Helpless [Book 2]

8 || Dark Skies

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SOSA smelled of dust. The hallways were darker than I remembered, and the little light we had seemed muted and suffocating. We were standing outside the dorms. There were only seven of us now, and the space Nia left was almost tangible. No one was opening the door. We just... stood there.

"So. Are we going to go in?" Tommy said, tilting on the balls of his feet. No one said anything at first. It was like we were waiting for her to burst the door open from the other side, announcing her arrival. No one came. No one moved.

"Yeah," Jack said. She sounded defeated.

"This feels wrong," Zane said, looking around sadly.

"Yeah," Jack repeated. There was a pause. With a sigh, Jack pushed the door open. Hazzy followed her, then Kyle, then Tommy. Soon enough it was just Zane and I standing there. The door closed in front of us.

"C'mon. She wouldn't want us to be this affected. This is Nia we're talking about, she'd want us to get back up and kick some ass," I said. Zane sent me a forced smile. I punched his shoulder lightly, and I watched as he smiled- this time for real. I smiled back.

"Besides. She's missing, not dead. We will find her, Zane. And she'll be fine. Hell, if she isn't fine, we'll give her the space she needs until she is. We're a team. All eight of us."

"Yeah," he said. He, too, sounded rather defeated. "Can I uh, have a minute? Just to like, clear my thoughts."

"Sure. Take a walk, take a nap, eat a protein bar or something. You're acting like a two-year-old." I pushed the door open.

"That's because it feels like I'm talking to one," he joked back. I dropped my mouth open in mock-hurt, walking inside with a laugh.

No one was in the lounge, and the kitchen was empty. Everyone's probably in their rooms, I thought, looking down the short hallway. Jack's, Sam's, and Tommy's doors were shut, but Hazzy's was wide open. She was sitting on the lower bunk of the bed, staring off into space."Hey, Hazzy," I said, peering in.

I knew she had to be taking this hard. Nia's her best friend- Hazzy always went around saying that. "You okay in here?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm good," she said, straightening up. "Just a little tired, that's all."

"Okay. Listen, if you need anything, Jack's always willing to help. Me, I'm a bit of a lazy asshole, but hey. At least someone's willing," I said. She gave a sympathetic chuckle, but I could tell her heart wasn't in it. I'm losing my charm, I thought. I used to be funnier.

I shook my head, walking back towards Jack's and my room.

A week passed at SOSA without any event. Classes rolled their way back onto schedule. Teachers- the ones that still opted to work here, at least- found a way to teach their classes. I think Ms. Brutus decided to quit before shit really hit the fan.

It was our first training since before the incident. The seven of us were back in the training room, Bo front and center. "Hello there, ladies and gents. So before we start, I thought I'd tell you a little something about scores," she said, before dropping the happy facade. "They exist."

"We haven't gotten the chance to-" Tommy started, but she cut him off.

"If you think that you're going to skirt off killing a giant wolf shifter god with a five-point-three in training, then you are wrong. Very wrong. A five-point-three will land your ass dead if you're lucky."

"Jeez, no need to be so harsh about it," Sam said. Bo narrowed her eyebrows, walking straight at him. "I, uh-"

"Do you think that you even stand a chance? Do you really? I don't think you understand anything if you're going to say that I'm harsh. You wanna see harsh? Huh? Do you?"

"Not particularly, no," Sam said, looking down.

"Well, you're gonna. And he's not gonna sugarcoat it. So you better get your ass in shape and hope for the best, mister six-point-two. Because at this rate, things are looking pretty grim."

Sam took a step back. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was hanging open. Bo sent him a grin, walking back to the front of the room in what appeared to be satisfaction.

"As I was saying," Bo said, the lilt in her voice suddenly cheerful. "make sure to check your scores after every practice, and try better than your best. Who knows, your lives could be at steak any day. Ciao!" With that, she was gone.

A jBot carried out a tray of weapons. "Huh, I almost forgot about those," Tommy said, grabbing a mace from the jBot. "Very convenient."

"Yeah, okay," Zane said, rolling his eyes. "I still don't trust them."

"You're just paranoid," Tommy retorted, tossing Zane a spear. Zane caught it in one hand.

"Why are they giving us weapons, anyways?" Hazzy asked. She picked up a slingshot, throwing the rock between both hands. I shrugged. I figured it had something to do with the solution the Ineffects gave to Kyle and Jack, but I wasn't sure.

Sure enough, a white mist filled the room. I took a deep breath, feeling a draining sensation tickle across my back. A voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Alliot's nullification in progress. Elementless training beginning in... Three. Two. One," the voice called. I tested my powers, but not even a seed came to my side.

"You know, this is a bad idea," Zane murmured. "What if Draos or his goonies attacks while we're under this stuff?"

"Well that's exactly why we need to train," Kyle said. "So that if something happens like that in real life we can deal."

"I dunno, I'm with Zane. We are a pretty big target," Hazzy said.

"Less talking more fighting," another voice called over the loudspeaker. It was Bo. The mist dissipated. I gasped as an orange sphere whirred its way past my head. I crashed to the floor, surprise instincts taking over. Pulling myself off the ground, I realized that I'd narrowly avoided it. Like, had that been a real fireball or some wacky shit like that, my hair would have been singed.

I grabbed a sword from the jBot, giving the blade a twist. A second hologram sped towards me, and, with the blunt of the sword, I deflected it. Adrenaline was pumping. I followed it with my eyes, watching as it collided with the back of Kyle's head. I mouthed a quick 'sorry' as Kyle shot me a glare.

An orange, pixelated holo-man sprinted out of thin air, wielding a sword of a similar quality to mine. I gripped the handle tighter, preparing as he sped at me. Swiping the sword near his hip, I'd hoped to land a decent blow. Instead the holo-man deflected, pushing my sword nearer to my face. I took a step forward, leaning into the pressure. He took a swipe at my side and I cringed, but leaned ever closer. If I could just hold on for a few more seconds he'd disappear, fall into pixelated bits. If I could move my sword a little higher, reach his neck. I pushed against him, shaking my sword loose, then- I fell forward. The holo-man had disappeared, but... I hadn't killed him. That didn't make sense. That's not how it-

The lights went out with a pop.

Darkness had taken over. Everything in the small training room was an eerie black as if nothing had functioned in years. A silence as thick as satin filled my ears, filling up my head and mind and thoughts and very being.

Everything was dark. Everything was silent. I could not see, I could not hear, I could not tell.

And then something was whirring.

I took a deep breath.

Slowly, ever so slowly, I turned my head.