Chapter 9 Damien

Damien sat at the table in the cold, lit up library. There was a big pile of books to his right, and a smaller stack that he already read to his left. He scanned the page in front of him, his eyes darting back and forth along the page.

Across from Damien sat Kacy. Kacy also had stacks of books around him. While Damien was reading about the different types of metal and the best types for him to easily bend and throw, Kacy was reading about the human body.

Kacy read about the different functions of the body. He read till he learned which part was best for him to quickly kill someone. He also read about human's facial features. Kacy had recently learned that he could change one's appearance at his own will.

Damien and Kacy practice their abilities. Kacy could do a lot more than Damien, but Damien could do it faster. Damien had trained his mind to seek out the metal and bend it at his command.

While Kacy could only focus his powers on one person at a time, Damien could, if he so wished, bend metal so that it pierced multiple people at once.

Kacy and Damien were moved from the barracks they were in to one full of the new recruits with similar powers. It didn't look suspicious to the others because people were often moved under different lieutenants, which meant new barracks and new soldiers to get to know.

They got along with most of the new soldiers, but Damien didn't trust any of them. They were all picked for a reason, but what was that reason? Damien had yet to find out.

Why was the drug made?

This question was asked and thought by every soldier with the drug inside them. Most thought it was to defeat Skyland. Damien thought that at first too, but it didn't make sense. They could easily beat Skyland with the powers they had before.

Damien thought it was for the King's own amusement. He didn't know what Kacy thought. Kacy always avoided the subject. It made Kacy nervous, and once Damien noticed that he stopped trying. He didn't want to upset the poor man.

Everyone under this lieutenant was split up into groups. Damien and Kacy were luckily in one together. Each group had one of each type. In their group, the water element was a girl named Jenna, their fire element was a large man called Brutus, their earth element was a smart girl named Terra.

Damien didn't trust their air element the most. Their air element was hot headed and got angry easily. Damien nicknamed him Bursty, but his real name was Dean.

Soon everyone was calling Dean, Bursty. Bursty didn't like this and anytime someone called him it his face would flash with anger.

Damien stopped his mind from wandering and return to reading when he heard the sounds of footsteps approaching the door. They sat in the table closest to the doors, Damien's back to the doors.

Damien turned his head as he heard the old library doors creak open. Both Kacy and Damien lifted there heads, and turned to stare at the doors.

Bursty walked into the library, his eyes focused on the shelves of books. When he finally looked over at Damien and Kacy, he stopped in his tracks.

"What are you doing here!" Bursty shouted.

Damien and Kacy didn't answer him at first, but they watched as his face turned red. He was angry already.

"Research," Damien said. "What are you doing here?"

"T-that doesn't matter!" Bursty stuttered, he was embarrassed.

He's not here for research, Damien thought. Then he's here for something else.

Damien thought back to when he walked in, he was staring at the books on the right of him, but to his left where the non-fiction books that would of been used for research. He was looking at the fiction books.

He reads for fun, Damien concluded.

That is something he didn't expect from Bursty. He didn't seem like the type to read for fun.

Damien watched as Bursty looked around frantically. He watched as Bursty turned around and leave the library in a rush.

Before the library doors had closed, Damien was able to see outside. It was dark. How long have they been in there reading?

Damien realized how tired he was. He turned to look over at Kacy, who has been quiet this whole time. He found Kacy asleep on top of his books. It was late.

He carried Kacy back to their room. He didn't want to wake his friend to walk. Besides, Kacy is a heavy sleeper, it would take a lot to wake him.

Damien gently laid Kacy down in his bed. He pulled the blankets over him, then he laid down himself on the bed on top of Kacy's, and fell asleep.

~~~

The next day was a practice day. Damien and Kacy practiced their abilities on each other. Damien would crush Kacy's armor, and create different lengths and types of swords to meet Kacy's.

Kacy would change Damien's appearance. He would focus on his heart beat and slow it down, making his movements slow. He would take his breath away so he couldn't breathe.

When it was time for group practice, they used their abilities together to form better abilities. Bursty and Damien pared up because their abilities worked best together.

Damien would make different types of sharp metals, while Bursty would use the air to create small, flying, metal bullets.

Bursty was actually nice to work with. He did what he was supposed to and, surprisingly, he didn't get mad when things don't happen like they thought it should.

They spent the morning since they woke up and ate, practicing. They stopped at noon to eat then they started team practice. They practiced till it was time for dinner.

They were the only group with this type of schedule. On Mondays they would use it for research and experiments. Sundays were their only break days. The rest of the week they practiced their skills.

Damien actually liked this. He like the tight schedule. He liked working as a team, but also working by himself. He enjoyed this, he found it fun.

He likes that they are probably the strongest group. He likes that he has power. He likes that he is powerful. He likes to control metal. He likes the power he has over people. He is glad he chose this over his death.

He is happy.