Hunter's Beginning (Veller) Page 16

  The hallway was low, narrow and rather poorly lit. It ran the entire length of the building with a row of doors on either side and a staircase at the other end. The floor was cold stone, the walls were barren. There was no attempt to decorate or to bring any warmth into the building. It served one purpose, and one purpose only, and that was a place for the cadets to sleep after a day’s training.

  “It seems a little hard to believe that anybody would actually miss this place.” She said in disbelief as she watched some of the other boys being shown to their rooms. There was a feeling of hopelessness or possibly even despair.

  “You might be right, I thought the same thing when I came here three years ago, but one of the seniors told me something, and at first I didn’t believe him, but now… now I do, so I’m gonna tell you.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He said, you’ll come to call this place a lot of things, the prison, the cell block, the barracks, even purgatory but you’ll always remember it as home.”

  “I find that even harder to believe.”

  “Well, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but when you graduate, you’ll understand.” Tree laughed as he moved past her into the room.

  The comment caught Kile off guard. Since starting this little adventure no one has given much credence to her actually succeeding. She had come a long way but she still had a long way to go, and a lot could happen in three years.

  “Do you really think I’ll graduate, that I can become a Hunter?” She asked Tree as she stepped into the room behind him.

  “Sure… don’t you?”

  “I guess I haven’t given it much thought.” She lied.

  “Well, that’s a funny attitude to take. I mean you are here aren’t you?”

  “Yeah… but you said you’ve seen two dozen people take the walk of shame, what if I’m one of them.”

  “Nah, you won’t be one of them, I can tell.”

  “How?”

  “For starters, you’re too stubborn; you remind me a lot of my little sister.”

  “Yeah but…”

  “Hey look, becoming a Hunter isn’t the end all. If you don’t become a Hunter you don’t become a Hunter, not everyone is cracked up to be one. But you’ve got this far and that alone is a huge accomplishment, if you don’t get any farther than this, you should still be very proud of yourself. Now, personally, I think you will become a Hunter, and not just any Hunter but one of the best, I can tell, I have a good nose for people. I have high hopes for you. I’ll tell you what. In three years, when you walk though the west gate, I’m gonna be here watching it, and that's a promise, so you have to succeed, because I don’t want to have to come all the way back here for nothing.”

  “Okay, I promise.” She laughed.

  “That’s better, now, let me show you around your room shall I.”

  It wasn’t difficult to see why some people referred to this as the cell block or the prison, because that was exactly what it looked like. The rooms were as cold and as bare as the rest of the decor, with dingy gray walls, a worn wooden floor and a narrow opening that was laughingly referred to as a window. What furniture there was, was poorly made, and only consisted of a bed, a chest of drawers and a single chair tucked in the corner.

  “It’s not as bad as it looks, at least its water proof… well, mostly.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Soon this place will be just like home. Look, you have all you amenities, your bed, a place to put your clothes, even your own lavatory. What more could you want?”

  When he put it that way he was right, it did have everything she really needed, and to top it off it was larger than her room back home.

  Beside the bed sat her pack, the one that had suddenly disappeared shortly after she had entered the mystic’s tower. She had assumed it would show up eventually, not that she was worried, it wasn’t as if she had much it in to worry about. She picked up the pack and tossed it on the bed before opening it up and looking inside.

  “That’s all you have?” Tree asked as he looked over her shoulder.

  Was that pity she saw on his face, it was very unbecoming to him as she closed the pack and tossed it to the end of the bed.

  “I travel light.” She replied.

  “Sorry... I didn’t mean….”

  “It’s alright. I'm used to it.”

  “Well, at least somebody knows you’re here.” Tree said, quickly changing the subject as he grabbed a small box wrapped in cloth sitting on the dresser.

  “What is it?” She asked.

  “How should I know, this is your room after all.”

  Kile took the wrapped box from him slowly and shook it gently, it rattled. She carefully removed the cloth, her first thought was that this was some kind of trick, that something was going to pop out of the box, or maybe it would just explode in her hands, but nothing happened, it was a simple brown box with gold leaf writing on the top that read “Carlson’s Confectionaries”

  “What is it?” She asked as Tree looked over her shoulder.

  “Carlson’s, that’s a sweet shop located on Willington Street, just across from the candle shop. One of the best in town.”

  “Sweet shop?” She said as she opened the box slowly. Inside, laid out in neat little rows were small pink and white stripped peppermint imps.

  “Doesn’t look like I’m the only one who believes in you.” Tree replied. “Do you know who sent it?”

  “It doesn’t say, but I have an idea.” She smiled.

  “I’ll let you keep that to yourself then.” Tree replied as he headed towards the door. “Supper is in the dinning hall in two hours, if you’re hungry. They’ll probably send someone to get you guys, but this place isn’t as large as it looks. If you don’t want to wait you can probably find it yourself, just look for the cadets outside doubled over the garbage cans, ya can’t miss it.”

  “Thanks Tree.”

  “Don’t mention it.” Tree replied as he closed the door behind him and she was alone again.

  Kile pulled open the bottom draw of the chest and put her box of peppermint imps in first, then stuffed the clothes from her pack in afterward. She took the small ebony box from her shirt and placed that on top of the dresser so that she could see it. It was an unassuming trophy, to remind her that she was the only one to actually pass the final exam in the mystic’s tower, and to reassure her that she did actually belong here. She took the lone peppermint imp that had been in the box and lay back on her bed.

  “I guess I am home.’ She said to herself as she popped the imp into her mouth, it tasted just as she had remembered it.

  ***~~~***

  9

  Kile woke to the soft sound of the wind through the open window, or was it the insistent pounding on her bedroom door. It took her a moment to realize where she was as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. The room was foreign to her, it wasn’t home, it wasn’t even the cell in the mystic’s tower, although it did bear a close resemblance. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and sat up as a gentle smile crossed her lips. She was at the academy. This was her first morning waking up as a cadet at the Academy. They told her she didn’t stand a chance, they told her she would fail, that they wouldn’t even let her take the examination, but she proved them wrong, she was actually here.

  The pounding on the door grew louder as it echoed through the small room. Kile looked out the window and was surprised to see that the sun was already up. She hadn’t realized how tired she was until she laid down last night, which was shortly after Tree had left. She never even made it to the dinning hall, not that she was looking forward to going. Why would she want to give everyone another chance to stare at her?

  “I wonder if I can get room service.” She mumbled to herself as she pulled the blanket around her and, slowly got to her feet then shuffled to the door. When she pulled it open, Daniel almost hit her in the head as she jumped back.

  “A fine thing to wake up to.” She exclaimed.

  �
�Oh, sorry, but I’ve been knocking for like… ten minutes now.”

  “Well… I was asleep.” She said as she moved away from the door to let him in. She was not very happy with Daniel this morning, but truth be told she was not very happy with many people first thing in the morning.

  “You weren’t in the dinning hall last night, I was worried.”

  “Were you?” She asked, although at this moment, she really didn’t care whether he was worried or not. If he was so worried about her, where was he when Eric was knocking her down, not once but twice? Where was he then? She didn’t see him rushing to her side.

  “Some of the boys thought that you might have already taken the walk of shame.” He said, and then seemed to regret it the very moment it left his lips.

  Kile quickly turned; there was no hiding the anger in her eyes now. Daniel jumped back defensively. If she wasn’t standing between him and the door she was sure he would have tried to make a break for it.

  “Already?” She shouted, “As in, it’s only a matter of time before she does take the walk.”

  “No… no that’s not what I meant.” He panicked as he backed into the wall eyeing the door over her shoulder. “I mean... they thought…”

  “I know what they thought, I know what they’re always thinking, you included. That I don’t belong here because I’m a girl. Well I got this far and I don’t plan on taking the walk any time soon, so you can go tell your little buddies that from me.” Kile replied, this time she did step back, giving him a clear escape route, but Daniel didn’t move.

  “For one thing I already told them that.” Daniel shot back, finding the courage to stand up to this diminutive creature that was nearly a foot shorter than he was, “If anything, you have more of a right to be here than most of them out there, including me, and as for another thing, they are not my buddies… I thought you were.”

  Daniel headed for the door, Kile grabbed his arm.

  “I’m… sorry.” She replied. “I guess it’s… kind of getting to me.”

  “Well… If you can’t snap at your friends, who can you snap at.” Daniel replied and gave her a goofy grin that clearly said this was not his area of expertise. “Look, I can’t say I know what you’re going though, I don’t have a clue but I can imagine. If you need somebody to shout at, you can always shout at me.”

  “Thanks, I might take you up on that offer.”

  “Oh, the reason why I woke you up, some of the third years are showing the new cadets around the compound, you know, to get them better acclimated to their surroundings, or something like that. Tree told me to tell you to get your butt out there, you’re in his group, be on the field in an hour.”

  “Thanks, let me just wash up and I’ll meet you outside.” Kile replied as she ran her fingers through her hair. She wished she had time to take a bath; it’s been a few days since she really felt like herself.

  “Oh, by the way.” Daniel replied, stopping at the door. He reached into his shirt and tossed her an apple. “You didn’t eat last night, so I figured you were probably hungry… remember, one hour.”

  “Thanks, I’ll be there.” She said as she closed the door behind him.

  She washed up first, brushed the tangled out of her hair and pulled it back into a pony tail, tying it off with a piece of leather strap just as her mother had showed her time and time again. She changed her clothes and ate her apple as she put away the last of her belongings. She took one last look around the room; she would have to do something to brighten the place up if she was going to stay here for the next three years. The room as it was now was just too depressing and that was the last thing she needed.

  She closed the door and started down the hall. A few of the other boys were coming out of their own rooms getting ready for the own tours. Some paused in their doorways upon seeing her, waiting until she passed, probably didn’t want to be seen walking out with her. Others hurried by looking the other way, pretending not to see her at all. This was what she had expected and what she had resigned the next three years of her life to. What did surprise her was that a few, and it was a very small few, actually gave her a nod as she passed, some even made eye contact and one went as far as to say “morning” as he rushed by. Who knows, by this time next year he might even manage to give her the complete “good morning.”

  As she stepped out the front doors of the dorms, the compound stretched out before her, and it looked very much like it had yesterday, only a lot brighter. She didn’t really expect it to have changed overnight, but she had hoped that it would make her feel different. Last night she was just a wanna-be cadet, today she was a full fledged cadet, surely that meant something.

  Kile headed for the center of the field where most of the cadets had gathered, when she heard the familiar voice that made her blood run cold. She turned slowly to see Eric standing off to one side, leaning against one of the fence posts. Fortunately he had no interest in her this morning, and was in a heated discussion with a few cadets that were more his age. Alex had said that this was Eric’s third attempt to get into the academy. Those were probably some of the kids he had originally tried to get in with, reunited after two years. She was glad to see that some of them were a bit put off by whatever it was he was saying. All she could hope was that it wasn’t about her. Was that just the paranoia speaking she wondered as she reached the field and looked around for Tree. Surely not everybody here that spoke behind their hand or in a hushed whisper when she passed were discussing her, at least that was what she hoped.

  She didn’t find Tree, who she found was….

  “HEY KILE!!! OVER HERE!”

  … one hyperactive chipmunk.

  Kile cringed as Alex’s voice carried across the entire compound. It must be nice not to care what anyone thought about you, but she was beginning to think that in Alex’s case, he just didn’t know any better.

  Faces turned toward her, but soon turned away. Was she becoming yesterday’s news so quickly? The excitement of the Academy experience would dampen their disgust for her if just for a day or two. Kile moved through the crowd to where Alex was jumping up and down, waving his arms.

  “We didn’t see you last night, where were you?” He asked as she got closer.

  “I… must have fallen asleep.”

  “Oh well, never mind. Nothing really happened, the food was pretty good though, if you like that sort of stuff. You remember Carter don’t you?” Alex asked as he grabbed one of the other boys by the arm and turned him around, almost knocking him into Kile.

  She had remembered seeing the boy before, during the examination. She knew he was Daniel’s friend but he didn’t want to have anything to do with her. He thought she was a jinx and having any association with her would be marked against him. It would appear that he still didn’t want anything to do with her.

  “Hi.” He mumbled without making much eye contact.

  “See you found the group.” Daniel replied as he came up behind Kile.

  “Yeah, I had a beacon.” She said, nodding towards Alex who was jumping up and down to try to see above the rest of the boys.

  “Yeah, I know, I could hear him across the compound.”

  “This is all I get?”

  Kile turned to see Tree cutting his way through the crowed. The large man was easily identifiable over the smaller cadets and truly lived up to his name. She looked around the field as groups were beginning to form around the other third year cadets all dressed in the same green livery. Most of the other groups were a lot larger than the one Kile was in, and she wondered if it was because of her, or whether she really was being paranoid. Their group only consisted of six people, there was her, Daniel, Alex and Cater, as well as two other’s that she wasn’t too familiar with. She had seen them during the examination and she knew their names but she had never been introduced, and doubted if she would. One was Tommy Kline, she knew the least about him, the only other time she had seen him was during the combat scenario with the valrik in the mystic’s tower, a
nd then he was already dead. The other boy was Murphy Sans. He was one of Eric’s friends. A tall, broad kid with a dark complexion and short cropped black hair. One should not be judged by the company one keeps she told herself, she would have to hold her opinion on him in check for the meantime, but it was rather difficult to do.

  “Okay, we are going to take the scenic route, or better known as the round about way.” Tree announced, gathering their attention onto him. “We’ll start at the stables and go on from there, and if you have any questions, just shout them out, that’s what I’m here for. I may not know the answers, but by the time you figure that out, I’ll have graduated and be long gone.”

  Tree led them away from the other groups and up the hill toward the large barn like structure that sat off from the rest of the buildings, and given the all too familiar smell that was wafting down the hill toward them, it was no wonder the building was so far from the others. In many ways it reminded Kile of home, and for one very brief moment she was a little homesick. It was a very brief moment, and in fact she actually missed it as a young man came running down the hill towards them. He was one of the older students, which was clear from his clothing, and would have passed them by if Tree hadn’t called out to him.

  “Hey Rick, what’s the rush?”

  Rick almost lost his footing as he tried to stop and change directions.

  “Haven’t you heard?” He asked, slightly out of breath as he got closer. He was a tall thin boy with long black hair and eyes as dark as pitch. He was so excited that he could hardly speak.

  “The Troll of Blackmore was brought in.”

  “No way… how? By who?” Tree asked in disbelief.

  “I don’t know all the details, not yet anyway, but the story is making its way through town. I just got the word from the Guild.” Rick said shaking a rolled up notice in his hand. “I’ve been ordered to bring the news to old sour puss himself, man is he gonna be ticked.”

  “Tell me about it.” Tree laughed. “But come on, what did you hear?”