He reached down in his heart and stimulated his light green core.
Boom!
Thud!
The light green energy erupted from Luke's body and threw Victor against the wall like a rag doll.
Thud!
Luke gasped for air as he fell on the floor.
Victor groaned, standing up as his eyes became clear. He glanced toward Luke, who was gasping for air on the floor. He groaned as he felt pain in his back. He bent down near Luke and extended his hands to help him stand up.
But Luke flinched back in fear.
Victor straightened and stared at him with confused eyes.
"What …happened?" Victor asked.
Luke gazed at Victor with narrow eyes and snapped, "What …. Happened! You just tried to kill me!"
Victor looked at him, confused, scratching his head.
"I …think you made a mistake," Victor replied in a hesitant and unsure voice.
Luke stood up, dusted his uniform, and glared at Victor. "No, I didn't make a mistake, I just tried to wake you up, and you tried to strangle me," Luke shouted with clear anger in his eyes.
"What!" Victor exclaimed with wide eyes.
He checked the system panel; there was nothing unusual.
He sat on the bed, grabbing his head in both hands. He whispered to himself, "Am I losing control?"
Luke, afraid, sat far away on the bed, with his hands massaging his neck.
Victor glanced at Luke and observed he didn't seem to lie. What's going on? Does it have to do with me being a Vampire or …those weird dreams?" he frowned at the thought.
"I have to be careful," he whispered.
He stood up and stepped toward Luke.
Luke backed away. Victor sighed and stopped near. Him "Look, Luke, I'm sorry. Please don't mention it to anyone. I'll owe you one."
Luke's eyes twinkled at getting a free favor. He blurted, "If I ask you for help, will you help me?"
Victor nodded reluctantly and added, "Yes, the favor that is morally not considered wrong."
Luke stood up with a wide smile. He extended his hand toward Victor. Victor shook his soft hand and relaxed a little.
"Now, tell me why you were trying to wake me up?" Victor asked.
Luke's eyes widened, he replied, sprinting toward the door, "Training time, we only have 5minutes to reach the training ground."
Victor's eyes widened, he grabbed his shoes, clothes, and ran out the door, following Luke. Luke led him out of the Dorm, and they passed through several corridors. Luke was running like his life depended on it, but Victor was not far behind him.
The Elves were popular for their speed and archery. No one could beat them in it, but Victor's speed was almost similar to Luke's.
They appeared out of the castle, into the big, open ground at the back of the castle. All the cadets stood in lines. Luke stopped behind one of the lines, and Victor followed his lead.
The sky was still dark, but from the east side, white was spreading slowly. Victor stood behind Luke and looked around with ragged breaths.
There were three groups, standing apart from each other. He was standing in the smaller group wearing a black uniform.
'I'm glad I had black jeans and a black t-shirt, or I would have been called out on the first day for not wearing uniform,' Victor thought.
One of the groups was wearing a blue uniform, whereas the other group was wearing a golden-brown uniform.
Victor searched the group with a blue uniform; his eyes stopped at Zara. She was standing close to another black black-haired girl, wearing tight shorts and a sports bra. Most boys stole glances at her. She was standing close to Zara.
Kate, who was lazily standing beside Zara, felt a stare, a different one than the lustful one of the boys.
She glanced backward, her eyes roamed around a little, then they found the culprit. A young man with black, messy hair and amber eyes, dimly glowing golden in the dark. He was staring at her. Their eyes met. She smiled at him, and he flinched back.
She giggled with her hand covering her mouth. Kate's giggle caught Zara's attention. She followed her gaze and found Victor. Her eyes widened, and she clenched her fists.
'Victor must be looking toward me to say Hi,' Zara thought, as she glared toward Kate. She noticed Zara's behavior and, in a whisper, she asked, "Is he your boyfriend?"
Zara blushed, her hands fidgeted. She shook her head furiously, "We are friends, close friends". Zara shouted.
"QUIET!" A thunder-like voice sounded, and everyone became quiet.
Kate's giggle caught in her throat, and she stood straight, hands clasped behind her back and chest out like a soldier. All others did the same, and new cadets like Victor followed their example.
A man stood before the three groups. He was wearing a camouflage T-shirt and matching pants. His narrow eyes, like an eagle, with thick eyebrows, scanned the groups.
Cadets stood like statues.
"I'm Second Lieutenant Derek Ford. You'll address me, Sir." Derek's loud and thick voice shook the eardrums of the cadets
"Yes, Sir." Few cadets replied.
"Are you dead? Tell me, do you understand?" Derek roared.
"Sir, Yes, Sir!" All students replied in unison, and a rumbling sound.
A smile appeared on his scarred face.
"From this day onward, your first training is running around this forest and following this path." He pointed towards the road leading into the forest.
"As you all are new, I will be generous. You have to complete it in one hour and come back through the path on your left side. It's only 20Km run." Derek said, smiling.
A wave of gasps passed through the crowd, and two hands rose from the crowd. One from the blue and the other from the Golden.
Derek's brows furrowed, and he looked at the people who raised their hands.
"If you failed to complete the run in one hour, you won't be able to eat breakfast." He shouted, ignoring the two hands.
Kate reluctantly put down her hand and looked at Derek with indignant eyes. From the golden uniform group, a girl with grey pupils, dark hair, and light brown skin grumbled a little.
Derek looked at his stopwatch and clicked.
"Your time starts now; you'd better run." Derek smiled, looking at the wide-eyed, frozen cadets.
Kate shrugged and shook Zara nearby, "Let's run!". She ran, leaving Zara behind. Zara quickly chased her. Victor shook the frozen Luke and ran behind the girls. Luke came back to his senses and ran.