Young Writers Society

Claudius Atticus Glacialis

"Do you really not have enough people here that my name is first?" said Cloud dryly, standing up from his seated position. They were at the training field thing. The grass reminded him of the time he studied under Archimedes. Rough, but green-- calloused, but still standing.

"We were going for last names, not first names, Atticus,"-- Cloud flinched at the use of his last name, "And we don't have very many people anyways," retorted Jared, "Go on."

Cloud would have smashed this "Jared" into pulp for calling him Atticus, but Cloud restrained himself and feigned boredom. He yawned and raised his hand, pointing it at a tree nearby. After a few moments, the tree began to shrivel and crack. Within a minute, the entire tree had crumbled to a few branches.

Cloud had assumed that the audience would be bored to death from this demonstration, but then again, the standards here were probably not as high as the standards at Rome.

Cloud brushed his hands against each other, feeling the boundaries of space and time warping around him. With a nauseating gasp, Cloud took a step forward, willing himself to move the universe like he wanted. He warped over to the crumpled tree and warped back.

"That's what I can do. Space-time manipulation. I can warp space and time," Cloud let out a sigh. It seemed that his space-time was getting a little rusty. He really hadn't been able to use it at Verna.

"Anything else?" asked Jared slyly. Cloud suspected that Jared wanted to get him back for attempting to snark at him.

Cloud glared and said, "I can die over and over."

Some of the other students snicker. One guy, the blonde who beared a striking similarity to that one greek poet (Cloud had already forgotten the poet's-- and the blonde's-- name.) spoke up, "So basically we can kill you over and over."

"If you can, which I doubt," Cloud deadpanned, earning an extremely ruthless glare from the blonde. No matter how powerful the kid was, he was pretty good at glares. Cloud hadn't seen another glarer as good as that since Joan of Arc.

"Hey Jared. I bet you have more important stuff to do than watch teenagers banter," said Cloud.

"You would be surprised at actually how much important stuff I have to do," Jared paused for a moment, probably wondering if he should intervene between Blonde's Glare and Cloud's rudeness, "Well then, Rosetta's next."

This caused some protest from the blonde in the crowd, which Jared responded with, "Wait for your turn, Aiden."

Ah, his name is Aiden? wondered Cloud. Either way, Cloud lazily returned to his spot on the grass and decided it wasn't worth the effort to continue to snark at Aiden. But what he didn't see was the vengeful glare of Aiden, even more ruthless than before, burning two wide, gaping holes through his back.

CHARLOTTE

For reference this song is the one she plays on the violin:


Jared looks at the list. "Rose" he calls. Rose starts moving towards Jared when suddenly she slips and hits her head on the bench. Jared looks frightened and concerned for half a second, than he turns to the kids gathered on the bench. "Go get Amelia" Jared shouts. No one moves. "Now" he yells. Charlotte rushes over to Rose "get back" Jared says. I'm a doctor she writes down on a note, shoving it into Jared's hand. She kneels down next to Rose, someone else rushes off to find Amelia, she doesn't know who, nor does she care, her greatest concern was Rose.

If only she could talk, that would make things easier. She grabs the closest person, Thomas, damn it, never mind. She jots down a few questions for him to ask and also what to say if Rose asks certain questions. Charlotte guesses that Rose has suffered a concussion, from the head injury. "OK, um...what's your name" Thomas asks. Thomas raises an eyebrow "we know her name though" Thomas says to Charlotte, she glares at Thomas and he nods "OK, whatever."
A few seconds later she responds with "Rose." Charlotte nods "what happened" Rose asks, her speech is a little slurred. "You, slipped and hit your head, we think you suffered a concussion" Thomas says slowly and calmly. He's doing a lot better than I thought Charlotte thinks. Rose nods, than winces with pain "my head hurts" she mutters. Thomas looks genuinely concerned. Well that's a first than again, so does everyone. Thomas continues rattling off questions, while Rose responds, in slow slurred speech. Charlotte nods. "What happened to me" Rose asks. Thomas frowns "uh..." Charlotte elbows him and he nods "right uh...you slipped and hit your head, we think you suffered a concussion." Charlotte stands up, she jots down

She has a concussion. Make sure she gets rest, does not participate in any strenuous activity or anything that can cause a second concussion. Make sure she is not exposed to any bright lights or loud sounds. In summary, rest, don't do anything else just rest. No screen time, no activity nothing. Just rest.

Amelia walks over to the scene and examines everything. Charlotte hands the note to Amelia, before sitting down. Aiden walks up to her "I can't believe Catherine would snoop that low" Aiden says to her, just loudly enough for Catherine to hear him. Charlotte ignores him. "I'm not surprised though..." Charlotte marches away before Aiden can say another word.

Once she gets inside she grabs her violin from her daypack and begins to play the song Gilroy taught her.

Charlotte sat down next to Gilroy's bed "how are you feeling" she asked. "Good as new" Gilroy replied, looking at his leg. "I still can't believe I'll be going back to the war tomorrow." Charlotte laughed "yeah, it's hard to believe" she replied. "There's one song I've been meaning to teach you" he said. Charlotte raised her eyebrow "really?" Gilroy nodded "my father taught it to me and he learned it from a friend in the Great War, and he learned it from his father, who learned it from his father who learned it from..." Charlotte cuts him off "OK, OK, I get the point, it's an oldie." Gilroy chuckles "always so impatient Charlie...well anyways, let's start. So it starts off like this. 'I am a poor wayfaring stranger, I'm travelling through this world of woe..."

Charlotte is snapped out of it when she hears someone walking towards her. She looks at up to see who it is.





THOMAS

Jared and Amelia carry Rose away. "Stay here" Amelia orders. Once they're out of earshot Thomas turns to Aiden. "Are you gonna run off again" he asks, grinning. Aiden laughs "I don't run away from things" he says. Thomas sits down next to him. "I heard what you said about Catherine" he says. "What about it" Aiden scowls. Thomas chuckles "oh don't worry, I completely agree. Only that bitch would do something like that."
Thomas sees Jared and Amelia coming back. "Here they come" he says, standing up. "Where's Charlotte" Jared frowns. Thomas shrugs "she ran off."
"I'll go get her" Amelia says "continue down the list." Jared nods "OK, Thomas why don't you demonstrate your power for us?"
"And what about Rose" Thomas asks. "She'll be fine, we will skip her for now, please demonstrate your power." Thomas strides down and looks for something to use his power on. A rock perhaps? Or a tree? He concentrates hard on the tree, it begins to shake, before finally becoming uprooted and flung to the side. Jared nods "very good, you may sit down now." Thomas makes his way back to where he was before and sits down next to Aiden "say, I never asked...what's your power" he asks.

The other displays of power have been, I have to admit, very... boring. I mean, Cloud has space and time manipulation, a power with virtually infinite uses, and he decides to showcase it by changing a tree? And then he restores it, like he's trying to prove he won't hurt anyone. What a suck-up. And then Charlotte, the absolute bore, didn't even show her power! She just got angry and stomped off like some coward. And then there was Thomas. Moving things with his mind— and then he uproots a tree? What is it with these idiots and trees?

By the time Thomas sits down next to me, I'm itching to do something. It's annoying, having to sit through presentations of other people you don't care about, and on top of that, it's like they put no effort into it at all. I'm surprised they took half these people from Verna in the first place after displays like that. Ridiculous.

"Say, I never asked..." Thomas says quietly next to me. "What's your power?"

I smirk as Jared looks down at the list. "You're about to find out," I reply smoothly at the same time as Jared looks up at me.

"Aiden," he says flatly. I can tell from his cold gaze that he's read my file, and obviously isn't pleased by it.

I grin. "That's my name."

"Come to the front of the group," he says firmly, demonstrating to the wide-open space between where he and Nubia are now seated and where the rest of the group is gathered. My eyes narrow and I'm tempted to argue, but I hold back, covering it with a wide smile. Now isn't the time to make anyone dislike me. Fear me? Absolutely. But dislike me? No. So instead, I walk to the clearing.

"For this magic trick, I'm going to need a volunteer from the audience," I joke, but before any of the other kids get a chance to say anything, Jared sighs and stands, walking so he's beside me.

"Go ahead."

I glance at him. Awesome. Something especially painful then... of course I'll be able to take it out once I put it in so he won't be in pain forever, but still... I smirk and look him up and down. Over the thirteen years I was locked in that prison, I read a lot of medical books in an attempt to get a grasp on the different things I can control. There are several rare diseases I could instill, but that seems rather unnecessary if I'm going to immediately remove it. Better to do something that would be obvious to the audience, then, and something they would recognize the name of. There are so many choices...

After a few seconds of contemplating, I finally land on what should be the easiest. "Are you ready?" I say mockingly, not giving Jared enough time to respond before I push him on his chest with my pointer finger. That one small touch is all it takes, and his breath immediately hitches. He gasps as he falls to his knees, the clipboard falling in front of him and his hands going to his throat, struggling to get any air in.

"Oh, it's not in there," I say coolly, squatting to look at him as he curls into the grass, lightly placing a hand on his shoulder and willing it to move faster. "No," I say calmly. "Your tumor is currently growing at an unnaturally fast pace in your left lung. No," I correct, tilting my head as I squint my eyes and feel in my head, mapping where it is. "It's in both lungs now actually. And I must, unfortunately, inform you that you've got rather bad luck." My voice drips with false sympathy as I murmur, "it seems the cancer grew in a way that's blocking your airways. Even chemotherapy and emergency surgery couldn't cure you at this point."

He struggles as I will the tumor to block his airways completely, shutting him off from oxygen.

"Aiden, you're going to kill him," Thomas says, his eyes wide with alarm. Catherine is watching with a repulsed look on her face, and Cloud looks like he's trying to decide if he should interfere or not.

I look back at Jared, who's stopped moving completely. His lips are beginning to turn blue, and I desperately want to just watch. I've never seen someone die from cancer, let alone on such a fast-track like this. What would it look like? But Cloud snaps me out of it as he finally steps forward and says firmly, "Aiden, stop."

His voice makes the anger surge up in me. I want to turn around and punch him, I want to kill all these miserable lazy idiots, but I restrain myself. He'll just reverse it on his own if I don't, and then he'll get all the credit and I'll likely get in trouble. I roll my eyes and touch Jared's chest, quickly and deftly tugging and pulling all the cancer out with my mind. Jared bolts upwards, taking in large gulps of air, the blue color receding from his lips. Catherine looks relieved, Thomas looks too surprised to react, and Cloud just looks... unsettled. There's also a glint of annoyance in his expression.

After a few seconds, Jared manages to spit out, "That was a complete violation of your contract, and—"

I cut him off. "You said to show my powers. I did. I was even nice and took the cancer out for you." I smile coldly. "You know, not everyone who's come in touch with my powers has had such a happy ending. I don't even think I'd mind a thank you at this point."

His nostrils flare. "I am well aware of the five thousand students you killed in cold blood," he snaps, picking up his clipboard from the ground, hands shaking.

I grin. "Oh good, so Amelia updated my file then. I mean, what idiot rounds 4,900 down to four thousand? Five thousand just sounds so much more... cool." I smirk.

"While you may find genocide amusing, I do not," he says flatly, "and you have violated your contract."

"No, you gave me permission," I remind him. "And that means I didn't violate the contract. It specified that I could not use my powers to harm any fellow students and I could not use them without the permission of a supervisor. I had the permission of a supervisor, and you're not a student. I may not make the rules, but I didn't break them either." I hold my hands out in a 'what-can-you-do?' gesture, but the grin on my face makes it clear I'm not the least bit sorry.

Jared studies me, appraising me as if he's just now considering I might be more than a kid with a dangerous power— like he's just now beginning to realize I'm not one of these other idiots who'll blindly play along with their schemes and fantasies. I've got a mind, and I'm not afraid to use it.

He inhales sharply and looks away from me. Pride unfurls in my chest, knowing I've won the argument, but I hide it. Everyone remains frozen for a few moments, like they're not sure what to do, before Jared raises his clipboard and looks down. I don't miss the slight tremble in his hands, whether from fear or anger I don't know. He looks up and clears his throat.

"Aiden, sit back down." Instead of arguing, I go and take my place on the grass again, stretching my legs out and leaning back on my hands. I make eye contact with Nubia and flash a nervous smile, paired with a hesitant shrug. She seems to take in an unsteady breath, but she looks a little calmer, and I can tell that for the moment at least, I've convinced her that I was playing it up to impress everyone else. Good. The more that I can convince everyone the only time the mean side of me comes out to play is when someone does something wrong, the more I can slowly convince them that it's their responsibility to not bring him out. And then I can do whatever I want. I nearly grin but stop myself. Oh, these games are fun.

"Agatha is up next," Jared says, finally moving his gaze away from me, and I allow myself a small smile. This is all just a big game, one that the others don't realize they're playing in yet. But even if they don't know they're all just pawns on my chessboard, pieces I'll move around and discard when they're no longer useful, it's a fun game to play while it lasts. And after that display, one thing is clear— I'm winning.

AGATHA

It’s….. Interesting! I mean finally, I will get to show my powers to everyone. I always like to display my powers but I think the people here don’t, they look so bored especially that boy with big eyes, he showed his gifts like it was nothing. I mean he has an interesting power, space-time manipulation, he can eat an ice-cream a million times, just by reversing the time every time it is finished, so cool!

I was waiting patiently beside a very quiet or rather paranoid girl. I tried to start a conversation with her but she just smirked at me and changed her seat. Looks like people here don’t like to make friends too.

And that boy whose name is…..yes Aiden, he is just so horrible. Jared could have died and what more, he gave a stupid explanation about his cruel doing. He thinks everyone will get impressed by this act, but I am not the type of person who will get easily attracted.

I was going to stand because I knew I was next when Jared called my name “Agatha is up next.”

“Yeah, I am coming,” I said and made my way to the open space.

I stood and started to contact all the ants present there, and soon an army of ants surrounded the people sitting on the grass. And as if this was not enough I called all my birdies and the sky was filled with them.

“My first gift as you can see is animal telepathy, I can control and understand all the animals present on the earth,” As I said this I saw Aiden laughing silently, of course, he is trying to attract attention. I wanted to command all the ants there to bite every bit of his flesh but no this was not the time I will plan something better for him.

“To show my next power I need a volunteer from the audience,” I said. “And this time I think it won’t be appropriate for Jared to volunteer,” I said and Jared nodded, he has read my file.

After that, I saw Amelia coming with Charlotte, she looked sad. I am curious to know what power this girl has and why doesn’t she show it.

“You go now and never try to leave without permission,” Amelia said giving Charlotte a sharp stare.

“Hey, Charlotte you can be my volunteer for my next power display,” I asked Charlotte as she started to sit on the grass.

“Yeah, go there!” Amelia commanded Charlotte and walked back to the castle.

Without saying anything Charlotte came forward in front of me. She gave a gesture of something like ‘do what you want’ and stood silently.

“Okay, I am ready so let’s start,” I said and started concentrating on her brain, in a couple of seconds with the wave of my hand Charlotte’s last night dream was displaying in front of everyone, they all watched her dream curiously.

In her dream, there was a girl screaming which was probably Charlotte and a group of boys I can’t see their face as the dream was hazy. The boys were surrounding Charlotte and then suddenly they started to fall down on the ground, I was not very sure what was actually happening. They all were perfectly fine a second ago and now they all were crying in pain and covering their ears. It was one of those weird dreams I ever saw!

Everyone looked confused because they too didn't knew what was happening in the dream. They all began to murmur.

I saw Charlotte standing with her head down, she was probably embarrassed, ofcoarse no one wants their dream to be displayed like that. With a wave of my hand, the dream now disappeared.

“Okay... so..this was my second power, dream manipulation. I can see anyone's dream and manipulate it except Amelia’s because of this,” I said gesturing my hat and Aiden smirked. I don't know what's up with this guy, why he likes to smirk everytime.

“Okay, Agatha now go take your seat,” said Jared and started seeing the file for the next name.

"Kendrick Harris Scott," Jared read. "You're next."

Kendrick jolted at the sound of his full name. Immediately, he felt eyes on him from every angle. Kendrick didn't even know if the other teens had noticed him while he watched them show off their abilities. Kendrick had watched, quiet but shocked, as his peers manipulated space and time, infected Jared's lungs with tumors, and made dreams play out in real time. The people he was sitting with were...

...dangerous.

Kendrick felt like an outsider, a normal human looking at an extraordinary power show--until he remembered that he was just like these people. Powerful, but dangerous and unstable. They had all been in Verna for a reason. And Kendrick suspected they were less concerned with the moral consequences of their actions than he was.

"Kendrick?"

Kendrick flinched again, his mind jolting back to the present. Jared's eyes pierced his, like he was looking at Kendrick from the inside out. "Demonstrate you abilities, please."

"R-right," Kendrick muttered, slowly balancing himself on his feet. Inside, his stomach started fluttering. He had been in Verna for a year. One year without using his powers at all. He hadn't tested them out since he had arrived at the castle. A terrifying thought struck him: What if I can't do it?

But he had to try. Whether he liked it or not, he was one of these people. He was dangerous. And he had abilities. Of course he still had them.

Kendrick focused, trying to bring up an object in his mind. Something simple, easy to create, without much mess. A basketball. Closing his eyes, he pictured where the object would appear: in front of Jared, at his feet. It would be average-sized, orange with black stripes. Extra-grippy, extra-bouncy. Easy enough.

It was easier than Kendrick would have thought to will it into existence. The basketball simply appeared at Jared's feet; no light, nothing flashy. The action felt like an exhale, a sigh of relief.

Kendrick opened his eyes to the people around him. The action had only taken two seconds, but already everyone was judging him and what he had just done. Kendrick could see it on their faces. Cloud had both eyebrows raised, but he wasn't saying anything. Aiden had some sort of emotion on his face that kind of looked like boredom, but Kendrick wasn't sure.

"I can create things," Kendrick said to everyone. "Anything, anywhere. I could create a knife halfway embedded into that tree. I could create a penny 100 feet above the Empire State building, and watch it fall. But I can't un-make anything I create. And, um..." He turned to Jared, who had picked up the basketball. "I can heal from anything, and I can't really get infected by disease, or get poisoned. Somehow my cells can counter whatever gets thrown at them."

"Thank you, Kendrick," Jared murmured. "You may take your seat." He skimmed his file, searching for the next person who would demonstrate their ability.

Slowly, Kendrick settled down. His senses felt invigorated. He had stretched a muscle that hadn't been stretched for too long. He wanted to create another object, then another. Slowly, he closed his eyes and concentrated.

When he opened them, three perfectly sharpened pencils, each yellow painted with black spots like a cheetah, sat in his left hand.

I feel sick to my stomach, and I think I'm shaking a little. This is more than I signed up for. This is more than I'm up for. The girl from earlier talking about James out of the blue, saying he was "safe" and "happy" had disturbed me more than I let on. Safe? Happy? He died when he was six, he worked in the factory system. He's dead. And this girl decides she can tell me he's happy? That she can see him? That he's safe? It hurts me in my chest just thinking about it. And then the other presentations happened. All these kids, all these people— they were all so... powerful. It terrified me. I'd viewed them as wolves, but the damage these people could make... They weren't simple forest wolves anymore. They were Fenrir the wolf in old Norse legends, passed down from my ancestors in Ireland. They wouldn't just bare their teeth at me if they got angry— they could bite off the hands of gods. They could swallow the moon with their enormous jaws, bring about the end of the worlds with a snap of their fangs. And now I was in their midst— an Irish girl in the wrong time period, a lone, small coyote. What was I thinking when I agreed to come here?

You weren't thinking. You wanted out. You wanted the suffocated feeling to leave your lungs, the fog covering your brain to lift. You wanted the fresh air and the sunshine, you wanted the numb feeling in that powered part of your gut to leave. You wanted to feel your powers within your grasp, to know that even if you chose not to use them, you could. You didn't think and now you're in the wolf pack. You're playing with the gods and legends, people who could crush you like an ant with the slightest thought. YOU WEREN'T THINKING.

But I'm here now. And there's nothing I can do but sit through the presentations, which seem to grow more gruesome and grotesque, more invasive and intruding, more personal as time moves on. People aging things and reversing, people who are centuries old, who have actually lived for centuries, not just spent one in a coffin. People talking to animals, people playing dreams out in the sky like it was as simple as a game of hopscotch, people creating things from thin air and uprooting trees with a single thought.

Gods and legends... and then the devil himself— creating a cancer, choking a man half to death, blaming it on his victim so masterfully, beautifully... devastatingly. I think if I hadn't grown up with those boys around me, the overseers who offered me sweets in exchange for my own, who got hostile when anyone said no, who watched little girls, too young for even their cycle, pee in their dresses when they weren't allowed bathroom breaks. Little girls too small to know how precious and valuable their innocence was, who'd trade it on a whim if it just made the tortures of those men stop. No... I don't trust Aiden. But I think I might've at one point. I think I could've at one point. I think I would've at one point.

And now the man, Jared, is looking at his list, but all eyes are already on me-- because they already know. I'm the last one. I feel nausea climb in my throat. How do you follow the creation of matter? How do you top changing time? How do you compare to moving things with your mind? The only thing I can do is change how heavy something is, which does mean I can make myself move through something, or lift it off the ground, or sink something into the Earth... but what good does that do? What else can do you with that except rob banks? How do you use something like that as a weapon?

"Catherine McCarthy," Jared says, then glances up to me. "You're the last demonstrator of the day." He's hiding it well, but I can hear the rasp in his voice— it's like I can feel the air constricted out of me, the cancer building in my lungs, blocking off my— Stop. Aiden is trying to get in your head. He wants to get in your head. If you give him power, he can control you. Make him think you don't care. Let him know you won't break.

I stand up, feeling my legs wobble a little. I push a piece of my curly red hair back behind my ear and fidget with the top of my skirt, feeling it brush against my ankles. I can practically hear Aiden shouting, "Prude!" in his mind, though he says nothing. The hairs on my arms stand at the feeling of everyone's eyes on me as I make my way to the cleared space. The change of tone is small but significant. I'm following a quiet boy who did his presentation quickly. People are already bored at that sudden shift, the shift from that contagious smile Aiden always wore to a boy hardly anyone recognized. They don't want to sit through another presentation, and I feel the sudden urge to try to entertain them, to make it a show, but I'm not going to. Even now, I can't find the energy or motivation to smile, let alone perform like a jester.

Jared studies me, then waves a hand to the space. "The floor is yours." I watch him for a few seconds, not wanting to look at the group who's now watching expectantly. I already nearly brought the plane down— how am I supposed to top that demonstration? And that was an accident. I was angry and emotional and hurt. Right now I just feel nervous, a desperate feeling clawing at my stomach. What if I try to do it now and can't? It's been so long since I've been able to practice...

I can feel Aiden's smirk against the back of my neck when Jared says softly, "We're on a schedule, Catherine."

I swallow and nod a little, taking a deep breath in to steel myself before turning to the group. I don't want to say anything to these wolves; I don't want to talk to them, I don't want to put on a show. I look around a little. So many other people have already used trees... but what else is there to use? There's nothing else to lift, nothing to make lighter... except... I bite my lip a little, then frown in concentration, studying the platform where Jared and the girl— what's her name again? Nubia?— have their chairs set. They've both gotten up since then and neither is on the platform anymore, but it's made of wood and the size of maybe two lifeboats put together, so it's got to weigh a ton.

"Catherine, do you want to introduce yourself?" Jared probes, watching with an annoyed expression. I keep my face straight and don't respond, instead walking to the platform and resting my fingers against it. I feel how heavy it is in my gut, a strong tugging sensation pulling me down... and I lift it. I can't describe what it's like even to someone with similar powers, but it's like when you shift from your chest voice to your head voice, or when you move your fingers on your violin so you can play in a different key. It's a shift, noticeable, and it feels different, but it doesn't feel different. It isn't like going from talking to singing— it's still singing, just changing the notes. I feel how heavy it is, and I want to release it, so I concentrate and push upwards, higher and higher, until I feel it getting close to the limit. It doesn't want to rise into the air yet because it's still heavier than the air, but it's light enough that I crouch, careful of my skirt, and gently work my fingers underneath it, where the rough wood meets the soft grass. It must've rained last night, because the grass under the platform feels damp, like it didn't have time to dry in the sun before the platform blocked it in the shade. As easy as picking up a basket, I pull it upwards.

Even I flinch a little as it ricochets backward, flipping over itself from the force I used. Several of the wooden planks audibly splinter or snap, and I have a hard time stopping myself from wincing. So maybe I accidentally reached too high up. I tried to pick it up like a basket when it was basically a feather. It makes sense that it would go flying.

My body feels stiff, and I'm not sure what to do after basically destroying their stage. My nausea feels stronger now, like something is climbing up my throat. "I, uh..." I struggle to grasp words. Am I sorry? Do I say it was an accident? Do I voice how badly I feel like I'm going to throw up? Would that be showing weakness in front of these wolves? "I didn't mean to—"

On a sudden impulse, I bend over, my stomach contracting as I heave what I had for breakfast onto the grass. I feel slightly lightheaded and the feeling of nausea hasn't gone away completely, the acidic taste of vomit on my tongue.

"Hmm," Jared says absent-mindedly, "Well I must say, I'm surprised you're the first who's thrown up today. There are usually some physical symptoms from using your powers after so long being unable to use them. And it seems—" He pauses to look at the file, then says, "Ah, yes. That would do it. You went over a century without using your powers, and then you were locked straight in Verna when you attempted to use them again." He glances up at me and says softly, clearly distracted, "that will do it. And then you, of course, expended yourself upon the airplane, but that was shut down by Amelia, which did not allow your body to process the effects of such a long time without the usage of your power."

I cough a little, looking down at the ground. The taste in my mouth is disgusting, and I still feel slightly queasy. Jared, as if he's just registering that I'm a person and not a science project, says, "Oh, right, of course. You demonstrated your power, so you are done. The nauseous feeling should subside in a couple of hours, and most of you will probably have a small fever tonight, but that is to be expected. Ice packs and ibuprofen will be available to those who request such items. For now," he looks down at his clipboard and writes a few things, though I catch him subconsciously rubbing at his throat, like he's still having trouble breathing, "If everyone will stand up and follow me, I will take you to the rooms. You'll be getting a full tour soon, but you all need to rest now, so that'll take place tomorrow."

When I glance over, Aiden has his eyes narrowed as he watches Jared. "We slept in our rooms last night. I'm pretty sure we can find them again."

Jared studies him, clearly at the end of his rope, and says testily, "No, Aiden, you did not sleep in your rooms last night. Last night, you slept in guest rooms. We did not want to assign rooms in case any one of you was not qualified to stay after the demonstrations." The look on his face makes it clear that Jared wishes Aiden wasn't qualified anymore, but he'd technically followed the rules, so Jared can't kick him out.

"Tonight, you will be sleeping in your real rooms. Most of you will likely be assigned a roommate who you will share a room with. If any problems arise, however, we will not hesitate to move one of you to a solitary room— and that is not an incentive. Is that clear?" His stern gaze sweeps the crowd before he nods sternly and says, "Good. Everyone will follow me, and no sneaking off. Supper will be provided in your rooms tonight, and the doors lock at eight. If you're not in by that time— and there's no reason you shouldn't be since you've not gotten a tour yet— then you will be very hungry and cold sleeping in the hallway. No exceptions."

With that, he turns and begins walking up the hillside, avoiding the splinters of wood from what used to be the stage. Since the girl, Nubia, is closest, she follows first, clutching her blanket around her shoulders tightly. I follow after her, not bothering to glance back to see if the others are following. My knees feel slightly wobbly, and my stomach is doing flips inside me.

"Jared?" I ask quietly, trying not to draw attention to myself from the rest of the group, "How long will the symptoms last? Will it keep happening when I use my powers?"

Jared pauses for a second and I nearly run into Nubia, who doesn't seem caught off guard by Jared's pause like I am. She must be used to it. "Considering how long you had gone without your powers, there's no other subje— pardon— cases for me to compare it to. It may happen for the next few times you attempt to use your powers, or it may run its course and be done with you. In truth, I'm not certain what will happen." There's a part of his voice, almost like concealed excitement at the prospect of something he doesn't know, that makes me want to shiver a little. He seems to know so much already, so I suppose it's reasonable that he would get excited at something he didn't know. Still... I wish I wasn't the thing he didn't know about yet. That's just unsettling.

Jared turns around and begins to walk again, and I trudge along behind him and Nubia. Behind me, I hear Aiden talking to one of the others about something I can't hear. The only reason I even know it's Aiden is because his voice always seems to carry that slight smirk, the tone that shows he clearly not only thinks he's best, but he knows it. It's the type of tone that's so convincing, everyone around it starts to believe you too. I clutch my stomach as a new wave of nausea sweeps through me, and I barely suppress the urge to spill my guts into the grass again. Nubia glances back at me, but only for a slight second before she calmly looks back ahead.

Soon enough, we reach the entrance of the building— palace? Fortress?— and Jared leads everyone into a large hall, bright lights flickering on the walls and giving the hall an unnaturally cold feeling to it. He flips a piece of paper on his clipboard over, looking at it, before looking back up at everyone. I force myself to not glance around nervously at the other people. I can't show any weakness here, not now, not ever. Throwing up was bad enough. Fear? No, that won't do.

After what feels like forever, Jared raises an eyebrow. His posture is straighter, and his eyes glint with an almost malicious sparkle. "Now," he says loudly, his voice echoing through the hall, "let's see who your roommates are."

NUBIA

This new group of kids surprise me. No wonder Amelia was so set on taking a trip to Verna. She had already gone once this year; normally we don’t go twice. It’s starting to get dark, and I can feel the ghastly energy radiating off the forest. I shudder and cross my arms, goosebumps spreading across my pale skin.

Sometimes I feel as though I’m still in Verna, it’s just nicer and we get a /tiny/ bit more freedom. I’ve seen people come from Downtown Lucifer to deliver bread and what-not—yet every time they step foot inside they never stay long. I’ve always wondered what it was like to talk to people who get to live a normal life. They always seem frightened when they arrive.

I’ve read a lot throughout the centuries, and educated myself as so. I pride myself in my ability to discipline myself. Some of these new kids have a lot of learning to do—just as I did when I first started.

There’s really only one rule here: Don’t piss of Amelia.

Her powers are just… unfair in every way. How could you dull me? How could you take the reigns you have on me and use them to your advantage?

“Room assignments,” Jared starts, “Catherine and Rosetta, Agatha and Charlotte, Cloud and Thomas, Aiden and Kendrick…” he glances back down at his clipboard, “and that seems like that’s about it. Nubia, you obviously would be rooming alone.”

As Jared finishes announcing the room assignments, I glance at the hallway that leads to my room. I’m never allowed to room with anyone, they feel that if I conspire we might actually have a chance of making it out of here. Even then, what would we do? Hide until she finds us? Jared could calculate our every footstep. After a few dozen years of thinking, I’ve come to the conclusion that the only real way we could take down this shithole is if we got Jared on our side. It’s a bargain, though—and also unrealistic.

Rosetta’s eyes move to outside and we both make a connection. A storm is coming and I’m sure she’s known this whole time, being as she has elemental powers. I’ve always wondered how people with gifts like that control them: being as I can’t even control my own powers half the time.

“Dinner will be in the dining hall. Nubia, show them the way,” Jared disappears into the left corridor and I turn to the group.

“The food here is better than Verna, so I’ve heard.”

Some of the members seem to be flustered by the room assignments. They act like this will be forever. Hopefully sometime in the future Amelia actually spreads them out, because having two people in one room that have obscene powers could definitely cause some destruction.

As we reach the dining hall, our food is already set up for us, with seat assignments. It starts to thunder outside, and the hallow room is filled with candlelight instead of electricity. The sound of our footsteps creaking the old, rusty floorboards fill the atmosphere as we take our seats.

Today our dinner is fresh Atlantic Salmon and greens, with mashed potatoes and garlic bread. The food is set up in fine china, arranged down the middle of the table to be passed around. I usually eat by myself, so it’s going to be interesting eating with people for the first time in decades.

My assigned seat is in-between Aiden and Thomas. I take my seat, as does everyone else. Awkward silence fills the air, and I finally speak up, “You can start eating. I’m not quite hungry.”

It’s hard to eat when all I’m thinking about is the weather. Whenever it rains, especially this bad, the forbidden forest opens and negative energy just fills the air. It’s important that tonight, nobody leaves Lucifer’s castle.

AGATHA

Everyone sat down comfortably and began to eat the delicious dinner. Obviously Nubia was right, the food here is far better than that of Verna. I can see the satisfactory gaze on the faces of the people there, I understand they must have not eaten such a meal for a long time. Well, I am clumsy while eating, but I have to maintain my gesture in front of these people, but bless the one who made this damn fish.

My seat is assigned between Aiden and Catherine, damn my luck both of them are not the person I would like to sit with.

One just ignores everything I say and the other one will just reply rudely so better not talk to him. So I thought it’s better to concentrate on my meal.

Only one thing have turned out well for me. My roommate is Charlotte, I mean I feel like she is better that the other girls. I never wanted someone like Catherine to be my roommate, she is quite and boring. Well Charlotte don't talk as well but I feel like she is not a type of a person who will ignore me, nevertheless she is not paranoid like Chatherine. The other one what's her name, yes Rosina. Hmm I don't know much about her, I mean she doesn't even had shown her gifts yet, but looking at her appearence she looks like a hot head. And mostly the ones with tattoes loses their temper much.


Everything was silent except the sound of the thunderstorm, it was getting wild outside. The beautiful cocktail-blue shade was now darkened into gravel-grey. The winds were blowing furiously. The trees were rustling. The candles on the stand, in the middle of the table were flickering. It seems like it's gonna rain the whole night.

Aiden was the one who broke the maintained silence.

He flashed a lazy smirk. "Catherine--pass the salt?"

Catherine froze, a blank look on her face. "No," she said stonily, taking another bite of the food in front of her.

"Fine... the pepper?"

Catherine let out a small frustrated noise. "No," she repeated emphatically, and Aiden grinned. Looks like he really got under her nerves for her to reply like that - or maybe she was grumpy from the fever she no doubt had. Being sick would definitely bring out the grimpy in people.

“Maybe the juice ...it is the closest to you…..” he added silently. Oh this guy!

“Here you are, this is juice, salt and the bloody pepper! Fine!” I growled and Aiden gave me a smirk, why this guy likes to smirk so much. As he was about to say something Nubia interrupted.


“Everyone! Stop this!” Nubia commanded, “You obviously don’t want to make Amelia offended on your first day.”


An awkward silence continued, after a few seconds I went on with my meal. I was so happy eating my tasty little fish, this guy ruined my mood. After sometime the rest also went on with their meals.

I mean, who would’ve thought. A concussion? On show-and-tell day? Just my luck.

The nurse’s office, or medic-area—whatever it’s called, was quite dim. The place had this disgusting purple wallpaper, and the nurse smelled of whiskey and throw-up—which was most likely her own.

I had never really had anyone ask me about my tattoos as much as I did in that hell-hole. I’d have to say it was worse than Verna, the woman made my skin tingle in ways I didn’t even know it could. Her bright pink lipstick, and red and violet polka-dotted skirt was absolutely terrifying.

My skin quivers as I exit the awful-smelling room of the she-devil, and I start to walk towards the dining hall where I can hear some of the other students eating.

That lady had forced me to eat these old-looking grits that tasted weirdly of cucumber and mayonnaise. That wasn’t even the worst part, she even told me to pour raisins in it. Don’t get me wrong, I know people all around the world enjoy raisins in their grits—but none of them are me.

“Well, well, well,” I begin, smirking and pulling up a chair from the small coffee table across the room, “I say, since we’re all free, we explore the place a little bit. I’ve been trapped in that old-lady’s torture chamber for hours, and I’d like to get the sight of her obnoxiously pink-crinkly lips out of my head. Who’s with me?”

I glance at Charlotte, who rolls her eyes at me in disbelief, and continues to pick at her salmon; which honestly looks cold by now. My eyes then drift to Thomas, who sighs, "Why not?"

My smirk grows wider, and I nudge Catherine, who is sitting beside me, "What about you?"

She glares at me, the worst kind, and I sigh, standing up once again and pacing the room. There's something I find intriguing about Catherine. Her whole aura is just... weird. My smile grows.

"Listen, I'm sorry, okay? For the plane, I mean. I'm not a horrible human being, you know. It's not very nice to judge somebody after one little incident. Plus, I'd have to say, you handled yourself pretty well," I say, glancing out the window at the rain.

Catherine doesn't respond, her face unnaturally neutral. She must be doing that on purpose, then. I see Aiden watching me with an almost disappointed expression, but I can't tell if it's disappointment in me or the lack of a reaction from Catherine. "Exploring? Wonder where your bravado was when I went earlier," he says with a slight smirk.

Nubia looks towards me, her expression that of horror, "Are you nuts?"

I break my gaze with the thunderstorm and look at her, "I might be. But you'd have to come too, you know. We don't know our way around, plus, we need some dark magic for protection."

"Nuh-uh," She shakes her head in digust, "I will not take part in whatever shinanigans you all have going on. We have orders to go straight back to our rooms, and Amelia will make our lives a living hell if she finds out."

"Oh, stop it," Aiden looks at her, "How long have you even been here? Twenty years? A hundred? Have you even seen the Forbbiden Forest? I'm curious to see what's so Forbidden about it, and I agree with Rosetta. She won't find out unless somebody tells."

Nubia stands and rolls her eyes, sighing and grabbing the candle in front of her, "Like I said, you all are on your own. I've been here long enough to know Amelia knows everything."

"Don't be a party-pooper," I grin, walking closer to her, "What are you, a coward?"

"I am not a coward," She frowns, her eyes locking with mine.

"Oh yeah? So, why don't you use those scrawny little legs and bring us there. You don't need to come in with us. I'm sure we can handle our own. I don't wanna be locked in this place, plus, I'm bored and I'm sure I'll get some type of entertainment watching you tremble as we take our first steps into that forest," I giggle. snatching the candle away from her.

"You all don't understand," She looks at Aiden, and then her eyes move back to mine, balling her fists in anger, "That's a suicide mission. You all wouldn't last five minutes in the forest, and I can promise you that. I will not allow you of all people make me look like a coward, because with one flick of my finger, I could send you straight to hell."

"Oh, that's scary," I scoff, "Dark magic doesn't intimidate me. And you, being as inexperienced as you are, wouldn't dare lie a finger on me."

Her eyes glow red and her fists seem to be turning purple, "I am not going to let you bring this side of me out. You're not worth it, and you know that if I wanted to kill you, I could. Be careful."

She grabs the candle back and glances at everyone before walking towards the exit of the dining hall, "And for the rest of you, if you knew what was good for you, you'd follow the rules."

She exits, angrily walking back towards her quarter, and I smile back at everyone, "Get your rainboots on everyone, we're going on a little hike."

AGATHA

Finally something exciting to do in this place full of bored people, I mean I always wanted to explore this place but just didn’t get the chance, so let's do this!

Well Thomas agreed, Kendrik is starting to stand up, Aiden too.

“I wouldn’t mind a walk,” Cloud said with an expressionless face. I saw Charlotte still picking at her salmon, I faced her and whispered.

“A small tour wouldn’t kill, just come!” I suggested with a smile on my face, I feel a little bad that I embarrassed her like that by displaying her dream. She didn’t reply and still focused on her salmon.

“Well, I wouldn’t mind a bit of an adventure.” I said and I too stood up and started to go out with everyone else.

Okay so only Catherine, Charlotte and Nubia didn’t agree but everyone else is going, fine let’s go!

-----------------

FORBIDDEN FOREST

It was around 8:55pm, hmm well it’s not that late we will get back around 11pm and sneak into our rooms, no one will notice I guess.

We all sneaked out, being careful in the corridors and finally we were outside the Lucifer castle and we were now in the training field. It was dark and wild outside, the rain was non stop pouring and the trees rustled as the winds blew fiercely. Whoa it all looked so exciting for an adventure!

We all now took cover under a tree. And I took out something from my pocket.

“What’s this?” Rosetta said.


“A map, obviously. It’s the map of around here, I took it from the library yesterday, thought it would be of use,” I said.

“Surely it will be of use,” Rosetta smirked and snatched it away from me.

“Well in the left side what's this.. Blue Bird Lake, there is just this lake, no fun!” Aiden said

“So then let’s move to our real destination, the Forbidden Forest!” Rosetta announced cheerfully.

“Alright, it just sounds like a forest in a fairy tale.” Cloud said.

"Guys, but don't you think, there must be some reason it is written, not to enter. And why would you risk your life," Thomas said.

I saw Kendrick giving a nod in agreement.

"Okay so now when Catherine is not here, you are trying to be the party pooper," Rosetta said

"Thomas, let's just take a look, Aren't you at all excited to see what's so forbidden about that forest ?" I said and Thomas sighed.

And now we all were wet already so we moved on towards the Forbidden Forest, the sky was getting darker and darker.

And soon we were now infront of the entry gate of the Forbidden Forest and yeah it was called the Forbidden Forest for a reason.