Perfect School

Kira:

I gazed out the window during the drive. To all appearances I looked bored. But inside I felt a sliver of dread at once more returning to Marie. I couldn't pick why I was feeling that way, and yet still it existed.

Upon exiting the car I took the lead, moving through the halls until I pushed open the door to the gymnasium. This place too had it's own memories. Whenever I was to be tested before Marie and her people it was here. And here too was where Jonah had been tested. My gaze slid over to Kyra and I couldn't help but wonder just how she might be tried in this room.

I kept my hands clasped together, gazing at Marie as she spoke. It had been a surprise for Marie to want to see Kyra but it paled in comparison to the emotions both woman shared between each other. Enough so that I glanced between them both, body tensing just enough that I felt I could get between them should something happen.

Jonah:

It was recognition that I had seen in Kyra’s eyes. And loathing. Maria leaned forward, scraping Kyra with her gaze. “I imagine so. Now, I want to see what you can do,” She said and motioned to the middle of the mat. Kyra’s brows twitched together. “Kira, take her over there, let’s see how long she can last against you.”

This was the same thing she had done with me, only Kyra didn’t stand a chance against Kira. Everyone in the room knew that.

Kira:

Again my expectations and the events that happened were far from each other. I gazed from Kyra to Marie for a moment then removed my shoes and advanced into the gym. I took a few hops as I took up my position, checking the limberness of my body. "Come Kyra, the quicker this is done with the better for you."

Jonah:

“Jonah, come sit with me,” Marie said while the two girls prepared for their spar. “And Kira, don’t show her special treatment because she’s your cousin!” She called out to her in a condescending tone.

“Now Jonah, watch what I can make happen. My best trained against yours.” She smiled icily. I sat silently, watching. She wanted to use Kyra to demonstrate her power and I hated it, not just because it was stripping my own power, but also because Kyra didn’t deserve to be treated this way.

Kira:

The only treatment I offered Kyra was waiting for her to take off her shoes too and get into position. After that it was a one sided fight. Kyra was good, as close to a natural at this as one could be. But I'd had better teachers, and had more instinct than her. More than that though was the different ways we approached the fight. I could see it in her moves as we dueled. She didn't truly want to hurt me, not in any lasting way. Andd my orders were clear, to see how long she could last.

I didn't show her special treatment but so too did I not go for anything that would cause lasting harm. Her hair was free for me to attack, grab, and use. But I avoided damaging her face. It was happenstance that my elbow collided with her nose and a spray of blood landed on my face. I paused then as Kyra fell backwards clutching her nose. Raising a hand to my face I wiped at some of the blood, gazing at it upon my palm.

My pulse began to beat louder in my ears, drowning out everything as I gazed at the ruby liquid.

Kyra:

I held my nose in an attempt to stop the bleeding but red splotches had already stained my lavender shirt. My nose stung, but what really got me was a hit to the center of my chest. Combined the two injuries made it hard to breathe. I got to my feet, swallowing the blood in my mouth, and taking in deep painful breaths.

I was furious, not because of what Kira had done, but because I was in this situation. Marie was a vile person who had torn someone out of my family, that she had any control over me was revolting.


Jonah:

Kyra hadn't performed her best and it was almost embarrassing. Yet I knew it was probably for the better. I wanted Marie to underestimate me. "Mm, dissapointing," Marie muttered.

Kira:

The world took on a haze, and still the pulse pounded away at my hearing. Slowly I flexed my fingers, and my tongue darted out to carefully lick at my lips. The iron taste of blood filled my mouth fueling a lust within me. Raising my head I gazed at Kyra. I hadn't been told to stop. I could see the blood on her shirt and on her face.

I wanted more.

I took a single hop towards her, crossing the distance between us while spinning. Momentum coiled along my body as my foot shot out in a heavy round house kick to her midriff. It was followed soon behind by an elbow jabbed towards her throat.

Jonah:

My stomach clenched when Kira continued. It was different, this was her wanting to fight, not just being ordered to. Kyra went on defensive after being kicked in the stomach. She even managed to block a jab to her throat. Marie wasn't going to call it off, not until Kyra was finished. I just had to watch my best fighter be broken down.

Marie finally called it off when Kira wrestled Kyra to the floor. "Go get your girl," Marie commanded. I got up and crossed the mat without looking at Kira. When I reached her, Kyra was clutching at her ribs. Her nose, which was still bleeding, was forgotten. Rather than helping her to her feet I muttered for her to stay on the ground.

I told her to pinch her nose while I probed her side with my hand. She inhaled sharply when I reached the second rib on her right. I hoped it was just bruised, but knowing Kira it was probably at least cracked.

"Get her up. I have another task for her," Marie called out. Whether the order was for me of Kira, I didn't know, but I helped Kyra to her feet all the same. My patience with Maire was being tested today more than any other. First I had seen how She had Kira treated, and now she was mistreating my own hand-picked team member.

Kyra's breathing was laborious but she whispered that she was okay and for me to let her stand on her own.

Kira:

I was called off, but I didn't want to stop. A detached part of me was sickened by the joy I had felt in inflicting every bit of pain onto Kyra. The rest of me craved more, sizing up Jonah this time as he came near. I climbed to my feet as Kyra did. I didn't want to wait for an order, and my muscles tensed in readiness. The detached part of me knew I would lose if I didn't take Jonah out on that first strike, but what part of me was in control didn't care. It wanted more blood, to inflict pain, to hear it and see it. My spar with Kyra was done, but I was far from being any less of a danger.

Jonah:

I glanced at Kira and saw the way she was looking at me. Without a weapon, she wasn’t an immediate danger. If need be, I could handle her. And clearly Marie wasn’t concerned, or else she would be addressing Kira rather than me and Kyra. Perhaps she was still punishing her for being weak.

Marie typed something into her laptop and a minute later two people walked into the room towing someone who was bound and struggling behind them.

“Give her the knife,” She instructed the one closest to her. The guy crossed the room and handed Kyra a knife which she took skeptically. I looked to Kira again, gaging her control. Every part of me was aware of her and ready to move if necessary, even if it meant angering Marie.


Kyra:

I held the knife and watched the two guards force the prisoner to his knees. “Kyra, I want you to kill him,” Marie said with a gesture to the guy.

I was a killer, there was no denying that, but the only time I had ever killed someone who was tied down and defenseless was during the school examinations. This wasn’t my job and she wasn’t my boss.

“No,” I said even though my body ached to speak. I griped the knife handle with white knuckles. “Excuse me?” The prisoner struggled more. “I wont do this. I’m not one of your weapons,” I gestured to Jonah and Kira. “I have no place here, doing what you say.”

Her expression soured but she didn’t address me again. “Kira, take the knife and dispose of him.” She spoke icily.

Kira:

It was a war within myself. Trying to draw up the willpower and strength to pull back this monster that was overtaking me. I was only faintly aware of the happenings around me, of the power struggle going on between two very willful women. It wasn't until my name was called that I took stock of everything that had been going on.

I was moving automatically, taking the knife from Kyra and inspecting the edge. The bloodthirsty part of me still craved more. To inflict pain, to draw blood out. And I had the perfect chance for it. My orders were to dispose of the man, not how quickly I had to do it. Advancing upon the bound and hooded man I crouched before him, slowly drawing the knife across his chest, slicing through his flesh and shirt.

Jonah:

Kyra looked away from her cousin with a brief look of disgust flashing across her face before she could hide it.  I watched indifferently as Kira worked.  She wasn't much better than the man who had made her flinch, except she was eventually going to kill this man rather than simply play with him.

My goal was to get Kyra safely back to the others.  She was one of the precious few people I would risk damage to myself to keep safe despite her feelings about me.  

"Since she is unwilling, may I take Kyra back?" I asked Marie once Kira had finally ended the mans life.  Marie didn't want slaves.  Some of her workers may have been unhappy under her, but they had gotten themselves into that position.  She wouldn't force Kyra to work for her.  My only worry was that she would abuse the girl to make a point to me and to Kira.  

Marie fixed me with a chilling stare.  "You are staying here, Jonah.  Much like Kira, you need reconditioning."  She looked to her bloody protegee.  "Kira will take her back to her home."  

My mind raced with the possibilities of what Marie would have me do.  She would try to break me again.  I had the confidence to assume that she wouldn't be able to, but it was sure to be unpleasant.  I looked back into Maries eyes, my face impassive.

I gazed at the dead body before me, knife still held loosely in my grip. His form was a mess. Cuts covering him, all to make him bleed and to bring out every bit of pain I could. I was slow to look back at Marie, my gaze almost feral in how it flickered over the woman. It moved to Jonah and my grip adjusted on the blade. I could take care of him now. He wasn't looking, none of them were. One thrust and he would be down, a follow through towards Kyra and she would be bleeding heavily. Blood....How I wanted more.

I frowned and shook my head, letting the knife fall to plant itself point down into the floor. "Kyra. Come.". I didn't look to know if she was following, it would be her own fault if she wasn't. Out in the hallway i still felt like I was vibrating, high on adrenaline and a feeling I couldn't place.

'Whats happening to me...'

I paused in the hallway as a floor to ceiling mirror caught my eye. Slowly I made my way to it, heart pounding as iconsidered just what I might see. But with a breath to steel my self I stepped before it and turned to gaze at myself.

I wasn't ready for what I saw. I looked feral, hungry, dangerous, and insane. I was covered in blood, it stained my arms, some on my face, my clothes. And as my stomach lurched I understood the feeling from before. I was blood thirty. I wanted more. Pressing a hand to the mirror I almost retched at the thought, breath rate and heartbeat speeding up as I gazed at myself in horror.

'Whats wrong with me?' I wondered again in my head. 'Am I a monster?'

Kyra:

My stomach had knotted itself while Kira tortured her victim. She wasn’t an assassin in that moment, she was a wild animal taking pleasure in the torment of her prey. Finally, Jonah spoke up on my behalf once the girl finished.

When Marie gave the order for Kira to take me back and not Jonah, a dagger of fear slid into my tightly knotted stomach. I was afraid both for Jonah, and for myself alone with Kira. I met his gaze when she called me to come with her. I couldn’t hide my emotions, not from him, and for a moment I thought I saw a flicker of concern flash in his eyes.

“Go,” He said quietly to me with a nod after Kira. I went, not thinking about the pain in my body, but about how totally helpless we all were in the hands of this mad woman. Before I walked through the door, I looked at Marie with every ounce of venom I had. She laughed at me, but no lines of amusement wrinkled her face.

When I reached Kira in the hallway, she had stopped in front of a mirror. I came up behind her, careful to keep a bubble of space between us. I looked at her face reflected in the glass. Was there any part of my cousin left under that blood mask? Was she anything more than a weapon now?

We both looked broken but in different ways. For me, it was clear that I had been beaten and lost, but the eyes that were so similar to the other girl’s, were alive with feeling. For her, she looked like she had destroyed an army but her green eyed were dead. The window to her soul had been firmly shut to keep any light from escaping.

“Kira,” I said quietly but my voice still cracked from her name. It wasn’t a question, there was simply nothing else I could say to her in that moment.

Kira:

It couldn't be helped. I doubted that even at my coldest, hardest moment I would be able to face Kyra in this moment without flinching. Slowly I turned my body, keeping one hand pressed to the mirror as I gazed over at my cousin. I searched her eyes for a moment, seeing the life that sat just within. My heart gave a painful lurch in my chest and I focused on my reflection to try and find that very same life within my own gaze. But there was nothing. I had lost whatever spark existed.

"We should go...I'm sure Andrew is worried about you."

I felt like I was going to splinter, crack. I was repulsed by the girl I saw in the mirror. And yet I couldn't look away. My jaw worked, shifted and eventually I managed to get out just two more words.

"I'm sorry..."

Kyra:

My throat tightened and I tried to swallow the lump.  I shook my head slightly, dropped my gaze to the floor and gave a sigh that made my side burn.  “Let’s just get out of here,” I said quietly, looking back up to her.

I didn’t know what she was apologizing for, but I chose to accept it with blanket forgiveness.  If she felt any remorse for anything she had done, there was still hope for her.  I loved her, cold as she was, and I wouldn’t give up on her just like that.

The trip back to her place was a quiet one, but I kept my eyes on her, trying to puzzle out who she was under her many barriers.  Andrew was indeed worried when we got back.  I could see the horror on his face when the two of us walked.  We must have looked like monsters, my face flecked with dried blood, and Kira drenched in it.  

“I’m oka- ahh,” I gasped when he hugged me.  I put my hand over my saide and sagged against my brother.

I watched them, feeling like I was gazing through a window into someone else's life. It was some measure of distance that touched my voice as I gestured towards a corner. "First aid kits are over there. Minor wounds and treatments. But there is a stairwell or freight elevator over there too. In the basement first level are medical facilities with gear and tools for more substantial work."

Turning my face away I looked over the room, my home. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to be awake. "Medical room has its own shower. But also down there is a bunkroom that has two bathrooms with showers."

I trailed off and sighed, hands flexing. I couldn't bring myself to say any more.and isntead of trying I simply turned and strode off to a curtained corner. Tugging g aside the curtains I revealed a simple cot, a pile of neatly folded clothes, a phone, and a sniper rifle I. The process of being cleaned. All signs as to where I was staying. But it was the first item that I went to. Laying down with my back to them I tried to close my eyes and shut everything out. Them, the drying blood on my body, but mostly my own thoughts.

Kyra:

Andrew took me to the basement to take care of my injuries. After I got showered and changed he helped me into a brace for my ribs. My nose wasn’t broken, just bruised. I had other bruises beginning to form, but other than my ribs, I was okay. While Andrew helped me I told him what had gone on and how Kira had acted.

After a little while, we went back up and joined Paublo. I explained in less detail what happened to him. It was a couple more hours before I went to Kira. I approached cautiously and hovered a few yards away from her cot.

I hadn't slept. I couldn't. Not when I couldn't even keep my eyes closed without seeing the reflection of myself in that damned mirror. And so I knew Kyra was standing behind me, I could tell by the scuff of her feet on the mat, and the way her presence even so far away felt like it was hovering. "What do you need." It wasn't a question. They would only come to me if they wanted something. I knew that much.

Kyra:

I took in a small breath. “You need to shower. You can’t just lay around soaked in blood all day,” I said firmly. “And you’re back with your team now, so act like it, don’t sulk over here on your own.” I crossed my arms. “As soon as Jonah gets back we’re going to leave, so make sure you’re ready for that.” I wanted to ask her if she knew when he would be back, but I refrained.

I didn't respond at first. Didn't move. But slowly I uncurled myself and slid from the cot. Kneeling down I grabbed at one of the piles of neatly folded clothes, tucking the bundle carefully under one arm. It had all the clothes I would need for an outfit except for shoes. But that was fine. I had left my shoes back where Marie was anyway. Raising a hand I touched my cheek and felt the now dry blood. I shifted in my spot, looking around at my things before my eyes settled upon a keyboard and remote. I turned away from it though and looked at Kyra. "I'll....I'll be back."

Kyra:

I sat down on her cot waiting for her while she showered. Andrew looked at me from across the massive room and just shook his head. He didn't approve. He had been furious when I told him what happened to me, and even more so when I told him who Marie was. Now I sat wondering if telling Kira would make things better or worse.

I lingered. I knew I did. I used the facilities in the medical room, taking time to attend to my injuries and prepare my black slurry for after my shower. But as I stood in the shower I finally had the misfortune of looking down and seeing all the blood circling down into the drain. It left me feeling sick and all semblance of lingering went out the window. I scrubbed myself from head to toe, scrubbed hard no less. I washed and rewashed my hair several times. I wanted to be clean, to feel clean, and yet I just wasn't not even when all the blood was gone from my skin.

Eventually I had to face up to it and I turned off the water and grabbed a towel. Drying off briskly I ended up with my hair wrapped up in it's towel and started to dress. Here again I lingered, though instead of being lost in my head I dredded what would come next. Going out to the others was going to be fine, but drinking the black drink I'd prepared wasn't something I wanted. It tasted horribly, always left me feeling strange. But I knew I needed too. The computer tied to the dispenser would inform Marie if I didn't and there were plenty of cameras to also prove the very same idea.

And so it was almost thirty minutes since I'd gone in that I came back upstairs with a glass bottle from which I sipped. My hair had been combed out, and I was dressed in jeans, sports bra, and tanktop but my feet were bare. My eyes roamed the room, from Paublo who was playing around on the rock wall, to Andrew's cold disapproval, and finally to Kyra who sat on my cot.

Kyra:

I decided against telling her when I took a look around at how many cameras there were in this place. I had no doubt that there would also be audio recording as well. I stood up from the cot when Kira approached. "When will Jonah be back?" I asked. The sooner he got back, the sooner we could go home. Not to mention I was a little worried for him after I had seen how much power Marie had.

Taking a long drink from the bottle I ended up grimacing slightly before looking at her. "When Marie finishes with him. That should be today, but if he is being especially.....Jonah-esk...then perhaps not till tomorrow." I was going to lay down but Kyra's words from earlier bounced around me and held me back.

"If you need something to do until then...my home here is equipped with state of the art training facilities. Everything you could ask for from targets, weapons, instructional materials, ropes, knives, dummies, mats, and so on." Looking her over for a moment I shrugged, "I don't have anything more suited to waiting around." A hand waved towards the large screen and projector sitting against one wall. "I lack movies or television even though I have the capabilities. There is only....no nevermind."