Tales of Aridia

The Navy Coats

Weeks past by and there were no more recent killings. I still continued to hide the note safely in my bedroom, with the anticipation that I would need it someday. Another school day lay ahead of me. Lately the days dragged on, leaving me exhausted and mentally unstable. I was stuck in an endless cycle of fear, still hoping that Max was out there to protect me.

News had spread through the school of Hopes condition. Many had contacted her to makesure she was doing well, but also a few contacted me. People knew she was my only real friend. I strolled through the gates with my head held high and my bag perched on my shoulder. Heads turned and people whispered. A small huddle of girls younger than me sat in a group under an oak tree. They pointed and whispered too.

Feeling like the centre of attention I walked over to the main hall.  The noise of crowded youngsters seized my head in an irritable pain. The hall soon fell silent. A bang made me jump and all heads turned to the main doors. A girl hobbled over with another girl clutched to her side. Lucy stumbled in with Hope weakly holding onto her arm. Lucy shoved people out of the way and shouted at bystanders. Lucy caught my eye, the glance she gave was cold and piercing, it rooted me to the floor in a state of paralysis. She had not noticed that Hope had lost her balance and started to keel over.

My instincts kicked in and my powers were used to suspend Hope mid fall. Lucy recognised what I had done and conveniently moved her hands around Hope so it looked to the crowds like she had caught her. A haunting stare came my direction and I was forced to cower behind some class mates. Lucy brushed past me before stopping and taking a few steps back, "Be careful," She whispered.

My hand was yanked to the side and I was pushed to the corner of the hall. It was Max. He looked exhausted. The bags under his eyes sagged and it looked like the blood had been drained from his skin. A cut travelled from his eye to his jaw, it seemed deep and didn't appear to be healing properly. His breath was shallow and fast, he had been running. "Are you okay?" I asked hesitantly.  "I'm fine" He replied sharply. "You can't just use your powers randomly like that Robyn," He persisted. I grew angry at his attempt to protect me but when I really needed him he was not there. "So should I have just let her fall?" I asked. He rolled his eyes and grabbed my wrist forcefully.  "All I'm saying is that there are people who want to hurt you Robyn, end of." Max stormed out through the doors and didn't look back. I chased after him.

"Who's trying to hurt me?!" I shouted at him. he still pressed on, attempting to ignore me. In a burst of anger I yelled out, "Fine! don't answer me, at least I know Jayden would!" Instantaneously Max whipped his head around, suddenly interested. "How do you know Jayden?" He asked. I was shocked and my anger had reached its limits. I breezed off into the crowd, my name being called faintly in the distance. 

A dull and musky morning came. The sun was tucked away behind the clouds and I strolled up the path to my school bus. The paint had been scraped off the bus and the back looked like it had been in an accident.  I looked at it reluctantly, thinking of my safety. The tires were barely screwed in and one of the windows had a crack running all the way through it.  Surprisingly the bus driver had positioned himself at the doors, as if to escort me. I felt rude to turn him away so I stepped onto the empty bus.

The doors shut behind me and the driver grunted as he dragged his fat legs into the drivers seat. There was no one else on the bus, it was desolate. At this point my fear began to rise. 

After passing the hills we reached a turning point. There were two lanes, on the average day we would travel down the right but the tires screeched as they turned a sharp left. The bus skidded tightly round the bend and my body was pushed against the window. 

"What are you doing?" I asked the driver who proceeded to ignore me. "Stop the bus." I said. Yet again he ignored me. My heart started to rapidly speed up, along with the bus. Whizzing round a corner I was thrown back onto one of the seats, smashing my face on the window. Blood started to pour from my head and I grasped onto the chair in front to keep me stable. The bus zoomed in and out of focus. A red light crept into the corners of my vision and all that could be seen clearly was what was directly in front of me.  "STOP THE BUS!" I yelled. 

The bus finally halted and the driver exited. "What are you doing?" I said to him slightly dazed before realising he was locking the doors. "No..." I muttered under my breath, "NO!"

Soon two men emerged from the side of the bus and glared at me from outside the window. They were dressed in navy coats and held a tight smirk on their faces. They whipped their hands out and used magic to flip the bus over. The magic vibrated through my body and everything else around me. Windows shattered and chairs were ripped from the floor. My body was lifted in mid air and suspended for  a second.  Then came a surge that threw me onto the bus. I could feel bones smash and crack and an indescribable pain that left me paralysed. Shards of glass fell on top of me, some piercing my skin. I was left wounded and scarred. The bus rocked for a few moments and then stayed still. Lying there motionless all I could hear was the chatter of men, whom thought me dead.  A plank of metal had fallen and was pushing me into the ground. I used magic to pull it off of me and then my hands to pull a significantly large shard of glass that was lodged between my ribs, out of my skin. 

I was ready to fight, I was angry. As of yet I had only used my powers passively, now had come the time to see what they could really do. Taking in a deep breath I push a window till it popped out of place and I limped out of the bus. I used my left hand to put pressure on my wound while my right was free to attack. 

Each man was thrown back with an unbelievable power and their body's ricocheted along the floor before becoming stiff and lifeless.  The magic burned through my body but I liked it, it gave me power. I felt insane, like I had broken out of control. I stared at the scene still clutching my wound, with my hand still outstretched in front of me. My mind had zoned out and I was unaware of the person creeping up behind me. "Robyn?" A voice whispered. Two hands shook my shoulders and I collapsed into them. 

"Robyn!" Jayden was shouting in my ear, his hands covered in the blood that was smeared all over my body.