Spectrum #12: Class Act (Part 1)

This chapter will be the last one before a short hiatus. I need to deal with some at home issues and come up with some new material for the next major story line. Thank you for your patience. :)

Chapter 12: Class Act, Part 1

The alarm began to ring as Maria was snapped out of the first night she's had without any nightmares. She groggily shook her head, she groaned and rolled over to try and turn off the alarm, but instead went careening over 6 feet to the floor with a loud thump. “Ow...” She groaned in pain, but the slam caused Jonah, sleeping underneath of her to quickly wake up in shock. “WHAT THE HELL!?” He shouted in surprise, looking down at Maria on the floor. Maria sighed and dusted herself off, throwing the blankets that went down with her back onto her bunk.

A small, white kitten with green eyes walked up to Maria and bumped his head against Maria's leg. Jonah got out of bed and revealed his blue full body pajamas with pictures of white roses on them.”You alright...?” He asked out of concern, but Maria shrugged her shoulders. “It happens... Is that a cat?” Maria replied, as Lily and Gabriel got out of their own bunks on the other side of the dorm room.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that! That happened while you were gone yesterday, Maria. I thought maybe our dorm could have a pet or something to lighten up the mood. I know you lost your cat in the accident n' all.” Lily said, immediately contradicting her previous statement of lighting up said mood. Maria reached down to pick it up, staring at it face to face as it gave a friendly meow. “At least it looks cute enough.” She commented, the cat leaning up to bump it's nose against hers.

“What should we name it?” Jonah asked, Lily smiling and pointing her finger in the air as she spoke. “I was thinking... Snowy.” She suggested, Jonah looking at it with a squint and poking it with it's finger. “I was thinking something cool... Like Onyx.” He commented, Maria pulled it into her arms and it curled up as she looked at him nonplussed. “Onyx is a black gem, Idiot.” Maria corrected, staring down at it. “I know that... I was trying to be ironic.” Jonah complained, annoyed by Maria not being phased by his special sense of irony.

“Well, let's see what Maria thinks!” Lily suggested enthusiastically, Maria held up the cat eye to eye and stared at it. Her moody red ones meeting with it's green eyes of vacant stupidity. It meowed again at her and kicked it's feet some more. “How bout... Cat.” Maria stated with a completely straight face. Everyone else in the room just quietly face palmed. “Maria... That name sucks.” Jonah said with the most disappointed voice imaginable. Maria put the cat down and shrugged her shoulders, even while everyone couldn't even bother to look at her. “What...? I'm not that creative.”

Lily sighed and turned to Gabriel next. “Well... We haven't asked you yet, what do you think?” She requested of Gabriel, Lily picking up the cat to gently pet him in her arms. Gabriel started to scratch his chin as he fished for ideas. “Lord Tiberius Meowsby The Third.” Everyone look dumbfounded for a second, before Jonah cleared his throat. “Uhh... All in favor for not using that name...?” He asked, Maria raising her hand and quietly saying “Aye.”

“It was only just a suggestion!” Gabriel commented, chuckling to himself and walking over to his clothes drawer to get his uniform out. Maria sighed and rolled her eyes before heading to the drawer herself. “Oh crap...” She said, turning around and looking away. “What is it, Maria?” Lily asked, Not sure what her problem was this time. Maria crossed her arms in front of her chest as she looked away. “I didn't buy a replacement outfit after I got out of the hospital.” Maria explained, but Jonah quickly responded by pulling open the drawer and digging around a little bit. “You can wear my jacket and pants, Maria. Florence left his old ones in here and I could just wear those.”

He explained, Maria blinking a bit as Jonah pulled out his school uniform, handing it to her. “These might not fit on you, but they'll do for now.” He commented, Maria grabbing it and holding it up in front of her. “What do you mean it won't fit?” She asked, but Jonah just looked at her face to face. “You're like 5 inches shorter than me, Roth. It'll be kinda loose on you.” He replied.

Maria sighed and tossed the jacket over her shoulder, grabbing her good shirt and his pair of pants and going into the bathroom to change. Jonah shook his head and took out Florence's pair for himself, folding it under his arm as Maria got the pants on, which were kind of baggy due to the height difference. Her jacket was longer than her waist, but she seemed to struggle when it came to buttoning it up. “This doesn't fit my chest...” She complained, but Jonah looked confused. “Doesn't fit your chest? But isn't it supposed to be loose?” He asked, But Gabriel lightly bumped Jonah on the shoulder, and it suddenly dawned on him what that really meant. “Oh!... Sorry Maria... I didn't expect that to be a problem for you.” He said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head since he didn't know how else to address it.

“I'm not tiptoeing around the subject.” Maria commented, still trying to button the last button for her jacket. “They're really impractical, get in the way and I hate them with all of the hate I can muster.” She said, commenting about the fact she's happened to develop a larger than average chest over the past couple years. Lily, suddenly embarrassed by that looks away as she commented. “That never was a problem for me...” She said, shamefully, but Maria just glared at her. “I actually envy that.” She said, before giving up and just leaving her coat unbuttoned, and not even bothering with her tie. “Screw it, this will have to do until I get my clothes fitted again. I'm getting no money this month so I have no choice but to improvise.” She replied, but Lily just frowned at that.

“You're not get any money this month...?” Lily asked with a hint of sadness to her voice, as Jonah walked into the bathroom to change his clothes out as well. Maria crossed her arms and sighed. “Yeah, I got fined for wrecking the other dorm room and it left me in the red.” Maria responded, Lily frowning and pulling out her overly thick money clip once again. “Don't worry, I'll help you out.” She said, trying to grab the right Geld note to give to Maria, but Maria walked up and placed her hand over Lily's to get her to stop.

“I don't really want your pity, Lily.” Maria asserted to reject Lily's offer. Lily just looking slightly puzzled by her actions. “I'm trying to help, it isn't pity... how else are you going to get any food? Or replace your coat?” Lily observed, Maria shaking her head and releasing her hand from atop Lily's. “You have me on the food bit.. But at least let me buy my own coat. I want to feel like I have at least some semblance of responsibility.” Maria explained, Lily nodding and pulling a small note and handing it over to her to pay for lunch later. “If you need my help for anything, Just ask.” Lily replied, But Maria spun around and started to head for the door.

“Also, you need to go down to a pet shop and get the kitty's name ingrained on a tag. We're going with snowy.” Lily added as Maria opened the door and turned back to face the three of them.

“I'll be at the cafeteria.” Maria said, closing the door behind her. “Does she always cut off conversations like that?” Asked Gabriel. “No clue at this point.” Lily sighed, walking into the restroom after Jonah came back out to get dressed next. Maria went down the stairs and out of the dorm to head to the cafeteria for breakfast. The sky was still overcast from the recent cold front that brought all the rain along with it. She opened the doors and began to look around for a seat to take, once again finding the white haired girl sitting in a corner, but now flanked by a red haired boy and a dark skinned girl.
“Hey, Snowy.” He said with a mocking tone, Leaning his hands on the table as she quietly tried to eat her breakfast. “Did your Clan Chief tell you to come out of your igloo and move to the academy?” He assumed, The darker skinned girl giving a chuckle at that and leaning over to watch her eat. “Nah, she must be one of those espionage types.” She replied to his comment. “Watching her enemy behind enemy lines before wiring back to their leader about everything we're doing.” The boy shook his head and shrugged her shoulders. “Nah... They're probably too busy dancing around a campfire to do espionage.” The young man countered, the dark skinned girl chuckled and leaned in closer to Cassandra. “Well, what's the story? Why are you here?” She asked, Cassandra quietly bit into her sandwich once again as she tried to ignore them both.

The girl got impatient and scowled, grabbing Cassandra by her white hair and giving it a firm tug in her direction hard enough to get her to stand up and not let her hair get out. She winced and inhaled through her teeth as she looked up at the slightly taller girl. “Are you deaf or something? Tell me why you're here?” She said in a somewhat threatening voice, Cassandra sighed and quietly responded. “I have nothing to say to you.”

The brown haired girl gritted her teeth, but also had a kind of smirk to it as she reared back her fist. “What was that? I think you need to speak a little louder.” Cassandra was about to speak as she closed her eyes, getting ready for a punch when suddenly a voice shouted at the group of three from across the table. “Hey!” Maria shouted, glaring at them both as she walked in to them grabbing her acquaintance's hair.

The green eyed girl looked up at the angry redhead with a chuckle. “The hell do you want?” She said sarcastically amused. Maria stormed over around the table and grabbed the taller girl by the forearm, squeezing it firmly in her grip. The girl swung a punch and Maria quickly caught it in the other hand. The brown haired girl releasing Cassandra's hair from her hand as Cassandra quickly sat back down in her chair, looking away from them both.

“For both of you to fuck off.” Maria replied, The girl chuckled and placed her hands on her hips. “Oooh, Shorty has lip on her. And what do you expect to do about it?” She mused sarcastically, Maria grabbing her firmly by her tie and tugging her to eye level. “Listen up, You're gonna turn around and you walk away and leave both of us alone.” Maria barked at her, nearly close enough to bump their foreheads together. “Or I could make your teeth a fond memory.” She added as a threat, the brown haired girl responding by pushing her off, even if Maria pulled the tie off with the movement.

The red haired man spoke up as Maria glared sharply at the taller girl. “Just forget this crap, Elaine... We have a fighting club meeting in an hour.” He responded, The girl shrugged her shoulders and then spat at Cassandra, the saliva smacking one side of her face. She quickly grabbed her sleeve and wiped it off without saying anything, looking down more at the table. “You're both lucky.” She commented conceitedly, before turning around with the red haired boy and walking away.

“You forgot your tie, dipshit.” Maria commented, slinging the fabric so it smacked the back of her head. Elaine growled and grabbed her tie and balled it in her fist as she left the cafeteria with the boy. Maria sighed and the anger faded from her face as she scooted the chair back beside Cassandra to sit right next to her. “So... How often does that happen to you?” Maria asked, lightly rubbing on the back of her shoulder for a second before turning to the table.

“More often than I'm okay with...” Cassandra said, her voice trembling slightly from being upset. She lifted her hands up to rest her chin on them, looking at nothing in particular.

“Well... Do you know that brown haired bitch?” Maria replied, looking at her as Cassandra reached up to fix her pulled hair back into it's natural position; a shoulder length layered/curly look. “Elaine's dad was killed by Astrians in the war 20 years ago, I overheard that one time in a conversation.” She answered, frowning just a bit as she lightly traced circles on the table. “That doesn't mean every Astrian killed her dad, I don't get why people aren't over that already” Maria commented, but Cassandra just gave a soft chuckle and looked up at the florescent lights slightly flickering. “Yeah, but it's not that easy.” She replied, sounding deflated somewhat.

Maria leaned up and put her elbows on the table to look a bit at her face. “What do you mean?” Maria wondered, tilting her head slightly as she listened to Cassandra. “No matter how much you want it to happen, Maria. The world will never change the way you want it to.. The push and pull of one person against the world is pretty negligible.” She explained, Maria sighing and leaning back in her chair in frustration. “Ugh.. whatever I guess...” She shrugged off, not really sure as how to reply to that as the door suddenly opened and three familiar friends came walking in shoulder to shoulder.

“Hey! Over here!” Maria shouted, raising one of her arms and swaying it around to try and get their attention. They quickly noticed and approached the nearly empty table, Jonah, Lily and Gabriel all sitting down together. “Hey, who's the friend?” Jonah asked Maria, looking at the white haired girl with curiosity. She seemed kind of pretty to him, but she didn't look like she was in the best of moods either.

“Cassandra, she's more of an acquaintance really.” Maria explained, the room was filled with chattering that all blended together in the echoes of the gray painted walls of the huge cafeteria. Maria quickly stood up and grabbed her tray, turning around and eyeing the food area. “I forgot why we came here for a minute...” Maria said with an awkward chuckle. Jonah quickly shouted over her shoulder as she was preparing to walk off, making her step stutter. “Hey, Get me an omelet while you're there, too!” He requested, Maria looking back and giving him a semi-annoyed glare. “Am I your waitress now? Get your own damn omelet.” Maria snapped back, before calmly walking off to get her own food. Jonah just looked down and sighed in disappointment.

“Why does that never work?” Jonah asked himself, before Gabriel lightly patted him on the back and gave him a reassuring grin. “It's okay, Jonah. You'll acquiesce an omelet from a random girl someday.” He said, Jonah just staring at him and blinking a couple of times. Gabriel had this habit of saying weird stuff to try and lighten the mood, though he wasn't entirely sure he was always like that. “Ooookay then.”

Gabriel finished his small espresso and stood back up. “Actually, I forgot to call my sister. I should go n' do that” He said, quietly walking off as Maria got back to the table, now a folded egg and cheese omelet next to a glass of milk. “They charged me 5 bucks for an omelet, it's nuts how much they gouge you here...” Maria complained, using her plastic fork to cut into the side of the fluffy omelet, quickly starting to eat it, speaking whenever she swallowed. “How much does it cost to make a damn omelet? I bet it's like 50 cents for like 2 friggen eggs, a Geld for the salt and pepper shakers and you can reuse those...” She ranted on, Cassandra looking at her and giving her a smile.

“Actually, if you're part of the Cooking Club you get a 20% discount.” She stated, Maria dropping her plastic fork onto her plate in pure shock from this serious revelation. “For real?” She asked, Cassandra nodded. “On top of that, if you're in Advanced Cooking you get a 40% discount, but I just make all my own food instead.” She said, and Maria's jaw hit the proverbial floor.

Maria looked seriously at her, lowering her brow and glaring at Cassandra. “This injustice must be rectified... Tell me of this mythical Advanced Cooking Class.” She said very melodramatically, causing a groan from pretty much everyone else on the table. Jonah leaned back up and gave an amused chuckle. “100 years ago called, Maria. They want their vocabulary back.” He said, sarcastically. Maria growled and stood up, slamming her hands on the table.

“YOU WILL NOT STOP THIS FOOD RELATED RETRIBUTION!” Maria shouted, causing students from other tables to stare out of her from pure confusion. “Uhh.. Maria, you're causing a scene...” He remarked quietly, trying to get her to calm down. “I AM LOUDER THAN YOU!” She shouted to try and prove a point. Possibly a point that didn't even matter in the long scheme of things, since she was currently making a fool out of herself.

Cassandra shrugged off Maria's loud confusing antics and explained. “Well... The school requires you to pick a minimum of 2 electives. Those are side activities you can do between your combat training, it goes from life skills like cooking and sewing, to hobbies like playing chess or tennis. There are also classes you can take instead that actually give you credits for when you go into a college. I'm taking a college credit course along with advanced cooking.” She finished, looking at everyone else sitting along with her, she wasn't used to talking so much around so many strangers.

Everyone started to converse among themselves to discuss the possibilities. “Awesome! I was the leader of my sewing club back in high school... I could join them again!” Jonah said with a casual enthusiasm, Maria kind of glaring down at him out of pure curiosity and slight disdain. “You're really devoted to the sewing thing, aren't you?” She remarked, Jonah staring up at her and cocking a brow. “Well, that means I could get your scarf fixed while I join.” He explained, Maria suddenly turning around her opinion on the issue. “Oh, you should totally do that.” She said flatly, Jonah gave an amused sigh as Lily started to speak up.

“College credits seem kind of beneficial... “ She said quietly to herself, as Cassandra continued the role of explaining things to the younger freshman of the school. “You could probably find a lot of pamphlets about it up at the front desk. Keep in mind you have 4-6 hours of physical training for the next couple of months, you should build around that schedule.” Cassandra clarified, finishing her sandwich and rolling up the baggie she put it in into one of her palms.

Maria stood up, pulling her hands from the table and stuffing them in her pockets, she was wearing a sly grin on her pale face as she turned to look at the door. “Well I know where I'm going.” She stated eagerly, walking away from the table and toward the front door. “I'll be seeing you guys once I get a discount!” She shouted to everyone else. Lily looked back at everyone else and rested her chin on one of her palms, going up to adjust her eye patch a little bit once again. “I think that was the first time I've ever heard Maria excited for anything.” She commented, Jonah nodding his head and leaning back for a yawn.

“Yeah, but we should get our food...” He complained, they were talking for nearly 15 minutes and didn't even bother to start eating anything, Jonah slid his chair back and got up, only to be surprised by Maria standing right in front of him. “Woah! I thought you just left?!” He exclaimed, Maria nodding some as she looked down at the table.

“Yeah, I forgot my omelet.” She said slightly dumbfounded, grabbing her food off the table and wrapping it up in a napkin before she turned away to walk off. “Okay, for real this time.” She said as she left once again.

Spectrum #11: Summer Rain

This chapter was released on my birthday. Yay me.

 Chapter 11: Summer Rain

The clouds began to fill the sky and darken as rain began to pour and wet the streets and sidewalks of downtown Riverside, the rainfall was heavy enough to cause nearly an inch of rain within the hour. Maria walked across a crossroad as she silently padded through the streets through town. Gale manifested on a shoulder as he spoke to her, her hair and shirt becoming wet from the rain. “Where are you going?” He asked, Maria sighed and took a turn on a sidewalk, watching as the traffic turned their headlights on for more visibility.

“Still figuring that out.” Maria responded, her voice seemed weaker than before. Almost like her will was chipped away and she was actually a bit hurt by that entire thing. “Well.. you should find a place out of the rain, you'll get sick.” He replied calmly, Maria looking at the wet sidewalk as ripples of raindrops smacked against it at full speed. “I don't think I care at the moment, Gale.” She stated, taking another turn and walking from the city area and more into the suburbs.

“Well... okay. I just wanted to warn you.” He meekly replied, Maria gave a light nod and continued on her way. She walked down that one road until she saw a parking lot. She walked up to it and observed the sign sitting in a patch of grass where the sidewalk would normally be. It said 'Rivercrest Boarding School” carved into the black painted wood, gently tracing her fingers along the letters before walking over to a wall to lean on it. Using the small walkway overhead to block the rain. “This was the school I lived at when I got out of the hospital.” She quietly spoke to Gale, he nodded and looked up at it, the bricks it was made of were very bland and gray, with the occasional wooden or metal fixture to break up the monotony of beige.

“It's not really the best looking place...” He observed, Maria nodded and walked under the walkway around the school to a nearby oak tree. She gently rubbed her hands around the bark of the tree until she found a much smoother spot. She walked around it and saw the bark chipped away to show the smooth wood underneath, slightly dented inward. “Yeah... This place isn't for rich kids, I was nowhere close to being one.” She said before standing on her toes with a couple of light bounces. She balled her fists together and began smacking her fists into the tree with quick, snapping blows while she spoke.

“This was the tree I always practiced my punches at.” She said, quietly counting her punches between when she spoke. Landing a quick combo on it before dipping away with quick foot movements. “Why did you practice on a tree?” Asked Gale, watching her and gently flapping in the air to keep himself aloft. “I went to a boxing class for a week when I went here,” Maria replied, quickly spinning away and landing a back fist into the tree that was hard enough to knock some leaves loose. “I couldn't afford the lessons, but I knew the basics. I wanted to replicate the heavy bags they let me train at, so I used a tree.” She said, stopping her boxing and looking at her not bandaged hand. Looking at the old healed over scars and rough, calloused skin on her knuckles and back of her fingers.

“It tore my fists to hell, I remember always cutting them open when I was done practicing. I learned to tape them up to not make the damage as bad, but the damage was still done.” She explained, he nodded some and chuckled. “You must have really enjoyed this boxing thing.” She nodded and sighed, crossing her hands under her arms and trying to shrug off the cold she was feeling from the water. “Yeah... I always watched boxing on TV when I was younger. People would always change it to kid shows but I was always wanting to watch the 12 round title fight instead. Also, kid shows suck.” Maria quietly mused to herself. Gale just listening as she spoke. She was so angry earlier, but she seemed different than before. Like she was much more vulnerable than her normal grumpy self.

“I was so happy when Lily took me to see a boxing match on my 12^th birthday, the ticket keeper was iffy on it because we were both so young, but he lightened up as soon as he heard her name. It was kind of the benefit of being friends with someone who's well known, even if it was only her last name.” She said, feigning a soft laughter of amusement before it just turned back into a sulking frown.

“So why did you come here of all places?” Asked Gale, Maria looking at him and shrugging her shoulders, turning away and beginning to walk down the road. “I don't know, it's not closed or anything. I just... need more time to think.” She admitted, she felt lost inside at the moment and wasn't sure what she was even doing. “I guess that makes sense...” He agreed, flying along side her as she got more and more soaked from the rain. Her dark red hair was beginning to get drenched and cover more of her face from her keeping her head down.

“So... Can you tell me about your parents?” He asked timidly, knowing it was kind of a hot button topic for her, he knew what he took away from her life. Maria just walked in silence for a few minutes, and he felt uncomfortable. He was going to apologize, but Maria began to quietly speak. “Lorrie was really sweet. She knew I had trouble getting friends when I was in school, but she always encouraged me to go out and talk to people. I thought she was being pushy, but I realized that she just didn't want me to be alone all the time.” She responded, putting her hands in her pockets to try and quell the feeling of the late summer rain.

“It's why I became friends with Lily. I was like 8, Some guys were beating her up and calling her names and all I did was stand up to them and tell them to back off. They beat me up for it, but Lily was so upset someone she didn't know went up and took one in the face for her instead.” Maria quietly explained, looking along the road and scanning left and right for something as she spoke. “She was kind of strict on me, but that was only because I was doing something stupid. Like when I tried to climb on the house. She yelled at me and I ended up falling right off.” He giggled a little at that, she looked at him with a small sense of amusement as she walked closer to something.

“Mike... He was fine for a dad. He didn't really like to talk about himself much, and he usually was at work or asleep when I came from school. I haven't heard her or dad argue that much unless it was over something stupid, like who got the remote that evening.” She replied, looking ahead as she saw the local graveyard approaching from a distance. “I have some questions as well.” Maria commented, looking up at the transparent orange phoenix floating it's way along with her in the rain. “And that would be?” He said, looking at her with his glowing garnet eyes.

“What are the rules for your uh... occupation? Where do you go when you aren't here?” She asked, putting her cold, wet hands into her pant pockets. “My eyes and ears are your own when I'm not manifested. I decided to leave your thoughts to your own out of respect.” Maria narrowed her eyes and glared at them, feeling confused. “Out of respect?” She questioned, he looked at her and sighed softly. “I'm not trying to plan anything, so you'll have my full disclosure.” He admitted calmly, his voice did seem wholesome as he explained. “I technically am possessing your body. And I could make my consciousness overwrite yours unless you tried to push me back.”

Maria suddenly opened her eyes wide, glaring up at him and clenching one of her fists. “Are you kidding me!? I was in danger all this time!?” She shouted at him, pointing an accusatory finger even though to everyone else, she was probably yelling at the air and nothing else. “It's a pretty risky situation, but honestly I just want to continue to exist, but I don't want to fight you for it.” He clarified, looking a little sad as he spoke. “I took enough things away from you in a fit of rage, I don't want to take your livelihood as well.”

Maria furrowed her brow, he seemed honest, but she felt like she only had more questions raised than answered. “What's your angle?” She said in suspicion, he just looked at her as they walked. “My... angle...? I don't follow.” He spoke, confused. He might have based his knowledge on some of what Maria knew, but his speech was a bit antiquated to know what she meant. “You could have my body as yours if you wanted, but you chose to let me be myself. What do you get out of any of this?” Maria asked, feeling a bit irritated by the sudden revelation.

“Atonement.” He replied briefly, hoping it would be enough for her to understand.

Maria gritted her teeth and glared up at him. “You know, Repentance isn't going to undo how much my life got fucked up by you, Gale.” Maria snapped at him, The bird's eyes showing more anger when he replied. “When the body I became the host of was killed, I had many options. I could have just passed on into the ether, not knowing what was beyond. I could have taken over your body in a somewhat easy feat and do as I wished with no one to inhibit me. Did I pick either option? No. It was MY choice be a manifestation, unable to affect the world around me and watch as you suffer every day for a mistake that I made.” He declared, his voice somewhat indignant.

“This isn't irony, or destiny, or prophecy. No, this is a punishment. A burden I gave myself in hope that one day that you could forgive me, but only after I can forgive myself. And you know what, Maria? It's a pain I am willing to bear because I know deep down inside that you're hurting more than you've been letting on, I know because I've spent every minute of your life with you since that event. But I will see this through, I want only to see you move on with your life knowing that what I've done is truly past you.” He added, Maria just staring up at him, feeling unsure of herself. She didn't know how to reply.

“So what is my angle?” He asked, hypothetically. “I hate myself, but want to live long enough to see you happy. That is my angle.” He finished his rant, but Maria just gazed at the floor, unsure of herself as she made it to the entrance of the local graveyard. It was small and filled with concrete pathways between each gravestone, though the graves were so small it was probably all just ashes instead of caskets.

Maria walked inside and walked along the pathways, gravestones left and right of her on each side as she quickly glanced over the names. “Why are we here?” Asked Gale, Maria turned to stop, looking at two pairs of gravestones next to each other. “I've never visited my parents before since they... left.” Maria explained, leaning down to read the tombstones in the rain. One said 'Laurette Judith Roth' the one beside it said 'Michael Blake Roth'. Maria crouched down and lightly traced her fingers along the names in the stoned, closing her eyes and giving a sad sigh. “Yep... Seems like the place” Maria said, placing her other hand on one of her knees as she looked at the name.

“Do you miss them?” Gale asked her, hovering just behind her as she watched. “Yeah, no thanks to you.” She said, glaring back at him for a second before returning to just staring at both tombstones. Gale just sighed and let her do what she wanted to. “Hey, if I asked you not to listen to me, would you do it?” She asked out of nowhere, but the bird seemed befuddled. “Uh... Why?” Gale questioned, but Maria looked up at him. He gave up and sighed once again. “Alright, I'm just going to ignore whatever you're about to do.” He conceded, floating off a couple of feet from her and just looking at trees.
Maria leaned up and stared at the gravestone of her mother as she spoke. “Hey, mom... I'm really sorry I haven't come here before.” She spoke, knowing that no one was going to reply.

“I know you don't really believe in this kind of thing, I don't either. But well.. if that huge rift in the sky stands for something... I guess it means anything can happen at this point.” Maria admitted, before reaching up to wipe a tear from her eye. She tried to keep her composure and expression as she spoke. “I feel pretty terrible for not showing up before... I guess I just didn't want to admit any of this was real.” Maria said, closing her eyes and hugging her own knees as the rain continued to pour on top of her.

“I miss you n' dad every day, you know... ” Maria admitted, her voice cracking as she gripped onto the side of the tombstone. “Sienna does too, but shes too focused on me being a complete fuck-up to actually tell anybody. I know I pretty much have nothing important in my life at this point, but I'll manage for as long as I can... for your sake.” She shook her head and sighed, standing back up. “I'll come here more often, I promise you both. I just.. feel bad I never spent time to get to know either of you. I was always too busy with something stupid and childish...” Maria mused, She crossing her arms, looking at the bloody bandage just under her sleeve. She must have broken it open from boxing that old tree a little while back.

“Y'know... now that I think of it, I don't think I've made much progress from doing stupid and childish shit.” She shook her head, looking at Gale and watching him try to count how many leaves were passing by. “I should cut this short, I'm getting really goddamn cold.” She admitted, she was completely soaked from the rain and the wind was starting to pick up and it was giving her the chills. She turned away and walked back to the entrance as Gale began to follow her. “I'm not entirely sure they could hear you, Maria.” He commented, Maria quickly glaring up at him dismissively. “S-sorry.” He apologized, looking away from realizing what he just said.

Maria took a deep breath and paused, turning back to walk back to the boarding school before she heard a loud honk sound. It was so loud it caused her to jump and spin on her heels, a van idling in front of her with it's low beams on. The window rolled down and a hand gestured to come in. Maria looked pensive, but approached the window. In the window was Ashley, her long black rough hair and eye patch over one of her eyes as she inspected Maria.

“Well you look like you're having fun.” She commented sarcastically, Maria was soaked to the bone, her hair a short wine colored wet mop covering her eyes, bloodshot from holding back tears welling in her eyes in her attempt to be tough, the rest of her so wet like she looked like she crawled her way from a swimming pool after spending an hour underwater. “Yeah. Fun.” Maria said deadpan, barely holding back her exasperation. “So why are you here?” Asked Maria, suspicious of why Ashley would be there. “Get inside already, I want to speak with you.” She replied with a request, Maria sighed and walked around to the other side of the modern black van, pulling the door open and taking a seat.

Since it was a new car, it was pretty well furnished. A full functioning electronic readout and dashboard combo that had those fancy touch pad things Maria saw in car magazines. Though, the interior was completely filled with beige coloring on every wall, even if it was warm, dry and snug... It was still beige and Maria felt petty about the whole situation. Ashley shifted the gearbox and the car slowly began to roll forward as she released the brake.

“So why are you here?” Asked Maria, watching out of the window of the car as the rain got swept away by the windshield wipers almost hypnotically. “I'm taking you back to Spectrum.” Ashley explained, spinning the wheel to go around a corner. Maria became confused, looking up at her. “Why? Sienna jumped down my throat that I wasn't fit for it.” Maria stated, Ashley looking at Maria as she slowed down for a red light.

“I don't answer to her, I'm making this decision on my own.” Ashley replied, looking at Maria as she spoke. “It's true that how you've been preforming isn't what Spectrum wants out of you, but Sienna took the easy way out... She gave up on you.” Ashley explained, it stung Maria to hear that, so she began to look out of the window. “But I feel like that isn't the way we do things in this academy. We take people's flaws and we polish them until away they're talented upstarts worthy of protecting people.” Ashley said with a gusto, but Maria just scoffed at it with a brief laugh. “And did you read that out of a pamphlet?”

“No, I'm being legitimate. I feel like you just need some work to make you something better, Sienna is wrong.” Ashley countered, Maria looking at her with some sense of anxiousness. “What makes you say that?” Ashley chuckled and ruffled Maria's wet head. “Well, I was kind of like you when I was your age... I had a chip on my shoulder and constantly expected everyone to respect me, even if I was a brat who made hasty decisions all the time.” Ashley explained, Maria narrowing her eyes and pouting at her since she took offense to some of those comments.

“But... My instructor didn't throw me on the street, He ran my ass into the ground; Made me work until I pretty much didn't have the energy to complain anymore.” Ashley said, her voice tinged with inspirational amusement. “And what did I get out of it?” She asked Maria, who was listening but still not in the best of moods. “A broken ass?” She quipped sarcastically, but Ashley smirked and gave a chuckle. “I'm one of the best damn instructors they have at that academy. I even taught your sister everything she knows and now SHE'S an instructor. Admittedly still green, but an instructor.” She corrected Maria, keeping her hands on the wheel as she drove through the street. “...And a broken ass.” She added jokingly, before breaking out into a healthy laugh. Maria slipping a short chuckle with it as well.

“You remind me so much of myself I couldn't help but do something like this for you.” Ashley commented, Maria just observing her as she drove. “But I have to make sure this is your decision, with that I have a proposition.” She said, Maria nodding her head and placing her arm on the armrest. “What is that?” Maria asked pensively, Ashley reaching up to pad her on a shoulder. “You join my team, and I'll let you show Sienna that you weren't a failure like she thought.” She asked of Maria, Maria looking a little confused by it. “I traded Florence and Erika to Sienna's team in exchange for Lily coming over to mine, and now I'm down one person, you could fill in that slot with no issues since everyone knows you already.” She proposed, Maria nodding her head gently as she explained. “If you think I can do that... What about Sienna?” Asked Maria, still unsure of herself. “She holds no sovereignty over you as of today. An instructor's job is only to look after their own students and nothing more.”

Maria nodded again and sighed. “I'll do it...” Ashley smiled at her and leaned her seat back just a bit as she drove. “You can do this Maria, I'm choosing to believe in you instead of throwing you away. You'll even get to stay in a different dorm.” Ashley stated, Maria nodding before leaning her seat back up. “How did you get that eyepatch?” Asked Maria, Ashley shrugged her shoulders and looked up at her. “I fought a rift fallen tiger one on one... I didn't win, so now I'm an eye short. Lily was lucky, her eye got only slightly damaged and she'll get her vision back eventually, I lost the whole damn thing.” She explained. “My depth perception is shit, but I try and compensate for it.” She continued, shifting a gear to go up a steep hill.

“Can I ask something, Ashley?” Maria said, Ashley glancing at her and giving a nod. “Can we stop a couple of blocks up? I want to see my old house.” Ashley nodded and fell silent as she drove up to the home in question.

She got out of the car at her old home. The yard and the walkway were both the same, the grass was slightly overgrown and there was a sign of a real estate agent trying to advertise the house to buyers. She looked up the walkway to the home and it was completely repaired, but repainted a maroon color and looked to be completely vacant on the inside. The lack of blinds on the windows didn't help the case. She sighed and walked slowly up to it and placed her hand on the cherry wood door, gently sliding her hand down it since it was the same one as before. She sighed a bit and gently walked along the side of the house, hoping the gutters would catch the rain.

She went around to the other side and walked along it until she was shocked by something smacking into her foot. She yelped in pain and began to hop on one foot as she hissed a sharp inhalation through her teeth, looking down at what she hit. It was a pair of wooden doors to a walk in basement or crawlspace It normally had a padlock, but it seems to have been broken off. Possibly by the people who came and stripped the house of most of it's belongings after Maria moved out to the boarding school.

She knelt down and flipped open the doors to the basement, sending some dust flying as she peered into the dank hole. It was dark, but the light of the overcast sun was enough to make it dimly lit. She assumed it didn't have electricity because who would pay electricity for an unoccupied home. It was dim and empty, the floor was covered in particle board, and the ceiling was coated with what appeared to be fiberglass insulation.

She dipped her head down so she didn't hit her head on a water pipe or something, but felt her hair begin to hit the spider webs set up in the dark. It was nearly impossible to see until she felt her eyes slowly become accustomed to the darkness. Making everything dim and not too colorful, but the outlines were visible.

She wandered around curiously, she didn't really understand why she went into the basement, maybe she was curious? Maybe she was just sick of being out in the rain for the last couple of hours? She didn't really know, but suddenly an object grabbed her attention. She reached down and felt it with her hand. It felt smooth to the touch, so she grabbed it and picked it up. It was some kind of cloth, fairly long. But she couldn't make any details of it. She walked closer to the entrance of the basement to get more light as she realized that she was holding a scarf.

It was a bright red color close to a shade of crimson, but it was tattered and frayed at the edges with the occasional hole along it's roughly 7 foot length. Maria concluded that it must have been moths eating away from it to have it so damaged after a couple of years. “The movers must have dropped this...” Maria said quietly to herself, remembering suddenly that this scarf was her mother's. A small couple of tears began to roll down her face, and she had to hold back a heave as she dusted it off and wrapped it around her neck. It was kind of a long scarf, the back of it going to nearly her waist as the other side was wrapped on her neck and shoulders, wide enough to cover most of it. She stood up and climbed back out into the rainy outdoors. A free hand dusting her hair free of cobwebs as she walked back to the van that was waiting for her.

She opened the door and got back into the passenger's seat. “Where did you get that?” Asked Ashley, Maria looked up her and softly ran her hands along the tattered fabric. “It was something that belonged to my mom... I didn't expect something like that to be here.” Maria replied as she looked up at Ashley, hoping to get herself to calm down a bit as she was driven back to the academy. After 20 minutes of silence, they arrived at the academy, shutting the doors and heading back inside of the dorm facility.

She walked past Maria's old dorm, went across the hall and used the key to open the new dorm room, where Jonah, Gabriel and Lily were all standing shoulder to shoulder. “Welcome back, Maria.” Lily said with a soft smile. Her bandages her gone, replaced with a black eyepatch, the claw marks were closed up with what appeared to be dissolvable stitches.

“What's with the scarf?” Asked Jonah, Maria shrugged her shoulders as he walked up to inspect it, pulling it off of her. “Hmm.. This is kind of ratty.. maybe I could fix it.” Maria stared at him as the red scarf fell off of her shoulders. “Fix it?” She asked, Jonah grinned at her and wrapped the scarf around his arm. “I was the leader of my textile club back in high school.” Jonah boasted proudly, but Maria just snickered quietly to herself. “Leader of a textile club...? That's the girliest thing I've ever heard.” She said with a smirk, Jonah stuck out his tongue and complained at her. “Hey! Don't dismiss the almighty powers of sewing.” He complained, Maria shaking her head and lightly bopping him in the shoulder with her fist. Nowhere near enough to hurt. “Appreciate it.” She commented quietly, and he just smiled at her.

“So... Why did you leave the team?” Asked Maria, the water soaked teen walking over to look at Lily as she looked down at her, Lily sighed and shook her head. “I just didn't feel like staying in the same room as Morgan, we have a long way to go after that fistfight we got into.” She replied with a tinge of regret, Maria tilted her head and leaned onto one of her legs as she inspected the room. It seemed nearly exactly the same as her old one, though she assumed all her stuff was packed and moved here while she was absent. “I guess I understand... Do you hate Morgan?”

Lily shook her head and looked away regretfully. “No... Not at all. I just feel like I'm not ready yet to spend more than a little time with her. I'd like to be her friend, just... I want to give her space.” She explained, looking at Maria, crossing her arms over one another for her frilly sleeves to show a little more. “Anyway, I'd rather be with you than three people I barely know.”

Maria nodded some and cracked a slight smile. “Yeah.. we go way farther back than anyone else here.” She replied, Lily came up to hug Maria tightly, her face pressed into one of her shoulders as she sighed. Maria returning the hug quietly before letting go. “Am I always this short?” Maria commented from being able to compare their heights for once, and being nearly 5 inches shorter than Lily. “Yep, You are.” Maria sighed and let go, when suddenly she was tapped on her shoulder. Maria spun around and Ashley was holding up a belt with two crossed scabbards, blades resting inside of them.

“These are the weapons I used to use before I changed out. They do a damn fine job at what they're supposed to do.” Ashley spoke, presenting the blades. Drawing one from it's scabbard and showing it to her. A pair of red handled short swords roughly 20 inches a piece, fuller down both of them to save weight, both of them having dark metal colored cross guards. They were straight, and the blade smoothly tapered to the point.

She handed one of the blades to Maria, letting her hold it by the grip. She lightly held it out and swung it up and down a couple of inches. “These are heavy.” She commented, and Ashley nodded. “They have thicker steel than normal swords this size. Mostly so even a little bit of speed is enough to hack something off a monster.” Ashley explained, Maria placing it back in the sheathe and taking the belt, strapping to her waist and placing a hand around each blade. “It's also super ergonomic.” Ashley added, Maria nodding her head some as Maria spoke. “Whatever ergonomics is, I'm all for it.” She grinned and took it back off, placing it in a closet for now until she had a much more safe place to put it.

Ashley smiled and rubbed Maria's head. “This weapon was called 'Sangris' when I used it. As for why.. I just thought it sounded like a cool name for a weapon. But yeah guys, I need to leave. I hope all of you get along.” Ashley said, before closing the door, leaving the four people in their dorm room. Jonah looked at Maria from head to toe and noticed that she must have been in the rain for a while. “So uhh... Do you want a towel?” He asked her nervously.

“Yeah.. I kind of need a towel...” Maria replied, sick of being wet and muddy and covered in dirt and leaves.

Spectrum #10: Burnt Bridge

This is the logo for chapters which feature darker subject content than the normal SPECTRUM chapters from now on.
This chapter has no jokes in it. :(

Chapter 10: Burnt Bridge

Maria stood in front of the sliding doors to the infirmary as they slid open, stepping through and back out into the main campus. She lifted her arm, which was currently wrapped up with a thick bandage underneath her clean white dress shirt. “I really need to stop coming here.” She commented quietly to herself as she slowly began to walk down the stairs and past the campus. Gale manifested on her shoulder as she spoke.

“Well, stop getting hurt all the time.” He commented, Maria scoffed at that and shook her head. “It's not like I can help that or anything” She replied, lightly stretching her arm and shoulder out. “Well... I'm not entirely sure fighting five wolves in a boxing match is something you couldn't avoid.” Maria shook her head and began to walk up to the fountain, dipping her hand into the clean flowing water and gently splashing it on her face.

“Maria? They let you out already?” Said a voice approaching her from just behind. She stood up to face them, realizing it was her older sister and instructor, Sienna. Her light blue eyes peering at her and her face somewhat blank looking. Maria lifted her hand and showed off her bandaged arm. “I should be good as long as I keep the bandages clean.” Maria explained, gently reaching down to rub on it though. “It seriously hurts, though.” She commented, crossing her hands under her arms and looking at Sienna, who still just looked a bit cold.

“So, Shouldn't you be checking to see if the rest of the team is back yet?” Asked Maria, but Sienna just shook her head. “I check on them every hour, on the hour” She countered, looking to the watch on her left wrist. “I also have their GPS location on my laptop near the return point, according to this they'll be about 3 hours earlier than the deadline.” Sienna explained, placing a hand on her waist and leaning to one foot, her wavy red hair gently being blown to a mess by the gusts of summer winds.

“Ohhhh... Alright. To be honest with you, I just want to get to training already.” Maria said with some call enthusiasm. Getting into the reason why she was really here was kind of exciting for her. Even under her cool exterior she'd be giddy like a schoolgirl if it didn't look stupid to be giddy. But Sienna's frown just plunged a little deeper from that. “Yeah... About that.” She trailed on, looking away from her. “Can we meet in your dorm room?” Sienna asked from nowhere, Maria was taking slightly aback by it. “Uhh... Sure, If you tell me why.” Sienna looked down and shook her head.

“This is private, And I don't want anyone else to hear it. Your dorm room is ideal” Sienna commented, but Maria just shrugged her shouldered and began to walk to her dorm, Sienna trailing just behind her. Usually they would strike up a conversation while they were together, just like when they were younger. But this time was different, both of them seemed uncomfortable around the other just enough to remain in silence as they walked up the stairs and into Maria's shared dorm. She looked at the walls and dresser and noticed that everything looked cleaned up and repaired.

“By the way, We had all of the damages to this dorm stripped from your paycheck.” Sienna stated, and Maria suddenly switched from neutral to frustrated. “Are you kidding me?” Sienna shook her head and walked over to the curtain, rubbing her fingers along the draping. “This is silk; it's actually pretty pricey, so we had to take away your whole supplemental check for this month to pay for it. Everything else was public property, and you pay for anything you damage while you stay here.” She stated flatly, looking at her frustrated little sister patiently.


“Really? People can just take money away from me like that?” She said, angrily glaring at her and stomping her foot lightly on the hardwood floor. “What am I supposed to do for lunch, or if I need to replace my jacket? Like.. you know.. how I have to replace my jacket.” Sienna just closed the new drapes and turned around to look at her, shrugging her shoulders.

“And who the hell uses silk for the drapes of A DORM ROOM? I thought dorms were supposed to be budget.” Maria complained, gesturing with her hand as she did. “When you want it to actually look respectable,” Sienna answered, before continuing on as she walked over to shut the door, locking it with a twist before heading back to address her. “Money here isn't going to be a problem here for you, Maria.” Sienna forebode, shaking her head a little bit. Maria looked confused and leaned onto her back foot, her face looking puzzled.

“What do you mean by that? Don't be so vague with me.” Maria reprimanded, crossing her arms a little tighter from feeling uncomfortable. Sienna gently walked over to the closet and pulled it open. “I had your weapon confiscated as of yesterday.” She stated, Maria looking down and furrowing her brow in agitation. “Okay, now you're just trying to fuck with me.” She commented flatly, clearly annoyed by how her sister was acting.

“That leaves me to what I wanted to talk about.” Sienna said, closing the closet doors and walking up closer to her. “Why are you here?” She asked, Maria stared at her in confusion, looking at the wall before peering back to her. “You know why I'm here, Sienna.” Replied Maria, Sienna just glared at her and sighed. “No, Why are you actually here? I want to hear it come from your mouth.” She stated calmly, her brow lowered with a frown on her face.

“I came here to fight Riftfallen; I want to kill as many as I can.” Maria replied, but Sienna didn't look relieved. “That isn't good enough” Replied Sienna, frowning at Maria as she just stared at her with a feeling of uneasiness. “What do you mean that's not good enough?” Maria asked, furrowing her brow and gripped more into the sleeves of her shirt. Sienna walked up and grabbed Maria by the shoulders, looking at her.

“This isn't a game, Maria. You're going to be putting your life on the line every single day by being here. And for what? So you can kill some things?” Sienna observed, her voice tinged with agitation. “I joined this academy to protect the people I love. People who come here need that compassion and bravery in their heart are the ones who deserve to be here.” She continued, but Maria just glared sharply at her. “It doesn't fucking matter the reason for why I'm here, all that matters is I do my job.” She argued, now upset at her sister as she spoke.

Sienna sighed and let go of her shoulders, looking away from her as she spoke. “Yeah, you seem to be doing a great job. Ending up in the hospital twice in two weeks before even doing anything for anyone else besides yourself.” Sienna said scolding, Maria growled slightly and shook her head. “Wow, screw you.” She commented, but Sienna just cut her off.

“I don't want you waltzing into something you don't understand. You just joined here and you're not even old enough to watch a movie by yourself, how in the hell do you expect me to think you're making a mature decision for once?” Asked Sienna, Maria biting her lower lip slightly and looking away from her. “I know what I'm doing, Sienna. I've been preparing for this for years now.” Maria muttered, but Sienna just continued to glare at her.


“I hardly believe that.” Sienna remarked, shaking her head and crossing her arms over one another on her chest. Maria clenched her fists and tilted her head. “What would our parents think of you if they knew you were going to were going to do something this dangerous every day of your life?” Sienna asked, but Maria's glare just grew even sharper, her hands beginning to shake from a quiet fury. “They wouldn't care. They're fucking dead... Dead people can't think.” Barked Maria, but Sienna just closed her eyes and shook her head.

“You don't believe me, do you?” Maria asked sarcastically, Sienna went back to glaring at her, much more upset than before. “No, I just don't think you're ready for this.” Sienna snapped back quietly, Maria quickly flipping her the middle finger for a brief second before replying. “Who gave you the right to choose what I am ready for? I chose to come here and I'm staying. You can't do anything about that.” Maria responded, but Sienna grabbed her by the collar of her dress shirt and pulled her closer. “I'm giving you your ultimatum, Maria.” Sienna said, now visibly angry, her light blue eyes looking as sharp and cold as ice.

“You are nothing but a liability for my team, from what I've saw of you so far I only have one guess as to what's going to happen to us. You're going to get someone killed, be it yourself or one of your teammates... You're going to make someone get killed with your ignorance and blatant disregard for your own safety. Get off my team, or I'll make you get off.” Sienna demanded of Maria, who was just looking very confused.

“And where the hell did all this come from?” Asked Maria, Sienna not letting go of her shirt as she spoke to her. “I made you my pupil so I can watch over you and help take care of you, because I thought you could use the emotional support after all that happened. And yet all I've seen is you be a suicidal idiot who can't even go a week without injuring herself. It's obvious you have something wrong with you.” Sienna remarked, Maria just keeping quiet as she looked at her.

“You should go back to your boarding school and live a normal life. Graduate, find some work, and settle down with someone you like; You'll live longer for it.” Sienna suggested to Maria dismissively, Maria just glared at her even more. “And why do you get to pick that for me?” Maria growled at Sienna, before grabbing her hands and pushing her away. “You fuckin' don't. And no one else can either, if I have a death wish like you say I do then just let me do as much as I can before I get ran through.” She said, glaring at her and looking away.

“I'm not giving you a choice in the matter. I'm going to report you to the counselors if you don't quit.” Maria suddenly jerked back, looking surprised before getting even more furious. “You did.. WHAT?!” She snapped, stomping her foot and gritting her teeth. Sienna just nodded. “Yeah, and if you can't pass their psych exam, you'll never step foot in this academy again.” She explained, Maria grabbing her by her shirt and shouting at her. “Why would you do that!?” She shouted, Sienna just looked at her calmly. “I'd rather have you hate me than knowing that your death will be my responsibility. This is entirely for your protection.” She explained. Maria throttled her coat in her hands, giving her a shake. “You're really gonna do something underhanded like that just to sell me out? Call them off, right now!” She loudly demanded, but Sienna just gently pulled her away from grabbing her.

“Nothing you're going to do is going to make me change my mind, Maria.” Sienna explained, crossing her arms and just watching how she responds. “I just don't want you to die just because of what happened to mom and dad affecting your psyche. I couldn't live with it.” Sienna said, her anger turning into sadness as she waited for Maria to respond.

Maria reared back her hand and slapped Sienna as hard as she could across the face with a loud crack, Sienna's face twisting to the side and making her look at the floor. The slapped cheek feeling a warm sting as it turned red. “FUCK. YOU.” Maria barked at her. “You can't just fucking control my life like that.” She said, her hands shaking from realizing she just bitch slapped her own sister. “If you really want me gone.. Then I'm fucking done here. Just don't expect anything from me ever again.” She continued, but Sienna just stared at the floor, the hand print becoming visible on her face.

“This entire place is a joke, and you're a fucking joke too.” Maria ranted, walking to the door and swinging it open. “Later, bitch...” She said before slamming the door and storming away. Sienna just reached up to wipe off a tear coming down from one of her eyes, before taking a deep breath and looking at her wrist watch. It was just before 11 AM, she needed to go check on the rest of her students.
She walked to the door and quietly opened it, heading down the hallway with her hands placed in her pockets, heading down the staircase and out the front door onto the sidewalk. Looking around to see Maria slowly walking off to the front gates, her head sunken downward. She sighed and walked the other way and back to the top of the hill where the entrance of the forest was.

“There you are!” Shouted Jonah, who was sitting on the grassy hill and rubbing on an aching shoulder. “Yep... I'm here” Sienna replied, noticing that everyone had arrived at roughly the same time, some were standing and some were sitting. “Did we make it on time?” Asked Lily, bandages still wrapped on her face. Sienna nodded some. “Yep, you made it about three hours early.” she said calmly. Jonah wanted to pump his fist in excitement, but as soon as he tried to stand up, he just fell over again from being too tired. “Oh... I want to go tell my bed that I love her.” Jonah commented while yawning, stretching his back to help relieve the pain. Morgan chuckled and shook her head, Sienna shrugging her shoulders.

“Well you all know what this means.” Said Ashley, walking up the hill to meet Sienna and everyone else. “You are all official Slayers for Spectrum academy! I hope all of you are proud of yourselves, you should be.” Everyone smiled at that, as Morgan helped Jonah onto his feet and kept him stable. “You will all get your licenses up at the front desk. And then you can start setting up your schedule around your elective classes.” Ashley explained, adjusting her hair to get out of the way of her only good eye.

“Electives? What are those?” Asked Jonah, trying to get back on his own two feet without the help of Morgan. “Electives are classes you can pick out for yourself when you're not doing combat training. It helps break the monotony and even gives you college credits!” Ashley explained, Sienna gently rubbing the red from her cheek while no one was paying attention. “Are there any examples of what kind of classes we can pick from?” Asked Lily, Sienna sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “They're in the booklets you get at the front desk, us explaining it is just going to be redundant.” She admitted, Lily nodding some as they tried to rest from the 3 day venture.

“I also suggest you get some food while you're at it. Unless you went hunting, you starved yourselves for nearly 3 days.” Ashley added, and Gabriel rubbed his stomach. “It's weird... I wasn't hungry until we were done.” Gabriel added, standing up to stretch out his arms and yawn. Lily looked around Sienna and was puzzled by Maria's absence. “Hey, Sienna?” She asked, Sienna turned her head to face. “Hm?” She responded. “Where is Maria?” Lily questioned, but Sienna just turned around and began to walk off. “She quit, I'm going back to my room... So talk just among yourselves and eat your food.”

Lily looked shocked from the sudden development, talking louder to try to get her attention. “Hey! Wait! You didn't say why!” She yelled, but Sienna didn't reply, just quietly heading back to her room.
“Why would she quit...?” Lily asked to no one in particular, clearly saddened as she stopped trying to chase after her. Jonah walked up behind her and placed his hand onto her shoulder. “That doesn't seem right... It looked like to me she was pretty excited to be part of the academy.” He admitted, she nodded and sighed as they walked off to get their lunches and their wounds patched up.

Sienna began to slowly walk down the walkways and back to her own dorm, a small one bed dorm room with an entire wall devoted to a huge shelf of books. She walked over to a dresser and picked up one of the framed photos. It was Maria, herself and the rest of their family when they were younger. Maria was only 11 when this picture was taken, it was the day before Sienna went off to train at Spectrum back when she was 16.

To be honest, she noticed that Maria actually looked a lot more like her mother than she did, since she took more after their father. Maybe it was the less curly red hair and the more rounded facial features. She lifted the photo and pulled out her rolling chair to take a seat in it, staring deep at the photo as she sat down quietly. She began to remember all the times back when they were younger. She was always a bit overbearing to her sister, as Maria always had the habit of trying to do what all the adults did. She chuckled a little when she remembered when Maria tried to cook her own dinner while dad was at work.

She accidentally lit the eggs on fire because she used too much oil, and then as soon as the fire was put out. She wanted to do it again because she was super determined to 'doing it right', which caused another fire. She was grounded for two whole weeks and wasn't allowed in the kitchen again until mom replaced the stove. Whenever she got homework, she would do all of it herself without ever asking any questions to anyone else because she thought helping would mean she was stupid. She failed a couple of tests but eventually got pretty good at doing it herself.

Sienna sighed and hugged the photo gently to her chest, but soon her concentration was broken when the door was pulled open. “Hey there, Sienna.” Ashley said, Sienna looked up at her and placed the photo back onto the dresser. “Did you need something?” Asked Sienna, suddenly donning her mask of professionalism. “Yeah, I just wanted an answer to something.” Ashley asked, she kind of guessed what was coming next.

“Why did Maria quit?” She inquired, which was the exact thing that Sienna was expecting to happen. Sienna just sighed and looked at the floor in defeat. “I forced her out of the team.” She replied, which Ashley frowned at that response. Ashley was actually Sienna's instructor before she became one herself, and Sienna knew that what that face meant. “Why?” She replied, as Sienna tried her best to explain.

“Just... I haven't seen her conscious since our parents died. It seems like she's stopped caring about her own safety and I thought I could protect her by making her leave the academy.” She explained, looking at the floor with a feeling of guilt. “How did she take it?” Ashley asked, Sienna looked up at her and took a short breath. “She slapped me in the face and hates my guts.” Ashley frowned even more as Sienna replied, shaking her head a bit. “Do you feel like you made a good call?” She questioned, but Sienna just closed her eyes and sighed.

“I don't really know.” Sienna admitted, placing her hand onto the dresser to lean her weight onto it. “I miss my parent's too... but I just don't know any other way to keep Maria out of danger.” She continued, looking at Ashley as she just observed. “I wish things were easier...” She admitted, but Ashley nodded her head and walked up to place a hand on her shoulder.

“It'll be fine, I'll see what I can do about this.” Ashley reassured, before walking out the door and closing it gently behind her. Sienna walking over to her bed and laying down on it to just try and fall back asleep, even if it was only the middle of the day.

Spectrum #9: The Golden Hour

Tally ho, Dickbags!

Chapter 9: The Golden Hour

Morgan, Robin and Florence approached the temple at the middle the evening, Robin in awe along with her little brother by how big and impressive it was. It looked at least a thousand years old, and had massive stone spires shooting nearly a hundred feet into the air. There was a massive but worn staircase at the front along with a cracked stone walkway. There were plants growing up and along the building, as it was clearly overgrown. The trio headed up the stairs as they talked with one another. “So, This is the temple? It looks kinda like crap...” Morgan said sardonically, approaching the front gate and met with a massive pair of stone slabs coated with various paintings. They were so faded that she couldn't even read them.

Robin looked at her, walking up to the door as well and feeling her hands along it. “I have to say it's quite the contrary. It's amazing a building just made from stones and mortar has passed the test of time.” Morgan chuckled at that, placing her palms against the entrance of the door and pushing with all of her might. Yet the door didn't seem to budge. “I kind of wonder what this temple was for...” Florence wondered aloud. Robin leaned up to push the door along with Morgan, but even with their combined strength, it still wouldn't move. “Good question.” She said, between each push. “Maybe they prayed to their gods here.” She continued, turning around and pushing it with her shoulders and back instead.

“Maybe this is where they keep all their dead.” Morgan said jokingly, pushing onto the door a little more. Florence quietly squeaked in fear from that, looking away from them both. “W-would they really keep all their dead in there?” He said, sounding strangely scared of finding spooky skeletons of some crap. Morgan just shrugged. “Hell if I knew, hurry up and help push already.” Florence blinked a couple of times before realizing that he probably did need to help. He ran up to the door and began to push on it as well. “This isn't working...” Florence said, defeated. Morgan shook her head and looked up at the big door. “How much you bet that we're idiots and one of those ancient writings on the wall says 'Pull the door, asshat.'” She said, amused. Reaching her hand into the crack and trying to pull it, though the doors seemed heavy and there was no way that would work.

“Damn, I thought ancient societies would have a sense of humor.” She said, before Robin slid to the ground and sighed. “I didn't expect doors to give me the most trouble so far...” Robin said with a sigh, Morgan quickly giving up as well and leaning against the wall as Florence continued to push. “Any more of that and you'll get a hernia, kid.” Morgan snarked at him, rubbing her sore shoulder. He sighed and gave up as well. “Yeah... Seems like we'll need to wait until more people arrive.”

They sat there, waiting for someone to arrive, when suddenly the small group of four appeared out of the forest, Lily was looking at the map as the rest of them arrived at the long staircase. “Shoot, I thought we would have got here first.” Erika said, with a tinge of disappointment compared to Jonah's pure joy. He grinned and pumped his fist. “Yeah! I knew we would get here second! Pay up, Erika!” He demanded jovially, Erika sighing and pulling a 10 geld note out of her pockets and handing it to him. “Pessimism is awesome!” He said, folding the note up and placing it in his back pant leg.

Morgan walked down the staircase and observed all four of them as Robin climbed down the stairs just behind her. Florence still trying to push the door open entirely by himself like an idiot. “Looks like the gang's arrived.” Morgan said with a smirk, but Robin noticed something. “Where's Roth?” Robin asked, Lily folding up her map and revealing to the duo that her eye was bandaged over. “Maria got injured, she isn't here.” She said, walking past both Morgan and Robin and heading up the stairs, her voice oddly cold sounding.

Morgan shrugged her shoulders and walked back up the stairs along with her, Lily leaning onto the door and trying to push it open with Florence. Morgan just stood behind them both and watched with her arms crossed together.

“So princess, what happened to your face?” Morgan asked, Lily just leaned to push a shoulder against the door to see if it budged. “Nothing.” Lily responded, giving up on pushing the door open and looking at the taller black haired girl with her good eye. “Well, you didn't just wear that bandage because it looked cool.” Morgan said jokingly, trying to get her to explain herself. “My face got cut up, that's all.” Lily finally disclosed, Morgan shook her head and sighed. “Well ain't that a bitch.” She said, mockingly, Lily just frowned and watched as everyone else made it up the stairs. “We need to push this door open.” Lily said flatly, and everyone agreed and pressed against the wall shoulder to shoulder.

“Everyone ready?” Lily shouted, everyone began to push the heavy stone doors. Eventually, they began to creek and swing wide open, slamming against the walls of the temple so hard that there was a huge smashing sound that let loose a massive amount of dust into the air, obscuring everyone's view. Morgan pulled a bandanna out of her pocket and held up it over her mouth as she walked in to filter the air. It was dark and musty, and there was so much dust it was almost blinding. It quickly settled back onto the floor as everyone else began to walk inside. The place was dark with brown stone on the walls and ceiling, the dancing flames on the torches on each side of the huge entryway.

“This place is Massive...” Florence said in awe, looking around as just how huge the main hall was. There were three paths, one that had a huge pair of double stone doors, though quite a margin smaller than the last ones. The other three ways were just hallways. Morgan walked up to the doors and kicked them open, another slam with a huge surge of dust flew up. But not enough to clog everyone's windpipes.

“Look, I don't want to ruin the reunion or anything, but we're under a pretty strict time limit. We need to find these relics and be on our merry way.” Morgan explained, looking down the lit walls of the next chamber. Robin nodded and looked over to everyone else. “To be honest, she's right. We took enough time to get here and now we're closing in on 30 hours until the deadline. We have to make a move.” Robin added, as Morgan began to walk around the room, her claymore strapped firmly onto her back.

Jonah stepped up, looking around at everyone. “I think everyone should go with their partners, though since Maria isn't here, we have a lot of options to be honest.” Jonah explained, everyone watching him. “We either can go as one big group, which will be slower but less dangerous... Or we can go with our teammates, with one person going with another pair. “ He said, though Morgan cut him off while she was glaring at Lily, who was currently staring at the paintings on the wall. “Or one of us can go solo, and everyone else pairs up. It'll be the fastest.” She interjected. Jonah looked confused and stepped forward in protest. “That's pretty risky, Morgan. What if it's dangerous?” He implored, but Morgan shrugged him off. “It's dangerous in general and we all know it. Maria knew what she was getting into and she learned that as well.” Jonah sighed and shook his head. “Fine, but if you get hurt then don't blame me for it.” He said with a sigh, Robin walked up to Lily and began to speak to her quietly.

“Would you like to accompany me?” Asked Robin, Lily nodded and quietly replied to her under her breath as well. “Yeah... Morgan made me want to pull my hair out. What about Florence?” She mentioned, Robin just looked at him while he spoke to Jonah about joining him as well. “I guess I'll just have to trust him” She replied, looking as Morgan left through the double doors. “We'll meet back here when we're finished.”

“Let's make sure this is quick, Lily.” Robin said, leaving the other four on their own as they headed to the hallway to the west side of the room. The torches were lit on each side of the hall to signify that someone else had arrived before them to even light those matches. “The air in here is so musty...” Lily complained, the air was wet, dirty and stagnant and irritated her lungs. Robin gave a soft chuckle as they began to walk down the long hallway. Occasionally passing paintings and carvings in the stone walls telling messages of old they couldn't read.

“You call this musty? Heh... You should have seen my parents wine cellar.” Robin casually mentioned as she slipped her hands into the pockets of her waistcoat. “When I was down there, I wasn't sure if I was breathing air or pure cobweb and mold. I was coughing my lungs out for nearly a week.” She continued, Lily giving a little bit of a giggle. “Why were you in a wine cellar?” Lily inquired, Robin looked at her as she continued down the hallway, a small staircase leading further downward by a floor or two. “Oh, To get wine, of course.” Robin started, adjusting the spear strapped to her back a little bit. “I was kind of a rebel back when I was a teen. My parents haven't been in that cellar for years so it was pretty much stocked with tons of old vintage, I wanted to get a taste.” She said, stopping at a three way split. But she only noticed one of the ways had lit torches.

“How did it taste?” Lily asked Robin, starting to walk down the firelit path as the indicator where they're supposed to be going. “Way more bitter than I was expecting... I thought it was just grape juice you got drunk on.” Robin said with her own friendly chuckle. “So uhm... What happened with you and Morgan?” Robin asked next, Lily looking at the dark torch lit floor. “Well...” Lily trailed a bit, before Robin quickly swung her hand out in front of Lily to stop her. “W-wha?” Lily asked, confused as Robin looked up at the ceiling. “Something's off..” Robin said, The area began to creak as dust seeped through the cracks of the roof. “Move, Now!” Robin said, diving forward as fast as she could, Lily stood confused, but followed her just afterward. Suddenly there was a loud rumble as a massive pile of stoned fell from the ceiling and crashed onto the floor. Along with that came a massive pile of mud on top of it, before finally seeing the sunlight seep through the damage.

“WHY DID THAT HAPPEN!?” Lily shouted at Robin, Robin looked up at it and sighed, standing back up and dusting herself off. “I'm guessing the roof just was at it's limit. Either that or the water from a recent rain” Robin theorized, sighing a little bit and offering her hand to Lily to help her stand up. “Hopefully that won't keep happening.” Lily said quietly, Robin nodded and they went back to walking. The hallway turned into a somewhat large room, possibly an old altar of some sorts to an old god, from the seats all facing a small shrine.

Lily walked between the seats and up to the altar, looking at the little statues, two wooden carvings of a bird holding the moon, and a dragon holding the sun. “Wow... These are really cool. Do you think they're the Relics we were supposed to get?” Lily asked, Robin walked up and inspected them, grabbing one and lifting it up to inspect it. “It has a very thick layer of dust on it, The relics would only be placed here relatively recently.” Robin explained, as Lily put them in her backpack anyway. “Uhm... I wanted to paint them and put them in my window, sorry...” Robin laughed and pat her on the back of her shoulder. “Don't apologize to me! Whoever owned those are long past this world... Now let's go find the real relic.” Robin said with a smile as they left the altar room and headed down another hall.

“So... About what happened with Morgan...” Robin continued. Lily looked up at her and sighed. “...It was because apparently me not knowing how bad off some people are means I don't care about them.” She disclosed, Robin nodding her head as she kept pace with her. “Well, Do you care about those people?” Robin asked, crossing her arms behind her back as she walked.

“Of course!” Lily exclaimed, turning to her as she walked. “I do care... just sometimes I don't know how to actually help... Morgan suggested I do charity work or donations...” Robin nodded as Lily spoke, looking ahead to see a pit coming up. “Charity is a pretty good cause, though why was this an argument?” Robin asked, Lily shook her head. “I don't really know... She was right that charity is a good cause... But she started to guilt and insult me over it and she barely even spoke to me.” Lily explained, Robin shook her head and sighed. “That just seems like a clash of personality more than who is actually right.” She said, Lily sighed and nodded, before stopping just before the pit.

“How are we gonna cross this?” Lily asked, Robin swiftly reached into Lily's backpack and pulled out the rope it had. “Hold onto this for dear life.” She said, looking down into the pit and noticing it went much farther than she expected. “HOW DEEP IS THIS THING?” She said, But Robin just bent down and peered into the hole.

“It doesn't seem to go into a pit,” Robin observed, reaching down to rub the underside of the stone. “This is an underground lake. What's holding this building up?” She said, looking down and seeing the shimmering of the water reflect the soft glow of the torches nearly 50 feet down. “It might explain why the roof collapsed earlier, this entire building is shoddy...” Robin grabbed onto the rope and backed up as she spoke. “Seriously, hold onto this rope for dear life.” She repeated, Dashing swiftly past her and making a grand leap across the gap, landing perfectly on her feet before wrapping the rope around her arms several times.

“Lily, jump.” Robin demanded bluntly, the hair on Lily's neck began to stand up, as she shivered and looked down the hole in fear. “A-are you serious? What if I slip...?” Robin looked sharply at her. “Don't slip, then.” Lily sighed and held tightly on the rope. “Seriously... Isn't there a better way?” She asked, Robin shaking her head in response. “Do you see another way? I sure don't. So, tally ho and fucking jump already!” She shouted, tugging the rope to coax her a little bit.

She sighed and backed up, dashing forward and making a leap to quickly fall into the hole. She quickly wrapped the rope around one of her arms as she plummeted 50 feet, before suddenly the rope tensing around her arm and giving her massive rope burn. “AGH!” She shouted, feeling the rope dig into her arm, but she refused to let it slip from her hands. “You good?” Robin shouted down at Lily. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Lily shouted back up at her in pure fear of not having anything beneath her feet but dank cave water. “Okay, you're good.” Robin responded, slowly pulling the rope up to get her back up. Lily gripped onto the rope like her life depended on it, and Robin dragged her up all the way onto the other side. “Now that wasn't so bad, was it?”

Lily was hugging her rope, shivering on the floor in a fetal position. “...Right then.” She said, slowly pulling the rope away from her and placing it back into her backpack. Lily stood up, still shivering out of pure fear of what just happened as she slowly followed Robin. “I could only habit one guess as to why there wasn't a foundation in that area.” Robin stated, Lily hugging onto her invisible air pillow that she somehow had. “Water erosion.” She finished, Lily looking at her with another shiver. “W-water erosion?” She inquired fearfully.

Robin nodded and began to explain. “When water flows in an area, it cuts a swath to allow it to flow. It'll slowly whittle down wider and wider as the flow continues... A massive water flow caused all of the foundation to disappear. This could only mean one thing...” Robin deducted. “What would that be?” Lily wondered, the shivering slowly stopping as they turn a corner. “This place is a timebomb, and will collapse at any time.” Robin warned, Lily shrieked quietly again. “THAT DOESN'T MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!” She shouted, Robin sighing some.

“We need to be quick about this, I don't want to wait until this place comes crashing down.” Robin explained, picking up into a brisk jog to hurry up. Lily picking up the pace just behind her until they reached another pair of double doors. hey opened it and there was another area, a massive area with nothing in it except for a small pedestal. Atop the pedestal was a bright jade color statue with a pair of silver wings. They both approached it quietly and Lily picked it up. “This doesn't have dust on it... It was put here recently!” Robin smiled at Lily's joy, feeling some of her own as she held out her hand. “Good job, partner.” She said with a grin, Lily grabbing her hand and firmly shaking it. “T-thanks!” Lily said, turning around to head back to the door as they heard a growl.

From the shadows, out walked a black mountain lion like monster, with bone like armor plating on it's back and face, and glowing red eyes. It wasn't any ordinary rift fallen mountain lion either, it was the size of a small car. It prowled toward them both and released a low growl. Lily and Robin both drew their blades as they saw it approach. “Oh god...” Lily quietly squeaked, holding her blade out and feeling her spine began to shiver. Suddenly the mountain lion pounced them both, swiping it's claw so hard that it caused a huge slash mark in the wall, even if it was nowhere near it. They both quickly ducked out of the way from it and watched it as it turned to Robin.

“It cut the wall without touching it!” Lily shouted. Robin held out her spear, ready for it to attack again. “That must be the power of Pulse...” She said, as it suddenly leaped at her. She spun her spear and caught it's claws in one swift movement, holding it back. “I AM NOT AFRAID OF A CAT!” She shouted at it's snarling face. Looking over to Lily as she struggled to hold it back. “JUMP ON IT, LILY!” She shouted. Lily nodded and leaped onto it's back. Robin ducked down so it went on the floor, before rolling out from underneath it. Lily shivered in fear but reared back to slash at it. She made a couple of slices on it's back and shoulder, jet black blood leaking from it as it growled and began to thrash around the room at full speed. Lily grabbed onto it's neck and ducked her head, shouting in fear as she kept trying to slash at it.

“Over here... you rapscallion!” Robin shouted, from nearly across the entire room by quickly repositioning herself. The huge cat with Lily currently on it's back, it looked at her and growled before ducking into another dash. Rearing down and leaping up at full speed at her. His back tilted upward and Lily flew off, landing on her back as the big cat tried to pounce Robin. Robin slammed the hilt of her spear down into the stone and bent her spear forward, making her blade pierce his jaw, skull and entire head as it sunk lower onto the pole, his body slamming into the ground, dead. She quickly yanked her spear back with a grin. Lily walking over to grab the trophy.

“That was awesome, Robin!” Lily exclaimed, holding the trophy over her head. Robin turned back and smiled, before noticing the ground began to rumble. Suddenly, the bricks under her feet began to slide and drop. Robin dashing and stumbling away as the huge cat fell through the bricks in the floor, along with half of the room as all that was left was a huge gaping hole where they could see the underground lake. Another huge heap of dust stirring in the air. “IS THIS ENTIRE PLACE COLLAPSING?!” Lily shouted out of panic. Robin grabbed her by the arm and slowly began to sidle along the side of the wall back to the door. Both of them walking as another couple of bricks fell into the water.

Once they were finished, they felt another Rumble. “COME ON!” Robin shouted, breaking out into full speed as they exited the room. They dashed along the hallway and Robin took another full leap across the huge gap. Lily stopping just short as she panicked. “ROBIN, THE ROPE!” She shouted at Robin, Robin shook her head, got in her knees and held her hands out. “NOT ENOUGH TIME, GRAB MY HAND!” Robin shouted back.

Lily gulped and made a running leap across the gap, and Robin snatched her hand before she fell. Robin quickly pulled her up, The bricks falling away as they both stood and ran away from the collapsing side of the temple. Finally, they managed to outrun the collapse, panting and leaning up against the walls of the hallways as they caught their breath. “How did you learn to do that, Robin...?” She asked quietly, Robin looked up at her with a tired grin. “House Goldshore always teaches their family members how to fight.” She replied, standing back up as they walked back to the entrance.

“So... are you still royalty, Robin?” Lily asked, Robin shook her head and sighed. “No, when the government of Rosewall was established by the people, we lost all of our rights to our fiefdom and became defunct. We still had some money left in the manor's inherent value along with the gold ingots we had. We're called 'goldshore' for a reason, back in the day we had tons of gold, but our reserves are now meager, at best..” Robin explained, Lily nodding her head some as she spoke.

“Does that bother you?” Lily asked, not entirely sure just what to actually say. Robin shook her head and smiled at her. “It's bothered some of my family members that we lost the right to our land, but I want to be remembered by my whole name and not my last.” She said with a brave grin, Lily smiled back at her as they returned to the entrance of the temple. In the middle of the room sat Morgan. Her blade coated in black blood as she gently played with her trophy. Which was a pair of deer horns on a similar jade color trophy. She looked up at them both and stood up.

“Took you long enough, Did you explode or something on your way back?” Morgan asked Robin and Lily. But Lily walked away instantly from Morgan to lean against a nearby wall, still clearly not on any speaking terms with her. “Not exactly. But if it's any condolence, that entire area is currently sitting at the bottom of a lake along with the corpse of a massive panther.” She said flatly, Morgan gave a chuckle and sighed. “Sounds like a party.” She commented, sitting back down. “I got to fight a bunch of bats, had to cleave them out of mid air. The good thing was at least it wasn't too far from the entrance.” Morgan replied, giving a yawn and waiting for the other groups to arrive.

“I wonder what's taking them.” Morgan wondered, Robin sitting next to her as they both waited. “Well, I know Jonah still has to get his, Florence is helping him with that. And then there's Erika and Gabriel...” She said, turning to the hallway they were supposed to come back from. But sadly, they weren't on cue.

“Damn, I thought that was going to work.” Morgan commented, but after a couple more minutes both Erika and Gabriel arrived. Gabriel pumping the trophy in his hand a couple of times, this one was a pair of claws. “Woo! Did it! That was super easy” He shouted, looking at the three others in the room. “Uhh... Did something explode? While we were heading back we heard something crazy.” Erika wondered. Robin gave a chuckle and stood up, wiping her blade off on the ground from blood. “We came across some opposition and a tiny bit of the temple collapsed into an underground lake because of it. Did you have any trouble getting yours?”

Gabriel shook his head as he went to sit with the others. “Nope, it was just A REALLY LONG HALLWAY.” Erika nodded to confirm this. “Seriously, that was one really long hallway... I got so bored by how long that hallway was. I think we might have traveled through the core of the planet at one point.” Morgan shrugged and yawned a bit, walking to the front door and pushing it open to see that the sun was beginning to set. The orange sky of the evening air becoming much more prevalent. “Damn, it looks like we'll need to hurry.”

Finally, Jonah and Florence showed up, black blood drenching both of their bodies as they panted, Jonah walking over to the rest of the group and coughing. “Just for reference, I now hate spiders more because I saw one the size of a small van...” He said, panting. Florence placed his bow onto his back and nodded. “Yeah... It was kind of a hard fight.” Florence agreed, but then he pulled out the trophy which was a fang. “We did it though!” He said with a smile, Robin walked up to him and gave him a hug. “Splendid job!” She exclaimed, before Morgan began heading out the front door.

“Come on, do we even get a break first!?” Jonah exclaimed, placing his hands on his knees and hunching over to catch his breath. “There's no time, we need to hurry back to the meeting point or else we won't get the promotion to the main roster.” She said, Everyone else standing up and following her down the stairs. “You people are nuts...” Jonah said with frustration, before realizing he was entirely by himself.

“Oh damn it...” He said to himself, before tiredly jogging out of the entrance and down the stairs to follow them. “At least wait for me!” He shouted. Chasing after the group of six who left him behind.

Spectrum #8: To The Wolves (Part 2 of 2)

New Logo. Also, this chapter is long as shit.

Chapter 8: To The Wolves, Part 2 of 2

Maria managed to wake everyone else up, readying all of their weapons as they spoke to each other quietly. Everyone was still groggy from only getting a couple hours of sleep, but that wasn't as big of a deal as of now. They stood in a small circle a couple of feet apart from each other as the crimson eyes stared at them from the darkness of the forest.

Lily's scimitar was trembling in her hands, she was frightened beyond all belief by this. “Do you think they're hostile?” She asked, Maria eyes scanned her surroundings before replying. “They're Riftfallen, they'll probably be more than just hostile.” Maria responded, clutching onto her sword as the beasts began to growl, walking into the clearing almost completely in unison. They looked like wolves, yet looked different to them as well. Their eyes were glowing blood red, they were slightly bigger and their fur was jet black.

One of them howled, and the wolves began to rush at the group of students, their speed was insanely quick and they closed the 30 foot gap almost instantly. One of them leaped at Maria, slashing hard with his enhanced claws, Maria barely sidesteps to one side as she swung at it. But she wasn't close enough so she missed. She suddenly heard Gale shout. “BEHIND YOU!” She quickly ducked her head down and a second wolf leaped overhead, seemingly trying to go for her throat.

Maria took a couple of short hops backward, lowering her stance as she inspected the area. There was an entire pack of these wolves. If she had to guess, there'd be about 8-10 of them total. She saw one of the wolves leap at Jonah, slashing at his back hard enough to slice his coat. He cried in pain, spinning around and cracking his shield upside the wolves head, it leaped backward as another wolf pounced onto him, he lifted his sword just in time and the wolf bit onto it, thrashing before he quickly kicked it away.

Erika swung her large axe to try and hit the wolves or get them to back off, but they were just too quick for her and would constantly leap backward so her swings would miss. She had so much momentum with each swing that she had to slow herself down and wind up for another hit constantly. She missed a swing and a wolf launched at her, pushing her onto her back as it tried to bite her neck. She punched into its throat and grabbed it by the head. It snarled and bit at her, but its strength was tremendous, her hands began to tremble while she held back its head, even if it was getting closer.

Suddenly, a bloody sword plunged straight through its mouth and all life faded from it, The sword retracted and Maria gently kicked it to the side. Erika stood back up, patting Maria once on the shoulder as a sign of thanks. The wolves began to surround the group once again. “There's too many of them..” Lily said, she felt like she was being overwhelmed. Maria looked at the floor before coming up with an off the wall plan. She ran past the wolf pack completely as they waited to attack, before swinging her sword and smacking the side of it against the tree to make a very loud ring.

“HEY YOU BASTARDS! COME AND GET ME ALREADY!” She said, shouting. Some of their ears perked at that and began to slowly trod towards her. “Guys, I'll have some of them chase me so you can fight the rest.” She shouted over to her allies, but Lily looked over at her with concern. “W-what?! Why? You're just put yourself in danger!” Lily said, worried as she kept her scimitar ready for another attack. “Just trust me...” Maria said, smacking the sword a couple more times before turning around and running deeper into the forest. Suddenly, 5 of the wolves ran off to go after her while the rest stayed.

The five wolves began to charge at the students again, slashing Lily on the arm as she quickly swung her blade at the wolf, it sliced it's face as black blood began to drip from it. The wolf yelped and backed away, but suddenly a second one attacked Lily from the side, biting firmly into her shoulder. She screamed and fell to the ground, looking up at the wolf as it didn't want to let go. Suddenly, a bladed whip snapped around it's throat, lifting it and dragging it away. Gabriel slung the wolf aside before cracking his whip again to slash at it. “Enough from you!” He shouted at the wolf, Lily saw another one charge at him, but she grabbed her blade with her uninjured arm and swung up at it. He had so much momentum that he got immediately decapitated by her blade, his body careening to the floor along with his separate head.

She sighed a bit of relief and noticed that Jonah was being assaulted by three other wolves, each one leaping to slash at him. His arms and legs getting covered up as he tried to protect his face and torso. “Gabriel! Help Jonah!” She shouted between her breaths, Gabriel nodded and went after the wolves, awkwardly swinging his whip to lash into one of their backs, getting their attention. Lily stood back up and ran over to Jonah, kicking one in the shoulder before taking a few wide swings at them, they started to back off as she helped Jonah onto his feet. He began to pant and shiver as he looked at the Platinum blonde standing in front of her. “T-thanks..” He said, looking at the four remaining wolves.

Erika continues to swing at the wolves when they back off of Jonah, managing to get a lucky swing and smash straight into one, turning it into a pile of black blood and gore on the floor of the forest clearing. “And that's why I picked the axe..” She said quietly, knowing that she might not hit all the time, but as soon as she does, that would be the last attack she'd need to use. She turned to fight the three remaining wolves as they began to try and gang up on Lily.

Lily swung her scimitar at the wolves as they lunged at her, even though she was able to slash at them, none of the cuts seem to go deep enough to stop them from coming at her, Erika ran after on and swung wildly at it, causing Lily to jump back in a panic from the sight of the huge axe. “C-careful with that axe, Erika!” Lily shouted, ducking to the side as a wolf leaped at her. “Sorry!” Erika shouted, swinging at one that just lept at her and cleaving it in two. The other wolves didn't even want to run away in fear, or even flinch at seeing one of their pack mates get taken out like that. Is this insanity an effect of being rift fallen? Another one pounced Lily, slashing it's sharp claws against Lily's face right across one of her eyes.

Lily screamed in pain, covering her eye with one hand as she felt warm blood seep between her fingers, she held it tight, keeping the blade in her other hand. Though the pain felt so sharp she could barely even focus with the other one. “Lily!” Jonah shouted, Running over to assist her. Gabriel, who was also just nearby quickly whipped it, the blades along the whip digging deep into it right as Jonah slammed his foot into it's side, pushing it away and causing the blades to tear him to shreds on the ground.

“Are you okay!?” He shouted, trying to check Lily's eye, but her hand was planted over it, her teeth biting into her lower lip to ease some of the pain. “N-no, not really.” She replied, as Erika quickly finished off the last wolf. Jonah gestured her to follow him as he spoke. “We need to get to Maria, now!” He shouted, running in the same direction Maria ran off to when she said she'll lead them away. Him and the other four ran through the forest, trying to see if they could hear where she went. They stopped for a second and heard faint growling. “She's over there!” She announced, pointing to the west.
Jonah nodded and lead the group to where they heard the sound, they found a small gully where Maria was on the ground surrounded by three wolves, one standing atop of her. Though she was still nearly 100 feet away, they started to run to her.

Maria was pinned down by a wolf, it was growling and snarling and attempted to bite at her, but she caught the bite with her blade and was slowly twisting it's jaws with the strength of her arms. “GET OFF ME.” She shouted, using a burst of strength and twisting the blade so far to snap the wolf head more than ninety degrees with an audible snap, breaking it's neck and causing it to collapse on top of her. She lifted her arms up to drag the heavy wolf body off from ontop of her as another wolf lunged, biting firmly into her jacket covered left arm easily enough to piece the coat and straight into the flesh underneath.

Before she could even react or cry in pain, it was already thrashing it's head about, making sprays of blood go everywhere while it gnawed into her forearm, she screamed loudly in pain, desperately reaching for her blade on the ground, but was so panicked she missed it several times. Before grabbing onto the blade and firmly plunging it right into the side of the wolves head. The blade piercing to the other side as she screamed, stabbing it in the skull over and over as fast as possible until it let go of her arm. Which was currently soaked in her own blood. The last wolf smelled the blood and leaped right on top of her right as everyone else arrived, Lily managing to stab it right in the side of it's chest to get it off of her.

Maria stood up and Lily got a good look at her, she was clearly badly hurt. With cuts on her face and shoulders, her coat was sliced up but possibly the worst thing was the massive amount of blood she was losing from her left arm. “Oh god Maria, Your arm is a mess. Can you use your hand?” Lily asked, hand still over her eye. Maria groaned in pain and lifted her arm. She gently moved her fingers, her hand currently soaked in her own blood. “Well I can at least move my fingers... I think it's better than it looks.” She commented, before suddenly the band around the wrist of her other arm began to beep loudly. “...Fuck.” She said, knowing that would mean she triggered the evacuation helicopter.

“Looks like you're getting extracted.” Jonah said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to help her walk back to camp. “Let's get everyone patched up before they get here.” Maria sighed and looked at the forest floor, quietly walking back to camp with everyone else. They sat around the fire as Jonah walked up to treat Maria first. “Take off your coat and shirt, Maria.” He asked, Maria quietly agreed and took off her coat and her dress shirt, both stained with blood and leaving her in her tight black tank top. She held out her arm, her pale skin drenched with blood and her arm bleeding a bit more with every heart beat, the flesh was torn straight open almost to the bone as a huge gaping wound. It made him wince as he reached into his backpack to get the medical kit out.

“Can you still feel your hand, Maria?” He asked, quietly, applying some a hemostatic agent to a clean cloth in the medical kit and pressing firmly onto her wounded arm. Maria gently curled her fingers and winced in pain. “Yeah.. It fucking hurts.” She replied, looking away as he then disinfected it, before wrapping it up tightly in a bandage. “That's good, you don't have any nerve damage then.” He replied, letting go of her hand as she lifted it up to inspect it. “My vital tracker went off, but isn't this enough to keep me good for another 2 days?” She asked him, but suddenly she realized that the white gauze began to slowly seep more and more red. “Sadly I used all the styptic that was in our med kit, I slowed the bleeding but you're still leaking like a sieve.”

Maria sighed and leaned back a bit, crossing her arms. “Don't we have more styptic in the other medical kit?” She inquired, Jonah just shook his head. “I don't want to burn through it all at once, we might need it later. Also, I probably have to treat Lily's face.” He explained, looking up to Lily as she had a bloody rag pressed against the side of her cut face. “And you both better be lucky my dad taught me first aid, you'd be way worse off.” He said, inspecting her other arm for similar cuts.

Maria pressed her hand into the bandage, crossing her arms as she looked at him. “I still don't get why I can't go out there and fight.” She said, a bit annoyed. Jonah looked nonplussed and lifted one of her pant leg to find there was a couple of bite marks on her ankles and calves, but the bleeding stopped. “If you called off the helicopter evac, you'd be anemic within the hour. Which means you won't be even able to carry your own weight.” Maria sighed and looked at the floor. “I really screwed up, huh?” She admitted, he just looked at her and sighed. “We all got hurt at least a bit by the wolves, and you took the biggest risk.” He explained calmly, but Erika chimed in. “You took on five wolves at once, that's gotta give you at least some merit.” She said with a smile, Maria looked up as the sound of whirring blades approached from the distance.

“I did something stupid, I know” She said, standing up with a slight stumble. She noticed the blood loss has started to take an effect on her. “Stupid... and insane... and suicidal, but brave.” Jonah said with a chuckle. Maria began to walk away from the campfire, but quickly turned around at the comment, a small grin on her face. “Oh fuck you, Jonah.” She said in an amused tone, before the expression went dour and looked at the ground. “I still failed, though.” She calmly admitted with disappointment. “Not really.” Erika said with a smile, standing up and looking at her. They seemed to be about the same height at slightly above 5 feet. “As long as Jonah gets the relic, you two both win.” She said, giving her a pat as the helicopter floated overhead. It lowered to the ground and everyone got blown with a big gust of rotor wash.

“Alright then...” Maria said, as two people swung the doors of the double propeller helicopter wide open, it looked like medical personnel. She quietly spoke before climbing inside, but leaned out the open door to shout. “HEY, JONAH!” Jonah shouted back at her, hands around his mouth to try and make it louder. “YEAH?” He replied. “DON'T FUCK UP!” She loudly demanded of him, as the doors began to slow and the helicopter slowly lifted into the air and drifted away back toward the academy.

Jonah sighed, grabbing the second medical kit and sighing. “I don't get her at all...” He complained, before sitting beside Lily and gently removing the rag from her eye. There was still a massive 3 slashes going down her face, starting from her forehead, going past her eye and straight down to near the jaw line. The eyelid looked pretty badly cut up, but it seemed like the eyeball was still intact. He quickly disinfected it with some alcohol, before getting a styptic pencil and gently rubbed down the cut to make the wound close and stop bleeding. “Can you move your eye?” He inquired, and she nodded. “Y-yeah... It hurts but it's the blood blinding me, luckily my eye didn't get shredded.”

He nodded and placed a large piece of cotton over the eye, before grabbing the gauze and slowly wrapping it around that side of her face, pulling her hair to one side so it didn't get in the way. “This will hold for now, but you need medical attention as soon as we're in the clear.” Lily just nodded as Jonah gave his pinion, and gave a sigh. “You know... I thought this was going to be dangerous, but I didn't expect me to get hurt on just the training mission alone.” He nodded. “You forget how dire the situation is outside of the big protected city walls. Just being out here has some inherent risk alone.”

Lily sighed and gently hugged her knees as he finished wrapping, the now temporarily one eyed girl just looked at the ground. “Sadly that scar will be there for a long time, rough cuts scar more than clean ones.” He explained, looking at the dancing glow of the campfire as the sound of the helicopter faded from his ears. Lily looked up at the stars, including the black rift smack dab in the middle of the sky. “I kind of wonder if I'm not ready for this...” Jonah frowned as he gently pat her on the shoulder with a smile. “We all think that.” Erika added, leaning forward from just across the campfire. “We're all scared, but someone has to just admit it but be brave anyway. That's why we're all trying to join this academy instead of hiding under our beds in fear.” She finished, giving her a reassuring smile.
Gabriel pumped his fist. “Yeah! No hiding under our beds! I don't fit underneath mine anyway!” He said with enthusiasm, though Jonah just looked confused. “Uhh... You know it's a metaphor, right?” Gabriel's face suddenly became much more serious with that comment, Jonah leaned back at little because he noticed that he gave one hell of a death glare. “Do not questioning my reasoning of beds, Jonah! I am an expert...” He said, mysteriously before going back to his normal goofy grin. Jonah just chuckled awkwardly and looked back at Lily. “But yeah... It's okay to be scared, but.. be brave enough to punch fear right in it's teeth. That's all.” He said calmly, before standing up. Lily smiled at that and leans up to press her hand to rub her bandaged face. “Thanks guys...”

Jonah began to search the campsite, looking around for something. “It's no problem... Wait, Something's wrong.” Lily looked confused and stood up as well, trying to look for what he was looking for. “The bodies were here... but now they're gone.” He murmured with confusion, but Erika quickly cleared that up. “The bodies turn to ash after you kill them, regardless of what they were before they transformed.” She explained, but after she said that, Jonah noticed the black piles of ash on the ground. “Oh... I guess that makes sense.” He said, Lily looked around and walked over to her sleeping bag.

“Even if it's been crazy for the past hour or so, I think we should all try and get some sleep.” She explained to everyone, and they all agreed, slowly going back to sleep in their bags while still tired and sore, even with fear still in their hearts.

Meanwhile, in the helicopter, Maria was having her open wound properly treated by a medic on board. “This seems pretty dangerous, the monsters are getting closer to town.” Said a technician with a face mask on, watching the teenage girl get patched up. She had other cuts on her face, and her legs. But those were nowhere near as bad as the gaping arm wound. The medic patching Maria's arm replied to the technician. “Yeah, we'll need to tighten patrols around the premises and scan more often if they can get this close via pure chance.” Maria sighed and leaned back against the cool steel seat she was resting in.

The medic then turned to Maria. “Sadly, because this wound is caused by Rift fallen, it's pretty resistant to magic and might have to heal on it's own depending on how much gotten into your system. Maria just quietly nodded before hunching forward. She closed her eyes and felt herself slowly begin to pass out.

“She's lost consciousness, doctor. Is she alright?” The technician said, looking up at her. The doctor then lifted her hand to check the ECG strapped to her hand. “Blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen saturation are all at stable levels, she must have fell asleep from exhaustion.” The technician nodded. “Well good, I'd rather not see a little girl die while I'm in here.” He said, looking out the window as they saw the academy slowly close in on the horizon.

A pair of red eyes glared at her within the darkness, though they seemed much less like fire and more just like a calm shade of red. “Hey, I wanted to let you know that I'm really proud you risked yourself back there to help your friends...” Gale explained, Maria tried to speak but her voice actually came out with the same echo that his had, like she finally figured how to speak back to him in her dreams. “To be honest, I just wanted to kill as many as possible.” She explained, trying to push him off. “That isn't true.” He interjected. “I might not be able to read your mind or anything, but I could tell you did it to try and soften the load on everyone else.” He spoke with a hint of joy.



“I was out of my damn mind, I shouldn't risk my back for others.” She replied coldly, but he just gave a quiet sigh. “It doesn't matter how you justify it, your actions will always be the same with or without context.” He retorted, Maria just in the silence of her own thoughts. “Just... Try not to be so suicidal next time. Your back is my back as well, if you go, I go too, and I don't want to see you constantly risking yourself.” Maria just growled in frustration. “Who do you think you are, my mother?” She snapped at him, but he just kept calm. “No, just someone who's concerned.” He responded. “That's right you're not, since you killed her and all.” She replied, clearly still not over what happened this morning. He sighed some, knowing that she will probably never move on past that. It was completely understandable he knew, but he still wanted to make some sense of amends.

“I know... But I'm just telling you to stay strong.” He said, before fading into the black of her sleep.