Chapter Three

Cali sat there curled on the bench- her legs pulled tight against her pounding chest as her best attempt at a defense. She stared petrified up into her tormentor's murderous gaze. She couldn't think of what to say. Couldn't fathom how things had turned out so wrong, so fast. Her brain was scrambled with a flurry of notes that took flight, a whirlwind of information completely outside of her grasp that left her voice dry and useless. If she could lay everything out clearly, surely he would understand. Things didn't have to be this way. But the way he was looking at her like she was nothing more than a maggot infested dung heap heavily suggested she would not be getting through to him. So she just stared. Lost. Shell shocked.

"No catty remarks? Well, imagine my surprise. Maybe you're not as dumb as you look. But if you want a little piece of advice," he leaned over her crumpled form, grabbed her arm and ripped it free as a shriek of terror escaped her lips. He held her arm there, palm facing up, and grasped her wrist tightly as his knife came to rest halfway up her forearm. It bit deep into her skin. "This would be a great time to start begging for your life." he said with a grin that showed he was enjoying every second of this.

Cali looked on in horror at the knife against her skin. She dared a short desperate glance at the boy, and then looked back again as the panic stared to rise in her throat. Her body writhed with primal instincts. She jerked and struggled to pull her arm free, but she was weak against the strength of his grip, and the knife dug in deep as she flailed. Cali cried out in pain as the cut drew a dark stream of blood from her pale skin. It ran down the length of her arm, dripping on the tired linoleum tiles. He seemed unbothered by his hand being bloodied, and his grip remained a tight vice against her freedom.

"Shhhh sh sh sh," he cooed. "I don't think I need to tell you not to try that again, now do I?" Keep struggling and all they'll find here is a frazzled little transfer student that couldn't take being thrown into a new school system. They'll be far too late to undo her very bad decision." The way he emphasized his words didn't escape her notice. His shadow eclipsed the rest of the room as he wrenched himself closer. Felix's icy blue eyes drew her full attention as the mockery in his tone bled into a low whisper. "The same will happen if you get coy with me or try to call for help."

Cali nodded passively and he backed off again. Catching a glimpse of red, she clenched her eyes shut against the blood; tears streamed down her face as she ground her teeth to dust fighting off the pain. Blood had never been her friend. A lifetime of near misses from acute anemia now all but guaranteed she was going to pass out soon if he didn't let her go. Sooner still, if she looked at the damage already done.

"The name is Felix Klein- as I'm sure you already know. Remember who you're dealing with the next time you feel like picking a fight. Anyone who dares to fuck with me doesn't walk away. They crawl. If they're lucky." She could hear the grin in his voice, but was busy focusing on staying conscious. She needed to get out of here. She hadn't eaten anything, her blood was still pooling on the floor, and lunch was going to end soon. By the time the other students made it back, one of two things was going to happen, and right now, she wasn't liking her odds at all. If she didn't talk him down soon, she knew she was royally screwed.

"Why are you doing this?" she croaked, then coughed, trying to clear her dry throat. "Just let me go! Please- Look, I'm sorry if I did something that upset you-" He scoffed at her plea and the knife seemed to dig in just a little bit deeper, making her bite back a cry. "IF you did something? Wow. You've got some fucking nerve." The anger built into those words felt like a slap to the face. "I'm going to give you one chance- just one- to walk out of here on your own two feet. So I suggest you cut the bullshit and tell me the truth the first time I ask." He paused to make certain he had her full attention, then continued. "Tell me who you really are. Who sent you?"

Her vision was starting to blur around the edges and her equilibrium was failing her. She needed to think, and think fast. What could she say that would convince him to stop? She searched her mind for the fluttering papers and commanded them, bade them come to her. There wasn't time to explain everything. The darkness would take her before she could get it all out, so she had to choose wisely. Only one shot. So what was it going to be?

"Jasper.." she whispered, her throat raspy. She couldn't see what he did next, but for a moment, everything stopped. She felt weightless, like her legs were floating above her head. Her stomach shifted and she endured the nausea rolling through her system. Which way was she facing now? She could be upside down for all she knew.

"The fuck did you say?" He hadn't spoken this softly the entire time they'd been in here. Whether it was disbelief or malice, she couldn't tell without looking up at him, and she didn't have the strength left to manage it. She felt the plates falling off the sticks at last, as her head hung limp and her body began to fall forward.

"Oh no you don't. You're not going anywhere. Wake up!" She felt the ripping pain radiate across her skull as he caught her by the hair and flung her head back, holding her there. Her eyes fluttered open again weakly and she fought to keep him in focus. The pain actually helped with that a bit, not that she preferred it. Now that she could see him clearly again, she smiled sadly at the sight of him. Malice, she had decided, by the feral look in his eyes. Or maybe it was the blade already biting into her neck that told her so. Either way, she could tell he understood what she'd said, but was fervently denying it. Understandable really. Nobody should know about Jasper. But she did. If this didn't get through to him, she thought sadly, she was already done for.

He stalled there, emotions flickering back and forth in his burning eyes. His grip loosened with disbelief, and just as suddenly, the knife cut her neck deeper as he pressed it hard against her throat. Back and forth, in a fraction of a second, as a war raged within him. "Say it again." He said a few micro-eternities later. He still couldn't accept it, she deduced, but she needed him to.

"Jasper. I met him." She murmured with a grin. His eyes widened, and she added, "at night."

He paused. Just paused, holding them both there, frozen as he stared off deep in thought. His grip on her hair eventually loosened, and he lowered the knife, then flicked it closed. Thank God, she thought, as her eyes slid closed once more. Gently, he laid her head back against the wall, her body draped over her backpack for stability. And then, just as she heard him walking away, the darkness engulfed her once more.

* * * * *

Piper stopped leaning against the room's paneling the moment she saw Felix turn and start walking towards the front of the class. There were still slivers of window that weren't blocked by shades, if you knew where to look. She wasn't worried. She just needed to keep him safe; that was her job. No one was going to convince her otherwise, because they could never understand their entire history. Her job was more important than their petty gossip, she assured herself. Let them gossip then, if they want to. It meant nothing to her.

Moments later, she heard the front bolt sliding open, and she started towards the back door expectantly. Felix slipped out and shut the door quietly behind him, acknowledged her with a glace, and they began to walk. He had left the blinds down as a precaution, she noted. From what little she had seen of the girl, it was a wise move. "What should we do with her?" She asked, fully back to business as usual.

"Find Luke. Tell him where to find her and to take her to the nurse's office. Best we not be anywhere near here when they see her being carried."

Piper was familiar with the drill, as well as the protocols that would soon follow, but there was something about the whole thing that didn't sit well with her. The girl had gotten off far too easy for the defiance she had displayed this morning. She'd made a spectacle of him for the entire class to see. Normally, they would be calling in favors to block off a section of the school by now, and she'd be found in a ditch sometime well after the fact.

Why doesn't he make a proper example out of her? A few bandages and she would look right as rain. Nothing more than a simply sports injury, by the looks of it. What kind of message would that send? That anyone could get away with disrespecting him, she thought. Which was a very dangerous message to be sending. If the student body wasn't afraid of him, they would turn on him in a snap. And that was something she couldn't stand idly by and let happen.

Sensing her distaste, Felix looked back at her suddenly and frowned. They had always had a sense about one another like that, ever since grade school. Then, just as she was preparing for a well deserved chew out, he took his hat off and scratched his head in frustration. Such a small gesture it would seem to anyone else, but she knew him far too well, and he never did that. Something was way more off with him than she had previously suspected. But she was already in hot water from this morning, and he was in no mood to be questioned. She resigned herself to following orders, and left his side when they reached the food court.

Students were already beginning to empty their trays and mill around, waiting for the bell. Luckily, she spotted Luke quite quickly. The burly jock stood a head taller than most students, and was easy to find in a crowd. Piper stopped a short walk away from the bench he and his friends were hanging around, and waited to catch his attention. The moment he met her gaze, she held it briefly and then began walking away again. He excused himself from his less perceptive friends and jogged to catch up with her around the corner. From the shade of the science department's canopied garden, she gave him his instructions and sent him on his way, ignoring the shadow lingering over his eyes.

Her task now finished, Piper grabbed a light snack from the vending machines and looked around the courtyard, taking inventory. She estimated that about a fourth of the student body took orders from them directly as needed, with around three-fourths at least being too scared to get on their bad side. Both her name and Felix's were synonymous with danger, and that gave them power over their immediate surroundings. And then there was the faculty.

The nurse had been facing foreclosure when they first set foot on this campus three years ago. Now, she had a roof over her head and paid no mortgage to keep it that way- nor would she ever, so long as she stayed in line. She would patch up anybody they sent her way, then bury the paper trail so that no one could ever put two and two together. They had done this song and dance enough times to pick and choose the faculty they would need first, and from there, all it took was finding a few weak spots. Still, she noted to herself, not everyone was in their pocket- there were always those that couldn't be bought, or threatened. If they offed too much of the faculty their cover would be blown all the same, so there would always be some people they needed to keep in the dark. It made the mission more fun for her, in a way.

A series of gasps chain-reacted across the courtyard as a large shadow moved down the farthest walkway, signaling that it was showtime. Piper hopped off of the concrete block encasing her favorite tree plot, and sipped her water bottle as she walked through the middle of the crowd. Several members of her class stopped to look her over, uncertain what to make of her presence so far from the incident they knew must be connected to her, but that was of course, the whole point. A little subterfuge never hurt anyone.

The bell for class rang, and she set about resuming her typical class schedule. The girl was still in no condition to open her mouth right away. They had enough time to silence her later.