Rise of the Fallen

Chapter 5: Welcome to the Academy

“Well, I must say congratulations to all you who passed both phases of the entrance exam and for those who failed you will get another chance. You can get even stronger.” Headmaster Jean says, “Go and rest for a few weeks and when you’re ready, you can retake the test again.”  She says encouraging the kids who lost. “Paul my assistant will show you to your recovery rooms. The winners will follow me.” She says.
The kids who lost, follow a tall man wearing a black suit out of the arena. Headmaster Jean motions us to follow her as she walks to another door opposite from the one the losers went through. She grabs the door handle and before she pulls it open, she says, “I know this is overdue, but welcome to the Academy.”
She pulls the door open, and on the other side is a long hallway with pictures of men and women lining the walls. As we walk through the highway, Julius taps me on the shoulder and points to the wall to the left. Turning my head, I see a huge picture of both of our dads fighting a Nephilim that towers over them. We break off from the group and walk towards the picture. Julius looks at the inscription under it. “I can’t even read that. What does it say?” He asks.
“Let me see.” I say as I take a closer look at the inscription, “It’s in French but it says, Jack and Jerimiah, the two hearts of the Order.” 
“So, they we that good?”
“The best.” Headmaster Jean interjects, “Come on now, we don’t have all day”
Julius and I go back to the group and as we approach the end of the hallway, the Headmaster stops at a white door with golden handles.
“Now, to start off this tour, the Academy is located directly beneath the Eiffel Tower. It is a multi-leveled structure connecting the Nether to the Earth. On the first three levels are the residential areas where you will be staying two to a room. The training rooms the filled with the best equipment and lastly the classrooms. On the fourth level is the armory, where the best blacksmiths provide us with weapons and ammunition. On the next level is the infirmary. The seventh level is where we are. It has the arena and as well as another infirmary. And finally, the eighth level which leads to the Nether.”
She opens the door and begins to walk up the stairs. “Your classes will be held at six in the morning and end at 6 at night. You will be taught by official assassins of the order and will be teaching you everything from close combat to world language. Ah, here we are the level one.” She says as she opens the door leading into the residential area. It was a wide corridor with rooms on both sides. It was a lady sitting at a desk in the intersection in the middle of the hallway.
“Ms. Jean, hello!” she says energetically, “How are you today? Are these the new students?”
“Hello Theresa, and yes these are the new students I was just finishing up the tour.” Headmaster Jean says as she turns to us, “This is Theresa, she is the manager of the floor so if you any problems just go to her and she will get right on it. She’s the best.”
“Aww, thanks. You kids don’t have to call me Theresa, just call me Tessa.”
“Can you take over from here?”
Tessa nods and says, “Yep. Follow me kiddos I’ll give you your key and show you to your rooms.”
Tessa quickly walks behind her desk and picks up a hand box of keys and walks up the hallway. We follow her and as she’s walking, she says, “Oh, and don’t worry about your clothes and other stuff we have taken care of everything. Here’s the first room. Danny and Julius, here are your keys.”
She hands us our keys and we enter our room. It looks like a presidential suite. Red carpet extends from the door to the living room and hardwood on the kitchen floor. The walls were white and had two-bedroom doors next to each other. Walking into one of the bedroom doors, a flat screen TV was sitting on top of a dresser with a queen-sized bed in front of it. Looking into the closet, my clothes were all neatly hanging up and my dad’s bow was sitting on a shelf under a few pairs of my shoes. I close the closet and walk to the bathroom. I turn the shower on, reach into the towel drawer and put down a drying off towel on the tile floor.
I take my shirt off and take a deep breath. Looking at myself in the mirror bruises cover my arms, chest and stomach.  “My first shower in a month.” I say to myself as I step in the shower. All the pent-up tension washes away with the dirt and grime and a warm feeling starts to pulse through my body. It’s all setting in now. I passed, I really passed. Dad, Mom, I did it. It was hard, but I did it. I won’t stop, I’ll keep getting better and…
My thoughts trail off as I just stand there. I take a deep breath and say, “Ok.”
I grab the soap and a washcloth and finish showering. I put on a pair of grey sweatpants and a black graphic T-shirt.
“Yo D.” Julius says as he knocks on the door, “You sleep?”
“Just got out of the shower, un moment.” I say as I step out of the bathroom and open the door. Julius was wearing a pair of black ripped jeans, a red Nike t-shirt with a pair of matching red and white Jordan 1’s. “Where’re you headed off to?” I ask
“See, I’ve never actually been to Paris, so I figure why not see what it’s like while we have some free time? Wanna go?”
I rubbed the back of my neck and sighs. “I guess I’ll go. Wouldn’t want you getting lost before classes start tomorrow.”
“Bet, and uhm you might want to change.”
We laugh and after I change into some white jeans and put on a pair of black Timberlands, we leave the Academy and exit through a tourist building under the Eiffel Tower.
The night sky was shone with the moon and stars. Julius breathes in and out heavily.  “Fresh air, like real fresh air. Man, it feels good to be done with that test.” He says as he stretches in arms, “So where to first. Capitan.”
My stomach growls and the perfect place immediately pops into my head. “I know just the place.” I say as I walk down the street and call a taxi.
“Where to?” the driver says in a heavy French accent.
“Jaq’s Restaurant s’il vous plait monsieur.”
“Oui.” The driver says as he begins to drive down the street. “So, you grew up here?” Julius asks sitting back into the seat.
“Yea, I’ve had some good memories here.” I say as we pass a little ice cream shop, “That place right there, has the best ice cream in the world. Any flavor you can think of they have it. And there,” I say pointing at a burnt down apartment, “that’s where we stayed up until I was 10.”
“What happened?”
“Jaq tried to cook, and the kitchen caught on fire.” I laughs, “We still joke about it…I wonder how he’s been.
“You says we were going to Jaq’s restaurant, right? Is he there?” Julius asked.
“He might be, I just wanted to get some food,” I say before leaning in to whisper, “I don’t exactly have a lot on me right now.”
Julius took a short breath and whispered, “Neither do I.”
We look at each other and confirm we’re both on the same page. “Well, here we are. Jaq’s Resturant. That will be 20 Euro.” The driver says as he slows to a stop.
“Oh ok,” One. “Let me get my wallet.” I say as I reach form my wallet in my back pocket. Two…Three. Julius and I open the taxi doors and speed down the sidewalk and into the restaurant where Jaq is sitting at his usual booth reading a newspaper and drinking tea. “Jaq!” I yell. He looks up from the newspaper and drops it as soon as he sees me. He walks over towards me and hugs me tightly. He lets me go and asks, “How did it go?”
“I passed.” The moment I says those words the biggest smile comes over his face. “That makes me really proud. Ah, desole, I’m sorry what’s your name?” he asks look at Julius.
“I’m Julius O’Neal. Nice to meet you sir. I’ve heard a lot about you.” He says in a shockingly respectful tone.
Jaq laughs, “No need to be so formal. You remind me a lot of Jerimiah.”
“He’s my father.”
“Oh yea, you kind of do look like him. How is he?”
Julius didn’t say anything for a moment and says, “He ah, died last year. During a mission.”
“I’m… sorry to hear that.” He says, as he sits at the closest table, “I knew both of your fathers. They were as close as brothers. Did you two meet in the forest?”
“It’s a long story.” I say as Julius and I sit down and talk with Jaq about what happened over the past month. We ate and he told us to come back any time after dropping us back off at the Academy’s entrance.
The first day of class began the next day at six in the morning.
“Good morning class!” a middle-aged man says as he walks into the classroom. The class was a plain room with desks and chairs. The smell of chalk lingers in the air and all eyes watch the man write his name on the chalk board.  “My name is Omar Blanc, and I will be your introductory teacher for a year. I will teach you all the basics you will need to move forward in your studies and the world. Let’s start with roll.” He says as he begins to read off an attendance sheet. “Tianna Ackerman.” There was no answer. “Tianna Ackerman?” He repeats, and again there’s no answer. “I guess she isn’t here?” Mr. Blanc says as he continues calling roll, “Julius O'Neal.” “Here!” he says sitting in a desk in the front of the classroom. “Allison Willow?” He continues
“Here.”
“Elijah Harrison.”
“Present.”
“Ellie Walker
“Here.”
    After Mr. Blanc finishes roll call, he begins his lecture.
“If you look on your desks you will see a small crimson book. Please go to the first page.”
I pick the book which was the size of a pocket dictionary and go to the first page.
History of the Order was written at the top of the page.
     “Follow along and take notes.” He says before he sits on top of his desk, “The Order of the Fallen Cross has a long history. Has anybody heard of the Legend of the Grigori.?”
Julius was the only one to raise his hand. Mr. Blanc sighs and says, “Well, let’s start at the beginning. The legend of the Grigori goes back thousands of years. The Grigori were a group of two hundred angels who were assigned to watch over humanity, but as we began to populate the Earth they wanted to live as were. The angels went to their leader Semjaza and persuaded him to go along with their plan. The two hundred angels, twenty generals each with ten subordinates, made a pact to fall to earth together and to also face punishment together. When they fell, they taught man how to use weapons make jewelry and other secrets of heaven. They eventually fell in love with human women, but unfortunately the consequences of their union lead to the birth of the Nephilim. They numbered in the thousands, the only thing they know how to do is eat. I'm sure you all are quite familiar with them. The Arch Angels heard the humans cries and they’ve seen how those giants were drowning the earth in blood. They then went to God with the souls of those who perished. God then ordered his angels to tell Noah to be prepared for the end of the days, to capture Azazel, one of the generals, and seal him in a bottomless pit in the desert. Semjaza and his other cohorts were sealed away and forced to watch their children kill each other in battle before sealing the surviving Nephilim into the Nether. Then Noah’s Flood came. What came from the blood that was shed is the world we live in now? Even though most of the Nephilim are in the Nether it didn’t stop evil from coming into the world like demons who possess their host and use that body to cause chaos in the world. Major political assassinations, a dictator’s unexpected rise to power, these are the threats we face every day as member of the Order, but we as are not the only protecting the world. There are several Organizations across the world that deal with their own enemies.” He finally stops for a second and looks around the room, “The Saoshyant in the middle east, The Hidden Blossom in Japan, The Einherjar in Norway, and New Olympus in Greece formed an alliance to share information, and request for help if the situation calls for it.”
     Ellie raises her hand and asks, “Mr. Blanc, are monsters in other countries in the guide?”
“Some but not all of them. This is just your introductory class; you’ll learn more about them later.” Mr. Blanc looks at the clock and says, “Lets continue this tomorrow and be sure to study your guide every night. I didn’t go over everything in the book so just look through it tonight and we will discuss it in the morning.” He dismisses the class and begins to collect his things. I put the guide and my notes into my book bag. Slinging it around my shoulder, Julius walk over to me wearing a pair of black and white Jordan 4’s with the uniform the Academy issued us. “You we have an hour until the next class you want to head down and check out the armory?”
“Yea I wanted to check it too. Let’s go.”
     Julius and I leave the classroom and go down to the armory on the fourth level. When we got to the fourth level the smell of iron, steel, and oil fills the air. The level was a long corridor with double doors at the end. The closer we got to the door it starts to get hotter and hotter and the sound of hammers banging onto steel come through in a rhythm.
      I open the door and see blacksmiths running from station to station with tools, some are making weapons, and others are smelting steel. A frail looking kid that looks about 2 years younger than me. runs up to us. “Hello, welcome to the forge. It’s pretty loud, here right? Let’s go somewhere quiet.” He says loudly as to not get drowned out by the sound of the blacksmiths working. The short kid was almost covered in soot and oil. He leads us into an office and sits down behind the desk. He gets a wet wipe from off of the desk and wipes his face clean. “As I was saying this is the forge and armory. I'm Marcus, but everyone around here calls me Skinny. Anything you can think of I can make. I may not look like it but I’m the best blacksmith here.” He says jokingly as he takes out a folder from inside the desk drawer. “Take a look at some of the weapons I’ve made.”
     “Aren’t you a little young to be the best blacksmith here? Like how long have you been doing this?” Julius asks as he looks through the folder. He hands me a picture of some knives and guns that Skinny made and designed. They looked well-made and unique.
“I might be, but I figure my ability would speak for itself. See here,” he says as he leans over the desk and points to one of the pictures, “this is what I made recently. A pair of retractable brass knuckles made with Damascus steel. It retracts and extends with an increase in hand pressure.”
“Ok Skinny I have an idea and since you say that you’re the best, I think you can do it.” Julius says as he hands Skinny back the folder.
“OK what is it?” he says as he takes out a notebook and pen.
“I was thinking about a semi-automatic shotgun that folds
I want it light but durable. You think you can do that?”
“Light but durable” he repeats as he finishes his note, “Yea it should be relatively easy. And do you want anything?” Skinny says looking at me.
    “Yea, nothing crazy just some knives with a ring in the end.”
“That’s it?” He asks
“Yea for now, I’ll let you know if I need anything else.”
“Alrighty then, I guess I’ll get started on these. What’re your names by the way?” he asks as he stands up from the desk.
“I'm Danny.”
“And I'm Julius.”
“Alright Danny and Julius. Just come back in a few days I should be able to give you an update then, but it might take a few weeks for it to be completely finished though.” He says as he steps into the forge and shows the other blacksmiths the designs. They stop what they were doing and begin to gather supplies for the new projects.
“We'll see you in a few days then Skinny.” I say as Julius and leave the forge to go to our next class, Combat training in the arena.
      This time when we enter the arena it was empty except for the class. Our teacher was a younger guy with short blond hair and a muscular build, although he is wearing a shirt one size to small and I’m not sure if it’s him or the shirt.
“Hey you maggots!” he yells, “line up, side by side.”
As the students line up, Julius didn’t move an inch. “I don’t know who he talking about, but I ain’t no maggot.”  Julius says arrogantly as he holds his ground.
The teacher steps in front of him and looks down at Julius with a dissecting gaze. “It’s always one like you every year. All talk and no action. You won’t even last a minute against a demon let alone thirty seconds against me.” The teacher says in a condescending tone.
“How much you wanna bet?” Julius retorts as he steps up to the teacher. The air became so heavy, you can almost cut through the tension with a knife. The teacher then threw a sudden jab to Julius' face, but Julius dodges and counter attacks with a punch to the teacher ‘s gut. The power in that blow launches the teacher a couple of inches off of the ground. “Come on teach, I’m going easy.” He says as he pops his neck.
     The teacher smiles signals Julius to attack more, but every punch he threw was met with deflections. “Lesson number one. Brute strength loses to skill every time.” He says as he grabs Julius' arm and swings him around like a rag doll and throws him into the air. “Lesson two. You get your opponent off balance so you can deal a decisive strike.” He says as he lands a monstrous punch to Julius' stomach while he’s falling back to the ground. Julius coughs and clutches his stomach. “Had enough yet?” The teacher asks as he sticks his hand out to help Julius up. He grabs his hand but pulls down, breaking the teachers balance and landing a punch to his face. The teacher stumbles back with blood dripping from his nose. “You had enough yet?” Julius repeats mockingly as he puts up his guard back up.
     The teacher laughs and asks, “What’s your name?”
Julius, confused answers, “Julius O’Neal.”
“Well Julius, let’s see if you can handle this.” The teacher says as he switches his stance from a traditional boxing stance to something I’ve never seen before. Julius slowly circles the teacher, looking for an opening. “Mr. Jacobs!” a female’s voice yelled from inside the one of the entrance tunnels. The Headmaster walks out in a slim black dress with black, red bottom heels. “You are supposed to be training them not full on fighting them. Aren’t you a little embarrassed?” she says as a man as big as Mr. Jacob’s begins to almost shrink in size compared to her.
“I’m regrettably sorry. I seem to have gotten a little worked up. It won’t happen again in the future.” 
“And Julius try to have a little more respect for your instructors.” Headmaster Jean says before she turns around and leaves.
“Ahem,” Mr. Jacobs starts, “Let’s get back to the lesson. Get in pairs and do some sparring drills. Julius you come with me.”  Julius follows Mr. Jacobs out of the arena, and for the rest of us we spared until it was time for lunch. I wasn’t feeling hungry, so I went back up to my room to study.
   Walking into my bedroom, I put down my book bag and take out the guidebook. I sit down on the bed and open it. It seems that the Nephilim are at the bottom in terms of power then you have demons which are not as strong physically but are very tricky to handle. Flipping through the book there were graphs and diagrams of different species and how to spot their vital points. The Nephilim, although big and slow has destructive force that only gets stronger with age. Djinns are from the middle east and seldom migrate to the west, but people may bring them when they travel. Then you have the yokai of Japan, demons of all shapes and forms. There are different species of yokai and often form clans with their same kind. The Tengu Clan is an example. The next page was torn I was barely able to see but the word DANGER was written in heavy ink. “What was written here?” I say as a sudden knock on my door snaps me out of my concentration. “Coming.” I say as I close the guidebook and go to open the front door. “Mr. Blanc… am I in trouble or something.” 
Mr. Blanc stood there with a somber look on his face as he says, “Hey Daniel, how are your studies coming along.”
“Ok, I was just looking through the guide you gave us. I have a question about that actually.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Well, I was looking through the different species of supernatural creatures and towards the back there's a page where everything is faded but the word Danger is still visible. What was back there?” I ask as I show Mr. Blanc inside. I sit down on the couch across from Mr. Blanc.
     “Somethings are better left unknown.” He says as he changes the subject, “I have a question for you. Is Jack Ross your father and how'd you get that scar?”
“Isn’t that two questions?” I ask nervously
“I have a feeling that one answer will lead to the other.” He says
I take a deep breath to collect my thoughts.
“I don’t like to talk about it,” I say as I touch the scar underlying eye, “Will you answer my question is I answer?”
“I’ll tell you as much as I can.”
“Oui, my dad is Jack Ross and both him and my mother were killed ten years ago, and I was left this scar as a reminder, as if I needed one. But shouldn’t you already know?”
“I had a feeling, but I just wanted to make sure. Your dad and I were friends. He basically trained me. I was a mess, but he brought me here and fighting for something bigger than me was what saved me. I owe your dad everything for that. As for your question, I can’t say anything about it but Master Ciel should know. Have you seen him?
“Not since that night, where is he and what else you know about my dad? Is whatever’s in this book the reason my dad was killed? What else can you tell me?”
“As far as I know he was working on something classified, but I don’t know the details. Master Ciel should know if you go see him. He is in the infirmary, but I think he would like to see you and how much you’ve grown up.” He says as he takes a white key card and put it on the table.
I take the key card and put it into my pocket. Mr. Blanc stands up and walk towards the door.
“It was good talking with you, and I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
“Thank you.” I say as he opens the door and leaves.