Strains

“You are getting much better at running, Squirt. Pretty soon you’ll be the one to lead.”

“Tell that to my aching feet. Did we have to go through the quarry today?”

Hercules laughs and his spittle peppers my nose. I wipe it away with my napkin and set it next to my breakfast tray. I push the tray aside and hang my head in my hands.

“What is it?” Hercules asks.

“Guess I’m not very hungry.”

Hercules looks at me quizzically. “First the new haircut and now you’re not hungry? What the hell happened last night?”

I sit up straight. Matthew made it clear that it was in the academy’s best interest that Hercules not know about my attacker. And since it seemed like we were getting close, there wasn’t a point in involving him. The only problem with that was that our pool of suspects was huge and Matthew, the narcissist that he is, never cared to learn about the specifics of the strains of any of the students or even his colleagues. I’m half tempted to try and see if Hercules knows someone with the strain we’re looking for, but that’ll just make him suspicious. So I just give him a small smile and shrug my shoulders.

“Nothing really. I’m just a little nervous. I promised Matthew I’d finish all my meals here in exchange for an allowance, but I don’t feel like eating.”

“That all?” Hercules reaches over, pops the egg in his mouth first, followed by the toast, and then squeezes the contents of the grapefruit into his mouth.

Holy hell.

“Problem solved.”

It’s not, but I nod anyway.

***

Morning classes sucked but do motivate me to eat my entire lunch and speed on over to the garden.

“Hey, Caiden!” I yell from the gate.

He looks over to me, midway through cutting a flower before his hands drop.

“Something wrong?” I say as I approach.

“Your hair.”

My fingers go to the ragged ends.

“It’ll grow back soon, at least that’s what Matthew says.”

“So he’s behind it. What kind of sick punishment is that?”

I wave my hands frantically. “No, no it isn’t like that.” He frowns, not buying my words. I sigh and explain to him the events that happened last night.

“Doesn’t seem like Matthew’s made any progress in capturing that bastard.”

I can’t tell if the ‘bastard’ insult is directed to the Spark that attacked me, or Matthew. Still, I bristle at his words.

“He’s trying, Caiden. He’s been out every night looking for him.”

Caiden’s face hardens and he looks away. It’s always the same thing with these two.

“Why do you guys hate each other so much?” I ask.

“It’s complicated.”

I tap my foot on the ground. “No, it’s annoying.”

Caiden deadheads another flower. “Do you know what it takes to activate or seal a portal, Elizabeth?”

I shake my head, but he’s still turned from me. “No, I don’t,” I say.

“It takes the power of someone from all four houses, plus a psychic.”

“So when the council…”

He chops off another flower with his shears.

“Matthew helped them seal it.”

“I’m sure he was just doing his job.”

Caiden spins towards me.

“He knew Catherine was still on the other side! He didn’t have to go along with their plans, the council couldn’t have sealed the portal, not without one of us. But he was so weak, he didn’t want to go against them even though she was his friend too.”

I let his words get washed away by the stream beside us. Their history is such a complicated mess, that I’d rather talk about anything else. I take the fallen blossom and set it adrift in the stream. Hopefully, he takes it as a token of my solidarity. Then I pull some books from my bag.

“Do you mind returning these books to the library for me? I hear the librarian, gets pretty anal about due dates.”

That coaxes the slightest of smiles from him.

We sit and toss flowers together.

“I’ll have another set of books ready for you tomorrow, but only a few. I was thinking about including something you could read recreationally. Is there anything in particular you’re interested in?”

“Well. To be honest, I’m a mixed bag. But I’m a sucker for a love story.”

He chuckles.

“Yeah, I thought you might be.”

I nudge him. “Don’t act like you aren’t a hopeless romantic.”

“Oh? Suddenly a psychic now?”

I ignore that last part because I’m never sure how to respond. He’s asked me a few times what my strain is, and so have lots of others, but it’s different with him. He knows I’m not a psychic. Avoiding the question is starting to get difficult.

As usual, I deflect.

“There was a book I really wanted to read when I was alive, so I preordered it, but I died before I could pick up a copy. After months of waiting, I had planned to pick it up after I got back from a family trip but…”

“That was the end?”

I nod. “Car accident. I never even saw it coming, so who knows what happened to my copy of Sheeted Fangs.”

Caiden’s eyes go wide.

“I know, weird title. It was a love story with a ghost and a vampire. I thought two undead creatures falling in love would be funny, even if the premise was a little cringy. But no story is truly original, right? So maybe there is something like that in the library?”

It was the first time I had ever told anyone a hint of what my life was like, or at least the end was like. Still, I didn’t expect him to seem so stunned about it. Then again, he still seemed to have a hard time shaking off our earlier discussion about Matthew.

I reach out to take another flower from him, but the watch on my wrist takes over my attention.

“Caiden. I’m sorry. I have to go.”

“I know. Have fun in class.”

I give him a hug, and regardless of the amount of warmth I try to inject into it, his body is cold and rigid.

***

I can’t shake the unease from Caiden’s story when I’m waiting for class to start.

“Where did all of your hair go?” Piper asks next to me. The class is lined up, but we’ve been waiting so long for class to start that we’re all sitting on the ground. It isn’t like Hercules to be late, especially by twenty minutes. I twist myself around.

“Oh. I cut it,” I say, shrugging.

“But your hair was so gorgeous. Are you going to let it grow back?”

“Better that than cutting it every few days.”

“So then why do it in the first place?” Keiji interjects.

Piper rolls her eyes. “No one can spend eternity looking the same, you have to change it up every so often,” she says.

“She’s been here for barely three weeks,” he mumbles.

Piper ignores him and looks around. “Where is Hercules at? Class should’ve started by now.”

“Maybe he’s planned a sneak attack?” Keiji says. The two look over to me. Usually, I’m able to give them a clue as to what is going to happen in class. Today I just shrug at them.

“I have no idea.”

Piper and Keiji’s eyes look above me, so I turn around. Two of the Sparks in class are coming up behind us. I quickly stand up. I don’t know much about the Sparks in this class, or any of my others, so as far as I know, either of them could be the person who’s attacked me.

Well, maybe not the shorter of the two, she’s a she, and her hair is blond.

“Where’s Hercules?” She asks, almost accusingly.

I cross my arms. “I don’t know.”

“Sure, like you don’t hang out with him every day,” the other Spark says. I can’t tell if his voice is the same that I heard last night. Damn.

“That doesn’t mean I know where he is every second. Go check the fieldhouse, that’s where he usually hangs out.”

“Why don’t you go? You’re his girlfriend, aren’t you?” The girl says.

That’s a new one.

“She’s everyone’s girlfriend,” the boy snickers.

That, unfortunately, is not as new. I’m tired of taking this garbage from these kids.

“I’m not dating anyone, piss stain. Go find Hercules yourself,” I turn back to Piper and Keiji. Their eyes are as big as saucers, obviously surprised at my outburst. Good. I’m not taking any of this anymore.

“Elizabeth, watch out!” Piper yelps.

I turn back only to barely dodge a shove from the boy Spark. A static discharge runs through my clothes as his arm passes by me. That power and dark hair…could it be him?

Henry jumps between us and wraps his red-collared hand around the Spark’s wrist before I get the chance to kick the guy’s ass.

“Stop screwing around. Hercules is going to be pissed if he comes out to you two fighting.”

“Mind your own damn business,” the Spark says. Henry twists his arm, making him wince from the obvious pain and grip I’m all too familiar with. The Spark chuckles, “I didn’t know you were sleeping with her too.”

Henry tosses him aside.

“Go ahead and try your little shocks with me and see how far you get, Levi.”

Levi says nothing as the other Spark helps him to his feet. Henry turns to me.

“Go get Hercules.”

I groan but don’t argue about it with him. The other jerks in my class got a real show out of that. One of the Socks could’ve been there and back already if they weren’t so busy eavesdropping.

But as I head over to the fieldhouse, I can’t help feeling a little happy Hercules is late. I might be only a few steps away from catching my stalker. That Levi guy fits the bill perfectly. He has a weird incel vibe about him that makes me feel like he could be motivated to attack the girls on campus. Or at least, me.

I knock and then open the door.

“Hercules?”

He’s there, sitting on a woodpile with his head in his hands.

“Hercules? Uh, sir, class has already started.”

He doesn’t look at me, and next to him is his crate of wine. Completely untouched.

“Sir? Are you okay?”

I rush over to him and shake him gently.

“I’m not asleep. I just. Look Squirt, class is cancelled.”

“Okay, but what’s wrong?”

“Just go tell your classmates.”

“Alright, but I’ll be right back,” I say then head out the door.

I run back to where everyone is lined up.

“Hey guys! Class is canceled!”

“For real?” One of the Meats asks.

“That’s what Hercules said. Come back tomorrow.”

Cheers erupt from all the students as they head back to campus. Piper and Keiji approach me, concern and confusion etched on their faces. Leave it to the Aquas to be the most compassionate of the bunch.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m still sorting that out. I’m sure it’s nothing though, see you at dinner?”

“Yeah, sure.”

The Sparks pass me by after Piper and Keiji walk away. Levi looks at me over his shoulder.

“Watch your back,” he says menacingly.

God, could he be any more obvious?

I ignore him and head over to the fieldhouse.

“I’m back.”

“Hey, Squirt.”

“Feeling okay?”

“No.”

I go beside him. “Come on. I’ll help you back to your house.”

He shakes his head and brushes me off when I try to grab him. Even dead men act like babies when they’re sick. I pull at his arm, and again he tries to pull away. But it’s strange. Hercules always feels like he’s made of iron, but today his skin is almost soft and I’m able to force him to move even though his muscles are straining to keep him seated.

I cover my mouth and step back. “Holy shit.”

“Damn it, Elizabeth! Go away! I don’t want anyone to see me like this.”

“Then let’s go back to your place. No one has to see us, you can rest up until you feel better.” He says nothing and doesn’t even attempt to move. “Hey. Look at me. I bet you could still snap my neck if you wanted to, or anyone else’s on campus.”

That coaxes a chuckle from him. I toss him a bottle of wine.

“What you need is an elixir. Drink up.”

A grin pulls at the corner of his mouth.

“Only if you’re joining.”

“Fair enough,” I say, grabbing my own bottle.

We sit and drink through most of the bottles. Him more than me. His strain may have mostly faded, but his capacity for wine hasn’t. I’m still guiltily sipping on my first bottle and already my mind is going fuzzy. Making my fear of Matthew finding out about this float off into space.

“You know it took me too long to get you to drink with me. But,” he holds up his bottle in a toast. “I still made it in the nick of time to win that bet with Matthew.”

“Seriously? A bet?”

“Yep. Pissed?”

“Very.”

“It’s just dude things. We’ve been doing it since we were students in the dorms. All in good fun.”

I scoff, but end up hiccupping instead.

“What other ‘dude’ things did you guys do?”

He takes in a large gulp of wine. “Not much. Matthew’s a real stickler for the rules. Closest he ever got to breaking one was a few overdue library books.”

“I bet Caiden hated that.”

Hercules’ hand drops.

“You know about Caiden?”

Did I just screw up? My mind is moving five minutes behind my words.

“And Matthew is fine with it?”

I shrug my shoulders. “Neither of them are fine with each other, but Matthew says I can hang with whoever I want so, yeah.”

He sits back.

“Stay out of their shit, Squirt. I mean it.”

“Easier said than done. What happened between them?”

“Well. I’ll tell you since it doesn’t look like you’ll remember anyway. But you have to take another shot first.”

I tilt the bottle back and gulp.

Hercules nods. “Hanging around Caiden, I bet he’s already told you about Catherine.”

“Barely anything.”

“She was the facilitator for the Aqua house. Most powerful Aqua in the history of the academy. Weird girl. She was too pretty and too nice. She would go Topside every single Sunday without fail to do good deeds or something. Made us all wonder how she ended up here and not heaven.”

“Makes sense why Caiden liked her so much.”

“Not just him.”

“Matthew too?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. Matthew plays at being perfect, but this girl was perfect and she saw right through him. They became good friends, took a few classes together, that sort of thing. Nothing romantic, but I know they were close. I think everyone knew that. Probably what surprised everyone the most, considering what he did. I wasn’t as close to her, but even I refused to help the council seal the portal knowing she was out there. But it was like it didn’t even phase him.”

So Caiden was right.

“I know Caiden’s still pissed about it but,” Hercules scratches at his head. “I don’t know. Matthew was so weird after it happened. Disappear every morning, take extra tasks from the council things like that. I think he’s spent the last hundred years repenting. We all have.”

“And you too, Hercules?”

“Me? Nah. The only thing I regret about that day is that I let those council bastards demote me instead of resigning, just because I wouldn’t seal the portal for them,” he sighs heavily. “Working this class is better than working alongside any of those snakes. Matthew excluded.”

“Still, I’m sorry it happened to you.”

“The only thing I’m sorry about is that the students will never get a facilitator like Catherine or me again. The lot the council picked out are nothing but self-serving assholes.”

“Is Matthew included in that tally?”

“You tell me.”

My inebriated mind ponders it for a moment.

“I guess not. Lucky me.”

Hercules raises a bottle to me.

“Lucky you.”

***

My stumble back to campus is solo because Hercules decided his afternoon would be dedicated to running. How he could manage that with as much alcohol as we consumed is proof enough that whatever was affecting his strain was temporary. As I cross the bridge, I watch an entire trail of camellias wash down the stream.

Caiden, that crazy kid. He must’ve cut all the flowers from the bushes. I hold the rail and try my best to walk upright while I make my way to the garden.

“Caiden! Hey guy, why’d you cut all of the flowers?”

I can make out his blurry form still next to the bushes. I go over to the stream and pick up a handful of flowers.

“Here, put them back.”

I start to slide forward, but he catches me.

“Elizabeth, are you drunk?”

I shake my head.

“Not totally, but still, don’t tell Matthew. He wouldn’t like it.”

Caiden slings my arm over his shoulder.

“I thought you were supposed to be in class. How did you get like this?” He half drags me to the secluded area beneath the willow tree. I crash to the cool ground and roll to one side.

“Elizabeth? Do you think this was a good idea, considering what is happening on campus, I mean.”

I cover my face with my hands. “I know, I know. Hercules was upset, I didn’t know what else to do.”

He pats my head. “I am so confused right now.”

At least I know Caiden can keep a secret.

“Somehow Hercules lost his strength before class, that’s why he canceled it…I just…ugh.” And now my head is beginning to hurt. Hercules might be feeling better, but I think I’ll need a nap to fully recuperate.

“That’s really odd. Strains don’t just disappear like that…” Caiden says, looking outward. I get up from my seat and dust off my clothes.

“Yeah, I don’t get it either. He was fine at breakfast.”

“Speaking of food, you’d better get something in your stomach to soak up that alcohol,” Caiden says.

I nod. “I knew it was a bad idea to share breakfast with Hercules. That salad Matthew left me for lunch wasn’t nearly enough.”

Caiden’s eyebrows furrow.

“Something wrong?” I ask.

“Oh I just remembered that I have this,” he reaches into his cloak and pulls out some kind of bread. It smells sweet, like a living world honey bun. He places it into my hands.

“Thanks. See you tomorrow?”

“Sober, I hope.”

I let out a chuckle that turns into a hiccupping fit. My face goes red as I wave at him and leave the garden behind me.

****

I nap off the effects of the wine in my bedroom. Since I’ve already completed the midterm for my core class, Matthew has given me the next week off to prepare for my other classes. He’s using the time to do academy business and probably researching over at Doc’s.

I wish he would have asked me to help, instead of making me feel useless. I’d like to take satisfaction of catching this guy myself. I have a prime suspect, but suspicion isn’t enough.

I sit in my bed with a cup of tea in one hand. It does nothing for my headache.

Dinner will be starting in an hour, and since Matthew hasn’t barged through my door yet; I’m guessing he didn’t find what he was looking for. Most likely, I’ll be doing dishes late again tonight. So, if Matthew didn’t catch him, I’ll be seeing Levi again tonight. That doesn’t bode well. Last night I had an advantage, but now that he knows I’m armed, that will likely be to my own detriment. He might even bring a weapon of his own this time. I need an edge somehow.

I tap at the cup in my hands, then look at my wrist. Guess I’ll be heading to dinner early today.

Only Chef Floy is in the kitchen when I enter through the back door. He’s too busy focusing on the ghosts to pay me any attention as I walk to the supply closet and pilfer through it. I grab a few things and shove them into my backpack. Then, I tuck the bag away under the station I usually work at.

Wind whips my hair as I approach the Chef.

“Excuse me, Chef?”

“Busy.”

“I just wanted to know if you’d be doing inventory tonight.”

“No, I do that on Mondays.”

“And inventory on the dishes, when is that done?”

The wind breaks. “Dishes? We don’t do inventory on dishes. Houses replace whatever they break themselves. You should know that; you’ve broken enough.”

“Right, which is how I can tell the bowls look pretty low. Lower than usual.”

He grits his teeth and looks away. The wind picks up again.

“I’ll look into it.”

I sit through dinner trying my best to stay calm. My eyes drift over to the Spark table and scan the students for Levi. No one seems to be missing and no one is looking my way. When their facilitator notices me staring, I quickly look away.

It doesn’t take long for dinner to be over, and for dishes to begin. Hercules, April, and Matthew are still at the table drinking when I go to collect their plates.

“Evening,” I say to everyone.

They all return the greeting. April is the first to leave in an attempt to avoid another hangover. Then Hercules leaves and on his way out gives me a heavy-handed smack on the shoulder. A painful signal that his strength has returned. Good. I’m glad he’s feeling better.

“You’re planning something, aren’t you?” Matthew whispers from behind his wine glass.

“Already in motion, sir.”

“Don’t do anything stupid. I can handle this myself.”

“Sir, it’s my body that’s at risk, not yours. If you want to help, just make sure enforcers are posted outside the kitchen the minute it hits curfew.”

He regards me for a moment, then nods his head.

I return to the kitchen and begin working feverishly on the dishes. One by one, the houses finish and leave. Soon, I’m all alone. The only dishes left in the sink are the salad bowls. With thirty minutes left until curfew, I set the bowls rim side down on the floor just in front of the doors. Whichever way he decides to come in, I’ll know it.

A few more Kevin McCalister-level set-ups and I’m ready. Well, not the most ready, but as ready as I’ll ever be.

It’s five minutes to curfew when the first bowl shatters. He’s entered through the door leading from the dining room. Another bowl breaks as I hit the lights and darken the area. He breaks three more, grunting as he tries to jump into the kitchen.

“Who are you? And why are you doing this?” I say, notifying him of my position but covering up any other sounds he might hear. Would he notice that I’m at the Aqua washing station instead of my own?

Finally his shadowy figure steps into view. Looking him over, I confirm my suspicions were correct. He’s holding a pole or pipe in one hand. Whatever it is, it’s probably metal. Just another way for him to use his strain against me.

“You must be nervous. You never seem to talk unless it looks like you’ll win,” I say. Come on. Take the bait. He strides forward.

I begin tossing bowls at him, one after the other, which he bats away with the pole. Shards of ceramic rain down onto the floor and pop up like deadly hail before they vanish.

Once my supply of bowls is depleted, I back away from the sink. My blood begins to boil as he draws near me.

“What the hell kind of hero are you supposed to be anyway? You don’t deserve to be here!”

That makes him pause.

“Then why would Fate give me this power and leave you powerless?”

His words stun me. How did he know that? He lurches forward and swings his pipe across my body. My reflexes kick in and catch it before it can connect with my chest.

He laughs. “I just figured I’d have a good time before I killed you.”

Electricity cracks and sparks along the length of the pipe, but my grip holds firm. His hold buckles in surprise. I shove the pipe up to his chin and use it as leverage to spin us around.

“Rubber gloves, asshole.”

The Aqua washing station is not only the biggest in the kitchen, but it’s also the closest to the wine cellar. A door that I’ve already opened and prepared for just this occasion.

I push him towards the door but my momentum is gone. He’s pushing back now, using sheer force instead of his strain. He’s stronger than me in every sense of the word, even if he weren’t a superhuman.

I see a glint of joy spark into his eyes. He’s enjoying this. Enjoying overpowering me in this savage way.

“You really are just a pathetic little girl, aren’t you,” he says as my shoulder lets out an audible pop. “Nothing special, just another weak human.”

“Everyone here is just a human,” I spit out. Because it’s true. Everyone here is just a human, and we’re all weak. We weren’t strong enough to live and we aren’t even strong enough to do what we were led here to do in the first place. I look into his dark, cold, and evil eyes. “But since you forgot, let me remind you.”

Then, with every ounce of humanity I have inside of me, I kick him straight in his balls.

Like all the men I’ve ever known in life, he crumbles to the floor, hands clutching what I hope I’ve busted. I use the pole to push him down the cellar steps then lock the door. My eyes instantly tear up as the realization that I’ve won washes over me.

Ceramic scrapes the tile as the kitchen door is opened.

“What the hell?”

Light floods the kitchen and Chef Floy surveys the unbroken dishes still on the ground before he spots me.

“Elizabeth, what is. What-,” he stutters.

“Someone attacked me, please call for help. I, I trapped him in the cellar.”

The back door opens and a cloaked figure walks inside.

“Something going on here?”

Chef Floy runs a hand through his hair. “You’d better get your boss.”

***

Matthew guides me back to my room and even does me the favor of shoving my door open for me. After he had shown up in the kitchen, I was left in the dining hall while they dealt with the kid I had trapped.

I step inside and sit on the edge of my bed.

“Who was it?” I ask, ready to finally confirm my suspicions.

Matthew takes his seat at my desk and reveals his face.

“Theron. The facilitator of the Sparks,” he says. “I’m so freaking stupid. A student wouldn’t have been able to pull this off, it was so damn obvious.”

I can’t reassure him because I can’t seem to process it. I was wrong. A facilitator was after me. A graduate. Someone who was supposed to be a true hero.

“Disgrace. That’s what it is. I didn’t even consider,” he slams his fist on my desk. “Bastard was an enforcer before he graduated. One of my enforcers. How many times did he-shit!”

“Teacher?”

“I’m too pissed right now, Elizabeth!”

“But-,”

He pinches the bridge of his nose and counts to ten. His voice lowers.

“What is it?”

“Do all the facilitators know,” I swallow hard. “That I’m strainless?”

“The hell are you talking about right now,” he says, an exasperated hand dropping to his side.

“He knew. He knew and he threw it in my face like I was some kind of freak.”

“Bastard has some nerve. How did he find out?” Matthew begins mumbling to himself and hits my desk a few more times.

“I’m going to take it from here, alright? You’ve done enough, more than enough actually. And I-,” he glances at me from the corner of his eye. “I’m sorry that you’ve had to make up for my shortcomings. I’ll take care of the rest. Just get some sleep. Those bowls though-,”

“I’ll pick them up Sunday morning.”

He nods. “Goodnight Elizabeth.”

“Goodnight, Teacher.”