Capítulo 15: Chapter 15
On my walk to the academy the next morning, I ran into a huge crowd of people blocking the way to the gates. I paused at the edge of the group, wondering what had caused the commotion. Ahead, on one of the academy's walls, I could glimpse something that I knew hadn't been there before. Not blood, but . . . writing.
Across the side wall, visible to the roads of the academic district, uneven letters stood out in bright red paint. And there, someone had written, You're suffocating them.
Anger surged in me. What right did anyone have to deface the walls of my academy? And how did the academy system suffocate us? It had done the exact opposite for me and my classmates. It had enabled us. It had liberated us. Not once had it tried to suffocate us.
Who had done this? There was no doubt in my mind. And was it in response to Nero Randall's message yesterday that he would get it under control? Most likely. The realization blinded me. What right did the hooded man think he had to come after my classmates and me? For what reason would he attack our academy? I dug my fingernails into my palms, half wishing he would appear in the crowd right this minute so we could tear him to pieces.
Through my anger, a thought surfaced. What if he had attended the academies?
What if they had somehow suffocated him?
The tension in my hands relaxed, and for a second, a strange wave of sympathy crashed over me. I thought of his eyes, his face under his hood, the uneasy familiarity, and the potential struggle with the academies. For a minute, the feeling consumed me completely, obliterating all of my anger.
System's Officers pushed aside the crowds and opened the gates, allowing only academy students through. The others shouted and rioted, but the Officers held them back. I followed a few of my fellow students between the Officers and continued on the path to Fourth Level.
You're suffocating them.
The message stood, accusatory, watching us as we processed through the front double doors and into the lobby. I thought of the forest eyes of the hooded man, in the restaurant, outside the student center.
Forest eyes.
I know him.
The thought hit me with the force of a bullet, and I tripped over my uniform shoes, landing on my knees on the floor. The students around me kept walking, except for one, who offered a hand to help me up. The hand, of course, belonged to Cas.
"You okay?" he asked, pulling me up from the ground.
I forced a smile. "I'm fine. Thanks."
"No problem." Cas turned in the direction of the wing where our first classes were located, looking almost over his shoulder to make sure I was coming. "Ready for today?"
"I don't know," I said, shooting a look back at the door. "It's kind of weird, what's going on out there."
"It is," Cas said, "but I, um, kind of meant the homework."
"Oh." I tried to remember whether I had done the homework. "I think so."
"That's good."
We entered the hallway, and he departed for his class, while I left for mine. I walked into the classroom, dropped into my chair, and stared at the board.
I couldn't comprehend a word of the instructions. The same thought kept bouncing back and forth in my head. I know him. I know him. But I didn't understand how or why I felt that with such certainty.
Because he was a criminal. Nero Randall probably wanted his head.
And I knew him.
I struggled through my first class. I could sense Kalle shooting me pointed glances from across the room, but I couldn't return them. What if she could see it on my face? I kept my eyes glued to my notebook.
After school, I pretended the duty of having to pick Maegan up from Second-Level Academy, even though today that duty fell to Drea. I walked home alone and took a shortcut through one of the parks that the six of us had used to visit during Third Level. Halfway through there, I sat down on one of the benches, hugging my textbooks to my chest.
If it really was a memory that resurfaced, you could get cited.
I thought of the hooded man's sharp face and forest-green eyes. I thought of the man from my dream, who looked the same. I remembered the message on the wall of the academy this morning: You're suffocating them.
I knew this man because he had been a classmate of mine. I remembered him because I had once forgotten him on the terms of the Council. And I didn't know why I had forgotten him.
"Miranda," a deep voice said behind me, too close, and I jumped, dropping my books. They tumbled over my lap, and I managed to stop only one from hitting the ground. Seconds after the other one made contact with the pavement, a figure bent in front of me to pick it up. He returned to his normal height, and my eyes met his.
Forest eyes.
Presentes
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recebido Status de energia semanal
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