The Lorenzo School of Gifteds

Chapter 8 I Sam and the Race

Holding Mel in my arms, with blood everywhere, I have no idea what to do. I put Mel down on the grass and dig around in my bag, looking for my medical supplies. I'm still digging through my bag when I hear his voice echo through the empty town.

"Well my students, looks like you survived. Well, not without a scratch." We heard him chuckle under his breath. "You all are better than I had thought. Your next Test will arrive in one week. Some Quizzes may be thrown at you in the middle at random." After a few more seconds of silence I release a breath I didn't know I was holding. I find Precious and Anna and bring them back to Mel after finding someone who has medical supplies. I go back to Mel and kneel beside her. The girl I had brung over was the same girl who had the force field and who had protected us.

"The gash is superficial. It will heal soon enough," she says after a while. I sigh with relief. She props Mel's head up on a pillow and turns to me. She stares at me and tilts her head as if wondering who I am.

"You are amazing you know?" she says suddenly. I'm stunned.

"Excuse me?" I say.

"Your amazing. You defeated that Beast and have a super rare ability unlike any of us." she smiles and shakes her head.

"My ability was randomly chosen and I didn't know what came over me when I was attacking the Beast. I'm just as amazing as you are." She shakes her head again.

"Nonsense," she says. We sit there and watch Mel for another few minutes. I suddenly feel really weird for not knowing the girl's name. She went to my school what's wrong with me?

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Sam," she replies. The name strikes me as familiar. I know her from somewhere. But where?

"Nice name," I lay down. She shrugs beside me then stands up.

"Your friend will be OK," she says, "Just give her some time." I nod and she leaves. I look over at Mel and her large bandage over one eye. I lay down next to her as the sun begins to fade fast. Precious is next to me and Anna is next to Mel when Connor comes over.

"Hey," he breathes next to me, "She alright?" He points to Mel. I nod and look up to hold back tears that are forcing their way out. I am NOT crying. I scream at myself. The tears flee in terror and I look back at Connor who has a single tear gently going down his soft skin. I sit up and watch another slowly go.

"She's gone," he mutters. I tilt my head in confusion.

"Who?" I ask.

"Ava," he sighs. Oh. I settle my hand on his shoulder. My hand finds his cheek and I wipe some tears from his face. A cough comes from behind me followed by a voice.

"Hey, get a room," Mel chuckles. I laugh. I turn and help Mel to her feet.

"You wanna go for a ride?" I ask. She nods and I wave Anna over. Mel settles onto Anna and the dog wags it's long tail out of happiness. I get onto Precious and wave at Connor.

"We'll be back in a few," I yell over my shoulder. Mel and I jump onto our creatures and walk on the streets for a couple blocks. I finally turn to Precious' back and lay down on her, long ways. She walks gingerly and I stare at the stars above. They're so bright with no one else to block their light. Mel does the same on Anna. I look over at Mel again. Her bandage covers half of her face and her short pink hair swoops on the other side. Her once decorative dress now flows over Anna even though it's so short. She's watching me too. I smile and she smiles back.

"Wanna race?" she asks.

"Nah," I fake a sigh and wait a few seconds, "DUH!" I shout. She laughs and we both sit back up on our animals. We had walked around a mile away from the group by now and we had come across and interstate. It was long and straight. We stopped at the beginning of the road. I clutch Precious' sides with my legs and lean forward. Mel does the same. I grip two handfuls of her blue fur. Precious lowers and puts one paw forward. I rub her back.

"Ready?" I ask.

"Oh yeah!" she yelps.

"GO!" Precious and Anna shoot off. I'm pretty sure Precious goes from none to 100 mph in 3 seconds flat. Each stride seems to be faster than the one before. Anna and Mel are right beside us. Mel sticks her tongue out at me and laughs. Out of nowhere Jade comes over with her pegasus, Charlie. Next comes Lilly and Lexi flying above us with their dragons. Lexi's is May and Lilly's is Bell. Mia's Griffin, Muffin, comes into view above us too. Mia hollers and flies ahead of the other's in the air.

"Let's see how fast you can go!" I shout at Precious. She huffs agreement and pounds her paws into the road. We speed past Mel and Anna. The interstate is coming to an end. Everyone slows and stops at the interstate's end. Everyone hollers.

"That was fun," Lexi sighs. She has her black short dress tattered and laying over May. Lilly agrees with a nod of her head.

"I think we should be on our way back now," Mia says. Her Manticore bobs her head. We all walk back to the group talking to each other. Lilly and Jade fall asleep on their creatures on the way there. When we get back we settle Lilly and Jade by their animals as they snooze away. Mia goes over to Fitz and lays down cuddled next to him. Lexi walks over to Zach and does the same. Mel and I go back to where we were before and I change Mel's bandages. After I'm done Sean comes over and talks to Mel. I hop back on Precious and leave them on the ground. I walk to the interstate again and turn to face the trees with Precious. I lay her down and take my M16 out of my bag. I load a new clip into it and face the trees. I shoot off at the trees hitting each one on spot. I stop and take apart my gun and remake it again. I shine it and put it back in my bag. Max had stayed with Mel and Sean when I left so I don't have to worry about smashing his tiny paws this time. Suddenly a face pops up next to me and I squeal and turn, ready to fight. It's Connor.

"Sorry, I'm still jumpy," I sigh. He shakes his head.

"It's ok. Why were you out here?" He asks. I shake my bag and my M16 jiggles inside.

"Practicing," I say. He nods and we both get on Precious. We bound away and get back to our big group of people. I snuggle next to Precious and fall asleep after a few minutes of talking to Mel. As I drift off I watch her snuggle with Anna as well. Good night, I say to myself.