Chapter 8 The Initiation Begins

A full week had passed since the initiation announcement. The students couldn't help but feel jittery. Every morning, the sky above the academy seemed darker than before, even when the sun was shining. Students moved quickly and quietly in the halls, preparing themselves for the initiation.

The day was finally here.

Ivy stood in line with the other new students. There were maybe 150 of them, some whispering, some yawning, and a few looking like they were going to throw up. Everyone wore the same black uniform: fitted clothes, light enough to move in but thick enough to protect against whatever they were put up against.

She stood close to Sophie, who kept stretching her arms like she was preparing for a marathon.

"You okay?" Ivy asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Not really," Sophie said. "But pretending helps."

Ivy nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. A sharp chill ran through her as the sound of heavy footsteps approached. A tall woman with cold gray eyes stepped forward. Ivy didn't recognize her but had seen her around the academy. She should be one of the instructors. Definitely not the headmistress

"No talking," the woman's stern voice floated over the crowd. "No questions. You will follow the rules. You will survive. If you fail, you will not return."

Ivy felt her heart skip a beat. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she hoped not returning was a metaphor.

"Your goal is simple," she continued. "Reach the red tower at the center of the forest before sunrise. If you bleed, or scream loud enough to draw attention, you fail,"

Ivy held Sophie's hand trying to stop herself from trembling.

"Lastly, no weapons. No teams. Only rely on your instincts and on yourself."

The woman raised a silver whistle to her lips.

"Begin."

A sharp sound split the air. It was the sound of a whistle.

The crowd scattered.

Students dashed forward, pushing each other in their panic. Ivy stumbled, nearly falling as someone knocked her shoulder. Sophie held her to steady her,then gave her a light push. "Go! Run!" she shouted before disappearing into the mist.

Ivy's legs moved on their own. She didn't know where she was going, all she knew was that she had to run. She didn't even know the direction of this red tower.

As she kept running, the mist thickened around her and soon everything turned into a blur, she couldn't see the way forward and she couldn't hear anyone around her. Branches of trees scraped her, she was thankful for the tough uniforms they were told to wear or she would have been bleeding by now.

There were no footsteps of voices around her. She could only hear her ragged breath and her footsteps in the mist. She walked around aimlessly, not knowing how to get out of the mist.

Somewhere in the forest, the Top Five had begun to make their move. Tyla stalked a boy, whistling as he tried to get away from her. His breath was heavy from running too much. Tyla smiled at his useless actions, in a split second she stood in front of him, her hand clamped over his mouth muffling his scream. Her other arm was wrapped around his body in a tight hold so that he couldn't escape no matter how he tried to struggle.

With one quick move, she pressed her hand to the back of his neck, sending a sharp pressure that knocked him out cold. His body went limp in her arms.

"Take him," Tyla ordered with a firm, yet low voice.

Two figures emerged from the shadows to carry the unconscious boy.

Farther into the forest, Caspian quickly evaded the attack of a girl. She had claws and she let out an annoyed growl when she couldn't scratch him.

"Hmph," Caspian scoffed. "Every Tom, Dick and Harry now dares to enter into the walls of the Academy. Do you think we wouldn't notice?" he said with disgust.

During the initiation, the job of the Top Five was to sift out the non vampires. Which means that they were to take out the humans and other species that were not vampires who had infiltrated the school.

He glanced at the shifter who had dared to attack him. Had she not heard of his reputation or did she just have a death wish? He closed the gap between them within a second, she barely had time to react before his hand was on her neck, delivering a precise, controlled strike that knocked her out. Her body went limp and he moved out of the way as the body fell on the floor.

"Take her away," Caspian said, his voice emotionless as he gestured, two shadows appeared and took her away.

He shook his head in disappointment. He had expected better this year, but there weren't any worthy opponents as usual.

He watched as the two shadows dragged the body.

The memories of those who were caught would be wiped and they wouldn't remember any details of the school or even how the school looked like.

Ivy heaved a sigh of relief when she finally made her way out of the mist. It wasn't so hard, all she had to do was concentrate and she could see clearly through the mist. She smiled and gave herself a pat on the shoulder.

She looked around, there was still nobody in sight. Has everyone already made it to the tower except her? She quickened her steps at the thought.

She heard the sound of footsteps, she paused trying to decipher its location. It was coming towards her, it sounded like someone was running. A girl emerged from the trees stumbling towards her.

"She's here" the girl said frantically, her eyes wide with terror. Ivy took a step back.

"Who is here? What are you talking about?" Ivy asked. Surely, the initiation wasn't hard enough to make people paranoid was it?

A low growl echoed from the shadows. Ivy's eyes widened as she saw a figure leap from the trees. It was fast, faster than anyone should be. The girl screamed as the shadow tackled her.

Ivy moved back in horror. She watched as the girl's scream was cut off with a sickening sound like a crack. Then there was silence.

A few seconds later, the shadow vanished into the woods.

Ivy didn't move for a long time.

When she finally looked up again, the girl's body was lying motionless on the forest floor.

Dead.

Ivy moved towards the girl laying on the floor. She wasn't really dead, was she? The school was weird but they wouldn't go around killing people because of some stupid initiation.

She stepped closer.

Then froze.

The girl's eyes were wide open. Her face was frozen in terror. Her throat slashed. Blood soaked the ground under her. Ivy's hands flew to her mouth.

"No," she whispered.

Then a twig snapped behind her.

She spun around.

No one.

A whisper passed through the trees.

"I failed too..."

Ivy's eyes widened. The voice didn't come from a person. It was... everywhere. Around her. Inside her ears.

She turned back toward the body...

And screamed.

The girl's body was gone.

Nothing was there but the blood-stained dirt.

She fainted.