Canaan Club - 32. Chapter 32

Andre sighed as he set down the two backpacks of canteens. In all honesty, aside from being the water boy, which he was doing well at being, there wasn’t much of a difference from just watching Rafe train in the gym for several hours.

Although, the process seemed a bit more rigorous. Coach Hemming, the head instructor, in the span of forty-five minutes, subjected them to one brutal workout after another. Running with weights, pinky pushups, seemingly endless shadow boxing, and many other things that would kill a normal person.

All without the use of powers. Gia Hallsworth, eat your heart out.

Thankfully, the wolf coach was satisfied with the energy he had stolen from them and called for a five-minute before their last session.

“You know, to be honest, this doesn’t seem too different from FTS,” Andre mentioned to Rafe as he refilled the canteens for the others, who looked like they were about to drop dead at any second.

Rafe, however, appeared lively and glowing more than ever in his damp a-shirt and sweatpants. He was in his element here. The young wolf did his best to ignore the slight stirring in his stomach.

The blond shrugged. “I guess. FTS is like history class and gym rolled up into one. This… is just pure fighting, which is more of my style.”

“Yeah. All sweat and stink.”

Rafe grinned as he swallowed the water in four gulps, then handed the empty canteen back to his friend, snarking. “Get back to your post, water boy.”

After the break ended, Sigil sorted their trainees into a single file line and led the charge throughout Ironward, sprinting across the campus. Before everyone left, most were only mildly haggard and tired. Fifteen minutes later, they looked to be at death’s door when they returned. A few participants had to be carried on their fellow novice’s shoulders. Even Rafe and Joe appeared to be more winded than usual. Daeran seemed to be the most exhausted of the three while Landon, being a vampire, looked practically unaffected by the whole thing.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t getting a good workout in. Being under the sun for longer than normal helped with that, surely.

Andre whipped a sheen of sweat from his brow and chuckled to himself as he began filling up another round of water in each canteen. Time to go on the double.

“Don’t think the lesson is over after we’ve finished up things here, prospects!” Coach Hemming exclaimed, unsympathetic. “Tonight’s a home game for the advanced level teams, and it’s required you show up to the first one of the year to see how things are done. Makes things go faster.”

“Does that mean…” Daeran quirked an eyebrow from where he laid spread-eagle on the ground, and beside him, Joe smiled excitedly.

“We’ll get to see the Abellon Club in action.”

Landon shrugged nonchalantly, not impressed by the news. “And win, most likely. Honestly, it’ll probably be boring. If they’re as strong as everyone is making them out to be, then it’ll be a quick and easy wish. Minimal blood or bruising? Not my idea of a good time.”

“Well, we’ll get to see something and take a measure of what we’ll need to work up to,” Rafe replied.

Of course, he was already liking the idea. Andre could tell.

“It won’t be much. I guess we’ll just have to wait one more year for Deyja and that Cain guy to duke it out. Now that will be a sight worth seeing.”

Out of the corner of their eyes, they all turned to once again spot Frodd and Daup before each other. Once more, the older barbarian shook his head, disappointment emanating from the scowl on his face, before giving his exhausted, hunched clan member his back to watch as he left. For the second time, the first-year redhead was put back in the dumps.

“Damn. Again?” Joe cursed. “What will take for that guy to see something in him?”

Rafe scoffed. “I don’t know, but I’m not expecting him to be impressed any time soon. And Frodd shouldn’t either.”

Instead of watching their fellow first-year walk off in shame again, Joe steered the conversation, turning his attention to the vampire. “Landon, I’m real jealous of you, bro. You’re as dry as a bone over there.”

At that, he shrugged with a little bit of a haughty smirk. “Perks of being an undead creature of the night, my friend. I used to be a faucet back when I was human, but it turns out that getting kidnapped and bitten really worked wonders for my host of anxiety disorders. God bless Elder Loredana.”

Everyone and anybody nearby listening in gawked. Landon was still smiling jovially, either unaware of or ignoring the ogling he was getting at the casual mention of his abduction.

Leeches are fucking weird, Rafe thought to himself.

He was going to ask more about it, but a certain coach cut him off before he could.

“Alright, fresh meat,” Hecuba called out. “Time for some last-minute lessons. You’re not dismissed until everything on the agenda is completed.”

“Man,” Joe sighed as he and a few others reluctantly stood up. “But I’m already so tired. I’m ready for a long nap.”

“Nope. The first meet’s in a couple of days. Gotta be ready,” Sigil spoke in their rapid manner.

Jaws instantaneously hit the floor at hearing that. After only one day of practice, the first time they get to fight in front of a wide audience will be happening in just forty-eight hours.

Of course, while everyone else was freaking out, Rafe could not be more gleeful on the inside than he was now. To him, it was all considered training for the “big day.” This will just be another lesson.

“Th-That soon!?” Daeran gaped.

“It’s more of a placement test for schools than anything official,” Coach Hemming shrugged, “but it’s also the time for first impressions, and we need to be absolutely ready to put the fear of God into the competition.”

Rafe punched his palm. “Sounds a-okay to me. What are we doing? Are we fighting you guys?”

“You can choose between Coach Hemming, Sigil, or myself,” Hecuba pointed out. “Just a quick thirty seconds to take out your frustration on us.”

“Good to know. You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you, Coach?”

That irritating smirk just broadened all the more. The blond superhuman was extremely eager to wipe it off her face. He just had to catch her first.

“I’ll go first. You’re up, Collins,” he stepped up before anyone else could.

They relocated to the center of the War Field and stood a good ten spaces away from each other, awaiting the signal. Nearby, Coach Hemming held a stopwatch in his hand, thumb ready on the start button.

“Thirty seconds. Ready? Go!” he clicked.

Rafe dashed as fast as he could, trying to reach the esper before she teleported. Unfortunately, Hecuba was already prepared for that kind of speed and zipped out of harm’s way before the first-year could reach her. She reappeared behind her.

“Gonna need to be faster than that, kid,” she taunted.

Rafe did his best to filter it out and leaped backward, diving in reverse with a roundhouse kick to her head, but once again, she was gone.

“Come on. Where are you aiming?”

Rafe quickly shook his head to rid the sweat off his forehead and glowered at the esper. “If I wasn’t so fucking tired…!”

That growing anger transferred into his eyes, making them go red prior to firing out twin lasers, much faster than he could move right now. However, even that wasn’t enough to get her, vanishing out of thin air as the beams struck at the patch of ground she had stood upon and drew up rock and dust.

“Fifteen!” Coach Hemming called.

Rafe forced his body to move quicker despite the abuse he had done to it earlier. He knew he was being reckless, but Hecuba’s movements were getting easier to follow.

It was too damn bad she wouldn’t shut up.

“Didn’t the COW teach you to go faster than that?” her everlasting grin suddenly went from teasing to something akin to sadistic.

An unnerving gleam entered her eyes as she stared at the blond superhuman expectantly.

“What!?” Rafe blinked.

“Twenty-five!”

She just shrugged, tilting her head up condescendingly. “Can’t stay far away enough from Daddy’s fists with that speed.”

“You’re weak, boy.”

What happened next, barely anyone saw.

One moment, Rafe stood stock still, all and any emotion on his face draining away. Then the next, he was suddenly right in front of Hecuba, whose eyes widened in surprise at being caught off guard. Her senses picked up on the fist headed her way just in time, angling her head to the left, but she wasn’t able to escape a deep skid mark on her cheek. It was like a cut, bleeding strips of red.

“Time!” Coach Hemming pressed his stopwatch and immediately dismissed the two, turning to the crowd to draw out the second challenger. “Next!”

Meanwhile, Hecuba thumbed her wound, licking the blood before turning impressed eyes to her opponent. “Nice one-”

Rafe wasn’t having it.

The deadliest glare he could muster, cold and murderous, was directed at her, and for a second, the superhuman had half a mind to laser her head clean off right then and there. Damn the consequences. The only thing keeping him from doing so was because he knew he would miss.

Goddamn espers.

“You. Don’t. Know. Shit.”

And before he could enact on his dark thoughts, he stomped off the War Field, not bothering to wait for any sort of dismissal from the coaches.

Andre and the others were instantly on his tail, following him until he promptly froze near the greenhouse dome where Rotar taught. He was frantically scratching his head and groaning lowly, trembling and muttering to himself.

Scratching, scratching, scratching like trying to rid his head of an itch that just won’t go away.

Daeran, Joe, and Landon were bemused and bewildered, but Andre was sadly all too familiar with this. Though, it hasn’t happened in so long.

A panic attack.

“Uh, Rafe? Are you-” Daeran spoke but was cut off by Rafe’s rough, sharp tone.

“You need to go. All of you.” He didn’t spin around to face them when he uttered those words.

“That was fucked up, what she said,” Joe tried to gently reassure him. “We should tell Mr. Gylarcan or someone.”

“No!” the blond superhuman slammed his hands against his head, his shaking almost turning violent. “No, don’t worry about it. Just leave me alone! I’ll catch up.”

Landon remained silent but concerned, nonetheless.

While the others were worried, Andre was brave enough to take a few steps forward, wanting to embrace his best friend with a warm hug. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re here. You don’t have to-”

“I said leave me the fuck alone!” Rafe finally spun around, eyes now viridescent and lethal.

His scream caused a wave of hot air to blow out, but he wasn’t sure it was that that made the four flinch back. However, seeing that, especially Andre – the boy who was first to see some good in him – rear back in fear…

…because of him.

Rafe’s rage immediately evaporated, leaving behind gray orbs full of shock and horror.

I-I… I almost…

He couldn’t even think it.

As the silence reigned on, the blond backpedaled away from the people he almost… no…

“Fuck!” he turned away and blasted into the sky, flying off at such high speeds not even Joe nor Landon had any hope of catching up.

“Rafe, wait!” Andre yelled, but it was futile.

Rafe was gone.