CHAPTER FOUR

Isabel and Beth get along, much to my surprise. The younger girl plasters herself to Beth, finding excuses to stay by her side.

It irritates me, but Beth is all smiles over it. She’s always been the nurturing sort, so it’s not like I don’t understand. But I don’t have to like it.

It’s been a week since Isabel joined us.

It’s obvious that she isn’t my biggest fan, but then again, I don’t like her much, either. She has this standoffish air about her. Aside from Beth, she gets along well with Susan, perhaps because of how close they are in age. However, she has this disdainful attitude towards Quill and I, and she just ignores Kathleen.

We have our first trial today as Level Two students, and I’m feeling a bit tense. We’ve been working with locator orbs for a few days now. They are made of pure energy and have a core that makes them function. We’ve been learning to maintain them while carrying them, and I’ve not been doing so well.

Isabel, on the other hand, is great at it. She’s either naturally skilled, or her parents really trained her thoroughly. But if her parents were capable of teaching her how to control her abilities, why send her here?

I sip my coffee, having stuffed a few croissants inside my bag. I’d rather eat once the trial is over.

Quill is stuffing his face, but I know that in a couple of hours, he’ll be eyeing my bag. The boy has the metabolism that every girl dreams of.

Isabel is talking to Beth, but I’m too zoned out to pay attention. However, when she falls silent, that’s when I glance up. Only to see her looking at the table next to us.

Curious, I look over and find myself staring at Anderson.

He’s sitting with two of the guys he shares the barrack with, all three of them deeply immersed in whatever twisted scheme they’re probably concocting. He’s not yet noticed Isabel looking his way.

However, I have, and I have been noticing this trend for the past five days. I make a face. Of all the people to be interested in, Isabel chose Anderson?

Quill also follows Isabel’s gaze and then snickers, nudging me.

Unfortunately, Isabel notices, and her voice is cold, “Can I help you?”

“With what?” I ask bluntly, choosing to play dumb.

Quill bursts into laughter as Isabel’s face grows red. I ignore the look of confusion on Beth’s face.

Not wanting to escalate anything, I get to my feet. “I’m going to go first. I’ll see you in class.”

“Wait up.” Quill is struggling between laughing and finishing his breakfast.

“Nope.”

Isabel is glaring daggers at me.

I grab my bag, draining my coffee as I walk to the counter where we place our dirty trays. I hurry out, not even wanting to think of Isabel and Anderson together. I may be biased but that sounds like a nightmare couple in the making.

I’m so lost in thought that I don’t see the person in front of me until I bump into them.

“Sorry—”

The word is barely out of my mouth when I realize who it is.

Jesse.

Jesse stands there, frozen. And then he says, “I have to go.”

He tries to move away, but I step in his way. “You’re not even going to talk to me?!”

There is so much anger and hurt inside of me. “I didn’t do anything to you, Jesse! You don’t have to treat me like I’m some sort of leper just because—”

When he just stares at me stonily, it hurts so much more.

I want to cry.

It’s like glass shards slicing away at my heart as I take in his impassive expression.

But I don’t want him to see my tears. Because Quill was right. I don’t want to be that girl.

“Pathetic,” I struggle to keep my voice even. “You’re pathetic. I should have known better than to trust you.”

His jaw tightens, and I decide to walk away. If I stay any longer, he’ll see the tears brimming in my eyes. However, before I can do so, an arm settles around my shoulders, and Quill’s voice demands loudly, “I told you to wait for me. Huh, Jesse? What’s up? Haven’t seen you around.”

Under the cheerful tone, I can hear the rigidness.

Jesse’s eyes snap to the possessive grip Quill has on my shoulder. His voice is stiff as he says, “You two certainly got close fast.”

His tone has an edge of bitterness to it, and when his eyes linger on Quill’s arm, for a heartbeat, I wonder if he’s jealous. But that thought flutters away with the next heartbeat.

Quill gives him a smug look. “Well, we are close. Unlike you, I don’t walk away from people who matter to me.”

The look of anger on Jesse’s face is a horrible thing, and he takes a step forward, his fists clenched. “Don’t think I won’t bury you in the—”

“That’s enough!” My voice is sharp as I step away from Quill and look at him. “You go on ahead.”

“What?” He looks annoyed. “I’m comfortable where I am.”

When he makes to grab at me again, I duck from under his arm and push him towards the mess, my voice fierce, “Go. I’ll catch up with you.”

Reluctantly, he looks between me and Jesse before his eyes narrow. I recognize the look in his eyes. He’s up to no good.

Before I can do anything about it, he leans down and gives me a loud, smacking kiss on my cheek. I don’t get the chance to punch him in the stomach because he’s already racing away, grinning like a smug fool.

When I turn to face Jesse, however, his face is pale.

“So, you did move on,” his voice is strangled.

I want to say yes. I want him to suffer like I am right now, like I have been for the past so many weeks, but my conscience won’t let me.

“No,” I say, shortly. “He’s just messing around.”

The flash of relief in his eyes enrages me. “But honestly, unlike you, Quill stuck around. So, maybe I made a mistake.”

Jesse’s jaw tightens.

My heart is clenching in agony.

“You didn’t hesitate in throwing me away when I needed you. Guess you told me everything I needed to know about how important I was to you.”

“You don’t know anything!” Jesse hisses.

“Sure.” I shrug, trying to control my emotions.

Before he can say anything, however, I turn around and walk away. I don’t want to hear anything. He’s acting as if I did something to him, not the other way around.

Jerk!

***

Classes are a good distraction.

I throw myself into the daily grind, and by the time we are done with our books, Jesse is the furthest thing from my mind.

“Alright,” the counselor in charge of the class steps forward, and I brace myself for the instructions for the trial, “you will all be divided into five groups. Each group will contain five students, one of whom will be the leader of the group.”

The selection is random as we pick out colors from a bowl. Quill, Beth, and I are in the same group, and as we approach each other, I see Isabel and another face joining us. I stare at Anderson in irritation. “Don’t tell me—”

“I don’t want to be in the same group as you, either,” he scowls.

Isabel, however, is thrilled.

“You all have three minutes. Choose a leader amongst yourself.”

The counselor’s words have us eyeing each other.

“Taylor,” Quill interrupts.

“I second Taylor,” Beth says.

When Anderson sneers, Isabel quickly says, “I vote for Anderson.”

His sneer disappears as he quickly glances at her in surprise, as if just noticing her existence.

To my own shock, his ears turn red, and he stammers out, “Y-Yeah. I vote for me too.”

Beth is looking at Isabel, clearly taken aback by her choice.

While I would much rather Quill lead the group since he moves better in the forest, his senses being sharper than mine, now isn’t the time to change things. There is no way Anderson is leading the group. He’ll get us all killed, probably deliberately.

The votes are two to two, and only I can influence the shift.

“I vote for me too.”

Isabel looks annoyed, and Anderson scoffs.

However, he seems more focused on Isabel to care too much.

As all the groups declare their leaders, Counselor Mikael gestures towards the forest. “You’ve all been working on tracking down the locator orbs. There are six locator orbs out there. Your teams have to retrieve them. The more you get, the closer you are to winning. As a bonus challenge, I’ve also released one black orb. If you manage to find it, you automatically win. The area is limited. Don’t get killed. Don’t try to kill. Are we clear?”

Murmurs of agreement.

“Go.”

We disperse into the forest.

We’ve got enough experience to know that moving together is fruitless.

“Whistle three times if you need help,” I say quickly. “Once if you’ve found an orb. The black orb isn’t our target, the location orbs are. But if you find the black orb, whistle twice. Everybody good on this?”

Sharp nods. We all separate.

Locator orbs are hard to find unless you’ve come into contact with them at least once. If you’ve touched an orb, then there is a humming sensation in your blood when you get close to that orb. Clearly, the counselor released orbs we have all come into contact with.

Using my instincts and this vibrating sensation within me, I move towards where I can feel the orbs. I manage to trek through the wet, thick mud, slapping at the mosquitos who’re trying to dine on my blood. It doesn’t take me long to come across the orb.

But then finding the orb was never the hard part. It’s carrying it.

Locator orbs are like balls of energy. They’re almost like living, breathing balls of energy. And they seem to dislike me immensely.

I manage to grab it, ignoring the way it stings my hand.

Trying to be careful, I let out a sharp whistle.

Moving slowly, I make my way back to the base.

I’ve just taken a couple of steps when I come face to face with Abigail. She stares at me and then at the orb in my hand.

“Don’t you dare,” I warn her slowly.

She gives me an apologetic look and then calls out, “Over here!”

Almost immediately, I am surrounded by two of her group mates, including Susan.

Susan grins. “Sorry, Taylor.”

My concentration is split, and the orb flies out of my hand, landing directly into Susan’s.

“Run!” Abigail shouts, and Susan sprints towards the base. Her teammates block my path, and I glare in her direction.

Just then I hear three whistles, indicating someone in my team is in trouble. Turning around, I hurry in the direction. It takes me longer than anticipated to come across Beth and Anderson, both of them carrying two orbs. They’re surrounded by two groups of students, both eyeing the orbs.

Another three whistles from the opposite direction have me worried for Quill.

“We found them!” Beth says angrily. “You can’t steal from us! That’s cheating!”

“No rule to say we can’t,” Edith, one of the girls, laughs. “Hand them over.”

“Not likely!” Anderson bares his teeth, moving awkwardly to the left. Frowning, I look behind him to see Isabel carrying one orb in her hand, hidden from sight. He’s protecting her.

As shocking as that is, Isabel doesn’t seem to have realized that there is someone creeping up on her. I can’t make out the face, the figure hidden in the shadows. Moving quickly through the trees to get to her, my eyes widen when I realize the intentions of the person. He’s lifting a large rock in his hands almost as if he’s intending to smash it on top of Isabel’s head.

“Are you crazy?!” I roar, hurrying forward.

The figure startles, as does everyone else. He must have realized that he’s been spotted because he drops the rock and begins running. Isabel falls on the ground as she sees the figure retreating. In the ensuing chaos, I see the struggle begin between my group and the other, both sides desperate to come out as the winning team.

Both Beth and Anderson are outnumbered, Isabel’s position has been compromised and there are two students advancing on her, and Quill is in trouble. I need to help them, but I don’t know who to help first.

I rush towards Isabel, but I’m too late. One of the students has grabbed the orb and is running. I turn around to go towards my other teammates, but only one orb is left. Frustrated, unable to help them, I find my power building up inside of me. I don’t hesitate, letting it burst out of me, and as it does, the trees and plantation around me bend backward from the force of it. The students, all of them, go flying and land on the wet ground, groaning.

I don’t even get time to absorb what I’ve done because Anderson is shouting, “The black orb! Get it, you idiot!”

My head whips around, and I see it, just a few feet away from me, floating in midair.

Some of the students are trying to get to their feet but I grab it and begin running.

It feels different from the other orbs, a sense of calm and tranquility in its touch. It’s also easier to handle than the locator orbs.

I can hear the desperate sounds of the students following me, and I move faster, only to burst through the tree line, letting out a victorious yell.

Counselor Mikael’s eyes widen when he sees me. “You got it?”

“Yeah?” I hand it over.

He stares at it for a moment before suddenly tossing the orb into the sky.

“Wait, what are you—”

The orb flies with the speed of a rocket.

“Black orbs can’t be contained,” the counselor explains. “Nor do they let anyone touch them so easily. I’m surprised it let you touch it.”

He picks up the whistle, hanging from a ribbon around his neck, and blows on it.

“Game over. Blue team wins.”

As his voice booms through the woods, I look at him, “What do you mean it shouldn’t have let me touch it?”

“To be honest, kid,” Counselor Mikael eyes me, “I was under the impression that your alpha werewolf friend might be the only one to be able to make contact with it. The black orb is not a normal locator orb. It bonds with those it touches. It is interactive. And only those with incredible power can touch it.”