Survival (Sorrowfeld Academy Book 1)

by Bob Dattolo

  Without the glowing lights, people don’t seem to get it.

  His body gets dropped as I spin back around, growling at the room. No one moved on me while I was busy, which is good.

  Kaylee rushes to my side and holds my arm, “Thank you! I don’t know what he was gonna do! He…I heard…talking about killing me…before we got here…” she was crying and squeezing my arm, reeking of terror the entire time.

  Levi and his guys are still in place where they were when she called for me. I pushed my way from the wall again and stopped about 20 feet from him, looking him up and down. “What’ll it be, goldilocks? You coming for me? Or are you too afraid your boys won’t have your back any longer? That the kids here that are sick of your shit will come hunting and take you down while you try to rub your pathetic cock on me? After all, you said you were gonna rape me. In dragon form, too. I’d like to see you shift. I really would. I’m thinking you’d make it…ten seconds. If that.”

  He stared at me more before looking at his guys and then heading back towards where they started, “Clock’s started, stricken. You’re mine.”

  “So you’ve said. You gotta work for what you want, though. Just like I wanted to be free. I fought my fucking ass off to be free. Then I killed the first two people on my list. I have a pretty good list, too. Everyone that touched me. All of that fuckhead’s friends. They’ll all die if I have to spend every day of my life after this hunting for them. So you want to come for me? Like I said. I’m right here. You’re just too fucking afraid to commit to it.”

  I made a small circle again and looked at everyone, “Whatever. You guys do what you want. I feel like I’m talking to a fucking wall that just wants to watch the world burn. I offered to help, but you all believe something that just isn’t me. Well…whatever. I’m kinda done.”

  No one spoke as I moved back to Kaylee’s side, letting her hide in my shadow as the other kids took on wary positions of watching their neighbors and allies like hawks.

  Angelica, Gage, and Kynal have a decent system going. They’re watching everyone while also keeping an eye on the one next to them. It’s seriously like they have a system.

  Samantha, Parece, Paige, and Riley are doing something close to the same thing, with the two dragons holding up the ends of their little line. They all have magic out.

  Everywhere around the room, there’s glowing hair to be seen. Everyone has magic moving, ready to help them if something happens.

  I’m literally the only person with dark hair. Not that I don’t have magic moving.

  Fucking hell, this is totally insane.

  The kids that are single, without an ally, are the most skittish. By my count, there are 14 of them that are alone. If they’d only band together and not attack each other, they’d be strong enough to fight off any attacker. Be they solo or with an ally or two. But they don’t. They’re all stuck on their own, watching everyone for any indication that they’re next on the list.

  That starts a waiting game. There’s minimal movement from anyone other than moving heads and subtle shifts of their feet as they scan everyone. Magic keeps flowing, but no attacks come. I think many of them are working defensive spells, I just can’t tell.

  For my part, no one seemed to notice that I used some magic to devour a sword on the floor near the wall. It’s easier to bring out metal if you have some that you already absorbed, so to speak, so I figured this can’t hurt much.

  Hopefully.

  No one reacts as I squat and piss across the floor, still watching everyone. There are some shocked looks from the mages, while the dragons don’t at all think it’s a thing. In fact, that starts them stripping. Quickly.

  Parece and Samantha are done first, with both of them simply tearing their clothes off. No undressing. Too slow.

  Levi and his two boys undress one at a time, with the others watching out for them.

  The single dragons struggle with it, with most starting to tear their clothes away or cut them if they have a blade handy.

  Once they’re naked, that starts more pissing from some of them. A guy down from me on the far wall squats and poops, eyes scanning everyone hear him. He’s solo, so he can’t even take a moment for himself. He has to watch everything and everyone, otherwise someone will go for him since he’s vulnerable.

  No, he doesn’t bother to wipe his ass with his clothes.

  A dirty ass is the least of his worries.

  I’m shocked at how many mages are kinda freaked at what they just saw. Seriously? We just watched 16 of us either die or have mortmagi pounded into their skulls, and you think someone pissing or pooping is a big deal?

  Damn, the priorities in this room are astounding to me.

  The minutes began to crawl by, and I kept expecting others to attack. Or try to shift. Or to start some shit. Instead, that never happened. The scents of fear, hatred, anger, and resignation began filling the room. Much more powerful than piss and shit. Much more powerful than the blood from our dead. It’s crammed into my skull, making me sort of wish I were a mage and didn’t have to try to continue breathing with the miasma clouding my brain.

  Especially since far too much of it’s from me.

  Chapter 39

  I’m more than ready to get the fuck out of here when the doors open with a crash. Screams come from most of the kids, while the rest crouched more, ready for nearly anything. Or so it seems.

  I was crazy shocked that at least half of us raced into the nearest door to them and disappeared. Allies stayed close, but solo people ran as well. They obviously tried to avoid others, although I’m not sure how you do that in this case.

  I stayed put, watching where everyone went. There’s no door that didn’t have at least one person head down it.

  Kaylee tugged my arm, “We have to go!”

  “I want to see where everyone goes first.”

  “No, we have to go!” More fear ramped out from her.

  “What? Why?”

  She tugged my arm, “People are gonna come for you. We have to be far enough down the path so that they can’t catch us against a challenge and kill us!” Tears sprang to her eyes, “Please don’t let them kill me!”

  Fuck. “Okay, c’mon. Not this one, though. The next one.” She stayed behind me as I tugged her along, moving quickly to the second door in line from us. Behind us, Levi and his group laughed at seeing us go. I didn’t turn to watch them; it just wasn’t worth it. We reached the doorway, and I turned and looked at the remaining kids. Angelica, Kynal, and Gage were still in place, watching me warily. Parece, Samantha, Paige, and Riley were in their spot. I nodded to Samantha’s group first, “Good luck. I meant what I said.” Then I turned to Angelica and the guys, “I don’t know what I did to upset you guys. I really don’t.”

  Kaylee tugged my arm, “We have to go!”

  “Good luck!”

  She tugged me into the dark hallway, and we moved, leaving the room behind. Levi’s laughter, accompanied by his guys, was the only thing that I heard before we turned the first corner.

  The hallway here is just about 10 feet wide. Cement floor with cinder block walls. Plenty wide enough to hold a dragon. Tall enough, too. Makes me wonder what dragon is going to shift before heading into a tunnel and hunting down every person in front of them.

  Fuck.

  I headed in front of her, tugging faster, “Okay, fuck this, we gotta move. If a dragon shifts and comes down the hallway, almost everyone in front of them is fucking toast.”

  Her eyes went wide as she looked back over her shoulder, “Oh my God, do you think…”

  “Do I think? I can guarantee it’s gonna happen to at least one hallway. Ours? No clue. If one comes, get behind me and keep going. I’ll see if I can stop or kill them.”

  She squeezed my hand, “Let’s just keep going.” The path is much longer than you’d think, so it takes a bit to clear each straightaway.

  We made it around two more turns before noise behind us let me know that someone was following u
s. It doesn’t sound like a dragon or Levi and his guys, so we simply kept going. So far, the hallway was a single path, just with turns. Then we come to a split. I can smell that people went in both directions.

  “Which way do we go?”

  Sniffing again, I tugged her to the left. “This way. Fewer people went this way.”

  She follows behind me as we go, coming to a stop around the next turn to find a kid named…shoot, Todd, I think? He jerks back around, eyes wide, and stares at us as his magic works. There’s a sign on the wall that says LIGHT. FIVE INCHES. ONE MINUTE. There’s a model of what five inches is beneath that.

  “Stay back!”

  Kaylee stays with me as I tug her to the side, away from him, “Just do what you gotta do. We’re not here to kill you.”

  “Stay back!” His hands come up as his magic falters.

  “Just fucking cast the spell already! That thing says one minute!”

  “I’m warning y…” his voice cuts off as metal spikes drive up out of the floor and ram into him, sending a spray of blood across the wall. He’s dead before they retract, slipping into holes in the floor that then basically disappear, as if they were never there.

  Kaylee screams, making the approaching noise behind us go silent.

  “Mother. Fucker! I told him to stop fucking around!”

  She doesn’t want to move up with me but does when I basically drag her. There’s a line on the ground closer to the spot he was standing. Hmm. “Do you see the line?”

  She doesn’t react until I squeeze her hand, “Do you see the line!”

  Her panic subsides as she looks down, “I…I see it.”

  “I think that’s the line that we have to cross to start the timer. Can you cast a light spell like what they’re asking for?”

  She nods, but it’s jerky. She is so freaking terrified that I’m not sure I understand how she’s standing and functioning.

  “Then cast the spell and step over the line. Make sure it’s the right size before you do it. That should get you through it. Do it, then go across. I’ll watch from behind. Stay there, though, in case anyone that got through ahead of him comes back.”

  She nods but doesn’t move.

  “You gotta move, Kaylee. Do it!”

  It’s not much of a motivational speech, but it’s all I got right now. It takes her a solid five minutes before she starts pulling power, with it fluctuating like crazy. She tries again and again, but the light doesn’t form. Then when it does, it’s too small. Too large. Something tells me we have to be pretty close to exactly what they want with this.

  Finally, one forms, and I shove her across the line. As soon as she does, the magic kicks in and judges her spell, and the barrier of magic parts and lets her through.

  “Now stay there and wait for me!”

  Noise from behind shows me Naomi, Kaylee’s roommate. The dragon I’ve been meaning to talk to for taking over their room. She looks freaked and was looking over her shoulder again and again, while so obviously not wanting to approach me.

  Kaylee screamed and ran, disappearing around the next corner, leaving me there against the barrier with her roomie behind me.

  “What do you want, Naomi?”

  She looked back to me, “Just get through the fucking spell! I didn’t want to come down this fucking hallway, but all hell’s breaking loose back there!”

  “Don’t fuck with me!”

  “I’m not fucking with you!” Her eyes are wild when she looks back at me, “Just get through! Or move the fuck out of the way and I’ll go through!”

  “I’m not leaving you with Kaylee over there!”

  “Fuck Kaylee! If we don’t get through that fucking barrier right quick, we may never make it through!”

  Noise and screams come up the hallway. “What the fuck is happening back there?”

  Her nostrils are flaring as she looks back at me, “What’s happening? I’ll tell you what’s fucking happening! Three dragons, that’s what’s happening! At least one was heading towards this fucking tunnel! Get. Through. The. Barrier!”

  Motherfucker!

  My magic had been working hard while we talked, with me hiding it except for faint lights in my hair. Instead of bitching at her, I created the light and made sure it was the right size. It was judged successful as soon as I passed over, and I was through. She immediately ran up behind me and started pulling magic.

  I didn’t wait for her, I ran, hoping to find Kaylee before something happened to her.

  My headlong flight had me running far out on corners, not wanting to turn a corner and find someone standing right there. Thank God I did that because I would have tripped over the first body. I can’t tell who it is, but it’s a guy. Head caved in. Dead.

  Dammit, who the fuck did that?

  I continued running, finding another obstacle of a climbing wall. It goes up about 30 feet, which is pretty far. Kaylee definitely came this way. She also climbed the wall. I did the same, hitting myself with magic to jump up the past few feet so that I wasn’t left crawling over the lip. No one was waiting, but Kaylee’s bat was left behind.

  “Son of a bitch!”

  More running, with crying becoming evident from up ahead. My heartbeat skyrockets as I hit the corner, skidding to a stop at the scent in front of me. Kaylee has blood on her and is holding herself tight. There’s a challenge not even ten feet from her, and a torn-up body at her feet.

  “What the fuck happened?”

  She whipped towards me, “No! Stay away!” Her hands came up, blood staining them.

  “Chill it’s me! What the fuck happened?!?”

  She started crying and holding herself again, “I don’t know! He dragged me from the climbing wall. When we got here, Maryann was here. There was…fight!” She started sobbing.

  “It’s okay. It’s okay. C’mon, let’s get the fuck through this next challenge. Naomi’s coming up behind us and she said all hell’s breaking loose in the room with at least one shifted dragon heading our way.”

  Her eyes went wide, and she turned back to the challenge, “We have to get through!”

  This challenge has a light hanging there. There’s no direction on the wall. Instead, there’s what looks like solar panels.

  “I don’t get it! What do we have to do?!”

  “What did Maryann do?”

  She sobbed more, “I don’t… I didn’t…”

  Dammit, she’s so freaked out.

  “Don’t worry about it. Let’s think about it. There are solar panels. Maybe more light?”

  She leaned into me, “Why would they do that, though?”

  “I don’t know. What else could it be?”

  “Maybe…maybe darkness? Cast darkness on the light and we can get through? The solar panels wouldn’t be getting light any longer?”

  Hmm, maybe.

  “Do…do you want me to go first? Test it? Maybe I can handle whatever they attack with?”

  She nodded, then shook her head, “I don’t want to be left here.”

  “Do you want to go first?”

  Another nod and shake.

  “Fine. How about this? I’ll try it and see if it works? If it does, I’ll stay here, and you go?”

  She nodded quickly and waited while I got my spell running. My hair still fizzled as I hid things. I was so expecting pain, but instead, the light went dark, and the spell accepted what I did. When the barrier parted, I stepped back over the line to her, “That’s it. Can you do it?”

  Quick nod from her. More noise from behind. I can’t tell if it’s Naomi or possibly someone else. Or a dragon.

  She pushed forward quickly, magic flaring again and again until darkness appeared over the bulb. Once it was there, she ran through the barrier and huddled on the other side.

  I expected someone to appear behind me, I really did. Instead, I was able to cast the spell once more and hurry through to join her.

  Then we started moving again.

  Another simple challenge of a balan
ce beam didn’t slow us. No idea what would have happened if we didn’t stay on it, but we didn’t have to mess with it. Instead, we kept going, making it around three more turns before we paused.

  All sound simply died around us.

  “What the fuck was that?” She came in closer.

  “I don’t know? I don’t think it was as spell, although maybe?”

  “I don’t like this. I really don’t like this!”

  Instead of moving on, we crept up to the next corner and looked around. Nothing. Then back to the one behind us. Nothing.

  “Do you want to go backwards? See if we can find anyone?”

  She grabbed me tighter, “Please don’t let them kill me!”

  Fuck. “I won’t. Please, you’re okay. We’ll stay away from everyone else.”

  “Oh God, thank you. This is…”

  “I know.” I patted her hand on my arm. “Do you want to wait? Maybe give it ten minutes and see what happens?”

  She nodded quickly, so we moved into the corner so we could see both approaches in the hallway. Without a watch, it’s hard to keep track of time, but I made it up to 400 Mississippi, when the wall to our left, back towards where we came from, shifted and moved, creating an opening that hadn’t been there before.

  Angelica, Kynal, and Gage came through at a jog, only to stop and ram against the wall. Angelica moved to the front, while the two guys stayed in the back, watching the way we came.

  “What do you want!” She looks pissed.

  “What? We don’t want anything!”

  “Why are you waiting for us? To attack us?”

  “What? No! We’ve been waiting here because everything went silent, and we had no idea why. We’ve been sitting here like five minutes, then the entire fucking wall opens and the three of you appear.”

  Kynal backs towards the other two, pushing them closer to us, “C’mon, we gotta move!’

  She looks back, then at me again, “I won’t let you kill us!”

  You have to be fucking kidding me, “Angelica? We were allies until I don’t even know why you guys pulled away. I have no plans to kill you!”