Divided

Chapter 8

"Okay we're celebrating!" Fallon said after lunch as we walked into the hallway. We all looked at her. Rick was the first to speak.
"What should we do?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
"Let's go get tattoos!" She said looking over to the tattoo parlor. None of us questioned, instead we followed her inside the secluded parlor.
Once inside, we went to the wall, full of sketches. I eyed them on the wall and couldn't help but over hear Fallon and Will talking.
"I think I like this one," I heard her say.
"Where would you get it?" Will asked.
"Where do you think I should get it?" She whispered. I turned back to the sketches not wanting to hear anymore. My eyes kept going back to the sketch with the main bird flying, and behind it; 3 feathers were left. Then I felt someone's eyes on me. I looked over to see the lady from my aptitude test. She must work here.. I walked in the back and looked at her.
Her name tag read: Tori.
I cleared my throat after she didn't look at me. "Um, I don't know if you remember me but, I'm E, you watched my aptitude test."
"Yeah I remember you," she said finally looking at me. "You're the rare hybrid."
"So I was wondering if you could actually talk t"-
"Nope, I only do tattoos." I rolled my eyes and walked away slowly toward the sketches again. I came back with the bird and 3 feathers.
"I'd like the bird, collarbone, please." I sat in the chair and watched as she got all her supplies ready. I closed my eyes then spoke.
"Could you at least tell me what it means; a hybrid, I mean." I whispered.
"When your brain works differently; you belong to 2 covens rather than 1."
"Wait, wait that doesn't make sense.. I thought once you exchanged from Doppelgänger, your doppelgänger dies or is already dead?" I asked. Tori gave me a shrug.
"Your doppelgänger must still be alive."
"So why am I the only one who is a hybrid?" I asked opening my eyes and looking down at her.
"It's just very rare: I hadn't seen one in almost 30 years." She whispered, peeling the pad off my collarbone and looked at me. "I like your name, by the way, E." She smiled as I stood up with a soft nod. I looked down at my permanent tattoo: the large bird soared as the 3 feathers stayed behind. I was the bird, and my family the 3 feathers; I needed to leave everything behind and soar and that was something I would wear permanently on my skin forever. In memory of the 3 people I left behind.

"Everyone grab their knives." It was the next day and Eric had told us that today we'd be practicing our aim with knives, I didn't really protest. Four demonstrated, I watched how he stood the first time. Then how he grasped and quickly let go as he hurled the knife. The third time I tried hard not to stare at all.
We stood in lines and threw our own blades at our own targets. I practiced my stance then how I was going to throw the first time.
"Forgot how to throw a knife, Stiff?" Peter remarked.
I ignored him and hurled the knife, it didn't hit the bullseye, but I was the first one to stick it. I watched as Peter missed.
"Hey Peter, forgot what a target is? Or are you too Stiff?" I heard Four snicker from the corner.
"Nice one." Fallon said high fiving me. Eventually everyone had gotten their blades in the wood, I was the first to hit dead in the center but eventually so had everyone else. Everyone but Rick.
"Are you serious initiate?" Eric spat once he was in a breathing distance with him. Rick heard another knife but it went skidding across the floor.
"Go get it." Eric said simply, I stopped throwing my knives.
"While they're still throwing knives?" Rick raised an eyebrow.
"Are you afraid?" Eric challenged.
"At being hit with an air born knife, yes." Rick said.
"Everyone stop!" Eric yelled. Everyone did so. "Go stand at the target board." He ordered Rick. I could hear Rick swallow from where I stood.
"Could you give me a hand here, Four." Eric said, Four moved from the corner where he held the end of the blade to his now arched eyebrow.
"You're going to stand there," Eric explained to Rick, "while he throws these blades at you, and if you move, you're out." I couldn't bare to even look at Rick's painful expression. I opened my eyes to see Four pull his arm back, but stopped when I opened my mouth.
"Stop." I said, "anyone can stand in front of a target board while someone throws knives at them. It doesn't prove anything." I looked back at Eric who was now furious.
"Then it shouldn't be a problem for you to take his place then." Eric said. I bit the inside of my cheek and kept my eyes forward as Rick passed me. "Same rules." Eric said as I turned, my back against the target board. I stared Four in the eyes.
He's not going to hit you.
He hurled the first one a few feet away from the left of me.
"Come on, you can do better than that, Four." Eric said looking at Eric. Four ran his tongue over his teeth, compressing a groan, I guessed and threw his arm back hurling another. It landed only inches away from my head.
I gritted my teeth.
"You can get closer than that." Eric mumbled.
"Want me to take a little off the top?" Four finally spoke.
"Just a little." Eric nodded. Four looked at me one last time and hurled the last knife. This time my right ear stung. I leaned away from the knife that was so close to me and put a finger to my ear.
I brought it back to see blood.
He nicked me.
Eric seemed pleased, "points for bravery, Stiff. But not as many as you just lost for opening your mouth." He turn to everyone else. "Okay, that's it for today."
Everyone left before either of us spoke.
"You okay?" Four asked collecting the knives.
"You cut me." I said walking away from the target board.
"Did you honestly think he was going to let you walk away with out a scratch?" He finally looked at me, he was serious.
"Well you might as well had just plunged a steak through my heart." I said crossing my arms.
"God damn it, E." He mumbled through gritted teeth. The knife he held in his hand had been stab into the table, the handle sticking up toward the ceiling. "If I wanted to hurt you, don't you think I would've already?" He whispered so quietly I almost couldn't hear him. I wanted to ask him what he meant, but he was already gone.
I let out a frustrated scream mixed groan of anger, even though no one was there to hear it.