We all filed into the training hall, everyone was buzzing with anticipation. Fidelia and Avery were glued to my side and Wyatt and Kermit weren't far behind.

'I'm not going to fall to pieces, you don't need to stick to me.' I told them, but they ignored me and Fidelia flipped her hair.

I sat down cross legged on the black floor and looked expectantly at Mentor Christian, everyone else chatted between themselves. Mentor Christian whistled loudly and clapped his hands together.

'Listen up, after the Red Team's win at last week's exercise, we have decided to give them an half an hour head start into the next exercise, which is coincidently a maze.' I smirked as Nestor groaned loudly.

'However, it is not an ordinary maze as it is in water.' Mentor Christian continued.

My heart dropped. We had learned to swim and often took swimming lessons during the summer. We had all been thrown in the pool and each of us, even the ones that hadn't ever swum before could easily swim lengths of the pool. One of the scientists had explained that the reason we knew how to swim was because the survival instinct had been enhanced within our DNA. I had been the one of the best out of all of us, and it was one thing that I could actually do.

The only problem was, I wouldn't be able to use my fire alm, which I still hadn't named. I could tell that Linda was starting to get slightly impatient with my excuses and she had found a way to hang around me after my spell of 'depression' as she called it.

I wasn't feeling better.

I just got better at hiding how I felt.

Avery nudged me gently, 'Are you okay?'

'I'm fine Avery.' I replied tiredly. It seemed that he had asked me are you okay? At least five million times.

'If you don't want to do this, it's fine, you can pull out, I don't-'

'Avery shut up.' I cut him off and tuned back into what Mentor Christian was saying.

'Your team will be split into four groups, you will be sent down a particular channel each and you have to find all four clues that will help you finish your map so you can get into the middle to be pulled out by helicopter.' That seemed relatively simple.

'There's just one catch.' Mentor Peter piped up. I spoke too soon. 'There are only four clues between each team. Not so simple now is it? Both teams will be fighting for the same clues, and some clues will be harder to reach than others and will completely test all of your teams' alms.'

'There is also very limited bank space and dry land, which means for the majority of the exercise, you will be swimming. Okay, collect your designated packs and go and get changed. We will meet out at the runway in exactly twenty minutes. If you are late, you will be left behind. Understood?'

There was a chorus of yes and then a stumbling rush as everyone ran to grab their packs. I picked up the one that had my name on it and quickly moved out of the way of the others.

'Come get changed.' Fidelia pulled on my hand.

'I, uh, I have to go and get something from the science lab, I'll get changed there and meet you back here.' I lied to her. Avery and I still hadn't told her about our bond, and our bond had been relentless. Avery had slept in the lounge most nights as he couldn't sleep in his own room.

'I can come?' Fidelia offered.

'No, it's alright, I'll be ten minutes, something to do with blood tests.' I lied again. Fidelia narrowed her eyes at me before spinning around and stalking back to our room.

Avery caught my eye and motioned up the hallway. I nodded and followed behind him as he hurried to his room.

'We're going to have to tell her.' I told him as soon as we were in the confinement of his room.

'Soon.' He brashly replied as he tugged his shirt over his head.

My jaw dropped open and I felt the heat spreading up my neck as I looked away shyly. He was beautiful. His chiselled muscles were in perfect alignment and his body was tanned despite it being winter.

'I'm gonna, um, go, get um, bathroom.' I stuttered and rushed to the bathroom. I heard him chuckle as I locked the door behind me.

I took a deep breath and willed myself to calm down as I began to pull out the outfit we were to wear for the exercise. It was a long black body suit with red stripes down the side that was made of a seemingly water proof material. It was shiny, and thick with a fluffy lining. There was a small imprinted circle that had a flame with a cross through it which indicated that it was fire proof. I smiled a little and tugged it over my body. I had finally shimmied into the suit when I realised I had to pee.

'Are you almost finished?' Avery rapped his knuckles on the door.

'I need to pee.' I whined.

'Seriously?'

'I know, I'll be out in two seconds.' I said and pulled the suit back down. It bunched around my ankles and I tried not to trip over it as I awkwardly hopped/shuffled to the toilet.

I finished and flushed, before stepping back into the sleek black water suit. There was a built in beacon that I assumed was to keep a tab on our vitals. I left my clothes on the bathroom floor and slung my pack over my shoulder before opening the door.

Avery was lying on the bed. He hadn't fully put on his suit and the top half hung over his hips revealing his torso. I internally groaned and attempted to avert my eyes.

Avery noticed me walk in and sat up with a grin on his face. 'Will you zip it up? I can't reach.'

'Bullshit.' I frowned as he turned his back towards me. He just laughed lightly and put his arms in the sleeves. With shaking fingers, I pulled the zip up his back. My pinky gently brushed his warm back and he shivered before letting out a breath that I didn't know he was holding. My finger lingered on his skin a moment longer before I snapped out of it and finished zipping it up.

'Done, let's go.' I cleared my throat and started towards the door.

'Wait for me, hold on.' Avery called out and I leaned against the door and watched him shove things into his pack.

'I'll wait, don't rush.' I told him, a smile creeping onto my face. He looked up sheepishly before straightening up with his bag over his shoulder and following me out.

**

Avery demanded to sit with me, but I wanted to sit by the window and Fidelia had already claimed the spot next to me.

'You can't sit next to her, go sit with Charline or something.' Fidelia growled bossily.

'She's on the other plane.' Avery replied pointedly.

'Well, just, piss off.' Fidelia crossed her arms. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the window.

'Mags, help me out here.' Avery begged.

'Sisters before misters.' Fidelia said, and waved a magazine in his face which had those exact words in garish pink on the front. I bit back a laugh.

'You can share me, Fidelia move over one.' I finally intervened. Avery grinned lopsidedly and plopped down by the window. Fidelia groaned and huffed but did what I had asked.

'Where's Kermit?' I asked her.

'He's, um...' Fidelia scanned the seats. 'Over next to Wyatt.'

At the sound of his name, Wyatt popped his head around the seat and waved.

'The damsel has beckoned me, I must approach.' Wyatt said loudly to Kermit.

'Approach with caution, the damsel you speak of is temperamental.' Kermit jokingly warned before leaning in closer and whispering loud enough for us to hear. 'It comes worst during menstruation.'

'Kermit!' Fidelia shrieked and we all howled with laughter.

'Yes my love.' Kermit smiled sweetly.

'Eugh, I hate you!' Fidelia buried her head in her jacket.

'Menstruation,' I giggled to Avery who laughed.

'I'm not even menstruating!' Fidelia shouted and threw her hands up in the air.

'That's nice to know Fidelia.' Mentor Peter's voice cut through our giggling.

Fidelia clamped her hands over her mouth and turned red with embarrassment. Kermit was shaking in his seat as he tried to hold back his laughter. I cringed on behalf of my poor best friend who sat next to me with her jacket pulled over her head. She didn't even scream when the plane took off.

**

'What are these?' I tapped the small black screen on the seat in front of me. I glanced quickly at the sleeping Fidelia, who was softly snoring.

'Uh, I don't know. Looks like a small television.' Avery leaned in closer to inspect the identical screen on the seat in front of him.

'Should we turn it on?' I asked nervously.

'Should we?' Avery looked at me with a mischievous grin on his face as his finger hovered over what looked to be the on button.

'Okay, at the same time, ready? Three, two, one.' I counted down and pressed on the button at the same time as Avery. The screen lit up and a menu popped up that had a list of options that you could scroll through. It was a touch pad, so I didn't need to use a mouse or buttons. It had a heap of choices including movies, recorded television shows and games. I tapped games, and a notice sprung up onto the screen saying to plug the headphones located in the front pocket. I rummaged around in the pocket and pulled out some black head phones in a plastic packet. I followed the prompts and had the headphones plugged in to the mini television in no time. Avery had managed to do the same and was also playing a game that involved shooting people. I looked away and a shiver ran up my spine as my fathers' scream sprinted through my mind.

I closed my eyes and clamped my hands over my ears which had the headphones in them, and the plugs dug into my ears, but I didn't care.

I was pulled out of my trance by someone shaking my shoulder gently. I pried open my eyes and felt my hands being pulled away from my ears, and the plugs being tugged from them. I looked up into Avery's worried green eyes. My eyes flitted to his screen which was black.

'I'm sorry, I just, I completely forgot. God I'm so stupid, I'm sorry.' Avery's arms wrapped around my shaking shoulders awkwardly, as the arm rest in between the seats made it uncomfortable to twist around.

'It's okay, it wasn't real, and I'm fine.' I pushed him away gently and wiped my sweaty palms on my pants that I had pulled over the long swimsuit. Linda had told me that they were a modified wetsuit, and they had called them dry suits, because if they were put on properly, they would keep your neck down warm and dry.

Avery looked at me unsurely.

'I'm fine.' I assured him as much as I assured myself.

'Mags, you need to stop blaming yourself.' Avery slipped his fingers under my chin and tilted it upwards so I was looking at him. I tried to divert my eyes but I couldn't really.

'I can't because it was my fault. You can't convince me otherwise, so please, I'd just rather you stopped talking about it. I want to win this exercise, I want to show people that I'm not weak anymore, and it's not going to show unless you just drop it!' My voice grew louder towards the end. Avery dropped his had away from my face and ran his fingers through his shaggy brown hair that looked distractingly good.

Avery was really good looking, and I had just failed to notice it the whole nine years I'd known him, maybe seeing him half-naked had something to do with the sudden attraction, or maybe it was all down to the bond that we had. I snuck a sideways glance at Avery, he was staring forward and his jaw was clenched, making his bone structure even more defined. His face was lightly tanned and he had thick, long, black eyelashes that gracefully fluttered when he blinked, his dark pink lips were pursed slightly in a way that reminded me of Linda when she was focussed, mad or upset. His chocolate brown hair fell over his forehead in a mess of sticky-up bits and very subtle curls.

I groaned slightly at how pathetic I was, and earned a quizzical look from Wyatt who had turned around to catch my eye.

He waved and had a cheeky lopsided grin on his face that was contagious. I felt a smile tugging at my lips.

Come over here he mouthed, and I nodded before carefully climbing out of my seat. I didn't want to wake Fidelia so I crawled over the back of my seat onto the row behind me.

'What are you doing?' Avery snapped. Woah, touchy.

'I'm going over to see Wyatt and Kermit.' I replied before turning away and walking down the aisle.

I slid into the seat next to Wyatt and smiled at Kermit.

'So, the nervous wreck has graced us with her presence.' Wyatt laughed. I bowed in my seat.

'I couldn't stay away.' I joked, ignoring the fact that he had called me a nervous wreck, and elbowed Wyatt's ribs.

Kermit looked at me apprehensively and quickly looked away when we made eye contact.

'Hey Kermit, long time no see.' I said. He looked over Wyatt at me.

'Hey Magdalene,' he greeted back, although he seemed a little stand offish. I was quite confused by his actions, as he and I had always been really close, it was Fidelia, him and I against the world.

'Excuse our ginger friend's behaviour, he's upset that you screamed at him and bundled him up against the wall for asking if you wanted a drink of water.' Wyatt told me, before falling into contented silence. He often did that, he would make a huge revelation, and being the man of little words wouldn't speak any further or elaborate.

My jaw dropped, I had what?

'What, what do you mean? I didn't, did I?' I gasped, shocked. I looked at Kermit for confirmation, and the way he looked down and paled slightly proved that I had in fact done that. 'Why didn't anyone tell me? I'm so, so sorry Kermit, please forgive me! I don't even remember doing that. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Oh shit, shit, shit.' I apologised profusely to Kermit who seemed to slink further into his seat.

'Did I, um, did I hurt you?' I asked, looking him up and down. He shook his head, but wouldn't meet my eyes. 'Kermit, don't you lie to me!' I said, even though I had no right to be so controlling.

'It was nothing, Mags, it's fine, I forgive you.' Kermit met my eyes, but his blue eyes said otherwise. The way that he held his arm showed that it was slightly sore. I crawled over Wyatt and yanked up Kermit's sleeve. I recoiled at what I saw. Burn marks that had blistered branded his arm in the shape of my hand. It was bruised and red.

'Oh my god.' I whispered, and scuttled backwards. Wyatt looked at me apologetically, and looked down like he was ashamed at revealing what I had done, but I was thankful that he had told me. No one else thought I could handle it, and had obviously continued to treat me like I was broken, even Avery.

'It's nothing, it looks worse than what it is.' Kermit tried to comfort me.

I shook my head and covered my mouth with my hands.

'Magdalene, seriously, calm down, it's okay.' Wyatt grabbed my hand.

'No, no it's anything but okay. I hurt him, my friend, my brother really. I hurt him and nothing can make that okay. You know what's even worse? I didn't even know I was doing it. I'm a monster!' I shouted, tears brimming in my eyes.

Everyone in the plane had turned to face me. Avery was starting to get up, worry etched onto his handsome features. I hated how I did that to him, I didn't deserve to have someone like him.

'Mags, please, you're not. You're not.' Kermit reached forward to grab my shoulder. I flinched away.

'I don't want to hurt you.' I ground out.

'Magdalene, listen to us.' Wyatt pleaded.

'I'm a monster, I'm a freak and I'm going to hurt you and I won't even know I'm doing it. Like how I, oh yeah, murdered my father.' I spat. God I hated myself, I hated myself so much. Hate was an ugly thing. It bubbled up inside you like the colour black mixed with poison.

Wyatt reached up to wipe the tears from my face. 'What can we do Mags? Let us help.'

'I don't know, I don't know. I just want to be normal. I want to be normal. I want to forget.' I sobbed. Arms wrapped around me from behind and I shrieked.

Avery turned me around to face him. He brought me to his chest despite me struggling and pushing myself from his grip.

'Magdalene, Mags, listen to me, listen to me. Shh, shh, it's okay, you didn't mean to. It could have been anyone; in fact if it was me, I probably would have killed him.' Avery said as we stood in the middle of the plane walkway in an embrace.

Avery held me as Mentor Peter came and injected me with a sedative, and continued to hold me as my eyes rolled back into my head and I slumped into his arms as the world went as black as the hatred in my heart.

-------------------------------------------------

Goodness gracious is anyone else worried about poor Mags? Well there are only two days left of the school term and I'm not going to lie, I'm 100% ecstatic. Although I have way too much homework because I'm failing art (whoops) how do you even fail art? I don't know, I don't know. I'm sorry the update took nearly a week, but I've been so busy. Thank you for nearly 800 reads, seriously I love you lot. I know that there are a lot of chapters, but I'm barely halfway through! I also thought I'd let you all know that I had a wonderful time in detention packing books. (There are worse ways of spending detentions, trust me, I know) So yeah, thanks again guys and also PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT! Yeah, so love you lots and lots <3 kisses and hugs and sausage rolls!