The Academy
Training
Violet Tiger’s POV
I’m put in Block H. I see Venom’s face and head towards her. She moves her stuff from the bottom of the bunk to the top. We don’t talk, but it’s nice to see a familiar face. I don’t think she’ll be the worst person to bunk with.
I lay out the clothes I got from Neon earlier today, looking over them before I slide them into one of the bins under my bed. I’ve got a few more tank tops. One is white with a blue and violet tiger on the front; another is a dark grey with a sunset scene on it. I add them to the others I traveled here with. There is also a pair of black and white pants. One side is striped the other has stars. Neon also gave me a few pairs of shorts. My favorites are black. They’ve got studs along the waist and on the inside of the pockets. She’d cut them in half and added holes reinforced with metal and then tied the shorts back together with a heavy black cord. I’d also gotten a pair of black combat boots and converse.
Once everything is put into the bin, I reach into the pocket of my skinnies and pull out a tube of peanut butter and a small knife I carry with me at all times. Cutting the package in half I reach up and put a section on Venom’s bunk. A few seconds later her head appears over the edge of her bed, blonde hair hanging in her face, “Where’d you get this?”
“In the towns on my way here,” I answer before taking my half of the package between my teeth, pulling a little bit of the creamy mix into my mouth.
“We could get in trouble for this,” she answers back but puts a little on her tongue nonetheless.
I shrug. “Don’t let them see. Also, don’t tell people I’m sharing with you. I don’t have that much of the outside food left.”
The green-eyed girl nods vigorously before disappearing again. I flop back across the bed, enjoying the down time. I watch as younger kids run around, meeting others and admiring the new looks each has. They’re all too young. They shouldn’t have to be facing the challenges of the world on their own.
As more and more kids fall asleep around me I sign, heading towards the doors. According to the rules KITs aren’t supposed to be out of their barracks after eleven o’clock at night unless we were doing night training. I figure the instructors would prefer if I didn’t smoke in the building. I slide down the metal wall, pulling my stokes out of my jeans pocket and lighting one with a match. As I smoke I let the cool night air of the desert wash over me. Everything is so still out here. I think that’s what drew me to this area. It’s different than life in the towns. I begin to hum in between drags.
“Mind if I join you?”
I roll my eyes. Of course he would be the one out for a smoke at the exact same time as I am. “What, you aren’t gonna bust me for being outside past curfew?”
Fun Ghoul laughs before plopping down next to me on the ground. He’s already got a cigarette held between his lips, another tucked behind his ear. “I’d much rather you do it out here than inside with all those little kids. Make any friends?”
“Do you actually care or are you just playing the whole ‘concerned instructor’ thing?”
“I’m actually curious,” he responds.
“The girl I bunk with seems decent enough. I don’t wanna sound arrogant or whatever, but I don’t really think I’ll be making too many friends. Why do you care anyway?”
Fun Ghoul nods putting out his first cigarette and lighting his second. He takes a few drags before turning to look at me. I resist the urge to tuck a few strands of his dark hair, which falls over his left eye, behind his ear. That wouldn’t be appropriate.
“There’s something about you. You aren’t like the usual recruits we see through here. If you play your cards right you could be a teacher in at most a year.”
“Is that a polite way of saying that I’m old and thus it’s not strange for you to find me attractive or for you to have a real conversation with me?”
Fun Ghoul lets out a cross between a cough and a laugh, running his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, maybe that’s what I’m trying to say.”
I feel blood rush to my cheeks and am suddenly thankful that the moon is little more than a sliver tonight. “Isn’t this against the rules?”
“Isn’t what against the rules?” Fun Ghoul replies back with a smirk. Answering a question with a question, one of my biggest pet peeves. I know he knows what I’m talking about.
“Us, sitting here, talking…flirting.”
“It isn’t against the rules for a teacher to be nice to a recruit. It’s against the rules for a teacher to have any kind of relations with that student. We could sit here and flirt, as you say, all night and neither of us would get in trouble.”
I nod my understanding. There is definitely a flaw in the logic behind the rules here. To me it seems like as long as you don’t get caught you can do whatever. I guess that’s how it is everywhere though. Why should it be any different here?
Sighing, I turn my attention from the male in front of me to the sky. The stars shine as far as the eye can see; a perk of having almost no electricity at the Academy. There aren’t lights to block out the night.
“Why did you wait so long to come to the Academy?” Fun Ghoul asks after a while, breaking the silence.
“I had other things I needed to do first. Besides, I’ve been on my own for almost ten years. This place only opened like what…four years ago?” I give vague answers, still not sure I trust the people here. It isn’t that I think they’re all secretly working for BLI, it’s just, once you let people in they can fuck you up. I’ve gone down that road before, I can’t…no, I won’t let it happen again. They can pry until the very last Killjoy is exterminated and I would still keep all my secrets. ‘Die with you mask on’ isn’t that what they say?
Ghoul nods before standing up, I follow suit. He walks away from me backwards. “Get some sleep.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Fun Ghoul raises his hands up in a sign of surrender, a smirk set on his face. “Just get some sleep. You’ll thank me later.”
Rolling my eyes I head back inside the building and climb onto my bunk. Taking a deep breath I close my eyes, letting sleep envelop me.
“Wake up!” A voice cuts through my dreams. Instincts kick in and I roll to the left, grabbing my ray gun and sliding it under my pillow. Looking between the slats in my bed I see the blonde female, Fun Ghoul and Kobra Kid. Kids are beginning to climb from their bunks, changing quickly. Realizing there is no real threat I pull on my Vans, tucking my ray gun back into the bin under the bed. Having slept in my clothes from yesterday, I leave on the jeans, pulling on a plain blue tank top, followed by a purple one over it.
“Time for part three of your orientation!” Neon says cheerily.
“What?” a girl across the room questions.
“Get up. Get your shoes on.” The female instructor demands. Those who haven’t already started begin to. I guess they’ve realized that our teacher is serious.
“We’re gonna start your training right now. You know what I said about checking your talents?” Neon continues. A few give sleepy nods, lacing up shoes and pulling on various items of clothing. “Some of you are gonna be more athletic than others. That being said, you all need to train. I’m gonna push you to your limit tonight.”
As Neon and the other instructors turn to exit our building I pull my hair up into a high ponytail, a few strands of my hair left hanging around my face; they aren’t long enough to be held back yet.
“Ghoul, take the rear.” Neon yells to him. “You should be used to that!”
I’m actually a little shocked by her blatant insult. I thought that everyone here was supposed to keep relationships hush, hush. Maybe that’s Neon’s way of trying to prove she’s just as good or better than the male teachers. She might have been nice to me yesterday but that doesn’t change who she is as a person. She really feels the need to prove herself.
Kobra Kid moves towards the front with Neon, while Fun Ghoul moves to stand behind all of us. Two other kids that I kind of recognize from yesterday stand on the sides, probably there to make sure no one drops out or tries to run away.
“ Ready for the run?” Neon asks and a few kids let out groans.
As we start Kobra grabs a few kids who seem to be staying towards the front. He has them run along the side with him. I stay towards the back, keeping almost perfect pace with Fun Ghoul. Can I run faster than this? Of course, but I don’t want to get pulled as a physical talent. Just cause I’m good at it doesn’t mean I enjoy it.
“You definitely could have warned me about this last night,” I whisper to him as we make our way across the desert.
He keeps his eyes forward, not even acknowledging my presence. What’s up his butt? He can’t be this upset about Neon’s comment.
“What, you can’t talk to me now that you’ve got other instructors watching?”
Again I get nothing out of him. Did I dream last night? After a few more minutes I get frustrated by his silent treatment and pull ahead, more towards the middle of the pack. If Fun Ghoul wants to act like a five year old there isn’t anything I can do about it. He’s definitely not getting anymore of my jerky.
“How are you doing?” Neon Sun yells back to us after a while. Everyone stays silent. This is our third lap around the camp. I’m sure we’ve run at least a mile by now if not more. The sun is starting to peak over the mountains and already the heat is beginning to set in. I wipe sweat off my forehead, glad that I chose not to bring my jacket with me. I’m towards the front now, the pace we’re going at not all that challenging. The pack has thinned though, a lot of kids slowing down even more as Neon begins to lead us away from the main camp area and further out into the desert.
Fun Ghoul, who is now running along side the pack instead of behind everyone, yells up to our female leader, “Where are we going?”
“We’re going by the Doctors’s!” she yells back to him.
“Why?”
“Because I said so. Don’t ask why, or I’ll run faster!”
“You can’t! They’re struggling to keep up! All of them except your runners!”
Our instructor looks over her shoulder, “C’mon wimps! Work through the pain! I know it hurts, and it’s going to hurt tomorrow! The first ten to finish get to sleep in air conditioning for the next week!”
A few recruits pass me, trying to be within the top ten. I stay at my pace, knowing that they will eventually wear themselves out. Fun Ghoul nods for me to run faster. I ignore him, continuing to keep at a steady pace.
“The last ten sleep outside!” Neon Sun calls back. The whole group speeds up, a few more passing me. I make a mental count. There’s a bout seven people ahead of me. As long as I stay in the top ten I’m fine. Then again, sleeping outside doesn’t sound miserable. Anywhere but the barracks would be nice. The building is stuffy and there are way too many people. I got almost no sleep last night.
Another fifteen minutes or so of running and I spot white dots on the horizon. My hand instinctively goes for my ray gun that isn’t there. I should have brought it. Screw the rules. How are we supposed to protect ourselves without any weapons? I start scanning the area around me, trying to find something to use as a weapon.
Fun Ghoul, who has kept pace with me through almost the whole run, raises an eyebrow at me. Even though I’m still confused about him not speaking to me, I nod ahead to where the white dots are. He shakes his head and I give him a quizzical look. How is he not concerned about that? We’re running right into a group of Dracs.
“Just keep running,” he says to me. “Don’t stop.”
Neon Sun says something but I don’t catch it, my mind still trying to figure out why our instructors are running us towards a group of Dracs.
Up ahead, there is a red line drawn across the sand. I’m assuming that’s our finish line. I break away from the pack, a few other kids doing the same. I finish about fifth. As I draw closer to the Dracs I notice they’re on some kind of sticks. I suddenly understand why Fun Ghoul told me to keep going. They were fakes meant to scare us a little.
“Good job guys!” Neon says after everyone is on the other side of the red line. She comes over to the group of us that finished first, handing us each a piece of blue paper with a block number on it. As she turns to talk to the others, white flashes across my peripheral vision. A ray gun is fired, the jet of light barely missing our instructor. A few of the kids standing around me let out screams.
Whipping around, I see who shot the ray gun…this one is a real Drac. It lunges at Neon Sun who has somehow lost her ray gun. Instincts kick in. I run towards the gun, sliding in the sand, my hands curling around the handle. Neon Sun and the Drac are fighting each other hand to hand. Getting to my knees I try my best to aim at the Drac. I need them to stop rolling around. I don’t want to accidently hit Neon. As I go to fire a wall of flesh hits me.
“No!” I roll onto my back, eyes locked with hazel-green ones. “It’s just a set up. There’s a Killjoy under the costume.”
My muscles are still tense and I’m shaking, my chest rising and falling rapidly. I feel my teeth morph into sharp, needle like points; another part of my BLI modifications. I snarl at the man on top of me.
“It’s just a drill. Calm down.”
I continue to look into his eyes. They stay soft, a look of concern etched across his face. Calloused fingers gently take the ray gun away from me. I feel my teeth go back to normal, my heart rate slowing down. Fun Ghoul gets off of me once he thinks I’ve clamed down enough. A hand if offered to me but I ignore it, jumping to my feet.
Neon Sun walks over to me, “Are you alright? I guess we probably should have warned you about the drill. Most of these kids haven’t experienced Dracs before and don’t have the instincts.”
“Yeah,” I respond not knowing what else to say. I shouldn’t be here. The Academy is for training. I can’t imagine what I’m going to learn. Having random drills thrown at me isn’t going to help. I live off of my instinct to take the enemy down at all costs.
“We aren’t making you run back. There are two cars. Why don’t you come with me? Fun Ghoul and Kobra Kid can take the other,” Neon continues as my eyes flick around to the other recruits. They all eye me with a look of shock.
I nod, following the instructor over to a large van. Kobra Kid is splitting the ground in two, sending half of the recruits over to pile into the one I’m now getting into. Neon Sun turns it on, cranking up the air condition. I put the buckle on, my body still shaking a little.
As we begin to drive she talks, “I know what the instincts are like. If we have another drill like that I’ll let you know. You’re skills are really advanced, everyone else just froze up.”
“Yeah, I’m used to fighting. I saw something that looked like the enemy and I didn’t even question it.”
“That’s a good thing,” Neon says with a smile. “Those are the kind of instincts we try to instill in the recruits here. You already having them puts you really ahead.”
I nod, fiddling with the blue piece of paper I’d been handing earlier. It’s got a big ‘K’ written across it in what looks like black sharpie. Neon Sun laughs a little, noticing my assignment for the night.
“What?”
The female instructor smiles at me, “That’s Fun Ghoul’s block.”
Once we get back to the camp, I gather a few things before heading towards block ‘K’. Venom Nightmare isn’t in our block, but I leave her half of a granola bar. She had a rough time during the run today. Athletics clearly isn’t her talent, well, at least not running.
As I enter the building, a gust of cool air envelops me. A few cots have been pushed up against a wall. It’s cramped and I can tell this building is only meant for one or two people to be living in at a time. Against the opposite wall are a large metal bed and a dresser. There is a door at the end of the wall with the cots. I’m assuming that’s the bathroom. The walls are covered with various drawings. Some are on paper; others just sketched right onto the metal.
Dropping my stuff on a cot, I begin to walk around, looking over the art. A few other kids walk in as I do. One of them has bright red hair like Party Poison’s. Another wears all black, her hair a cotton candy blue color. There are a few other boys but I hardly notice them.
The dark haired teacher comes in a few minutes’ later, carrying cans of Power Pup, a few water bottles, and a big bag of what looks like gummy worms. He rolls his eyes when he sees me. I glare back. We can ignore each other all night if he wants to. It’s no skin off my back.
“So it looks like you five got assigned to my block. I grabbed you all some food and candy. Feel free to shower or put a movie in the projector. I can’t promise it’ll work very well but you can try. Violet Tiger can I see you outside?”
Letting out a sigh I grab a few of the candy worms out of the bag before following Fun Ghoul outside into the afternoon heat.
“What the hell is up your butt?” I demand as soon as we’re away from the other students.
“Did you trade cards with someone else?”
I’m almost offended that he’d ask that. Does he think I’m purposely putting myself in his path? If anything, he’s the one that seems to constantly be around me. I fight the urge to lash out at him. “No. I didn’t even know I was assigned to your block until Neon Sun told me in the van.”
Fun Ghoul stares at me for a little, probably trying to figure out if I’m lying to him or not. I don’t understand how we went from last night to this.
“What’s wrong?”
He frowns at me, motioning for me to walk with him. I follow behind, wishing I had grabbed one of the bottles of water he’d brought for us. The sun is high in the sky now and the heat radiates off of all the metal.
Once we’re a little away from the camp Fun Ghoul begins to talk. “Neon made some comment about you seeming to take a liking to me yesterday. Then she saw us smoking last night. You’ve met her. We’ve not been together for almost a year now but she can’t let me be happy or even appear to move on. I didn’t talk to you on the run today because I don’t want her to think I’m giving you special treatment. You could get kicked out of the Academy if she thinks there’s something going on…I could lose my position as a teacher and be exiled.”
“That’s stupid. Are we in high school?”
“Neon’s about that age,” Fun Ghoul answers back as if that’s supposed to explain everything. If she can’t put her jealousy aside maybe she shouldn’t be allowed to teach. Didn’t she choose Party Poison over Fun Ghoul? Why the hell should it matter who he’s talking to?
“Is she upset because you’re making friends with a recruit or because you’re making friends with me?”
Fun Ghoul smirks a little, “You don’t miss a beat do you?”
I shrug, “She’s not that hard to figure out. She’s an insecure teenager who doesn’t know how to make up her mind. Besides, I can be kind of intimidating.”
“Naw, you’re just a kitten,” Ghoul responds, running his shoulder into my arm. I do it back to him, pulling out my pack of cigarettes, offering him one. He takes it and lights a match for both of us. We continue to walk and smoke, letting a comfortable silence fall over us.
“So what are we going to do?” I eventually ask. By this time we’ve turned around and are heading back towards Fun Ghoul’s block.
He shrugs. “I don’t really know. Neon can be weird.”
“You could always tell her to shove it. Like you said last night, we’re just talking which isn’t against the rules.” I answer looking over at him. “Unless you want to do more than talk…then we might get in trouble.”
Fun Ghoul rolls his eyes at me, but the corners of his lips pull up into a smile, “You are going to get me in trouble kitten.”
I turn around so that I’m standing in front of him, our noses almost touching, “Something tells me that you like trouble.”
Winking at him, I pull away before pushing the door of his block open and stepping inside. Sitting down on my cot I open the can of Power Pup and start eating it. The red headed boy beside me follows my movements with his dark eyes. I do my best to ignore him as the girl with blue hair and a boy with purple tips play around with the projector, trying to get it to shine onto the opposite wall.
“Sometime if you curse at it it’ll start working,” Fun Ghoul says as he flops down across his bed.
The kids looks at him like he’s got a hole in his head but none the less they try it, letting out a string of curse words.
The red headed boy to my left finally speaks, “You’re the girl from the run this morning. You freaked out at the Drac drill.”
I turn to look at him, his chocolate brown eyes growing wide as he sees my modification. “Yeah, that’s how you’re supposed to react when you see a Drac. What’s your name?”
“Lithium Flame,” he answers, squaring his shoulders, trying to make himself seem tougher than I’m sure he is.
I give him a curt nod before digging a sketchpad and pen out of my bag, turning my attention back to a sketch I’d started a few days ago. I can still feel eyes resting on me, but I ignore them. If this kid wants to watch me there’s nothing I can do about it.
I sleep through the night.
Neon Sun’s POV
“The drains aren’t working in any of the blocks,” Fun Ghoul says from behind me.
Turning around I face him. He’s standing next to Violet Tiger. She’s got her elbow resting on Fun Ghoul’s shoulder, the other resting on her hip. Today she’s wearing a black half-tank, black leather vest with studs along the collar and sleeves, purple shorts, and the combat boots I’d given her. She’s got them laced up halfway, just enough to keep them on her feet. A purple bandana holds her wavy blonde hair out of her face. I try not to let a twang of jealously flow through me. She’s gorgeous.
“How was your night with Party?” Ghoul asks me, making a kissy face.
“It was better than any of my nights with you ever were.” I respond angrily. “Why is she here?”
Ghoul looks over at Violet Tiger, that sparkle he used to get when he looked at me flashing through them. “She was awake and offered to come help. I didn’t think it’d be a problem. It’s not like we have to treat her like the rest of the KITs.”
“We’re supposed to treat her like the rest of the KITs because she is one,” I respond. “Let’s just go get everything ready.”
I walk inside to the block, unlocking it with the keys that jangle off a clip on my belt loop. I shut the door once we’re inside. I don’t like the fact the Fun Ghoul is giving this girl special privileges. She’s a trainee. I don’t care if she’s old. I make a mental note to have the teachers keep an eye on the two. I don’t want to have to exile either of them, but I will if it comes down to it. Teacher – student relationships are a huge no.
“Ghoul, go tune up you and Kobra’s instruments. They need it.” I instruct, trying to show some level of authority. “Kobra, go check and see if we have shit for them to draw with.”
He walks to a corner, opening a box. He dips his head inside, and then withdraws it “We’re good. Need more paint though.”
“I’ll see what Defying can do next time I see him. It’s exhausting to steal.” I say bluntly, still tired as hell.
Ghoul and Violet Tiger are sitting on the dusty concrete floor. She’s got Kobra Kid’s bass on her lap, tuning it by ear. She plays around on it a little, actually sounding pretty good. Kid watches her as he sets up easels. I wonder if he’ll try and bring her into the music talent group.
“Ghoul,” I motion for him to join me over by the amps. “We need to try to be civil around the students. You can hate me as much as you want when they aren’t there, and make all the comments you want, but around the KITs, you and me are friends.”
“Fine. Friends around them, you wanting me when they aren’t around.”
“Get it out of your system.” I huff. Turning to Kobra and Violet Tiger. “Can you two go and wake up the recruits?”
They both nod before walking out of the block together.
“There, no witnesses. Take your best shot. I’m giving you the time,” I sigh knowing he’s going to try and convince me that we should be together. This is our normal routine. It’s rather exhausting.
“Why won’t you just listen to what your body is telling you?” Ghoul asks me. “I feel you tense up when I touch you.” He reaches out, and touches my arm softly.
“Ghoul.” I say, and he moves closer. “Ghoul, just get to it.”
“I’m just saying, you know you were happiest with me.”
“We had a good run Fun, but it’s over.” I say to him. “If I remember correctly it ended because of you.”
“Why can’t you give me another chance?” He asks me, his hand coming to rest under my elbow. I use what little energy I have to keep my eyes from changing to the color they always were around him; a green blue with a few flecks of orange in them. Every cell in my body is telling me to kiss him, to show him what he left behind. I beat those thoughts into the back of my mind quickly, pulling Party’s face to mind. “You want to kiss me. I can see it. Don’t lie to me. I know you do.”
“Ghoul, now is not the time to try and get me to cheat on Party. You know I couldn’t do that to him.” I whisper to him. He moves closer, and I freeze. “Ghoul, please don’t do this.”
He shakes me a little. “Why the hell won’t you admit that you still love me?”
“Because I don’t! Not anymore! Besides, what about the new recruit; I see the way you look at her.” I say to him my voice dropping at the end. Fun looks a bit hurt.
Laughing harshly, he spits the last of the conversation at me, “So it does bother you that I’m talking to her. You’re a miserable liar, Neon. You do love me. I can tell. You wouldn’t look at Violet Tiger the way you do if you didn’t. You wouldn’t try so hard to cling to Party Poison.”
Fun Ghoul lets go of me as the door opens. Violet Tiger and Kobra Kid walk in, followed by our newest group of KITs. They all look pretty sore from the run I took them on this morning. I clap my hands, bringing their attention to me.
“Hey guys!” I say to them, trying to sound happy, hiding the fact that I was just fighting with one of their teachers. “So, I’m sure all of you have a talent. Some of you are athletic – ” I point to the two KITs who finished first this morning. “ – and you’ll be given special training for that. Others are artistic; some have a combo of talents. I’m musical naturally, but with the BLI experiments, I’m also physically talented.”
“As Party Poison will tell you, she’s pretty good when it comes to physical stuff.” Ghoul says to them. I see Violet Tiger biting her lower lip, trying to hold back laughter. Kobra Kid looks like he’s ready to kill Ghoul. A lot of the kids look confused too young or naïve to get the joke.
I whip my head around to look at him and glower. Fun Ghoul just shrugs back. He’s got the worst attitude I’ve ever encountered.
“So, who’s ready to show off a bit? If you got musical talent, or think you do, move to where the guitars are. If you’re more of a visual arts person, go to the windows.”
The group splits. My eyes follow the older blonde across the room. She smiles wickedly at Fun Ghoul before plopping down in front of an easel. She’s going to be more trouble than she’s worth.
“Sun,” Kobra says, coming up behind them. “These are your athletes and fighters.”
I nod, looking over the group. I remember a few boys and girls. Turning to a blonde girl with green eyes I throw a punch. She catches my fist, bending my wrist back just enough so that it hurts. Her green eyes never leave mine. “Your name?”
“Venom Nightmare,” she answers with a smile as she releases my hand.
My eyes flick from the blonde to a girl with bright blue hair, a few strands fall in her face, acting as a kind of fringe. “What’s your name?”
The blue haired girl continues to stare through me, “Ice Blaster. I’m a human lie detector.”
I nod, not fully believing her. We’ve had a few recruits claim they had the same talent and none of them really panned out.
“I know that you don’t believe me,” she prompts obviously able sense that I’m not quite sure of her. “I also know that you’re torn between two of our instructors. The redheaded one and that one over there by the easels.”
Taken aback by the girl’s ability to obtain information I answer quickly, not wanting her to divulge any of my other secrets, “I’ll have you trained with interrogation.”
As I go to help the small blonde from yesterday, Fun Ghoul’s voice cuts the through the room. “Holy fuck.”
I stride over towards the windows, “What?” I ask him coolly.
He points to Violet Tiger. She’s sitting, legs crossed over each other like a pretzel, drawing one of Fun Ghoul’s sleeves. I figured she’d be good, but I didn’t think she’d be this good. Groaning, I turn to Ghoul who is wearing the biggest smile I’ve seen him with in a while. Obviously, he’s very pleased with his new protégé.
“Jesus Christ… we have another tattoo artist in the making. She might even be better than you Ghoul,” I jeer at him. Violet Tiger turns around and smiles at me.
“You’re doing that all from memory?” Fun Ghoul questions her as I continue to watch the charcoal run across the paper.
Violet Tiger nods, “I think the memory might be part of the BLI modifications, but I can’t be sure.”
I nod before continuing around the room, helping a few kids discover their talents, admiring how gifted some of our new KITs are turning out to be. This class is definitely going to give the one above them a run for their money. I see a few guitarists that I tell Ghoul about, and a few more singers that I mentally store, hypothesizing about their range and styles. There are a few more who can draw, one of them quickly drawing last night’s training run. A boy is tearing a song up on drums, his cover better than the original.
“You guys are all seriously talented.” I say, as they all group up. “A few of you,” I flick my head towards the group of future protégés, “will receive specialized training. How does everybody like it here so far?”
The group of KITs smiles, nodding at me.
“Good,” I say. “Who wants to see your instructors talents?”
I watch as all the student’s eyes light up. “Well, I’m musically gifted as well as physically inclined. Party Poison does art as well as singing. Fun Ghoul does tattoo art as well as guitar. Jet Star is also a musician as well as head of interrogation team. Kobra Kid does fighting and long distance running as well as plays bass.”
“The rest of you, any songs you want us to do?”
From her spot in the corner, Violet Tiger shouts out a song that Ghoul and Kid seem to like. Of course it’s her suggestion. I’m beginning to not like our blonde artist.
“Okay. So, Fr-” I motion to Ghoul, almost calling him Frank. Rookie mistake. I really need more sleep. A tiny voice in the back of my head, one I haven’t heard in awhile, pipes up; Or is it you need more Party? I mentally throw the lil’ bugger against the back of my brain, where he rightfully belongs.
“Ghoul.” I clarify. “You ready? I know it takes you forever to be ready for anything….” I trail off, giving the kids a wink. May of them just look confused. I see the girl I remember as Venom Nightmare sitting next to Violet Tiger. Those two are bright red from trying to hold back laughter.
As I finish the song up, breathing a tad heavier than normal, I catch a glimpse of yellow passing by the window. Flashes of neon colors go next. My senses go into hyper drive, taking over. I motion to Frank and Mikey.
I see the door handle turn. It twitches, like whoever is operating it isn’t sure if they should open it yet or not. My instincts, super wired by BLI, kick in.
“Everybody on the ground!” I instruct and the new recruits all lay against the concrete, many sliding on masks. The door flies open, a bunch of the upperclassjoys charge into the room, ray guns drawn. They kneel down next to a few new KITs, pressing the guns to their heads.
“Welcome to the Academy!” they sneer. I remember this. The upperclassjoys try and strike fear in the KITs, weeding out the ones that can’t hang. Even though I know this is all a joke, my instincts have kicked in. I see a boy I know to be a major player around this school touch the young blonde, Dancing Spark, on the arm. She’s cringing. I pounce at him, tackling him to the ground from behind. I quickly twist the arm that had held the young girl behind his back, knee in the middle of his back.
“Touch her. I dare you.” I hiss into his ear. My sense of smell tingles, making my heart rate go from rabbit to hummingbird in the space of a few hundredths of a second.
“Sun, get off. Your boyfriend is here,” Fun Ghoul says lazily, tapping my in the thigh with the toe of his boot.
I clamber off the boy, who picks himself up weakly. I jump around a little, trying to shake off the leftover energy. Whipping around, I try to find the redhead I know so well. Where the hell was he?
“Looking for me?” A voice asks, from somewhere on the ground. I look down, seeing that one of my converse clad feet is resting on Party’s leg. I remove it, pulling him up with one hand. He jumps, making it easier.
“Everyone can leave except the protégés, you’re now considered middleclassjoys,” I say.
“I wanted to show the older kids something,” Party whispers in my ear, causing tingles to run up and down my spine.
“What?” I ask, hugging him to me. Hugs are all we can manage around the students. Anything more and they would know something is up. Then again, Ghoul has hinted at it enough times for at least some to start putting two and two together.
“This.” He says, and quickly kisses me fully on the mouth. When he pulls away, he looks to the small group of joys. “That’s why I made you boys fight me hand to hand. You know now why I get so touchy when you keep talking about how much you wanna ‘tap that’ and when you talk about her ass. That ass is mine. Don’t you even think for a minute that I will hesitate to beat you the fuck down if you so much as touch her. You guys in the upper ranks may think it’s okay to go after other people’s girlfriends, but ask Ghoul over here.” He motions to the younger man. “When I steal girlfriends, I usually keep them for quite some time.”
“It’s true. I think he kinda stole Neon Sun from me.” Fun Ghoul explains. “I suggest not messing with him over Sun. Get your own slut. Party just happened to take the reigning empress of the skanky mcwhorebags.”
Out of the corner of my eye I see the two blonde protégés fighting back laughter again. For someone who’s almost twenty-one Violet Tiger sure acts immature. I wonder if it’s because we stuck her with a while bunch of kids or if she’s just laughing because she wants to get into Ghoul’s pants.
That’s it. I’ve had enough. I turn from Party’s tight hold on my waist and lunge at Frank. I get him on the ground, and he quickly flips me to my back. The boys and girls remaining in the room scamper out. Party and Kid follow, leaving Ghoul and me in the room.
“You know you like it when I’m on top.” He purrs into my ear.
“Fuck you!” I scream at him. “I’m going to kick your ass from here to Korse’s office!”
“What was that? You do like it,” he smarms the words at me. That bastard.
My hormones are screaming at me to kiss him, but the logical part of me is screaming Gerard’s name, over and over.
“Oh Neon.” He says, getting his face close to mine. “You know deep down…you like this.”
“No. I. Don’t.” I use every ounce of strength I have to flip him off our makeshift stage, sending us falling to the floor. He lands on his back with a hard thud. I’m straddling him now, trying to decide the best place to hit him. His hand comes flying up, throwing a punch. I grab the clenched fist with one hand. “Don’ play games with somebody who plays them better than you.” I coo to him.
“You wanna play games before I fuck you? Kinky.” He says to me dryly. He jerks his hips against mine, and I stifle a groan. No. I refuse to do that. I groan and my resolve is gone. He knows it just as much as I do. If he gets me to moan, the entire world goes to shit.
“Not. Happening.” I growl out the words, and hit him squarely in the jaw.
“Someone wants it rough today? Party too gentle with you?” He spits at me. “He wasn’t ever gentle with me. Maybe he doesn’t want to break his whore before he’s gotten his fill of her. Wonder what he’ll think if I tell him you were sleeping with me while you refused to sleep with him.”
“That’s a lie!” I spit.
“Ah, but he’ll believe me. I’m his best friend.”
“You were a fuck buddy.”
“And his best friend. I’m sure darling, he’s mentioned me a few times more than you’re comfortable with, hasn’t he?” he asks.
It’s true. I get slightly jealous anytime my boyfriend mentioned Ghoul. I push that from my mind. I know all he wants is for me to doubt myself, doubt Party’s love for me. Now is the time to beat the living hell out of Frank, not contemplate Gerard and his sexual encounters with each other.
“I’m going to hit you so hard.” I growl at him.
“I like it when you talk dirty to me.” Ghoul purrs back.
The dark haired man under me quickly kisses me, slipping his tongue in my mouth. I slip mine against his, just starting to enjoy the kiss, when I pull back, suddenly remembering my boyfriend.
“What? Want me to cut to the chase and get your pants off?” Frank asks, but I’m stunned into silence. Not by him, but by who’s standing in the doorway.
Party Poison. He looks at me, eyes widening. I know in my heart that all he heard was the last line; all he saw was the kiss. I hope that he saw me pull back. I hope that he’s being logical.
“Party,” I say weakly, quickly getting off Fun Ghoul. I try to run to Party Poison, but my foot catches Ghoul’s leg and I fall to the ground. I regain my balance and walk to him, my legs like Jell-O. “Party, please answer me.” I reach out, trying to touch his arm. He jerks it away just as my fingertips graze his jacket.
“Motherfucking bitch,” he spits at me, storming out of the room.
I watch as he pushes Kobra Kid out of his way. I stand for a few minutes, totally shocked. Hearing a car engine start up, I go running after him. He’s climbed into a car. There is no way in hell I am letting him go this easy. I pass by Violet as I run for another car, needing to catch up with Party. All I can think about is an apology, a way to fix things; something that’s probably not happening.
Violet Tiger’s POV
I watch as Neon Sun jumps into a car, driving at top speed across the desert after Party Poison. Fun Ghoul comes out of the building a few minutes later, a smug look on his face.
“What’d you do?” I question him.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I just showed Neon what she was missing,” he answers back. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch how the shit show unfolds.”
I catch his wrist, spinning him around to face me, “You’re just as immature as she is.”
He shrugs me off before jumping into a car. Kobra Kid and a female I’ve never seen before get in as well.
“What the hell is going on?” Venom asks as we turn and head back towards the barracks. All my stuff is still in Fun Ghoul’s block so I lead us there.
“I have no idea. I have a feeling the instructors here have a lot more going on than they let on.”
I push the green door open, enjoying the rush of cool air. Venom smiles, plopping down on a cot as I pack up my dirty clothes a few other items I’d brought. “That’s his bed?”
I glance at the big metal bed that Venom Nightmare is looking at. Nodding, I zip my bag before heading towards the door. Instead of following, me my friend walks towards Fun Ghoul’s bed. She grabs one of the various pillows and hurries over to me, shoving it into my pack.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? He’s going to notice.”
She shrugs, holding the door open for me, “That’s the point. He’s going to have to come and get it. You’ll probably get in trouble and have to do clean up or something. I’m sure he’ll watch you.”
Venom winks at me as I shove her in the shoulder. “Or they’ll just kick me out or make me run with Neon. She already loathes me, this would just give her another way to torture me.”
Once again the blonde just shrugs as we enter our block. It’s stuffy in here and smells like pubescent teens. I really wish the showers hadn’t stopped working. Hopefully they’ll be back up soon or else I’m sleeping outside.
“Thanks for the granola bar by the way.”
“Sure thing,” I respond, placing the pillow Venom had stolen on my bed. It smells like Fun Ghoul: coffee, cinnamon, and cigarettes.
“Did you two talk last night?” Venom questions, flopping across my bed, her head hangs down. I don’t understand how she can lay like that. I’d get a headache.
I shake my head as my eyes land on the red headed boy from this morning. We both have the same talent. Although he’s a little strange, we had a pretty decent conversation while we were sketching. “There were other people in the room with us. I couldn’t exactly just crawl in bed with him. Besides, he’s very obviously not over our female instructor.”
“You’re also a student,” Venom answers, sticking her tongue out at me. She reminds me a lot of my little sister. Then again, Venom Nightmare has a much dirtier mind; she hasn’t missed any of the jeers Ghoul and Neon Sun throw at each other.
“Yeah.” I sit down on the bed beside her. The blonde sits up. I pull the ponytail she’s wearing out and comb my fingers through her hair. She’s got light orange and green streaks, barely visible unless you’re up close to her. She said she liked it that way… that it’s like a surprise. Braiding her hair, I let my mind wander to what might be happening wherever the teachers ran off to. What had Fun Ghoul done to cause Neon and Party to fight? Why does everyone here act like actors in a bad high school sitcom?
“Tiger?” Venom Nightmare says quietly, puling me from my thoughts.
“Hmm.”
“Your nose is bleeding.”
My fingers fly to my face. I feel the sticky liquid on my fingers, trailing down over my lips. Silently cursing, I lean over and grab a bandana out of my bin. Tilting my head back, I pinch the bridge of my nose, breathing through my mouth. Venom gets up and somehow finds some toilet paper. She cleans the blood off of my face, handing me a few sheets. I stick a square in my nose, hoping that will stop the blood flow.
“How’d that happen?”
“Probably the dry air,” I answer quickly, hoping she buys it.
I’m put in Block H. I see Venom’s face and head towards her. She moves her stuff from the bottom of the bunk to the top. We don’t talk, but it’s nice to see a familiar face. I don’t think she’ll be the worst person to bunk with.
I lay out the clothes I got from Neon earlier today, looking over them before I slide them into one of the bins under my bed. I’ve got a few more tank tops. One is white with a blue and violet tiger on the front; another is a dark grey with a sunset scene on it. I add them to the others I traveled here with. There is also a pair of black and white pants. One side is striped the other has stars. Neon also gave me a few pairs of shorts. My favorites are black. They’ve got studs along the waist and on the inside of the pockets. She’d cut them in half and added holes reinforced with metal and then tied the shorts back together with a heavy black cord. I’d also gotten a pair of black combat boots and converse.
Once everything is put into the bin, I reach into the pocket of my skinnies and pull out a tube of peanut butter and a small knife I carry with me at all times. Cutting the package in half I reach up and put a section on Venom’s bunk. A few seconds later her head appears over the edge of her bed, blonde hair hanging in her face, “Where’d you get this?”
“In the towns on my way here,” I answer before taking my half of the package between my teeth, pulling a little bit of the creamy mix into my mouth.
“We could get in trouble for this,” she answers back but puts a little on her tongue nonetheless.
I shrug. “Don’t let them see. Also, don’t tell people I’m sharing with you. I don’t have that much of the outside food left.”
The green-eyed girl nods vigorously before disappearing again. I flop back across the bed, enjoying the down time. I watch as younger kids run around, meeting others and admiring the new looks each has. They’re all too young. They shouldn’t have to be facing the challenges of the world on their own.
As more and more kids fall asleep around me I sign, heading towards the doors. According to the rules KITs aren’t supposed to be out of their barracks after eleven o’clock at night unless we were doing night training. I figure the instructors would prefer if I didn’t smoke in the building. I slide down the metal wall, pulling my stokes out of my jeans pocket and lighting one with a match. As I smoke I let the cool night air of the desert wash over me. Everything is so still out here. I think that’s what drew me to this area. It’s different than life in the towns. I begin to hum in between drags.
“Mind if I join you?”
I roll my eyes. Of course he would be the one out for a smoke at the exact same time as I am. “What, you aren’t gonna bust me for being outside past curfew?”
Fun Ghoul laughs before plopping down next to me on the ground. He’s already got a cigarette held between his lips, another tucked behind his ear. “I’d much rather you do it out here than inside with all those little kids. Make any friends?”
“Do you actually care or are you just playing the whole ‘concerned instructor’ thing?”
“I’m actually curious,” he responds.
“The girl I bunk with seems decent enough. I don’t wanna sound arrogant or whatever, but I don’t really think I’ll be making too many friends. Why do you care anyway?”
Fun Ghoul nods putting out his first cigarette and lighting his second. He takes a few drags before turning to look at me. I resist the urge to tuck a few strands of his dark hair, which falls over his left eye, behind his ear. That wouldn’t be appropriate.
“There’s something about you. You aren’t like the usual recruits we see through here. If you play your cards right you could be a teacher in at most a year.”
“Is that a polite way of saying that I’m old and thus it’s not strange for you to find me attractive or for you to have a real conversation with me?”
Fun Ghoul lets out a cross between a cough and a laugh, running his fingers through his hair. “Yeah, maybe that’s what I’m trying to say.”
I feel blood rush to my cheeks and am suddenly thankful that the moon is little more than a sliver tonight. “Isn’t this against the rules?”
“Isn’t what against the rules?” Fun Ghoul replies back with a smirk. Answering a question with a question, one of my biggest pet peeves. I know he knows what I’m talking about.
“Us, sitting here, talking…flirting.”
“It isn’t against the rules for a teacher to be nice to a recruit. It’s against the rules for a teacher to have any kind of relations with that student. We could sit here and flirt, as you say, all night and neither of us would get in trouble.”
I nod my understanding. There is definitely a flaw in the logic behind the rules here. To me it seems like as long as you don’t get caught you can do whatever. I guess that’s how it is everywhere though. Why should it be any different here?
Sighing, I turn my attention from the male in front of me to the sky. The stars shine as far as the eye can see; a perk of having almost no electricity at the Academy. There aren’t lights to block out the night.
“Why did you wait so long to come to the Academy?” Fun Ghoul asks after a while, breaking the silence.
“I had other things I needed to do first. Besides, I’ve been on my own for almost ten years. This place only opened like what…four years ago?” I give vague answers, still not sure I trust the people here. It isn’t that I think they’re all secretly working for BLI, it’s just, once you let people in they can fuck you up. I’ve gone down that road before, I can’t…no, I won’t let it happen again. They can pry until the very last Killjoy is exterminated and I would still keep all my secrets. ‘Die with you mask on’ isn’t that what they say?
Ghoul nods before standing up, I follow suit. He walks away from me backwards. “Get some sleep.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Fun Ghoul raises his hands up in a sign of surrender, a smirk set on his face. “Just get some sleep. You’ll thank me later.”
Rolling my eyes I head back inside the building and climb onto my bunk. Taking a deep breath I close my eyes, letting sleep envelop me.
“Wake up!” A voice cuts through my dreams. Instincts kick in and I roll to the left, grabbing my ray gun and sliding it under my pillow. Looking between the slats in my bed I see the blonde female, Fun Ghoul and Kobra Kid. Kids are beginning to climb from their bunks, changing quickly. Realizing there is no real threat I pull on my Vans, tucking my ray gun back into the bin under the bed. Having slept in my clothes from yesterday, I leave on the jeans, pulling on a plain blue tank top, followed by a purple one over it.
“Time for part three of your orientation!” Neon says cheerily.
“What?” a girl across the room questions.
“Get up. Get your shoes on.” The female instructor demands. Those who haven’t already started begin to. I guess they’ve realized that our teacher is serious.
“We’re gonna start your training right now. You know what I said about checking your talents?” Neon continues. A few give sleepy nods, lacing up shoes and pulling on various items of clothing. “Some of you are gonna be more athletic than others. That being said, you all need to train. I’m gonna push you to your limit tonight.”
As Neon and the other instructors turn to exit our building I pull my hair up into a high ponytail, a few strands of my hair left hanging around my face; they aren’t long enough to be held back yet.
“Ghoul, take the rear.” Neon yells to him. “You should be used to that!”
I’m actually a little shocked by her blatant insult. I thought that everyone here was supposed to keep relationships hush, hush. Maybe that’s Neon’s way of trying to prove she’s just as good or better than the male teachers. She might have been nice to me yesterday but that doesn’t change who she is as a person. She really feels the need to prove herself.
Kobra Kid moves towards the front with Neon, while Fun Ghoul moves to stand behind all of us. Two other kids that I kind of recognize from yesterday stand on the sides, probably there to make sure no one drops out or tries to run away.
“ Ready for the run?” Neon asks and a few kids let out groans.
As we start Kobra grabs a few kids who seem to be staying towards the front. He has them run along the side with him. I stay towards the back, keeping almost perfect pace with Fun Ghoul. Can I run faster than this? Of course, but I don’t want to get pulled as a physical talent. Just cause I’m good at it doesn’t mean I enjoy it.
“You definitely could have warned me about this last night,” I whisper to him as we make our way across the desert.
He keeps his eyes forward, not even acknowledging my presence. What’s up his butt? He can’t be this upset about Neon’s comment.
“What, you can’t talk to me now that you’ve got other instructors watching?”
Again I get nothing out of him. Did I dream last night? After a few more minutes I get frustrated by his silent treatment and pull ahead, more towards the middle of the pack. If Fun Ghoul wants to act like a five year old there isn’t anything I can do about it. He’s definitely not getting anymore of my jerky.
“How are you doing?” Neon Sun yells back to us after a while. Everyone stays silent. This is our third lap around the camp. I’m sure we’ve run at least a mile by now if not more. The sun is starting to peak over the mountains and already the heat is beginning to set in. I wipe sweat off my forehead, glad that I chose not to bring my jacket with me. I’m towards the front now, the pace we’re going at not all that challenging. The pack has thinned though, a lot of kids slowing down even more as Neon begins to lead us away from the main camp area and further out into the desert.
Fun Ghoul, who is now running along side the pack instead of behind everyone, yells up to our female leader, “Where are we going?”
“We’re going by the Doctors’s!” she yells back to him.
“Why?”
“Because I said so. Don’t ask why, or I’ll run faster!”
“You can’t! They’re struggling to keep up! All of them except your runners!”
Our instructor looks over her shoulder, “C’mon wimps! Work through the pain! I know it hurts, and it’s going to hurt tomorrow! The first ten to finish get to sleep in air conditioning for the next week!”
A few recruits pass me, trying to be within the top ten. I stay at my pace, knowing that they will eventually wear themselves out. Fun Ghoul nods for me to run faster. I ignore him, continuing to keep at a steady pace.
“The last ten sleep outside!” Neon Sun calls back. The whole group speeds up, a few more passing me. I make a mental count. There’s a bout seven people ahead of me. As long as I stay in the top ten I’m fine. Then again, sleeping outside doesn’t sound miserable. Anywhere but the barracks would be nice. The building is stuffy and there are way too many people. I got almost no sleep last night.
Another fifteen minutes or so of running and I spot white dots on the horizon. My hand instinctively goes for my ray gun that isn’t there. I should have brought it. Screw the rules. How are we supposed to protect ourselves without any weapons? I start scanning the area around me, trying to find something to use as a weapon.
Fun Ghoul, who has kept pace with me through almost the whole run, raises an eyebrow at me. Even though I’m still confused about him not speaking to me, I nod ahead to where the white dots are. He shakes his head and I give him a quizzical look. How is he not concerned about that? We’re running right into a group of Dracs.
“Just keep running,” he says to me. “Don’t stop.”
Neon Sun says something but I don’t catch it, my mind still trying to figure out why our instructors are running us towards a group of Dracs.
Up ahead, there is a red line drawn across the sand. I’m assuming that’s our finish line. I break away from the pack, a few other kids doing the same. I finish about fifth. As I draw closer to the Dracs I notice they’re on some kind of sticks. I suddenly understand why Fun Ghoul told me to keep going. They were fakes meant to scare us a little.
“Good job guys!” Neon says after everyone is on the other side of the red line. She comes over to the group of us that finished first, handing us each a piece of blue paper with a block number on it. As she turns to talk to the others, white flashes across my peripheral vision. A ray gun is fired, the jet of light barely missing our instructor. A few of the kids standing around me let out screams.
Whipping around, I see who shot the ray gun…this one is a real Drac. It lunges at Neon Sun who has somehow lost her ray gun. Instincts kick in. I run towards the gun, sliding in the sand, my hands curling around the handle. Neon Sun and the Drac are fighting each other hand to hand. Getting to my knees I try my best to aim at the Drac. I need them to stop rolling around. I don’t want to accidently hit Neon. As I go to fire a wall of flesh hits me.
“No!” I roll onto my back, eyes locked with hazel-green ones. “It’s just a set up. There’s a Killjoy under the costume.”
My muscles are still tense and I’m shaking, my chest rising and falling rapidly. I feel my teeth morph into sharp, needle like points; another part of my BLI modifications. I snarl at the man on top of me.
“It’s just a drill. Calm down.”
I continue to look into his eyes. They stay soft, a look of concern etched across his face. Calloused fingers gently take the ray gun away from me. I feel my teeth go back to normal, my heart rate slowing down. Fun Ghoul gets off of me once he thinks I’ve clamed down enough. A hand if offered to me but I ignore it, jumping to my feet.
Neon Sun walks over to me, “Are you alright? I guess we probably should have warned you about the drill. Most of these kids haven’t experienced Dracs before and don’t have the instincts.”
“Yeah,” I respond not knowing what else to say. I shouldn’t be here. The Academy is for training. I can’t imagine what I’m going to learn. Having random drills thrown at me isn’t going to help. I live off of my instinct to take the enemy down at all costs.
“We aren’t making you run back. There are two cars. Why don’t you come with me? Fun Ghoul and Kobra Kid can take the other,” Neon continues as my eyes flick around to the other recruits. They all eye me with a look of shock.
I nod, following the instructor over to a large van. Kobra Kid is splitting the ground in two, sending half of the recruits over to pile into the one I’m now getting into. Neon Sun turns it on, cranking up the air condition. I put the buckle on, my body still shaking a little.
As we begin to drive she talks, “I know what the instincts are like. If we have another drill like that I’ll let you know. You’re skills are really advanced, everyone else just froze up.”
“Yeah, I’m used to fighting. I saw something that looked like the enemy and I didn’t even question it.”
“That’s a good thing,” Neon says with a smile. “Those are the kind of instincts we try to instill in the recruits here. You already having them puts you really ahead.”
I nod, fiddling with the blue piece of paper I’d been handing earlier. It’s got a big ‘K’ written across it in what looks like black sharpie. Neon Sun laughs a little, noticing my assignment for the night.
“What?”
The female instructor smiles at me, “That’s Fun Ghoul’s block.”
Once we get back to the camp, I gather a few things before heading towards block ‘K’. Venom Nightmare isn’t in our block, but I leave her half of a granola bar. She had a rough time during the run today. Athletics clearly isn’t her talent, well, at least not running.
As I enter the building, a gust of cool air envelops me. A few cots have been pushed up against a wall. It’s cramped and I can tell this building is only meant for one or two people to be living in at a time. Against the opposite wall are a large metal bed and a dresser. There is a door at the end of the wall with the cots. I’m assuming that’s the bathroom. The walls are covered with various drawings. Some are on paper; others just sketched right onto the metal.
Dropping my stuff on a cot, I begin to walk around, looking over the art. A few other kids walk in as I do. One of them has bright red hair like Party Poison’s. Another wears all black, her hair a cotton candy blue color. There are a few other boys but I hardly notice them.
The dark haired teacher comes in a few minutes’ later, carrying cans of Power Pup, a few water bottles, and a big bag of what looks like gummy worms. He rolls his eyes when he sees me. I glare back. We can ignore each other all night if he wants to. It’s no skin off my back.
“So it looks like you five got assigned to my block. I grabbed you all some food and candy. Feel free to shower or put a movie in the projector. I can’t promise it’ll work very well but you can try. Violet Tiger can I see you outside?”
Letting out a sigh I grab a few of the candy worms out of the bag before following Fun Ghoul outside into the afternoon heat.
“What the hell is up your butt?” I demand as soon as we’re away from the other students.
“Did you trade cards with someone else?”
I’m almost offended that he’d ask that. Does he think I’m purposely putting myself in his path? If anything, he’s the one that seems to constantly be around me. I fight the urge to lash out at him. “No. I didn’t even know I was assigned to your block until Neon Sun told me in the van.”
Fun Ghoul stares at me for a little, probably trying to figure out if I’m lying to him or not. I don’t understand how we went from last night to this.
“What’s wrong?”
He frowns at me, motioning for me to walk with him. I follow behind, wishing I had grabbed one of the bottles of water he’d brought for us. The sun is high in the sky now and the heat radiates off of all the metal.
Once we’re a little away from the camp Fun Ghoul begins to talk. “Neon made some comment about you seeming to take a liking to me yesterday. Then she saw us smoking last night. You’ve met her. We’ve not been together for almost a year now but she can’t let me be happy or even appear to move on. I didn’t talk to you on the run today because I don’t want her to think I’m giving you special treatment. You could get kicked out of the Academy if she thinks there’s something going on…I could lose my position as a teacher and be exiled.”
“That’s stupid. Are we in high school?”
“Neon’s about that age,” Fun Ghoul answers back as if that’s supposed to explain everything. If she can’t put her jealousy aside maybe she shouldn’t be allowed to teach. Didn’t she choose Party Poison over Fun Ghoul? Why the hell should it matter who he’s talking to?
“Is she upset because you’re making friends with a recruit or because you’re making friends with me?”
Fun Ghoul smirks a little, “You don’t miss a beat do you?”
I shrug, “She’s not that hard to figure out. She’s an insecure teenager who doesn’t know how to make up her mind. Besides, I can be kind of intimidating.”
“Naw, you’re just a kitten,” Ghoul responds, running his shoulder into my arm. I do it back to him, pulling out my pack of cigarettes, offering him one. He takes it and lights a match for both of us. We continue to walk and smoke, letting a comfortable silence fall over us.
“So what are we going to do?” I eventually ask. By this time we’ve turned around and are heading back towards Fun Ghoul’s block.
He shrugs. “I don’t really know. Neon can be weird.”
“You could always tell her to shove it. Like you said last night, we’re just talking which isn’t against the rules.” I answer looking over at him. “Unless you want to do more than talk…then we might get in trouble.”
Fun Ghoul rolls his eyes at me, but the corners of his lips pull up into a smile, “You are going to get me in trouble kitten.”
I turn around so that I’m standing in front of him, our noses almost touching, “Something tells me that you like trouble.”
Winking at him, I pull away before pushing the door of his block open and stepping inside. Sitting down on my cot I open the can of Power Pup and start eating it. The red headed boy beside me follows my movements with his dark eyes. I do my best to ignore him as the girl with blue hair and a boy with purple tips play around with the projector, trying to get it to shine onto the opposite wall.
“Sometime if you curse at it it’ll start working,” Fun Ghoul says as he flops down across his bed.
The kids looks at him like he’s got a hole in his head but none the less they try it, letting out a string of curse words.
The red headed boy to my left finally speaks, “You’re the girl from the run this morning. You freaked out at the Drac drill.”
I turn to look at him, his chocolate brown eyes growing wide as he sees my modification. “Yeah, that’s how you’re supposed to react when you see a Drac. What’s your name?”
“Lithium Flame,” he answers, squaring his shoulders, trying to make himself seem tougher than I’m sure he is.
I give him a curt nod before digging a sketchpad and pen out of my bag, turning my attention back to a sketch I’d started a few days ago. I can still feel eyes resting on me, but I ignore them. If this kid wants to watch me there’s nothing I can do about it.
I sleep through the night.
Neon Sun’s POV
“The drains aren’t working in any of the blocks,” Fun Ghoul says from behind me.
Turning around I face him. He’s standing next to Violet Tiger. She’s got her elbow resting on Fun Ghoul’s shoulder, the other resting on her hip. Today she’s wearing a black half-tank, black leather vest with studs along the collar and sleeves, purple shorts, and the combat boots I’d given her. She’s got them laced up halfway, just enough to keep them on her feet. A purple bandana holds her wavy blonde hair out of her face. I try not to let a twang of jealously flow through me. She’s gorgeous.
“How was your night with Party?” Ghoul asks me, making a kissy face.
“It was better than any of my nights with you ever were.” I respond angrily. “Why is she here?”
Ghoul looks over at Violet Tiger, that sparkle he used to get when he looked at me flashing through them. “She was awake and offered to come help. I didn’t think it’d be a problem. It’s not like we have to treat her like the rest of the KITs.”
“We’re supposed to treat her like the rest of the KITs because she is one,” I respond. “Let’s just go get everything ready.”
I walk inside to the block, unlocking it with the keys that jangle off a clip on my belt loop. I shut the door once we’re inside. I don’t like the fact the Fun Ghoul is giving this girl special privileges. She’s a trainee. I don’t care if she’s old. I make a mental note to have the teachers keep an eye on the two. I don’t want to have to exile either of them, but I will if it comes down to it. Teacher – student relationships are a huge no.
“Ghoul, go tune up you and Kobra’s instruments. They need it.” I instruct, trying to show some level of authority. “Kobra, go check and see if we have shit for them to draw with.”
He walks to a corner, opening a box. He dips his head inside, and then withdraws it “We’re good. Need more paint though.”
“I’ll see what Defying can do next time I see him. It’s exhausting to steal.” I say bluntly, still tired as hell.
Ghoul and Violet Tiger are sitting on the dusty concrete floor. She’s got Kobra Kid’s bass on her lap, tuning it by ear. She plays around on it a little, actually sounding pretty good. Kid watches her as he sets up easels. I wonder if he’ll try and bring her into the music talent group.
“Ghoul,” I motion for him to join me over by the amps. “We need to try to be civil around the students. You can hate me as much as you want when they aren’t there, and make all the comments you want, but around the KITs, you and me are friends.”
“Fine. Friends around them, you wanting me when they aren’t around.”
“Get it out of your system.” I huff. Turning to Kobra and Violet Tiger. “Can you two go and wake up the recruits?”
They both nod before walking out of the block together.
“There, no witnesses. Take your best shot. I’m giving you the time,” I sigh knowing he’s going to try and convince me that we should be together. This is our normal routine. It’s rather exhausting.
“Why won’t you just listen to what your body is telling you?” Ghoul asks me. “I feel you tense up when I touch you.” He reaches out, and touches my arm softly.
“Ghoul.” I say, and he moves closer. “Ghoul, just get to it.”
“I’m just saying, you know you were happiest with me.”
“We had a good run Fun, but it’s over.” I say to him. “If I remember correctly it ended because of you.”
“Why can’t you give me another chance?” He asks me, his hand coming to rest under my elbow. I use what little energy I have to keep my eyes from changing to the color they always were around him; a green blue with a few flecks of orange in them. Every cell in my body is telling me to kiss him, to show him what he left behind. I beat those thoughts into the back of my mind quickly, pulling Party’s face to mind. “You want to kiss me. I can see it. Don’t lie to me. I know you do.”
“Ghoul, now is not the time to try and get me to cheat on Party. You know I couldn’t do that to him.” I whisper to him. He moves closer, and I freeze. “Ghoul, please don’t do this.”
He shakes me a little. “Why the hell won’t you admit that you still love me?”
“Because I don’t! Not anymore! Besides, what about the new recruit; I see the way you look at her.” I say to him my voice dropping at the end. Fun looks a bit hurt.
Laughing harshly, he spits the last of the conversation at me, “So it does bother you that I’m talking to her. You’re a miserable liar, Neon. You do love me. I can tell. You wouldn’t look at Violet Tiger the way you do if you didn’t. You wouldn’t try so hard to cling to Party Poison.”
Fun Ghoul lets go of me as the door opens. Violet Tiger and Kobra Kid walk in, followed by our newest group of KITs. They all look pretty sore from the run I took them on this morning. I clap my hands, bringing their attention to me.
“Hey guys!” I say to them, trying to sound happy, hiding the fact that I was just fighting with one of their teachers. “So, I’m sure all of you have a talent. Some of you are athletic – ” I point to the two KITs who finished first this morning. “ – and you’ll be given special training for that. Others are artistic; some have a combo of talents. I’m musical naturally, but with the BLI experiments, I’m also physically talented.”
“As Party Poison will tell you, she’s pretty good when it comes to physical stuff.” Ghoul says to them. I see Violet Tiger biting her lower lip, trying to hold back laughter. Kobra Kid looks like he’s ready to kill Ghoul. A lot of the kids look confused too young or naïve to get the joke.
I whip my head around to look at him and glower. Fun Ghoul just shrugs back. He’s got the worst attitude I’ve ever encountered.
“So, who’s ready to show off a bit? If you got musical talent, or think you do, move to where the guitars are. If you’re more of a visual arts person, go to the windows.”
The group splits. My eyes follow the older blonde across the room. She smiles wickedly at Fun Ghoul before plopping down in front of an easel. She’s going to be more trouble than she’s worth.
“Sun,” Kobra says, coming up behind them. “These are your athletes and fighters.”
I nod, looking over the group. I remember a few boys and girls. Turning to a blonde girl with green eyes I throw a punch. She catches my fist, bending my wrist back just enough so that it hurts. Her green eyes never leave mine. “Your name?”
“Venom Nightmare,” she answers with a smile as she releases my hand.
My eyes flick from the blonde to a girl with bright blue hair, a few strands fall in her face, acting as a kind of fringe. “What’s your name?”
The blue haired girl continues to stare through me, “Ice Blaster. I’m a human lie detector.”
I nod, not fully believing her. We’ve had a few recruits claim they had the same talent and none of them really panned out.
“I know that you don’t believe me,” she prompts obviously able sense that I’m not quite sure of her. “I also know that you’re torn between two of our instructors. The redheaded one and that one over there by the easels.”
Taken aback by the girl’s ability to obtain information I answer quickly, not wanting her to divulge any of my other secrets, “I’ll have you trained with interrogation.”
As I go to help the small blonde from yesterday, Fun Ghoul’s voice cuts the through the room. “Holy fuck.”
I stride over towards the windows, “What?” I ask him coolly.
He points to Violet Tiger. She’s sitting, legs crossed over each other like a pretzel, drawing one of Fun Ghoul’s sleeves. I figured she’d be good, but I didn’t think she’d be this good. Groaning, I turn to Ghoul who is wearing the biggest smile I’ve seen him with in a while. Obviously, he’s very pleased with his new protégé.
“Jesus Christ… we have another tattoo artist in the making. She might even be better than you Ghoul,” I jeer at him. Violet Tiger turns around and smiles at me.
“You’re doing that all from memory?” Fun Ghoul questions her as I continue to watch the charcoal run across the paper.
Violet Tiger nods, “I think the memory might be part of the BLI modifications, but I can’t be sure.”
I nod before continuing around the room, helping a few kids discover their talents, admiring how gifted some of our new KITs are turning out to be. This class is definitely going to give the one above them a run for their money. I see a few guitarists that I tell Ghoul about, and a few more singers that I mentally store, hypothesizing about their range and styles. There are a few more who can draw, one of them quickly drawing last night’s training run. A boy is tearing a song up on drums, his cover better than the original.
“You guys are all seriously talented.” I say, as they all group up. “A few of you,” I flick my head towards the group of future protégés, “will receive specialized training. How does everybody like it here so far?”
The group of KITs smiles, nodding at me.
“Good,” I say. “Who wants to see your instructors talents?”
I watch as all the student’s eyes light up. “Well, I’m musically gifted as well as physically inclined. Party Poison does art as well as singing. Fun Ghoul does tattoo art as well as guitar. Jet Star is also a musician as well as head of interrogation team. Kobra Kid does fighting and long distance running as well as plays bass.”
“The rest of you, any songs you want us to do?”
From her spot in the corner, Violet Tiger shouts out a song that Ghoul and Kid seem to like. Of course it’s her suggestion. I’m beginning to not like our blonde artist.
“Okay. So, Fr-” I motion to Ghoul, almost calling him Frank. Rookie mistake. I really need more sleep. A tiny voice in the back of my head, one I haven’t heard in awhile, pipes up; Or is it you need more Party? I mentally throw the lil’ bugger against the back of my brain, where he rightfully belongs.
“Ghoul.” I clarify. “You ready? I know it takes you forever to be ready for anything….” I trail off, giving the kids a wink. May of them just look confused. I see the girl I remember as Venom Nightmare sitting next to Violet Tiger. Those two are bright red from trying to hold back laughter.
As I finish the song up, breathing a tad heavier than normal, I catch a glimpse of yellow passing by the window. Flashes of neon colors go next. My senses go into hyper drive, taking over. I motion to Frank and Mikey.
I see the door handle turn. It twitches, like whoever is operating it isn’t sure if they should open it yet or not. My instincts, super wired by BLI, kick in.
“Everybody on the ground!” I instruct and the new recruits all lay against the concrete, many sliding on masks. The door flies open, a bunch of the upperclassjoys charge into the room, ray guns drawn. They kneel down next to a few new KITs, pressing the guns to their heads.
“Welcome to the Academy!” they sneer. I remember this. The upperclassjoys try and strike fear in the KITs, weeding out the ones that can’t hang. Even though I know this is all a joke, my instincts have kicked in. I see a boy I know to be a major player around this school touch the young blonde, Dancing Spark, on the arm. She’s cringing. I pounce at him, tackling him to the ground from behind. I quickly twist the arm that had held the young girl behind his back, knee in the middle of his back.
“Touch her. I dare you.” I hiss into his ear. My sense of smell tingles, making my heart rate go from rabbit to hummingbird in the space of a few hundredths of a second.
“Sun, get off. Your boyfriend is here,” Fun Ghoul says lazily, tapping my in the thigh with the toe of his boot.
I clamber off the boy, who picks himself up weakly. I jump around a little, trying to shake off the leftover energy. Whipping around, I try to find the redhead I know so well. Where the hell was he?
“Looking for me?” A voice asks, from somewhere on the ground. I look down, seeing that one of my converse clad feet is resting on Party’s leg. I remove it, pulling him up with one hand. He jumps, making it easier.
“Everyone can leave except the protégés, you’re now considered middleclassjoys,” I say.
“I wanted to show the older kids something,” Party whispers in my ear, causing tingles to run up and down my spine.
“What?” I ask, hugging him to me. Hugs are all we can manage around the students. Anything more and they would know something is up. Then again, Ghoul has hinted at it enough times for at least some to start putting two and two together.
“This.” He says, and quickly kisses me fully on the mouth. When he pulls away, he looks to the small group of joys. “That’s why I made you boys fight me hand to hand. You know now why I get so touchy when you keep talking about how much you wanna ‘tap that’ and when you talk about her ass. That ass is mine. Don’t you even think for a minute that I will hesitate to beat you the fuck down if you so much as touch her. You guys in the upper ranks may think it’s okay to go after other people’s girlfriends, but ask Ghoul over here.” He motions to the younger man. “When I steal girlfriends, I usually keep them for quite some time.”
“It’s true. I think he kinda stole Neon Sun from me.” Fun Ghoul explains. “I suggest not messing with him over Sun. Get your own slut. Party just happened to take the reigning empress of the skanky mcwhorebags.”
Out of the corner of my eye I see the two blonde protégés fighting back laughter again. For someone who’s almost twenty-one Violet Tiger sure acts immature. I wonder if it’s because we stuck her with a while bunch of kids or if she’s just laughing because she wants to get into Ghoul’s pants.
That’s it. I’ve had enough. I turn from Party’s tight hold on my waist and lunge at Frank. I get him on the ground, and he quickly flips me to my back. The boys and girls remaining in the room scamper out. Party and Kid follow, leaving Ghoul and me in the room.
“You know you like it when I’m on top.” He purrs into my ear.
“Fuck you!” I scream at him. “I’m going to kick your ass from here to Korse’s office!”
“What was that? You do like it,” he smarms the words at me. That bastard.
My hormones are screaming at me to kiss him, but the logical part of me is screaming Gerard’s name, over and over.
“Oh Neon.” He says, getting his face close to mine. “You know deep down…you like this.”
“No. I. Don’t.” I use every ounce of strength I have to flip him off our makeshift stage, sending us falling to the floor. He lands on his back with a hard thud. I’m straddling him now, trying to decide the best place to hit him. His hand comes flying up, throwing a punch. I grab the clenched fist with one hand. “Don’ play games with somebody who plays them better than you.” I coo to him.
“You wanna play games before I fuck you? Kinky.” He says to me dryly. He jerks his hips against mine, and I stifle a groan. No. I refuse to do that. I groan and my resolve is gone. He knows it just as much as I do. If he gets me to moan, the entire world goes to shit.
“Not. Happening.” I growl out the words, and hit him squarely in the jaw.
“Someone wants it rough today? Party too gentle with you?” He spits at me. “He wasn’t ever gentle with me. Maybe he doesn’t want to break his whore before he’s gotten his fill of her. Wonder what he’ll think if I tell him you were sleeping with me while you refused to sleep with him.”
“That’s a lie!” I spit.
“Ah, but he’ll believe me. I’m his best friend.”
“You were a fuck buddy.”
“And his best friend. I’m sure darling, he’s mentioned me a few times more than you’re comfortable with, hasn’t he?” he asks.
It’s true. I get slightly jealous anytime my boyfriend mentioned Ghoul. I push that from my mind. I know all he wants is for me to doubt myself, doubt Party’s love for me. Now is the time to beat the living hell out of Frank, not contemplate Gerard and his sexual encounters with each other.
“I’m going to hit you so hard.” I growl at him.
“I like it when you talk dirty to me.” Ghoul purrs back.
The dark haired man under me quickly kisses me, slipping his tongue in my mouth. I slip mine against his, just starting to enjoy the kiss, when I pull back, suddenly remembering my boyfriend.
“What? Want me to cut to the chase and get your pants off?” Frank asks, but I’m stunned into silence. Not by him, but by who’s standing in the doorway.
Party Poison. He looks at me, eyes widening. I know in my heart that all he heard was the last line; all he saw was the kiss. I hope that he saw me pull back. I hope that he’s being logical.
“Party,” I say weakly, quickly getting off Fun Ghoul. I try to run to Party Poison, but my foot catches Ghoul’s leg and I fall to the ground. I regain my balance and walk to him, my legs like Jell-O. “Party, please answer me.” I reach out, trying to touch his arm. He jerks it away just as my fingertips graze his jacket.
“Motherfucking bitch,” he spits at me, storming out of the room.
I watch as he pushes Kobra Kid out of his way. I stand for a few minutes, totally shocked. Hearing a car engine start up, I go running after him. He’s climbed into a car. There is no way in hell I am letting him go this easy. I pass by Violet as I run for another car, needing to catch up with Party. All I can think about is an apology, a way to fix things; something that’s probably not happening.
Violet Tiger’s POV
I watch as Neon Sun jumps into a car, driving at top speed across the desert after Party Poison. Fun Ghoul comes out of the building a few minutes later, a smug look on his face.
“What’d you do?” I question him.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I just showed Neon what she was missing,” he answers back. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch how the shit show unfolds.”
I catch his wrist, spinning him around to face me, “You’re just as immature as she is.”
He shrugs me off before jumping into a car. Kobra Kid and a female I’ve never seen before get in as well.
“What the hell is going on?” Venom asks as we turn and head back towards the barracks. All my stuff is still in Fun Ghoul’s block so I lead us there.
“I have no idea. I have a feeling the instructors here have a lot more going on than they let on.”
I push the green door open, enjoying the rush of cool air. Venom smiles, plopping down on a cot as I pack up my dirty clothes a few other items I’d brought. “That’s his bed?”
I glance at the big metal bed that Venom Nightmare is looking at. Nodding, I zip my bag before heading towards the door. Instead of following, me my friend walks towards Fun Ghoul’s bed. She grabs one of the various pillows and hurries over to me, shoving it into my pack.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? He’s going to notice.”
She shrugs, holding the door open for me, “That’s the point. He’s going to have to come and get it. You’ll probably get in trouble and have to do clean up or something. I’m sure he’ll watch you.”
Venom winks at me as I shove her in the shoulder. “Or they’ll just kick me out or make me run with Neon. She already loathes me, this would just give her another way to torture me.”
Once again the blonde just shrugs as we enter our block. It’s stuffy in here and smells like pubescent teens. I really wish the showers hadn’t stopped working. Hopefully they’ll be back up soon or else I’m sleeping outside.
“Thanks for the granola bar by the way.”
“Sure thing,” I respond, placing the pillow Venom had stolen on my bed. It smells like Fun Ghoul: coffee, cinnamon, and cigarettes.
“Did you two talk last night?” Venom questions, flopping across my bed, her head hangs down. I don’t understand how she can lay like that. I’d get a headache.
I shake my head as my eyes land on the red headed boy from this morning. We both have the same talent. Although he’s a little strange, we had a pretty decent conversation while we were sketching. “There were other people in the room with us. I couldn’t exactly just crawl in bed with him. Besides, he’s very obviously not over our female instructor.”
“You’re also a student,” Venom answers, sticking her tongue out at me. She reminds me a lot of my little sister. Then again, Venom Nightmare has a much dirtier mind; she hasn’t missed any of the jeers Ghoul and Neon Sun throw at each other.
“Yeah.” I sit down on the bed beside her. The blonde sits up. I pull the ponytail she’s wearing out and comb my fingers through her hair. She’s got light orange and green streaks, barely visible unless you’re up close to her. She said she liked it that way… that it’s like a surprise. Braiding her hair, I let my mind wander to what might be happening wherever the teachers ran off to. What had Fun Ghoul done to cause Neon and Party to fight? Why does everyone here act like actors in a bad high school sitcom?
“Tiger?” Venom Nightmare says quietly, puling me from my thoughts.
“Hmm.”
“Your nose is bleeding.”
My fingers fly to my face. I feel the sticky liquid on my fingers, trailing down over my lips. Silently cursing, I lean over and grab a bandana out of my bin. Tilting my head back, I pinch the bridge of my nose, breathing through my mouth. Venom gets up and somehow finds some toilet paper. She cleans the blood off of my face, handing me a few sheets. I stick a square in my nose, hoping that will stop the blood flow.
“How’d that happen?”
“Probably the dry air,” I answer quickly, hoping she buys it.
