Wunderhein Academy: Book 1- Awakening

“This way.” Catai didn’t miss the boredom in Dmitri’s tone. “It’s quicker.”

Catai felt like protesting but ran to catch up with him instead. She felt hopelessly lost as they went down another corridor she didn’t recognize.

“Father Frost, Father Frost,” She heard him sing softly. “Save me from babysitting girls that can’t find their class.”

Catai opened her mouth but shut it again, feeling her face going red from embarrassment.

Silently she wished that someone else had been taking her to class. Even her moody captain. Dmitri made her un-easy. Like he was a predator sizing her up to devour her.

Swallowing, she gathered the nerve to look up at her companion.

She could swear he was some kind of monster that her mama had always warned her about.

His hair was light grey with dark grey stripes in the same military cut as the others. He had un-natural looking white irises with a black rings and freakishly sharp teeth. His nose looked broken, possibly from some fight. Of all the guys on the team she had met so far, he was the leanest. So lean, that with his tall height it looked un-natural.

Originally she thought he had tattoos around his neck, shoulders and arms. Now that she was closer she noticed it was something wrong with his skin like hers. Only his made interesting patterns, like strong solid stripes. For a moment she touched her face, envious that he had such beautiful markings.

“Watcha looking at?” He looked towards her in suspicion.

“Nothing.” Catai jumped, her fingers slipping around her bags handle so tightly that her knuckles went white. “Honest.”

“Meh. Only ever be honest with ya team.” He informed her. He looked away for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. His thin lips drawn back into a hideous smile, revealing the cigarette clenched between his spike-like teeth.

Catai shuddered. The movement seemed to attract his attention, reminding him that she was still there. He removed the cigarette and she noticed the triangular indents where he had bitten the thing.

It made her wonder for a moment just how sharp his teeth really were.

“Hey, you.” A voice called out of now-where, making them both turn around. A clean cut youngster Catai didn’t recognize was purposely walking up to them. He was dressed in the same neat style as Dmitri and seemed to ignore the other students jumping out of the way. “American.”

“Eh?” Dmitri cocked his head to one side, muttering more to himself then actually speaking to her. “What’s this now?”

“Shouldn’t he be saluting?” She whispered before stopping herself. All day people had been saluting in her general direction. Or at least, at her companions that had been with her the whole time. She wasn’t that dumb to think people were going to just start admiring her for no reason instead of beating her up.

When Dmitri didn’t respond, she looked up at him. He was too busy focusing on the kid that was in front of them. A slight gasp escaped her lips as Dmitri straightened to his full height as he casually rolled his shoulders back, preparing for the fight. She knew he was tall but she hadn’t expected him to be nearly adult height.

The new comers face was filled with disgust as he first looked at Dmitri then her then back at her taller companion.

“You have no place here.” The youth snarled. “Either of you. Run back home American and take your pretty boy with you.”

“Well I wouldn’t call myself pretty.” Dmitri shrugged. “Though I am prettier than you.”

A slight chuckle rose from the crowd that was slowly gathering around them.

Catai couldn’t help a giggle rising in her throat. She quickly covered her mouth so it wouldn’t escape.

The youth was shaking. His face red with anger.

“Filthy American.” He spat at Dmitri. “You don’t belong here.”

Catai’s eyes widened in horror. She looked up at Dmitri finding him calmly wiping the spittle from his cheek with the back of his hand.

“Hold this a minute Kitten.” He ordered, handing her his cigarette.

She took it with trembling hands. She had never held a cigarette before. Cigarettes where things of the devil her mother had warned her. They led to other temptations. And now she was holding one.

She looked up in time to see Dmitri pull his arm back and throw first punch. A sickening ‘crack’ sound filled the air. She recognized the sound almost immediately as bone cracking from when she had been beaten and her arm had been broken. A spray of blood, like a thin red chain, splashed across her uniform.

Quivering, she closed her eyes.

Don’t hurt me. She recited in her head. Don’t hurt me.

“Get out of the way.”

Catai gasped and opened her eyes as she found herself being pulled backwards.

She found herself standing next to a teen with shoulder length brown hair. His clothes were over-sized like hers, but somehow it seemed to suit him.

“Don’t you know never get in the middle of a fight.” He looked back to the middle of the circle where Dmitri had just been hit. Catai squirmed. “Especially one between the Screaming Eagle and the Winter Shark.”

Catai opened her mouth to respond but heard another crack.

“Ouch, in the jaw.” Someone in the crowd yelled out gleefully. “That’s going to hurt.”

Catai shut her eyes and kept her face turned away from the fight, wincing at each cheer that went up from the crowd.

“Ya can open ya eyes Kitten.”

She hesitated before obeying. Dmitri stood watching her with a bored expression as he shook out his hand. He’s shirt had smatterings of blood on it thanks to the fight.

Around them, the crowd was breaking up. Their comments all mixing into white noise in her ears.

Shaking, she looked past Dmitri and caught sight of the pulp lying on the grass. She felt a scream climbing her throat and her knees weakened. He must have sensed it because he took a step closer towards her. So close that only a hand could have separated them. She could smell the blood on him mixing with a hint of salt and Tabaco.

“Don’t be weak here.” He warned her in a whisper without bothering to look at her. “They’ll get ya for it later.”

“You killed him.” She whispered in a shaky voice. “You’re a murderer.”

“I didn’t kill him. Lexie doesn’t like us killing no-one.” Dmitri leaned towards her. She felt her heart jump. Was he going to kiss her? Mama’s stories had always made it sound magical, not scary.

Instead, Dmitri’s fingers brushed against hers as he took back his cigarette. His skin felt rough like sandpaper. Her eyes instantly snapped to his hands. His skin was so pale, like he had never seen the sun in his life before. “Don’t ya know how ta look after a cigarette?”

“I’m going to tell him.” Catai threatened as she began breathing again. She looked back to the mashed up body that was being assisted by his friends and felt the bile rise.

“Go ahead but ya the one that will be in trouble for it.” Dmitri threw the dying butt down and killed it.

“But I didn’t even do anything.” She protested. “Lexie can’t be mad at me.”

“Don’t call him Lexie.” Dmitri corrected, his eyes narrowing at her. “Ya looked away. If he finds out he won’t be happy. We ain’t babies on our team.”

“I’m not a baby.”

“Nah, ya a kitten.” He corrected. “Just mewing along with no real claws of ya own.”

“That’s not true.” She felt her face heat up. “I tried fighting back.”

“What’s that?” Dmitri placed a red stained hand to his ear. “I couldn’t hear ya over the mewing.”

She tried to fight back the tears stinging her eyes.

“So why did he call you American?” She countered, her hands clenching into tight fists. “I thought you were the Winter Shark.”

“Meh.” Dmitri shrugged. “Guys here have issues with how I talk. Think I ain’t Russian enough or something.”

“Is it true?” Catai’s eyes narrowed as she studied him. “Are you American? Are you our enemy?”

“Place I came from ya had to learn to stand out or ya weren’t noticed. Heard the Accent on the radio. It got me noticed.” Dmitri calmly lit another cigarette before smirking. “The people I was with didn’t like it.”

Catai felt her anger at him melt away into a mix of surprise and disbelief.

She had always been adored by her mother. What kind of place had Dmitri lived in where he had to do something just to get attention, even if it was negative attention?

He was half way through smoking his cigarette when he noticed her watching him.

“Eh, ya better not be going soft on me now. Ya already as useless as it is.”

His words stung her.

Catai looked away, forcing herself not to cry in front of him. Angry that he seemed to have that effect on her.

“Pity we gotta train ya up.” He reached towards her and took her finger. It was only then she noticed it was bleeding slightly where he had brushed against her earlier. Without even asking, he stuck the digit in his mouth, sucking on it. When he was done, he let her go as he grinned. “Ya taste better innocent.”

She couldn’t help herself.

She ran as fast as she could to her next class as his laughter filled her ears.