Part 1
Chapter One
The first thing I saw when I woke up was people. Only one thought was racing through my mind, and it was accompanied a few seconds later with another. Where am I? ...who was I?
I was lying down in a bed, there were covers over me but they felt itchy and it was as if they were trying to strangle me. I groggily threw them off, all the while my head was spinning; my eyes darted around the room. There was a man he couldn’t have been more than thirty years old; his face was gentle but something told me there was more behind that kind façade. He was in a black suit and his tie was red and black.
It was in the way the next woman stared at me that made me feel the most uneasy. As if she was looking through me at the pillow my head was on like it had done something very wrong and she was considering the most appropriate punishment. Those big emerald eyes boring into mine, a slight twinge of a headache flared in the back of my mind, but I ignored it. Not appearing to be a day over nineteen with her short dark brown hair and an impossibly flawless poker face; she could have been attractive had it not been for the androgynous clothes she was dressed in. Her posture seemed to speak for her attitude, her arms were crossed and she was leaning against the far wall.
The last person in the small room was another woman, although this one was almost the complete opposite of the short haired one. This one was as feminine as anyone could get, her hair was long and blonde and it streaked down her back and over her chest. She wore a red dress without straps and it didn’t even reach an inch of her knees. She wore so much makeup I figured you could write in it. The makeup, although thick, wasn’t too much and it actually suited her. Another nagging feeling told me she could not be trusted as well, and the makeup was covering something much, much more then what she appeared. This woman was pretty, she would be the envy of most women, curves in all the right places and she held herself so proudly. Any slight movement she made, she made it with grace, the grace that would be the envy of any dancer.
I rubbed my eyes and felt metal on my cheek. I took a look at my left hand and was slightly surprised to see that I was wearing a ring on my middle finger. It wasn’t much; a silver love heart and there was an intricate engraved pattern that was so delicate I wondered how such a tool existed to create such perfection.
“You are safe, my dear.” The man broke the silence, his voice deep and layered with kindness. Fake kindness, he’s hiding something. I didn’t know how I knew that, nor did I know what this small nagging feeling I kept getting was... as if I actually knew these people.
I gulped and noted my parched throat; I tried my best to hide it. “Safe?” That was good, I knew how to talk.
The short haired woman switched her weight from one foot to the other, still staring at me so intently it was as if she was burning holes into my head.
“What do you remember?” He smiled at me, flashing me a row of perfectly straight and impossibly white teeth.
I frowned, what did I remember? I tried to think past the moment I woke up but there was blackness, the nagging feeling came back telling me not to push too hard. Did I really want to know, was the real question. These people, although untrustworthy as they seem, didn’t look like they wanted to kill me. Yet. Obliviousness seemed like the way to go, I didn’t want to do anything until I figured out where I was. Touch and go is always the way, you need to improvise; anyone could be listening. The voice inside my head was back again, it was as if I was reciting this. As if it was drilled into me at a very young age. Was that even possible? I tried to think back again, but there was only darkness and confusion, it was as if there was a name on the tip of my tongue and you just can’t say it. And speaking of names....what was mine?
“I don’t remember anything.” I said quietly, I had sat up in my bed by now and was looking up at the man. I didn’t want to look at the women; they seemed to be judging me by every move I made. I was thankful for the fact I was actually wearing clothes though, even wearing undies was a big bonus too.
“She’s telling the truth.” The short haired one said crisply, as if it were a fact. It was a fact though, wasn’t it?
The other woman and the man seemed to let out a great inward sigh of relief; their poker faces staying the same however, they never let on what they were really thinking. Somehow I knew though, that there was way more to them then what they seemed. They cannot be trusted. The little voice stated again, and again I wondered where it came from and why it was telling me all this.
The man offered me a warm hand and smiled at me again, treating me to another flawless smile. “Come. I have much to show you.”
I didn’t know what else to do, what could I do? I grabbed his hand and he smiled again. I said nothing as they led me out of the room, the whole thing was bare and although the afternoon sunlight was blaring into the room like liquid gold, the whole place felt cold. It felt wrong. Apart from the bed and a ceiling fan, there was nothing in the room. A closet marked the wall on the left and that was about it. I made a note mentally to go through it later and figure out who I was.
I needed a plan.
The man held my hand, and for a split second a memory flashed in my eyes and I imagined him as my father, holding my hand when I was but a child. I tried to look up at his face; maybe it would help me remember something. As soon as I tried though the memory slipped away and I was gazing at my bare feet as I walked down a long and spacious hallway. The hall was carpeted with red carpet, paintings of fruit and castles lined the walls. There was even small lights on the sides of the hall walls, and to add to decoration there was small wooden tables and chairs with vases that had roses in them.
Both women followed behind us, I could feel contempt (and did I detect bitterness?) from the short haired one, and I could hear the other woman as when she walked something jingled, a tiny bell. Everything was silent; all I could hear was my own breathing. Instinctively I looked around for exits or windows; there were no windows and only two exits; the way I came or the way we were going.
You can fight. You can always fight. The voice inside my head trailed off as I shook my head mentally. What was I thinking? Was this some sort of training, or was I going insane? When we got to the doors, they opened up automatically as if by magic. It’s not magic.
It was a good thing I didn’t listen to the voice in my head, because the room that lay beyond the two doors wasn’t a room at all. Warehouse was a more fitting description. The room we were in was huge, no, it was gigantic. The room was filled with tables and chairs and on the opposite side was what looked like your average cafeteria. Except it wasn’t average, they were serving all kinds of things, from salads to burgers, to yoghurts and sandwiches and cakes. It was like an all you can eat buffet.
I heard a click as the doors behind us closed and locked into place. The one thing that struck me as odd in this place was the lack of people. Everything was so quiet it was as if my own breathing was echoing in this warehouse of a room.
“It‘s almost lunchtime.” The older woman announced as if it were the obvious and I’d just asked a really stupid question.
The man turned to me, “Are you hungry, dear?”
I wanted to let go of his hand, I wanted to scream at him. I want you to leave me alone, you jerk! I don’t trust you, stop looking at me! These thoughts streamed through my mind so suddenly all I could do was shake my head slowly, not trusting myself to speak.
“A side effect.” The short haired one stated, the way she said it, it was like a fact. I could almost hear her arms fold and that look of contempt on her face, her mouth but a thin line. “It will pass, it always does.”
A side effect from what?!
I was led through to the other side of the room; we walked through easily due to the fact the chairs and tables being so perfectly neat, the chairs tucked in and the tables wiped so clean it would be a sin to drop anything on it. The next set of doors opened up again, automatically.
Not magic. The voice reminded me softly.
We entered a large spacious room that looked like an office or something of the sort. Everything was stacked neatly, from the books in the shelf to the papers on the desk (wish was also so clean the polished wood could be used as a mirror). The man sat down on the chair behind his desk, he suddenly had all the authority and attention of everyone in the room.
He must’ve been in charge.
The two women found chairs seemingly out of nowhere and the short haired one forced me into another. They both sat either side of me. The older woman on the left, she crossed her legs ever so elegantly. That slight movement so graceful and to perfection I felt a twang of jealousy that I could never be that precise. The other one, the short haired one, was to my right. She didn’t look at me; rather she looked out the window that was behind the man. Light spilled into the room, except it seemed to avoid the man where he sat. She had her fingertips pressed together and her elbows on either side of the chairs armrests.
I sank into my chair and made myself as small as possible as the man smiled at me, warmly. He hid something behind that mask of kindness and he hid it well. I knew there was something.
You can’t trust them, you can’t trust anyone. You’re on your own for now girl.
“I assume that I am correct when I say you must have a lot of questions, right?”
I didn’t move a muscle, something told me not to.
He continued on anyway, as if I had responded. “I assure you, they will all be answered in time.” He cleared his throat. “I am The Master.” He stated his name like it was a high raking title in the army. “To your left is Madame Vodue, and to your right is Electra.”
The one to my left, Madame Vodue smiled at me kindly, the lipstick she was wearing was deep blue and I wanted to smear it all over her face. She touched my arm, “Lovely to have you, dear.” Her voice was so girlish and so tender it was as if she was singing each word.
Electra didn’t move, nor did she say anything. I wondered if she was breathing or not.
“Welcome to the Schola.”
“Wait,” I said, I was surprised it was actually me talking. Electra stiffened, she actually moved. Madame Vodue switched legs she was crossing and looked away. The Master’s kind smile actually faltered for a second. “You’re telling me, that this is a school?”
His smile returned, as if I was merely asking for a piece of candy, like I was four years old. “Oh yes, my dear. Quite the extraordinary indeed, but a school none the less.”
“What am I doing here?” Why am I in a fucking school? I wanted to scream that to them, I was bursting with annoyance and I didn’t even know my own name. It was as if everyone was walking around the answers and not actually answering anything.
Electra was eerily still, she didn’t move but her eyes were closed. “Many, many reasons.” He continued, “But you do not need to know them yet. I believe it would be better to show you then tell you, come.” He stood up and beckoned to the window, I stood up and my legs felt wobbly. My head started spinning and things were going dark. I’m gonna pass out...
“Come, please.” The Master said, “There is something I want you to see.”
When I got to the window, I had to hold onto the wall at what I saw. It was a field, it must have been thousands and thousands of acres, and I couldn’t even see a road or a power line for that matter. It was just a never ending stretch of green grass and trees. There was a garden, it was small and there were people there. No. There were teenagers there. They were all dressed in white; a long sleeved white shirt (sometimes singlets and jumpers) and white trousers (some of the girls wore short shorts and skirts, some boys preferred shorts). It was all bleached white, and there was no dirt, nor any stains on any of the clothing. There were girls and boys, all mingling with each other as if this were lunchtime at school.
Then it occurred to me; It was lunchtime at school.
“This Schola is for extraordinary people,” he said tenderly, as if he were tasting each word, “here, no one judges you because here....we are all the same.” He put a hand on my shoulder and suddenly I was plunged into darkness.
I was falling for what seemed like a whole week, and then my feet landed on solid ground. I turned around on the spot and was surprised to see I was outside looking up at the very window I was just looking out of.
I was outside.
I was outside on the green grass. A few seconds ago I was in The Masters office and now I was outside in the blink of an eye? How is this even possible?!
“What…”
“Here,” he continued on what he was saying before we had miraculously appeared here. “We never judge because in here we’re all the same. We all have unique powers, supernatural abilities to move things with our minds, to run faster than the speed of light, to walk on water and even manipulate thunderstorms.”
“How did we...-“ how the Hell did we get here?!
He put his hand on my shoulder again and suddenly I was plunged into darkness once more, not again... It felt as though another week had passed when my feet hit solid ground again and we were once again in The Masters office. I fell to the ground as a wave of nausea hit me like a tidal wave and I tried my best not to throw up everywhere.
“My dear,” he helped me to my feet, I wavered on the spot feeling another wave of nausea. “I merely just teleported us from one place to another, but that is nothing to what your powers can and will be!”
I swallowed bile and glanced at Madame Vodue, I resisted the urge scowl at her; she was still sitting down on her chair, one leg over the other, her arms not quite crossed with her elbows resting on the arms of the chair. She was smiling. As if this entire thing was some amusing joke. She was enjoying this.
I felt like I’d never hated her anymore then I did right now.
“This is no ordinary Schola. You’re special, you always have been and you always were. You belong here.”
I wanted to ask him how he knew that. As if he knew everything about me for a fact; as if they all knew everything about me.
“Dear, sit please.” The Master said gently, “We have much to go over; you may as well be comfortable.”
He tried to put a reassuring hand on my shoulder but I waved him away, “Get away from me.”
I was terrified, adrenalin pulsed through me like wildfire and I had this urge to run as fast as I could and never look back. However, try as I might this entire situation felt familiar, as if I had run as fast as I could away from these people.
Resigning, The Master merely sighed and sat on the edge of his desk. By now Madam Vodue was standing, I backed away from her. Electra was standing with her back against the wall near the door; she seemed quite amused and content to let things play out on their own.
“We’re not going to hurt you dear,” Madam Vodue said in that girly patronising voice of hers. “Just sit down, let us explain.”
I wasn’t sure where I was going, I just kept backing up towards the doors, hoping that when I reached them by some miracle they’d open for me and I could run away from these people as fast as I could. “Stay away from me,” I said anxiously. If The Master could teleport places, who knows what this woman could do. Terrified and all but trembling in fear, I just made my way slowly to the back of the room. Electra made no attempt to stop me; rather she tried her best to hide an amused smile.
Madam Vodue exchanged a worried glance with The Master before she too resigned, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow as if to question my foolishness.
The doors opened when I reached them, and without waiting a second I ducked through them. I barely got three feet before I fell to my knees due to an ear splitting headache and a resounding noise so loud and so high pitched even coving my ears wouldn’t quieten it. I felt something reaching into my mind, stifling my consciousness and snuffing out all thoughts. It was as if I had been laced into an inferno, and then dipped into a pool if ice immediately afterwards.
I knew right then and there that Electra was in my mind. And there was not a single thing I could do about it.
“Sara…” a soft and gentle, yet familiar voice called. “Sara…” my name bounced off the walls of my head, echoing. Suddenly, in a complete state of serenity I relaxed completely. Some part of me knew that such an action wasn’t my own, however. “Relax… Sara… You don’t want to run... you’re tired.” I felt suddenly fatigued and I could feel my mind working against me, shutting down. Sleep dawned over me like a thick wet blanket. “Don’t fight it… let it happen…” Try as I might, I was no match for Electra. Surrendering to the wet blanket and Electra’s demands, I gave up and let sleep envelop me completely.
“…The things I do…” I heard Electra say right before I passed out.
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