Arcane

Chapter 22

Keahi

Malia is the last to come into the room today and while I am desperate to establish eye contact, she doesn't even look my way. Since apparently, she can feel it when I look at her, she is ignoring me on purpose. I'm acting pathetic. I don't know why I care and sure as hell don't like it.

I force my gaze on Kaz when he clears his throat.

"Today is a special training. As you all know, students above the age of 17 are allowed to train outside. Half of you are above that age and I was able to convince Adira that the other half is just as ready.

"We are going to go outside where I've prepared a parkour for you. Stamina and agility are the main focus of the training today. Don't disappoint me." My pulse quickens in excitement as our trainer leads us down a restricted hallway and through two big doors.

The corridor looks the same as the rest of the academy, with white, plain walls and marble floors. Still, the lack of students and utter silence only disturbed by our small group makes all the difference, turning this place into something mysterious and foreign.

It's a warm day and the sun sears through my black uniform. Despite the discomfort, I'm exhilarated to be out here. The faces of my classmates very much mirror my enthusiasm and I can't help another glance at Malia.

Of course, the girl is beaming brighter than the sun above, her blue eyes wide and her teeth showing as she takes in the new surroundings. Kaz keeps walking until we are a little deeper into the forest and I find myself greedily taking in all the sights.

That's the downside of growing up at the academy from a young age. Apart from the small snippets of early childhood memories and pictures from books in the library, I have no idea of the world. I don't usually mind but right now, I can't help but feel like I've been missing out.

"There are orange flashcards with tasks distributed in a range of one mile in every direction. You should find a tiny red flag at the end of every task. Bring each flag back to me after finding it and head out again. The person that finishes the most tasks wins. Any questions?" No one speaks up so Kaz gives us a countdown, and we all start running into the woods.

I have no idea how this is going for the others, but it takes me about twenty minutes to find the first flashcard.

Climb up this tree and find a way to get to the flag.

I look up the giant tree the note was attached to. There are no low-hanging branches nor is there a ladder. I consider putting the note back and searching for another task, but it took me too long to find it to give up.

If I were an earth handler, I could easily get up there but I can hardly burn the tree down to get the flag.

Taking a closer look at the tree, I see that parts of the bark are carved off. How should that help me? It's not deep enough to step into or hold onto, it's just not as slippery as the rest. There must be a way. I search the ground around the tree and finally find something.

It's a long rope nestled inside a bush. I think about ways to use it and remember climbing up the vent. There, I could press my arms and legs against the insides to get up, maybe I could do something similar here. I wrap the rope around the tree and wrap both ends around my fists.

I pull at the rope, so it is tight against the back of the tree and put my feet against the trunk, feeling like a spider or something. It seems like I could stay against it without touching the ground but I'm not sure how to climb up.

I keep switching between pulling the rope higher and stepping higher in the carved holes and slowly get towards the branch I am headed for. My legs and arms are trembling by the time I reach it, sweat burning in my eyes.

I stand on top of it and look for the red flag. It is in the tree ahead and I groan. Come on! There is a long pole connecting the two trees and rings hang from it. I assume I am supposed to swing from ring to ring until I am on the next branch, but I have another plan.

I pull myself up at the first ring, climb on top of the wide pole, and start crawling to the other side. I finally pull out the tiny red flag and start looking for a way down when I notice the tree I am currently on is hallow.

It appears to be a roughly seven feet fall so I jump inside without wasting any more time. There is a hole in the side that I can look out of. I am close enough to the ground to jump again but my knees protest when I land on the forest ground.

I ignore the slight pain and run back to Kaz. My sense of time is completely lost but I can at least find my way to the place we started.

"Keahi, very well. You're the first to bring back a flag," my trainer tells me. I nod in acknowledgement and run into the forest again. My lungs are burning as I jump over a fallen log, and I slow down a little. I have no idea where to look for my next task so running mindlessly won't help.

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