The Underbelly (First Draft)

Into the Lion's Den

So we trained. It was brutal, getting up ridiculously early and pushing ourselves until dusk. I did things over the last few weeks and months that I did not think was possible for a human to do, running up a vertical wall that was as tall as a five story building, holding my breath for almost an hour whilst swimming and even running through a tunnel of fire and not being burnt.

That was just the physical trials, there were the mental ones too, to train each of our gift. In the end Chaz couldn't decide what I specialised in as I could do a little of everything and so had me train in all of the disciplines. I was not as proficient as the others in their specialities but I was quickly catching up.

"Concentrate!" Zach was tutoring me in illusions, one of my weakest disciplines because it required non-physical contact to be effective. If I were touching Zach it would have been easy enough for me to conjure up the desert I was supposed to make him see but with the air acting as a barrier for my gift, I found it immensely difficult to bridge the distance between us.  

After several hours of sweaty effort I managed to make some contact and I could see the desert forming in his mind like an uncertain mirage. "Good Merissa, now see if-" I gasped as I lost my concentration, Zach scowled and began to growl something but I saw red, as my hours of frustrations came broiling down to this singular moment and I felt my gift reach out, strong and sure. Zack stopped and looked glazed, "well done Merissa. If I didn't know better I would be very scared right now."

His condescending tone began to grate on me and I felt my annoyance flare into something darker, and I could feel Zack begin to get uneasy, as well as he should because he was surrounded by lions in his mind. I made them advance, fur rippling and their snouts pulled back in a fearsome savage scowl with their yellowed teeth glinting paly in the sun of the Serengeti.

"Merissa, stop it now. You've made your point. Please stop!" Zack's fear was getting stronger and as the panic rose in him, his own mental defences began to crumble and the lions crept ever closer. With a yowl the leading lioness jumped and swiped at Zack. Zack screamed and fell back and his mind went blank with fear and I could see his whole essence in front of me. I felt a morbid curiosity at seeing this strong man being reduced to this, then I saw what he saw of me; cold, malicious and malevolent.  

I snapped back out of his mind and I looked at him shivering on the floor, then with alarm I saw that he had a bleeding arm, three gashes, and they were bleeding, badly. I rushed over to him with a towel I had grabbed from the small pile on the table. I knelt down by him and began to apply pressure. I could feel panic rising in me as I thought of what to do.

My eyes darted back and forth, all the while Zach was growing paler by the moment. Suddenly the door to our training room banged open and my father strode through with a couple of people, including Chaz. He made his way right over to Zach without looking at me. He prised Zack from my bloody fingertips and nodded to one of the young girls who hurried over and placed her hand on his ravaged arm.

She closed her eyes for a moment in concentration and after a moment I could see that Zack's flesh was swiftly knitting together and I could have slapped myself. I had utterly and totally forgotten about my healing lessons, I was so panicked about Zach and felt so guilty that I had thought only of the problem and not the solution.

Some hours later I was sitting in my room, staring at the ceiling when I heard a knock, "come in." The door opened and I could see my father standing in the doorway, I haven't seen much of him these past few weeks with both of us being busy. He stood there awkwardly for a moment before entering.