¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤
"Of all the things you choose in life, you don't get to choose what your nightmares are. You don't pick them; they pick you." ― John Irving
Year 2113. Academia Astra, A City.
¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤▪¤
There were many things I found scary.
Flying cockroaches, spiders, and the old statue of a clown with a red balloon from the museum made my skin crawl.
Sometimes it's the shadows formed by leaves outside my window. On other times, I thought I saw something move from the corner of the dark hallway. While the more normal fears I had were the mutants outside The Walls.
In one of Scarlett's Biology topics, I had likened the flight reaction to a desperate struggle of life to survive. Like a primal instinct, self-preservation.
The way my hands trembled, legs buckled, the cold beads of sweat formed from the adrenaline rush, the ragged breaths which came too shallow and short or how my heart sank frozen and ran miles per second at the same time; these were shouts of being alive. Like the last flickers of light from a used sparkler.
You see, that was exactly how it felt when I saw a nightmare in my real life.
From the darkness, I saw its disturbing blood-red orbs. I could almost swear I heard its low growl. It was something in between the sound of an angry dog and a snarl from some raspy throat.
The creaking from the wooden flooring sent deathly shivers on my spine. I had turned into a statue.
In that moment, I questioned my decisions in life yet again. That maybe if I was not so stubborn I would have taken a safer offer than the Academia's or maybe if I agreed to fail one exam like Lizzie suggested then they would not have bothered with Lexi.
Then, maybe I wouldn't have to face this nightmare which had chosen to materialize before me.
Before I knew what was happening, I felt weightless.
It was like being literally swept off your feet. But without a prince. My eyes were wide when I realized that I had stepped backwards in fright.
Unfortunately for me, the stone ledge wasn't wide enough to support my shock. That was why I was falling.
From the third floor of a building, would I live from a crash? Would the sudden pull on the rope and sway from the impact break my spine sooner than me hitting the ground?
I wasn't sure I would live to find out.
When everything came to a slow motion, I wondered if the other kids saw the glowing eyes from that room too or were they focused on me. I had closed my eyes, trying to dull the sounds of scandalized screams from my classmates.
I could easily separate Lexi's voice from the rest of them as she shrieked my name in pure terror. I should've told her that I was thankful I met her. I was grateful that she cared about me.
I took a deep breath to keep myself calm, pushing back the thoughts of an obscene bloody scenario my corpse would star in when Scarlett retrieves me later.
I wonder what she would say and if she would scold me on my grave. I hoped she doesn't lecture my carcass too much. That would be pitiful.
My last thoughts were about my family and the hopes that they don't hear about my untimely death. That would break my ma's heart.
I barely felt my back collide with something hard, effectively knocking the air out of my lungs, before every part of me faded into an endless abyss.
I didn't know that death wasn't so awful.
It seemed it didn't hurt as bad as I originally believed.
~~~~~~
"Ya hafta get yer shit together, Riane!"
I heard the familiar gruff voice from Butchenberg, pulling me back from tranquility.
I'm alive? Where was I?
I tried to open my heavy eyelids but a splitting ache coursed on my entire body.
The pain was similar to when I was sore from the sports fest last year but magnified like a hundred fold worse, as if I had head-butt a bull or something. But, more than the aches, I was too surprised that I miraculously survived?
Scarlett cleared her throat. The tension that hung on the air felt nearly tangible. I could sense movements near my body and it brought me relief that I was not alone.
Despite the initial comfort of having two adults nearby, their tones had forced me to keep my eyes and mouth shut as I tried to make sense of the faint murmurs between Scarlett and Butchenberg.
"Yeah," she sighed. "Sorry about this."
"Ya know what ta twins said?" Butchenberg spat, still clearly mad about something. "They wanted ta cut me damn ear off!"
'Twins?'
How come I couldn't recall any staff or authority in the academy with a twin? I could imagine Scarlett's stiffened shoulders at his booming voice.
"Lord White was beyond furious." He muttered as I heard him pace from the other side of the room.
It was my turn to flinch as the memories from before I lost consciousness came pouring into my mind. Lord White would be disappointed in me for sure.
My throat had run dry and I tried to swallow my saliva and produce a sound. Both attempts went in vain as a certain pair of glowing eyes flashed on my mind.
Right. I saw something there. It was definitely something far from normal. I wanted to ask Scarlett about that. Also, I wondered what happened to Lexi and the other kids.
"I know," Scarlett's voice broke my thoughts. She sounded so frustrated that I had to bite back the instant regret that struck me deep. "But please don't tell Cecil," she appealed.
'Who's that?'
Butchenberg scoffed.
I could tell he wasn't the least happy about her request. The curiosity on that Cecil person was growing by the second. In spite of the craving for answers, I chose to eavesdrop a bit longer for more clues while both seemed oblivious to my awoken state.
"I'll work on it," Scarlett continued in a pleading voice. "She's too fragile. I can't let him do that please."
"Cecil's not ta first one ya should worry 'bout," Butchenberg answered, almost as if he was amused. "Be glad Cadmus was 'round then to catch ta package."
'That Cadmus must have saved me, I guess?'
The new names just kept popping from their mouths, making me realize how little I knew about the academy.
All of these were making me certain that the academy was truly hiding secrets which none of us knew about. This was another gnawing reiteration of the need to know the answers.
What exactly is the Academia? What things were they hiding here?
Butchenberg paused. I presumed from the sound of a spoon stirring in a mug and the rich aroma of coffee filling the room that he was drinking while I heard another tired sigh from Scarlett.
"What ya should know 'bout is damn twins told Estelle." He chuckled in disdain. "Man, that cunt got nothin' better ta do. You hafta brace yarself for Estelle, kid. I've warned ya."
'Estelle? Another name again. Why have I never heard of these seemingly important people?'
This time, Scarlett groaned and I felt her brush my hair gently. The heat from her proximity was radiating on my skin.
"What did she say?" Scarlett inquired, distractedly.
"Nothin' as of late, aye? But ta twins left ya a message," Butchenberg seemed to have walked further away from where my bed was since his voice has faded a bit. "They got their eyes on ya."
Scarlett froze a little as I felt her body tensed before withdrawing her fingers from my hair.
"I won't let it happen again, Butchenberg." Scarlett said firmly.
"Up ta ya. But doncha get attached on package," He chuckled again. "Gilbert and I worry lots 'bout ya. Next choice gunna eitha be Morris or Estelle. Take yer pick, angel."
I listened as the sound of a doorknob clicked and the soft creaking of a door followed.
"But still ya better not. Lord White would hate a damaged package," Butchenberg tsked before I heard the door closing.
The whole conversation left me with more questions instead of answers. It had me more confused as it dawned on me that the seriousness of my hypothesis about the Academia being a sketchy place was gradually proving itself.
"Sc-cough-Scarlett," I croaked between strained coughs as I forced my eyes open.
Scarlett hurriedly walked to my side, giving me a small smile.
"You woke up, little one. How do you feel?"
I whimpered when I tried to sit up, feeling the surge of pain from my lower back to my legs.
"It didn't hurt as bad as I imagined it to," I answered and bit my lower lip.
Scarlett helped prop me up using pillows.
"You're in heavy pain meds right now, sweetheart. I know you're still dulled and shocked but you should've known better than to play on the ledges."
She sat on the edge of my bed and fixed stray strands of hair from my face. Her eyes were accusing me as she began her lectures.
"I thought you were smarter than that, Skyler."
"Sorry. . ." I uttered quietly.
I let my head hang low as her voice continued with disappointment.
"What were you doing there?" Scarlett asked.
Instead of answering her question, I decided to ask her another one of my own.
"What's in that building, Scarlett?"
Her eyes quickly averted my gaze.
"There's nothing there. Just the floors weren't safe to step on."
"I saw something," I insisted, my eyes growing wider as I recalled it. "It had glowing red eyes."
Scarlett snapped and anger seemed evident on her face, completely surprising me. It was the first time she had given me such a hard expression.
"You. Saw. Nothing." She stared straight into my eyes. "Do not make me repeat myself, Skyler."
Her personality seemed to have cracked into a new one I had never seen. It was as if she was a different person.
"It. . . didn't sound human." I whispered softly but Scarlett chose that instance to stand up and start walking away towards the door.
"You were playing on the ledge. You imagined things. You fell and luckily a guard rescued you. Now, you're in the infirmary," she narrated in a callous voice.
I was about to retort when she lifted her index finger to signal me to stop.
"End of story," she declared, finalizing the conversation and leaving me with more doubts than I ever had before arriving in the Academia.