The You in Me: 4 - Friends and Rivals.

 

CHAPTER 4

Behind Seraphina, he stood aiming a double barrel silver gun at the lot in front.

“Don’t worry about it, they’re just sleeping shots,” His golden eyes pointed at the gun in his hand, quite nonchalantly. He stood tall and at ease with his athletic build and wide shoulders, prideful of his very own existence. From his point of view, it would be safe to say that he was used to looking down on people, and why wouldn’t one, if they were blessed with a face like his. Sculpted in pure leisure, his narrow eyes and sharp features complimented his tanned skin and dark hair, unruly and slightly elongated around his nape. Over the thick yet pointy ends of his brows were embedded two iridescent crystals, each, marking him the most powerful true Astherian in the room.

“You wouldn’t have the heart to use it otherwise, O’ great hero Kaizer,” the redhead drawled as she stepped forward and stood right over the white line made in front of the weapon stand.

“You’re a Dread,” Kaizer made the wise observation from the dark crystals over her brows.

“The name’s Ahren,” the redhead mocked a bow, then she turned to face the other three panting behind her, “Come now, don’t you want to win number one?”

“I’d rather we play rock, paper, scissors to pick a winner,” Seraphina grumbled under her breath as she got up. With silence now dominating the crystal room, the eeriness of the situation had creeped up on her. Though Kaizer had his gun pointed over their heads, he wouldn’t attack for as long as they remained unarmed.

Seraphina never fathomed the thought that the only ground rule of the competition was its biggest demerit. The system, once again, proved itself to be rigged in the favour of a singular power.

“I think we’ll stay behind the line for a second, why don’t you choose first?” Nysa urged Ahren.

“What! No, bitch, do not decide about us all by yourself! That’s why I say you’re so selfish! I’ll choose!” Irewin jerked himself away from Nysa’s shoulder and limped forward, only to be smacked on the back of his head.

“Can you not get a hint, you nitwit?!” Nysa snapped and pulled Irewin back in her grasp. “Kaizer won’t attack us as long as we’re unarmed, though, as soon as we pick a weapon, we’re dead because he chose the best one for long- and short- range combat,” Nysa whispered an explanation in Irewin’s ear as the brunette stood and nodded dumbly.

“Oh, now’s not the time to be wimps,” Kaizer joked, “You’re Heros. Stand tall and accept your fate.”

His golden eyes met Seraphina’s scarlet ones, hoping to either urge her into action or propel her into an understanding. The ravenette merely stepped away to get out of Nysa and Irewin’s range of sight and stood beside Ahren.

The redhead raised an amused brow to which Seraphina nodded sombrely. They were both Dreads, so they better stay together.

“Yeah, come along, we can at least stand side by side,” Ahren insisted the hero duo.

The couple hesitantly made a move forward. Ahren pushed Seraphina away to host the couple by her side, now all under Kaizer’s vigilance.

“Someone has to lose their pride or rank for someone else to win,” Seraphina announced after a minute of nobody moving. Her eyes were busy scanning the shelves for a weapon appropriate enough to win over Kaizer’s gun.

“Why don’t you do the honours?” Kaizer turned to face her, pointing the barrel over her forehead.

“Never really been the first at anything, I have. Second daughter, second choice of my crush, second house in the locality,” Seraphina shrugged and pursed her rambling mouth shut.

“I see you’re moving out of your shell then,” Kaizer snickered, looking slightly above her head.

Ha. Everyone else could see the glaring number one on her head. She wondered what everyone else had chosen.

“Ha,” Seraphina inhaled, “Won’t you congratulate me for it?” she pushed her lips in a fish pout and batted her lashes in a harsh attempt to be cringe.

She succeeded and Kaizer turned to Ahren instead.

“Ah, the Dread,” he coughed, awkwardly, and it was a moment enough for Seraphina to propel Irewin into the weapon shelf. His limping-self crashed into the crystal with a resounding thud; Kaizer moved to help the fellow hero and Seraphina took it as the cue to rush towards the furthest shelf.

Covering her fellow Dread, Ahren jumped into action and kneed Nysa in her back. She fell forwards, onto her lover, and Ahren used her moving body as a cover to sneak up to Kaizer’s side.

He was prepared though he couldn’t point his barrel at Ahren who was already elbowing his side. Their fists moved in a flurry of matched skill but before Ahren could realise it, Kaizer had her wrists pinned behind her back and head in a chokehold.

Way behind them, Seraphina struggled to pick up a weapon while simultaneously keeping a check on the fight. Though, when she saw the gun pointing directly at Ahren’s head, she reached for the microphone, flipped it on and chucked it to the crystal floor.

The crystal walls, embedded with hidden speakers, echoed the most ear piercing ‘beep’ that made even the sleeping students squirm for their lives. Ahren and Kaizer doubled over, his grip on the gun loosened and it fell to the floor as he used his hands for covering his ears instead. Ahren too curled to the floor at the sudden auditory assault, though, she was conscious enough to kick the gun out of their reach.

Seraphina, with a clenched jaw and curse words invading her mind, crawled forward despite the pain. As the vibrations tuned down, Seraphina’s crawls got more desperate. On the other side, Kaizer and Ahren too had begun twisting their limbs around to gain a leverage over the other. Like two toddlers fighting over their favourite toy, Kaizer and Ahren had descended to pulling at each other’s hair and stomping their feet.

“That’s a spectacle if I ever saw one,” Seraphina snorted into the microphone as soon as she grabbed it.

The bickering duo turned to face her.

“Catch!” Seraphina shouted and flung the microphone toward Ahren.

At the same time, Kaizer cursed, “Freaking Dreads.”

Ahren caught the microphone and wrapped its cord around Kaizer’s neck. Seraphina ran to reach their side and pulled the microphone toward her, behind Kaizer’s back. Ahren detained his hands until his air flow ceased and his body stopped resisting. He fell to the cold hard floor, quite handsomely.

“We did it! We knocked out the strongest Hero! We won!” Seraphina clapped and flicked the microphone phone off.

“Charming, is it not?” Ahren untangled herself from the passed-out boy and stood up.

“Very! Very charming! We’re the luckiest in our crowd!”

Ahren stood up and Seraphina ran in for a hug; she welcomed the ravenette with open arms and then tasered her in the back. As her limp body descended to the floor, Ahren clarified, “I was the first person to get a weapon, but I don’t believe in making a big deal out of things. It was fun while it lasted, Sera-Sera.”

A white aether circle shone underneath the passed-out student body, restoring their uniforms. Ahren glanced at Seraphina’s Class: S badge and couldn’t help the snicker which escaped her lips.

No fanfare greeted the redhead after her win. There were no claps or confetti or cheers, merely a digital screen which showed her face on top of all the other students.

No. 1 – Dread – Ahren Vassilissa – S – Ability type: Freeform, Chaos.

No. 2 – Dread – Seraphina Dysis – S – Ability type: Freeform, Chaos.

No. 3 – Hero – Kaizer Malvern – SS – Ability type: Holy.

No. 4 – Hero – Nisreen Alamara – AA – Ability type: Knight.

No. 5 – Hero – Irewin Paix – AA – Ability type: Berserker.

 

And it was enough for her eyes to crinkle with mirth and a big grin encasing her face. The future, this term, seemed way more promising than the previous ones.