Chapter 3 Past Tense: Story about a Girl

“Is this the door?”

Ryan looks at the thing... it looks like any other door in the basement of the Academy. Large, wooden... old metal handel to pull on.

It fits in nicely with the sort of 'dungeonish' feeling that the place has.

He glances over his shoulder, and Rob nods his head.

“This is it. Touched it... fell asleep for six days.”

“Okay then.” Ryan takes a step back from the door, just to be safe. “No touching. Try your powers.”

Rob concentrates on the door, feeling it out with his mind. He can feel the texture of the wood... and the coldness of the metal. He waves his hand, mimicking the action of pushing the door open. The gesture is not needed, but it helps him to focus his telekinesis... soon, he should be able to make these kinds of fine physical manipulations without the need to gesture at all.

Though, in this case, nothing happens.

“It's guarded... I can't manipulate it.”

“Okay then.” Ryan pushes Rob aside, and takes a deep breath. Small arcs of electricity arc along his hands. “Let's try something a little more direct!”

Just as Ryan is ready to let lose electric hell on the door, they hear footsteps echoing from down the hall. Heavy steps, rushed... obviously belonging to an instructor. Ryan pulls his hands back, and the light from his magic dies out.

Rob looks worried.

“We need to hide.”

Ryan just stands beside the large door as Rob rushes to the other side of the hall. He reaches out, grabbing the first door handel that he passes... locked. But, probably not guarded like the big one.

He waves a hand over the handel, concentrating on unlocking it, and after just a few seconds, a small click sounds out, and Rob pushes the door open, and practically jumps into the room.

As the footsteps get closer, just around the corner and nearly on top of them, Rob motions for Ryan to hide also.

But Ryan still doesn't move.

The lock in the door behind Ryan, the very door that they have been trying to unlock, clicks open. As the footsteps grow louder, Ryan reaches behind him, trying the door handle. It turns easily and quietly, and Ryan does not fall unconscious from the touch.

Ryan looks down the hall, and sees Donald Gilbert, the Protector, turn the corner. Luckily, Donald's head is turned over his shoulder, and does not see the student standing in the hallway where he should not be.

Before Donald's head turns back around, Ryan takes a deep breath, and pushes himself backwards through the newly unlocked door. He takes two steps into the dark room, and then quickly and quietly closes the door, just as the footsteps of Donald reach the spot where he was just standing.

Ryan lets out a sigh of relief as he hears the footsteps continue down the hall, and eventually echo off somewhere else. Figuring that it is safe to get Rob so they may finish what they came down here to do (that is, figure out what is so special about this particular room), Ryan reaches down to turn the door handle.

But it will not move.

More forcefully, he attempts to turn it, but nothing.

Realizing that, for some reason, he is stuck, Ryan turns to face the rest of the room, wondering if, perhaps, there is another way out.

But, there is not.

The room is dark. Ryan casts a small fire spell, covering his hand in flame, to cast flickering light over his surroundings. He can make out four walls, and guesses that the room is basically a square in shape. The walls are all the same cold, damp stone that makes up most of the Academy's construction.

The oddest thing about the room is the fact that, just a few feet in front of him, a row of vertical steel bars run the full length of the room, from side to side, cutting it into two distinct portions. Ryan stands in the smaller part, about a quarter of the full room, with the door behind him, and the bars in front of him, and off to each side, a rather comfortable looking chair, with a small coffee table, as if it was meant for visitors.

The other side of the bars is far less hospitable. A small bed... a curtain pulled around one corner that must be the washroom area. A small table with one old wooden chair is in the very center of the 'jail' like portion of the room.

"I don't usually have visitors."

The voice shocks Ryan, and the fire spell vanishes as soon as his concentration is broken. The room is thrown into deep darkness, even more so than when he first entered it.

Suddenly, torches light along the walls. Eight of them, two for every wall. The entire room is filled with light, save for the very center of the 'jail' part, where the table and chair were. That is still dark... too dark for Ryan to make out any details.

"Usually just the staff comes in here. They bring me some food a few times a day. A couple of times a week, some of the instructors will come down, to see how well I am progressing... but they don't stay long.

I've never had a student visit me before."

Suddenly, there is light. Arrowny blinks his eyes against it. It bursts from the dark, like dawn from the night, and he can see the whole of the room before him.

At the table, in the center of the cage, sits a girl. Black hair, deep set dark eyes. Pale... far too pale for a normal person, as though her skin has seen no natural light in years. She is his age, if not a year or two younger, and when she stares at him, he can almost feel her reaching into his mind, just to see what's there at this moment.

"Ryan..." She speaks his name calmly, and he is not in the least bit surprised that she knows it without him telling, "You came here looking for what was behind the door with the enchantments which your friend fell under. You have your answer now, don't you?

It's just me.

You're a very curious person... it will get you into trouble someday, I'm sure of it. But for now, I'm glad that it has brought you here."

What suddenly strikes Ryan as amazing, is the fact that her lips are not moving. Her voice is in his head, just as if he'd heard the words normally, but she is not speaking. As if he was thinking in her voice...

"I've been here for so long. Ever since I can remember. The world outside these walls... what is it like?"

He does't answer her... doesn't even think about her question. The only think that is in his mind is who she is.

"What's your name?" He speaks the words, even though he knows that she could hear him if he only thought them. He can feel her answer bubbling through his thoughts in his own mind, but a new voice, a real, spoken voice, from behind him gives an answer sooner.

"FRAIL!"

It is Principal Maxwell, having only opened the door to the outside hallway a crack, shouting inside. The girl, Frail, cowers back slightly as the Principal, along with Donald, enter the room, each standing on one side of Ryan.

He notices that where Maxwell has a look of concern on his face, Donald's expression is more one of wonder and confusement.

"Frail... you're not supposed to have visitors."

Maxwell's voice is stern. Frail stares at the surface of the table before her.

"I'm sorry. I was just lonely."

"I shall speak to you tomorrow. We have some lessons to go over."

Maxwell places a hand on Ryan's shoulder, and gently pulls him back toward the hallway. Arrowny opens his mouth, as if to speak, but before he even gets the chance, the door to Frail's room, her jail cell, is closed tightly, and Ryan, Principal Maxwell, and Donald stand in the hallway of the Academy.

"Ryan," The Principal does not break contact with the old door as he speaks to the young student. "Do not come back here. It is off limits."

He turns to walk away, and Ryan turns to face Donald.

"Who is she?"

But Donald has no answer. He simply shakes his head.

"I don't know... stay here for a moment."

Ryan stands still as Donald rushes off after the Principal. They round the corner at the end of the hall, and the young student can just make out the whispers of their voices. He stands, willing himself not to even breath, because even that much sound would make it impossible to hear what the grown ups are saying.

"Who is she Charles? I'm supposed to know everything that goes on in his Academy."

"It is not your concern, Donald. You are charged with training Ryan Arrowny... keep focus on that task."

"You assured the Protectors that I would have full access to everything. Everything, damn it! They gave you plenty in return. I need to know... if Ryan's been visiting her, then I need to know about her, in order to keep him safe, yes?"

"This was the first time he's been to see her. We have many security measures set up around that room. It will not happen again."

This is where Ryan has to take breath. He loses out on the rest of the conversation, because just as he exhales a great puff of air, Donald comes back around the corner, and motions for Ryan to follow him back up to the main areas of the Academy.

"We'll work on some theory today, rather than anything practical. No fighting or such. It's been a long enough day, and we're all tired."