and began to fix the mess of blond hair that was tangled in a ponytail. As she worked, Kelly continued, “You’re one of the few people who actually pays attention to me, to anyone in this place, and not just to study them for their weaknesses. I just…I hope we can still be friends someday.”
Angel looked up past herself at Kelly’s face in the mirror. The girl was smiling at her. Angel cast a puzzled look, and Kelly’s face fell. Movement in the corner of the room drew Angel’s attention. Someone was there, and they were not alone in the room.
“Never mind,” Kelly muttered. She hung her head, causing her long hair to fall onto her face, and she left. Angel continued to observe the spot in the corner of the room until she had left. Quickly Angel spun on her heel, attempting not to lose her footing on the damp floor, and studied the corner with her own eyes. Nothing was there, but someone had been. As she got closer to the wall, she realized the tile in that corner was not covered in water droplets from the steam, and a handprint was visible on one of the lockers. But soon, the spot was covered in water again. Angel shook her head. She was just being foolish, and she was almost late for her next class.
Angel grabbed her bag from inside her locker and made her way down the hall to her class. The old mansion was huge on the inside, with the first floor being the classrooms and a large dining room and the upper floors being the housing location for the students who all trained (at Angel’s last count, roughly a hundred), along with a library and the Council chambers. It was easy to forget that this was not just a boarding school. At last, she reached her classroom, and Angel opened the door, preparing for the lecture from Jaroslav about her tardiness.
As the door swung open, several people turned to look at her, but most of the class remained facing the front board. Jaroslav was not there yet, and not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Angel made her way to her seat and got ready for class. Just as she had settled in, the door opened, and Jaroslav entered.
“Good afternoon. Now, class, last time we left off on the history of the Hessian outpost system. Can anyone explain to me why it was put in place?” Jaroslav asked as he entered the room. He placed a briefcase down on the table and turned to the board to begin to write information down. He wrote the number 82 on the board, along with several other names and locations (quite possibly of corresponding outpost). When he was done, he turned around to see if anyone had come up with the answer.
Jaroslav’s steel-blue eyes circled the room behind the glasses he had to wear now that he was getting on in the years. His once sharp marksman eyes were now developing astigmatism that caused his distance vision to falter; it was why he was no longer in the field and instead teaching history. As per usual, the only student with a hand up was Chase, ever eager to prove his knowledge of pointless trivia or more to the fact that he was hoping to be placed as a Seeker when all the training was over with.
Jaroslav nodded in Chase’s direction as a sign that he should answer, and within a second, the boy spat out something of a response. But Angel had lost interest. In the front of the classroom, something else had drawn her attention. Ashlee, whom Angel had never noticed was in this class before, was passing notes to the girl in front of her.
“Angel, what outpost do we reside in?” Jaroslav asked, distracting Angel from seeing who ended up with Ashlee’s note. Her attention shifted back to the front of the room, and she blinked several times, hoping to stall out the question, without admitting that she hadn’t really been paying any attention. Searching for an answer, she glanced up at the board and the number 82 on it. Before she could respond, Jaroslav spoke again.
“Right, I understand that all this seems pointless to all of you who do not wish to move on to the rank of Seeker, but this is information that could be useful. And while listening to me lecture is not something you would really care to do, it is your responsibility as a student here to retain this information. Failing your practicals outright to become an Elite is not an option.”
Michael, a boy who sat next to Chase at the front of the room, raised his hand in question. When prompted, he asked, “So what is the determinant for our placement? High test scores get us placed with the Seekers, high combat scores are Elites, so does that make a Guardian just someone who is okay in both?”
Jaroslav sighed and looked at the group. “Your future is decided by the Council in this outpost. Of course, your test scores are taken into consideration to find the best fit, but sometimes an individual shows promise elsewhere and is placed in the group where they’re most needed.”
Jaroslav continued to talk, but once more, Angel’s attention was drawn to Ashlee. The note was back in her hand, and she was smiling at it. From where she was sitting, one row up, Angel could read the last comment of the page. “I’ll explain everything tonight,” it read. And the note was passed along again. And this time, Angel was able to see that it was Kelly who was reading it. The said girl turned slightly to look back at Ashlee and nodded, smiling at her, and mouthed “Thank you” before looking back toward the front of the room.
Angel attempted to erase the information from her mind. What was going on? Why were two individuals now acting out of character? The goal of the academy was to remove the need for emotions in your life. The Hessian’s were the balancing force in the world that kept everything running smoothly; they had been since the dawn of recorded history and would continue to be until the collapse of civilization. It was a careful balance of Seekers, who created the laws and studied the patterns of the world; Elites, who maintained order of the law and made sure everything operated correctly; and Guardians, who blended in with society to help keep their existence a secret to help keep the peace. Emotions made things messy. It clouded judgment and logic, and it made doing what needed to be done complicated. So then why were Recruits now showing emotion? Had this been going on the whole time and Angel hadn’t noticed?
It was only after dinner that evening that she realized the problem with the whole situation—she was caring about the welfare of her fellow Recruits. She was showing emotion as well.
Chapter Three
The fire had started again. Over the roar of the flames that threatened to overtake the entire building, Angel could faintly make out the pounding of her own two feet on the tiled floor, and then a second set joined hers. Angel ran faster down the halls, hoping to escape the individual who had done this. She didn’t know who the person was who started the fire, but what she did know was that they were now after her.
The hallway before her seemed to stretch on for an eternity, and Angel was finding it harder to breathe with all the smoke in the air. She began to cough as the oxygen level dropped. She knew she didn’t have much time; she needed to find an exit. Angel raced down endless hallways, but there seemed to be no doors anywhere. She was lost and panicking, and that was never a good combination for the mind, especially when there was little time to think.
A flash of light drew Angel’s attention to her left, where she found a door. With an exclamation of happiness, Angel ran for it, thanking whomever was watching out for her for stopping her from running past the door. She grabbed the handle and pulled on it to open it. But the door wouldn’t budge, and she slammed her shoulder onto the door in hopes of breaking the lock and getting into the room. When that failed and she realized the flames were getting closer, she was about to opt out of the door decision when she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the hall toward her. Angel began to panic as she slammed her shoulder again onto the door.
After several attempts, Angel fell through the door and slammed onto the floor. The little air that she had been breathing was forced from her lungs on impact, and she gasped for air, thankful that the air lower to the ground had less smoke and more oxygen. Angel crawled along the floor, hoping that she could go unnoticed by the person chasing her. Her hopes were dashed when someone seized the back of her shirt and hauled her to her feet.
