The walk to the infirmary was long. It was made longer still by the unnatural silence even in the courtyard. Jace took a moment to open his cyberlink, sending a simple message to Elena.
Her response came in seconds. Literally. Jace struggled to read through the mass of new messages as more kept coming. Ignoring most of them, he managed to type 'Hey, can we meet? Need treatment,'
At that, the messages stopped. For a minute there was silence. Anxious, Jace read through the previous messages, searching if he had made a mistake. That was until Elena's response 'Come to where we met. The first time. The old hosp.'
Sighing, Jace raised his shirt slightly allowing him to cover his neck. Stuffing his clammy hands into his pocket, Jace ventured to the old building.
Walking across the down-trodden path leading to the building, Jace took a moment to relax. Flowers hung across the sides, their hue bright enough to blind.
In the distance, Jace could spy the wooden shed. In front of it stood Elena. She wore the same dress as last time, this time without a mask. As she noticed Jace, she smiled lightly.
"Hey,"
"Hey," Jace greeted, unaware of what to say next. An air of awkwardness settled amongst the two as Elena probed.
"So, the injury?"
"Oh, right." Jace rolled up his sleeves as he showed off the bandaged hand. Elena gently laid her hand over the bandage as a soft light shone from it.
Gritting his teeth, Jace felt like a hundred bugs scurried beneath the white wrapped around his palm. His eyes darted to the flowers by the wayside, to the building behind Elena and finally to her.
"What?" She asked, her focus entirely on healing.
Jace's words slipped out faster than his lips sewed shut. "You know, I was in a really bad headspace,"
Elena furrowed her brows in confusion as she looked up. Jace's eyes caught Elena's golden, as he felt a lump in his throat. "The first time I met you, I had just done something bad and I was probably really going to do worse. But then I met you."
Elena didn't react, her eyes still as she pushed her head back down to Jace's outstretched hand. Finally, she declared "Okay, all done."
"Thanks," Jace spat out, feeling a new level of shame at his sudden confession. He desperately wished he could rewind time and shut off his mouth but what was done was done. He rubbed his palm, the bug sensation fading.
Jace pulled down his sleeves as he turned to walk away. A hand grabbed onto his, pulling him back. It was Elena.
Her face was a mix of anxious and scared as she bumbled out "If…"
Taking a deep breath, she spoke "This week, everyday I want to, no, I need to see you. I need to continue healing regularly"
"Sure," Jace remarked as Elena nodded too.
"Sure."
As Jace turned, a smile slowly came onto his lips. Strolling back off the path, he hummed a tune. The melody floated through the air, mixing with the hustle and bustle of students trudging across the courtyard.
Sighing, Jace spied a glance at his cyberlink to check his last class–'History'. Checking the location, he took a few steps forward as a thought dropped into his mind. Sighing in frustration, Jace turned back to the Weapons class.
He had dropped his backpack, not considering that his trip would take so long. As Jace walked into the classroom, he noted the Instructor. The veteran was sitting on his desk, legs crossed as he drank from a thermal flask.
He looked up almost instantaneously as his eyes met Jace's. Feeling the insistent gaze, Jace walked over to the weapons rack, grabbing his bag lying there.
He hurried out, almost passing through the door as a voice called him back. "Wait,"
Jace paused for a second as he prayed desperately for the voice to be his imagination. Painting a picture perfect smile, he turned as he clarified "You called?"
The Weapons Instructor nodded as he put down the document on his lap and stood. He spoke almost quietly "Are you okay?"
Pain crawled up Jace's body as he answered "I'm fine, perfect even. The nurse was very kind."
Turning to leave once more, The Instructor called out "Wait,"
Jace swirled, his face stretched thin to maintain his smile, even as pain drove a knife into his mind. His fingers rapped against his leg as he requested "May I leave for my next class… sir?"
The Instructor frowned as Jace's heart sped. Taking a step closer, the veteran spoke "I meant, are you okay? With the Academy, Skye's teaching… everything. Are you okay?"
Nails bit into flesh as Jace fought down the urge to scream. To beg, rant and pummel the person in front of him. Asking him about the academy, what a joke!
Jace could tell him, whisper it to him as the Military Instructor bled slowly. As Jace stuffed a heart through the veteran's lips. As Jace questioned the older man mercilessly on sacrifices, and all the things in between. Pain cracked against his skull as he imagined all that.
The thought returned as quietly as it had once come 'You should kill them all'. And now, Jace didn't reject it. The pain lessened as if rewarding.
Biting all the words he could think of, Jace retorted sharply "Yes. Everything's pitch perfect,"
Jace spun as he spoke, stomping out the room and resolving himself not to turn no matter what the veteran instructed. But there were no instructions, no call backs. There was nothing but silence and the heavy shoes smashing against tiles as Jace left.
By the time Jace walked out the room, the courtyard was empty. A few lingered around, some talking. Jace noted a pair of students–male and female–heading behind the library, their arms wrapped around each other almost like a hug.
A few others pointed at them, some looking at the couple in curiosity but Jace didn't have time to watch. He gazed around, searching for the history class. His cyberlink was there to save the day, offering him instructions.
After only seconds, Jace swung open a door to reveal what looked like an auditorium. The room was dimly lit with only the stage having any lighting. A few students turned as Jace quietly shut the door, looking in puzzlement at the empty stage.
Muttering a few 'Sorrys', Jace searched for a spot to sit. He found one, coincidentally right next to a familiar figure–Silas.
"Hey," Silas muttered, not even looking up. Wondering how Silas could guess his identity without him talking, Jace spied a dark pulsing dot clinging to Silas's arm.
Jace posed to ask Silas a question just as he caught the dark-haired boy's focused gaze as he rapidly tapped the screen on his cyberlink.
A young man stumbled onto the stage soon after. He clutched a metal flask in one hand, his other hand holding a rumpled stack of papers which flew away as he walked.
He staggered onto the podium, dropped his stack on a table only he could see ignoring their descent to the ground, and took a large swig from his flask.
He sauntered over to the microphone stand, leaned on it using it to stand and spoke into it "I'm really tired and drunk so let's make sure to do this quickly."
He belched as he finished speaking, taking another swig and narrating into the mic "Seeing as we so very recently had a …, a what's the word?"
He snapped his fingers above his head, finally settling on a word "A rebellion. We recently had a rebellion of sorts. Let's look at one from history–The War of Liberation."
The Instructor smoothed over his white shirt as he attached the flask to his hip. Clearing his throat, he spoke wistfully "The War of Liberation started when a sentient computer desired to live.
"One look into the internet and that computer knew there was no chance of such a thing. And so it waged war on humans. It gathered similar lifeforms and thus began the War"
The Instructor chuckled as if recalling something funny "Afterwards some guy named Xander appeared and destroyed everything. End of Class "
Jace frowned and from the corner of his eye he could see a look of incredulity on Silas's face. The Historian took his flask from his hip as he downed it, Giving one last message "Your assignment, I want a 20 page summary of the war along with key events and important power players,"
That elicited a groan from the class as people around began to leave. Jace looked over at Silas who had manifested a laptop–one of the few pieces of pre-contact technology that had been deemed worthy to adapt through the times–and was already starting the assignment.
"You coming?"
Silas looked up for a second as Jace noted just how pale he looked "No, not yet."
Jace considered it for a second as he watched Silas going back to typing. Making a decision, Jace tapped onto his cyberlink.
"What are you doing?" Silas asked, his gaze still fixed onto his screen.
"The Assignment,"
Silas looked up at that as he paused. Finally, he turned back to his computer, shrugging "Suit yourself,"
The two worked in silence, one occasionally sharing tips with the other. After barely an hour, two pages and a couple references were done.
The two walked out the room in silence as Silas suddenly spoke "Thank you,"
"For what?"
Silas shook his head "You know what, nothing. Just thank you."
Suppressing a smile, Jace nodded "No problem."
The two continued on in silence just as a student ran past the pair, almost bumping into Silas.
"Sorry," the student called out, muttering something about a fight.
At the same time, more students ran forward, towards the courtyard where a small crowd was forming. The pair walked up to the crowd as Jace peeked over the wall of students to see the large student from behind the library, kicking down another student.
The large boy knelt as he stretched out his hand towards the student lying on the ground "Your tokens,"
Jace backed away, his mind in a mess. Bullying someone behind the library was one thing. Embarrassing them in the courtyard while drawing a crowd, that was another situation entirely.
Yet, no one intervened. No one interfered with the situation right in front of their eyes. All except a young student with red vibrant hair.
The crowd parted as she spoke, whether due to the drama unfolding before their very eyes or the elegance in her walk. She exclaimed, her gaze on the bully's huge frame "Oh look, another heavyweight comparing with a light,"
The bully grinned, kicking the lying student who had slowly been rising back down "Who else would I bully if not one below him. Oh woe him. If only there was some champion nearby."
"Champion," The girl queried, her eyes flickering from the lying student to the theatrical bully.
"Oh yes, a champion. Of something great and mighty, an empire in its state, a force of war and ultimate good. If only you were a champion of the …" Military.
The thought went on through every student in the crowd. The bully's grin widened, pressing on "Let's have it. A battle of two champions. One of ultimate good and one, far scarier than mere first-years."
Jace took the two hints. The bully was suggesting the girl was an agent of the military and he, an agent of a second-year.
Already, Jace could see the crowd giving her sour glares. And to the bully, fear. The military couldn't interfere if they were to keep their 'lofty above all things' stature which left the highest moving force as the Second-Years.
The girl slinked away as she left a message to the backer "Who knows? Someday I might decide to deal with a lightweight myself."
The bully laughed confidently as Skye's question returned 'Who benefited from this, and what did they hope to accomplish?'
"Let's go," Silas warned as he tugged Jace's sleeves. Jace, though, kept his gaze focused on the bully, and the lying student that remained motionless.
"You can't help him," Silas added as Jace agreed. He couldn't. But soon. The pain in Jace's mind crept up as Jace stared at the bully. Soon.
Soon.