Jake

A Chapter by kannerjay

Instead of jumping out of the way like I should have, I put both hands up in the air.

" We'll take education, thank you very much, " I said before I could give it a second thought. I was tired of being the fireball target of the day.

Jerimiah's mouth dropped a mile, and I would swear it in front of a judge.

" What the heck, Jake!? He's aiming a freaking fireball at you, and you're making JOKES? " Jerimiah babbled. it was almost as is if he couldn't believe it, and he probably couldn't.

" It's cool, " I said. " He was just enforcing his point,. "

I was glad that at that moment, the fireball slowly started to disappear. Grant let out a sigh of relief.

" At least one of yal is smart enough to take the heat. I don't know what I'd do if there weren't any. I know there wasn't none in the last village that got burnt."

Of course, Grant was joking, and only praising me because it freaked Jerimiah out. But I knew we were in good hands, and we were probably safer with Grant than all alone in the woods, boat or no boat.

It was then he pointed at a shipyard. The shipyard was full of big boats, all equiped with fishing equipment and some bustling and busy. These included the bigger boats- the smaller ones somehow seemed less busy. The seagulls crowed overhead, and the crabs were not few but many, basking in the sunlight and probably being a very open target for hungry hermits.

Most of the boats were white, with the names painted on the side, and some were just taking off. In the five minutes that we had been there, the whole shipyard had changed, because all different boats were there. Several could be seen unloading cargo, which ranged from toilietaries, to food items, to animals.

" How good are you with that? " Grant asked, pointing to arrow sheath on my back.

" Well, I'm okay with it..., " I was starting to say, but Jerimiah interrupted.

" Nuh-uh! Don't you dare. You and I both know that you are totally beast with that thing. I've seen what you bring home to your family, and, " he stopped, seeing my face at the mention of my family.

" Oh. I'm sorry man. Didn't mean to. "

I shrugged it off, and Spooky jumped into the backpack on his shoulder ( which he had somehow manged to unzip ) , meowing crankily about his lack of food.

Something played in my head, like a broken record. I couldn't put my finger on what it was or where it came from. I couldn't even hear it clearly enough. I snapped myself back to the real world, and answered Jerimiah.

" That's a'ight. "

Grant looked me over, and he nodded.

' Yeah. You'll have to do. See that man? " he pointed onto the haul of a boat, where a man in about his forties stood looking over the ocean. The man had a beard and wore a satisfied expression- obviously, he was the driver of the ship.

" What about him? " I asked.

Grant took the bow and put it in my hands. He helped me steady my hand, and held it there momentarily, and then let me hold it myself.

" Aim for the neck. It will kill him painlessly. Do it quickly, 'cuz there are many,many peoples here. "

I automatically dropped the bow in suprise.

" You want me to do what? No no no.... I only kill animals, not... people.. "

This prompted Grant to slap me in the face.

" People are animals, idiot. Hurry and shoot 'im. Before I do. "

There was the fireball in his hand again, and I didn't think I could bear to see another person killed by fire. With tears in my eyes, I took out the bow, aimed for his neck, and shot. My eyes closed, because I didn't want to watch.

In mind, I was hoping that it would miss, or he would see it and move, that he would live another day.

But in my heart, I knew that it was a sure hit. People are just like animals- if they aren't expecting something, they will be subject to it if it actually happens.

He was pierced aand died nearly instantly, and Grant nodded with a suprised look on his face.

" Not many will actually kill their own the first time I ask, " he commented Grant, patting me on the back. " I'm impressed. Goo' job. "

Halling himself onto the boat, he threw the corpse into the ocean, and threw some weird blue dust over it, and said a few words.

" This, " he explained, " is a special spell. It will do what my creator did to me. In a couple of days, this man will be reborn as a fish, as he would have wanted, being a fisher-man. "

I nodded numbly, and felt sick to my stomach.

I killed a person today, I thought as I slipped into the bed in my assigned cabin. Once the man had been off the boat, Grant took the boat's wheel and began steering it offways, towards what he says was Avaint Island, where he would take us to be the newest recruits.

He assigned me a cabin on the ship, what was called the S.S Leon , and one to Jerimiah across the hall. Mine was cabin five, written in Roman numerals, so it was V. Jerimiah's was nine in Roman numerals.

The cabins didn't have much in them. All their really was inside was a bed, nightstand, and a small window for those who were easily sea-sick.

And, of course, it was a chilly forty degrees Farenheit* in the ship. Though when I complained about it to Grant, he said something absoultley ridiculous.

" What do you think this is, Florida? " he said, musing. I laughed in his face; Fliorida had been underwater for longer than I had been alive, three-fold. States such as Florida and California no longer existed, and hadn't for about forty years before I was born, which was a near total of sixty years.

" What you laughin' at, boy? Git back to your room. Need your sleep."

I wasn't able to bring it up again, and I found that the blankets were made of wool, and were very warm. Grant did not leave us unattended to.

" I will be your Mommy for the next few years, " he said, starting our pre-classes the next day. " If you need anything for training or personal intrest, you come to me. "

Jerimiah and I soon learned not to laugh at Grant, even when he was making a joke; often he would take out the sword he was always carrying and would slap you in the hand with it. What sucked was that it it really hurt, but it didn't bleed because he didn't hit you with the sharp ends, instead using the broad side, and it made you feel like a baby. Sorta like paper cuts, but much, much worse.

He told us about several things we had never heard of, like the pros and cons of light and black magics. He had attempted to teach Jerimiah some of the hand motions of basic light fire magic. This however, failed miserablly. Jerimiah was handsome yes- but he was not a good student. He often got the motion so wrong you wondered if he was actually watching; worse, he was directionally challenged, and much of light magic relied on the directions. Jerimiah could get lost in a paper bag, even if he had directions.

Spooky however, was another story. When Grant had suggested that we train him to be a battle cat, I had laughed in his face.

" He already is. "

Spooky took easily to the armor that was forced upon his face and body. The face mask left his ears and eyes showing, but most of the rest was covered. The metal was silver, lined with black swirling patterns. His armor was similar, and it only covered the virtal areas and shoulders- which was good.

" Only problem is that I ain't ever trained a jungle cat befur, " Grant said one day, mumbling.

" What jungle cat? Spooky is just a house cat. "

Grant nodded and went to grab a steel bow and arrow, following up with a brief lesson on some of the basics I had never mastered.

It was only about a week before we arrived at the island, which was not much bigger Hawaii probably was before it sunk. Huge treehouses were built all around the island, each connected by several air bridges. The treeehouses were old and unpainted, unlike the bridges, which were probably only a few years old.

" Why are the treehouses so much older than the bridges, Grant? " Jerimiah asked.

" 'Cuz this was built by a small group of Avains, " he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

" What are Avains? " my question made Grant turn and stare at me.

" Yal are so clueless. The Avains were a group people of people genetically inhanced. "

" How so? "

" They had wings. "

I stopped cold too, making Jerimiah and Spooky stop also.

" They did what? "

Grant nodded. " They flew. Pretty darn well, too. There are a few here, but they keep the wings hidden because it draws unneccesary attention to them. "

I shook my head in disbelief. " You mean there are still Avains? "

Grant continued walking and went up to a red-head girl.

" This is Cassidy. Cassidy , meet the new recruits. I'm gonna need you to do that thing you do again. "

Cassidy nodded. She was kinda of pretty, with her auburn hair down to her shoulders, with her bangs in her face. Her eyes were bright blue; they were highlighted by the blue-rimmed glasses that sat on her nose. Nothing too unusual.

" What is it? " I mused. I was getting kind of tired of the magic tricks and fireballs, and I wouldn't have minded her just telling me what she could do. But apparently Grant already had it planned out.

Cassidy sighed. " Again? Why do you always ask me, Grant? "

Cassidy ripped the shirt she was wearing- a blue tank-top- right down the middle in the front,with her nails that seemed to be sharper than knives. Before I could ask what she was doing, a saw the huge wingspan. Her wings spread almost as tall as a person- a good six or seven feet wide- and were the same color as her hair..

" Woah! " I exclaimed, and watched as her wings flapped. She was in the air in a moment, swooping down. I finallly realized what she was doing and started to back up.

" No, no no no no NO! " I backed up faster, but she kept coming. She flew right to my face, picked me up, and threw me on her back. We were flying.

" Holy...! " I heard Jerimiah breath. Spooky jumped and jumped, but he was unable to reach; which he complained viciuosly so about. I couldn't tell if it was because he didn't like being away from me or if he was trying to hunt her because she seemed so much like a bird.

We were soaring through clouds, and in the air. Grant and Jerimiah looked like ants. and the tree houses weren't much bigger.We soared at several altitudes while I just sat and watched, probably smiling like an idiot.

" How's this, New Boy? "

I looked at the young Avain. Cassidy smiled brightly. It struck me for a moment that she couldn't possibly fit those wings in her shirt without someone seeing.

" What do you do with them? " I pointed to her huge, auburn wings. I was close enough to count the feathers. With my last comment, she slowly landed, and I saw her wings fold in half twice, and fold to her back until they were virtually out of sight. I had not noticed the handbag she was carrying until now, which she promptly pulled a new shirt out of and slipped it on. In all the crazy flying and such, I had completely forgotten she was topless, if that even scarcely tells you how much shock I had gone through within the last month or so.

" Do you do this often? " I wondered outloud, refering to Grant's previous " again " .

" Yeah. I dunno why Grant always asks me, though. He could ask one of the other thrity-nine Avains on-site, " Cassidy sighed. " If you don't know what on-site means, it means on campus. Or simply here. Whatever floats your boat. "

Now that I was on the ground again, I looked around the island a little more. The treehouses seemed to have a pattern to them, because there were two wide ones, then one regular size one, then two wide ones again. Each treehouse has a small sign on it, each written in a weird color of red.

The trees had huge ladders down the side for people who had not yet gotten into the tree, and next to them was another copy of the sign that was up above. I read a few. The ones on the regular size ones had names of birds; like Cardinal, Eagle, and Bluejay. The others had names followed by the word ground; such as the Arrow Ground or Flight Ground.

" Those, " Grant said, scaring me because I had forgotten he was there, " are the Treehouses. The wide ones are certain training grounds. You'll receive your list soon, which will tell you which ones to go to and when. The other ones that aren't really wide are the dorms. Each dorm is divided by a few different things. You'll be in Dove, Jerimiah will be in Eagle- next door- and Spooky will be in Condor. "

I turned around. " What? Spooky is in a different dorm than me? "

" Yeah. He requested Condor, " Grant answered. " I gave him a AATD- a Animal Audio Translation Device. Ask him a question, I dare you. "

Spooky stood behind us in his armor, head held high, with his tail in the air.

" Hey, Spooks, " I started. " When was I bo- "

Spooky's tail flicked before I finished. " 1995. "

I blinked. My cat just TALKED to me.

" Ok, that's it. Just show me where my cabin is. I need some sleep," Jerimiah said. I pointed him to a couple feet behind us, to Eagle cabin, which we had just passed a few minutes ago.

I nodded and turned back to Spooky as Jerimiah turned away. I had never realized how strong Jerimiah was; he was up the two-hundred foot tree before I knew it.

Spooky flicked his tail. " Here comes the dang blue-heeler dog again and it's pompus owner. They both need to go die in a ditch. "

I just shook my head, but I saw the people- or should I say, the lady and her dog- that were approaching. The dog, a smaller, but fast-looking, blue-heeler, wore only the helmet; I was guessing that inside was a AATD, because otherwise he would be wearing all armor.

The girl was another thing. I'd thought Cassidy had been pretty. If this was the competition, than Cassidy was not a diamond in the rough. The new girl ( or at least she was new to me. She was probably really good at whatever she does ) wore her hair down to her shoulder blades, wavy and curly at the same time, and it was so dark that it almost looked like it was dark navy blue. Yet, her eyes were blue and adventurious, and she carried no handbag. This girl had probably never seen a skirt; dresses were a myth from childhood. She wore a simple T-shirt and a pair of jeans. It was impossible to tell what should could do.

" Aye, Grant. Whatcha got there? New meat? "she laughed. " If that isn't a new recruit, the dragons could use feeding. "

I swallowed, and prayed that I was supposed to be a new recruit, and that they hadn't been lieing to me.

" Naw, Lil. He's a bowman. Lord knows we need some of them, "

I held my hand out, nervous to the bone. " I'm Jake Servet, and you are...?"

" Lilian. Call me Lil, " she took my hand and shook it vigorously. " Glad to have you aboard. BTW, I was totally joking about the dragons. "

" I'm Storm. Pleased to meet you also, " the dog said in a techy voice. " I'm a code breaker. "

I let my breath out easy, petting Storm. I pointed to a tree a few meters away. " That one's Dove, right? "

" Yeah. If you ever need help, you can come see me next door, in Owl. "

I shook my head. " I thought Eagle was on the other side. Opps. I just sent my friend over there "

Of course, it turned out that Dove was between Eagle and Owl.

" Dang it. Unless your friend is a girl, he probably don't belong in there. I better fetch him., " She went up the tree without using the ladder, instead jumping the branches, and returned later with Jerimiah, who was extremely red in the face.

" Shoulda read the sign, " he mumbled, climbing the other tree. grant laughed.

" It's gonna be a looong day. "

* * *

The cabin was easily the hugest room I had ever been in. Really, it was two rooms, one being the bedrooms and one being the bathroom, but either one was bigger than my whole house. The bathroom was tile on the ceiling, walls and floor, and the bedroom was likewise with wood.

The bathroom consisted of fifteen, glass showers, the kind shaped like phone booths. On one end of the bathroom there was a big, blue cabinet, which held shampoos, conditioners, soap bars, towels, toothbrushes, toothpastes, and other varies things anyone could need in a bathroom. There were about six sinks, each next to a soap dispenser, with a hand-dryer at the end of the room. Later I learned that this was solar-powered, like nearly everything else on the island, though some were powered by wind and hyrdoelectric power. Lastly there were about nine stalls; I did not peek inside.

The bedrooms were even bigger than the bathrooms. On each end of the room there was a single huge window showing the forest below. There were about twenty bunk-beds, ten on the right side and ten on the left, each having a dresser with two square drawers.

I was assigned the bunk nearest the door on top, and found that this cabin didn't have many people in it, despite the fact it was so huge. Total, there were about eleven of us. I knew this was odd; Jerimiah had complained that the Owl cabin was nearly full when he came in the other day, and the Eagle wasn't much better.

Each bed had two pillows and a wool blanket; I was guessing nights were expected to be cold. Mine, however, also had another item; an envelope. These were probably my directions for what to do next, and for my evening classes.

On further inspection of the island, I found that the two biggest trees in the middle of the island were used for special things; one was a cafeteria and one was a meeting place, like an auditorium. These, unlike the other trees, were equipped with an elevator.

Looking out the window at the end of the room, envelope in hand, I started to open it, and used and old clothespin to tack the list to the wall. It wasn't the list, but a letter, hiding it.

It looked something like this;

Jake Servet,

Your classes are listed below. This is the order they are in. First, it says the time, which class it is, and then where it could be located, and lastly who it is taught by.

With luck,

Lilian.

I nodded to that and pulled the list out of the envelope.

01 Sunrise; Armory, Next to Condor, Grant

02 Next; Bow and Arrow, Next to Armory, Grant

03 Sunhigh; Lunch, Dining Tree, No Teacher

04 Next; Dragon Mount, Next to Seagull, Cassidy

05 On Dismiss; Dark Art Protection, Next to Duck, Lilian

06 On Dismiss; Code-breaking, Next to Condor, Storm

07 Free hour; You may take bonus classes.

08 Circle one; Traning animals/Potion Making/Light Art Protection

09 Lights out

I stared at the list, trying to make some sense of my seemingly busy schedule. I was glad that each of my classes were taught by someone I knew. I don't think I could handle any more suprises.

My schedule was easier than some, fortuatley, because I was wore out just after looking at Jerimiah's schedule. I went to seem him afterwards, to see if he could make more sense out of mine. He was extremely busy. His was much more complex:

01 Sunrise; Dark Arts Protection, Next to Duck, Lilian

02 On Dismiss; Conjuration, Next to Dark Arts Protection, Anata

03 Next; Potion Making, Behind Dove, Anata

04 Sunhigh; Lunch. Dining Tree, No Teacher

05 Next; Griffin Mount, Next to Seagull, Cassidy

06 On Dismiss; Light Fire, Next to Duck, Grant

07 Free Hour; You are not permitted to take extra classes

08 Circle One; Enchantments/ Training animals/ Secondary Light Fire

09 Lights out

" Whoa. You got it rough, " I told him. " Which class are you taking for 08? "

He shook his head. " Let's compare these and see if we have any classes together. "

" Nope. If we both take Traning Animals we would have that together, but that's it. Though, If your taking a Light Fire class, I might wanna take my Light Arts Protection class. "

He laughed and hit me with a pillow. " maybe we should ask Spooks what he got. "

We hurried over to Condor where Spooky now lived, and he showed us his paper. " The idiots should know I can't read. Read it to me, Jakey-Boy. "

His was actually kind of easier, but I didn't tell him that.

01 Sunrise; Dragon Mount, Next to Seagull, Whinjester

02 On Dismiss; Code-breaking, Next to condor, Storm

03 Sunhigh; Lunch, Dining Tree, No Teacher

04 Next; Creature's Weopanry, Behind Hawk, Whijester

05 On Dismiss; Machinery, Next to Condor, Storm

06 On Dismiss; Weight Traning and Null G, Behind Cardinal, Cassel

07 Free hour; You may take extra classes in your field

08 Circle One; Dark Arts Protection/Light Arts Protection/ Armory

08 Lights out

" Neat, " Spooky commented, " But what is Null G and Dragon Mount? "

" I dunno, " I blabbed, staring at my cat. " G could stand for gravity. "

Spooky stretched, and told us to get some rest. Tommorrow would be a long day.

* * *

The next morning I was woken up by the sound of everyone else getting up. It was time to go.

I grabbed my sheet and realized that I didn't have clue what I needed for any of my classes. This was unessecary, bacause I found a small bag hanging by my bed with a few items in it; it was probably all I needed.

My first class was Armory. It was easy to find because it was right next to Condor, which is Spooky's cabin. I was glad to say it was taught by Grant, in a tree that had sign that said " Armory Ground ".

Inside the classroom were five desk size tables, around the edges of the room, and one bigger one in the front by a huge, slate chalkboard. Grant sat on the table with his sword in hand. I instantly found a desk and sat on the chair next to it, hands folded under me. It seemed as the students filed in, that they had all formed similar habits. No one wanted their hands smacked by the broad side of the sword that Grant was well known for.

" Class, " Grant adressed the group. " Today we have a new recruit. Can someone be his partner for the day? "

All hands were raised except my own; obviously, I couldn't be my own partner.

" Lilian, could you go with Jake to all his classes today and help him out? "

I hadn't noticed, but Lilian was in my class. Her and about three others; our class was small. " Sure. No harm in that. "

Grant nodded. " In this here class, we explore the topic done by man for many years; Armor. "

" Armor can be used as protection and other such. Can anyone tell me what this is? "

In Grant's hand was a European helmet from a suit of armor, and I was suprised I knew the answer. Reading so many adventure books paid off.

In this class I did well, until we actually had to try and put it on. In that I did horrible; once I got it on I felt like I weighted a million pounds. Lilian laughed.

" You're wearing a girl's armor, weirdo. The men's armor is much heavier than that. "

The class was over after a while. I must confess that I was extremely glad.

Lilian walked me next to door for my next class and sat down on the edge of the floor. No others came in except for Grant; this was a solo class.

Lilian shook her head. " i can't help you with this one. I don't know anything about bows and arrows. "

This class was much easier than the previous, though the bows they had felt new to me, since they were made of different things. I was told I would get used to it, but I wasn't so sure.

Grant had written Lilian a special pass; she was permitted to go with me all day, even if they weren't her regular classes. " Lemme see you're paper, " she requested.

" Dang... Grant must like you. He put you in Dragon Mount. Not many people in that one. You also have my fifth-period class. Nice. "

I stared at her. " what exactly is Dragon Mount, anyways? "

Her eyes glittered and sparkled. " You get to learn how to ride dragons. I've always wanted to try. But spellcasters like me don't get to do those things. I have Griffin Mount, but it isn't the same. "

She twisted her fingers and said a few words, and my hand caught on fire. I didn't feel it, so I figured it was an illusion.

" An illusionist? " I said stupidly. She raised her eyebrows in suprise.

" Don't tell me you want me to REALLY set your hand on fire. "

We laughed and went lunch; which was also huge.

" I think you'll make it, " Lil said to me at some point.

" Make what? "

Lilian stared at me sadly. " Sily goose- most recruits don't make it through the first year."

prev chapter