Shadow Embraced (Haven Academy Book 1) [Completed]

Chapter 23

'Shadow (V) VS. Carrier (W). V-Match, Rank 104. Prior St N. 2 minutes, 32 seconds to start'.

I run. Tree branches claw at my clothes, but I don't slow down. The smell of wet grass fills my nose. I don't know where I'm going; I'm just following the arrows in my head as they lead me further into the forest, toward the ghost town.

The steady heat of the locket pulsates with every second I lose. The mini-map points toward the far side of town. I would have thought, with these attacks, this little fight club would stop, but no, I had to get the warning about the match while I still had five minutes left in class. It wasn't very nice. I barely had time to grab my mask and costume. They seem to find it more thrilling to try to get away with these fights while the Regulators are around.

It's been three days since I became the most interesting person in school and, for some reason, these people haven't gotten bored yet. Can't they find someone else to bug for a while?

The last four seconds on my clock fall away. Time's up. The entire display disappears. I'm nowhere near where I'm meant to be. Does this mean I forfeit or something?

I come to a stop and look around. I'm further into the town than I've ever been before. Finding somewhere to sit, I wait for some kind of instruction. There's no point wandering further into town; I'll probably get lost. If they don't need me, then I'll just go back to my room. They have five minutes.

The buildings around me creak with the passing of the late evening air. Everything in this place is so old and utterly dead. Nothing but sorrow and decay surround me; it's kind of sad.

Something thuds to the ground in front of me: a small, black egg laced with dozens of bevelled canyons. A faint worm of light runs circuits through each channel, pure white within the red of my night vision, getting shorter with every lap. Giving a whir, the worm vanishes from its surface. The air grows dense around me. It takes me a while, but I know what the artefact is.

It's a grenade.

With a high-pitched bang, the egg explodes. A wave of ultra-intense illumination crashes over me, blinding me. My inner demon writhes in anger inside me. A thousand fractured afterimages dance before my eyes.

Sightless and disoriented, I crumple to the ground. The dirt around me crunches as someone approaches. Standing over me, my bomber giggles.

"You shouldn't have been late," a high-pitched, sweet voice taunts me. "It wasn't very polite to keep me waiting like that."

Air rushes from my lungs as she drives a kick into my stomach. Gasping, I try to get up. Another kick knocks my arms out from under me. Curling into a ball is my only form of defence. Every move I make results in her kicking me again.

The world begins to take shape again, becoming a murky shroud of fuzzy reds. Painful after-burns still flood my eyes, but at least now I can make out some of the blurrier outlines.

My cloudy-looking assailant lines herself up for another punt.

Lashing forward, I grip her leg and pull. Squeaking like a terrified mouse, she joins me on the ground. I don't waste any time; I roll over and punch her as often as I can, as hard as I can. I get a good dozen hits in before she manages to worm away from me.

Climbing to my feet, I blink until I can discern the environment around me. I can't see the little rodent. No problem kicking me while I'm down, but the instant I fight back she runs away. I'll have to teach her some manners as soon as I find her. She's probably hiding in one of these buildings.

Something thuds down beside me. I don't need to see it to know what it is. Slamming my eyes shut, I feel a wave of light erupt around me. The inside of my eyelids flare a rich, silky white. My inner demon jerks upwards, screaming with rage. When I pry my lids open, darkness greets me. There goes my night vision.