The Hidden Princess At All-Boys Alpha Academy



But she turns to me, and tilts her head to the side, curious.

My whole body starts to shake as I gasp in a desperate breath and clutch my stupid paintball rifle to my chest, scared and confused and frantic to go back home. Because I have absolutely no idea where I am, or how I got here, or what's happening on the battlefield I just left.

In my heart only one truth echoes - that I want to get out of here - that I want to go home -

Suddenly, it happens again.

The world tilts, and I fall, but my back doesn't hit the ground behind me. I open my mouth to scream but no words come out as I seem to echo through time and space - traveling through the darkness - through the void -

Until suddenly my backside hits the ground, hard, and my eyes fly open, and – panting - I realize that...that I'm back.

That I'm under the bush, with my rifle clutched in my arms.

I whip my head to the left, where voices echo. "Sniper must have gone down," says a man as cadets filter ahead of him down the little path towards our base. "I found this map and these binoculars, though I don't know why he would have left them behind -"

And I don't stop to think as I quickly raise my gun to my shoulder and - not even using the sight, they're too close - pound out two shots at the men standing before me.

Because despite it all - I have not forgotten that Jackson is coming up that path for me right now.

And if they're heading down towards him, I am not going to let him face sixteen men on his own.

The two men gasp as bright blue paint splashes on their uniform, their heads twisting to me.

"How the fuck did he -"

"No, I checked that bush - he wasn't there -"

But I'm already on my feet, pounding past them, ignoring them, stumbling towards the path downwards where shouts are already echoing and the sound of gunfire breaks out.

My breath ragged in my chest, Inoveldrama

push away all thoughts of what just

happened of falling through the

et

fabric of the world, of going somewhere completely else - and

instead focus on the line of enemy troops ahead of me.

Jackson's at the head of them, a dulled blade in one hand and a pistol in the other, getting too close for them to shoot. So I start at the back of the line, taking out eleven men in rapid succession - lined up for me as they are in a neat little row on their way down the cavern face.

When I take aim at the twelfth, he turns towards me with a scowl, the blue paint splashed across his chest revealing that Jackson already got him. Frantic, I spin, looking around for more - .

But the only person I face is the first man I shot, his arms crossed, glaring at me.

"You can give it up," he snaps, his mouth twisted in anger. "You got us all."

"Which is what you would say," I growl, still looking behind him and up and down the cliffside - searching anywhere, everywhere for Wright. "Which team are you on!?"

"You don't even fucking know me!?"

I turn my glare back at the man with the crossed arms. "Why the fuck would I know you?" I growl.

“Because I'm Bill Heggardy," he says, sneering at me and shaking his head. "I tried to fucking draft you - and you don't even know who I am?"

My mouth falls open a bit as I stare at him because...I mean, I don't recognize the name. But Bill Heggardy - it's not Wright, or Blythe. Which means...the third team...

"Ari!" Jackson gasps, stumbling out onto the plateau and rushing to my side. He sends a glance at Bill and the man standing next to him and even though his hands shake at the restraint, he refrains from grabbing me close to his chest like he wants té"Are - are you all right, Clark?"