6 Chapter 6

When our Head Instructors grandfather created our facility compound over 100 years ago, he had claimed he saw a vision of a great future here. We would be unaffected by any earthquakes, tornadoes, and any other natural disasters due to our placement within the valleys. Thousands of Immune and Few followed him happily, and he constructed an institution where the Few could learn to control their abilities, and the Immune could help create our new society. He named the compound Sierran, named after the even larger mountains that once stood here. The world outside of our compound was named the Danger Zone, and apparently it stretched for miles across many different types of terrain.

After hours of physical exertion, my chest was heaving and I was glad that our lesson was nearly at an end. A muffled bang sounded above us, and I jerked my head upwards. On the balcony, two stories up from where I stood, I glimpsed a head of sandy brown hair, and soon after met the familiar auburn eyes of Soren, the Head Instructor's son. He smiled, raising a finger to his lips, causing my own to quirk up slightly.

Always so mischievous, I thought.

Soren was two years younger than Dany, Caeden, and I, and he was always snooping around in places he didn't belong, especially the training colosseum. I practically felt his eyes adoring the Few, admiring the incredible abilities we possess.

"Acacia!" Kariah's gray eyes darted to mine from across the arena, "You can at least pretend to take this lesson seriously." She barked.

I immediately realized that the bow had still been hovering above the ground slightly, and three arrows were stuck to the foam border on the ceiling. The cement floor underneath me was quivering slightly. I blushed, harvesting my control and willing the bow to fall and the ground to calm, and my energy obeyed. The bow clattered to the floor, along with the leftover arrows I'd had unknowingly prancing beside it, waiting for their turn. Normally my abilities were completely under my command, but any distraction would cause me to lose focus.

When I lost focus, I sometimes forgot to withdraw my energy from the particles of matter I'd previously been manipulating, and my power would take on a mind of its own. I peeked at Dany and Caeden, who were in an intense match, hence why they hadn't noticed my slip up. Caeden was winning, but only because he was using his abilities. Dany could outdo anyone in Sierran with a dagger, even the elders in the compound who'd been practicing swordsmanship for longer than we've lived. But Caeden was clever, and knew exactly how to beat her. He had been trained specially by the Head Instructor himself, so he had an unfair advantage. He swiped under her legs, and she fell flat on her back. She pounced up and jabbed his chest with her fists in an adorable temper tantrum, and he faked pain. They both burst into a fit of laughter and then sauntered over to where I stood.

"You're next," Caeden coaxed.