Raelia - from Kaiden's POV|| SLOW UPDATES ||

Chapter 3 - Day of the SAS trials

Kaiden walked in to his dorm room and slammed the door shut. He immediately started pacing around the room, muttering to himself.

"Why does she have to be so secretive! Why can't she just trust me and tell me what happened. "That's a good question" What kind of a response is that. It doesn't tell me anything at all. Why wouldn't she tell me? What is going on?"

Declan, who had been lying on his bed reading when Kaiden stormed in, looked up from his book.

"Something bothering you there Kaid?"

"Aaarrgghhh!"

"Why don't you tell me what happened in the last hour? When I left you in the forest you seemed pretty relaxed. It was fun watching all those fourth years bumbling around the forest, making bets about who would get offered a spot in class. Remember that kid who was in such a hurry to finish the trial he ran straight into the mud patch, slide across it and crashed into the tree?"

Kaiden chuckled and slowed his pacing. "Yeah, that kid is definitely not going to make it into class this year"

"So what happened when you went to the Med Ward?"

"It was packed when I got there. Fletch was so busy I wandered around to see what the injuries were. I saw Alex sitting on one of the beds, but it didn't look like anything was wrong with her. I didn't see her out in the forest. You didn't either did you?"

"No I didn't see her during the trials"

"So I went to chat with her and she seemed fine, if a little pale. She sat there and chatted with me like there was nothing wrong. Nothing wrong at all. But you know what, she wasn't fine. She had claw marks all down her back. Her shirt was ripped and covered with blood, and she hid it from me that whole time I was talking to her. Why would she hide it from me?"

"That sounds serious. Did she say how she got hurt?"

"You'll never guess. She was attacked by a Hyroa."

"But that's impossible. Maybe she was mistaken and it was something else."

"No, she doesn't even know what a Hyroa is, they probably don't even exist on Freya. But she described it perfectly. I've never even seen a live Hyroa, yet Alex comes across one in the forest. How is that possible?"

"They are pretty vicious animals. How did she get away from it?"

"She climbed a tree! She figured out from looking at it that it probably couldn't climb, but it managed to injure her before she was high enough."

"That's pretty impressive. Quick thinking on her part. She really is pretty good under pressure isn't she?"

"So then she somehow makes her way back to the Med Ward while seriously injured. It took her three hours to get back! But instead of getting treated straight away, she just sits there and waits until Fletcher isn't so busy. None of those other injuries were anywhere near as serious as hers. She should have been looked after first. Why is she so stubborn?"

"We both know that her stubbornness is something that got your attention."

"This isn't about me, its about her. She wasn't supposed to be in the forest and she had no business getting injured like that"

"I'm pretty sure she didn't get attacked on purpose. What is it that's really bothering you Kaiden?"

"I don't like not knowing what's going on. I am pretty good at reading people and figuring things out. I usually realize things before other people do. But with Alex, I have no idea what's happening. She wasn't trying out for SAS, so why was she in the forest. How did she get so far out? She looked like she was going to the library after lunch, so how did she suddenly end up so far out in the forest? Then she gets injured but doesn't want anyone to know. And then, here's the best bit, she knows that the Hyroa has brown blood. If she unexpectedly came across a Hyroa in the forest and ran away as soon as she saw it, why does she know the colour of its blood. This doesn't make sense. I don't like it when things don't make sense."

"Ah Kaiden, I know you love a good mystery. And it looks like you have found yourself another one to keep you occupied at night. Have you made any progress with your other mystery?"

"No. That book I found over the holidays didn't have any clues. But I will go to the library tomorrow and see if I can find anything else to help me"

"You'll figure it out one day. Now that you seem to have calmed down a bit, I think its safe to go to dinner. You coming?"

"Yeah. I am. Thanks for listening mate. You're a good friend"