Safehaven

Chapter 19

About half way through our game, Holly came back to the land of the living. As we played on, she sat on the floor beside us with Rinal and we dealt her in. Soon, we were all absorbed in a highly intense game of kemps, again. There we sat, all together and laughing. Some of us won, while others lost, though we all had a great time. What seemed like minutes later, the dinner bell sounded. The value of time here really did set me off. Wasn't it just lunchtime? Grumbling, we all got up and put the cards away. None of us were hungry, but we decided that it would be good to stretch our legs. "Alright, people." Antigone yawned, stretching to the ceiling. "Let's just take a look around the school. I want to explore." I glanced at Holly. She looked back. Should we really go on another adventure? I mean, look what happened last time. Everyone stared at Jada. It was really her call. Sensing all the attention, she glanced up from fwen, which we had been petting (A big improvement!). She just sighed and shrugged her shoulders. She was game. Antigone smiled broadly. "O.K, it's decided. Let's go!" With that, she corralled us and out beasts through the door and out into the drafty hallway. Our room was situated at a quiet part of the castle, and no one ever seemed to come down here. So there we walked, down the long, deserted corridors. Around some corners, we ran into some students with other animals, who were hustling to get to dinner. But other than that, nobody bothered us. That was until we made it to stairs. Remember that huge room that had hundreds of stairwells that lead everywhere? Well, that was where it all began. You see, Quinton and Felix, his nemian lion, had started rough-housing together. It was harmless fun until the they accidently bumped into an another, older boy and his posse. The group was rowdy and rather rude. Each of the 6+ boys had some form of bear. The leader, which I guess by the way he held himself and the fact that he had the largest animal, a grizzly, turned to Quinton and sneered at him with disgust. "Where do you think you're going, squirt?" He snarled.  And through his sneered lips, I caught the sight of a set of carnivorous canines, which glistened with saliva.  And since they were that of a wild animal, I smartly deduced that these teeth were the physical gift from the bear to the boy.  Complete with the bear AND the teeth, just looking at the boy made me tremble.  But even without all of that, the boy had the chilling aura that just made you back away with fear.  And the kid seemed to know this.  His head was held high and his eyes shone with a raw pride as he growled at me and my buds.  His little group snickered. "This is for the big kids. Go take your kitty and little friends somewhere else. You runts don't belong here." The boy laughed and turned toward with friends, who had started to walk away. Being me, I would have just brushed that off and walked away. But no! I had to open my big mouth and blab. "Yeah? Well, nobody wants to see your ugly face, so go shove it down the toilet. Oh wait, that poor thing has never had something so terrible down it. It might get sick!" Blame it one Gwindol, but that was the best I could come up with. As soon as I said that, I regretted it. I spun around and started to hurry my friends back up the stairs. I didn't want to stick around until Mr. Ugly figured out my insult. The 6 of us were a full 3 flights of stair up when there was a shout from below. He had figured it out. I heard feet stomping up the stairs after us. We made it to a landing and took off down the hall, not knowing where it went. But no matter how fast we ran, the boy and his posse caught up. Each one of his friends grabbed one of mine and pinned them to the wall. Our animals were subdued in the same way. Their bears sat guard over them. The ugly boy approached me and cornered me against the wall. "Oh, what's wrong, little girl? Not so strong without your little buddies?" There were chuckles. "Well, I think it's time we taught you a little lesson called respect. And it goes like this." With that, the boy swung his arm back and released it. His fist connected with my jaw, throwing my head back. I curled against the wall, holding my face. "Like that? If you ever try something like that again, you know what'll happen." The boys smirked and looked down at me. I let my hands fall. I could feel blood dribbling down from my lip, but that didn't matter. I stared defiantly at the kid, daring him to hit me again. The boy just laughed. "Ya got spunk kid, I'll give you that. But you need to learn manners." He swung his arm back for another blow. Instantly, my vision went into slow-mow and I felt new strength coursing through my veins. I could see his arm angled ever so slightly so that it would connect with my cheek. I reached out and shoved the heel of my hand against his chest. Back in the moment, the boy flew across the room and landed with a thud on the other side of the hallway. I was scared I hit him too hard because he didn't get up right away. Instead, he shakily rose to his feet after a good minute. The boys eyes flickered to my dragon and then to the rest of my friend's beasts. "You're that kid, the heir." He breathed grudgingly. He shook his head, as if trying to clear his mind. Then, as if nothing had ever happened, he stepped toward me and held out his hand, like he was going to give me a handshake. "I'm terribly sorry, miss. But do forgive and you can join our group." With his other hand, he gestured to his men and bears, who were still hovering over my friends and their animals. Seeing my eyes lingering on them, the boy cleared his throat. "You'll soon realize that some of us are better than others. You're from a true blood line. Those runts, they're from the "Below". You really shouldn't mix with them. It'll be bad luck!" I glanced at his hand, then my buds. No, I wouldn't, I couldn't take his offer. I slapped his hand away. "I'm from the "Below", genius. And I don't appreciate the way you treated my friends. Buzz OFF!" Clearly started, the boy backed away, then quickly snarled. "You'll see, runt, that you made a big mistake. Mark my words." The boy kept staring at me until one of his mates spoke up. "Come on, Mark. Let the go, they're just kids!" Reluctantly, Mark gave the command and his friends let my buds go, along with their soul mates. My friends bounded over to my side, relieved to be free. Blood still steamed from my lip. "So long, Mark." I called after the boy, who had already begun to slink back down the hallway with his posse. "If you ever want a rematch, you know where to go." So, with my first battle scar, I led my friends back toward the stairs. All of the way back to our rooms, I wondered. Had I just made a good decision, saving my friends and all, or a worse rivary, strong enough to start world war 3?