~ Hidden: Verb ~

Put or keep out of sight; conceal from the view or notice of others.

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Clip Twelve - Rayla's POV

The guards had escorted me quickly back down the massive staircase, pushing me into a black car similar to the one I had arrived in. My mother was nowhere to be seen.

Shivering slightly, I turned my thoughts to Samael's proposal. I obviously don't have a choice to turn it down, so that means that I'll be moving in with the other potential candidates inside Central's inner wall.

I was hustled into a impressively large, yet bland building that pulsed with blue light as the nighttime darkness settled on the city. I was shuffled along hallway after hallway, and after I while I gave up trying to keep track of all the twists and turns. 

My escorts, two tall, burly men clothed in black shoved me through a silver door, not bothering to cast me a glance or tell me what was going on.

The lock clicks, the sound echoing sinisterly through the tiny room. I sink soundlessly into the lone metal chair, gazing vacantly around the empty room. A chill emanates from the grey walls, making me subconsciously shudder.

SLAM!

The door bangs open, crashing against the wall and leaving a dent. I jump violently and whirl at the sound, letting out an audible gasp. Two sinister looking guards file into the room, but I hardly notice - I have eyes only for the person in the doorway; my mother.

She looks deathly pale, yet unharmed, her eyes darting around the room, wide with fear. I don't think she's even noticed me yet, she's so focused on the guns in the guards hands. I don't draw any attention to myself, watching her with a feeling of cold satisfaction at the look on her face; after all, I see no reason to love a mother who only cares for herself.

She notices me with a start, and her impossibly pale face gets even whiter. Neither of us make any sort of move to embrace, but we stand in a kind of stare-off, eyeing each other warily. 

"I was told that this is our last meeting - our chance to say goodbye, if you will."

The words sound so robotic, not a hint of emotion behind them. I used to think that being a mother meant you automatically had some amount of affection for your child, no matter how small.

My mother is living proof of how horribly wrong I was.

"So we won't be seeing each other after this?" I don't even bother to keep the malice and disgust out of my voice.

She nods. So do I. We continue to stare at one another, as if wanting to say all the things left unsaid between us, but at the same time not wanting to. 

"Are you even going to say anything to your only daughter?" I snarl. "Or are you elated at the prospect of never having to deal with me again?" 

My mother's lips move soundlessly, struggling to find something to say.

I stalk past her, enraged, regretful and mourning all at once. 

"Rayla..." The pleading and desperation in her tone makes me pause. I don't turn around, but I can hear her sniffling pathetically. All of my fury at being neglected, ignored and left to fend for myself in a corrupt city builds up inside of me; I feel that if I say anything, I might snap.

I am fully aware that this is the last time I will ever see her.

I walk out the door and never look back.

✧

The guards lead me to another room identical to the first and tell me to wait. What for, I have no clue. I start ticking off the minutes on my head; boredom has fully settled in by the 54th minute, and I start counting the number of ceiling tiles. I've only reached 23 when the door opens.

Well, I say open, but only because I'm not sure what one would call it. 

The metal door, which had seemed so solid before, was shimmering and rippling as if it where made of liquid. As I watched, fascinated, it started to flow gently downwards, disappearing into the floor as if it had never existed. 

A young girl walks in, the door dripping softly back into place behind her. I stand up, studying her closely.

Her curls are as white as snow, offsetting her gorgeous dark skin. Brilliant amber eyes study me closely, with a sense of genuine curiosity, not fear or malice. She flashes a casual smile, revealing straight white teeth.

"Hi. My name is Echo; Welcome to the Academy."

She offers a slim hand and I hesitate slightly before taking it. I curl my fingers around her palm, fingertips lightly touching her wrist. Her heartbeat pulses steadily underneath her skin. Echo isn't nervous or jumpy; I only wish I could say the same.

"I'm your roommate for the next two months, and possibly many more after." She explains, with a hint of kindness in her voice that I appreciate. "If you follow me, I can show you to our room."

I nod, avoiding her eyes; although Echo seems pleasant, her persistent stare is making me uncomfortable.

She leads me out into the grey hallway, striding with a sense of purpose and not hesitating on turns. This place is a maze, confusing and disorienting, though I'm certain that was intentional.

We stop outside a plain silver door with no handle. Echo places her palm flat against the smooth metal and the door melts away, sliding smoothly to to side, winking out of existence just like the other door.

She strides through, so strong and sure of herself, and I follow, gazing around the room. My room.

Two steel beds with grey blankets line the walls on opposite sides of the room. Strips of fluorescent lights flicker sporadically on the ceiling, triggering a slight headache. An open door leads into a plain-looking bathroom and a soft black rug covers most of the concrete floor.

Echo notices my staring and points to the cot on the left.

"That one's yours. Orientation starts in ten minutes. Let me know if you need anything."

I nod carefully and she exits the room, glancing curiously over her shoulder as she went. Sinking onto the surprisingly comfy bed, I lean against the wall and release a shuddering breath.

I have to be extremely careful. People don't get recruited to join the Academy every day. Samael obviously wants to keep a watchful eye on me; even one mistake and I'll be dead within the hour.

The door starts to trickle away, and I get shivers watching it. It may be beautiful, but it still gave me an ominous feeling.

An older boy is standing in the doorway, and he looks unnervingly similar to Echo with dark skin, jewel-like orange eyes and snowwhite hair. He's strikingly handsome, with a strong jawline and a muscular build.

He stares openly at me, not bothering to hide his burning curiosity. I can feel a blush creeping over my face, but I keep my expression neutral.

"You're Rayla? The newest Initiate?"

I hesitate, but only for a moment.

"Yes." I leave it at that. Keep it simple, keep things hidden.

The boy pauses, like he's waiting for me to ask who he is. When I don't say anything else, I expect him to grow angry, or cold, or even bored.

But instead he just smiles, a bright thing that seems to light up the dreary room.

"Not much of a talker, huh? I'm Edrik, Echo's older brother. She sent me to bring you to the Hall for Orientation."

His tone is light and cheery, and it seems out of place in this cold building. I realize that I'm simply staring, shocked that someone like this could even exist in this kind of place. I stand up slowly, not taking my eyes off of Edrik's.

He smiles once more, gestures for me to follow and departs, leaving me completely baffled in his wake.

✧

Edrik takes me to a gigantic room already filled to the brim with other Candidates, all of them in the dark blue uniform of the Academy. Everyone is talking to their neighbors casually, but tension is thick in the air along with a note of nervousness.

Edrik seizes my upper arm and my skin ignites with sparks at his touch. He doesn't notice, yanking me along behind him as he barrels his way through the crowd. People throw us dirty looks as we push and shove, but I ignore them, keeping my eyes trained on the ground.

Keep it simple, keep it hidden.

In front of me Edrik stops so abruptly that I slam into his back, gasping as my nose is hit and my eyes water in pain. He shifts to the side, letting go of my arm as a small, white-haired figure emerges from the crowd.

Echo's hand replaces Edrik's on my arm, and though her's is warm, it doesn't send the same kind of heat rushes along my body as Edrik's hand did.

She leans close to her brother, murmuring something softly in his ear so I can't hear. As he listens, a look of grave seriousness crosses his face; I don't know why, but that sets me on edge more than anything else.

They finish, and Edrik flashes me a quick smile before melting away into the mass of bodies. Echo turns to say something to me, but I can't hear her over the overlapping conversations around me.

All of a sudden the steady stream of chatter comes to an abrupt halt and the students in front around me shift nervously, and then become completely still. I can't see over the sea of heads in front of me, but the sound of heels clicking on the hard floor cuts harshly through the silence.

A woman's voice, cool and even, reverberates impressively around the hall.

"Welcome, Candidates. You have been selected to participate in The Virtual Reality Training Program, a vigorous curriculum designed to weed out the best and most promising young minds in our city. Those who pass the Tests and the Graduation Ceremony will become second only to Samael Zeagler himself."

I couldn't see the speaker, but her flat tone made it sound as if she were reading from a Teleprompter until she spoke of the Tests. Her voice wavered an infinitesimal amount, barely noticeable; milliseconds later her voice is toneless as she drones on.

None of the other students give the slightest hint that they heard the voice change except for Echo, who's head jerks the tiniest bit when the speaker mentions the Tests. 

I listen intently to the rest of the woman's speech, but it's a load of junk that I've heard before; our history, how Central is the only spark of light in this dark world, how the Collective deserves our utmost respect and loyalty.

Her voice never changes again.

But why waver when you speak of the Tests? Every Academy had tests; they were to find out what you had learned, if you were improving, if you passed or failed. What could be so special about these Tests that it rattled even a trained member of the Academy?

I had a feeling that I would find out soon enough, and it would be anything but good.

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