From Embers

E L E V E N

The phone on my nightstand rang at 8:00am. I groaned because I hated having to wake up from alarms. I picked it up, and the operator spoke.

"Good morning Mr. Carter, this is your friendly wake up call to make sure you will be on time to your first day of class!" The woman said.

"Thank you for waking me up." I stated.

"Absolutely Mr. Carter. Have a great day!" 

The line went dead. These operators are really freaky. I asked Diego about them and they apparently are staff on campus, but no one has ever seen any of them.

I still needed new attire in these cold conditions here. Every day was a crisp thirty degrees and I hated it. The cold was my worst enemy. I threw on a pair of jeans, a thing long sleeved shirt, and a plain black hat. I put my tablet and my skeleton key into my backpack and threw it over my shoulder. When I walked downstairs it smelled like pancakes and cinnamon. Diego was in the kitchen making breakfast for everyone. Sabrina was sitting at the kitchen table, and Alex was getting down plates and silverware. 

"Good morning everyone, how did you all rest?" I asked, just trying to make conversation.

"I slept alright, but it was cut short because I stayed up studying." Diego answered.

"I slept like a boulder in the sunny savanah of Austria. Or is it Africa?" Alex stated.

Everyone laughed.

"Which one is it then?" He yelled.

"Africa. I didn't really sleep, just couldn't." Sabrina responded.

Diego put all of the pancakes on one plate and set them on the table. We all sat down and served ourselves. It was absolutely amazing. Diego could cook really well. Everyone probably already knew that, as they were all just enjoying it like it was an everyday occasion. I ate until I couldn't anymore and then helped clean up the mess. 

"Does my scholarship include clothes? I don't have anything for colder weather since it's pretty much already summer where I'm from." I asked.

"Yes, there's a clothing store on campus. After our classes today meet me there and they should have a card waiting for you. It'll be about noon when we both finish up." Alex stated.

"Alright, I think I can find my way there." I replied.

After that we all went our separate ways to class. My first class was English. It was only about a ten minute walk, but I was freezing when I finally arrived. I walked into the building and looked for my room. It wasn't a very hard room to find, because all of the classes were located based on difficulty and level of education. Mine was on the first floor. I walked into the class with a couple of other students I didn't know. The teacher was sitting behind his desk with his feet propped up on it. I walked over to him and introduced myself.

"Hi, my name is Maximus Carter. I just transferred. I think I'm in the right room." I informed him.

He adjusted his glasses and nodded once. 

"I'm Professor Alan. Welcome to my English class. Since you are terribly late to the class by about four months, the previous content won't be held against you, but you will need to learn some of it. Right now, I want you to forget everything you've ever learned in an English class. It was likely the wrong method or incorrectly entirely. Empty your mind and learn how you're really supposed to use our lexicon. Your seat is in the back of the room over there." He stated.

He was a burly older man, some of his black hair was whitening, he had olive skin, and he was thicker around the waist but held himself well. 

"Thank you Professor. I'll take my seat and be ready to learn." 

I walked to the back of the room with the stares of the other students on my back the entire way. The seats were long tables that were designed for two people. There was probably ten or fifteen of them total. The class wasn't very big. There were seventeen other students in the room besides me. I pulled out my tablet since all of the other students already had theirs out and logged into it. Class started as any normal class would, but the professor didn't take attendance. I guess we were expected to be in class on time and if we didn't that was our fault. It was by no means boring. Everything Professor Alan talked about in his lecture were things that I didn't understand at first, but after thinking them over were understandable and different. In an hour of time, I learned more about the English language and writing than I ever had in my entire public school education. Once class ended, I just packed my things back up and left without another word. Psychology and History went pretty much the same way. Psychology was extremely complex and I knew immediately I would need to ask for help to understand fully. History wasn't biased on where we were from; we were taught in a neutral state about both sides of a war or conflict. It was extremely eye opening knowing fully about both sides of things. After history, I found my way to the clothing store, which was right beside the History and English buildings. Alex met me there ten minutes after I arrived. He likely had to walk from the other side of campus, so it was understandable. 

"Sorry I'm late, I got caught up in my language class for being late." He stated.

"You're fine, don't worry about it." I replied.

We headed inside and he led me straight to the checkout counter. 

"Hi, my friend here is new and needs his black card to buy some clothes." He said.

The cashier nodded once and pulled a small box from below the counter. 

"Name?" She asked.

"Maximus Carter." I answered.

After a few moments, a pure black card was handed to me. There were no identifying marks, no visible chip, or anything that would tell you it was something of value. The only thing that was different on it was two things. 

Maximus C.

"What do I do with this?" I asked Alex.

"Go crazy with it. Buy anything on campus for nothing. As much as you want, it's unlimited." He responded.

"Anything?" I asked.

"Anything." He assured me.

We proceeded into the store. I grabbed two large coats, a couple pairs of sweatpants, four new pairs of jeans, five new shirts that were heavier than what I brought from home. They would keep me warmer than my clothes. I got a pair of boots and a new pair of running shoes for everyday use, a scarf to keep my neck warm during the cold season. A light jacket for the warmer days if they had any and finally, a warm pair of gloves to keep my hands warm. We walked back up to the counter with my new inventory and paid for everything. All you had to do was tap the pad on my side of the counter with the black card and it was done. No pin number or anything. The cashier bagged everything and gave it back to us. We left the store and headed straight back for our unit. 

"How are you liking everything here so far?" Alex asked.

"Everything is honestly really amazing. I really do love it. It's a big change of pace but I haven't found anything to dislike yet." I said.

"Oh, you just got here. There's so much for you to discover and do. There's never a dull moment here." He stated.

Well, when you have people trying to capture you, a protector who seems pretty insane at times, a mother who's under some kind of mind control, and a father who has left hidden messages for you to discover, there's not really a dull moment ever.  

"I hope not." I said half jokingly.

When we got back to our unit Alex brought the clothes he was helping me carry up to my room and left for practice. I unpacked my new clothes and put them away. After that, I wondered when Scott would just appear again. Hopefully not today, I just wanted to relax for a day. I heard my phone buzz on my dresser and I unlocked it. There was a new message from the unknown messenger.

Don't answer it.

Right after I read it, the school's phone started ringing on my dresser.

I messaged the number back and said 'why?'. Not even five seconds later another message came through.

They won't find you if you don't.