Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Jeiku Okamimuto - Sinister Squad

“They’re more showing up. There’s no way we’re going out this door.” Nevin braces himself against the door. He waves for me to come over to help him hold it closed.

“Whose idea was it to go inside this damn hospital anyway?” I ask, knowing it was either this hospital or risk getting killed. I pick up a large board and slide it in between to handles of the doors.

Nevin slides two thick metal bars through the handles of the door before he steps away. “Did we have a choice?” He points to the girl that called out to us moments ago. “Besides, she didn’t have to help us.”

The girl walks over to us. “You’re right. I didn’t have to help you. I could’ve just watched you idiots get eaten alive but instead, I became the idiot and helped you.”

Nevin smiles nervously and scratches the back of his head. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to cause any harm…right, Jeiku?” He looks over at me as if he’s asking for me to help. I’m too busy staring at the vending machine in the corner. I look up and give a quick smile before running over to the busted machine. I wonder if it still works. I give it a few hard kicks then shove it a bit. Two canned drinks roll out of the opening. I pick them up and rush over the Nevin with a huge grin on my face.

“Check it out, free drinks,” I say throwing one to Nevin.

Nevin looks at the can and frowns. Sure, these things may be seventy-five years old, but soda doesn’t really spoil—at least that’s what I’ve been told. The label is rubbed off and rusted from sitting in a busted machine for years. Nevin frowns again as he struggles to open the rusted top.

He looks over at me discouraged. “I can’t even open this thing.”

“Ha, it would be easy if you had nails like mine.” I raise my hand up dig my long nails into the side of the can. Green liquid pours out and spills to the floor.

I can see Nevin watching in horror out the corner of my eye as I hold the can above my head allowing the remaining soda to flow into my mouth.

“Umm is it supposed to look like that?”

I wipe my mouth and smile. “I don’t know but it sure did hit the spot. I was nearly dying of thirst after all that running.”

The pink haired girl clears her throat. Nevin and I turn to see her standing in front of us with her arms crossed. “If you guys are done fooling around, we need to find another way out of this hospital.”

I stare at her outfit. Her gray tank top clings tight to her small frame. She wears her black tactical jacket around her waist, her matching pants hugging her body all the way to her dark gray combat boots. She has fire in her eyes, actual fire. She’s a Pyro Dancer, like Dante. They practice mahou embracing the fire element. The flame reflection in her eyes must be a family trait.

I can’t seem to take my eyes away from her. “Umm, wha-what’s your name?”

I sound like a dumbass. Two of the three guys sitting across the waiting room burst out in laughter. Nevin joins in as well but quickly shuts up after I glare at him. The girl looks at me as if I’m a foreign object. “My name is Hikari. I am a member of Squad 23.” Her words flow out of her mouth as if she’s addressing an officer.

“Well Hikari, I’m Jeiku.” I extend my hand, but she ignores it.

“Okay, Jeiku, it seems you’ve overcome your stuttering. Now can we get moving? I really think we should clear this place so we can get out of here,” she says turning away from me.

“I agree with Hikari,” one of the guys says. “By the way, I’m Zach. But don’t get too comfortable, you’re only here because Hikari got soft. David wanted to leave you fools outside.”

Nevin and I look at one another. These guys don’t seem to be the friendliest or helpful like other squads.

“Okay, let’s split up,” Hikari says. “I’ll take David and the wolf boy; the blonde kid can go with Zach and Akairo.”

Split up? That’s a stupid idea, but the faster we get through this hospital, the faster we can get out of here.

“Whatever, Hikari. Make sure you get your pretty ass to our regrouping spot in three hours,” Zach says. “We aren’t allowed to leave without you.” He winks at Hikari. She responds by throwing up her middle finger.

This should be interesting.

Sunday, March 25, 2018

Nevin Rockiest - Personal Training

I drive her to my house, my yard is huge and surrounded by a privacy fence. No one should bother us. I scan the backyard mapping the layout in my mind. My house sits behind me and two large oak trees stand in either corner of the lot close to the fence behind Ashley. There’s nothing in between us that will get in the way in case I have to run from her—I don’t plan on running from her but that crazed look she’s giving me is freaking me out.

We don’t worry about changing out of our academy uniforms. This will be a quick sparring round.
“Are you ready?” Ashley asks with a sinister grin on her face like she’s going to enjoy attacking me. She stands with her hand held out like she’s about to blast me.

“Of course I’m ready. It’s not like you can actually hit—”

A wave of energy hits me right in the chest. The momentum sends me flying back a few feet landing on my back. My vision blurs and all I see is the cloudy sky.

“Nevin, are you okay?”

“I wasn’t ready!” I call out trying to figure out how to stand.

“Stop kidding around,” she snaps. Her royal blue eyebrows squint together. “If you’re going to prove that you belong on the sweep team, then you need to be serious.”

She’s right, as always. Still, why did she hit me? I didn’t know we’re supposed to actually hit each other. I stand up and conjure my lightning sword. The light-blue electricity crackles and swirls around my hand forming a blade. I move my left foot behind me, ready for another attack.

“Now I’m ready.”

Ashley grins. She holds out her hand and shoots a wave of energy. I watch the dust trail toward me. It’s an easy dodge. I rush her. She shoots another blast at me, this time higher from the ground, followed by a second shot. I fall forward allowing both waves to fly over me and then I roll over onto my back jumping to my feet.

“Not bad,” she says clapping her hands in approval. “Now try to attack me.”

I relax, letting down my guard. “You can’t handle my lightning.”

“Ha! Just try me.” She smirks.

I rush toward her with my glowing sword to my side. She doesn’t flinch. I swing at her, not planning to hit her or anything, but she side-steps and punches me in the ribs full force. The blow knocks the wind out of me, sending me to one knee.

“W-What was that for?” I moan rubbing my bruised ribs.

Ashley let’s out a loud sigh rolling her eyes. “Nevin, I told you to take this seriously. Now attack me!”

Fine, if she wants to do this for real then we can. I shake off the raging pain in my side and stand up. I swing at her and she dodges again. My left elbow connects with her nose. As she stumbles back, I kneel and sweep my leg into hers knocking her to the ground.

“Not bad, right?” I say standing over my adorable girlfriend. I dismiss my sword, silencing the buzzing sound while extending my other hand to help her up.

She smiles as she grabs my hand, but then she yanks me down and rolls on top of me.

“Not bad at all, but you’re holding back. You’re going to get yourself killed.” She wipes a drop of blood from her nose using my shirt. My white shirt!

What is she talking about? Of course I’m holding back, I don’t want to hurt her. Does she want me to hurt her? I push her off my chest and scramble to my feet conjuring my sword once again. Before she can stand, I swing at her but she rolls away. Blue electricity explodes as my sword hits the ground.

I chase her and attack again. She blocks my hit with her metal wristband. The electricity buzzes as it crawls up her arm. Her pain-filled cries pierce my ears. I pull away and push her to the soft grass with my foot. Standing over her, I aim my sword at her face daring her to try to get up.

“So how was that?” I ask, dismissing my sword. A large smile comes across my face. “Wanna go again?”

“That was better,” she says, lying as flat as possible in the grass. “I think I had enough for one day.”
She stands up and brushes the dirt from her uniform skirt.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, trust me. You did great, sweetie.” She kisses me on the cheek.

“Are you sure? I can go get some ice or something.”

I really didn’t mean to hurt her, but she wanted me to, I think. Ashley rubs her arm where I shocked her. Tiny hairs stand up from the base of her skin. She then looks over toward my house.

“No, I’m fine, but I should get cleaned up before I head home. I don’t want to be questioned why I’m covered in blood and grass stains.”

I lead her inside the sliding door into the kitchen. She grabs a rag from the sink and dusts off her uniform as much as possible. In hindsight, sparring in our white uniforms probably wasn’t the best idea.

I head to the downstairs bathroom and grab some gauze for her nose along with Lightning Rob ointment. The box says it’s supposed to take away minor effects of getting shocked by someone like me. Good thing I held back, the electricity could’ve burned her.

“Thanks,” she says as she grabs from gauze and ointment. She kisses me on the cheek again as a reward.

“Do you think I have a chance with the sweep squad?” I ask.

She looks at me with her adorable blue eyes. Then her smile fades.

“Nevin, why do you want to risk your life so much?”

I scratch my head. The thought hasn’t crossed my mind. “This isn’t about risking my life. It’s about being someone and proving I’m not a loser.”

“Oh babe, you’re not a loser. I…I just don’t want to lose you. This is big for both of us.”

I wrap my arms around her and hold her to my chest. Her heart beats against mine. She looks up at me and kisses me on the lips. The warmth of her body melts my soul. At this moment, I actually believe I’m not such much of a loser. Then she pulls away and walks toward the sliding door.

“I should go. I’m sure my father is wondering where I am.”

Before I can say a word, Ashley blows a kiss my way and exits the door. This is why I love her, she’s one of the only people that care if I live or die. Well, I’m sure my friends care but I’m not feeling their warmth, no way!


All there’s left to do now is wait to hear back from Dante, or I could contact him myself. Forget it. I’ll go put some ice on my ribs.

Review: Thump: The First Bundred Days

Thump: The First Bundred Days Thump: The First Bundred Days by Timothy Lim
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Say what you will, but this book is cute. I even got the lady at Barnes & Noble to look at a few pages while she checked me out. The art is adorable and it made me fall in love with rabbits all over again. I plan to get the plushy soon too! 5 stars for cuteness!

View all my reviews