Tess felt the rush of wind against her skin as she sprinted over the lush green grass, her heart pounding in her chest. She could hear the sound of her own ragged breaths and the thudding of her footsteps as she raced past the trees of the compound. Behind in one terrifying stampede of blue uniforms were more guards with bats all out to get her.
The large slide-gate up ahead began to slide shut to keep her trapped. Even worse, she saw two guards there waiting for her. She pushed herself harder, her muscles burning with exertion as she poured all her energy into her legs.
"Hey, stop!" yelled a guard from behind her.
Tess felt the hard, unforgiving surface of the metal bat connect with her leg causing her right knee hit the other. The gate shifted to green grass approaching her face before realizing she was falling. Her elbows hit the ground first followed by her knees. She could feel the rough texture of the ground against her skin, the hard dirt and stones scraping against her knees.
"Ugh!"
She had barely opened her eyes when she pushed her chest up from the ground. She looked down past her belly and noticed three pairs of blue legs behind her. The shock forced her to rise quickly to her feet.
Her heart jumped the second she turned around to stare Beater in the wrinkled-saggy face. He grabbed after her right arm. She pulled it back in time and with lightning-fast reflexes, she lifted her left foot and delivered a swift kick to his groin.
"Aaah!" Beater yelled out.
The sound of his bat hitting the ground reverberated in her ears like a drumbeat, confirming what she was looking at. Yet she stared with unbelief at the top of his head as he crouched over in pain. For someone who's spent years in his field, how could he have not seen that coming?
The tap of a bat behind her caused her to turn around to face two more guards several feet away. The female one had both sides of her head shaved and corn-rowed at the top. Her stiff face showed no emotion as usual. It was the MS off known as Devast.
The male guard beside her was a stranger, taller and thicker than any of the guards she had seen at the Academy. He must be new.
Both guards looked at Beater still crouched over on the ground before looking back at the girl juvenile.
Devast continued to hit her bat against the palm of her other hand to warm it up for the beating of a lifetime.
"You should stop running," the tall guard said, his voice cold and menacing. "This is as far as you'll go."
Devast's lips curled into a sneer as she stepped forward, her bat at the ready. "We're not going to let you pass that gate. That's obviously where you're going, isn't that right young lady? Or should I call you delinquent?" She gnashed her teeth together and her bat stayed glued to her hand.
Tess could feel her teeth grinding together in anger as she glared at the two guards. Her hair might make her stand out, but it was her bad reputation that had made her a target for the Academy's most sadistic guards.
Lifting both fists before her face, Tess analyzed the guards, trying to anticipate their next move. She knew they were trying to buy time for the others to catch up, to surround her and subject her to another one of their twisted games. The thought of it made her blood boil with hatred, and the left side of her mouth twitched involuntarily. All those years of stamina classes were going to be put to the test. Oddly, it was not with a Sybervirian.
"Looks like we've got a quiet one," he sneered, his eyes flicking away from Tess towards Devast, who was standing a few feet away. The hairs on Tess's arms stood on end as she sensed her chance.
With lightning speed, she planted her feet firmly on the ground and launched herself at the tall guard. He didn't stand a chance as she rammed into his stomach with all her strength, sending him flying backwards and crashing to the ground with a sickening thud. She felt something snap beneath her hands as she pushed into his ribs, but didn't stop to check.
Rolling away just in time to avoid another swing of Devast's bat, Tess sprang to her feet and leapt back to evade the next one. Devast's eyes blazed with anger as she kept swinging, determined to take Tess down. The sound of the metal bat whooshing through the air filled Tess's ears as she barely avoided each swing, her heart racing as she saw the other guards closing in from behind Devast.
Tess jumped as she felt a tingling sensation at the back of her leg, narrowly missing the leg that Beater had swung out to trip her. "You bastard!" she spat out, but her words were cut short as a searing pain exploded on the left side of her face, sending her spiraling into darkness.
"Aaaah!" she screamed.
Petra's bright smile from that morning flashed through her mind, but the memory quickly faded as she lost her balance and stumbled to the right, collapsing onto the grass. A sharp, needle-like pain surged through the right side of her face, engulfing her entire focus. Her right eye throbbed with agony, and a piercing scream echoed in her ear. Damn, those metal bats!
The sound of a bat tapping against one's palm finally penetrated her senses. She forced her eyes open, but her vision was distorted, the green grass swirling clockwise in front of her in a dizzying blur.
Devast's boots thudded heavily on the ground as she approached, twirling her bat menacingly. "Don't tell me you're crying?" she taunted.
Come closer, freak. Tess locked her eyes on the approaching boots. Devast had spoken her last words before Tess sprang into action, slamming her forehead into hers with brutal force. Devast fell backwards, with Tess pinning her down.
Tess wrapped both of her hands tightly around Devast's neck, squeezing with all her might until the veins in Devast's face bulged. Devast's terrified dark brown eyes locked with Tess's intense, steely gaze.
Devast clawed and scraped at Tess's hands, desperately trying to free herself. The rough fabric of her cotton shirt burned Tess's skin, leaving angry, red marks along her arms. Tess gritted her teeth, biting down hard on her lower lip to stifle the pain, and squeezed even harder.
Meanwhile, the tall guard struggled to rise from the ground, his fingers twitching as if typing on an invisible keyboard. It was evident that something was severely broken, rendering him unable to stand up. Faint coughs escaped from his throat as he writhed in agony.
Tess smiled. Good. Welcome to the District Ninety-NineAcademy.
Tess dodged the bat that flew for her head. Not waiting for Devast's eyes to close she rose from off her. She ducked several bats from the blue stampede that were within arm's reach and ran off.