Red Skies | The Prime Archives #1 ✓

six

Emily balanced the thin shaft of the silver-tipped arrow in between her index and middle fingers. She preferred the wooden arrows decorated with violet feathers she had at home but, of course, those weren't available. The ones Atlas gave her would suffice. She trained her eyes on the black cutouts a few yards away from her.

Exhaling, she released the arrow from her grasp. The sharp twang of the bow string resonated in her ear as the arrow sliced through the air.

The sound made her grimace. She'd been at The Acropolis for a few weeks now and her ears still weren't quite used to their newfound sensitivity. When she woke up from her own coma, every sound felt like it was coming through an amplifier. She could hear birds singing hundreds of feet away, chairs moving in other rooms, and slight movements in the air.

It made her want to rip her ears off and stuff them down a garbage disposal. Eventually the noise became too much for her because she let out a scream that shattered the window in her hospital room. Her mother did say she had been a powerful screamer when she was a baby, but she didn't know her voice was that strong. Apparently, it was a side effect of her body encountering the Primonium. Unlike the others, the stuff got into her body via her mouth. She was surprised she didn't choke to death.

To help with her heightened hearing, the Atlas engineers crafted her a pair of specialized hearing aids. Instead of making sounds louder, they lowered the volume. They were the only reason why she was still sane. As for a fix for her super sonic voice, they were still working on a solution for that.

''Nice shot,'' Stella said while balancing a silver bō staff on her bronzed shoulders.

''You being sarcastic or something?'' She sent a pointed look at the girl. After all, her aim had been a bit off.

''No, I'm not.'' Stella rolled her eyes. ''Why do you always think someone's trying to attack you?''

''Oh, I don't know. You and your friends did use to torment me for fun. It's kind of hard for me to believe you'd willingly compliment me.''

''I apologized for that so many times. Just let it go already.''

''You think a couple 'sorrys' is going to magically make me feel better? Your high school experience wasn't made a living hell by snobby rich kids who had nothing better to do.''

That seemed to stump her.

Emily kept her face forward and fired off another arrow. This time, it tore clean through paper the cut-out's head. The corner of her mouth curled into a slight frown. The shot was almost perfect.

Almost.

She could hear her father's shouts ringing through her head.

Perfection was his favorite word; it's what he always demanded from her. When she was a child, no matter the activity, he wanted her to be perfect at it. Archery, academics, piano, Jiu-Jitsu, etcetera. If she didn't meet his standards, he wouldn't speak to her for days—weeks even. While it allowed her to become proficient at multiple things, she never got to experience a normal childhood.

Her mother wasn't any better. She did nothing to protect her from her husband's authoritarian wrath. And after Emily's big secret was exposed, the woman practically disowned her.

She hated her parents. In fact, she pretty much hated everyone.

Except Ethan—her little brother. He was the only person in her life she tolerated.

A frown pulled at her lips. She missed him. While he was extremely annoying, he was the only good thing in her life. Had it not been for him, she wouldn't have even thought about going home. Plus, the rooms Director Shaw had her and her friends staying in were made it hard to think about going back.