Hero Academy

chapter 7(or is it 8?)

As I fell, the branches kissing my skins and causing cuts and scrapes, I realized, what's the point of controlling nature if it can't help you? So I focused on the trees around me, fighting the fear I had almost weakly given into. As I opened my eyes, I saw that the tree beneath me had grown into a tangled nest, with huge, soft bushes and vines growing on and under it. I landed on it, rolling into a somersault and protecting myself from breaking anything. I groaned, and examined the damage. My wings were still shrunken, and my left leg and right arm were both bleeding. I think I had sprained my wrist trying to catch myself. As I thought this, my outfit suddenly began... humming? And immediately I felt relief everywhere. The outfit reformed over my cuts, and my wrist felt sore, but completely normal again. I guess those healing people weren't just full of b.s. I was completely fine again! I sighed and lay on the earth-net, and looked up. I gasped as I looked up. I was shockingly close to the treetops, and from where I was, I could see that somebody had definitely been hiding from me in flight classes. I saw somebody who looked suspiciously like teagan gliding away, their long hair blowing in the breeze as they flew.

I struggled to make my wings come back out, and eventually, my back stopped feeling numb. Scared of killing myself, but completely bored on the uncomfortable tangle of branches, I jumped. The wind rushed past me, and the ground grew uncomfortably close before, with a twinge of pain in my back, my wings regrew, and I whooshed upwards quickly. I decided that I would rather go back empty-handed and tell Ms. Crudelis that somebody almost killed me than risk it happening again. My wings ached as I flew unsteadily to the building, and I wondered how I was going to land if I didn't have earth to help me this time. The problem was solved though, because when I was flying on my own, and didn't have somebody dragging me along with them, my wings were too large. I slowed down, and uncertainly called out to the teacher from outside the holes.

"Ms. Crudelis? I can't fit in the openings, and I don't know how to land, anyway."

I heard a laugh as she said, "I'm surprised you figured out my riddle that fast. Usually when people disappear from the cameras, they gave up and went to their dorms to find help. Of course, that never works, but they always do try...."

she trailed off, and licked her lips as she walked to the opening, her eyes still crazy, filled with a swirling mass of emotion and depth, yet in every other aspect she seemed completely normal. It was puzzling, to say the least.

She looked at my facial expression and said, "Is something wrong?"

"That's why I came, actually. I was flying around, and somebody twisted my wings, and all of a sudden they shrunk. If it weren't for my other powers, you would have one less student now."

she gasped, and said, "Did you see who it was?

I nodded, telling her exactly what I saw. She looked upset by this, and muttered something about being discreet, and then said loud enough so that I could actually hear everything, "Go back to your room, you've done enough today. I'll be sure to speak to the dean."

I nodded, and flew off, still unsteady on my wings.

I flew downwards in front of the dorms, and willed the earth to reach up. It pulled me down, and when it was back to normal I began walking to my dorm room. I went to the elevator and finally, I got to my floor. Before I could walk into my room, Jessica walked up to me and smiled.

"Hey Jessica. What's up?"

"nothing much, but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out in my room a bit? I saw Teagan come in there about twenty minutes ago, and she was in a really good mood. Usually, that makes her even worse to everybody else."

I nodded, wondering if it really had been her who pulled me down and Jessica smiled and said, "Great! Follow me!"

she grabbed my forearm due to the girls crowding the hall, running from room to room and led me down the hall to a door with the letter c-6 when I saw teagan walk by me. She did a double take when she saw me, mouth agape, and I knew it was her. I jerked my arm out of jessica's grasp and told her hurriedly, "I have to take care of something"

she nodded, but told me, "Come back, okay?"

I nodded and went after teagan as fast as I could, rushing past girl who quickly began dodging out of my way. I saw the door to our room slam closed as it came into view, and I threw it open, only to find gemma staring in shock, looking back and forth between me and the open window. I must have looked like the devil personified, because she stammered out, "Teagan j-j-jumped out of the window, I th-think she flew off."

I nodded and jumped out the window, all fear gone as adrenaline coursed through me. Wings burst out of my back, and I barely acknowledged it as I sliced through the air. I felt strong as my heart raced, the wind stinging my cheeks as I flew. Eventually, I caught side of a foot before it went around a tree. I went after it, and saw teagan landing on the ground. She looked at me and smiled as she said, "Come to play, have you?"

I landed, but this time the earth didn't need to catch me. My feet landed lightly, and I folded my wings behind my back. She smiled brighter as she said in a deadly voice, "Bad choice" before she disappeared. I looked around. I guess teagan wasn't as smart as she thought, because I could hear her footsteps behind me. I lifted my wings open and acted like I was about to fly up when I turned around and kicked directly behind me. I made contact, and heard a gasp for air as teagan came into view again, holding her stomach and glaring at me murderously. While I knew she couldn't do much to me I said, "Why did you do it?"

she stared at me and said with hatred in her voice, "i was told you would be gone after lunch, why else would I run away? I had just told everybody, and there you were, strolling around like nothing. Then you gave me that look, so I ran"

I shook my head and said, "Why would you force my wings to shrink, and almost kill me?"

She shook her head and said, "I never did that."

then, she went invisible, and I didn't hear footsteps. Suddenly, a shadow went above me, and I blacked out as I heard a voice much too similar to dean Cordura's say angrily, "Did I not tell you to never speak to her? She could compromise the entire school, if she knew what was happening here. Do you ever think you idiot girl?!"

then, I started to stir until I felt something strike my head hard, and I passed out completely.