I ducked as Hazel swung the stick just above my head. She grunted out of frustration. Sweat dripped down me as I avoided Hazel's offensive attacks. I read her eyes, and swung my left arm up, protecting my head as the stick swung through the air at a high speed. I grabbed the rim of it, and twisted it out of her grasp. I swung it at her, but she avoided it easily. I tried to stab her, but she stepped left, avoiding it, then gained control and hit my side with it. I stumbled over just as she went in for the kill. I simply side-stepped and she tripped. I kicked her legs out from under her and choked her with the stick. She chuckled as I got off her.
"Your sword skills just keep improving." She tells me as I help her to her feet.
"Only because I have the best sword operator in all of North America. And you totally let me win." I tell her sincerely.
"Whatever." Hazel modestly tells me.
Then, her eyes dart to behind me. She gives me a look, and I turn to face a three person line approaching us. Three girls, who Hazel absolutely disgusts. The one in the middle was the worst.
"Stay quiet." I order Hazel as they get close.
"So, I heard you lost duels to that eighth grader last Friday." Becca hisses at Hazel.
I step slightly, putting my foot between her and Hazel. I watch out of the corner of my eyes as students began forming a circle around us.
"Go away, Becca." I answer for Hazel.
"Look, I just wanted to know why our class head is loosing DUELS to an EIGHTH GRADER." Becca snaps at Hazel.
"Leave her alone." I quietly ordered.
"What are you going to do about it, Sami? Show me what you can do without your precious arrows." She snottily challenges.
I felt Hazel cautiously get close to me, gesturing me to calm down. Then, she turns and walks away.
"Pussy!" Doll, the one on the right, says.
I roll my eyes, and turn around, following Hazel. Before I could take my second step, an arm grabs mine. I throw my free fist at their face, but a different hand catches it. I turn to face a boy with dark black hair and purple eyes. His angel half was coursing strongly.
"It's not worth it." Ash tells me.
Becca turns and walks away quickly. I watch as her minions follow her. Then, I pull my fist out of Ash's grasp roughly. Feeling Hazel's presence made me jump. I turned to face her frustrated look.
"Thanks, Ash." She murmurs, not breaking our eye contact.
He nods and walks down the hall. Hazel looks at me disappointedly, then goes in the direction Ash went. The rest of the students continue walking, satisfied.
"Hazel, she grabbed my arm. I lost it, I'm sorry." I plead catching up to her.
"Next time, you're standing behind me." She snaps turning to face me.
Before I could answer, she adds, "you can't just go around beating everyone up. It doesn't solve anything."
"It does if you do it right." I mumble.
Before Hazel could think of some sassy comment to snap back at me, the bell rang. It was first period, time for Hazel to go to magic class and me to go to combat classes. Hazel is an "Unicum" meaning she has her powers. Most demelic people do. I go to Ashton High, a boarding school for teenagers like Hazel. We are all half Demon, half Angel. Schools like this one teach us to access our inner Angel in order to help protect the human race. Sometimes people don't choose the right side, sometimes it's not a choice. Eventually we either turn into a demon or stay half-and-half. We protect humans. It's our job. All those creatures you've seen in movies, or read about in books, they're all real. Surprise! If you don't believe me, that means we've done our job right. Sometimes a ghost or two slips out of our grasp, but we eventually catch up to all of them. We train constantly, then during freshman year, we are sent on our first hunt. We have classes, which are separated by skill. The top class, which Hazel and I are in, along with Ash, Becca and a few others, is the best of the best in our grade. Then its Private Class, Specialist Class, so on and so forth. The top class deals with vampires, werewolves, genies, etc. Those below us deal with ghosts, mutants, sea monsters, etc.
I walked down the hall to combat class, and walked through the door just as the second bell rang.
"Tardy, Mrs. Baker. Give me a suicide." Mr. Hamburg orders me.
I roll my eyes and throw my backpack against the wall with the others. I line up on the line and wait for the whistle. Being Top Class, I can really move. If I only have one suicide, let's just say it's done before he can start rambling about some stupid drill we'd have to run. The whistle blew, signaling my start. The noise rattled through my ear drums and into my skull. The unusually loud echo froze my body in place.
"That means go!" Becca yells.
I shake off the strange event and start sprinting. I watch as the rest of the class stares at me with pity. I chuckle at their negativity. In no time, I'm standing with the group waiting for further instructions.
"Alright class, today we learn how to use a blade." Mr. Hamburg announces pulling out a glowing knife.
"Why is it so bright?" One of the kids asks.
Everyone goes silent as the sentence escapes her lips. The first signs of demonic change is when your senses go into overdrive. The girl with black hair and dark eyes covers her vision.
"Sarah?" The boy next to her asks.
If she was turning, she'd have to change first. It's a proven fact that girls choose the darker side more often than boys. Nobody knows why.
"Everyone out of the room, NOW!" Mr. Hamburg orders.
Kids start scrambling for the door, just as the girl begins screaming. Turning into a demon is painful...very painful. She was about to experience roughly two minutes of excruciating pain. Her soul was being torn from her body. We weren't going to make it out of the room, and when she turns, there won't be any way of stopping her. Demons are the most dangerous creatures out there, and we can't control our demon side. People like this girl didn't choose it, it happened naturally. Suddenly, her lips start rotating, and her skin peels off revealing a black, dry layer. Without thinking, I grab the knife from Mr. Hamburg's waist band and sprint towards the girl. They're most vulnerable during the change. If I could reach the heart in time, I wouldn't be burned to a crisp. Just as her head begins rotating, I reach her, and stab the knife harshly into her chest. Everything stops moving, and she falls to the floor. It was slow motion. Her violent motions immediately stopped. Her eyes were deep with dread as I stared into them. As her head hit the ground, a wave of bright energy released from her. It hits me first and hard. I immediately lose feeling in my legs. My knees buckle and I begin to fall. I brace for the ground, hitting it hard. The world begins spinning as strong arms wrap around me. I blink a few times and focus my vision on Chase, a dirty blonde haired boy.
"Thanks." I say as he helps me up.
The world continues to spin and my head begins an excruciating pounding. Mr. Hamburg is near me within seconds. His mouth was moving, but the words were drowned out by my own heartbeat. I stumble back into Chase as I try to stand on my own. Suddenly, my senses adjust.
"Mrs. Baker what were you thinking?!" He demands.
"You're welcome." I snap at him.
"That shock wave was the girl's angelic power. If you had been another split second late, you would've been killed." The teacher barked at me.
"But I wasn't and I'm not." I snap as black spots appear in my vision.
"Take her to the nurse. This is her Demonic half reacting to the Angelic release." Mr. Hamburg orders Chase.
He puts my arm around his neck and scoops my legs up.
"I can walk." I snap at him.
"No, you really can't." He chuckled.
"Put me down." I argue as he walks past the group of traumatized kids.
Once we get out in the hallway, he sets me down and lets go of me. For a second I stand up straight, but then I fall into the lockers. The world was spinning faster as each minute passes. My chest was beginning to feel like it was going to crush itself.
"It's getting pretty hard to breathe. You'd better hurry." I tell Chase as my head begins pounding.
"Shut up. I'm going as fast as I can." He jokes as we turn down the hallway containing the nurses office.
Then, I feel my fingers and toes begin to loose feeling. I start panicking uncontrollably.
"Calm down, Sam. We're almost there." Chase tells me gently.
I felt my limbs become numb just as we turn into the nurses office.
"What happened?" The nurse anxiously asks as Chase lays me on a bed.
Without warning, the chaos stops. My head goes silent. I can breathe again.
"Something about her demonic side reacting to angel power?" Chase asks.
"Oh god." The nurse panics.
"Tell Hazel I say I love her and that she needs to beat Becca's ass." I tell Chase, suddenly realizing how serious it could get.
"You aren't going to die." He says.
"Says the one who stayed back with the rest of the kids while I was right next to the damn thing." I snap.
"How you feeling?" He asks.
"Fine." I say.
On cue, the pain returns in my chest. I feel liquid in my throat and start coughing. I feel warm goo drip down from my mouth. I wipe it, and examine it. Blood. This can't be good.
"Keep her awake." The nurse orders Chase while collecting her tools.
"Not feeling so fine." I say then choke up more blood.
Chase starts panicking and I suddenly become very cold. My body starts shaking uncontrollably and then the nurse walks over with a huge needle. I grab Chase's hand and look away. I feel a pinch, then a push where the pinch was.
"Hazel." I say as my eyes begin to get really heavy.
"Keep her awake!" The nurse yells.
"Sam!" I hear Chase yell.
His voice sounded far away. I felt anger begin to rise inside of me.
"If she falls asleep, Demon Sam will wake up. We have to keep Sam awake." The nurse says.
"Sam, come on. Think about Hazel. What would she say right now to you?" Chase rapidly rants.
"She'd tell me how stupid I am for doing that." I honestly answer.
"Sam, you risked your safety to save a class of thirty-two. That was really stupid." Chase quickly tells me.
The anger gets stronger as does the exhaustion.
I feel my eyes roll back and tease Chase, "you sound exactly like her."
"Wake up!" He screams, but I can barely hear him.
I close my eyes, inhaling the scent of alcohol and rubber. My thoughts begin to fade. I can feel my heart beat slowing as I rest my head against the wall. In a second, I feel something soft lock onto my lips. I immediately open my eyes. Chase's closed eyes were millimeters from my face. The anger sizzles back down and energy courses through my veins. I close my eyes once more, enjoying the kiss Chase before pulling away.