered her with his own question, as if she had not spoken.

  'Are you hurt?'

  'No.'

  'Good.'

  He frowned and looked away, through the wooded landscape and the growing gloom.

  'Then you can run.'

  'Of course.'

  Not as well as him, perhaps, but she could certainly run.

  'Then let's go.'

  They ran through a forest grown dim. The overhead patches of blue had deepened and darkened. It was dusk, and she was still a long way from Calgacos. Her sprint through the trees, her hiding in the ferns, had cost her time. She would be one of the last back. The boys in Feliformia would be cursing the misfortune of having a girl forced on them and their house. She had let them all down. She tried not think about what would happen when she got back.

  Instead, she allowed herself to stare at Kellas, running ahead of her, his long limbs, his strong shoulders. It was very different from running with Henry. For Kellas, the journey through the endless and surprisingly hushed forest appeared effortless.

  When they reached the forest edge, it was so dark Lennox barely noticed the trees were no longer there. She was following Kellas' figure, and the silver crown of his hair. It was only because he stopped, that she did, and she noticed for the first time there were moors ahead, not trees.

  'Do you need a rest?' he asked

  'Do you?'

  It was a ridiculous question, of course he didn’t. She was making herself look foolish.

  'No.'

  She took a deep breath.

  'Back in the forest, did you see… anyone else?'

  He couldn’t ignore her twice.

  'No,’ he said, turning away, and into the distance, ready to run again.

  'Then how did you know I was there?'

  'I didn't.'

  He wasn't even looking at her.

  'Then what were you doing there?'

  'Rounding up strays. Making sure everyone from Feliformia gets back in one piece.'

  He turned back to look at her, briefly, and in that instant she saw his eyes were blazing, like fireflies in the gathering gloom. All her questions died in her mouth. He was saying nothing, but he looked furious.

  'We're late, and the later we're back, the more they'll talk. We must go.'

  This was reasoning Lennox understood. She had been trying to avoid attention all her life.

  'Then let's go.'

  Lennox followed Kellas closely. She matched her pace to his. They flew across the moor, his feet finding level ground, through the long grass and tough heather, and her feet following his. Around them the sky fell full dark as Kellas ran without hesitation, and Lennox kept her sight fixed on him.

  He did not stop to talk again. He made no attempt to converse, or help her, and yet Lennox felt the atmosphere between them shift, she sensed his anger dissipate. There was an effortless simplicity in running together. Slowly, imperceptibly, a companionship was formed; they shared the landscape, and they shared an uncommon ability to run at speed for a long distance.

  Lennox saw Calgacos loom out of the night sky with a hint of sadness, it meant she lost her companion. He looked at her once just before they passed under the castle wall. But he did not meet her gaze; instead she felt her cheeks redden as his luminous eyes glanced at her neck, and down to her chest. Then, without a smile, he turned and ran through the gateway into the courtyard, and into a crowd of people waiting.

  Kellas did not falter. He held his head high as the crowd surged towards him. Bambridge, at the forefront, was bearing down on him vast and forbidding in the darkness, his dark, wiry hair casting shadows like needles all over his face.

  'I was just sending out a search party,' he growled. 'Where were you?'

  'Helping her,' Kellas explained.

  'Really?' Kearns stepped forwards his dark rimmed eyes ignored Lennox, and were fixed on Kellas.

  'And where was she coming from? China. The rest of Feliformia were all back hours ago. Henry, who was supposed to have been her partner, was back over an hour ago.'

  'I found her taking a rest in Hangman’s Wood.'

  Lennox's mouth fell open. She had been hiding, not resting, and for a good reason. She had tried to explain, but he had not let her.

  'I...' Lennox began. But no one was listening, not to her anyway.

  'Resting?' Kearns asked. 'Together?'

  There was a torturous silence. More people pressed forward. Lennox saw Duncan, the house captain of Feliformia, his ginger hair curling like smoke around his face, his eyes buried in a heavy frown. Conley was there too, staring at her with dismay. She tried to rearrange her features into an expressionless mask.

  'Yes.' Kellas did not rise to the insinuation. He ignored it. Instead he sounded weary, bored. 'She had to stop and rest many times on the way back. She's clearly never done anything like this before. It was simply too much for her.'

  He lied effortlessly, and without a sideways glance. Lennox was rendered mute, unable to defend herself. So when he turned towards her, she was too angry to be affected by his incredible features.

 
; 'Go,' he told her. 'Have dinner. You must be wiped out.'

  'We'll debrief in the common room later.' Duncan added.

  There was a pounding in Lennox's chest as she walked away. She had been kidding herself. There was no companionship between them. Kellas was as brutal as ever. If he had been her worst enemy, he could not have humiliated her more.

  She retreated to her room first. The corridor was quiet. All the others must have showered and gone to dinner already. Although she had run all day, she had little desire to eat. She had even less desire to attend the debrief. It would only be another humiliation.

  She showered briefly and then inspected herself in the mirror just to make sure her hair had not begun to betray her. It was still dark, though the roots were weakening. Somehow she was going to have to get her hands on more dye.

  When she reached the dining hall, there were only two people ahead of her lining up for food. She recognised Kellas at once. She had been staring at his lithe back for hours. The other person queueing was Duncan, there was no mistaking his long, and lofty shoulders.

  She helped herself to a bread roll and an apple. It was going to be difficult to eat when she was still so angry. There was little room left inside her.

  'Here.'

  Kellas was at her side, slipping a dish of lasagne onto her tray. Further back, Duncan was watching as he helped himself to chips, and nodding.

  'You need to eat well after endurance.'

  Surprised, she looked up, and found he was close, too close, nearer than he had been all afternoon when they had been alone, and for once he was looking at her, actually trying to converse with her. She could see nothing but the tropics of his eyes.

  'It wasn't so bad.' She was intentionally cool. 'After all, I took lots of rests.'

  Kellas stepped back.

  'That's right,' he agreed. 'You needed them.'

  She scanned the tables and spotted Mannik sat with a few others from Feliformia. Henry, she noted, was nowhere to be seen.

  'You took your time,' Connel muttered, as soon as she put her tray down on their table.

  'Yeah! What happened?' pressed Rick.

  Lennox took a bite of her lasagna, so she didn't have to answer, and thought about flicking her roll at Rick's long, sharp nose.

  'Well, I got dropped in the middle of nowhere and had to find my way back, so that took time,' she replied.

  'You were supposed to find your way back quickly.' Connel pointed out.

  'It was difficult,' she admitted.

  'Why?' Connel demanded.

  Rick leaned forward, expectantly.

  Two tables away, Kellas was staring straight at her.

  'Well...I got tired.'

  She shut her eyes in disbelief. Why had she said that?

  'What?'

  Connel sounded like he had just been kicked in the backside.

  'You got tired?!'

  Lennox opened one eye. Connel's face had turned a funny colour. His skin was paler than his hair.

  'It was a race!' he exclaimed. 'A competition. Over there, Gram's on his third helping of lasagna, and he's got a chocolate milkshake and two cheesecakes in front of him still to eat. And over here, we've got half a helping of lasagna. Nothing else, unless you include a cup of water. So we're feeling a little bit upset. Do you get that?'

  She nodded. She didn't want to have to fight with Connel. She just wanted the day over.

  'She's new.' Mannik muttered, in tentative support for Lennox.

  Connel stood up,

  'Next time she won't be new. Next time she'll compete. Got it?'

  Lennox nodded. Two tables away, Kellas was still watching.

  Ignore him.

  Lennox looked up and around. Kellas was eating his food as if nothing unusual had happened. But she had heard a voice, his voice.

  Rick was busily following Connel out the dining hall in outrage. Mannik was muttering to his empty plate. The rest of the table was empty spaces.

  And eat up.

  This time there could be no mistake. Beside her, Mannik was oblivious, but she had heard Kellas as clearly as if he were sat next to her. Somehow, he was speaking to her, and to her alone, from across the hall.

  Torkil was right. Calgacos was not your average school.