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  Aiden Cross Academy Outcast:

  Book Two—The Prodigy

  By

  Alex Villavasso

  Copyright 2020, Alex Villavasso

  All rights reserved

  This novel is a work of fiction and is a product of the author’s imagination.

  All events, places, and characters are either fictitious or portrayed in a fictitious manner. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form except by an authorized retailer or once written permission from the author is received.

  For inquires, contact the author at AlexVillavasso.com

  Please support the author and do not encourage or participate in distributing this work through illegal means.

  Thank you.

  Cover Illustration by Jesse Gerbrandt

  Special thanks to Judi S. and the rest of the street team!

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Aiden Cross Academy Outcast: Book Two—The Prodigy (Aiden Cross: Academy Outcast)

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  About the Author

  A Note to the Reader

  Other Series by Alex Villavasso

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  Chapter 1

  I back away as he creeps closer—death personified. His piercing eyes carry a blood-red hue, and his gaze is like stone. Hard. Calculating. A stark contrast to the manic smile he wears across his distorted face. With his back to the moon, he casts an ominous shadow that’s only a fraction as dark as his now charred, obsidian body. He’s relentless...a monster that won’t stop until we’re dead.

  “Aiden,” Summer whispers to me. “We can’t outrun him. We have to fight.”

  “I...I didn’t know Dox could do this to him.”

  “This isn’t Dox. This is something else—something sinister—don’t let your guard down. Not even for a second.” An icy mist begins to form around Summer’s hands as she scoots back, aligning herself with me. I channel my dark flame, but looking at what Von’s become, I can’t shake the feeling that we’re in over our heads. Half of his body is mutilated from when we fought in the courtyard, and to make matters worse, he has extra appendages of some sort stemming from his ribcage, floating freely like the tentacles of an octopus. Somehow, he’s changed, and he’s stronger than ever. “If we attack together, maybe it’ll be enough to slow him down.”

  “I won’t make the same mistake again, Cross. You won’t last until sunrise.” Von grins and a string of drool falls from his mouth. A puff of smoke rises where his saliva lands on the forest floor. Acid—even his spit is dangerous. Von licks his lips, sweeping the remainder of his spit back into his mouth and smiles, revealing a set of razor-sharp serrated teeth. “Ready or not, here I come!” Summer fires a stream of ice from her hands, but Von blocks it with one of his extra arms as he races towards us. I channel a burst of energy from my palms, but Von shields himself with his same frozen arm, nullifying my attack. “Weak!” Summer forms a pillar of ice in front of Von, but he punches through it and sends her flying into the base of a nearby tree.

  “Summer!” I step into his guard, harness my energy, and plant it against Von’s chest. He kicks me before I can ignite it, but I still manage to inflict some damage. I roll across the earth from the impact of his foot crashing against my sternum, and when I come to a stop, I can taste a fair amount of blood in my mouth. Crap, he separated us. I look up from the tattered ground to see Summer back in action, her right arm dangling awkwardly from her shoulder while she shoots spires of ice from her left hand to keep Von at bay. I struggle to my feet and try to move, but my legs give out on me, causing me to sink to my knees. I grab my abdomen in pain, keel over, and cough, splattering blood across the inside of my cowl. “S-Summer!” I force out while struggling to my feet. I focus my energy into my hands and push through the pain to close the distance between us. Von’s too close to her to launch a ranged attack, and I can’t risk her getting caught up in the explosion. His extra appendages are shielding his vitals, plus he seems to be soaking up any damage we dish out without a problem. “Leave her alone!” I jump into the air and expand my flame, but he bats me away with little effort, causing my body to ricochet off an oak tree before hitting the ground. I wasn’t able to hit him, but that’s okay because he wasn’t my target. I knew from experience that I wouldn’t be able to get a clean hit. I look on, stunned on the ground, as one of the trees behind Von topples over. Von continues his march, and the tree falls on top of him, snapping in half as opposed to crushing him. “...How?”

  “Aiden, run!”

  He grabs Summer by the neck and drives her into the earth. With his hand pressed against her, he raises his fist and strikes her. The ground trembles, and Von picks up her limp body with one of his arms. He then tosses her across the forest and locks eyes with me.

  “Aren’t you going to do what she says, Aiden?” he taunts. No matter how fast I run, there’s no getting away. He’s virtually unstoppable and the longer the fight drags on, the weaker I get. His wicked smile reminds me of a demon, and as far as I’m concerned, he is. His powers plus his stamina and strength are far beyond mine—I’m at his mercy, and he doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. “The academy won’t save you this time, Cross. It’s just you...and...ME!” A monstrous roar echoes in the forest, and I see a massive boulder speeding my way from above. It’s too fast to outrun, and if I try to dodge it, I run the risk of being crushed.

  “Crap!” I plant my feet and begin to pull my remaining energy into my hand, ignoring the heaviness from my fatigue. I thrust my palm forward, and a cluster of dark-violet energy shatters the boulder, but my relief is short-lived.

  While I was distracted, Von had used his speed to catch up to me.

  Before I can react, he grabs me by the face and carries me full speed as he drags me through the trees in the forest. “Are we having fun yet, Aiden?” I release a burst of energy, but he reads my attack and simultaneously shifts his body, driving my skull into the ground. His shoulder and cheek are seared from my energy. I managed to graze him, but it’s not enough to put an end to his rampage. He presses harder against my skull, forcing my body deeper into the earth as he laughs maniacally. “Summer couldn’t stop me, so what makes you think you have a chance?”

  He lifts me by the head, and I struggle to free myself by desperately using my reserves against his forearms as I hold on to them for support.

  Von smiles, amused by my effort, but it isn’t nearly enough. Nothing is.

  “I said it before, and I’ll say it again. You’re weak, Aiden.” Von slams me into the ground, burying me under the weight of his insane strength. He lets go, and raises his foot above my head, his disfigured face smiling as he looks down at me. “And as long as I’m alive, you’ll never escape me.”

  “No!” I shoot up from my bed in a cold sweat and rub my eyes with my palms. A nightmare...another one. The third one tonight. I haven’t had a night not plagued by night terrors since I made it out of the infirmary. “Come on, come on!” I embrace the wrist of my hand while I struggle to ignite a small flare in my palm. After
stressing over it some more, I finally manage to make one big enough to guide my hand to my phone. It’s a little past four. I lay back, dazed from my dream until I muster up the strength to get dressed and head outside. There’s no use in trying to get back to sleep when I know from experience that it won’t happen.

  Just like how it is every other time, the campus is desolate. Everyone’s still asleep, and I practically have the whole school to myself.

  I walk through the courtyard, eyeing the exact spot where Von and I fought, while on my way to the park on the north side of campus. It’s a long walk, but it’s one that I’ve gotten used to over the past two weeks. Getting out of my dorm and clearing my head is better than staring aimlessly at the ceiling while waiting for the sun to rise. The nightmare I had today was particularly bad, most likely because today’s the first day I’m allowed to attend my classes since the incident.

  Once I make it to the clearing, I focus my powers to begin my training, but just like how it’s been since I recovered, they’re not up to full strength. My flames are only a fraction of what they used to be despite already being healed.

  I try to warm up my body by firing some quick sparks and focusing on some of the control-based exercises that Mr. Hoover taught me, but my performance is still lacking. It’s almost as if when Von broke my body, he broke my powers too...and I’m not sure if they’ll ever recover to the level they were before.

  Dr. Kresnik gave me a final evaluation before he discharged me...he said that I was fine. The only thing is, if that were really the case, why am I as weak as I am now? Maybe I need more time, or maybe something isn’t clicking right anymore. I don’t know, and honestly, it scares me. Everything’s different these days. I can’t stop these visions of Von killing those closest to me. It doesn’t matter when or where. It just...happens...and it feels real. It’s like he’s somehow reminding me how powerless I am against him even though he’s locked up.

  I know it was a dream, but what he said to me wasn’t wrong. As long as he’s alive, I’ll never escape him. It wasn’t my fault that his life was ruined... He made his own choice to use Dox and go on a rampage across Crown Academy... I had to stop him—I couldn’t just let him kill me.

  I bury my thoughts and push through my training, using exercise as a momentary escape from a poor attempt at mental gymnastics. It’s in my best interest not to think about it, because it’ll only make things worse. I keep telling myself that, but when push comes to shove, it’s like a record on repeat that won’t turn off. When my mind’s blank, Von finds a way to seep in without me noticing, and it sucks.

  Once I’m done with my workout, I cool down by taking a stroll around the lake and end up making it back to my dorm about an hour after sunrise. I hit the shower to clean up, and by the time I’m finished getting ready, I hear Tyler nose-deep into his morning routine.

  “Hey, T,” I say after emerging from the bathroom, fully dressed in my academy gear. The sound of explosions and swords clashing fills up the common area of our dorm. Stepping into the doorway of his room, I see him grinding on Guild of the Miserables, the game he’s been obsessed with for as long as I’ve known him.

  “Today’s the day, right, Aiden? You excited? Back in class. Back on the prowl.”

  “Back on the...prowl...?” I shake my head, go over to the fridge, and grab a protein shake. “Back on the prowl for what?” I respond flatly before taking a sip.

  “Education,” he says in an intentionally disgusted tone.

  “I’ve already had enough of that. Just because I haven’t been going to class doesn’t mean I’ve been letting my brain rot. It’s actually a lot harder this way; teaching myself everything through a textbook n’ all.”

  “Don’t you like a challenge?”

  “Yeah, but this is different.” I sigh.

  “Well, now you can suffer with the rest of us.”

  “Can’t wait.” I huff and take another sip. Before I can continue our conversation, the front door shakes from a series of knocks. “Oh, geez.”

  “Aiden, don’t you answer your phone? I can hear you ya know.”

  “Looks like your girlfriend is here to pick you up,” Tyler quips.

  “Chill, she’s not my gi—"

  “We’re going to be late! Aiden?” I cut my eyes back towards the door. Summer might as well have been punching the door at full strength. It’s so loud that she probably woke up the whole dormitory. “Dude, open up!”

  She’s early, but luckily for me, I knew she’d be pulling something like this. I hurry to my room, grab my bookbag and phone, eyeing the five texts and two missed calls she sent while I was in the shower.

  Apparently, while I was on the sidelines, Ms. Cosgrove got on her about timing. Ever since, it’s been her thing, which is crazy. Showing up for class on time has nothing to do with waiting for the opportunity to seize an opening in combat. It was one mistake, but Summer took it personally. Maybe a little too personally. Her whole fighting style is high risk, high reward. It’s like her secret sauce. There’s an old saying that says something like, ‘how you do anything, is how you do everything.’ I think Summer’s working it from that angle, but I’m not completely sure. I never even thought to ask. I want to be there for her, but there’s enough going on with me as it is.

  She doesn’t know about the dreams, or my powers short-circuiting...and I don’t plan on telling her...not unless I have to. It’ll just make her worry.

  “I’m coming, I’m coming. Just give me a sec. Getting food,” I say just loud enough for her to hear me as I walk to the door, bookbag on my shoulder. I grab a piece of toast that Tyler left on the counter and take a bite out of it. He looks at me from his door and gives me a quick gesture. I wag my toast at him, thanking him.

  I open the door and stop Summer mid-knock. “Took you long enough. Did you just wake up? I know you’ve been taking it easy these days,” she teases.

  “Easy? Please,” I say and walk out into the hall after shutting my door. “You know I’ve been working my butt off, and you’re early.” I sigh. “You’re right though. I do need to step it up. I still haven’t been cleared, but at least I can go to classes now.” I stretch as we walk together, getting out the proverbial kinks that I shouldn’t even have. “I hate being on the sidelines. It’s boring.”

  “Jealous?” Summer curls her lips mischievously.

  “Just a tad,” I quip sarcastically. “I can work out, but it isn’t the same. Knowing that everyone else is back makes me want in, you know?”

  “Well, considering everything that you’ve been through, I think it’s great that you had a little time off.” Summer shrugs.

  “We both know there’s no such thing as a day off at Crown.” I smirk. “I have a ton of assignments that I still need to do, plus the tests, and workouts and, ah... The only difference is I get to go at my own pace, but that isn’t saying much.”

  “Crown Academy—where only the strong survive—unless you can do whatever you want and still manage to get stuff done because you’re amazing.”

  “Let me guess, you’re referring to yourself?”

  “Do I even have to say it, Cross?” Summer chuckles.

  “I thought we were past this... Speed up, you’re walking too slow,” I say to her in a flat tone. Her face scrunches and she jerks her head back. “Would you prefer that I skate to class instead?”

  “I didn’t know you enjoyed the spotlight.”

  “It’s not that I enjoy it, it’s just that the spotlight enjoys me.”

  “Quite the narcissist this morning, aren’t we?” I pick up my pace and Summer begins to powerwalk. A cool breeze chills my back and I turn just in time to see Summer skate ahead of me on a sheet of ice. She drifts in front of me, coming to a perfect stop a few yards up the sidewalk. The other students around us grimace and stare, but she doesn’t pay them any mind.

  “You do know that I’m more than just a pretty face, right? I’m egotistical, too.”

  “And don’t forget humble
...” A few months ago, seeing Summer use her powers like that would have freaked me out, but that isn’t the case now. It’s pretty much the norm. Crown Academy is a school where students go to hone their powers, so Summer and I fit right in. That wasn’t always the case though. When I first started, things were different.

  “Hey, why’d you slow down?” Summer stops and glances behind her. I didn’t even realize that she’d pulled ahead. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine. Just thinking...” When I first started at the academy, I couldn’t access my powers at will. Because of that, I was an outlier...an outcast. I was placed in the accelerated courses because when my powers did activate, they were extremely destructive. I knew...and I guess some of the teachers did...but my classmates really didn’t have a clue. It made my first two weeks hell because the choice was polarizing. I was bullied by Tristen, a pyro in my class, along with some of his followers who weren’t as advanced. That all changed when Mr. Hoover had us fight against each other in a training exercise and my powers somehow reawakened. Out of everything that happened, Tristen was the one who gave me the final push. I blasted him with my powers—a dark energy that my body generates—and things haven’t been the same since. Back then, I wasn’t strong enough to beat him, but I did stun him. We almost lost the match, but Summer was my saving grace, just like always.

  “Thinking?” She scrunches her brow, shifts her weight, and folds her arms. “Save it for class, man. This lecture is going to be brutal. Besides, what did I tell you about letting your guard down?”

  It was because of her that I was able to beat Von when he was going on his rampage across Crown Academy.

  “Who said that it was?” I respond half-heartedly. “Trust me, I learned my lesson after Von bum-rushed me between classes.” Summer’s smirk fades after I said what I said. I made light of it, but it wasn’t really a laughing matter.

  “You’re not having second thoughts about class, are you? You don’t have to fight or anything today. We’re just doing some light workouts in the afternoon.”