Old vs. New: The other academy team:

Part 2:

Sang

The wafting scents of spring soap, blood, and dirt, and the sharp sting of cold, damp residue across my nose and cheeks brought me back to my senses, my head still spinning from what was sure to be one sore head in the morning, I thought groggily, as I became aware of my shoulders convulsing from the cold.

My eyes snapped open in the dark, stretching as wide as they could to capture any stray light... nothing. My jaw remained clenched as I tried to stop my teeth from chattering, trying in vain to maintain my silence, at least until I figured out what was going on.

I could feel the cold of the room trying to burrow down into my bones, through anything my skin touched. For some reason my cloths seemed damp, my flesh numbed from the cold, and I was lying on what seemed to be one giant ice block; not a good day to have warn a singlet and shorts, I thought as my mind shifted and danced once again on the edge of consciousness.

Time seemed to pass and becoming a little more aware now, I was starting to catch the varying scents of spring soap, moss, citrus and ginger, vanilla, spice... My boys! My boys were here! I tried moving, my right arm automatic responding, shifting out across the harsh ice concrete floor, and I let out an involuntary, strangled moan, as a deep throb emanated from my entire left side, starting low on my hip and stretching all the way up becoming sharp and tight across my ribs, before becoming a sort of raw stinging along my scalp. From there I could feel the groggy sort of unrepentant, nauseous pain that comes with an open head wound.

Movement in the darkness, roused no doubt by my own moan, brought me back to the present, lying spread and venerable, yet unable to move.

I could feel the panic starting to rise from foreboding to how I would imagine a bug felt pinned on its back... unable to move... unable to see... unable to breathe...

"Ms. Sorensen? " the deep voice sounded in the darkness, almost unrecognizable because of its rusty, unpolished quality; so unlike its owner.

Relief and a huge gulp of too crisp air immediately surged into my lungs, my convulsing taking on a whole new level of frenzied, each shake making me more and more aware of the sharp pain and tightness spread across my torso.

"... M-mr. B-blackborne....?" I managed to stammer back before relocking my jaw.

What was wrong with him? Was he hurt? What about the others? I could smell the others? Couldn't I? Was it just my mind reaching for comfort?

Whoa... calm... one question at a time... they need you... you need you...

"About f#*king time you woke up..." came a small, strangled voice from further in the darkness, that couldn't be Gabriel?... could it?

"... I thought I was alone here... but no... trouble had to be in trouble... " It sounded as if he was moaning, mumbling and shivering to himself, breathing fast, scared. It scared me too.

"Gabriel!" Mr. Blackborne whisper commanded, his voice regaining some of its steel. It was almost too loud, making my ears ring, but it was enough to get his attention, to bring him backs, for now.

"Ugghhh...." The moan echoed through the room, unmistakably Silas and unmistakably coming to consciousness with a vengeance, and it seemed he wasn't the only one.

I could hear at least three separate bodies shifting in the darkness other than my own, and those I had already established as Silas, Gabriel, and Mr. Blackborne.

As bad as the situation was, and as worried as I was about the state of my family, I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of relief and irrational Faith that as long as we were together everything would work out alright.

Attempting to shift my self into a more upright and ready position, I knew I had fooled myself just a little with my assessment of how ready I was to take anything on as a wave of stars flew through the darkness, across my vision, and I passed out.