Dark Realms (50 page)

“What do you mean?”

“I saw them kissing in the
halls yesterday. She is
such
a conniving bitch!”

Eva is actually one of the most popular
girls in school. Although Paige is much prettier and likeable,
Eva’s mother is a famous news anchor and she gets treated like
she’s some kind of a movie star herself. Eva’s also
head-cheerleader and owns this super turbo-charged Mercedes
convertible. Most of the guys at school are hot for her car.

“And he’s a prick…they deserve each
other.”

She wiped away a tear and
sniffled. “Well…anyway…there
is
this new guy, Jeremy, who’s really cute. He sits
next to me in Biology.”

I chuckled. “I can see you’re truly
heartbroken.”

Paige placed her hands over her heart. “I‘m
sure Jeremy could help mend it.”

We both burst out
laughing. Little did we know that in the next couple of days, our
lives would turn into a living nightmare, and that we would have
given
anything
to
have such trivial problems.

Chapter Two

I spent most of the day at school trying to
avoid those who were sick, which was almost everyone else. Many
kids were absent, and the halls were unnaturally quiet, except for
the consistent coughing and nose-blowing.

During last period, my math teacher, Mr.
Hogan, a balding man in his fifties, blew his nose loudly and said,
“Keep taking your vitamins, everyone. This flu takes no
prisoners!”

In answer, many of the students wiped their
own noses or coughed. I shrunk down in my desk and took out a small
bottle of antibacterial gel, rubbing some on my hands. A girl next
to me noticed and snorted.

I glared at her. “It’s called keeping your
hands clean. You should try it sometime.”

She gave me the finger, muttering something
obscene under her breath.

Towards the end of class, our principal,
Mrs. Davis, made an unexpected visit and handed Mr. Hogan some
forms. They spoke quietly for several minutes and then she left,
grabbing a tissue on the way out. I watched as Mr. Hogan removed
his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose while examining the
paperwork she’d dropped off.

Finally, he looked up and cleared his
throat. “Listen up, people,” he called. “This week, the school is
giving free flu shots to all of the students. I am going to hand
out all the information regarding the vaccination. Take it home,
have your parents read it, sign it, and then bring it back as soon
as possible.”

A few of the students moaned in protest.

He smiled wryly and leaned
back in his chair. “I understand your
enthusiasm
. You may not be excited
about getting vaccinated, but it’s for your own good. The school is
urging everyone to have this flu shot. In fact, anyone who doesn’t
get permission will be required to stay home the following week,
until we get this influenza epidemic under control. So, this
vaccination is necessary if your parents want to keep you in school
and out of the house. And…for those of you who don’t get
permission, we can email you your assignments.”

Great
, I thought. My mother will never agree to this flu shot, so
I’ll be stuck at home next week. My parents don’t believe in
messing with
“Mother Nature.”
They feel that flu shots lower the immune system,
making one more vulnerable to other illnesses. That could also
explain why our family has avoided this particular flu. My mother’s
daily handful of vitamins and my green-peach tea addiction doesn’t
hurt, either.

The bell rang and I stopped into the
bathroom to wash my hands. I glanced up into the mirror and found
Eva King standing right next to me. She looked miserable.

“Hey, Wild. God, I hate this frigging cold,”
she mumbled and blew her nose, which looked painfully red.

Trying to forget the way she screwed over my
best friend, I forced a smile. “Bummer you’re sick, too, huh?”

She nodded and smoothed
down her long, red hair. “Yes. You know,” she said, turning to me,
her blue eyes wide. “Sometimes I wish I were more like you. Your
mom’s not famous and you get to blend in with everyone else at
school. Nobody expects you to look perfect when you walk in every
single day. It must be nice. I mean, I have to look
amazing
all the time.
It’s a lot of work having my background and social status. Even
this sick, I don’t get a day off.”

I bit back my laughter and replied, “Yes, I
don’t think I could handle living in your world, Eva. It must be
very stressful.”

Her eyes narrowed, but before she could
respond, Nora Biggs slammed out of a bathroom stall, an unlit
cigarette hanging from her mouth. Nora was fairly new in the school
and most people shied away from her because of her unusual punk
style, short temper, and rebellious attitude.

“Hi, Nora,” I said.

Nora nodded and then began washing her
hands. We have karate class together and I’ve driven her home a few
times. We weren’t exactly friends, but she was civil to me.

Eva stared at Nora’s nose.
“Nora. Wow, I just love your nose ring! Is that a
real
Zirconia?”

Even sick, Eva was a complete bitch.

Nora‘s eyes burned with fury and I waited
for the explosion. Instead, she removed the cigarette from her lips
and smirked. “No, it’s a diamond. Your boyfriend gave it to me last
night after we made out.”

Eva’s lips formed a tight line. “Classy,”
she mumbled, grabbed her purse, and turned to walk away.

“Hey, Eva,” Nora said, grabbing a paper
towel.

She turned around and snapped, “What?”

Nora smiled coldly. “You do realize that
this is only high school? Being popular here doesn’t matter in the
real world.”

Eva scowled and stomped out of the
bathroom.

I giggled. “Nice.”

Nora shrugged. “Well, she deserves it. She
thinks she’s so much better than everyone else. What she really
deserves is to get knocked on her ass. I just wish I could be the
one to do it. But hey, you know that code of honor
thing-a-ma-jig.”

One of the principle rules of karate is that
you can only use it for self-defense. Ever since Nora joined the
class, she‘s stopped getting into fights. I’m sure it‘s been
challenging for her.

I nodded in agreement and picked up my
backpack.

“You sick?” she asked, running her fingers
through her long, black hair. Streaks of bright blue framed her
pale face. I imagined without the heavy Goth makeup, dyed hair, and
various piercings, she might look like the girl next door.

“No. Not
yet,
anyway.”

Nora threw her head back
and laughed. She knew about my phobia. “That must drive
you
insane; being around
these germy bastards. I’m not sick yet either, but my old man
is.”

Nora normally lives with her dad, Ivan
Biggs, who’s a guitarist for Death Row, a popular rock band.
Unfortunately, he’s on tour in Europe right now, so she sees very
little of him. Instead she stays with her grandmother, Iris, who
has some kind of dementia and is frightened of leaving her house.
She can’t even take a step outside; she’s so scared of something
awful happening to her.

“I heard almost everyone is sick in
Europe.”

“Yeah, he’s in Germany
right now. They’ve all been getting vaccinated. I don’t know what
the big deal is, it’s just the flu. Tell you one thing; nobody’s
giving me a shot. My old man isn’t around to sign the sheet and I
would
rather
take
a week off from this crap-hole. What about you?”

I cleared my throat. “Well, I won’t be
getting the shot, either. My family never gets flu shots.”

Nora jaw dropped. “No
shit? With you being so paranoid about germs and your mom being
a
Daycare Lady
, I
thought you‘d have gotten your shots for
next
year’s flu season by
now.”

I stared at her. “Um…I’m
not
tha
t
paranoid.”

She snorted. “Whatever, Wild. Listen, I’ll
see you at karate class later.”

I watched as she strutted
out of the bathroom in her heavy black boots and then looked in the
mirror.
I’m not
paranoid
, I reminded
myself
, just very cautious...

Chapter Three

My stomach was growling by
the end of the day, so on the way to karate class, I stopped by a
McDonald’s drive-thru and ordered a cheeseburger, extra pickles. As
I handed the cashier the money, she sneezed all over the bag
without apologizing. As horrified as I was, I held my tongue and
choked down the food; I was
that
hungry.

It was just after four o’clock by the time I
made it to the dojo. Nora and Scott were already there, joking
around and stretching out. I thought back to my dream where Scott
had turned into a zombie, killed my neighbor’s dog, and viciously
attacked me. Fortunately, his skin was clear and his green eyes
were as lively as ever. He caught me staring at him and smiled
curiously.

“
Wow, small class today,”
stated our instructor, Master Jordan, as he entered the room. He’s
a sixth-degree Black Belt and has trained for over eighteen
years.

“Everyone must be sick,” replied Scott. I
noticed he’d gotten a crew cut, which didn’t surprise me because I
knew he had plans to join the military after graduation. We’d been
really good friends for the last two years, and although we’d gone
out on a few dates, both of us agreed that we were more comfortable
in a platonic relationship.

Master Jordan sighed. “Well,” he replied,
rubbing his chin. “Since it‘s such a small class, why don’t we just
practice sparring?”

All three of us love to spar, so we
naturally agreed. I quickly stretched out and then suited up in my
dark gray sparring gear, which consists of a helmet as well as
mouth, shin, foot, and chest guards.

“Nora, you and Scott will partner up.
Cassie, you’ll be sparring with Bryce De Luca. He should be
arriving any minute.”

I removed my mouth guard.
“Who’s Bryce
De Luca
?” I asked.

He smiled. “Bryce is a new instructor from
our Hugo location. They’ve shut down because of the flu.”

I glanced through the large window facing
the parking lot just as a guy in a weathered leather jacket pulled
up on a motorcycle. He removed his helmet, ran his fingers through
his wavy black hair, then hurried inside carrying a sports bag.

Master Jordan patted him on the back. “De
Luca! I was starting to get worried about you.”

Bryce was tall with intense blue eyes. When
he smiled, his dimples heated my insides.

“Sorry, the traffic was bad. If you‘ll
excuse me for a minute, I just need to change,” he replied.

“No problem,” said Master Jordan.

I stole another glance as Bryce walked
towards the bathroom. He was just as interesting to look at from
behind.

Nora strolled by me casually, a smirk on her
face. “Hey…wipe your mouth, there‘s drool,” she teased.

My cheeks burned. “Whatever,” I mumbled
turning away from her.

When Bryce stepped out of the bathroom,
Master Jordan motioned him over to where I was warming up. He stood
several inches taller than me, had broad shoulders, and lean,
muscular arms. Intricate tattoos of dragons peeked out from under
his black sleeves. He caught me staring and rolled up his sleeves
to show more.

“Very cool,” I said, admiring the details of
the dragon’s scales, face, and fiery breath.

“Listen, Bryce, after you warm up, I’m going
to have you practice sparring with Cassandra Wild here. She just
received her Black Belt last week.”

He nodded with approval. “Congratulations,
Cassandra, you should be proud of yourself.”

“Um, thanks,” I replied, trying not to
blush. His belt reflected that he was a third-degree Black Belt and
I prayed that I wouldn’t embarrass myself by forgetting anything
I’d learned up to that point.

Bryce looked at my
instructor. “I can’t tell you how relieved I was when I found out
you were open today. I have a tournament next weekend and
really
need to
practice.”

“After this class, stick
around and I’ll practice
atemi
with you.” replied Master Jordan. “I’ve heard
you’ve pretty much mastered it.”

Bryce shrugged. “Yeah, I have to admit…I’ve
got a pretty good grasp of it but could always use more practice.
I’d appreciate it.”

Atemi
is an advanced type of martial arts technique that involves
blows to different areas of the body; to break an opponent’s
concentration or balance. I had personally never used it, but
Master Jordan promised to incorporate it into my training this
summer, especially if I was interested in entering the more
advanced tournaments.

“
That’s what I’m here for.
Just remind me after class.”

Bryce nodded and then turned back to me,
studying my face. “Cassandra Wild, huh? You know, I don’t recall
seeing you at any of the tournaments.”

I shook my head. “You probably haven’t. It’s
been awhile since I’ve competed. Now that I’m a Black Belt, though,
that’ll probably change.”

“
Great. You’d be a good
distraction for some of my opponents.”