Growing Pains

Dialogue- "Example"

Thoughts- 'Example'

Sounds- Example

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THWACK! The bow staff released a resounding crack as it collided with my jaw for the fourth time that evening. "Enough!" Came the voice of Kyler, my instructor as I unclenched my fists and lowered my hands to my side.

"Head to the infirmary to get that bruise checked out. We will continue our training tomorrow." I walked off cradling my arm, having been hit on my forearms many times while attempting to block the bow staff. I noted the looks of contempt from my peers as I limped to the infirmary. It had long since become commonplace since I first joined eight years ago for the other students to make fun of me for a multitude of reasons. The main one was that I had what was considered a weak ability.

One thing to note about this institution is that each faction has its own land or base in which they reside. Within these bases, each faction has its own facilities, such as infirmaries, ability registration offices, dorms, and things of the like. Imagine like each faction having its own small village. However, there's one large cafeteria for students of all factions. Each area of the institution is extremely clean to show the prestigious nature of the institution.

Moving on, I put my head down and continued walking. Didn't take long for me to enter through the infirmary's glass doors. The building was very clean and sanitized on the inside. Having that classic hospital smell. On either side, there were a dozen hospital beds for injured students, with the doctor's quarters being its own separate room at the back of the small building.

I limped my way over to the head nurse before greeting her, "Hey Gail." The older dark-skinned lady looked my way before quickly hurrying me toward a bed. "Jesus boy, how many times do I have to tell you to be careful out there? Besides, I remember telling you to just call me granny."

I carefully removed my shirt before lying down in the bed and responding, "Eh, I signed up for this. It's only natural I get hurt a bit. Anyway, how have you been?" I changed the topic naturally as she began to apply ointment to my bruised body.

"Oh, same old. You know my Ava won't stop asking about you, you should visit her." She skillfully applied bandages to the affected areas before turning to me for a response.

"Y'know I would, but they have me taking tests daily. I'll go hang out with her again when I'm free. Aside from that, you get any other patients here aside from myself?" She shook her head before handing me some pain meds and water. I quickly swallowed the pills before she spoke once again, "How about you Ike? Did you visit your father during the break?"

"No. You know he recently started dating again and that new woman is just insufferable. Can't stand her, don't know what he sees in the woman. That and I'd prefer to not hear them having sex during my stay." She released a short laugh before placing her hand on my arm and addressing me sternly, "Now that's no way for a fourteen-year-old boy to talk is it? Even if it is true."

I silently shook my head before I felt the fatigue from today's training begins to hit me. "It was nice speaking to you Gran, but I think I'm going to take a nap." "Alright Ike, you get some rest. I'm gonna lock up and head home for the night. See ya tomorrow." She gave me a soft hug which I reciprocated before she grabbed her things and left. Turning over to my side, I was almost instantly consumed by darkness.

And that brings me to this moment when I was awoken by the feeling of every part of my body breaking and rebuilding all at once. The pain was suffocating, but I couldn't pass out even if I wanted to. I could feel my muscles tearing and mending, my bones breaking and fusing back together rapidly. It was as if every one of my senses was heightened to an unbearable degree.

My brain felt like it would explode from all of the information it was processing all at once. It felt like hours had passed by the time the process had ended and I finally fainted. When I awoke, I damn near hissed at the brightness of the hospital lights. It took quite a while before my eyes finally adjusted to the light.

Upon standing I realized that the pain I felt from before was gone and I was slightly taller. Quickly removing the bandages around my body, I realized that the bruises were gone, having healed for the most part. I was brought from my thoughts as my stomach damn near howled in need of food. It was still dark out, so I assumed the time was around six in the morning. 'The cafeteria should be open at this time.' With this thought in mind, I rushed to dress myself and made my way toward the cafeteria.

I hurried toward the line of kids that had formed and grabbed as much food as I could fit on four plates. Paying for all of the food, I didn't waste any time rushing to an empty table to eat, catching all sorts of weird looks on the way. I sat and began devouring the food at speeds I didn't even know I was capable of.

I was stopped mid-taco by a hand lightly patting my shoulder. I turned around to see Ava, my best friend and the granddaughter of the head nurse. She was a shorter girl with long black hair and dark skin. She greeted me with a beaming smile before questioning the amount of food I had piled on the table, "Hey Ike! What's with all the food? You looking to put on weight or something?"

I quickly finished the final taco before finally answering her question, "I don't know why, but since waking up I've been extremely hungry. Anyway, how're you doing Ava? I planned on coming to visit you soon." She rounded the table and sat in front of me before giving a response, "So so, my faction has been holding competitions to decide who would be our champion for this year's representative tournament and my mentor has been on my head about training hard."

"Tell me about it, I've had to take tests daily, both practical and standardized. So, I've hardly had any breaks. Feels like I'm in the infirmary constantly." I quickly stood whilst cleaning myself and gestured for her to follow me as I began walking. "Where you headed to?" She asked whilst rushing to catch up with me.

"To the infirmary to get checked out. Something happened to me overnight." I continued to walk while also answering her question. She silently nodded her head before following me.

Upon arriving I was greeted by the sight of Gail, sitting at her desk sorting through files. She turned toward us before quickly rushing over to us, "Hey babies, how're you kids doing?" She greeted us with a bright smile and a hug before sitting back down.

"Hey Gran, we're great. Sorry, for disappearing on you this morning. Seriously had to eat after waking up." I responded with a quick chuckle before Ava interjected, "Yeah, you should've seen it. He had four entire plates filled with food."

"I'm surprised you could afford that. Either way, what brings you children here?" She candidly asked while she worked. I browsed absentmindedly around the infirmary before answering, "I was hoping to get checked out, last night I experienced excruciating pain and this morning I was greeted with an almost superhuman hunger."

She nodded her head before gesturing me to follow her into a room where a pod awaited. This pod was designed to check the human body's condition. It was large and metallic, with blue-tinted safety glass. It was kept in a separate room where the nurse, or whoever was doing the scan at the time, could observe.

She exited alongside Ava before I heard her voice appear over a speaker, "Please undress yourself down to your underwear and enter the pod." Following her instructions I began removing my clothes one by one. From the other room, I could see Ava turning her head away nervously, eliciting a small chuckle from me.

The pod opened automatically and I entered carefully. Lying down on the cool and hard metal surface on the inside. It closed before a dozen lasers began moving in sync, supposedly scanning my body. I closed my eyes before slowly drifting off into a deep sleep.

When I awoke it was to the feeling of Ava prodding my toned gut. I quickly sat up, watching as she awkwardly looked at a random wall. I quickly dressed myself to make the atmosphere less heavy and left the room to speak with Gail who was looking confusingly at the computer which showed the results of my scan.

"So, what were the results? I'm assuming it's something out of the ordinary?" I inquired as I took a seat in the chair next to her. "It seems as though you have awakened a second ability. Every one of your muscle fibers has strengthened and become more dense, alongside your bones. Signs show that your brain activity has heightened considerably as well. Congratulations on becoming a dual-ability user." She stated this while composing herself and looking at me with a bright smile.

I didn't know how to react upon hearing those words, it felt... underwhelming. Of course, it's pretty rare to see a person with more than one ability, but it just ended up being another simple ability. I quickly dispelled those thoughts with a shake of my head, 'doesn't matter what abilities I have, I'll just work hard enough to make them powerful.'

With my resolve solidified, I finally provided Gail with a response, "Thanks Gran, I'll be leaving to get that registered now." I stood up and began to make my way out of the building, Ava staying behind to speak with her grandmother.

I apologized in my heart for lying to Gail and went in the opposite direction of the ability registration office. Straight toward the living quarters of the faction leader, Nuke.

His place of rest was a very well-decorated building. Looking almost like a small mansion with stone statues of the previous faction leaders. Each one is well-maintained and clean.

I quickly made my way up the stairs to the front door and knocked. Waiting for about five minutes before a guard answered, not even allowing him a chance to fully open the door before I kicked it into his face. Apparently, my new ability allowed me to hit quite hard as a crunching noise resounded from behind the door followed by the sound of his unconscious body hitting the floor.

I opened the door wide, before stepping over the guard's body. This was the only way to be allowed entry into the faction leaders' quarters in our faction. "If you aren't capable of beating the guard then you aren't worthy of entry." Those were the exact words of one of the mentors when I first asked how to earn entry.

I continued my walk further into the building, which was decorated with high-quality flooring, gold trim, and chandeliers. Walking past the stairs and through the door directly to Nuke's office. Upon opening the large ornate doors, I was greeted with a punch which I had to dodge, followed by a low roundhouse kick that I lifted my leg to dodge. Quickly jumping back out into the main hall to gain distance I addressed the faction leader who decided it'd be a good idea to greet me with attacks.

"Sorry for the abrupt entry, Nuke. I was coming to inform you of the awakening of my second ability like you instructed me to do in a case like this." This caused him to stop his fist mere centimeters from my face before smiling lightly at me and speaking, "Good. Come to my office Ike." I without hesitation began to walk with the man toward his office. He placed a heavy hand on my shoulder, giving me a few pats on the back before entering the well-decorated office.

The office was decent-sized, with hints of the color red and gold throughout. There were shelves filled with books, and firearms lining the walls, alongside many bladed weapons. He gestured for me to take a seat before sitting himself in the chair on the opposite side of the table.

"So, considering your slight growth in height since the last time I saw you, I'd assume you awakened an ability that reconstructed your physical body, correct?"

"Yes, according to the scan that was done it seems to have been a simple increase to my physical and mental capabilities by many times," I responded without a beat, as a way of showing respect to the man who allowed me in his faction.

"How old are you now, Ike?" The man questioned whilst standing and walking over to a table off to the side. "I'm fourteen now sir," I responded respectfully to him, he grabbed two glasses from the table and a bottle of white rum from his selection of drinks.

"When I was your age my father poured me a glass of rum, and said it was to congratulate me on becoming a man." He swiftly, but smoothly made his way back to the table and sat. Pouring the drink into the two cups, he sat them down and leveled an intense gaze at me, "Ike, how would you like to be my only disciple?"

Surprise covered my face for, but a moment before I answered excitedly, "Of course sir, I would love to." He grabbed one of the cups before taking a swig. Pointing at the other cup with his chin he gestured for me to drink.

I grabbed the cup nervously, having never drunk alcohol before drinking the whole thing in one go. Cringing from the burning feeling left in my throat, I began to gain my bearings when all of a sudden I felt my vision being filled with dark spots."First lesson boy, don't trust anyone or anything." He said standing over me as I lost consciousness, my vision being filled with black.

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