Axel grunts one last time, but doesn't try to fight me anymore. He went and sat back down in his chair, plopping down loudly.
"Well, that was eventful. Anyways, let's get down to what we brought you six here to talk about. As I already said, you six are going to be the elite of the class. You will get a separate dorm room from the other classes, and will get extra hero training. You will be expected to help keep the other students in check when we go out in the field, and will help with demonstrations when required. Later in the week, after we have seen what all of you can do, a hero may choose to be your mentor for the entire time that you are here, helping provide extra training and instruction. I suggest that you do the best you can in the demonstration, because it is not guaranteed that a hero will choose to take you on.
"Now, we will give you your schedules and uniforms after the other students are initiated. We will now take you to your dorm, I suggest you take the time to settle in and get used to the surroundings. As I said earlier, you six will have a different dorm building and training center than the other students. As a result of you being our strongest in the class, your building location is separate from the campus, located in the woods. You will still have a few classes on campus, and will have the option of eating meals with the other students if you desire. Now that we have that covered, Crawler will escort you to your dorms and give you a tour. More information will come after we have instructed the other students." With a smile, he vanishes in the blink of an eye. Maybe a teleportation oddity?
"Allright punks, follow me." Crawler motions towards the door, waiting for all of us to move. "And don't you dare try to escape again Nova." We'll see. We will see.
"Did he just say again?" I'm not really sure which one of the students said it, but I know it wasn't Axel or Aubree, and it sounded like it was a girl's voice. So was it the animal chick or the green haired girl.
"Didn't you hear the rumours? I heard that someone tried escaping like three times, even though there were heroes all around them."
"So you think it was her?"
"Probably. We should ask her later." I think it was both of the girls talking about me. I already can tell I won't like them very much, talking about me behind my back and all. I can hear everything they're saying about me, but I pretend not to notice. I don't feel like getting in another fight again.
My entire body is aching, and that fight with Axel didn't help at all. I'm pretty sure my stomach is bleeding again, good thing I'm wearing a black hoodie. The blood shouldn't show through anytime soon. Even though this is probably the best chance I'll get to escape, I don't think I can. I need a little more time to recover. I walk towards the door, so annoyed at my own body's vulnerability that I don't even notice my limp starting to show again. I feel a pair of hands grab my waist quickly and pull me into the person's body, holding me like I was a little kid again.
"Who the hell- "
"Please don't struggle." I look up and see the quiet kid was the one who picked me up. He has a strong grip, despite his puny frame. "I noticed you were limping, you're in more pain than you let on, aren't you?"
"No, I'm fine, please let me down." Another lie.
"I can't do that, regardless of what you say, you can't fool your body. You shouldn't even be able to stand, judging the amount of damage you took during the attack. Please, just let me carry you to our destination." I don't know how he knew all of that, but I still don't like this. I try to gently get out of his arms, only for him to hold me tighter.
"Let me go." He started walking towards the door, completely ignoring me. I begin to fight more against his grip, and because of how he's holding me, his grip on me isn't super strong. Sighing, he grabs my waist again and throws me over his shoulder like a potato sack. "Dammit, let go of me!"
"I tried to make this as comfortable for you as possible, but I will carry you the entire way over my shoulder. It may not be the best, but it will be better for you than if you were walking." I kick my legs and punch his back, but it doesn't look like it has any affect on him. Crawler, who had paused and watched our encounter, sighed and continued leading us down the hallway towards our new dorms.
I resist for a little while, but then give up and go limp, arms and legs dangling in the air. Damn, if only I could use my OD, I could be out in less than a second. I guess I really did overdo it today.
After a little bit of walking, we come out of the main building. The sun feels blinding, and I have to squint to look around. We're in a big courtyard, with a large pond and plenty of grass. It looks like a great place to have a break, and it even has a bunch of picnic tables to eat lunch at. The sky is still a clear blue, with a few wispy clouds in the sky.
I twist in the boy's grip, trying to see where we're headed. It looks like we're following a stone path twisting through the grass, headed towards the edge of the woods bordering campus. Apparently our building is somewhere in there. It seems a little extra to me, but whatever.
I turn back to where we came from, and take a closer look at the outside of the campus. There's a big domed room in the center of the building, probably where we were in the beginning, with hallways surrounding it on all sides in a circle. Behind the dome are a bunch of towers, which I assume are the dorm rooms. All in all, the place looks pretty plain. Does it have a name? I'll have to ask later.
I look up at the sky, holding my hand up to the blinding sun. Man, I can't believe that somewhere under the same sky, my family is probably celebrating me making it into the hero course.
I see something glint in the sunlight, only for a split second, seeming to hurtle towards us. Wait, no, correction; seeming to hurtle towards me. What is that? Am I just imagining it or what? It's got a red tint to it, could it be…
"Shit."
"What's wrong?" The kid turns to look at me, trying to see what made me say that. I feel his grip loosen ever so slightly.
"No time to explain!" I'm pretty sure that that's another one of the villain's lasers, and it's heading straight towards me, and consequently, the kid that's holding me. No time to dodge normally, I have to use my wind to get us out of the way. This would be fine under normal circumstances, but now, I don't think I can control enough wind to carry us both out of the way. I'll have to blow us by force, but I won't be able to if I have to move both of us.
Man, I really didn't feel like dying today. I pull myself out of his grip and muster up the biggest gust of wind I can, pushing him out of the way. Falling to the ground, I catch one last glimpse of the laser, about to make contact with where I was laying. Well, at least I got the boy to safety. I feel myself passing out, this time not from my wounds but from reaching my oddity's limit. I can faintly hear everyone in the group yelling frantically, before I pass out again. That makes it three times today, not a great record.
***********
"Shit." I'm still holding Nova, who's stopped fighting me. I wonder what happened.
"What's wrong?" She looks frantic. Well, I'm not really sure if it's frantic that she looks like. She doesn't really express herself much on the outside, relying instead on words for the most part. At least, that's what I've observed from her so far.
"No time to explain!" Wait, what? I'm so confused. What does she mean? Girls are super confusing sometimes, I don't- out of the blue, she squirms out of my grip and sends me flying with her power. I land face first on the ground to our left, sprawled out spread eagle.
"What the…?" Turning back to where she should be, I finally see what she saw. It looks like a red laser or something coming straight towards her. Did she willingly sacrifice herself to push me out of harm's way? The rest of the people in our group turn, hearing the commotion, and see exactly what I just saw.
Staring dumbfounded, they all stay rooted to the ground, not knowing what to do. The beam is right on her, why hasn't she gotten out of the way yet? She's on her knees, looking up at the laser. I see her take one last look at it, then crumple to the ground, unconscious. Did she overuse her power or something? From the sound of it, she has used it quite a bit today, and she hasn't really had any stamina training or anything, so it's a serious possibility. Did she really use the last of her power to save me, a person she just met? For someone who really doesn't want to be here, she's good at playing the role of hero.
"Hey, quiet kid, do something!" I usually am fine with people, but this Crawler person gets on my nerves. I don't have any time for these useless thoughts, I've got maybe ten seconds before it hits her, I have to act fast.
I stop thinking and start acting mostly on instinct. Twisting my body, I send a surge of power out through my extended right arm towards Nova's spot on the ground. I can feel the transparent circle's power like it is an extended part of my arm. I reach out towards Nova, reaching her in a flash. Enveloping her in my grasp, I create a thin shield around her. I can feel her body heat, her deep breathing, like I was holding her in my arms instead of with my power.
I feel at peace while in contact with her. I don't know why, but she has an incredibly soothing aura. It's almost as if she's the one trying to protect me from something, instead of the other way around. The feeling of peace didn't last long. It didn't last long at all.