SERAPHINA'S POV
More than five minutes have passed since I've been locked inside here and most of my panicking has subsided by now.
So, I made a mistake and trusted Lucian, big whoop, life goes on. It still stings a bit in my chest, but I know it's the last time I'm ever going to let myself be fooled like this.
I pace back and forth, biting on my nail and trying to figure out my next line of action because one thing is for sure, I definitely can't stay here - not while my chance to revolutionize this school is almost at hand.
I look to the windows as an option but then, I remember that stepping out through it would mean plummeting from a tall building and meeting my eventual demise from the fall.
That's not an option.
I contemplate more, staring all through the room until my eyes make contact with a vent high-up on the walls, on the other side of the room.
Only goddess knows where it leads to, but it's my only option. As long as it leads me out of this room, then I'm fine with it.
I drag a table up to the wall, then a sturdy wooden chair next, placing it right on the table and ignoring the dust gathering in the air from moving everything around and then, I climb up to the vent.
Luckily for me, the guard isn't bolted shut, so I pull it out, tossing it to the side and lifting myself into it.
I fit just perfectly into the tiny crawl space with only a little cramping, but I can manage it for a while until I find an escape route eventually.
So, without looking backwards, I start to move.
I crawl for a few minutes, realizing that the space grows smaller every few meters with the air in here getting quite thin, and when I don't think it can get worse, I hear a squeak.
I freeze on the spot, hoping to god that it's not what I think it is.
Sure enough, a huge fucking rat comes running up to me at full speed and leaps right onto my hair. I scream at the top of my voice, struggling to get it off me while it erratically claws and hangs onto the tip of my brown hair.
It crawls all the way to the back where I can barely reach, and I have to roll around just to get it off. My rolling has an even worse negative effect though, because the area around me begins to bend.
The support of the vent just barely holds my weight and with my sudden movement, it caves right under me and I descend down to the hard floor of wherever I am, crashing with my shoulder first.
The little pest uses me to break its fall and jumps right over me after.
I groan in pain, clutching onto my bruised shoulder and rolling onto my back to stare at wherever I am, and lucky enough, I'm somewhere familiar that isn't where I was locked up before.
I stand to my feet with the help of my good arm, making my way towards the tournament. One step forward and I wince, realizing I may have twisted an ankle in the fall, but it's not going to stop me either.
I limp my way down the hallway and to the stairwell, all the way back down to the tournament hall. I can already hear the crowd cheering from behind the other side of the door before I kick right through it and step in.
Everyone else spotting me freezes and stares as though I'm some grotesque creature, and I figure it's because of my appearance.
Most of the grime and dust in the vent I crawled through has already rubbed off on my clothes with a few rips and tears in places from the fall.
I ignore the stares, walking up closer to the stage with determination just in time to see Artemis. He pulls at his bow, striking his third arrow right in the middle of the other two that had hit the bull's-eye mark perfectly.
The crowd cheers again from his display of skill while he bows in honor like a dignified prince.
Pfft.
"And that's a wrap for today's tournament, the results will be in soon."
"Wait!" I yell from where I am, breathing heavier because of the weight of walking with one functioning leg.
Eyes turn to me just as silence ensues, and I climb up to the stage amidst it all.
The contestants stare, looking over me, bewildered by my appearance but I ignore them, going forward to compete as well. It's not yet over for me.
I stand on the spot where the arrow is fired, realizing I have no bow with me. I left it in that damned nurse's office.
Don't tell me this is how it ends?
I know no one will bother offering theirs to me right now, based on their hateful stares. Right there, I feel my growing meltdown coming from this horrifying day, a hot sting in my eyes, but then...
"Here." A voice calls to me, and I turn around to meet Artemis' eyes.
In his hand is an outstretched bow that looks different from the ones everyone else was given, fancier and more ancient looking, and I immediately guess that it's something that probably runs in his family.
"Will I burst into flames if I touch this?" I ask cautiously, doubting the reason behind the gesture.
He rolls his eyes at me.
"If you're going to show up looking like shit at the last moment, you might as well fire an arrow for the heck of it." He says plainly.
I doubt his words and reason for handing it to me because who knows, this might just be another ploy from someone else. But there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it and no one seems to want to lend out theirs.
I take it from his hands, mumbling a small thank you before looking back at the target.
"Are you ready?" The announcer asks me just as a few people in the crowd snicker among themselves, pissing me off even more.
I nod, taking position and aiming for the target before I shoot.
It lands right in the yellow circle, closest to the red bull's-eye.
A set of unenthusiastic clapping follows, but I don't let myself get unfazed. I just want to do this and get it over with.
I pull my second arrow, getting ready to aim again, closing just one eye to focus my field of vision.
However, something strange happens.
There's an instant shift in the air while my body suddenly feels like it's being lifted off the ground, which is weird because I'm sure I'm still grounded.
The sounds around me quickly fades until they're miles away from me.
My vision blurs while I try to focus.
The world around me turns darker and what feels like a shadow leaps out of the bow, grasping onto my hand firmly. The feeling of ants crawling all over my body follows next.
I struggle with it, trying to pull my hands away and scream, but I can't and when I look forward again, there's no target in front of me anymore - instead, I'm staring at a burning village.
Like an out of body experience, I'm standing in front of numerous buildings, consumed by red flames with cries of help echoing in the air and a strong smell of blood that's too potent to breathe in.
"What the..." I whisper under my breath, unable to complete my words in the presence of a horrifying sight that ignites terror within me.
My chest hurts just from watching on helplessly as I wonder where the fuck I am now.
From the corner of my eyes, I spot an animal on all fours, tall as I am far ahead, and as I keep looking, it finally turns to me, revealing itself to be a huge black wolf with deep red eyes directed at me.
I freeze, feeling fear too strong that it cripples me in place. I'm unable to run or speak, or cry for help.
The feeling that I'm about the die overwhelms me instantly before it begins running toward me and leaps halfway into the air.
"Seraphina!" My name is called, and I'm thrown back into reality harshly.
Suddenly, I'm back in school, up on a stage in front of everyone again, and I've already shot the bow that's flown completely off course.
My heart pounds too fast, wanting to burst through my chest and a single tear drop slides from my eye.
What the fuck was that?
I stare down at the bow in my hands, a sixth sense telling me that whatever that was has something to do with this intricately carved wooden bow.
"If you're not going to shoot the damn arrow, get your ass off the stage, human!" Someone yells from the crowd and more murmuring ensues while I'm already disorientated by my vision.
"C'mon, we don't have all day! You suck!" More students yell at me from the crowd endlessly, but I zone out their taunts.
I take deep breaths to calm myself down again, pushing back the vision I witnessed to the back of my mind, reminding myself that it's not important and I need to focus.
I grab another arrow, aiming for the target this time again.
My eyes still feel a bit dizzy and my head throbs painfully, but I shoot it this time before I have an out of body experience again.
The arrow flies through the air, striking just the edge of the target and farther from the bull's-eye than the first one.
An uproar of laughter follows next, the opposite of Artemis' applause from earlier.
Not one of them holding back in their taunting, letting me know just how much I suck. It's endless until I'm forced to drown out just every bit of it while I sink further into an abyss of my own making.