Wishful Deviltry

Chapter Eight

    Karis sighed in relief when she saw two large buildings rise up in front of her eyes that formed The School of Natural Abilities. From a distance the school looked like a prison unit; two big multistory square buildings with bars covering the windows. It even had a lookout tower in front of the entry way where a black iron fence surrounded the front of the facility then an eight foot tall privacy fence around the rest of the property. An iron bar gate at the end of the drive way had a metal lion's head with two sapphire eyes set in the middle that made it look like a scene from The Haunted Mansion movie. There was a small key pad with a speaker beside the gate where you type in a pass code for the gates to open.
    As they got closer to the gate Karis saw that the facility was much nicer than what it appeared to be from far off. Beyond the gated fence was a paved driveway that circled around a large water fountain with an angel in the middle of it standing barefoot on rocks with her hands raised to the sky. Water was flowing down her wings, which were spread out wide behind her, into a pond that rested below the rocks. The buildings were surrounded by beautiful bushes that had bright blue flowers on them which reminded Karis of Kaleb's eyes. The lawn on both sides of the driveway was green and manicured. The smell of freshly cut grass filled the air around Karis, reminding her of home. Her heart suddenly ached for her family as she felt her eyes starting to tear up. She squeezed her eyes shut to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall. It had only been a day since she had seen her mother, but it felt like an eternity to her.
    Karis turned her head to check on Kaleb when she noticed he was staring at her.  The moment their eyes met all her home sick feelings went away and she realized that she was not alone because Kaleb was with her. He was going through the same thing she was. She realized that she needed to stop acting selfish by thinking only about herself and start thinking more about Kaleb and others.
     Titanium saw that Karis and Kaleb were silently staring at each other so he reacted by lightly nudged her arm to get her attention. When she turned around to see what Titanium wanted she noticed that they were only a couple of feet away from the gate.
    "Well, we're finally here. What do you think?" Titanium asked as they limped up to the key pad and started pressing buttons on the key pad.
    "It looked like a prison from far off, but now that I'm closer, it really is pretty." Karis said.
    "The prison look is for the normal people around this area. If they believe that this is a prison then they won't come close enough to see that it's a school. That's why there's no signs with the school's name on it. People don't really care to know about this place. That's how we keep them from asking questions about this place. It has worked so far."
    The gate made a loud clanking sound as the doors slid opened. The group limped through the gate and started walking down the driveway.  Karis finally let her body relax until she heard a motorcycle crank up from the direction of the facility.
    An irritated sigh came from Jessica when she saw the motorcycle coming down the driveway at a fast speed. "Oh great! Out of all the people to find out we're here it had to be...."
    "Not now, Jessica. We need to focus on getting Kenny to the healing room. We'll deal with other stuff later." Titanium ordered.
    A black Harley came into view speeding down the driveway towards the limping group. The person on the motorcycle was wearing all black leather with a black helmet. The person slammed on the motorcycle's brakes and skidded sideways only to stop a couple of feet in front of Titanium and Karis.
    Titanium had an annoyed look on his face. "Real nice, Ethereal, not only were you close to hitting us when we're already hurt, but you've managed to also leave a black tire mark down the driveway. You know they're going to make you clean that up."
    "That's a girl?"  Karis asked in a whisper.
    "Yeah, unfortunately."  Titanium answered.
    The rider didn't make a sound, just revved the motorcycle three times before turning the motor off. She balanced the bike with her legs as she took off the black helmet. Long wavy blonde hair cascaded out of the helmet falling around the girl's shoulders and hanging to her waist. She had bright green eyes that reminded Karis of a cat eyes. She was very pretty, if you like the Barbie doll type, Karis thought.
    The girl looked at each one of them with disgust until her eyes rested on Kaleb. She looked him up and down like a dog sizing up a bone that it wanted to keep. She had a mischievous grin on her face as she winked at him. Kaleb opened his mouth to introduce himself to her, but she already turned and focused on Titanium.
    "What the hell happen to you guys? Looks like someone kicked all your asses."  The girl grumbled in a British accent.
    "Shut it, Ethereal, I'm so not in the mood." Kenny said as he nudged Jessica and Kaleb with his elbow to walk around the motorcycle. "Titanium can explain everything to you later."
    Ethereal commenced to say something to Kenny until she locked eyes with Karis. "And who the hell are you. I don't recall anyone saying that there were new students coming. Or should I say fresh meat."
    "Don't you have something better to do right now, Ethereal! Like Kenny said, we're not in the mood." Titanium grunted.
    Ethereal gave Titanium an appalled look, then put her helmet back on and cranked the motorcycle. She looked in their direction and shouted above the sound of the motor. "Fine, I'll deal with you later, Titanium!" She spun the tires of the motorcycle making another black streak on the driveway as she peeled out towards the facility. The air around Karis filled with white smoke and smelled of burnt rubber.
    "Don't mind her, she tries to act scarier than she really is." Titanium said as they started walking again.
    "I'd feel safer if I had powers." Karis winced as she limped beside Titanium. She watched as Ethereal's motorcycle disappeared around one of the buildings. "What kind of power does she have?"
    "Besides being a royal pain, she has the strength power. That's why she has such a winning personality."
    "Sounds like someone else we know doesn't it, Karis." Kaleb said over his shoulder.
    "Your right, jug head, I do have a winning personality."
    Kaleb shook his head and looked at Kenny with pleading eyes. "Can I use your power on him? I'll even use the signal you told me to use, just one time."
    "It would be my pleasure to assist you with that, but unfortunately at this moment in time I think he would be able to reciprocate stronger than what I can force due to my injury." Said Kenny with his strong German accent. Kaleb had to really concentrate on Kenny's words to understand him.
    "Well dang, I really wanted to practice our fake power thing on someone before we had to really use it. Titanium would've been the perfect practice dummy." Kaleb snickered.
   "You better be glad I'm wounded right now." Titanium said until he looked up and saw that they were standing in front of the two large wooden entry doors to the school. "We'll continue this conversation later; let's get to the healing room before my calf starts bleeding again."
    "How's your side doing?  I can't believe you actually got stabbed.  How bad is it?" Asked Karis.
    "Oh, it was a clean cut. The Degadamon creature didn't twist the dagger when it stabbed me so the wound can be closed easily, just a couple stitches will take care of it."
    Karis looked at Titanium like he was speaking a totally different language. "Is that what you call those type of Scrapers, a Degadamon Creature?"
    "Yeah, Scrapers have many different names.  At school you'll learn the origin of their names as well as a lot of other stuff about them. One great thing about having powers is that we heal differently than normal people.  And much faster."
    The door to the facility swung open where a young man that looked to be in his late twenties stood with his arms crossed over his chest, scanning each of them with his curious hazel eyes. His sandy blond hair was cut short around his head and he had a scar on his forehead just above his left eyebrow that flowed jaggedly down his temple that stopped at the corner of his eye. He was dressed in a khaki long sleeve silk shirt tucked in grey dress slacks. A grey vest was buttoned neatly over his shirt with a matching tie that Karis could clearly see was not a clip on. The man glared at Titanium for a minute before he spoke a word.
    "Really? Mr. Tanner, I guess you will explain all this to the instructors after you all get patched up. Just remember, although you might heal faster than normal people does not mean you should put yourself or others in situations that could possibly cause bodily harm or even worse....Death!"
    The man had a deep English accent and presented himself as an authority figure, but Karis didn't want her friends getting in trouble over her, so she decided to try to blame herself by speaking up and putting her two cents in.
    "Sir, my name is Karis Kenzie and this is Kaleb Wood. We owe our lives to these three heroic people. Not only did they save our lives, but they also put their own lives in danger to get us here." Titanium tried to get Karis to shut up by softly kicking her shoe, but she ignored his attempt and continued on with her rambling. "I think they deserve a metal for what they've been through if I do say so myself."
    The man steadied his eyes on Karis with a look that she didn't recognize as good or bad. "I know exactly who you both are. I was already briefed on your situation before you boarded the airplane. There is a vast difference between heroic actions and stupidity, Miss Kenzie, and you will find out quickly that we consider ourselves neither one of those labels here at the School for Natural Abilities." The man shifted his eyes over to Jessica and Kenny. He nodded his head once and with his hand he motioned for Jessica to take Kenny on into the facility. The man stepped in front of Kaleb and motioned for him to stay put. Kaleb stepped back down a couple of steps and stood next to Karis. Titanium looked at the man with a blank stare as he listened to him continued his speech for the new students.
     "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Drew Carson. I'm the Dean of this school.  I do appreciate your cooperation while you are attending this school, but we WILL go over rules and regulations at a more convenient
time.  Now, if you three will follow me, I will lead you to the healing room." He glanced at Titanium. "I know you're very much familiar with the healing room, Mr. Tanner, since you spend most of your time there. Let's try not to make this a ritual, excessive bleeding will weaken even a supernatural body. Understood?"
    On that note, Mr. Carson turned on his heel and started walking down the long hallway. Karis looked at Titanium and mouthed, "I'm Sorry" without saying a word. Titanium waved his hand in the air to let her know that it was no big deal. They limped through the double doors behind Mr. Carson into a huge ball room that reminded Karis of a Cinderella castle. The place looked a lot bigger on the inside than it did from the outside. On each side of the large room, there were two stair cases that circled up to a second floor balcony. A unique chandelier hung from the ceiling with hundreds of crystal tears dangling from it like sparkling rain drops ready fall. The floor was made of real red oak that flowed up the steps of the stairs and the hand rails. On the balcony landing, there were several closed doors along the wall.
    "Are those dorm rooms?" Karis asked Titanium in a whisper.
    "Yeah, one side is for the boys and the other for the girls.  Don't worry, Mr. Carson will figure out the sleeping arrangements when he gets a chance, right now we need to get patched up before we get blood on the floor.  The cleaning staff tends to frown upon that."
    "Where's the healing room?" Kaleb asked.
    "It's past the dining room to the right.  They have it on the first floor so people like us don't have to limp up the stairs. This is a fancy place, but it doesn't have elevators. They're afraid that the new kids who are learning to use their powers, especially the force power, might accidentally make the elevator go crazy and fall. They say stairs are safer, too many electronics can be accidents waiting to happen around here."
    "Really?  How do the kids on crutches or in wheelchairs get up to their room on the second floor?"  Karis asked curiously.
    "They don't, if they're hurt that bad they get transferred someplace else or stay in the healing room until they can at least limp."
    "That sounds sadistic." Kaleb said, scratching his head.
    "That's just how it is." Titanium stated without looking at Kaleb.
    Karis looked around the room in amazement as they limped past the huge dining area that had several round tables with fancy table cloths. Karis couldn't believe how big this place was and wondered how many other supernatural schools were as big as this one. She remembered her parents telling her about the academy back in Texas that only housed thirty seven students in all. She wondered if it was as beautiful as this place.  Karis grabbed Kaleb's hand as they turned down a hallway that had elegant artwork displayed on the walls which described each artist's life in a way that only the person that drew the picture would understand.  The hallway reminded her of an exquisite museum.
    Mr. Carson stopped at a large steel door that had 'The Healing Room' written on it. "This is where I leave you to have your wounds attended to. Afterwards, please join me in my office.  We shall discuss your unique acceptance to the school and I'll familiarize you with our rules and goals." Mr. Carson smiled, turned on his heel and disappeared around the corner.
    Karis and Kaleb followed Titanium into the room which looked just like a hospital emergency room. The beds lined up evenly against the wall were in little cubicles with curtains around each one that could be slid open when the bed was not being used. At the far end of the room were several clear cabinets filled with different beakers and bottles that were labeled with the name of the contents inside them. Karis figured that the closed closet door beside one of the cabinets was where all the medical supplies were stored. In the middle of the room was a long table that had several built in sinks with pedals at the bottom to turn the water on and off without anyone having to use their hands. When Karis and Kaleb walked further into the room they saw a lady standing next to a bed, leaning over someone on the bed.  As they walked closer towards the bed Karis realize the person in it was Kenny. He was shirtless with a young lady cleaning his shoulder with a red liquid that looked like iodine. The piece of metal was gone from Kenny's shoulder, but the wound was still bleeding. The young lady looked up from cleaning his shoulder holding a soiled cloth and instrument to see who was approaching them. When she saw Titanium she smiled resulting in the wrinkles deepening around her eyes and mouth. She set down the medical instrument on the bedside table to focus her attention on Titanium when she finally noticed that he was not alone. She saw Karis and Kaleb gaping at Kenny's wound with uneasy eyes so she reached up and slid the curtain shut for privacy.
    "Oy, Titanium!  Just finishing up on the laddie here, I'll be with ye in a minute. Just make yerselves comfortable. And don't ye go messin' with me sharp instruments, laddie."
    "Just do what you do best little missy and I'll leave the sharp objects alone. I don't want you giving me anymore stitches than you already have to." Titanium glanced shyly at Karis with a small grin and shrugged his shoulders.
    "Oy, more stitches? Ye are going to be the death of me laddie. I'll be right with ye as soon as I'm done with Kenny here."
    Karis and Kaleb stood next to each other by a desk that had a fully operational computer on top of it. The screen saver was displaying an aquarium with colorful digital fish swimming around on the screen. Titanium made himself at home on the bed next to them, grabbing his side and grimacing in pain as he lay down his stomach.  He positioned his leg on the bed so that the cut on his calf would be easily assessable. He gave Kaleb and Karis a sideways glance before he rolled on his uninjured side and propped his head up with his arm so he could talk to them.
    "Looks like we have the place to ourselves. Oh, except for Kenny behind the curtain over there." Titanium pointed to the curtain and raised his voice. "I'm not forgetting you over there buddy."
    "Appreciate it, man."  Kenny grunted behind the curtain.
    Kaleb let go of Karis's hand long enough to grab a chair that was near the desk and set it down next to Karis. "Sit here, I'll stand next to you."
    "There are plenty of beds around here so relax; we've been through a lot. Plus, you have your choice of any bed in this place. Believe me when I say that these beds are so comfortable." Titanium said as he rolled over on his back and adjusted his pillow.
    "I'm good.  I don't need to lay down. My legs feel much stronger after that long walk." Karis said trying to keep from wincing in pain as she stood next to Kaleb.
    "You can't lie to me, Karis, I've known you way too long, besides Jessica told me how far that creature threw you out of the taxi cab.  You landed hard on your knees. I bet you even have a bad case of road rash where your jeans are torn." Kaleb said pointing at her jeans where the blood soaked through.
    "Seriously, Kaleb, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Anyway, you're the one that was knocked out. You probably got some kind of concussion or maybe something worse."
    "Please lay down on the bed. - For me." Kaleb said as he stuck out his bottom lip and gave Karis his puppy dog eyes.
    "Will you two shut up? All that crap is making me sick to my stomach." Titanium snapped.
    "Me too and I'm way over here." Kenny growled behind the curtain.
    "Okay, okay, I'll lay down under one condition." Karis said as she made her way over to the bed next to Titanium. "Kaleb lays down on the bed next to me."
    Titanium's eyes widened as he raised his head to see which bed she was talking about, then signed in relief when he realized that she was talking about the bed on the other side of her. He collapsed his head back onto the pillow and mumbled, "You better do what she says man or we won't hear the end of it."
    "Hey, I'm not that bad. I just...."
    "Ye just need to lay back and wait yer turn missy." Interrupted the young lady who was working on Kenny's shoulder earlier. She had a Scottish accent and short red hair to match it. She walked over to Titanium's bed and placed two fingers on his wrist to check his radial pulse. "Ye know?  This one has made himself right at home in this healing room. I even think he carved his name on this very bed."
    "Hello, Sahari, how long has it been now, one or two months?" Titanium flashed a smile at her as he sat up to take off his shirt.
    "It has been three weeks ago today. Ye had a deep shiner, ye did. Now hold still while I shut this curtain, before ye go taking off clothes."
    "Oh whatever, I'm only taking off my shirt.  You don't need to close the curtain unless sweet thang over there gets queasy?" 
    "Excuse me?  The site of blood doesn't bother me!" Karis said offended.
    "I wasn't talking about you." Titanium said with a smirk as he looked over at Kaleb.
    "Very funny, I knew you would come on to me sooner or later, I just didn't think it would be this soon." Kaleb joked back.
    Titanium chuckled as he reached back with his left hand to grab the back of his shirt while holding his wounded side with his right. He pulled his shirt off over his head in one tug. Karis made a little gasping sound as she gawked at Titanium's bare chest and six pack abdomen. Titanium grinned as laid back down to let Sahari work on his wounds. Kaleb rolled his eyes and cleared his throat impatiently, snapping Karis back to reality. 
    "How's Kenny doing? Could you get the metal piece out without causing any more damage?" Kaleb asked as he lay down on his side and used his arm as a pillow for his head.
    Sahari turned around to answer Kaleb, but Titanium started talking before she got a word out. "Of course she got the metal out with no further damage. Allow me to introduce Sahari Wallace, the finest healer in the whole country. Hell the whole world if you ask me." Titanium grimaced as Sahari applied the same red liquid on his calf as she used on Kenny's wound then grabbed the suture set and started stitching his wound.
    "I wouldn't say the finest there laddie, but me maker skills definitely helps with me healing. Instead of focusing on weapons during schooling, I focused on medicine and healing herbs. It came in handy for lads like this one." Sahari said pointing at Titanium. "He keeps me busy around here. And to answer yer question, Kenny is going to be fine. I gave him something to help him rest his soreness off. He'll be up and going in a few hours."
    "How long have you worked here?" Karis asked.
    "For as long as I can remember. I started right when I earned me healer's license, which was approximately twenty years ago. Give or take a few."
    Kaleb's blue eyes widened. "How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"
    "How old do you think she is?" Titanium blurted out before Sahari could answer him.
    "Oh no, my momma taught me never to guess a woman's age. She told me that would be asking for more trouble than I'm ready for.  I really shouldn't have asked how old you were in the first place."
    "Yer mother is a wise woman, she is."  Sahari giggled. "If ye must know, I'm forty two."
    "No way, I'd never have guessed that age.  You look to be in your late twenties." Kaleb said.
    "Well, aren't ye a young charmer." Sahari said as she cut the last stitch and moved her focus to Titanium's side wound. She looked at Titanium before she started cleaning it and said, "Watch yerself laddie, looks like ye might have some good competition with the ladies now."
    Titanium laughed out loud. "Ha, there's no competition. He'll find out soon enough who rules the roost around here."
    Karis rolled her eyes. "Oh Lord. Wake me up when you two are finished with the 'who can get what girl' conversation." Karis reclined back on her pillow, shut her eyes, and tried to tune out the boys. She had more things to worry about than what they were talking about. Before she knew it she was out like a light.
  
    Kaleb looked over at Karis lying in the bed and said to Sahari, "Titanium's right, there's no competition; I only have one girl on my mind."
    "Holy crap, Sahari! Mark this down in the books. Girlie boy over there actually said that I was right. I knew you'd come to your senses soon enough."
    Sahari smiled at Kaleb. "Well laddie, keep doing what ye are doing and the girl will come around. Besides, those big blue eyes of yers will win any girl over if they haven't already."
    "Oh, come on! Don't encourage him, Sahari. You're going to build the boys ego up and I'll just have to smash it down. Don't make me out to be the bad guy."
    Sahari gave Titanium an evil glare and poured the red liquid fast into his open wound. Titanium clenched his teeth and grimaced in pain as the liquid soaked into his soft tissue.
    "Sorry about that laddie, had to make sure the wound is thoroughly clean before I stitch it up." Sahari said glancing over at Kaleb with a mischievous grin.
    "I got it, keep my mouth shut and it'll be less painful. I'll learn that one of these days. If I promise to be good can I have what Kenny had?" Titanium asked in a tortured voice.
    "Sure laddie, if ye can behave." Sahari said as she winked at Kaleb. She grabbed a clear mason jar from the nearest cabinet that had a brown color liquid in it. She poured it into a shot glass and handed it to Titanium. "Drink this and ye will be having sweet dreams in no time."
    "That's what I'm planning, oh and try to take it easy on the stitches. I'm starting to look like a rag doll."
    "Just rest easy, I'll fix ye right up, laddie."
    Titanium took the shot like a pro and five minutes later he was snoring while Sahari worked on his wound. Kaleb wished he could sleep at the moment, but his nerves made him too jumpy. Every time he shut his eyes his mind would playback the scene of the wreck and Karis nowhere in sight when he woke up. He sat up on the side of his bed feeling a little nauseated.  He watched Karis for a moment as she slept, extremely happy that she was finally getting some well needed rest.
    "Ye like me to give you something to help ye rest, laddie?" Sahari asked Kaleb. "From what I hear, ye hit yer head hard enough to knock yerself out, ye did."
    "No thank you, I want to make sure I'm fully functional when she wakes up." Kaleb said pointing at Karis. "She has been through a lot and I want to be here for her."
    "Ye really care for her, do ya now?" asked Sahari. "She seems to be something special. I can feel the energy radiating off her in a way that I do not feel with others like us. But don't mistake me, laddie, I am no fortune teller. Ye have a kind heart, which is also special. Follow yer heart and it'll lead ye in the right direction."
    "That's easier said than done. Every time I'm near her I just want to reach out and hold her. When we're apart I feel like I'm missing something. She's the only girl I've ever wanted by my side all the time, every second of every minute. She makes me feel....... Complete. I don't know how to explain it."
    "Well Laddie that was a pretty good description that came out of yer mouth right there."
    "Yeah, now if I could only tell her that."  Kaleb said as he hung his head. "I don't understand why I can tell a complete stranger how I feel about her yet when I try to tell her I become a mute."
    "No worries, ye are just reacting to the after effects of the adrenaline rush. Strength comes in many ways and most of the time when ye least expect it." Sahari said as she finished Titanium's stitches. "Adrenaline goes a long way towards increasing strength in a crisis but nothing replaces being prepared and knowing what to do in that crisis.  Most of the time, the first reaction is the correct action."
    Sahari grabbed several four by four gauzes from the bedside table and secured it to Titanium's wound with paper tape. Titanium was still sleeping soundlessly.
    "What do you mean by that?" Kaleb curiously asked.
    Sahari grabbed the soiled medical instruments off the bedside table and placed them it the sink to be cleaned. She then proceeded to depose all the bloody gauze in a red biohazard bag. She washed her hands thoroughly and dried them with a clean towel. She smiled sweetly at Kaleb as she took a seat in a rolling chair next to his bed to examine the knot on his temple.
    "How I see it, laddie, is when ye get a gut feeling about something yer heart starts to race.  At that very moment yer rapid heartbeat gives ye a false reaction; it makes ye nervous mind think whatever yer about to do is a mistake and ye tend to second guess yerself. That leads to missed opportunities." Sahari wiped the sweat off her brow with her shirt sleeve as she turned and grabbed a bottle off the bedside table containing a yellow colored liquid.  She then applied some of the liquid on a cotton swab and applied it on Kaleb's temple. She continued.  "I believe that if ye react to that gut feeling before ye have time to think about it, yer heart will give ye the courage that yer mind doesn't register. Therefore, when yer heart starts to race, whatever ye had to say is already out before ye have the chance to second guess yerself. Just go for it, ye have nothing to lose."
    "I'll lose everything if I lose her. You know, in my mind I always felt that Karis and I would end up together.  I was just taking my time with her to make sure she felt the same way. Never once did I feel any doubt until he came around."  Kaleb said nodding his head towards Titanium. "Now I watch how she looks at him and how he looks at her. I don't know what to think anymore. All I know is he doesn't deserve her."
    Sahari raised one of her eyebrows and smiled at Kaleb as she put a bandage on his temple to keep the ointment she applied in place. "Ah yes.  Jealousy can cloud the mind's judgment. I have known Titanium for a long time now and he's not such a bad fella, however I have yet to see him give his heart to a girl.   But the heart has a mind of its own; it falls for who it wants to fall for without warning. So, me advice to ye, laddie, is if ye know what yer heart wants, do not wait for a missed opportunity. Go with yer gut."
    Kaleb looked over at Karis and said to Sahari, "Thank you for the advice and for listening. I believe it's time she and I have a heart to heart talk when we're alone. If Titanium likes her or not, he'll have to go through me first."
    "Now do not mistake courage with stupidity!  Use common sense before ye go rattling out the mouth and laddie, make sure what ye say counts if ye really love her."
    "Love is a scary word to Karis right now.  I think I'll start out with a first date before I scare her off."
    "Yes sir, I knew those blue eyes of yers had some common sense behind them." Sahari said as she stood up and started walking towards the door. "Now ye get some rest, I have a feeling that if she wakes up before ye that she will not leave yer side until ye are awake too."