I didn’t know what to do after the lesson was done. When the professor mentioned Maria, I almost started running that second.

Instead of doing that though, I simply went back to the group of waiting students. I assumed that my…discomfort was clearly visible because both Ivan and Sofia realised that something was wrong.

I told them that everything was fine. Should I have been honest? Maybe. But the fact of the matter was that they couldn’t understand what I was going through. Nobody could. Not even Birgit.

I had thought that Ahmed would at least have had a tad more sympathy, but I was willing to bet anything that he was the one that orchestrated all of this. By the time the twenty-eighth and last person went, I had to leave.

Where would I go? I didn’t know. I just wanted to run away. And this time, I didn’t feel like stopping myself.

“Where are you going, man?” asked Ivan, a curious look in his face.

“Running,” I said curtly.

“After we’ve just gone through the most intense training session of all time?” he said, disbelief evident in his face. “I don’t think so.”

“Just let him go,” said Sofia. “He’ll talk to us if he wants to.”

“But-”

“Goodbye,” I said before I started running.

I just ran. Just like the day I met Birgit, I was running with no end in sight. The urban landscape of the nearest city quickly came into view. I felt my chest tighten. My heart was beating so fast that everyone around me could probably hear it.

I didn’t stop running.

Every short, shallow breath I let out quickly changed into an even shorter, painful wheeze.

I kept running.

Until I bumped into someone. I barely managed to keep my footing, even if the idea of just lying down and closing my eyes felt oh, so compelling. I also recognized the man that I bumped into. It was Kent Smith, who was adjusting his glasses and tie.

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“I’m sorry,” was what I wanted to say, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t-I couldn’t do anything.

Next thing I knew, I woke up in a room just like my own. Except it wasn’t. There was a picture of a man and woman I couldn’t recognize on the bedside table, as well as a book written in french, and I knew for a fact I didn’t speak french.

I felt a cold hand touch my own, and I instinctively intertwined my fingers with the hand’s. I turned around, and saw an image rarer than the diamond. Birgit was standing over me. She was smiling softly, a relieved look–with what looked like a bare minimum of tears in the corner of her eyes.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Would it be unoriginal if I called you an idiot?” she said, and I could hear the mild annoyance in her voice that told me there was a lot I didn’t remember.

I took a deep breath. I savoured the clear passageway that the air had into my body and lungs. “This is one of the times I think it’s warranted. Did Kent Smith bring you here?”

“Not exactly.” This time I could hear something else in her voice. “But, the person who did bring you here, said that you muttered my name, alongside Iraklis and your parents, which was sweet.”

“Madame Where–she’s the-”

“Professor for Training, I know. We had Hero Training before you did.”

I nodded. “She split us into smaller lesson groups. I-I was paired up with someone not in my mansion.”

“You do know socialising won’t kill you, right?” teased Birgit. Although I wasn’t in the mood for it, I had to admit that a small smile crossed my face for a second.

“It was Maria. And I’ll have to go and train with her Friday. And I-I don’t know if I can. If I should. I-”

“Enough,” said Birgit. She squeezed my hand tightly. It was oddly comforting. Due to the coldness of her hand, I could feel her touch like no other, even through my gloves. “You have to go.”

“But-”

“Don’t take my word for it,” she said, and now she had a smug, wide smile on her face. She sounded almost giddy. “How about the man that brought you here?”

“What?”

She made her way to the front door, opening it and letting what could only be a hallucination come through. He was clad in an electric blue suit with white arm braces, boots and belts. His–upside down A–symbol was now plastered on top of his whole upper body. He had a white cape that was dragging behind him as he walked and small, blue sparks were flying from his body.

“Alexander Adamos,” he said, a strong smile on his face.

“You-you can’t-are you?” I couldn’t speak again, but for an entirely different reason.

“Your fanboy is showing,” said Birgit in a tone so smug I would have shot something back at any other point in time. I just couldn’t now.

Because Alpha Surge was standing before me.