Kiera
We plummeted through the air so fast I knew that once we hit the ground, there would be no chance of survival. My hair whipped relentlessly across my vision so I couldn't make anything out. My hat was long gone. I screamed until my throat was sore and my stomach had hallowed out. I felt Violet Eyes' body shaking and thought that maybe he actually did have feelings and was crying or something.
When I turned my head to look at him, I couldn't see any tears. What I did see shocked me. He was smiling. I shook my head to make sure I wasn't imagining things when I realized why he was shaking.
Violet Eyes was laughing. I had no idea what he could find so funny as we were falling to our deaths.
"Relax human," he breathed.
Yeah, easier said than done, idiot.
I wrapped my arms around his taught stomach and squeezed my eyes shut hard as we neared the ground. Suddenly, we stopped falling and everything felt as though it were suspended in time. I slowly opened my eyes and knew I had died.
I was floating maybe a hundred feet above the desolate streets of the Gray Sector. That's when I noticed the very white, and very real, white wings surrounding me.
I stole a glance at Violet Eyes to see if he was seeing the same thing that I was. He was already looking at me and didn't seem to notice yet.
"D-Do you s-see tha-" I stammered.
I looked at the wings again to see what they could possibly be attached to and screamed again.
"YOU HAVE WINGS!" I screeched.
He just shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "Uh, yeah," he said.
"H-How?" I continued to stutter.
"So you really don't know anything about us. Maybe you really are just human. Interesting," Violet Eyes replied, ignoring my question.
He pumped his wings hard and flew across the night sky like he's done this a million times before. We flew for some time before he began to descend to the ground. When my feet finally touched the ground, I collapsed in a heap at Violet Eyes' feet. I didn't even offer any resistance when he plucked me off the ground and dumped me over his shoulder, moving his wing out of the way, as he headed towards a shed that had seen much better days.
The shed was no more than five feet tall and half of the roof was caving in. The siding was probably a nice white at one point but has succumbed to the dirty brown color that seems to cover most of the Gray Sector.
Violet Eyes shouldered the door open and realized there was no way he could fit both of us, and his wings through the opening. He dumped me unceremoniously on the ground before the shed and neatly folded his wings against his back as he crawled into the shed. At this point, I had no other choice but to follow him inside. I was in no shape to try and make my escape from him.
When I crouched through the entrance, I couldn't see anything at first. The darkness was absolute. I sat on the dusty ground as I allowed my eyes to adjust to the dark. When I could finally see, I looked around the completely empty area. There was nothing in here at all. It only seemed able to comfortably fit two people anyway.
When I looked over at Violet Eyes, I drew in a sharp intake of air. He had torn his shirt off and was laying on his back with eyes closed. I mean sure the view was nice and all, but that wasn't why I was staring at him. He had a deep cut running all the way up the side of his stomach that was bleeding profusely. Violet Eyes' breathing was slightly labored, like he couldn't get enough oxygen in.
He had tied his shredded shirt around his stomach in efforts to staunch the bleeding. I could already see the dark crimson color leaking through the previously white shirt. Greasy must have gotten a good dig at Violet Eyes during the fight. He was probably injured during that whole flight, too. I glanced down at myself and noticed that half of my shirt was covered in his blood. I must have been plastered against it while he was holding me and flying.
Violet Eyes opened his eyes and said, "Hey, make yourself useful and go open that door in the floor and take out anything in there."
Jeez, he was still rude even while at the edge of death. I felt around for this door he was talking about and my hand slid in something wet. I brought my finger tips to my eyes so I could see what I had slipped in. Gagging, I realized it was Violet Eyes' blood. How much was he bleeding?
I kept moving my hands around until I felt a handle on the ground. I wrapped my hands around it and yanked up. Reaching blindly into the floor, I pulled out a box and tossed it to Violet Eyes.
He caught it with one hand and started rummaging through it. He pulled out string that looked strangely like fishing line and a needle. He set the box aside and held the two instruments out to me and said, "Now stitch me up."
~
Declan
"Today is the last day before The Trials, as you all know. I want you guys to give it your all during training today," said Instructor Kara.
Back in the Training Center, we were doing another round of King of the Court. This time, however, we could use our powers. Cris and Justine were up first.
Cris has never really been much of a fighter. At five foot six, he isn't nearly as tall as male Nephilim typically are. He's also very lanky and uncoordinated. He usually chooses to study medicine and herbs during individual training sessions than prepping for killing demons. He shoved his hands through his sandy hair nervously.
Justine, on the other hand, is a die hard trainer. She has always wanted to be the strongest Supporter she could be. She's perhaps the best female fighter in this class and she knows it. Justine can take on anyone here and give them a run for their money. Justine was wearing a tight black tank top that matched her hair to show off her sculpted body earned from vigorous training. This fight shouldn't even last a minute.
Justine attacked first. Raising her arms above her head, she made a bowl shape with her hands. A dozen knives made of ice formed and floated above her hands. With a flick of her wrist, the frozen knives shot forward.
Cris was instantly lifted off his feet as the knives pierced the fabric of his shirt that was not touching his skin. The knives pulled Cris and pinned him against the far wall.
Justine flung her pony tail over her shoulder and stalked over to Cris. His eyes were huge and he was shaking miserably.
With another flick of her wrist, Justine retracted all of knives and allowed Cris to fall to the ground.
Cris will most likely be a Medic for the Blue Sector at the end of The Trials. Justine will definitely be paired with one of the top Guardians.
As Justine walked back over to the blue mats, she made eye contact with me. Her eyes slowly moved down my body and back up. I smirked knowing exactly what she was thinking.
Justine has always made it her point to let everyone know that I would apparently be her Guardian and she would be my Supporter. I wouldn't exactly mind it, but she can be a bit extreme sometimes.
It was Quinn's turn to try and defeat Justine. I shoved him out of the way before he could reach the mats.
"Hey man. What the hell are you doing?"
I ignored him and stood in a fighting stance in front of Justine. She stood there with her hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised.
I just shrugged and motioned for her to bring it on. If she can put up a good fight against me, she will be suitable to be my Supporter.
Justine's turquoise eyes began to swirl. Ninja stars made of ice were already in each of her hands. She let one fly at me, sharp edges rapidly turning over each other. I let one get close enough to me, just for the heck of it, that if I were anyone else, it would have pierced my skin. At the last second, I raised my hand and dissolved it into a million sparkling water drops.
Justine huffed in annoyance. Even she knew she was no match for me. Still not deterred by my stunt, Justine came at me full throttle. She jumped about a foot away from me and wrapped her legs around me neck. Hanging upside down, she twisted her hips to bring me down sideways to no avail.
I unhooked her legs from around my neck and dropped her on her ass. Justine slyly looked up at me from under her lashes, silently appraising me. I reached down and pulled her slender arm up until our faces were mere centimeters apart.
"Well done, you two," Instructor Kara said interrupting whatever what was going on between me and Justine.
Justine turned around and thanked the instructor. She looked back over her shoulder at me and winked. I nodded my head once.
I continued to spar off against a few other classmates for a little while. I defeated my opponent each time, no surprises there. After the last match, I bent over to wipe sweaty hands on my black sweatpants. My black tank top was drenched in sweat. It's not like my classmates are weak or anything, it's just I'm so much more advanced than they are. My classmates are all probably the strongest generation these sectors have seen in a while. The competition among us is there, sure, but I can knock them flat on their asses without even trying.
I headed over to my duffel bag, bending down to scoop it up. I let out a long breath I didn't even realize I was holding. I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled when I remembered that The Trials finally began tomorrow.
~
Kiera
"What?!" I screamed for what felt like the millionth time today.
"Listen, if you do not stitch up this wound, I will die. Those people had knives dipped in Onyx. When the Onyx enters out blood system, it stops our natural fast ability of healing. I will not be able to recover from this like I normally could, so you must put stitches in it," he explained.
Well jeez, who really cares if this guy dies? That would give me my chance to escape and make it to The Trials. He hasn't been the nicest person since we met, either. I crossed my arms over my chest and was interrupted by him before I began to speak.
"I know what you're thinking; you just want to let me die so you could get to The Trials and not have your memory erased, or whatever. Just remember, I have saved your life not once, but twice now. Now you really do owe me," Violet Eyes said.
Ugh, he knew how to make me feel guilty. I couldn't live with myself if I left someone to die if there was a way I could have prevented it from happening.
"Fine I'll do it," I said snatching the line and needle from his hands.
I scooted over next to his pale and sweaty form. I almost gagged again as I got a closer look. It was even deeper than I had thought, and even longer up his side. It ran from the top of his hip to just under his rib cage. Violet Eyes must be in a lot more pain than he was letting on.
I rummaged through the tiny first aid kit and found some clear solution that I hoped would cleanse the cut. Then, I gingerly pinched one side of the open wound with my right hand and the other side with my left hand. I brought the skin together and jabbed the needle right through both pieces of skin. I pulled the thick line through the hole and continued the same routine until the wound was stitched.
I crawled back until I was sitting against the wall and mentally gave myself a pat on the back. My stitching job was actually done well. Violet Eyes passed out a long time ago while I was stitching him. I'm surprised he even lasted that long without losing consciousness before.
A short time later, my eyes were drifting shut and I heard someone shuffling around. Instantly alert, I looked over at Violet Eyes and saw that he was now in a sitting position.
"So how'd I do, Vio-" I clamped my mouth shut before I could finish calling him that nickname.
He smirked and said, "What were you gonna call me?"
Thoroughly embarrassed, I turned my face away so he couldn't see my burning cheeks. Considering what else he could do, he could probably easily see in the dark.
"Nothing. Just answer my question," I demanded.
"Eh, you did okay. And thanks," he winked.
"What's your name anyway?" I asked him.
He automatically answered and said, "Tre-" until he realized who he was talking to. Then he glared at me and pressed his lips together in a thin line.
"Oh come on. Is it Trevor? Or Trey?" I asked.
He sighed and raked a hand through his short hair. "Listen, sharing personal information will just make it harder to erase your mind. Is that what you're trying to do?"
"Um, no. I was actually just curious and thought maybe we might be considered something close to friends since we just saved each other's lives and all, but you know what? Forget I even asked," I spat.
I slid down the wall so I was laying on the cold, hard ground with my back to Violet Eyes. He really is stubborn and cold. Like seriously, one minute he's saving my life and the next, he doesn't want me to even know his name.
As I was drifting off to sleep, I heard him whisper, "My name is Trev."
"Kiera," I whispered back.
~
Sunlight from the only small window in the shed was streaming directly on my face. I groaned and slowly rolled over, rubbing my eyes. Massaging my side, I gingerly sat up. My whole body ached from sleeping on the hard ground all night. As I gradually came to, yesterday's events quickly played out in my mind. I flopped back down and groaned some more.
I jerked to a sitting position when I noticed there was no one else in this shed. I was alone. The dried blood on the ground proved I wasn't going crazy and that someone actually had been here.
I crawled over to the door and poked my head through. When I couldn't see anything, I opened the door and stepped outside.
"Sleep well, human?" Trev asked. He was standing off to the side of the shed with his back towards me.
"Jeez," I said grabbing my chest, "You scared me. I didn't know you were out here. And I thought I told you my name was Kiera."
"Okay, Keera," he mocked.
"Humph. It's Ki-er-ah," I sounded out my name for him.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. Today is The Trial Ceremony and we only have a few hours to get me there."
"I think you should rest more. You could rip the stitches out," I cautioned.
He was still shirtless, but I couldn't see his wound. As if reading my thoughts, he turned around and showed me the gash. There was only a scar where the deep cut had been just a few hours ago.
"Well, okay then. Hey, now you'll always have something to remember me by," I said gesturing to his scar. I did stitch it up and everything for him after all.
Trev just glared and muttered, "Great."
~
I honestly don't know why Trev needed my help to get to the Sector Walls to begin with. I've just made things harder for him. We got into a freaking gang fight and he's still dragging me along with him.
"Hurry up. You're too slow," he said when I started to lag behind. I quickened my pace to prove to him that I wasn't slow and could easily match his pace.
We were walking along the edge of a crack filled street. Weeds were sprouting from the cracks and dried, yellow grass was on either side of the street. I kicked bits of gravel as we walked.
After what felt like hours of walking, we reached the Sector Walls. I have never seen them before in my life. Reaching heights of at least one hundred feet all around, the gunmetal gray walls were a sight to see. We were gazing up at the two huge doors that opened up to The Sectors of the Known Families.
Two gargoyles were sitting atop the spires of the double doors as if keeping guard. The doors began to slowly creak open when they recognized Trev was trying to get back in.
"Alright little human. This is where we make our goodbyes and agree we have never seen each other before. I'm going to place my hands on your head and make you forget this journey and The Trials," Trev rehearsed.
Before he could put his hands on me, I turned around and slipped inside the Sector Walls.