Draeyer Academy (First Ver.)

Chapter 18-Sentiral Stone

Draeyer Academy
Drae Skyland
Northeastern Space

A sea of endless fire. The feel of skin being peeled away on his back. Deafening screams in his ears. A cruel laugh.

Alec shot up on the bed panting as he hunched over. He reached for his back and felt few of the raised scars. He slumped back down on his pillow, and stared up at the cavernous ceiling of the unfamiliar room. It's been a while since I dreamed that, he thought.

"Glad you're awake." He turned his attention to his left, and spotted Kreis walking over to him, with Gael falling into step behind him.

"Where am I?" Alec said. He sat up, and took notice of his bare-chested state, and searched for a shirt. Gael threw him a white top, and quickly donned it to cover his scars.

"You've been out for the entire afternoon," Gael said, as he stood beside the cot. "Do you remember what happened?"

Alec looked down at his lap, and he sighed.

"I don't remember anything after I fell off the lake," he said. He turned his gaze up at the two men and continued. "But, I am sure that I turned murderous and tried to kill someone."

Their eyes widened, before they gave each other a glance and nodded. Alec raised a brow at their actions, as he edged close to the wall and leaned his back on it.

"We assume this isn't the first time it happened?" Gael said. Alec nodded, as he roamed his gaze around the white room lined with cots similar to the one he rested in.

"Care to tell?" Kreis said. Gael sent him a glare, as if silently sending a message that the both of them could only understand. Alec kept quiet, as he fixed his gaze on the two men.

"Do you think that the people of Gelun would hate me so much just because they blamed me and my brother for the epidemic?" he said. He looked away from them both and stared at the white sheets beneath him. "I don't lose my temper easily now, unlike before. But when I do, and reach a certain level of it, I still lose control of my mind."

"I used to hear the townspeople openly insult me and Alen. It was fine when it was about me, but insulting somebody already...dead...is just disrespectful.

"Often times, I found myself behind bars whenever I woke up from my 'black outs'. They eventually let me out, because I was still too young. As years passed, I learned to control myself, and they also stopped speaking ill of my brother."

"What about the scars?" Kreis said. Alec tensed up at the question, and his sweaty hands curled around the sheets. He avoided eye contact with them.

"Was it their punishment for you in jail?" Gael said. Alec's eyes widened after hearing his cold and unyielding tone. He shook his head, and looked up at them in alarm.

"No," he said. "They never went far, except a punch or two on my stomach. I've had these scars since I was young. I can't remember where I got them."

"You mean to say your brother didn't tell you?" Kreis said.

"I asked once, but he never answered. He was always good at diverting from one topic to another."

Silence filled the room after that, and Alec's sigh broke it soon after when he peeled the blanket off himself, and got off the bed.

"What about Professor Gravis?" he said. As he puts on his boots, his eyes widened when he heard their deep laughter filled the room. Alec arched an eyebrow at them, and waited for them to calm down.

"Gravis...well," Gael said, "he said he'd be grateful and more than happy if I don't transfer you to a different Combat and Weaponry class after you almost came close to doing what you did to him." Alec's face lost emotion, as he stared at the two grinning at him like what they heard just now was something so normal.