The Beginning Of The End

Chapter 12

I wake up with a start. Pictures of the night Megan died is still printed in my eyelids. I heave myself out of my bed. My stomach aches and arm throbs but I have to get the memory out of my head. My cast came off two days ago but the doctor warned me that it will be weak. They were not kidding. I pull on my sneakers and open the door of my bedroom. It was all my fault. My mother erased all of our existance and I blew it. Though, if she had told me............

Pain rushes through my stomach as I walk into the training room wall. Ouch. I step around the wall and walk through the door. Better. I trudge through the training room over t0 the sparring arena and sit in the middle of the mat. This is the only place that reminds me of home. The lights glare down at me as if I have done something wrong.

"Artemis?" I jump out of my skin and turn to look in the direction of the voice.

"Aria? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you. It's not that hard to find you since you moved out of the hospital wing a few days ago."

I give her a sarcastic smile. Great.

"Get up."

"What?" I just stare at Aria.

"You heard me, get up."

I get to my feet, ignoring the pain that shoots through my body. Aria walks over to me and hands me a stick. I take it from her grasp and follow her to the mat area, where you can train without the fear of killing yourself. Aria stands on the sparring mat. I raise my stick to a 1-1 position, and stare Aria in the eye. She raises her stick to the same position, stick slightly slanted, and stares back. She starts towards me. Suddenly I am back in Megan's taunting house. Megan's body lying bleeding on the ground with soldiers all around. I see the Syphon fall and turn back to Megan. She opens her mouth to say something.

Arrg! Pain shoots through my body, filling my head with pounding. I open my eyes and bright light floods in. Aria stares at me.

"Are you all right?" Aria asks, offering her hand to help me up.

"Umm, I think so," I say, taking Aria's hand to get up. This is not fair.

"How long have I been out for?"

"A few minutes, not long. What happened?"

"I was back at the house. With Megan. When she died." The words don't seem to slide out of my mouth smoothly.

" Come on. Lets do it again."

"AGAIN!"

"Yes. You need to."

We stand in the centre of the mat and start again.