“You hurt, Jennings?” Karter asked.
Alex turned to him. “Hurt?”
“Yes, hurt,” he repeated. “Injured. Wounded. Damaged in any way.”
She looked at him in bewilderment. Sure, she often sustained injuries during Combat class, but rarely did Karter ask her personally if she was okay unless it was obvious she was in a bad state. Otherwise it was just expected that she—and her classmates—would go and see Fletcher if necessary. After class ended.
“No more than usual, sir,” she told him honestly. Just like after every Combat class, she was probably covered in bruises, but nothing more serious.
He frowned at her as though she’d said something wrong, then turned to look at Brendan. The apprentice must have been able to read his expression better than Alex, since he quietly mumbled something she couldn’t hear.
“Speak up, Labinsky,” Karter ordered.
“I said, Alex isn’t hurt because she didn’t lose the fight.”
Karter’s eyes flickered in surprise before his face reverted to its natural stoic expression. “Is that so?”
“I just got lucky,” Alex said, repeating what she’d told Brendan.
Karter peered intently at her. “Lucky or not, I expect you to keep it up.”
He then told Alex, Brendan, Declan and Kaiden that, as per his earlier agreement, they could leave early. Sebastian and Nick would have to continue until one of them won their fight.
As they sloshed their way out of the Arena and up the hill towards the dorm building, the boys conversed with one another while Alex’s mind wandered to her comfy bed. Maybe she would get a proper sleep that night for the first time all week.
Just as she was contemplating skipping dinner and going straight to bed, a voice broke through the tired haze of her mind.
“Are you excited about this weekend?”
She looked questioningly at Kaiden as he stepped up beside her. “This weekend?”
“Yeah, you know—our SAS getaway?”
Alex stared at him blankly and his lips quirked at her expression.
“Were you paying any attention last night?” he asked. “I mean, I know you got caught in three—or was it four?— of Hunter’s traps, but I thought you were just trying to avoid Skyla. I didn’t realise you were that out of it.”
“I’ve had a lot on my mind lately,” Alex said.
Kaiden’s face was sincere but his eyes were laughing at her. “I’m sure you have.”
“All right, Mr. I-Know-Something-You-Don’t-Know,” she said. “What was it that I should’ve been listening to last night?”
“Well, since you asked so nicely,” he said with a wry grin, “tomorrow we have an overnight assessment for SAS. We’re taking off for the whole weekend, coming back on Sunday night.”
Alex groaned. That was the last thing she needed after the week she’d had. But then again, she might actually get a good night’s sleep if she was away from D.C.’s screams.
Almost immediately, Alex felt bad for thinking such a thought. It wasn’t like her roommate chose to have the nightmares. D.C. was the victim of her own subconscious mind.
“What are you thinking about?” Kaiden asked.
Alex wondered what her expression must have revealed for him to be looking at her with such curiosity, and she quickly relaxed her face. “Nothing. Just wondering what clothes I should pack.”
He laughed. “Wow, you’re really bad at lying.”
She lowered her eyes but didn’t try to deny his accusation. Fortunately, he let the matter drop.
“I guess I’ll see you in the morning,” he said, and she realised they’d already reached the dorm building.
“Yeah, sure,” she replied, giving him a tired smile. She headed up the stairs to her room, quietly closing the door when she noticed D.C. curled up in bed.
“Hey,” D.C. said softly, rolling over to face her.
“Hey, yourself,” Alex returned, crossing the room to sit beside her friend. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” D.C. said. “Finn let us skip PE because of the rain, so I came back for a nap.”
“Really?”
D.C. rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, I was tired.”
“No,” Alex said, chuckling, “I meant that I was surprised Finn let you out of class. Karter made us keep going.”
“You’re still back earlier than usual,” D.C. said, squinting at the time displayed on her ComTCD resting on her bedside table.
“Yeah, by like, ten minutes,” Alex said. “No nanna nap for me, unfortunately.”
D.C.’s face crumpled in apology. “Sorry. I know you haven’t been sleeping well. And I know that’s my fault.”
“You can’t help it,” Alex said with a tired shrug. “And I’ll be gone this weekend for SAS anyway, so maybe having the room to yourself will help you move on from whatever is causing the… episodes.”
“Episodes?” D.C. repeated. “You make me sound like a crazy person.”
“You know what I mean,” Alex said. And then she couldn’t resist adding, “And you are a crazy person. Acceptance is the first step to a good, healthy recovery.”
D.C.’s lips twitched. “Are you speaking from experience?”
“Me? Crazy?” Alex placed her hand dramatically against her chest.
“You’re such a weirdo,” D.C. said, shaking her head. “And at this exact moment, you also happen to be a weirdo who is dripping water all over my bed. Go and clean yourself up, would you?”
“Your wish is my command,” Alex said with a salute, and she stood up and trudged over to their bathroom for a quick shower before dinner.
“This is going to be so awesome!”
“If you say so,” Alex mumbled around a yawn the next morning. Once again she’d had little sleep during the night, and she couldn’t muster the same amount of enthusiasm as Jordan for their upcoming weekend.
One foot in front of the other, she mentally chanted as she followed her friend down to where their SAS class was due to meet at the forest. Even her internal voice sounded weary.
While Jordan continued to babble about what he thought the overnight trip would bring, Alex secretly hoped Hunter would have a change of heart and cancel—or perhaps reschedule to another time.
Unfortunately, he did neither.
“Listen up, everyone,” Hunter said when he appeared out of the forest like a wisp of smoke. “This weekend you’re going off-campus for some field training. I want you all to grab the bag with your name and inside you’ll find everything you need to survive until tomorrow evening.” He pointed to a cluster of backpacks under a tree and gestured for everyone to move forward.