5 - GARBAGE

My lungs burned with every breath of freezing mountain air as my boots slipped and slid across the slick mud of the old logging trail.

"We are not going to make it," I yelled over my shoulder, and I stumbled on a loose tree root hidden beneath the wet leaves.

"Don't you dare stop moving," Darian shouted back, and he hauled me upright by the back of my jacket before I could fall face-first into the dirt.

The rain soaked through my clothes and chilled my skin, but the fear of missing the deadline kept my legs moving when I just wanted to collapse.

We crested the top of the ridge, and the massive titanium gates of Viremont Academy loomed out of the dark storm ahead of us.

The heavy metal doors were already humming with a loud vibration, and they were slowly sliding toward each other to seal the campus for the rest of the year.

"Push!" Darian roared, and he shoved his shoulder against my back to propel me forward as fast as my tired legs could move.

We threw ourselves into the narrow gap between the closing doors just as the titanium slammed shut behind us with a deafening boom.

I tripped over my own boots and tumbled onto the smooth stone pavement while gasping desperately for air.

Darian dropped onto his knees next to me, and he braced his hands on the ground while he let out a harsh string of curses.

"Did we… are we locked out?" I panted out between ragged breaths, and I wiped a mix of rainwater and rogue blood from my stinging eyes.

"Look around you," Darian muttered between heavy breaths.

I pushed myself up onto my elbows, and I blinked at the blinding overhead lights illuminating the massive academy courtyard.

The storm did not seem to exist inside the campus walls, and the air was dry and comfortably warm on my freezing skin.

Hundreds of students milled around the pristine courtyard in small groups, and they tapped away on sleek holographic tablets that projected glowing blue schedules into the air.

Everyone wore immaculate designer uniforms in pristine whites and deep blacks, and they looked like royalty waiting for a grand ball to begin.

I looked down at my own cargo pants, and I cringed when I saw the thick layer of dark mud and sticky rogue blood coating my clothes.

My hands were scraped raw from the fight, and a nasty cut on my forearm was still slowly dripping crimson onto the polished white stones beneath me.

"Are we the only ones who walked through a damn forest to get here?" I asked, and I stared at a boy wearing a spotless white suit and shiny dress shoes.

"The elite families take private magical transports directly onto the campus grounds, so they don't have to deal with the weather," Darian explained, and he brushed a clump of mud off his torn shirt.

"Must be nice to have Daddy buy your way past the mud," I grumbled, and I wiped a smear of dirt off my cheek with the back of my hand.

A group of girls standing near a glowing archway stopped their conversation, and they turned their heads to stare at us with wide, horrified eyes.

One of the girls wrinkled her nose in disgust, and she leaned over to whisper something behind her hand to her friend while pointing directly at my ruined boots.

I felt the sudden urge to shrink into the floor, but I forced my fingers to wrap tightly around the handle of my silver wrench to ground my racing heart.

Darian noticed the stares and pushed himself upright, and he rolled his shoulders before offering me his hand to help me up.

"Don't look at them," he warned me in a low voice, and his jaw tightened as he glared at the whispering girls until they looked away.

"It is kind of hard to ignore them when they look at me like I just crawled out of a sewer," I mumbled, and I took his hand so he could pull me onto my feet.

"You survived a rogue attack, and they would have pissed themselves and died in the same situation," he stated flatly.

"Well, try telling that to the welcoming committee heading our way," I whispered, and I nodded toward a tall girl marching across the courtyard.

The girl approaching us wore a tailored white blazer that probably cost more than my entire life, and her sharp cheekbones made her look impossibly arrogant.

She carried a glowing tablet tucked under her arm, and her dark eyes swept over my muddy clothes with pure, unadulterated contempt.

"I heard the Varric pack was bringing their stray to school this year, but I didn't realize they literally dragged you out of a dumpster," the girl sneered, and she stopped a few feet away so my mud wouldn't splash her expensive shoes.

"And I didn't realize Viremont handed out custom blazers to stuck-up bitches, but here we are," I shot back, and I ignored the painful throbbing in my ribs so I could stand up straight.

Phaedra scoffed at my retort, and she tapped her perfectly manicured nails against the edge of her glowing holographic tablet.

"Did you really think a silver wrench would earn you respect in a place built for real power?" she asked, and she pointed her tablet at the heavy tool still gripped in my hand.

"It earns me enough space to keep your fake face away from me," I answered, and I stepped forward even though my muscles screamed in protest.

"You are going to regret opening your mouth to me, human," Phaedra warned, and the air around her chilled as her innate magic flared.

"Back the fuck off, Phaedra," Darian growled, and he stepped directly in front of me so his broad chest blocked her from getting any closer.