• The Past

    Tory


    I really, really didn’t want to be here. People were still staring at me, I had the sudden urge to cover my face or check it in a mirror. But I knew there wasn’t anything wrong with it besides its familiarity to some people.
    After I got checked out like Seth wanted me to, I was leaving and disappearing. Never to return or appear again. I’d go to another country if I had to. Maybe somewhere warm, like Australia.
    Seth, Shaun and Noah had disappeared on Charlotte and me, leaving us to walk the halls alone. Charlotte didn’t notice the people staring and whispering; well, she probably did, just didn’t think anything of it. Just talked and talked and talked.
    “This is the battle hall, there is the control room, the training area and across from the infirmary is the weapons room,” she went on like a tour guide as we passed doors leading off to different rooms.
    “And you think that’s a good idea?” I asked in a high pitched, squeaky voice. Nerves, I guess.
    She gave me a look that said ‘duh’. “Tory, relax. If anything was going to happen, I’d know.”
    I blinked, almost feeling as stupid as I looked. “You have psychometry?” More statement than question.
    She laughed her tinkling laugh at my surprise, “Yes, level eight. I can see without needing to touch anything, more or less just like Shaun.”
    I made an ‘oh’ face. “Right, that’s why you’re not worried.”
    “Bingo,” she said with a big smile on her face.
    “Could have told me sooner,” I murmured under my breath but she heard anyway.
    She just laughed as we entered the infirmary and I couldn’t help but smile at her. From now on, I would never be worried around her and Shaun since they could see what was going to happen. The smile that was on my face, disappeared just as fast as it appeared at my thoughts of staying.

    Amelia

    “You’re lying!” I screamed at the three assholes that were sitting, calmly, might I add, in front of me.
    “Amelia, please listen. She is –” Noah tried to start yet again.
    “No! She is dead!” I screamed again, running my hands through my hair in attempt to calm myself down.
    They were attempting to tell me that Tory Jordan, the same Tory Jordan that I had trained to be the fighter she was and the same girl I had made a close, motherly bond with, was still alive. That she was just pretending to be dead.
    I growled at them, “You’re all such bastards.”
    The door to the conference room opened and shut quietly and fast, quiet, steady steps walked across the floor to us sitting at the one table in the room. I turned my head slightly to see whom it was and got greeted with an unexpected person.
    Theo Smith looked like his calm self, as he had to be, in this time of craziness. Seeing ghosts and spirits required a person to be calm and sedate, his medium-ship wouldn’t work otherwise.
    “You may want to be a little quieter, people can hear you from the other end of the hall, Amelia,” he said softly, the way he always talked to me.
    “How can I be quiet when I have these three stupid asses telling me my best student is still alive after being classed dead for seven years?” I said in a deadly voice. I was annoyed that he told me to be quiet.
    He sighed heavily. “Amelia, please lower your voice, we don’t want everyone finding out just yet.”
    My mouth hung open as I gaped at him. “You believe these three idiots?!”
    Speaking of the three idiots, they had suddenly gone quiet and there was an unusual tension in the air. I gave them a quick glance. They didn’t look overly happy; set jaws, narrowed eyes and fisted hands. Was that because of Theo or me? Surely it wasn’t me, but then why Theo?
    “I wouldn’t have believe them either…” I went to open my mouth but he continued, “if I hadn’t seen her with my own eyes.”
    That made me snap my mouth shut again, and rather quickly. No, it couldn’t be true, she was dead. It just couldn’t, I wouldn’t believe it…only if I saw her with my own eyes.
    “Where is she?” I asked, my voice husky with emotion of it being true.
    “Amelia –” Theo started, giving Seth a glance.
    “Where... Is... She?” I growled this time, pronouncing every word with force, my hands clenching at my sides in attempt to keep from hitting someone.
    “The infirmary,” Noah said from behind me.
    I didn’t give him so much as a thank you as I left the way Theo had walked in. I would finally see if they were lying or telling the truth. If they were lying, I’d wring their necks but if they were telling the truth… I honestly didn’t know whom I would hurt. Them or Tory.

    Tory

    I stood outside the infirmary, staring at the weapons room door with dread in my veins. Charlotte had asked me to wait after I had been cleared. Unlike Charlotte, who didn’t have a shield to protect her in the fire and was being treated longer than I did, I hadn’t acquired any wounds.
    I sighed; I shouldn’t be waiting here for her. Honestly, I didn’t know why I was waiting. I knew as soon as I got out of that room I should have left but instead I was standing outside the door, waiting.
    I’ll admit, I was a little worried about Charlotte and I did want to see Seth one more time to say goodbye before I left this time.
    I suddenly remembered that I had left my grandparents in the dark about where I was. Oh, s**t, that wasn’t a good thing. I searched myself for my phone, patting my jean pockets for it and hoping it wasn’t dead or broken. I found it and went to pull it out when a voice like a whip lashed out from the other end of the hall.
    “You!” A familiar female voice practically screeched.
    I lifted my head from my hands and phone, to see a very unhappy, very angry female walking towards me with a determined stride.

    Amelia

    She was alive. My God, she was alive, here, and just pretended to be dead for seven years. I couldn’t understand why.
    What annoyed me was that she didn’t ring or write to say that she was alright, when she knew she could have, I taught her how. And so did Seth. She worried so many people with her little disappearing stunt and she couldn’t take that one moment to tell the people that loved her that she was fine.
    She looked fine, better than fine actually. She looked as if she had been living in royalty. Her spotless, olive skinned face looked as if they hadn’t seen a fight in a life time. Her purple, rounded nails were well looked after and long. And her hair, there wasn’t a hair out of place. Perfect would be the word you would use.
    Rage consumed me, I hated that she left without saying anything, not even discussing it with anyone. My previous anger towards Seth, Noah, Shaun and Theo returned but returned tenfold on Tory.
    Without thinking, I swung my fist at her pretty little face hoping to cause a big fat bruise to her eye. That would make me feel a lot better. But, sadly and unfortunately, it was not meant to be.
    She ducked my oncoming fist, using the wall as an anchor to gain strength. She pushed off it and took a swing at me, the aim was off and I knew it wouldn’t get my face. But I realised too late that she wasn’t aiming for my face, she was aiming for my neck and shoulder.

    Tory

    This woman was nuts. Just taking a swing at me out of nowhere and for no
    reason. Well, none that she had voiced to me yet and none that I remembered.
    Just because I didn’t know her, only she seemed slightly familiar, didn’t mean I couldn’t hit back. And I wasn’t going to not defend myself. If she wanted to hit me, she was going to really wish she hadn’t.
    I swung at her again after my last hit hadn’t got through, but she blocked this one with her forearm yet again. Unfortunately. I didn’t stop at just one and I sure as hell didn’t slow down my punches for her. I swung again, but this time it was with my left.
    She hadn’t expected that, so she didn’t block in time. Her eyes widened as my fist nicked her shoulder when she attempted to move, then slowly impacted with her face. It collided high on her cheek, her head snapped to the side and she stumbled backwards from the force of my punch. My hand inflamed with pain from the hit.
    ********! She had a bony face. God, that hurt like hell! I whined and groaned at the pain in my head moving back slightly.
    She suddenly snapped back into action, swinging again and not waiting this time but I blocked each hit with my arms. Something about this seemed familiar; left, right, left, right, kick out with the leg. Block, block, jump and swing. This strategy felt familiar when fighting with her but where…
    The midnight black hair with the icy blue eyes got me opening the memory bank. The tough, bossy attitude gave her away. Memories of my old trainer popped into my head.
    My eyes widened in disbelieving realisation and I lost my focus on the fight.
    Her leg swung out at mine and my legs collapsed. I tumbled towards the floor but caught myself before I hit it and as my hands touched the floor, I flipped over backwards and away from her.
    Because of the kick to my leg, I had to half kneel, half crouch on the floor. I glared at her from under my hair; she already had a black eye from my hit. Her skin must bruise easy then.
    She seemed so familiar but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Her training style was like mine but the only one who knew what it was like was Amelia. But it couldn’t be her; surely she’d moved on to greater things by now.
    “I can see the wheels turning in your head, you’ve figured it out and are now wondering why I haven’t moved on,” she said quietly from her spot standing.
    It was her. Only she could tell what was running through my head. I still glared from my crouch on the ground, not sure whether to get up and hug her or punch her again. The bell saved me.
    “Tory, I’m –” Charlotte stopped, standing in the door way with the doctor standing behind her; a concerned look lighting her face.
    Charlotte looked from Amelia to me as I straightened up and then back again. No doubt, noticing the already bruised eye on Amelia and my slight limp as I walked back to the door.
    “What the hell happened?” She demanded in her usual way, hands on her hips.
    I looked at Amelia and, literally, lost it. A bubble of laughter erupted out of my mouth and then I couldn’t seem to stop laughing. Amelia started to laugh as the smile she had couldn’t stop spreading.
    Charlotte kept looking back and forth between Amelia and me; our laughing forms shaking. She wasn’t all too happy with us, even when she didn’t know what had just happened. Although I figured that she guessed already.