Age of Ember

Chapter 2

After the Principal's energetic yet powerful words faded, the void of silence was quickly filled with whispers and murmurs. The new students had just come to the realization as to the reason why every seat was placed into pairs. They begin to gauge each other, and there were those who were wracked with self-doubt as to whether or not they could beat their opponent next to them. A palpable tension is in the air, mixed with fear and excitement. Landon chuckles to himself- a smile crept across his face. He stands up from his seat and walks away with a knowing grin of the situation that had just unfolded.

"I see nothing to worry about. It's not like there is any reason they should be mad that I didn't stick around to watch." He pushed his glasses closer to his eyes using his middle and ring finger.

"Landon! Do you know what's going on here?" A fellow classmate, who stands blocking the door from the upper floor with a slender frame, shouted, her soft voice betraying her. She began barraging him with questions."Every other year, it was just a skill and knowledge test that you had to pass," she said matter of factly. "So why is it we're having a student vs student battle this year?" She swept her crimson red hair aside from her pale-skinned face. Landon looked askance at her.

"You don't think Victor will fail, do you?" Landon knew this girl very well, an honor student who skipped past three grades and got into this school with flying colors. "Kris... Kris Valentine, you must have zero faith in your boyfriend's abilities."

Kris pressed her lips tightly together; her eyes lowered to the floor sheepishly. "I do, bu-..."

Before she could finish, Landon interjected. "Don't be so timid," he said coldly, his eyes fixated on her coral blue eyes. The uneasy moment was quickly put to rest when they both heard footsteps approaching from around the corner. A female with golden cat-like eyes, fangs that peek from the corners of her mouth, and sky-blue hair with purple fading into the ends walks up to Landon and presses her breasts against him. She stands onto her toes, kisses him on the cheek, then whispers in his ear, teasingly. "You can't be so grim to everyone we're close to."

Landon's heart begins to beat faster and faster as their eyes met. He loses a bit of his composure and is left with a loss for words. Before he could snap out of it, she walks away, and his eyes follow her shapely, slim figure before she disappears through the door. Kris stood dumbfounded at what had transpired. "Who was that?" she asked, still quite astonished.

"Oh... I don't know how to explain her just yet, but her name is Diamond."

Meanwhile, back at the arena, Sarah has been analyzing her opponent, Shakera. She fidgets with her ring on her finger nervously as she turmoils internally. She has only ever trained with her family and fought monsters. She doubted her strength. "I can't disappoint now..." she tries to reassure herself, but her lack of conviction made her apprehensive. "Ugh, what was I thinking; I'm not ready for this at all." Sarah didn't realize during her internal struggle that Shakera stood before her. She was taken aback by her sudden appearance, but she remained silent.

"Let's have fun," Shakera said soothingly, although Sarah could tell her words were a facade to hide her true murderous intent.

An announcer steps onto a platform; with a mic in hand, a slight bit of feedback was heard from the loudspeakers that bordered the entire arena. "All participants, please enter the battlegrounds." The students began to assemble onto the grounds. Odrian walks far ahead into the crowd, thinking about how he has to defeat his newfound acquaintance. He is reminded of how cold the world can be. The announcer returns to the speaker. "Again, when all the students are inside the arena, we will begin." The last of them made their way in, and a 1-foot thick metal door closes behind them. "Here are the official rules."