The Twelve Protectors Pilot

The room is dark, but some source of light allows me to see the glint of steel and the shine of leather. My limbs are bound I can't feel anything clothing my body. Anyone else would have panicked, but I didn't. Even though I didn't know where I was, I was able hold myself together. My eyes began to survey the bonds on my wrists and ankles. However, before I managed to figure out what bound me, a door opened, spilling blinding light into the room. I didn't understand why, but every thread of my body was pulled taut with terror. Whoever had opened the door was someone to be feared.

In the blink of an eye, a whip lashed out from the blinding light and I awoke. The sheets were pulled tightly around my body and I found that I wasn't wearing my shirt anymore. I groaned and searched the dorm room for any other inhabitants. It wasn't entirely abnormal for me to shed my shirt or pants in the night. I had attributed it to overheating. Still, I don't think it was very comfortable for my dorm mates when I would get out of bed without a shirt. Veritably that was because I was rather well endowed and my mates couldn't help but get all bothered by my body.

Without a doubt, I exemplified the physical attributes of Scorpio. The others were Scorpios as well, but they best suited other signs, whereas I seemed to have been born for the position as Head of my sign.

Still, the dream shook me. I knew why I'd had it, and it brought me back to reality. I had been informed early in the week that I was to take Selection early as I had so much potential to replace the Head of Scorpio. However, we had the worst Selection, the highest dropout rate, and the lowest number of students taking the test. During Selection, other signs would lose their memories, or lose a loved one, and Capricorns even got to take LSD (supposedly to lose control which they hate, but their high number of students taking the test say to me otherwise).

Scorpios would be sexually abused in any degree the proctors thought were appropriate for student. Of course, it would be "safe." The proctors would be able to bail out a student if they needed it. But the point was to give the possible successors a taste of what their followers might experience.

It was the job of Scorpios to protect those who were sexually abused, so it made sense to make sure that the contenders understood, empathized, and could handle the people they were helping. However, most Scorpios either didn't want to risk themselves, or would crumble after the fact.

I didn't know which I would be, but I was running out of time to prepare myself. I was sure that with the quite appealing nature of my body, I'd find myself in a far more intense predicament. However, there was always the hope to grow from the experience. After all, I'd heard stories about Octavian, the current head of Scorpio, ending his Selection early by turning the tables and forcing his aggressors back. I would do that. At any cost, I would turn the tables. I wanted to succeed.

I pulled on a new shirt, fresh underwear, and pants, before looking myself in the mirror. From head to toe, I was black. My pants were leather. My underwear was peaking out of the top of my pants with a flash of red. I didn't bother with fixing it. My shirt was plain black. The only finishing touch would be a silver necklace that could accent the expanse of chest that I was showing. I took it upon myself to show off my body when I could. After all, Scorpio was the sign of sex and it was only appropriate for someone like myself to show off. A fitting expression would be "if you got it, flaunt it."

After snapping a silver cross necklace around my neck, I messed up my hair and headed for the door. I barely bothered with my makeup. I would sleep in my eyeliner and I quite liked the smudged look it gave me.

No one was in the hall outside of my dorm. I must have woken up late. No one in my dorm dared to wake me up anymore. One time, someone tapped me in my sleep and I punched them, then proceeded to beat them into the carpet in a blind and sleepless rage.

My feet carried me toward the academy building. I didn't know what period it was, so if I didn't immediately find out, I'd probably just head into town and avoid boring lectures for a day. I slipped into the building and began wandering through the halls. I didn't need to walk for very long before I found a lost soul.

It was Alamante, a Gemini. He had already been through Selection and had come out with the knowledge that he'd be the next Head of Gemini. He had also come out with several stitches through his lips, sealing his mouth shut. Most Geminis chose to take their stitches out, but he kept them as a symbol of his success and his pride in his sign. I was one of the few people who could sign with him. Most people made fun of him and since he signed, and they instantly assumed that he was deaf, they would gossip about him very loudly.

Apparently there was this deal about him hooking up with a Scorpio floosy for a night and she'd been with just about everyone. They kept saying she was a skank and that he was desperate and a loser for going for someone so easy. They were vomiting blood for a week after I was done with them. Ever since then, Alamante and I had been best friends.

"[What are you doing out here? Skipping?]" I signed to him. He smiled smally. Any larger smile would hurt him.

"[I woke up late. Same with you?]” he asked. I nodded and I could feel my eyes light.

"[Wanna go into town with me? We could probably get hooked up with anything from that Leo girl with the gang.]” He exhaled a sharp breath and smiled, eyes alight with mischief as well. He was best friends with depression, and he quite enjoyed toying with me in town. He lost all sorts of virginity with me as his guide out there. He tasted his first alcohol, his first cigarette, his first hooker... He loved the nightlife too, and if you could pull the right strings, you could stay out till ungodly hours.