8

Chapter 8.

The sound of birds chirping outside the window stirred Talia awake.

Yawning, she stretched and pulled the blanket closer. Realizing where she was, she sat up and pushed the blanket off.

Damon was nowhere to be found and his own side of the bed was empty. 

"Where could he be?" She mumbled under her breath, glancing toward the door of the silent bathroom.

She took a deep breath, and her eyes suddenly widening as if a memory struck her.

She touched her chest quickly and a sigh of relief escaped her lips when she discovered the band around her chest was still intact. 

She couldn't remember much of what happened after they fell asleep. All she recalled was Damon being scared of the dark and sleeping on the same bed with her.

"I hope I haven't done anything out of the ordinary to give me away?" She muttered to Titi as she took her time to look over to her bed.

 It had been neatly arranged, as well as her reading table. She made to climb out of the bed when she heard the door creak and she paused. 

It was Damon. 

Their eyes locked the moment he stepped into the room. He wore shorts and a hoodie, as if he had been out for a run.

His body was soaked in sweat and his singlet clung to his body as a second skin.

She quickly moved away from his bed and walked back to her space, then began taking out her sports attire for class. 

"Sage?" Damon called out to her and she froze, swallowing hard, she turned to look at him. 

He was standing next to the bathroom door, holding the handle. The moment she turned to look at him, he lowered his gaze and pressed his lips into a thin frown. 

"Could you... please... don't tell anyone about last night... and that--" he sucked in air "That I'm afraid of the dark" he finally looked up at her while her eyes remained fixed on him.

"Of course not. I mean... I'm afraid of spiders and crawling things and--" she stopped talking when she noticed his brows were raised. 

"Of course. I won't" she cleared her throat and he nodded. 

"Thank you" he mumbled before turning the door knob and stepping into the bathroom, closing the door after him. 

Talia let out the breath she had been holding and collapsed on her bed, placing her hands on her chest and her lips thinning into a line.

She silently cursed herself for falling asleep too fast last night and couldn't tell what had happened after she had slept. 

*.*.*

The boys lined up in the open courtyard. Some stretched; others jogged in place to warm up for the morning exercise.

Talia stood, doing nothing as she watched and observed the boys, with her brows furrowed. 

Derek stood beside her, stretching his legs while Damon was seated at one of the stony seats, holding a pink bottle of water. 

She looked around and her eyes finally rested on Selene who stood at a corner close to Damon with her minions, discussing and pointing at the boys. 

The moment Selene's gaze met hers, a smug smile danced on her lips and she began walking toward Talia. 

"Shit!" Talia cursed under her breath and turned to face her front. 

"What is it?" Derek asked, stretching his arms this time. 

"It's Selene... I think she's coming this way" 

Derek turned, searching for Selene, but Selene was there already, the smile still spread across her face, a smile that didn't reach her eyes. 

"Hey, Sage. Careful so you wouldn't have to clean the toilets" Selene winked at her. 

"Clean the toilets?" Talia creased her brows and just then Master Arcade blew his whistle. 

The boys immediately formed a straight line facing the woods.

"Break a leg" Selene started walking away, heading toward Damon who was also moving to the direction the boys are assembled. 

"What does she mean by that?" Talia turned to Derek who shrugged. 

“Don’t mind Selene. You won’t have to clean the toilets. It’s only five miles.. a piece of cake" He placed his right hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him. 

"5 miles? I don't understand"

"We run 5 miles in the woods to reach the finishing line. The last person washes the toilet for the week" Derek explained with a grin, as if it was nothing. 

Talia forced a lump rising in her throat and looked ahead into the woods. She was sure she could do 2 miles, but competing for 5 miles with high ranking wolves? That was suicide. 

"Now, everyone, get ready! At the sound of the whistle, you go! On your mark!!" Master Arcade screamed at the top of his voice and moved backward, where he could see the boys as they all took their positions. 

Talia's heart rate had spiked as she slowly looked around, the boys all seemed prepared, as if it was something they anticipated. 

Her eyes met with Damon's, he was staring at her. Swallowing hard, she turned to look straight into the woods. 

At that point, the sound of the whistle blasted and the boys charged into the woods like beasts, racing as fast as they could, with their feet, stomping hard against the stony ground. 

Talia took off as well when the boys did, but she couldn't meet up with their pace, they were too fast, too strong. 

She watched as they shoved each other and then spread into the woods. But she was running, pushing her tired body forward.

Upon seeing the first post sign, with the wordings "One mile" Talia smiled and kept on running.

Her heart was hammering heavily against her ribcage, and she could hear running footsteps behind her, but she didn't want to look back, scared that it would slow her down.

She forced her pace while comforting herself. At least she wasn’t the last, as someone behind her was slower.

Determined to do everything possible to ensure she wasn't overtaken by the person, she pressed on, with gritted teeth. 

Another smile escaped her lips when she saw the second sign post "Two miles" 

Beads of sweat surged through her whole body as her breathing intensified. 

Her legs had become weaker and were beginning to send a jolt down her body at each step she took, but she refused to give up, knowing a lot was at stake.

It was not the toilet she was thinking about, but the fact that she would draw more attention to herself as they have already branded her as "Weak"

"Talia, you have to stop now" Titi called out to her.

 She blocked Titi’s voice from her mind and kept running, pushing on until she saw the next sign post. "Three miles"

"Just... two more left, just two" she said within gasps as she sniffed. 

"You've passed your breaking point! Stop running Talia! We can't continue!" Titi called out to her again, but she ignored and kept pushing. 

Her whole body was screaming, and her head was banging. Just when she thought she would fall, she saw "Four miles" and smiled. 

"One more" She gasped, her chest screaming for air, as she fought the tears forming in her eyes. 

And just when she was about to fall, the footsteps running at her back increased and someone grabbed her hand and started pulling her as they ran together. 

She turned to see who it was. It was Damon, he was practically dragging her as her feet couldn't carry any more. 

In sight, she could see the other boys lined up around the last sign post that read "Five miles" waiting for them. 

That was when it dawned on her that they were the last people left. Others had long reached the finish line. 

The moment they crossed the line, Damon let go of her and she collapsed to the ground, making the boys gasp. 

"Is he alright?" Felix asked.

Talia lay still, as Derek walked closer and squatted beside her, motioning on the boys to move aside. "Looks like he's not breathing" he creased his brows, watching her chest. 

Damon watched, trying to catch his breath as he stared at Talia's motionless body on the ground. 

"Take off his shirt, he needs air!" a boy's voice cut through the crowd.