CHAPTER TEN

Beth’s hands are gentle as she reapplies the ointment to my fingers and then bandages them. My healing is a sporadic thing. Sometimes, an injury heals within seconds. On other days, I heal slower than an average human.

My broken nails and skin are taking longer than usual to heal. On top of that, I’ve unofficially ended things with Jesse so I feel low.

“Here,” Beth brings out some chicken drumsticks, “Quill sneaked these away for you.”

I don’t have much of an appetite.

“I still can’t believe they were willing to leave me down there like that,” I murmur.

Beth glances at me. “You can’t? I’m not surprised.”

When I look at her, she’s putting away the ointment she borrowed from the infirmary.

“You never expect cruelty from people,” she says, softly. “But it’s always there, a streak of it, hidden inside. People like Veronica and Rachel seem to be the kind to get everything they set their sights on. And they’d be willing to destroy anyone who gets in their way.”

“It’s not like you to be so dark, Beth,” I stare at her, stunned.

“And it’s not like you to be so naive when it comes to people,” she closes the drawer. When she turns to face me, she looks upset. “You should have been careful, Taylor. What if you got lost down there and nobody found you? Those tunnels are supposedly really dangerous if you get lost in them!”

“I didn’t think they’d actually go this far.”

“You need to tell the Director,” Beth insists. “That other counselor, Derek, saw Rachel change the guard duties, right? And even if the Director doesn’t take his word for it, she can still investigate-“

“Do you hear how petty that sounds?” My gaze drifts towards the window. “Going to snitch to the Director about an assistant counselor changing guard duties. That, in itself, isn’t a crime or anything. And I can’t prove that Veronica was involved with her in this plan or even that those flashlights were swapped. Rachel isn’t stupid, Beth. She’s not going to leave a trace behind.”

Beth falls silent at that. Sitting down on the bed beside me, she glances at me, “So now what?”

It’s been two days since I walked away from Jesse. These two days have been difficult.

I’ve been avoiding the mess and Beth has been bringing me small snacks. I know I’m acting irrationally but I can’t help myself. I don’t want to face Jesse or Rachel, and yet I know I have to.

Besides, tomorrow, I have that class with Rachel, so there is no avoiding it any longer.

I throw myself back on the bed, letting out a long sigh, “I’m going to wash my face and pretend everything is alright in my world till I begin to feel that way.”

Beth smiles at me. “Maybe Quill and I could help with that. I’m glad you two made up.”

Yeah. I became so focused on Jesse that I didn’t realize I already had two people who were important to me.

“Let’s have lunch together, then,” I force a smile on my face.

I need to remember that Jesse is just another person in my life. And move on from there. He can only hurt me if I let him hurt me. And I don’t want to give anyone that kind of power over me.

***

The next morning is a Friday so we have a half-day. While that means not getting our brains fried with science and math subjects, it also means that Rachel’s class is first thing in the morning.

When we reach the training grounds, we see plastic cups with some colored liquid in them.

Her eyes meet mine and she smiles.

It’s not a pleasant smile but one that sends a shiver down my spine.

Her voice is cheerful as she greets the class, “Since it’s Friday, I thought I’d bring out some of my homemade mango apple juice. It’s good for energy. So come on up and grab a glass.”

The others line up, but Beth and I stay back.

However, Rachel approaches us with two cups, handing me one. “Here.”

“Thanks, but I’m not thirsty.”

My tone is polite but I just don’t want anything of hers at this point.

“You also shouldn’t be so stuck-up,” Abigail speaks up. “Everyone is having one. What, you think you’re too good to drink what everybody else is drinking?”

My eyes flick towards Abigail and then back to Rachel whose smile is more pronounced now.

“That’s not what she said,” Beth tries to intervene, but Rachel gives her a cool look.

“I don’t believe Abigail was talking to you.”

My jaw tenses when Beth shrinks at the sharp tone.

“I don’t want to drink anything because I just had breakfast.”

“What, you think I poisoned it?” Rachel laughs, gently. I hear the amusement being shared, although some of the students are giving me odd looks.

Anderson suddenly says, “You’re just being rude for no reason. And you’re wasting our time. Just drink the juice so we can get on with the class.”

Murmurs of agreement surround me. All the while, Rachel’s hand hasn’t lowered. Her smile is broad as she meets my gaze.

Before I can say something, she murmurs, “I don’t know why you’re going out of your way to make things difficult. I just thought I’d do a nice thing for all of you.”

Rachel is quite well-liked, mostly because she’s in a similar age bracket as we are. As I look around at the annoyed face, it occurs to me that if I make more of a scene, it might end up antagonizing the other students. I have enough people gunning for me.

Grabbing the cup, she’s holding out to me, I chug it down. Beth follows my lead, albeit a bit reluctantly. It tastes sweet, nothing out of the ordinary, and I feel a little embarrassed about having caused a fuss over nothing.

Rachel turns around, clapping her hands, “Well, now that Taylor’s little show is done,” – I stiffen at the titters all around – “let’s get started. Today’s challenge is going to be a little different. Instead of working in different teams today, it will be all of you against each other. I’ve hidden a red flag in the forest. All of you are going to spread out and try to locate the flag. The aim is to bring the flag back, but that’s not all. Obviously, since there is only one flag, you will have to steal it from each other. Anything is on the table except using your abilities.”

Smirks are exchanged but my lips don’t curve. This cannot be as easy as she is describing it.

“Oh, and before you go, I’ve set some traps for all of you. They won’t hurt you but they’ll be frustrating enough. The goal is to keep your emotions in check and if they fly out of control, you have to keep your abilities in check. In the human world out there, there is no second chance. Remember that.”

As we all spread out to different points in the forest, she continues, “The area is restricted so you won’t get lost. If you feel your skin prickling, use it as a guide that you are exiting the restricted area so move back. And one last thing, the one who brings the flag back to me gets a small snack basket which I hope is sufficient motivation. Now, go.”

We all disperse quickly in the direction we’ve chosen.

The forest on the Level One island varies in density. Before we had discovered that we were different, the physical challenges that we had endured had been in a less dense area and we never had to go alone into the forest. However, our new physical classes take place deeper into the forest where the foliage and shrubbery is so thick that it’s hard to know whether you’re even walking in a circle or going straight ahead.

Finding the flag isn’t hard.

I manage to steal it off Kathleen, not twenty minutes later, as she slips into quicksand. However, I don’t leave her to her fate, offering her a stick to pull her out. I run away though, once I have the flag and she’s sprawled on the ground, out of breath and cursing.

My luck falters, however, when I come across two familiar faces.

Abigail and Anderson.

I pause when I realize the two of them are working together. They’re coming my way so I quickly climb up the tree I’m standing under. However, it’s when I’m high up that I realize something. There was a trap just a few inches from me, one covered in large leaves. When I scrambled to climb up, I somehow dislodged the leaves covering it.

My eyes widen in shock at the sight of this particular trap.

It’s a large hole in the ground with jagged sticks poking out from it.

It’s more like a death sentence.

Did Rachel really think this was appropriate?

If I slip from here, I’ll fall right in. Heart pounding, I decide to climb down.

The branch suddenly sways and I lose my balance. A startled cry escapes me as my hands reach for purchase. Leaves and small branches break away as I manage to grip onto the branch I had been standing on. However, the rest of my body is dangling.

When I look up, it’s to see Abigail standing there.

“Help me up!” I tell her, urgently.

She doesn’t move.

“Get the flag from her!”

I look over to see Anderson standing near the pit, hopping on one leg, impatiently.

However, when Abigail tries to reach for the flag, it’s tucked in my belt so she can’t. Her fingers barely graze it. She makes a sound of frustration, “Just give it to me. You know you’ve lost!”

Before I can say anything, Anderson shouts, “Step on her fingers! When she falls, we’ll take the flag!”

Abigail is looking pale, but she does as Anderson says and she steps on my fingers. I grit my teeth, holding in the pain, knowing the alternative is hurtling down and getting pierced by those spikes. I don’t even know enough about my healing abilities to be sure whether I would survive being impaled like this.

“Have you lost your mind?!” I shout at her, horrified. “That will kill me!”

Abigail looks shaken but Anderson is laughing, “Oh, don’t be a baby. All of you have to do is give us the flag and we’ll leave you here, dangling.”

“Anderson,” Abigail sounds uncertain. “Maybe we should help her down. That looks really dangerous.”

“She’s a vampire, remember?” Anderson snickers. “The undead. How does an undead die?”

Is he on drugs?!

What kind of comment is that?

I’m not an undead and I can certainly be killed!

“Abigail,” I meet her gaze, terrified now. “Use your own brains. He’s crazy. If you push me, I die.”

“Y-You,” she looks at Anderson as if for support, before continuing, “You just have to give us the flag and we’ll leave.”

“You think he’s going to let you keep the flag?!” Even under sure dire circumstances, her stupidity astounds me. “And the flag is tucked in my belt! If I reach for it, there’s no guarantee that you won’t push me off.”

“Step on her fingers!” Anderson shrieks and the malicious delight in his eyes is chilling. It’s almost as if he wants to see me impaled. What is wrong with this guy?!

Abigail closes her eyes and adjusts her stance. Standing in between my hands, she steps on one hand and I hiss in pain. Her other foot begins to descend and I know that when she puts her entire body weight on my fingers, I will have no choice but to let go. My blood stirs, a cold rage fills me. It’s a familiar sensation and I try to push it back. However, this is about survival and age-old instincts push through.

I feel the pressure in my teeth, my strength expanding. I manage to pull myself up and the panic on Abigail’s face is a sight to see. She kicks at me, letting out a short scream and without thinking, my sharp teeth sink into her leg.

Her cry of pain is a terrible sound and she steps away, missing her footing. Horrified, I grab her by the arm, dangling myself from the branch.

Despite my strength, my arm is aching from her weight and I can feel my grip on the branch slipping. Gasping, I try to swing her.

Back and forth.

Anderson is just laughing like a lunatic.

I ignore him, focusing on giving momentum to my swing.

One, two, three!

I fling Abigail as far as I can. Her body is limp already, not a sound coming from her.

She crashes into the bushes just a few inches from the pit, and lays there, motionless.

My breathing is hard as I manage to crawl up the branch.

However, before I can so much as take in another breath of air, Rachel steps out from the trees. Her eyes assess the situation as Anderson bursts out, noticing her at the same time, “Taylor bit Abigail and threw her off the tree. She-“

However, Rachel doesn’t seem to be listening, her eyes fixated on me.

My heart is racing, and I can’t seem to calm down. Usually after a few careful breaths, I should be able to control myself, but I can’t seem to do it.

As I try to look past the red haze in front of my eyes, for a moment I think I see Rachel’s lips curve.

“I warned you, Taylor,” she’s not smiling now. Maybe it was my imagination.

She crouches down and checks Abigail’s pulse before looking at Anderson, “Get help. And as for you,” she looks over at me, “I think it’s time you go to the Director and explain to her why you have such a hard time following the rules and not harming your fellow students.”