She's Unstable

RACHEL

My eyes widened as I turned to see who had grabbed me. It was a brunette with glossy, curly hair and warm brown eyes.

“Huh?” I questioned, staring at her with a frown on my face.

“You're in the wrong house line,” she said, rolling her eyes. As if it were the most obvious thing I should know. “Umbra, not Ferales. Or did your winter break wipe your memory?”

“Um…” I managed, unsure of what to say.

I glanced at the line I was previously in. Their blazer was slightly darker. Not only them, I noticed the uniforms of each line that were formed, despite being the same, there was a design that set them apart.

“Whatever. Just don't make a mistake next time. There's a penalty, you remember. The last thing we need right now is to lose points and not get our privileges like last session.”

I swallowed. A penalty? Even for someone who didn’t know about what was happening here?

I stared at the girl’s chest, and on her badge was the name Ruby. Was she a friend of Ivy? I guess for her to pull me in that manner, she was. But how didn't she notice I wasn't even her friend? Even identical twins, there were things you could use to distinguish them apart.

But I couldn't tell if I resembled this girl so much that I would get mistaken for her. I have yet to see her pictures. Ruby began to chat about her winter break. I was barely listening. But I still make out some words about her mother getting her a dress from France.

“I wonder when this will end. It isn't as if we get sorted into a different house. We've been doing this since the first year.”

I heard a voice behind me. I didn't turn to see who was speaking. Likewise, I didn't want to eavesdrop on the conversation, but they weren’t exactly quiet and were too loud to ignore.

“We do this each academic year. It's no big deal. Besides, if I recall correctly, the purpose is to determine if your bloodline is still the original one you were assigned to. This doesn’t stop until your first shift,” Another voice responded.

But it was a big deal to me. If only I understood just a snippet of what was happening, that would make me feel better. It was like everyone around me had read the same rulebook, and I'd been given a blank page. Eventually, a man stepped up to the platform at the front. He was older than everyone else with a bald head and a goatee.

“Welcome back to school, I am Headmaster Augustus,” he said into the microphone, pausing only briefly. “And congratulations on surviving.”

Surviving? Was he expecting them to die? What a weird thing to say to students!

“As you know, the sorting is a tradition of this prestigious school. It ensures you remain aligned with the right house, based on your bloodline, potential, and it'll prepare you for your eventual awakening,” he trailed off, his eyes on each student.

I wondered if he was looking for someone in particular, as his eyes kept shifting until our eyes locked.

I froze. It was brief. Then he looked away. I released my breath as he continued.

“To the new students, welcome. Let the sorting begin.” He finished.

Everyone else was excited. I wanted to throw up. Someone else took over and began calling out students one by one. In alphabetical order, with the last name coming first.

One by one, students stepped onto the glowing circle in the centre. As each did, light rose around them. Symbols lit up. In some cases, glowing tattoos appeared on their skin. A few sprouted claws or eyes that shimmered briefly gold or red.

I stared at all of them in horror, my breath catching. These weren't normal students. I had never seen humans with glowing eyes and tattoos suddenly appearing on their skin out of nowhere!

What in the world was going on here? They all looked excited about what was happening and happily showed off their tattoos! None of them was screaming or even pleading for mercy. I didn't hear my name, which was great. I didn't want to partake in this madness.

I started backing away. Maybe if I slipped out—

“Sawyer Ivy.”

I didn't respond to the name until Ruby nudged me forward, placing me in the spotlight. And all eyes fell on me.

I felt my stomach twist violently. My breath hitched, and I could only manage tiny gasps as I walked to the stage with unsteady legs. My heart thumping loudly in my chest, I pressed my clammy palms together.

I wasn't Ivy Sawyer. What if someone knew? I'd be disgraced and jeered, perhaps, taken to the boiler room with the light off as a punishment for trying to lie.

I could remember that one time at Little Angels Orphanage Home when it happened. That was one of the punishments for lying. Although I didn't lie. No one believed me. You'd be asked to face your inner demons while in the room, and believe me, it wasn't a pleasant experience.

“Go on, Ivy. You've always had the perfect stats. You've got nothing to be scared of!” Ruby shouted, cheering me on.

Perfect stats? I want to snort out loud, but I doubt my ability to make that loud noise right now.

What was I supposed to do? I saw the students before me, and the sorting Sanctum wasn’t what I thought it was.

It felt like a device used to tell ability, but I had nothing even to show forth. And I had no idea about what I should do either! The moment my foot touched the centre, the sanctum reacted.

The symbols on the walls pulsed faintly like sleeping embers. One by one, they blinked awake, glowing. Lines of silver light snaked across the stone floor like veins, converging beneath my feet. My heart continued to pound wildly, the sound echoing too loudly in my ears, making it impossible to hear anything else.

My skin prickled.

Someone spoke behind me.

“Let the sanctum awaken. Let the veil fall. Step forth, and let your truth be revealed beneath the goddess's gaze.”

The symbols that surrounded me began to stir. One lit up in the north wall, another in the east, west, and south as if they were responding to a call. A cloud of silver burst out from the stone beneath me, rising like smoke.

Gasps echoed around the room.

“She's unstable,” someone whispered.

“Her aura is spiralling.”

“This is strange and has never happened!”

I cried out as I felt something hot and sharp pierce through me, and I looked down at my hands to see them darkening, filled with strange symbols I didn't recognize.

“What's happening to me?” I whimpered, my eyes bulging.

The others before me never experienced this. Or was it because I wasn't the girl whom they called?

The fear that once enveloped me soon gave way to panic. My chest tightened, my vision going blurry as I staggered away from the centre. I tried to breathe, but the only thing I could make out were short, tiny gasps.

I made my way towards the crowd, thinking that if I stayed there, I wouldn't get to see the reaction of others or even their opinion of me. Yet, that didn’t stop the stares as I felt eyes on me. Narrowed. Judging and preparing to curse me to death, like everyone who had ever been in my life.

The monster hadn't killed me. But surely, I knew I'd die here for trying to be someone I wasn't. It was the end for me.

But…what on earth was going on in this place?