Chapter 9
1454 Words
9
“She kissed me! She started it!” Sim called, jumping away from Flavia and breaking their embrace. “I didn’t know it was happening until it happened!”
“Liar,” Flavia countered, rolling her eyes and quickly wiping her mouth. “You totally started it.”
I stared at the two of them, my fight with Astrid completely forgotten. What was this? Kissing? Between Sim and Flavia? So the two of them were an item? A cross-species couple, just like Ryoko and I?
Well, we weren’t exactly a couple right now, but that wasn’t the point. We were attracted to each other and we’d certainly locked lips, just like the two third-years.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Astrid trumpetted. “Why are you two kissing?”
“Are you two…” I gestured to the both of them.
“A couple? Gods, no!” Sim quickly said, fake-gagging. “Me and her? Never.”
Astrid’s high voice cut through his protest. “Then why were you kissing?”
“People kiss, Astrid.” Flavia didn’t seem too bothered by being caught and instead of fibbing like the Reaper, she just shrugged happily. “Just one of those things”
I frowned. Someone like Flavia never just did something. It always meant something, always had a reason. The bunker was hardly romance-inspiring or a turn on. It didn’t make sense if this was just a random urge that besprung them. But if they were a couple, why did they act this way around each other? Just to cover up their relationship?
No. That wasn’t like her either.
“And you’re really not dating?” I gestured to the both of them, trying to figure it out.
“No,” Flavia replied.
“Not anymore,” Sim added.
Astrid gasped. “Not anymore? You dated in the past?”
“Mmmm… Yes and no.” The blonde third-year pushed past us and walked back into the living area. “It’s complicated.”
“Hah!” Sim scoffed. “Complicated, that’s what you’re calling it? You used me.”
“I did no such thing,” she protested.
“We went on a date just to annoy your aunt.”
I frowned. Her aunt? Dating? None of this made any sense.
Flavia yawned. “Long story short, Sim and I went on one date, which he knew was fake from the beginning. We were going to be in a fake-relationship, but it didn’t work out because he’s an ass and I’m the heir of the East.”
“That sounds unnecessarily complicated,” Ryoko remarked.
Astrid huffed. “That doesn’t explain why you two kissed.”
The third-year tightened her braid. “I don’t owe you an explanation.”
That quickly shut my classmate up.
A little paler than before, Astrid sat down on the couch in silence.
Now that was a lot better. She could be really annoying and I did enjoy when Flavia put her in her place, even if that wasn’t nice of me.
As we all walked to sit down, a length of dark smoke curled around Flavia’s leg and with a sigh, a mature dusk wolf appeared.
“Awww!” Excited, Sim reached out to pat her.
“Grrrrrr!” The wolf bared her teeth, a low growl emitting from the chest.
“Ooh, s**t. You’re not Bloom.”
Flavia quickly stepped in between the Elf and the wolf. “That’s Brynhild’s wolf, Grey. Stay back.”
I perked up. “Ooh, I recognise her. She’s scary.”
“Agreed.” The third-year pushed her braid back. “She’s got a note around her neck, but I’m not reaching up there without an offering.”
“I’ll go through the ration packs,” I suggested.
She nodded. “Good idea.”
Finally, something I knew about dusk wolves. At last, Professor Brynhild managed to teach us something that came in handy.
I rummaged through the pockets and pouches, in search for anything meaty or something that a wolf might like.
A spiced bean casserole. Apple cakes. Chocolate drops. Chicken noodle soup, that could work. Oh, beef jerky. That was exactly what we needed.
I waved the plastic pouch around. “Got it!”
“Great. Took you long enough,” Astrid sneered.
“I didn’t see you helping,” I shot back. She was such a miserable person, I wouldn’t be surprised if she could suck the joy out of Odin himself.
I threw the jerky to Flavia who offered it to the menacing dusk wolf.
Her red eyes shimmered with darkness, her sharp teeth flickered with poison. If she wanted, she could tear us all apart and we wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Here, tasty beef.” The third-year made herself small as she offered the meat to Grey.
The wolf gave a suspicious sniff and then snapped the jerky from Flavia’s hand.
A collective sigh escaped from me and the rest.
“We should get the note,” Sim said, yet he stayed at a safe distance from the dusk. Hidden behind the other third-year, he certainly didn’t make any attempts to do it himself.
With a sigh, Flavia reached out for the note. Her fingers grazed through the thick fur, slowly approaching Grey’s vulnerable neck.
If she even felt the slightest bit threatened, the blonde would lose a couple of fingers. Or even a hand. And from experience, I knew a dusk bite hurt like crazy. Even a catzel scratch wasn’t as bad.
“Got it!” Flavia waved the little scroll in victorious silence.
“What does it say?” I asked, eager to get out of here.
“Ummm…” As she read the note, her expression fell and that could only mean bad news.
“Oh-oh,” Sim muttered as he pointed at her. “What’s that face for? How bad is it?”
Flavia sighed. “Bad… The school is low on resources and teachers. Brynhild predicts that it’ll be closer to a week or two before they can safely get us out of here.”
“A week or two!?” Astrid shouted, startling Grey.
With a low growl, the wolf backed away and disappeared into the Veil, leaving us alone once more.
“Great, you’ve chased our messenger away,” I said sarcastically. “Well done.”
Sim sighed. “See, dusk wolves just aren’t meant to be messengers. You should really use ravens, like we do.”
“Ravens?” I asked.
He nodded. “White ravens. Excellent messengers. They don’t scare off as easily either.”
Astrid clapped her hands. “That. Doesn’t. Matter! Did you not listen to the message? We’re trapped her. They’re probably lying about the time. They’re just going to leave us here, as a punishment for the dead teacher.”
“No, they wouldn’t do that,” I countered. “The teachers have been a bit absent, but they’re not going to let us die here.”
“You don’t know that!” my classmate screeched. “We’re stuck in this bunker and we’re going to die.”
“Calm down,” I tried, but to no avail.
“Is it hot in here? I could swear it’s hot. Can you feel that too? Oh, we’re going to die!” She scampered around us. “I can’t breath. Is there even enough oxygen in this bunker? I think we’re running out. Guys, stop breathing!”
I exchanged a look with Flavia, who didn’t seem to know what to do either. Her failure to reassure my classmate that we’d be fine spoke volumes.
Maybe we were really trapped here and while I understood her panic, it didn’t reach me. I could feel the tendrils of it trying to corrupt my heart, but it was as if I was protected by a bubble of calmness. If this was truly our fate and nobody would come to rescue us any time soon, panic wouldn’t help us. We needed to keep our heads on our shoulders and think of a solution.
I turned to Flavia. “Is it true? Do you really think we’re trapped here?”
For a moment, it looked like she was going to tell me it wasn’t true. That Astrid was freaking out for nothing and that everything would be fine. But then her face fell and she nodded. “I know you all have a high opinion of Brynhild, but she isn’t that dependable as you think. I’m sure she has every intention of getting us out here, but we have to be prepared that it might take a while.”
I nodded, trying to fight the panic threatening to wash over me. “Okay… Right… So, what are we supposed to do now?”
“We’ll be fine.” Flavia placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “This will be our temporary home and we’ll work together to make it as comfortable as possible. No more arguments.”
“Or secrets,” I added. “We have to be honest with each other.”
“We’re going to die! We’re going to dieeee!” Astrid screeched.
I glared at my classmate. “Someone needs to shut her up though.”
“I’ll deal with her,” Sim sighed. “You should start cleaning and take inventory. If we’re going to survive, we need to know everything about this bunker and what it holds.”
I nodded. Under regular circumstances, I’d have never taken instructions from an Elf or a Reaper, but these were not regular circumstances. This was an emergency situation and co-operation would be the key to our survival. Which meant putting my faith in people I didn’t know and trust that they wouldn’t let me down. And that meant making sure I wasn’t the weak link of the team either. I’d hurt Flavia and Ryoko already, I couldn’t afford any more mistakes on my part.
I gathered my breath and nodded. “Let’s do this. Let’s survive.”
- Writer
