In the Shadows

Broken Bones

Hand in hand, Liam and I burst into the training room to see something defidently unexpected. Kayla was having the class climb a rope to the tippy top of the ceiling, which was about 40 feet up. And you'll never guess who was up there herself; you guessed it. It was Porchia. She was obviously struggling really badly with getting very far up the rope and everyone was laughing st her until we walked in. I almost felt bad for her, but then remembered what she did to me, which made me want to grind her to a pulse.

Gosh that sounded wrong. I got a mental picture and almost puked. I shook my head violently to get the disturbing image our of my head and winced. Hey, it's not my fault I'm a visual person!

When Porchia saw us, she shot a glare at me, and lost her footing. Everyone turned and gasped. As much as she tried to gain her footing back, she failed miserably and started sliding down the rope, giving her a scowl on her face. She let out a helpless shout for help, but even though she didn't get that close to the ceiling, she was still 20 feet up in the air. She was holding on to dear life and I couldn't say anything. My mouth was dry and I was afraid to let her think I was forgiving her in some way.

Her hands continued to slip, but she couldn't take the burn from the rope anymore. She let go to relieve herself from the pain. She was screaming and yelling and fighting for someone our something to save her. But no one moved. It was as if our feet were planted to the ground by some invisible force that wouldn't let go, and our mouthes clamped shut as if we were dogs robbed of our voices and our mouthes were muzzled shut.

Then it all happened so fast. Porchia plummeted to the ground, onto the cold, gray cement and all you heard was a large crackong sound.

There was blood everywhere. I gasped as two of her friends rushed to her side, as if they were trying to break her fall not three seconds ago.

The room erupted in sound, from nervous gossiping to triple paving the floor. But I sat there, silent. Unable to move.

Porchia let out a disturbing sound which sounded like a gasp, a moan, and a cry, all in one.

Men in black suits suddenly burst into the room, dozens of them, as if they knew this was going to happen and were ready for it. They crowded around Porchia and gathered her into a stretcher. Liam, at my side, was begging me to move out their way and dragging me a aside so the men could get through. All I could do, though was stare at the girl whose legs were bent in various angles.

As the men with the stretcher passed by me, I could hear her screaming in excruciating pain, until Porchia's eyes were locked onto mine, which stopped my heart for a second and made her stop making noise. By the look in her eyes, which were burning flames, I knew I was going to need to keep one eye open when I slept. And then she was gone.

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After that incident, we were all forced to go sit down in the cafeteria and wait for further instructions. some of the girls in Porchia's group were weeping on each others shoulders.

Even though Porchia was definitely not my favorite person, I still felt obligated to go see her in the hospital. I knew it wasn't my fault, but I still felt bad.

I feel a warm hands caressing my own and look up to see Liams eyes on me, studying my expressions. My heartbeat speeds up a little bit as I remember a few minutes ago when he kissed me passionately, claiming me as his own.

I wanted to tell him how I was feeling, but is quiet in the lunchroom and I didn't want anybody to hear what my thoughts were. They could easily turn my words around and use it against me. So I sat there thinking to myself.

Somebody clears their throught into a microphone. I wake up out of my trance and look up to Kayla and a guy in his 40s standing on a table close towards the center of the room.

"As you all know, Miss Porchia Dagle just had a careless accident. Go up to your room early and you will finish your training lesson tomorrow." Says the man, roughly. Though he looks kind, with high brows and naturally upturned lips, his words and voice betray him. He sounds menacingand like someone meant to be put in charge. Was this the new leader Kayla was talking about? He defidently looks like someone not to mess around with.

Someone at the Porchia table got the nerve up to speak to this new man.

"When can we go see her?" She asks timidly, and I don't blame her.

"When we say." Her barks out. Gee whiz, someone has a short temper here. "She's in the infirmary right now."
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When I got to my room, I shut my door and looked around. Something was off.

I go straight towards my bed and lift the mattress from the box spring. I look down and see that my note is gone, replaced with a new one.