Dagger

Chapter 5

Forest's breath hitched as he observed his surroundings. That morning he had slept in and was running late, and yet he completely forgot as he stood gaping at the sight before him.

He stood beneath a large grey archway. There was a small rectangular hallway behind him, an elevator on the opposite wall, and a flight of metal stairs in an alcove to his his right. The floors were a grey linoleum and the walls a pristine white, but that wasn't what had stopped him.

Before Forest, there was large room. Three of its walls were glass that reflected the vast tall buildings and the pale blue sky that had a line of a pink-orange color that hid amongst the buildings. Inside the large room there were tinier glass rooms with people fighting inside of them. The hallways twisted and turned around the vast number of training rooms. Each had some sort of target and floors that were covered in blue tumbling mats.

Everything looked so new and pristine compared to the equipment the Silver Blades had. He had been a decent fighter in the organization, and Forest had the sudden thought that he actually might be behind all of his classmates. While the thought was certainly discouraging, he took a soothing deep breath in and squared his shoulders. He smiled confidently to just as much fool other people as well as himself.

Forest walked down the rows of training rooms, each had a number on it. The numbers started with 1 and continued to grow with each room he passed. He cast a quick glance at his watch and scanned the message for the room number. According to his watch he needed to be in training room 19.  He looked up from the watch to check what number he was on, it was 10. He continued to walk down the polished hallway, all the while admiring the view.

Training room 19 looked like the rest of the training rooms. The blue mats and the training equipment tucked neatly on the back wall. Mr. Marcus walked in between the pairs of fighting students, occasionally stopping to give them pointers. For some reason Forest stood still, he couldn't move his and legs and he stayed grounded to the spot. He was so close to the training room, he almost made it.

His face must've had fear written all over it, as Mr. Marcus made his way toward Forest. His gut churned and he wiped his sweaty palm on his pant legs.

"You alright Forest?" His eyes adjusted and shifted to look into the concerned grey eyes of Mr. Marcus.

He gulped and managed a nod. "I think I am," He thought for a moment before adding, "I don't know why I'm so nervous though..." He let out a small nervous chuckle.

Mr. Marcus looked like he felt bad for Forest, pitied him. He put a comforting hand on Forest's shoulder. "It's perfectly fine to be nervous on your first day." A comforting smile stretched across his face.

Forest slowly nodded. "Thanks."

Mr. Marcus continued to smile and he nodded.  He turned to look at his students fighting. "Now, Melody just took a break, so looks like you're by yourself for a while."

    Forest's eyes widened with recognition. He then looked back at Mr. Marcus. "Melody?"

    Mr. Marcus looked back at him. "Yes, do you know her?"

    Forest's memories began to flood back, the whole reason he was here was to warn Melody. He knew his memory was going to be a little foggy, but did it really have to make him completely forget about the fact that Melody was going to die? The whole reason he's there in the first place?

    Mr. Marcus looked at him again with a concerned gaze.

    "Where did she go?" Forest asked abruptly.

    Mr. Marcus looked at him, confused. "She went on a walk, down the hall." He pointed back toward the elevator.

    "Mr. Marcus I understand I'm late and I need to train, but there is something very important I need to do right now, can I leave?" Mr. Marcus stared at him and he continued. "It's a matter of life and death." He was desperate, and his face reflected that.

    Mr. Marcus waved his hand toward the door, gesturing that he had permission to leave. Forest nodded with determination and he sprinted out the door and down the hall. He looked at the stairs that were next to the archway. He heard the metal stairs clank as someone walked up the stairs. Then he seen a wisp of light copper hair disappear into the upper floor.

Forest ran toward the stairs. His heartbeat racing at the thought of seeing Melody again, even if the circumstances weren't the best. He burst through the door at the top of the stairs and he found himself standing on the roof of Proelia. The winds were strong on the roof and it rustled his hair as he scanned the roof for light copper hair.

    He caught a glimpse of what he was looking for. He saw Melody, wearing the same uniform as he did, looking at the view of the city. Forest ran toward her and spoke fast. "Melody, I really need to tell you-"  

    Melody marched forwards. She radiated anger, a loud slap ricocheted and echoed as her hand collided with his face. When Forest looked up at her in confusion he was met with a furious glare.  Forest straightened up. "Ok, I deserved that." He completely understood her anger, and he was willing to admit that.

    "Why the hell are you here?!" She yelled, nostrils flaring in anger.

    "I came here to warn you." Her face somehow got even angrier and  Forest held up his hands in defense. He also hoped it would calm her down.

    "About what?!" Her stance was defensive, as if she didn't trust him, which he thought was completely warranted. She stood and waited for him to respond.

    "Ok I can tell you're mad, but I can explain." When Melody didn't reply he took it as a go ahead to continue. Her angry eyes bore into him, making him take in a nervous shuddering breath. "So after the last snow I overheard people saying they were going to come after you." Forest rushed out all the words worried that she might interrupt him.

    "Sure Forest, Sure." She turned away and shook her head. Her tongue traced over her teeth and gums beneath her closed lips. "I can't believe I let you go!" She yelled in frustration with herself.

    "Melody I'm serious." He looked into her eyes, his face pleading and worried. He hoped that the seriousness of his face would help his argument.

    "I don't even know how you got into this place-"

    Forest interrupted her rant. "I talked to Mr. Marcus after I woke up in the hospital wing, he let me in."

    Melody's eyes widened. "You were let in?!" She looked at him in utter disbelief and let out an exasperated sigh. "What has this world come to?!" She looked up into the sky and ran her hands through her hair.

    "Look Melody, I'm not the bad guy anymore," He gestured to the building. "I mean I'm here. I almost died trying to get here, but I'm here." He took a cautious step forwards and she looked at him in disgust and took a slight step backwards. The action left him a little distraught, but he continued anyways.  "Melody, Master has... he has this plan I don't know what it is or what he's doing, but I know it's big." He tried to sort out his own memories and thoughts. He was upset that he didn't know the extent of their plan, and it worried him.

    Melody rolled her eyes. "You are so dramatic."

    Forest stepped closer. "No I'm not!" He let out a sigh and his shoulders deflated a little. "Look, he has your sister doesn't he?" He looked at her, his eyes pleading, desperate and worried. "We can get her back!" He wasn't completely sure of how he would achieve that, but he already said it and it was too late to take it back.

    "And how do you expect we do that?! My father said he had it handled." She shifted her weight, her eyes were still angry but Forest believed she was trying to hide her interest in his proposition.

    Forest advanced towards her. "Trust me."

    Melody looked at him with disgust. "I don't think I can after what you did."

    "Melody I'm not with them anymore! I always hated what they did, you just gave me the courage to leave!" This was all true, and he hoped it was getting across to her.

    Melody wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm sorry I can't just trust you like that, it's not that simple Forest. Your going to have to gain it back." Her eyes had a hint of sadness to them.

    Forest's eyes glinted with his newfound hope. "I'll do whatever it takes."