Chapter 87: 87-A New Mission And No Time To Rest
Clementine:
I was waiting for the car to arrive, and while doing so, I stood on the road, watching the omegas walk past me, the warriors leaving for the training ground, and the couples holding their kids and bags as they headed to drop them off at school. Life was going on normally, but then something happened. As I stood there, admiring the beautiful weather with a gentle wind blowing and the sun peeking through the clouds every now and then, I felt my entire world shake. It was the craziest earthquake I had ever experienced, to the point that I had to kneel down just to keep from falling. Others screamed, and the kids began to pray to the moon goddess for mercy. It was a terrifying moment. Then my eyes moved to the sky, and for a moment, it looked like it was turning bright red. I had a feeling it was connected to the North. Once the earthquake finally settled, the car arrived.
"Get inside."
It was Troy who opened the door to the back, where I was supposed to sit with him. I instantly climbed in, and the moment I did, I realized I had messed up just a little. Haiden had left a seat for me right next to him. How did I know that? Because the minute I sat in the back with Troy and Yorick, I saw Haiden turn his head, all the way back, and stare at me. Ian was in the passenger seat today. I don’t know how he convinced the warrior to sit in the other car, but he did. It was odd. Being back with them felt like going back to school.
"Did you feel it?" Troy asked.
"The earthquake? Yeah, I did. It was crazy," I replied. At least we were able to communicate without taunting each other, or so I thought.
"Really? Crazier than the fact that you have zero emotions?" I heard Yorick’s comment before I noticed Haiden turned around from his side, almost like he was checking him.
"What? I get to say whatever I want. Just because she’s your mate doesn’t mean you have to act all aggressive now. You two aren’t getting together, so don’t act like you own her or you’re her bodyguard." Yorick was so loud with the way he started yapping, and then I heard Ian laugh from the front seat. He was so annoying.
"Don’t mutter those words to me. You’re not my boss. You don’t get to decide if we’re getting back together, or not. You don’t even know that. As for your behavior, you better fix it with her," Haiden hissed, warning Yorick. I have never had anyone argue for me, so I was frozen.
"Stop arguing you two. Let’s focus on the earthquake, I wonder what’s going on," Troy said, checking on Yorick before his eyes moved to Haiden, then back to me as he mouthed, "Are you okay?"
I gave him a small nod and leaned back in my chair.
Before we knew it, other cars joined us as the road merged toward the academy. I saw members of the Red Squad, the White Squad, and the others, all packed into cars. We were finally back where we belonged. We could pretend our lives outside were different, but they really weren’t. We were still prisoners who had just been granted a few days of family visitation. That’s what I’d call it.
Once we reached the academy, we were stopped at the barbed fence gate. Ms. Lenora stood at the entrance with Mr. Rick. They were checking everyone’s bags, tossing new items to the side. It annoyed me.
"Oh my," Haiden grunted. "I brought quite a lot of new stuff," he complained.
Others began nodding.
"Me too," I said, and I watched Ian finally turn his head to look at me. He stood a few steps ahead of us, while we lined up behind him, probably so we couldn’t see his facial expressions. He gave me a look, and I just shrugged, silently asking what his problem was.
"No, I’m just confused that Miss ’Oh I can never do anything wrong’ has broken a rule," he said, making me furrow my eyebrows.
"When did I ever say that? I’ve never claimed to be a perfect student," I complained, but he never responded.
When it was our turn, and Ms. Lenora began pulling out our clothes with a clearly irritated look on her face and that’s when Ian stepped in.
"No, put it all back," he demanded. The way he said it was so strange that even Mr. Rick gave him a look.
"I’m not afraid of your looks, and I’m definitely not scared of your harsh stares. Save them for someone innocent enough to be shaken by them," Ian started.
He was really bold. Sometimes I wondered if he wanted to get punished or something. Maybe it was his kink.
"We’re not prisoners here. At least let us keep our stuff. You won’t even let us take it to the North with us. So I don’t get it. Do you want us to fail?" Ian asked. "You could literally give us weapons to go fight in the North. What’s the point of sending us there without anything that could help us fight the monsters? When you claim you want to save the world from them? Honestly, it feels like someone is just being a sadist."
Ian continued, and for the first time, I was impressed. He was right. Why weren’t they letting us take things that could help us?
"You know we spared you last time," Lenora said, reminding him of the deal that had been made.
"Well, then you should have spoken to me directly. I never agreed to those terms," he hissed, standing tall.
"I’m with Ian," Haiden said as he stepped forward, hands on his waist. "You’re not taking my stuff either," he added. "And not hers," he said, pointing at me.
I was annoyed. Why was he speaking up for me? I could handle it myself. Now everyone was watching us, especially Yorick, who wasn’t even trying to hide it.
Then the other crusaders from different squads began whispering and nodding, probably agreeing with Ian.
"Fine. You can all take your stuff back, but no one is allowed to carry anything into the North," Lenora said suddenly. But it felt like more than that. She was afraid. If people started asking why we weren’t allowed weapons, the entire academy and its rules could start to crumble.
So just like that, we were allowed to bring our belongings back to our rooms. But as we reached the passage, an announcement played,
"Everybody, get ready for the new mission in two hours."