Ana: Incipience

Chapter 3: The Race

ANA'S PERSPECTIVE

Jonathon lifted his hand a split second after I did; my reaction speed surprised even me. He was more powerful  than me and caught up easily as I stood at the first obstacle.  Fear coursed through my veins as I was dwarfed by its massive size.  I hated heights. 

"Go!' Apparently I had hesitated a second too long because Jonathon yelled at me. He bent down and made a platform with his hands.  I was launched a lot higher than I expect and landed heavily on the top ledge of the wall.  My legs dangled behind me and I struggled to pull them over the wall.  Jonathon was already sitting on top of the wall and pulled me up ungracefully.  As soon as I sat at the top he had already landed on the bottom.  He looked up expectantly.  I did not want to jump from the top,  the ground was too far away.

Oh shit, I swear I just heard him growl.

"You won't last the week with fear in your genes." He barked before I closed my eyes and  jumped from the top.

A couple of stray cheers were heard from the sidelines. Jonathon sprinted toward the next obstacle and I struggled to keep up. When I started to slow he grabbed my elbow and forced me to speed up.My legs were heavy and and my lungs burned.  The next obstacle was a set of monkey bar over a shallow pit of icy water.  I didn't think my sweaty hands would be able to hold my weight, but suddenly I was across.  My fingers were sore from the death grip I had given those bars. 

The next obstacle we faced was a rope net that we had to climb under.my 's small statue and speed was an advantage.I  fit easily under the net and made it out the other side faster than Jonathan. I felt confident and struggled to stifle my cocky grin.

Tires were next. I tripped only once or twice. I could feel his hot breath on my neck the whole time.  Every time I tripped he was there to haul me up under my arms.  Next there was ropes to climb and stairs to run.  We were finally on the last stretch.  The clumsy feet were unsteady on the uneven surface.  Every time I tripped he was there to haul me up by the elbow. 

"Go. Go!" He urged.I  pushed my legs faster as we neared the finish line toward the timer. Jonathan brought his hand down on the button first, a split second before me. The clock stopped.

13 minutes, 37 seconds.

Not as slow as I imagined. I turned to face Jonathon with a smile stretched across my lips.  He looked down at me and gave a small head shake. I quickly became solemn once again. 

JONATHON'S PERSPECTIVE

I was impressed by the small girls speed as we crossed the finish line.  For awhile there I was worried that we would not make the time limit.  Sure it was nowhere near as fast as he usually did the course but for her first try he gave her credit.  I turned to face the group. 

"Who's next?" I yelled. Some of the more confident students raised their hands. 6 pairs of students failed the course, I mentally noted down which numbers did well and which had not performed well. None of the students impressed me very much.  I watched as the students shuffled back to their dorms after the challenge was finished.  I started walking back to my own room when I saw the small dark headed girl sitting on a makeshift chair.  She was gazing off into the forest with a sad look on her face. She intrigued me for some reason.  I couldn't understand why she seemed so sad,  students were usually ecstatic when they begun their training.  I approached her slowly but when she lifted her eyes they were full of hate.  I bet there is a mundane reason why she was so miserable.

"So you don't have any friends?" Her azure eyes narrowed. In the light of the afternoon her skin was almost translucent except for the dark splattering of freckles.  I couldn't understand why she stood and left so abruptly.  I followed close behind her. 

Her steps were rushed and I really had to stretch my legs in order to keep up.  Maybe she didn't want to speak to me,  I just wanted to ask her about what was upsetting her.  She rushed up some stairs to what I was guessing was her dorm room but she hesitated.  I could hear two girls laughing loudly inside but was too far away to hear what they were saying.  I watched her face fall as she pushed past me to go down the stairs.  

"They sound like they were busy, I'll come back later." She mumbled seemingly giving an explanation for her irrational behavior.  I couldn't understand her acts so I continued to follow her in hope of discovering more about her.  She weaved in and out through the buildings and I realized I should probable say something. 

"Do you miss your family?" I probed. The dark haired girl's step faltered.

"No." She shook her head.

"Why are you upset?" I decided to ask outright, I was nothing if not direct. 

"I'm not. " She kept her head down and walked faster away from me, obviously unwilling to answer me. I watched as her knuckles turned white as she clenched her fist.  Shit ,  I am meant to meet James back in the combat hall. 

"You should hide your anger better." I stated before turning and jogging back toward the combat hall.  He was going to be late and they had a lot to discuss.

ANA'S PERSPECTIVE 

I walked back to my dorm room feeling refreshed from the forest. My roommates were right about me being scared.  I am scared! Scared of being put into a bad group, scared of being kicked from the academy, scared of being hurt, scared of the academy and mostly I was scared of Jonathon's strange lifeless eyes. 

When I entered my room the two girls were lying on their respective respective beds.  One had headphones in and the other was engrossed in the latest Iphone.  They didn't look up when I crossed the room to one of the beds. My bag was left packed as tomorrow I would get to change dorms, if I moved up in groups.  Hopefully I wouldn't be stuck with these gossiping bitches.  I grabbed some pajamas from my ruck sack and sneaked into the bathroom, thank god it had a lock. 

I turned on the shower all the way hot before stripping out of my clothes.  I caught my reflection in the full length mirror behind the door.  I let her raven hair fall down her my and watched it fall across my narrow shoulders.  I was terrified of becoming like one of the academy's minions.  I scrutinized my naked body for signs that I was turning into a muscle bound robot.  I was relieved to find that my body was still my own, soft and curved.  I didn't look scary or intimidating and it certainly didn't look as though I could take anyone down.  Once I was satisfied that body was still my own, I stepped into the shower.