Duck.
Dodge – side, side.
Down and up. Fist in face.
Head butt.
Pain.
Trip and fall down hill.
Dirt and ferns. Rocks, trees and bushes.
Splash.
Strong, deep current.
Cold.
Down.
Burning in chest.
Get to surface, get to surface, GET TO SURFACE!
Black.

Where am I? He wondered groggily.
Sluggishly, he opened his eyes and lifted his head. He had been tied to the side of a rather large stone. But what he noticed is that before him were five priests and eight priestess'. One of ether gender stood at either end of a scroll laid flat across a stone. A low, indistinct chanting permeated the air. He didn't know what they were doing, but it didn't matter; he had no intention of staying long enough to find out what they were planning.
He couldn't move.
As much as he tried to command his body to do something – anything – it wouldn't budge.
Wards. He realized.
The bottom of his stomach fell out sickeningly as he suddenly understood what they were about to do.
Their going to seal me into that scroll – and I can't move!
He looked up to stare at the ceiling of what could end up being his eternal prison.
God, I don't ask for much, but please, please – HELP ME! PLEASE!
To be sealed in a scroll was worse then being tortured to death. There would be no end to his torment. He would just keep going and going. Forever alone in this cave, forever trapped and helpless.
In his mind he begged once more for intervention.
The chanting stopped. His head snapped down to stare at his captors, eyes intense with numerous emotions.
One long note rose from the priests and priestess' gathered, beginning the second phase of the ritual. Ethereal chains snaked out of the scroll to wind their way around his paralyzed body and sink into his flesh to find his Spirit. His eyes went wide with terror as tears fell free. The chains pulled his Spirit out of his body. He struggled. They pulled him into the scroll.
The priests and priestess' sealed it and hid it under the stone it had rested upon. And walked away, sealing the cave behind them.

---

I stared out the window, watching the neighborhood I had spent my entire life in slowly go by, my family waving farewell from the sidewalk. I wouldn't be back for several years. How many depended entirely on how well I did with my studies. Of course my grades also decided whether or not I can have visits from them.
I'll never see family or friends again. Why? Because I'm an idiot. No, really, I am.
I studied daily over the course of my entire summer break and I still got an 'F' on all my subjects. Do you have any idea what it feels like to realize that you are genuinely stupid? You want to cry and scream at God, demanding to know why he made you that way even as you feel everything inside you shrivel up with the realization that you will never be able to accomplish anything in your entire life. That's what it feels like.
So, yeah, I'm never going to see my family again – unless of course there turns out to be an upper limit for how long I can stay at the Academy.
I jumped slightly when I realized that the bus had stopped at a town I've never seen before. Someone sits next to me. A very pretty someone. I wish my hair was that glossy – and brown – but no I have to have a frizzy mess that only half passes as hair. A frizzy mess that just happens to be the most eye watering shade of copper you will ever encounter. You can probably imagine the amount of stares I get... Like right now.
I glared at them as they walked past my seat to sit in the back.
I wish they would just mind their own business. But no they have to gawk and stare at me like I'm some kind of monstrous freak.
Go mind your own business!
I'd love to shout that at them but I'm too much of a coward so I keep it to myself.
I turn my gaze back to the scenery. We haven't started moving yet. Which means more gawkers. I glare at them. They look away. That's a nice change.
The bus starts moving again.
It's an hour before the next stop. More people get on. More people gawk at me. I decide to ignore them this time and continue to stare out the window. And we're on our way once more.
Yay.
I glance at the girl sitting next to me. She really is pretty. Sighing, I yet again wish that someone 'upstairs' could have shown a little pity on me and given me hair at least half as nice as hers.
Oops. My stare is making her nervous.
“Sorry.” I mumble.

I jerked awake. Looks like I fell asleep at some point.
A frown pulls at my lips. Why did the bus stop? We're in the middle of nowhere so we can't be picking anyone up – except maybe Tarzan. No, wait. He was in the jungle wasn't he? Oh whatever, some wild child then.
That was a bad pun...
All the other kids start crowding to see something that is apparently going on outside. I feel my brows come together in what I know is an unattractive scowl – that does nothing to stop some other kids from pulling me and my seat-mate off our bench and onto the floor.
I, of course, land on top of the poor thing. Fortunately, I manage to get off of her before oxygen becomes too much of an issue and haul her to her feet before the others trample us. No good. We're getting pushed into everyone and everything. What has got everyone so worked up?
I manage to keep us from getting trapped on the floor, but we get pushed right to the front and out the open door – to see the cause of the commotion. Some guy was dressed up as a devil. Seriously. Theres a guy standing in the street with horns on his head, pointed ears, his skin painted blue and green and – somehow – his feet had been made to look like hooves. I have to admit, whoever did the makeup job is a bloody genius. Oh, I made a bad pun again – sorry.
Hhhmmm, glowing eyes. Maybe it isn't a makeup job. Either that or those are some amazing contacts.
He punched a hole in the concrete... Well, there go all my doubts.
Bye-bye doubts! See you when I'm awake!
“Whats going on?” The brunette that had been sitting on the bench next to me asked the bus driver standing about ten feet in front of us.
He whirled around.
“What are you doing out here?” He all but screamed at us, “GET BACK IN THE BUS!”
Oh, wait-a-go Einstein! Just draw all the attention to us kids why don't you? Thank you so much.
Wow, that devil can move fast. My eyes widen. He has... That girl! The one who was sitting next to me!
“Put her down!”
Oh dear God, did I actually just try to command him to put her down? Brilliant. Thats what it was! Absolutely brilliant!
I'm a walking corpse. Now what? Why, wait for Mr. Demon to kill me of course!
...Why is he bowing to me...?
“My apologies.” He says.
He can't be talking to me. Why would he talk to me? I'm just a homely twelve year old. Why would he be talking to me?
I look around. Nope. No one behind or beside me. He's talking to me.
Why?
Oh, he disappeared. Thats interesting.
Well, so much for the family's hopes that I would be making new friends!
I know that my hysterical laughter is probably scaring everyone else, but right now I don't care, because somehow I got it stuck in my head that I'm not dreaming. Wish I hadn't. It would have made life so much easier to cope with at the moment.
But nope! I'm too stupid to go into denial! I just take things at face value. Yay me!
Someone shoot me now. Please?

There were no more stops until we reached the school, and good God, it's HUGE! I mean seriously huge. Like, town sized huge. In fact it looks like a small town – surrounded on all sides by an old growth forest and daunting mountains.
A little over much, don't you think guys?
Oh, wait, theres one, two, three, four, five, six, seven...
Twenty five buses. Twenty five packed buses. Maybe it isn't a little over much. And here come more buses... Wow, theres going to be a lot of us...
I look around. And realize that no one is coming within fifty feet of me. And huddling in groups with kids from the other buses whispering loudly and pointing at me. Thank you so much guys for ensuring that I will never have any friends here!
I bite my tongue to keep from crying as I look around – and see a pack of wolves walk out of the forest and start to head into town... Did they just shape shift? They couldn't have, it's not possible!
...Well thats got to be one of dumbest things I've ever thought.
The wolves turn to look at me and smile. One of them puts a finger to his lips in a “Ssshhh” gesture, still smiling at me. Well, I assume it's me their smiling at. They could be smiling at someone else...
A hand on my shoulder nearly gives me a heart attack.
“Seems the local 'pack' likes you.” I turn to see who the deep voice belongs to and blink stupidly a few times as my brain registers that it's the demon-look-a-like talking to me.
In my peripheral I see everyone give me an even wider birth. Thats just great.
“MOVE!” A voice belows somewhere in front of me, on the other side of the crowd drawing mine, and everyone else's attention.
The crowd parts like the Red Sea before Moses to let the owner of the voice through.
It's the guy that did the “Ssshhh” gesture at me!
“I will be assigning everyone to their dorms, so listen up! Millissa Crier, Anna Valentine, Jasmine Born, Carrie Thompson, Jessica Rebanna, Rose Chase, Bo and Lin Lin Chang, Chandra Smith, Opal Rayes, Helen Heights, Brenda Maxwell, Nuru and Siti Christopher, Alexa Lennon, Beth Andrews, Mandy Mason, Shannon Core, Faith Tane, Lydia Weaver, Eve Jones, Joy Roberts, Julie Oden, Danika Den, Jana Wulf, Eva Mariner, Emily Walters, Martha Gardener, Zora Cameron, Amanda Archer – go with her.” He pointed to a woman wearing cargo's and a tee.
Am I only one who can see Mr. Demon?
Well, judging by the way everybody keeps staring at Mr. Wolf wide-eyed and then back my way I'd say that the other kids at the very least can see him. So why doesn't Mr. Wolf? Is he blind? No he can't be, he keeps checking the clipboard. Maybe only kids can see Mr. Demon...?
Nope, the other adults keep staring at Mr. Demon. Maybe Mr. Wolf is just mentally retarded...
“Thye!” Mr. Wolf called abruptly enough to nearly give me a heart attack.
“Yes?”
Oh, so that's Mr. Demon's name...
Why did it sound like he was trying not to laugh...?
“Your first duty as her guardian is to teach her to control her telepathy.”
Why does it look and sound like Mr. Wolf is trying not laugh? Did someone say something that I missed? And who is Mr. Dem – Thye – supposed to be the guardian of?
Thye's hand on my shoulder squeezed a little.
“I'm your guardian, Azlyn.”
Oh...
Oh.
This is one of those moments in life when you wish the ground would just open wide and swallow you whole. Of course that sort of thing doesn't happen in real life – well, it doesn't happen when you want it to at any rate. Which really sucks.
“Understood, Rore.”

Two hours later Shanon Chase – my seat-mate, no relation to Rose Chase – and I were standing in our dorm. Which pretty much looked like an inn. Which meant that there was a lot of free space at the moment since we were the only ones assigned to this dorm.
They assign people to dorms based – apparently – on their inherent 'powers.' It's kinda weired if you ask me. Not the way they assign the dorms, that makes sense, but why they call them 'inherent powers.' If there inherent shouldn't they be called abilities?
Well, their the smart ones.
“Don't sell yourself short.” Mr. De – Thye – said behind me.
Shanon jumped half out of her skin. Poor thing.
Well, time to get settled in.

---

Author here! I would just like to ask you guys too tell me what you think.
Reveiws help make the wheels in my head turn.

And now a qout from my brother:

BZZT

Sinner:"I repent, I repent!"
God:"Yeah, I'd repent under twelve thousand volts too."

BZZT

Sinner:"WHY DO YOU KEEP FRYING ME?"

God:"I gotta cleans the body too, you know."

BZZT