I am Dust

Chapter 3

Clyde Lynx

Okay… I immediately regret this decision.

You're probably wondering why I'm so unsure of joining Ozpin. I mean, this has to be a better choice than going to prison, right? You could say that the two days after my little fiasco, I'm living like a king compared to the years spent on the streets.

Ozpin had me sent into a five-star hotel, "Vale Heavenly". Everything had such a fancy touch, I felt like a black smudge in the middle of it. The many wealthy dressed people lounging and walking around didn't make me feel better. Thank God Ozpin was there so I didn't feel entirely alone, because I would've bolted out of there. I could only describe the room with one word: luxurious. The soft carpet, the fancy drapery, the beds…! I would've slept for weeks! I could order room service and have people come up to my room to serve me breakfast in bed, lunch in bed, dinner in bed, all of it! It was the first time I had lobster tails in my entire life, and every time I remember how it tasted, I tear up a bit. The last cherry on top of this sundae is the bathroom. Marble floors, automatic sink, easy water temperature controls on the bathtub...! They even had a toilet that… okay, I think you get my point now, but I could seriously stay in there forever.

Well, I can't say that is was the best experience I've had ever. Despite the five-star foods and the luxurious bathtub, it was hard for me to focus on the positives of this place. My mind was still in a different place… as in my family. There's a phrase somewhere, saying that you can't buy happiness. It's completely right. I can eat all the lobster tails I want, sleep on those beds forever and bathe daily… but I can't forget the loneliness of losing my brother. It's hard to put into words of how I really feel. I guess it feels unreal, or… I don't know anymore. I'm just so tired of everything that happened, and all I want to do is forget. But I can't. I'm the last family member in my entire bloodline and I'm all alone.

Even though my body was in heaven, and my mind in hell, I still couldn't get a break. The morning I heard a knock on my door and saw that familiar face when I opened it, I knew that my little vacation was over. Ozpin looked at me, holding that same mug as if it was a part of his hand, and said, "Good morning Clyde. Are you ready to go?"

Whatever drove me to say yes was still a mystery to me. I would've made a break for the window and run, but something tugged the muscles in my body to move with Ozpin down the hallway, up the flight of stairs, and outside on top of the hotel rooftop, where waiting for me was a large airship resting on a large landing pad. Something in my mind had told me that there were others in there already, watching and waiting for me to get on board. Ozpin just put his hand on my shoulder and gave me a confident look.

"Don't worry about a thing Clyde. Nobody is looking and you'll blend in with the group easily."

Wait… how did he know what I was thinking? That has to be his power. I pushed that out of my head as soon as the ship opened up, a ramp built-in on the dock gave me steps for me to enter in the ship. That walk felt like forever to complete, but soon I put the edge of my foot on the bottom of the ramp carefully, like I was testing a pool for its temperature before jumping in. I took a deep breath and finally place my whole foot on the ramp; a metal clank rang out as the heel of my shoe made contact. Then I took another, then another, and just before I knew it, I was walking right inside of the airship, the door sliding down and closing behind me.

I stood inside a small room, lit by bright lights and a TV screen right next to two wooden doors. The screen flickered on and I was caught a bit off guard. There was the same woman who interrogated me in the jailhouse. She stared at the screen with the same stern look, but it felt more welcoming, which was a huge contrast to the look she gave me in the room. She started her speech:

"Welcome new students to the start of your journey to Beacon Academy. The airship will begin to leave shortly. I am Ms. Goodwitch and I will give you a short speech on what is to happen."

This went on for five minutes, telling me where I'm going, the history of it, rules on the airship, yada yada-freaking-yada. I was close to bashing the screen to bits when the door opened, revealing the many faces of people I have never seen before.

It was just a long room with four large semicircular windows, giving me a "glorious view of the sky," and all that other shit I really don't care about. The good news is it was a lot emptier than I expected it to be. It was just a handful of people standing around, a few in groups and a couple just by themselves.

It looked like they had their own things to think about, so I just simply walked in, found a place to myself and enjoyed the ride. Although it was hard to really enjoy it.

Close to the end of the ride, things started to get a bit more uncomfortable. First thing was the VNN news. I hated the news personally. It always had useless "news" and always just gave us something that'd give those fame-hungry badgers views. I don't give a sky-diving shit about some giraffe born in a zoo; I want to know what the hell's going on in the Atlas kingdom!

But this news report however caught my attention. The news reporter started rambling on about a gang robbery. At first I thought they were talking about the one I was caught up in, but then the reporter said this:

"One of the robberies was led by Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade the authorities."

There was that smug bastard's mug shot. He stood there, orange hair with long bangs covering his right eye. He had dark-green eyes with black eyeliner. I didn't even know some guys used that stuff. He wore a white coat with a red collar, black gloves and a grey scarf.

That cocky little shit was in another robbery and it was close from mine! AND he got away! If only I was lucky enough, maybe the beast would've rampaged all the way to him and torn him to shreds.

I took a couple deep breaths and kept watching.

"He fled the scene shortly after another robbery was thwarted by a Grimm, some say for it to be a small Ursa or a large Beowolf. This will be-"

Everything was cut off to static. The screen refocused and woe and behold, it was Goodwitch again, ready to bore us with another speech for me to nod off to. This ride has felt like forever, when it was only fifteen minutes. As soon as she finished, the hologram closed off and we were ready to get off.

This is it. This is the point of no return. The past three years of running, surviving, and misery is taking me into an academy where they'll train me to fight beasts and enemies. I kept wondering if this was the life I truly wanted, if that I'm going to do the right things in life. Maybe this is fate forcing to do as it pleases. Maybe I was meant to become a weapon for others to use and protect. Maybe it won't be so bad.

Before I could let my mind trail off into the depths, I felt a force shove me to the side, but barely. A blonde haired guy was looking around at me with beady eyes, red cheeks puffed out and sweat running down his forehead. I knew exactly was about to happen: he's going to blow.

I swiftly shoved him away from me, letting him run into these two girls, where he unleashed the horrors of his breakfast all over the floor and on a girl's shoes. I watched as I watch one of the girls freak out, repeatedly shoving the puke boy away as the girl with barf on her boots hobbled away to try to clean them off.

I couldn't help but grin, holding back my laugh as I watch the chaos unfold.

Yeah. This might be good.