The Touch Of Thread

Sparks • V

~

My body was burning.

I kept still, recognising the position my body laid in. Waiting as my core melted into the bed that held me.

It was my first instinct to let my hands notice my surroundings. Blindly seeing the room I was in through the tingle of my fingers. It was like echolocation for me.

I felt the bed, the occupied seat beside it and all the monitoring devices around me.

And the small girl who held onto my hand as it should be slightly glowing by now.

"Indi?" I hear Rosei call out.

Finally my eyes open and take a moment to get use to the lighting of the room.

I was in the medical wing.

Many other students resting on the beds beside me. Some getting their open wounds treated, others puking into a bucket and icing their bruises. It was constantly busy, more and more of us entering and leaving as each minute went on.

"Lance and Guiseppe came to visit while you were out. The other girls..they aren't able to come. How are you feeling?"

I pushed myself up from the, trying to sit up straight.

"I'll manage, Where's Robyn?" I asked in worry, already knowing the other would have been stuck in detention.

"Well it seems like you three have the same idea for this season. Robyn sends her regards but you'll only see her once curfew is over, or at least until she completes her last mission of the day."

Of course she's overworking herself.

"I heard the details of your entrance mission, how you sent the three students to their..deaths."

My smile faded at her. "Rosei, you know they're alive. Just like me, they were sent back to their schools."

It was a rare and basically impossible occurance for any students to die during the nexus challenge. Magic would return them to school. But people could still experience their deaths if it came to that in the missions.

"Are you.." She trails off, wary of my reaction.

"No, I promise I'm not going down that path." I assured her. "I only had to work with what I have. You know how important the entrance mission is." I stated and she nodded.

"Well it worked." She told me and captured my full attention. "You're in top two thousand." She shrieks with excitement as she grabs onto my hands.

Hugging me as I also sat up straight from excitement.

I almost couldn't breathe as I squealed with her. Settling down after receiving a few silencing stares from the other patients and nurses.

"What about you? Or the others?" I asked after feeling the aftereffects of death. "What number are you?"

Rosei's shoulders fall. "Four thousand something." She shrugs. I nodded, it was the more realistic ranking for most students.

Getting above the half way mark was usually for over ranks in every school.

Typically one and two.

Rosei and I were both rank three, so I had been way more fortunate in the entrance mission than she was.

And the nexus challenge doesn't do a blind pick of students. It matches those who have similar sheer will and strength and place us against each other.

"Robyn's number the last time I saw it was 3436." Rosei informed me. "Lance wouldn't say but I overheard it was in the seven thousands." She wore a flat smile and I let out a sigh. "They're keeping Aster's number locked until she gets out of detention."