The sudden accusation forced Zain to his feet, in order to face Mr. Carter. Not really sure what he was talking about, he asked for some clarification.

  “I dragged who into what?”

  Mr. Carter glowered as he approached the spring; without motioning with his hands, the ground beneath him shifted, uniform blocks forming from the crude earth. A chair was constructed as soon as he began to sit, with a few blocks raising to prop up his feet. Placing the cane front and center, he tapped it impatiently as he continued.

  “The future teacher, Brayden. He’s not supposed to be here.”

  It was true; This training was only for Zain but Brayden had insisted on coming, so what was he supposed to do about it? Brayden was his own person, so Zain had no say in what he decided to do.

  All he could answer with was a shrug of his shoulders.

  In a fraction of a second, without having time for his brain to register, Zain next realized he was on his side, sliding across the soft gravel. His body involuntarily gasped for air in order to make up for the wind that had been knocked out of him. His left arm screamed with belated pain, now understanding that it had taken a blow.

  At his initial position was a stoney vine, which writhed and wriggled as it recessed back to the ground. Mr. Carter showed no concern for Zain, simply looking down on him as he struggled on the ground.

  “Lesson starts now.”

  Another construct sprung from the ground, wrapping its earthy tendrils around Zain’s ankle. It lifted his body with ease as it hung him upside down, a few feet off the ground. A simple flick sent him skipping on the water, like a flat stone tossed in someone's pastime.

  Every kiss of the water’s surface made water cling to his clothes, pulling him deeper into its clutches with every bounce. Finally, enough drag killed his momentum resulting in him succumbing to the warm luminescent depths.

  Small aquatic creatures scattered due to the disturbance and his unwelcome presence there. In the water, it was difficult to discern his position due to the bubbles surrounding him; Every splash caused the microscopic creatures to luminate, so every movement made it more difficult to see. His shoes orientated his body in a particular direction, its buoyancy pulling him upward, however, unfortunately, feet first.

  Something grabbed at the hood of his jacket, reeling him up to the surface where he could breathe again. Zain gasped and heaved as he met face to face with Harry.

  “Damn! Whatcha do?! I ain’t never seen Mr. C hit a kid before!” Harry gave a little flick to Zain’s chest, causing the water to separate from his clothes. Fat droplets fell to the water below, making small undulations in the pond.

  Once it stilled, Harry placed Zain gently on the water, still holding him by the scruff as he was unable to properly utilize the shoes.

  The still seated Mr. Carter seemed to notice this detail, scoffing as he now overlooked Zain’s presence, and spoke to Harry instead.

  “Can’t even circulate his mana. Such a shame. Ain’t gonna last long out there. Toss him back here, I’ll teach him real good, how things will be.”

  “Ehhhh….” Even Harry had some reservations against child abuse, it would appear. However, Mr. Carter gave a reassuring smile, playing devil's advocate in the name of training.

  “It’s part of the lesson, son. When forcing someone to use a fire attribute, wouldn’t it be easier to feel warmth when there is an absence of it? Fire stems from within, so how do you expect him to feel the difference as it’s circulating when his body already has that heat. Do you catch my meaning?”

  “Ohhh!” That explanation finally made things click for Harry, and he nodded in understanding. Now more eager to feed Zain to the wolves, he gave some encouraging farewells. “Good luck.”

  “Wai–” Zain tried to protest, but Harry had already decided to comply with Mr. Carter’s orders; A ball of water enveloped Zain and, with a motion of Harry’s hand, he was pushed back to Mr. Carter.

  The ball burst, releasing Zain onto the ground; though he had assumed a groveling position because of how he was tossed, in no way was he planning on apologizing or accepting fault.

  Instead, he cast a baleful glare as he coughed up some water stuck in his throat. Mr. Carter paid no mind as he lifted his hand.

  Vines now made of ice encircled Zain, layering on top of one another until a makeshift dome had been constructed. The walls thickened as more vines collected and entangled, obscuring Zain’s vision to the outside. The last thing he could make out was Mr. Carter gesturing for Harry to come to him.

  White roses appeared in his prison, unfurling into blooms of snow and ice. Petals fluttered to the floor, chilling everything with contact. Numerous buds blossomed, cooling the air around Zain. Frost prickled his skin as the water in his clothes turned to ice.

  The direness of the situation slowly dawned on him as numbness overtook his extremities; the air fogged as his breath quickened. Almost immediately, he clawed at the barrier, punching the constructs as he tried to escape. It was futile, however, as it resulted in him simply bloodying his hands. His blood, too, slushed into an icy coagulation.

  “Boy! You don’t know how many have been buried by ignorance like yours!” Mr. Carter criticized from outside, the sound of his cane somehow echoing within the chamber.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  The rose constructs began to burst into snowflakes, raining snow and sleet onto Zain. His body began to shake and shiver, hypothermia likely to occur if he lingered there for an extended duration.

  “Hey! This shit isn’t funny! Do you want me to freeze?! Are you trying to kill me?!”

  Zain’s questions were met with swift swipes of the vines. Narrowly able to avoid them, he received a few grazes in return to his open protests.

  “You can’t fathom the number who have fallen. Bloodied! Beaten! Bruised! Lost to the ether, to nothingness! Like they were disposable! No one received their bodies! They came alone, they died with no one mournin’! This ain’t no joke, boy! This ain’t no fucking game!”

  From the earth, more vines were conjured, entrapping Zain as they wrapped around him.

  Fear was overtaken by anger. All of the things Mr. Carter was saying made it seem like he wanted this! This shit had been forced upon him! These accusations were totally off the mark!

  “You talking like I fucking wanted this! I didn’t choose to be in this organization! I was for–”

  A vine silenced him as it painfully covered his mouth. All the vines tightened in response to his excuses.

  “If you didn’t want to, you could’ve run! But you didn’t! If you didn’t want to prove yourself, you could’ve kept your nose down! You could’ve broken your own fucking leg! You could’ve spat in the face of those who extended the offer! But you didn’t! Don’t give me your half-ass excuses! Don’t fucking lie to me! I could excuse your choices if you didn’t drag the innocent into your fuck-ups!”

  Zain could feel the heat of his body slowly leaving him. He could barely feel his feet or hands anymore, driving panic back to the forefront of his adrenal responses.

  Mr. Carter continued on his tirade, giving no concern to Zain’s distress.

  “I told you to stay away from that shit! Yet you still go and do the opposite! Now you wanna bitch and complain that you didn't want this shit when you were fucking warned! Take responsibility! When you fuck up your own life, own up like a goddamn man! ”

  You don’t want to listen to me! You act like you know goddamn everything! Y’all can go to hell!!

  All of these adults were taking agency of his life and Zain was tired of it! He seethed with rage, swearing revenge on every person who acted like they fucking knew him or knew what was best for him! His blood boiled as hatred overtook him!

  First, it felt as if his nerves were burning; the blood within his cuts started to drip again as slight heat fanned to his limbs. Suddenly, Zain burst into flames, melting the constructs that were strangling him. Immediately, he fell to the floor, his feet ungracefully catching his fall as he could not maneuver them in their frostbitten state. This hardly mattered to him as he jumped up to take hold of the vines which comprised the walls of his prison.

  Through sheer will and hatred, he warmed the tips of his fingers, regaining sensation as he took hold of each vine in front of him. The vines fell to nothing as they melted and evaporated in the wake of his abhorration.

  Though new vines would spawn, his ceaseless clawing allowed him to dig through at a faster rate. No amount of reconstruction on Mr. Carter’s part would out pace Zain’s fury.

  Finally, Zain was able to push his way out of his prison, meeting eye to eye with Mr. Carter.

  The man had a disgruntled face, clearly dissatisfied with Zain’s triumph. That didn’t matter to Zain. He wanted Zain to take responsibility like a man! This was him, being a man!

  Raising his pointer finger, parting his split and chapped lips in a crazed smile, Zain uttered his retort.

  “Fuck you!”

  That was it. All of his steam had run out as he collapsed to the floor, flopping like a fish onto the gravel.

  He rolled over, heaving as the world spun slightly. Perhaps he had used too much mana.

  In his slight delirium, Zain could hear something unsheathe and the slight hum of metal as it grazed stone. Next, he could see Mr. Carter standing over him, now brandishing a thin sword. An intensity radiated from his gaze, like a stoic, grim resolve had overtaken him.

  “Well. Now I’ll take responsibility. Gotta make things clear. So you understand. You’ll thank me later.” Rolling up his sleeve, revealing countless scars and keloids, he readied himself to dirty his hands. He knelt down, wrapping his free calloused hand around Zain’s neck. His sword rested next to Zain’s arm, angled as if he was preparing to sever something.

  Though it was Zain’s cue to beg for him to stop, exhaustion and anger muddled his priorities. All he could think of was to meet Mr. Carter’s gaze and try to spit in his face. Fortunately for the old man, saliva refused to muster, much like any tears from fright. Defiance was the only thing left.

  The old man grit his teeth, but instead of doing the unmentionable, he stabbed the sword into the ground.

  Bitterness etched into the wrinkles of his eyes, as he looked away. Mr. Carter lowered his head, balling his fist as he rested it over Zain’s heart.

  “Why couldn’t you lead a normal life, kid? Damn it.” Muttering in a regretful whisper, Mr. Carter finally pulled away.

  The sword was pulled from the ground and resheathed into his cane. Without turning back, he called out to Cherry. “I’ve done my job. Take me back.”

  Cherry gave a small nod, as she walked to the street, likely to retrieve her car.

  Mr. Carter followed, departing without uttering another word. A solemn silence followed his exit.

  Zain turned his head, watching as his image faded into the distance. In the end, he still felt as if was unable to decipher the man’s actions. Was he trying to help or hinder him?

  The slight urge to call out to him was interrupted by Harry, of course.

  “Ayy, now I don’t gotta teach you mana circulation! That’s good cuz I suck at fire magic. Next part is gonna be easy now. First, lemme heal you up!”

  Water was summoned with the wave of his hand; droplets collected at the cuts and bruises left on Zain’s body and small white lights hovered over him slightly.

  The pain slowly subsided as he was healed by Harry. It was the first time Zain had been healed, which would have been impressive to him had Harry not been singing as if Zain was some pokemon being sent to the healing center.

  “Done! Whaddya think?! Pretty awesome right? I know, I’m great, but now we gotta train so get back up!” He gave a few hardy pats to Zain’s chest.

  Zain let out a deep, sobering sigh as he looked up to the Van Gogh sky, totally done with today. “I hate you.”

  “Aw! Come on! Don’t be like that! Listen, I got some respect for you now!” Harry got up, running to the cabinet he had opened before. From this, he pulled out some energy drinks which he brought back to Zain. “Drink this. Should help.”

  Zain reluctantly took the can; upon closer inspection, it looked like a normal energy drink, like the ones he was used to. In bold lettering, it advertised replenishment of ether reserves, along with giving an energy boost.

  Harry took his own and began to drink some, scrolling on his phone as he sipped his beverage leisurely. “I guess you can take a break for now. Imma order some food, want some?”

  “Uhhh…yeah…”

  Zain opened the can with its tab; inside was a bright blue drink which almost looked neon as he sloshed it around. Taking a sip, it tasted like a normal energy drink.

  His body didn’t feel as heavy the more he drank. He remembered the feeling of conjuring fire and he tried to replicate it.

  A small spark spawned at his finger tips, feeling as if his nerves were singeing without actually burning. It was a strange sensation that he needed to memorize.

  Not like I’m gonna thank him for that, though.

  Even though Mr. Carter had taught him at some capacity, grudges were definitely going to be kept.