School of the Crown Assassins

04

I was back in the prison cell.

My wrists and ankles were chained again, the walls showing images of blood seeping through a previously serene landscape. The blood oozed into the cell, making its way to my feet. It burned through my skin as it climbed upward, covering my whole body. I screamed.

I turned my head to the side in pain, curling in and out, trying to make the blood go away. But it kept covering me, oozing up my arms and neck. Something cold was pressed into my hands. I opened my eyes and looked down to find a large knife, covered and dripping in slick blood. My own eyes stared back at me in horror through the obscured reflection. And then the eyes in the reflection wrinkled upwards, as if they were grinning.

I jerked awake, sweat trickling down my forehead, the sheets tangled around me. I felt the tell-tale nausea and ran for the bathroom, leaning over the toilet and emptying the contents of my stomach. Flushing the toilet and wiping my mouth, I walked back into my room and looked at the clock. The red letters of the alarm clock read 2:30.

I had only gotten thirty minutes of sleep, but I knew I wasn't going to be getting any more tonight. I never did. Not after my nightmares, at least.

I slipped out of bed and made my way to the bathroom, brushing my teeth and shoving on some fighting gear. If I couldn't sleep at least I could train, try to clear my head. Even though I didn't get on the Alpha team now, I could still try to in the future. I was still next in line and if I trained hard enough, maybe I could beat Trinity. Sure, people's points increased exponentially once they joined the Alphas. But that just meant I had to try harder, push myself more.

I will get on that team. No matter the cost.

I tiptoed out of my room and shut the door quietly behind me. I didn't want to alert Axe, who's door was right across from mine, that I was awake.

I wasn't sure how he managed to sleep. Axe had wanted a spot on the Alpha's for as long as I could remember. Everything he had done had been a calculated move that would help him get closer to achieving his goal. But in the end, it was worthless. He had ended up not only stuck on the beta team, but also behind a girl hadn't given a damn until a few months ago. I was almost tempted to knock on his door and apologize for ruining his chances. Almost.

I stepped into the elevator, pressing a button for the training rooms on the fifth floor. The elevator started up slowly and I turned around looking out the glass walls. The dark night was like a shadow outside the elevator. The woods were basked in silver light, giving them an almost ethereal glow. If I had been younger, I might've painted them. But I stopped painting a long time ago, after all of my drawings started turning into the same horrific scene that I didn't want to experience again.

My mind wandered back to earlier, when I had seen the boy with the near white eyes. He had been standing so calmly, undoubtedly scouting the school. And then he looked at me. Not just at me, through me. Like he already knew who I was and all of my deepest secrets. It made me uncomfortable. And then he left as quietly as he came, not caring that I had seen him. Why? What was he doing in the first place?

I looked back down at the woods. He was long gone by now, no doubt about it, but could he have left any clues?

The elevator doors dinged open, revealing the fifth floor. I hesitated for only a second before pressing the elevator buttons again. It started to move again, leading me to the first floor. In seconds, I was stepping off the elevator and walking across the tiles where just hours earlier a dead girl had lain.

I shuddered and quickened my pace, not wanting to be here any longer than I had to. Pushing through the door, I stepped out into the winter air, the icy-cold wind piercing my bare skin. I hadn't brought a jacket since I'd never planned to go outside and the cold was certainly going to get me sick in the future, but I didn't care.