Forever Hold My Heart

The day had come way sooner than I would like to admit. I was now standing in front of the boys. I was suppose to give them a speech that would help get them pumped up. It was all in my hands, yet I couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Well... I just want to let you guys know that I’m proud of you. It wasn’t me that did anything, it was you guys. You pushed yourselves and let strangers become your family. It doesn’t matter that we don’t know who you’re going against, you guys are going to go out there and kick ass.” I said and I looked at them they looked so good in their uniforms, I really was proud. “Remember what I told you, when choosing your weapons, choose what you’re going to need don’t take so much that it’s going to weigh you down. Also you’re not trying to kill your opponent just get them to forfeit. I wish you the best of luck.”
“Group hug!” Derrick yelled I somehow ended up in the middle.
“Can’t breathe!” I laughed, they all pulled apart when someone knocked on the door. It was Travis.
“Times up, Katelyn,” Travis said and I nodded. I gave the guys a thumb up as I followed Travis out the door. Travis’s markings only got worse, every time he was going to go to the doctor I insisted on going but he wouldn’t take me. He was on several different medications yet he only seemed to be growing weaker and weaker. “Are they ready?”
“Of course,” I said with a small smile.
“So how did the doctor appointment go today?” I asked
“They still haven’t been able to stop it.” He said
“What’s the percent?” I asked
“30,” He said and he wouldn’t look at me.
“What is the highest your body can take?” I asked and he sighed
“Well usually 50, but the doctor says at this rate 60 maybe even 70,” Travis said
“What can I do,” I said as I clenched my teeth.
“Don’t worry, the doctor said that he should have an anecdote any day now.” Travis said
“He better hurry, or I’ll make him,” I said
“It’s that or you go out to find your moms little army and confront them,” He said with a laugh and I just looked at him seriously. “Oh no, it was a joke. Don’t even get any ideas.”
“I know they already want me dead, so why would I go to knocking on death’s door.” I said
“You can be unpredictable,” Travis said as we walked towards the lounge.
“But if you guessed that I would probably go wouldn’t I be predictable.” I said and he laughed
“Too much team time for you,” Travis said and I shook my head because I knew he was saying that some of their personalities had rubbed off on me.
When we arrived at the the arena we walked down the stairs.
“Front row seats,” Marcus said as I sat next to him.
“Where’s Clarence?” I asked
“He’s with Mathew, they’re almost here,” Travis said looking up at the entrance. I looked up and could see Clarence walking down with Mathew. Clarence was wearing a suit and he had a suitcase. He was such a joke, I let out a laugh.
“Already giving me a bad time,” Clarence said as he took a seat down next to Travis. He opened his suitcase and took out some papers. “Sometimes I wonder what is going on in that head of yours. You’re mocking the guy who’s going to report everything about your team to the board.”
“It’s all fun and games until Clarence shows up.” I said and he widened his eyes and let out a sigh. “Just to remind you that Mason wasn’t allowed to use his animals except for the smaller ones.”
“I am aware, I also heard that bear of his cries out to him for food.” Clarence said
“Mason says he can be lazy sometimes.” I said
“What good is a lazy bear,” Clarence said
“What good is dead Clarence,” I said
“Oh you never cease to humor me,” Clarence said and I reached over to lightly punch his arm.
“I have to get up and start this thing, but I’m afraid you guys might have too much fun without me,” Travis said with a smile. He was still smiling regardless of how much pain he was in.
“Don’t worry Clarence is taking notes on everything,”I said and I gave him a weak smile. It was hard to pretend like everything was okay with Travis. We all knew but he just held his head high. Travis wasn’t allowed to do activities that required too much physical use because it could risk spreading the poison faster.
“Alright everybody settle down.” Travis said and he let out a cough. I gripped the edges of my seat and looked down at my feet. “The moment we’ve all been waiting for.”
I looked up as my team walked on to the arena, on the other side was team #2. I tried to think positive thoughts, this could go either way.
“Same rules apply here, if you say forfeit you must step out of the arena. Those who are knocked unconscious will be removed from the arena by Devin.” Travis said and both teams just stared at each other. I tried to see what the guys had picked as their weapons. I could see Jeremiah’s brass knuckles gleam in the light. “You may begin.”
Nobody moved, except for Mason who started to aim his bow and arrow, even then he didn’t shoot it. Travis took his seat next to me and rubbed my back.
“Relax, they’ll do fine,” He whispered and I got chills. I never took my eyes off the arena.
“Eight,” Mason said
“Seven,” Bryson said
“Six,” Oliver said
“Five,” Derrick said I watched as they were counting down. I furrowed my eyebrows, I wasn’t familiar with what they were doing.
“Four,” Tyler said. Regardless of the countdown they still didn’t move. The other team began to fidget. One of the guys from team 2 began to run to the other side of the arena, yet nobody else moved. I noticed Mason had followed him with his bow & arrow. Another one from team 2 threw a knife at Mason but Bryson jumped up and blocked it with his forearm pad.
“Three,” Jeremiah said and I watch as Hunter twirled a blade in his hands. I got to wonder who was one, if there was only seven of them.
“Two,” Hunter said. I was on the edge of my seat. I wanted to see if Clarence was writing anything but I didn’t want to take my eyes off the fight. Emma suddenly flew on to Mason’s shoulder. In a blink of an eye all my team just threw weapons at team 2. It went from a still picture to a straight war. Suddenly there were birds everywhere, it was hard to see. I bit the skin from the tip of my fingers. The birds all flew up at the same time. Everyone was still standing I could see Mason wincing he had a cut on the side of his stomach, Bryson seemed pretty beat up too but he kept his head high. I looked at the other guys they seemed to be fine. When I looked at team two, they looked pretty messed up.
The counting must have been a decoy, the team was waiting for them to say one but they never did. They used the birds to blind the others. I was proud of them they were using each others strengths.
At the same time all of team two ran forward, although it was a one on one fight now, my team was still helping each other. I could see Bryson struggling as he tried to keep two guys away from Mason. I looked away towards Clarence, as usual he had a poker face. I heard someone let out a yell, I pressed my forehead into Travis’s shoulder.
I couldn’t bear to look. I closed my eye, there was lots of other things I could have done for training. I sat up straight, I wasn’t going to look at it that way. They were smart and knew what they were doing. I personally felt like they passed me, actually even before training them some of them were beyond my level.
I looked back at the arena, Jeremiah had knocked out his guy and was helping out Bryson. Devin was trying to get into the arena to get the kid out of there but it was way to hectic. I nearly bit my lip off when I saw Oliver fall to the floor, the other teammate walked over to him. He arched his back, he had been shot with an arrow. Mason surprised me when I saw him jump on the guys back. He completely caught him off guard, but he still grabbed Mason by his underarms and slammed him on the floor.
Oliver had already gotten up and tackled him down. I waited for Mason to get up but he wasn’t moving. I looked at Devin he had already managed to get the other kid out of there. I heard a sickening pop sound, I tried to figure where it came from.
I had pinpointed it to be from Tyler. He was standing there with his arm hanging. He looked like he was in a immense amount of pain. This was looking worse and worse by the second. I buried my face in my hands, I hadn’t felt this nauseous about team testing since my first time watching.
“The fight isn’t over, calm down.” Marcus said and Travis wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
“Breathe,” He said and I took a deep breath. “I think you’re going to like what you see.”
“I can’t look,” I said, “Tell me when its over.”
“They wouldn’t want you to miss it.” Travis said. He was right.
When I looked back at the arena, Oliver was helping Tyler. Derrick was doing good by himself, the guy he was fighting looked like he was going to pass out any second now. Devin had already taken Mason out of the arena. Bryson and Jeremiah were still working together against the two other guys. I glanced over at Clarence, he wasn’t writing anything. He still wore his poker face.
I looked back and watched as Jeremiah punched his opponent in the face and knocked him out cold. He then jumped on the guy Bryson was fighting. The guy got free and ran over to his other teammate. They were back to back as Bryson, Jeremiah, Tyler and Oliver; circled around them.
My eyes scanned around for Derrick, he had already got his guy to forfeit. When I finally found him he was with Hunter. I almost forgot about Hunter but that’s because they were in the corner farthest away from the rest. Hunter didn’t look good at all, he had blood dripping from his fingertips and I could see him shaking.
I pulled my attention away from the scene when I saw Clarence get up. I looked back and forth between the fight and Clarence. I stayed and watched as they made the last of the other team forfeit. After that I ran to catch up to Clarence.
When I ran up the stairs into the lounge, Clarence was on the phone. He waved for me to follow him. I walked next to him as we went outside. He was talking Latin, he was talking to the board. I really wanted to know what he thought. He hung up and gave me a white envelope.
“Nobody can see that,” Clarence said and I nodded. He then handed me a blue envelope. “That’s the result.”
“Which one should I read first?” I asked
“You decide.” Clarence said and he walked away towards the gate. I let out a sigh as I walked back into the lounge. I entered down the trap door and back to the arena. The guys were all on the side tending to their wounds.
I walked over there.
“We did it,” Derrick said with a smile.
“So are we ‘graduated’” Oliver asked.
“He says the results are in this letter.” I said holding up the blue envelope.
“Read it!” Tyler said
“Okay but whatever it says, you guys did great today,” I said and I opened the envelope. “He just wrote this right now.”
I showed them the letter that was handwritten.
“You’re killing me,” Tyler said and I started to read the letter.
“To Katelyn and her team,
The amount of time it takes for a team to become so in synch can’t be recorded. You only had-” I started
“Skip to the part if we are approved or rejected,” Tyler said
“You know he took the time to write this letter I think the least we can do-” I started again
“We don’t care,” They said at the same time. I skimmed the letter.
“Okay right here. Congratulations on your improvement, as representative for the board. I declare this team ready for future assignments-” I was interrupted again.
“Alright!” They cheered they even woke up Mason.
“You guys are crazy.” I said and I started walking away. I walked over to where Marcus and them were at.
“Congratulations,” Travis said
“This feels surreal,” I said reaching out trying to see if I could feel anything in the air.
“What’s the other envelope,” Marcus asked
“Nothing,” I said and Marcus just looked at me suspiciously. He broke eye contact when Travis broke out into a coughing fit. He sat down and I sat down next to him. He took his hand away from his mouth there was blood all over his hand.
“Come on, you need to get some rest,” Marcus said helping Travis up. I got up to help but Marcus raised his hand. “I got this.”
I just sat back down and held the envelope in my hands.
“Hey we’re going to go eat you want to come.” Tyler said I looked up at them.
“No you guys go on. You also need to be resting to heal up,” I said and they just went on their way. I waited until the arena was completely cleared out. I walked to the middle of the arena. I sat down and held the envelope. I slowly opened it and pulled the letter out.
Katelyn,
If you are reading this letter it’s because Clarence has decided that your team is more than we could have asked for. As the board we have decided that you would be best as our active board member. Although Clarence might say that you are too young, we would disagree. Some of us were recruited at a young age too. Five out of the Seven current members have approved your acceptance.
Your duties as the active board member will be as follows;
-You and your new team will locate Latronis Animae from the book and finish them off. You will not go after Caroline Henderson’s group. If you run into them an immediate retreat is to be issued. Failure to do so can revoke your position on the board.
-You will report any suspicious activity among other Custos, including Periculums
-You will also report all Latronis Animae killings to Clarence.
-You will do all of the above without bringing to much attention to yourself.

You can confide with your team about your overall assignment but you cannot tell them about your position as a board member. If for some reason you tell someone and the word gets out Clarence would simply deny it and you will be kicked out. You will also be put on probation as a Custos.
Sincerely,
The Board.

I put the letter back in my lap and just laid down. I didn’t want to be a member of the board but being in charge of killing Latronums was something I did want to do. I don’t think I could only do one.
I folded up the letter and put it back in the envelope. I got up and walked out of the arena. I dialed Clarence.
“Hello,” Clarence answered
“I’m going to need a list of supplies.” I asked
“Well come down to my office and we’ll make a list.” Clarence said
“Can’t I just text them to you,” I said
“Or you can do that.” Clarence said
“You’re being so compliant,” I said
“I’m just doing my job.” He said
“If the guys are rested we’re heading out tonight, so I’ll need them by then.” I said
“Okay.” Clarence said
“Bye,” I said and I hung up. I turned the lights off and I closed the door to the arena. I sent him a quick text as I made my way over to the cafeteria. Halfway there I decided I would go check on Travis instead. I peeked my head in, Marcus was injecting some of Travis’s medicine into Travis’s neck.
“I’m not looking so good am I?” Travis said and I pulled my head back. I was never one for eavesdropping but I needed to know the truth about Travis’ condition.
“You’re going to make it through this,” Marcus said, “You’ve survived worse things than poison. This isn’t the way you want to go out is it?”
I could tell Marcus was trying to lighten up the situation.
“The doctor says he’s never seen anything like this, he’s trying but he said he can’t make any promises.He says he’d have a better chance if he had an exact copy of the poison before it was in my body.” Travis said
“How much time before he thinks you’re done.” Marcus asked
“About a month,” Travis said and I could hear him coughing. “Katelyn can’t know.”
“I think she’s mature enough to handle it.” Marcus said
“It’s not that, she’s the type to go out and find them, just to get what she needs.” Travis said
“She would need a very good team-” Marcus said and he paused.
“A team she already has,” Travis said and he started coughing again.
“She might have a chance then,” Marcus said
“No, it’s not worth the risk,” Travis said. “Eight lives aren’t worth one.”
“You’re only thinking about her,” Marcus said
“Her life still isn’t worth mine.” Travis said and I walked into the room.
“Hey guys,” I said as I walked over.
“Katelyn.” Marcus said and I took a seat on the foot of the bed.
“How are you doing,” I asked Travis.
“I’m doing good, just some side effects from the medicine.” Travis said
“Oh, things can only get better right?” I said I couldn’t even look at him. I wanted him to tell me that it wasn’t okay. I wanted him to tell me the truth.
“The doctor says he’s seen it before, it just takes him awhile to come up with a anecdote.” Travis said, I knew he was lying, he wasn’t even keeping with the story he told me earlier. I hugged him.
“Please get better, I just wouldn’t be able to do it without you,” I said
“You talk like I’m dying,” Travis said and I squeezed my eyes shut.
“And you talk like you’re the healthiest person alive,” I said and I pulled away, I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. I couldn’t help the tears that came. Travis sat up and hugged me.
“I’m fine, Katelyn.” He pulled away and looked me straight in the eyes, “When I’m better I’ll take you out and we’ll just have a day work free. I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to it,” I said and he smiled.
“Now go make sure your team is resting,” Travis said and I hesitated.
When I left I went out to the fields and started crying. I was so upset and angry, I picked up a rock and threw it into the forest. I wiped away the tears and I stood there staring hard at the forest, I wanted them to be watching me, I wanted them to know I was angry, I wanted them to know that I was coming for them.