Canaan Club - 23. Chapter 23

“Three and a half hours,” their lion shifter coach, named Sarabi, spoke near-monotonously as they moved toward the edge of the War Field. “That’s how long this whole thing will take. Six groups for six tests, and you’ve just done two. Which calculates to thirty-five minutes a station. Thankfully, Emais is strict when it comes to time, so this won’t take a second more.

“Okay, so, luckily for us, we get the boring part over with early. You’ll be completing a brief written exam. And I use the term ‘exam’ loosely. It’s just a test of intelligence, where you’re currently at mentally, and what your abilities are.

“There’s right or wrong, but none of it’s for a grade or anything like that. If you do exceptionally well at this but fail at all the others, you can still be useful. Brains over brawns is how the saying goes, so remember that. Let’s take it to the shed.”

Rafe made sure to pace in front of the group as they all followed Coach Sarabi to a single-story structure just a few feet away from the endline of the field. It reminded the blond of a barn, although this one was gunmetal gray, and tacked upon its outer walls were posters and drawings of official members of the Combat clubs.

On the inside, it was basically just an empty barn, except there were about four seminar desks, chairs nicely tucked in and the wood gleaming as the sun rays peeked in and shined upon its surface. The group took their spots. Rafe situated himself in a seat in the corner closest to the exit, which proved to be a lucky spot since he was the first to get the exam.

Coach Sarabi explained as he passed out the rest. “Alright. Put your name at the top right hand of the paper and begin. Raise your hand if you have any questions, and when you’re done, turn it over, sit back, and relax. I’ll collect it in thirty minutes.”

“Any questions now?” the lion shifter looked around, and nobody uttered a word. “Okay, then. Good luck.”

Rafe sighed before starting. It’s been a while since he’s taken a test. Back at the Coat, he pretty much had to be good at taking them in order to keep that pristine image of the Gold family polished. This time, there was no pressure.

But as Rafe went through the questions, he could only feel more puzzled. At first, the questions were rather simple, personal questions.

What is your race/species?

Full-blooded Hermes superhuman.

Where were you born? Be specific.

Wolframite, Washington, United States, Earth.

What are the powers that you currently possess?

Super strength, speed, durability. Martial arts training. Optic lasers (So-so).

Then, it got a little more personal, but nothing too off-putting yet.

What is your family like?

A part of a global enterprise. Represents a corporation that sells everything technology to the masses.

Do you descend from a royal bloodline?

Any legacy family is considered royalty here on Earth, so probably yes.

He didn’t want to go too into detail.

But then, it got… strange.

Do you hear voices inside your head?

There are unwanted memories of a bunch of assholes, but no.

Does anybody in your family have an experience with mental illness that affects their abilities?

Almost my entire family, but I don’t want to waste paper.

Do you derive power from otherworldly forces?

I don’t think so. We’re all pretty self-centered.

“What the fuck…” he muttered to himself, hearing a couple of snickers. One of them, surprisingly, was the coach himself.

He’s definitely taken the exam before.

“What an odd line of questionin’ that was, yeah?” Frodd said to Rafe thirty-five minutes later, walking out of the shed to the next station.

“I know, right? ‘What are your sexual preferences?’ What kind of fucking question is that? Don’t they realize that people under eighteen take these tests?”

He noted the more… “sensual” questions that popped up near the end of the test. They had to throw in an anatomy study in there, too.

“It might have something to do with our teammates. Don’t want any shitehawks diddlin’ what they ain’t supposed to diddle.”

The blond pursed his lips and nodded. “Gotcha.”

Those vampires certainly come to mind.

As they stepped back onto the War Field, Rafe noticed the flying screens in the air, allowing the audience to view the participants as they went through the motions of each phase in the try-outs. And by the looks of it, most were having trouble. Half an hour into it, people were already huffing and puffing. Some even looking ready to pass out.

As they headed toward the third stage, another group zipped into existence, and several of the faces he saw on the display appeared even more haggard in person.

“I-I… I think I’m done,” one gasped.

“How do they expect me to get used to the cold!?” another wheezed and shivered.

Coach Sarabi then suddenly perked up as if just remembering he had an assembly of students behind him, nearly giving himself whiplash as he spun around. “Oh, yeah. Third stage. The endurance test. Prep yourself for this one, guys.”

Endurance, huh?

That was an element practically mandatory in the Gold family. Rafe’s been at the receiving end of his father’s wrath too many times to not build up a tolerance for the extremities of the world.

“Now, you won’t have to do much,” the lion shifter overseer continued, “but you’ll be transported to several different… extreme environments. And when you’re teleported, you’ll have to tolerate the physical stresses that location might have on you. Some of you might be okay, and some of you might not. It’s all about resilience.”

“Getting into the real shit,” Rafe punched his fist into his palm, excitement appearing in the form of a smirk. “Finally.”

“But what if we’re… allergic to certain places?” a weedy kid with antlers asked.

“That’s just it, man,” Coach Sarabi shrugged, although, there was a sympathetic glint in his dark eyes, most likely knowing what they were about to go through. “You have to overcome those weaknesses. Maybe not now, but at least for a few minutes. Now, everyone huddle up. You can move around when you reach your first destination.”

The second they clustered together, an unusual, tight smile graced the lion’s face before waving them farewell.

“Have fun!”

And just before anybody could say anything, reality shifted, going dark for a split-second prior to a wave of blistering heat stunning most of them. Rafe squinted as a sudden bright light filled his gaze. Amidst the freaking out of his peers, he calmly stood in one place and calmly inspected his surroundings. They were in an expanse of golden-brown dunes, the rays of the brilliant sun glaring down on the wide spread of sand and the occasional cacti.

“Gods have mercy!” Frodd hissed, wrapping his arms over his head, taking cover from the sunbeams.

Meanwhile, Rafe, while feeling the hotness crawl through his double-layering and scratch at his body, remained cool and composed. He’s faced worse when being whipped into shape by the Coat, and that thought was enough to chill him out mentally.

One member of their group was particularly taking it hard, though. Expectedly, it was a vampire, a pale, redheaded, and dark-skinned male hunkered down to the ground, screaming and crying about his skin melting off.

“Oh, fuck! Fuck! Fuck! My skin’s fucking burning! Get me the fuck outta here!”

The tall and – quite literally – fiery-haired lady next to him, a firebird shifter, scoffed at the writhing bloodsucker. “Two seconds in and already crying like a little bitch.”

He grabbed his head as if it was about to explode, and maybe it would. Rafe, along with everyone else, could only watch on in discomfort.

“I-I can’t take this! I-”

The world changed again, and this time, the scorching heat was replaced with a wintry breeze as they were transported to the icy tundra. They stood upon a land of unending snow, mountains of ice on all sides of them.

“Jesus!” the firebird cursed, kneeling as her hair blazing hair flickered as if to keep alight in the middle of the Arctic.

“That’s… that’s better,” the vampire sighed in relief.

And it was a relief for most, but that respite only lasted for about half a minute before the near-subzero temperatures started causing physical shivers and trembles.

“Now who’s crying?” a frost giant, towering with blue skin and white hair, smirked down at the quivering firebird mockingly.

“Y-You don’t u-understand. This could… kill m-me…”

The vampire just laughed derisively at the complaint. “It’s all about resilience, bitch.”

Rafe was silent and tenacious as always.

They were teleported to all kinds of places. Ten minutes in, they found themselves on a planet of purple grass and a green sun, where the gravity was much higher than that of Earth.

“I-I-I can’t move!”

“I’m turning into a pancake! Help!”

It was even giving the blond superhuman a bit of trouble as well, his knees bending just slightly as he felt the weight of a million tons settle right on his back.

“Come on,” he coached himself, sweat shooting down like bullets as forcing himself to stand up straight. “You’ve dealt with something like this before. Up, Rafe, up!”

“Impressive, mate,” Frodd, trying to stay up with the help of his club, stammered as he watched the blond. “Y-You’re practically a statue!”

Rafe blinked in surprise, then turned around as much as he could to find the rest of his group ogling him owlishly. They all were either flat on their backs or kneeling, unable to keep upright for long. Rafe was the only one standing.

He shut his eyes and turned away from them, shaking his head before simply stating, “It ain’t something I haven’t gone through before. The Coat’s no joke.”

Thirty minutes in, they were in the endless vastness of… nothing.

Just pitch black all around. Absolute and impenetrable.

And that alone was enough to scar a majority of the participants. When the thirty-five minutes were up, several traumatized students immediately dropped out, thinning Rafe’s group considerably.

“I don’t blame ‘em,” Frodd mentioned as he and Rafe watched them go, both shaken up themselves, but very persistent as well. “I never ever want to go through that again. Especially that last place. It ain’t even a place at all.”

Rafe stretched his limbs out, attempting to get rid of the little tremors. “But we’re okay. We, uh, made it through…”

“Scared already? You’re shaking like a fucking leaf, kid.”

Goddamnit.

“Get fucked, asshole,” Rafe sneered without turning around, not wanting to see a certain ugly mug.

Zoel just chuckled as if it was an inside joke between friends. “Nah, apparently, that’s more of your forte. Where is that little pup anyway? I figured you and him would be attached dick to hole since you seem to shamelessly shove the sight down the rest of our throats every day.”

At that, the superhuman spun around, his silver eyes now glowing red, threatening to laser off the gamma wolf’s head. “Shut the hell up! Don’t speak about him. Don’t look at him. Don’t even think about him! We don’t need you giving us any more issues.”

“Hey, I’m just looking out for the little guys, alright?” the wolf raised his hands in surrender, but nobody missed the slight upturn at the corner of his lips. “Cain pretty much told me what going down from now on, so, I’m just trying to do my part.”

“Well, I’m better than ever, so don’t come back around again. Or ever, for that matter.”

No longer wanting to be in his adversary’s presence, Rafe stomped away before the older male could get another jeer out. Frodd caught up to him, questions already on the tip of his tongue.

“Who-”

“Just another asshole. Don’t worry about it.”

-POI-

“Alright. Fourth stage. The speed and stamina test. How fast can you go, whether it’s flying or running or whatever, and how long can you go that fast? You’ll be transported again, but do not worry. This planet is pretty much empty. Somewhat. The only rule is that you are to move and move as fast as you can until you can move no more. It’s no race, but you’ll know when the light turns green.”

That was what Coach Sarabi said a minute ago. And now, they found themselves in a sea of what one would assume to be roses and vegetables. Instead of one sun, two hung in the midday sky, co-existing with a dozen small moons.

“It’s… like a garden planet,” the ginger vampire gaped.

The firebird shifter nodded, impressed by what she was seeing. “It’s beautiful. A splendid place for uninterrupted meditation.”

As if to deliver a counterpoint to her statement, a beastly roar resounded just behind them. The group stood in shock and terror as a massive, long-legged spider creeped out of the shrubbery, beady, black eyes hungry and set on its next meal.

“Oh, fuck no!” Ginger Vampire whispered in horror before turning tail.

On Rafe’s side, he was immediately on the defensive, but then recalled what Coach Sarabi had vaguely mentioned.

“It’s no race, but you’ll know when the light turns green.”

“That’s it!” then followed after the vampire.

Everyone else did the same, some tripping over themselves in the process. Despite the arduous nature of the previous stage, his continuous adrenaline still gave him bursts of energy that had him moving through the land at the speed of sound.

Shockingly, Frodd was keeping up as well as he could, hanging in fourth place – just behind the firebird lady, with Rafe in second and the redheaded vampire in first. Fifteen minutes later, three-fourths of the group expended all their horsepower. The young barbarian was the latest to tap out, stumbling right into a lake the moment he ran out of gas.

Thirty-two minutes later, in a secluded lead were Rafe and the vampire, now neck and neck. They dodged through ponds of odd coloring, long vines, and thick tree trunks that housed the unknown planet’s exotic animals.

“You’re pretty fast for a human,” the vamp bared his fangs in a grin. “You spend a lot of time running away from monsters?”

Rafe kept his eyes on the road ahead but still replied coldly. “More like chasing them, which I’m doing right now.”

“What’s with the animosity, bro? You simians always act bigger than your britches allow. Not saying that’s necessarily a bad thing. I like a confident human. They taste better.”

Rafe narrowed his eyes into a murderous glare, wanting the guy to back off. No leech was ever going to get a drop of his blood. He might have asked Andre about it in passing, but he knew why he didn’t press on. Hearing about blood magic was enough for the superhuman to steer clear of the things.

“But sometimes you need to just stay in your lane,” the vampire scrutinized Rafe up and down, weaving around the environment without having to look at where he was going. “There’s no way you can keep up with the speed of a vampire. I might be a whelp, but the fastest vehicle alive can’t even keep up with me.”

“You can certainly run your mouth a mile a minute,” the blond growled, but it only made the undead creature bark out laughing.

“You got jokes, but I felt the pacing was a little off. Here! Let me show you how it’s really done!”

Then, the air around the bloodsucker popped as his legs began to blur, his speed surging to new heights to widen the gap between him and the superhuman. It was a natural affinity for the undead species and trying to compete with it was a ludicrous idea.

“What’s the matter!? Can’t keep up!?”

Rafe cursed, gritting his teeth as he tried to get his feet to up the tempo, but no matter how much energy he put into them, the space only increased. Plus, he was running out of steam, evident by the lagging in his steps. It wasn’t a race, but the leech just made it one.

Noticing this, the redhead smirked, eager to see the boy fall. “Oh, tapping out? It’s okay to topple sometimes! Gotta know when you’re beat-”

He cut himself off abruptly. For a second, Rafe thought the vamp had sped off, but when he chanced a glance, his ginger opponent was no longer smug. Instead, he gawked. Specifically, at his legs.

“What the…?”

Facing down, Rafe realized he was no longer touching the ground. He was literally running on air. Rafe froze, but his body kept moving forth, his hovering somehow pushing at a higher rate than the vampire. The blond darted past him, and his surroundings distorted. On instinct, Rafe forced himself to go upward by sucking in his stomach, and just like that, he was up in the atmosphere, soaring over the beautiful garden planet at top speed.

“Oh, shit! Holy shit!” he breathed out frantically, nervous laughing bubbling out of him while he tried to get ahold of his wobbly gliding.

He was doing it. He was really flying! The high winds were blowing across his face. The people below were specks as his body defied the laws of gravity. And he was hurtling at a speed faster than a vampire whelp.

Joe, eat your fucking heart out-

All of a sudden – a plateau.

Rafe hissed, trying to steer out of the way, but it was nothing like driving a car.

“Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap-”

It was like stubbing a toe, and those really hurt. At least, according to the normal humans Rafe had spoken to. One second, he was creating a sizable crater against the highland, then the next, he was face-planting against the warm, rocky ground.

He was left disoriented, not knowing right from left. It took him several seconds, but when the throbbing in his head receded into a dull ache, he gazed up to find himself back in the War Field. The blond attempted to stand up but pitched over. And he would have fallen back down if a pair of cold hands hadn’t stopped his descent.

“Woah. That was a pretty hefty hit you took there,” the redheaded vampire checked Rafe, the conceit now completely gone. “You okay?”

Rafe stiffened at first, though, sensing no hostility or mocking in his voice, he let himself be lifted until he was steady. “Yeah. That was my first time flying. Of course, I was gonna mess it up.”

“Hey, no judgment here. That was pretty impressive. You were moving so fast, I thought you were gonna lap around the entire planet. Even the firebird back there couldn’t go that fast.”

Detecting sincerity, an oddity since he at least knew the guy was older than him.

“Thanks, man.”

“Name’s Landon,” the vamp offered a handshake. “Though, you gotta give me some of the credit. My blustering did push you to new heights, didn’t it?”

“Rafe,” the superhuman reciprocated, a light smile on his face. “And I’ll give you that one, bloodsucker.”

The vampire chuckled before leaving Rafe alone. And when the blond was on his own again. He concentrated on his feet.

Easily enough, his feet levitated above the ground. A lot more stable than last time as a bonus, too. He hoped Andre saw all that. Even the part where he crashed.

Rafe snickered.

-POI-

“Now, where are you?” Rafe scanned the forest slowly and carefully for any signs.

A blueberry was on his mind, and he needed to get it now.

As per the rules of the fifth stage – the sensory test. The remainder of the group were taken to a large forest in god-knows-where, where they had to search for the one berry. The blond didn’t know anything about plants and looking for something so incredibly small was like hunting for a needle in a haystack. Although, in this case, there were several needles, and Rafe was starting to realize that the other members were teleported somewhere too far out since they have yet to cross each other in the last twenty minutes.

Andre, with that nose of his, would excel at this in the first couple of seconds.

He was about to spiritually channel his wolf friend’s sense of smell when good fortune decided to come his way. Five minutes later, he stumbled upon a bush with a single blueberry. Andre must have been praying for him.

“There you are. Come to Papa,” he went to grab it when it was suddenly snatched by another hand.

“Oops. Gotta be quicker than that, squirt,” Zoel snickered down at the first-year as he punched the blueberry between his fingers over him.

“Hey! The hell are you doing!? Give it here!” Rafe was not going to jump for the asshole wolf, instead choosing to drive a fist back so he could hurl it into his guts.

How in God’s name did he get here anyway? What piece of shit let him through?

“Not so fast!” the gamma quickly caught the punch and gripped it tightly to keep Rafe from making any more moves. “I’m sick and tired of waiting for some answers. You may have gotten Cain on my back, but there’re things you don’t know. He getting lazy, which makes it easier to find opportunities to fuck with you.”

“The fuck is your damage, asshole!?” the blond, beyond sick and tired of the games, shouted, his voice edging on hysterics. “Ever heard of ‘stay out of my way, and I stay out of yours?’”

Zoel just scoffed. “That’s seriously rich coming from you. That idea went out the window you stook up for that blue-headed bitch. Speaking of, I’ve been looking for her all this time, but I keep forgetting that she’s quite the loose one, if you know what I mean.”

“You’re fucking disgusting.”

“Of course, you wouldn’t understand. Tell me where she is and what she’s done with the bag, and I promise I’ll leave you and your butt buddies out of things from now on.”

Rafe ripped his arm away from Zoel and glowered. “You already don’t respect your own alpha, which means your word means shit. Since I’m capable of that, I’m not telling you a damn thing!”

The older male went slack-jawed as if seeing what loyalty between friends actually appeared to be. It definitely wasn’t the master-servant relationship he had with the de Boule twins.

“You. You’re seriously shielding some girl you’ve only met a week ago? That’s pathetic!”

“Pretty sure that’s how you make friends. Although, I wouldn’t expect you to know,” Rafe said dryly. “You’re more used to having your little twins suck you off.”

Zoel was stunned, and the superhuman took that opportunity to dart forward and try to snatch the blueberry back, but at the last second, the gamma flung his hand forward and smacked his palm against the blond’s chest, the berry in between them.

Rafe gasped as his white shirt was smeared in the blue and purple ruins of the fruit.

“Watch your back, scum!” Zoel spat lividly before spinning around and stomping into the forestry and out of view, leaving behind a cross first-year.

That bastard just…

The session ended much later, and Rafe was still fuming, marching past Coach Sarabi, who gaped at the mess on his shirt.

“Where-”

“I fell on it.”

The sixth stage was a simple strength test – punch at the slab of metal before them and see if it breaks. The moment the coach finished speaking, Rafe cut ahead to the front of the line, his anger still alive and raging.

“Hey-”

One sinister glare was enough to shut the heckler down. And before anybody said anything, the superhuman latched onto the bottom of the slab and, combining his strength and fury, flung it into the air.

It wasn’t enough.

He readied a punch while, some moments later, the block came soaring down. However, the blond remained unmoving until-

CRASH!

It landed flat on top of him.

Silence reigned for several beats until the question they all had at the forefront of their minds was voiced aloud.

“Did it kill him?”

“Just wait for the blood to seep through.”

But the only crimson that came was the glowing red eyes of the superhuman after the slab exploded into bits and pieces, Rafe having punched a straight hole into it. Everyone, even some club members spectating from the sidelines, had their jaws hit the floor. Unfortunately, he was too busy seething to notice and bathe in the awe and fear.

With all the stages done, the inflamed blond trudged away from the field, gawking people moving out of the way of the demonic-looking first-year.

“Well, that’s a first,” Coach Sarabi whistled, a bead of sweat trailing down the side of his furry face.