Bleed Black: An Academy Novel

Chapter Twenty-one

     Katie walked back to her room shaking, worried about Lilith and her marks and Sam as she was being punished by Athena. Katie had no idea what she would do to her, only that Hero had warned her not to push Athena and seen Athena close to hitting her in their first meeting. Katie shivered and shut her door and locked it, pushing her vanity chair in front of it and hooking it under the door knob like in the movies. Katie looked at her calendar that Sam had given her the first day she was here and saw that printed on the weekend was "Family Day" in bold letters. Katie smiled a bit at the thought of seeing her mom and dad, fear struck her as she wondered if they would even come. Katie found herself breathing harder as she crumpled onto the carpet and cried into her hands her breaths hitching as she tasted salt. Athena's words echoing in her mind as she screamed at Sam and slapped her causing everyone to jump but no one to step in. Katie dug her nails into her palms and leaned her head back agents the floor her vision blurring and fading. 

     The campus was full of adults, it was night but fairy lights were strung up in the trees. Laughter was sounding in the air Katie looked down and saw her bare legs and heels her mom and dad were in front of her smiling. Katie looked around and saw Blake with a man and woman and a little girl no more than ten. Nick was sitting at a table with Sam who was covered in scars all over her arms as two adults wearing crosses walked up, their faces pinched as they took Sam on. Then it struck Katie she was having a vision, about family day. "No! not now! Go away! I don't want a vision! Go away!" Katie screamed causing everyone to look at her with blank white eyes as Katie screamed into the sky before she choked and was flung into the air.  

    Katie woke up sweating madly but shivering from cold. Standing up Katie felt a migraine pounding her forehead as she collapsed on her bed and panted tightly holding onto her blanket burring her face in her pillow. Telling herself she would not cry Katie calmed her breathing she stood up and walked into her bathroom. Splashing cold water onto her  face she let out a long breath and wiped her face clean of her smeared makeup. Katie looked at herself and walked out of the bathroom before her reflection could sink in. Stripping down of her clothes she grabbed leggings and tank top and put her shoes on. Moving the chair and walking out of her room Katie walked to the infirmary to talk to Hero about what had happened. The night wind whipped Katie as she walked into the room. Walking over to Hero's bed Katie heard her voice as she talked to someone in the bed beside her. Katie walked up and peered over and saw a bloodied Sam laying in the bed beside Hero. Katie gasped and sat down in the chair between them. Hero smiled and told her quickly how she could now walk on her crutches and that she would visit her tomorrow. Katie then looked at Sam for her to tell what had happened after Athena demanded them all to go into their rooms.

     "Well once you all left she took me to her office and punished me. She whipped me three times on my back and once on the back of my left leg. and then Lilith got two free strikes at me. Katie don't give me that look, it's how this goes here. I badly hurt Lilith and I had to be corrected. I'll be better tomorrow this is just because my leg needed stitched." Sam said calmly and quickly her voice raw sounding like she had been screaming for hours. How long had her "correcting" taken? How deep were the marks? Katie scratched her arm and looked at Sam's nose. 

     "Child beating is illegal." Katie said softly bad memories flooding back. As a child she had a friend who was beat by her father. One day in the morning at school on a Thursday the principal had announced that she had died after falling down the stairs and breaking her neck. Though Katie and many of their teachers knew they truth no one said anything.

     "It isn't abuse Katie. It's harsh and sucks but it's so another war doesn't start our coven made this the law. When someone steps out of place they are given the amount they deserve. It's also said that it must be with their own weapon. Katie I know how you think we've all thought it. It isn't abuse it's the law for us sadly. Plus it stops when we finished our time at the academy and it only comes down to physical punishments if someone went violently to one of our own. I harmed Lilith so I had to be hurt back." Sam said before coughing and drinking her cup of water. Katie scratched her arm again but stopped when Hero's hand shot out and grabbed her own intertwining their fingers.