The Untamed

Chapter 19: Oskelo

BANG.

   The door flew off its hinges and Kane barged in. “Get up, kid!” he screamed, lifting Clyde to his feet. “HEY!”

   It took a few moments for Clyde’s eyelids to flutter open and then a few more moments for him to realize that Kane was keeping him on his feet.

   “K-Kane?” he muttered, rubbing his eyes.

   “Get up you idiot! The exam started ten minutes ago and you’re not even ready!”

   Still, it took a while for the boy to comprehend his words. Red-eyed, he stood on his own and grasped his knees. His left arm felt like it wasn’t even there.

   “E-exam?” he blurted through an enormous yawn. “Wait…what’s going on?”

   Although Clyde didn’t really notice, Lakia suddenly appeared beside Kane and, without warning, drenched Clyde in what was probably a lake's worth of water.

   “H-hey! O-okay… I’m awake! I’M AWAKE!”

   Lakia stopped and Kane grasped him by the shoulder.

   “What were you thinking?” he bellowed.

   It all suddenly came back to him. Today was the exam! That meant… He looked over at the candle and saw that the light was extinguished.

   “I put out the fire!” he cheered.

   “Put out the fire my foot!” Kane roared. “C’mon!”

   Without another word, he dragged Clyde out of his apartment.

   “Wait! I’m not even changed!”

   “You should have thought about that before! C’mon, you’re holding everyone else up. They’re only giving you ten minutes to show before they disqualify you.”

   “Wait!” Clyde screamed. He wrestled his arm from Kane’s grip, dashed back into the apartment, and grabbed the paper he had signed when he first met Ayman, and rushed past Kane. He had gone at least two hundred feet when he froze in his tracks. Where was he supposed to be going again?

   He let Kane take over and the two darted in the direction of the palace and then through some new area. Clyde noticed that the streets seemed to be relatively empty. Within minutes, they had arrived before a massive stadium that Clyde had never seen before. From within, Clyde could hear cheers and screams.

   “Wait? In a stadium?”

   Kane didn’t answer as he dragged him into the building, up a series of stairs, and at last, they stopped in front of a glass door. Without even saying anything, Kane shoved Clyde through the door as if throwing a ball.

   He shot into the room (which actually turned out to be a large balcony) and Clyde dropped to his knees, panting. Thankfully, he could at least feel his fingers now.

   “Ahem.”

   Looking up, Clyde spotted Ayman and three others circling around him.

   “You’re fifteen minutes over the extra ten minutes late.”

   “What?” Clyde spat, shooting to his feet.

   “We’ve already begun the exam I’m afraid,” Ayman continued, shaking his head and pointing at the field far below. Clyde could see someone running about what looked like a small forest. “I hereby disqualify –”

   “Let him stay Doctor,” came a stray voice from around the corner.

   They all stared at the one who had spoken – Seyth.