Rain, heavy rain, pours down on my head. I do anything to try to stop the water that is flowing into my scalp but all I have is a couple of books. Nobody would want to be soaked, so I run. I run as fast as I can to my quaint little dorm. I slip a couple of times, but it’s okay. I don’t care. It’s like life, sometimes you slip when you run on dangerous ways.

I reach the doorstep of my dorm soaked in water and breathing heavily. This is not good, because I might catch a cold which I must not because school would be starting next week. I enter through the door and hurry up to my room on the second floor. My room is my only safe refuge for now.

Unfortunately, my room is not very clean. Books and magazines are strewn across the floor. A laptop rests on my desk to my left, downloading files that I’d have to use. I quickly undress and take a hot shower to decrease any chances of getting a cold. Afterwards, I look into my laptops clock and see that it is still four o’clock, Friday. I should take this chance to rest for a while, so I fall into my bed with arms wide open.

My dorm is very quiet. Unlike any other buildings here in Trans Fibris, a remote island to the far west of United Kingdom of Europe, my dorm is the only one not bustling with work or chatting. We only have three people living here, though, because most of the people who do try to dorm here immediately leave the next day for reasons unknown. It has happened so many times that I’m used to it, same with the other two people here. I should introduce you to them. The eldest here is Claireen Wayer, an upcoming fourth year and the dorm head. She’s the school representative, which could explain her “imperial” way of doing things, orderly and efficiently. Many girls look up to her while the boys are afraid of her. The second eldest is Johann Logan, an upcoming fourth year as well. He can be summed up into two words: School Heartthrob. Johann is very handsome, good in his academics, a multi-skilled sportsman and can play various instruments. If he would be here now and hear me describing him, he would say that I’m exaggerating. Really, he’s that kind. Then there’s me: Vinzen Aveda. I am an upcoming second year in Ephraim High, the largest and maybe only school in this island. So yeah, that could explain why we’re so quiet, hopefully that would change because four more student will be coming here, and they were selected which could mean that they won’t leave so soon.

After a couple of just laying down on my bed lazily, I hear knocking on my door. “Vinzen! Dinner.” I hear Claire’s voice. The mealtimes are also something I don’t like here because only Claire knows how to cook among the three of us, and the way she punishes us is by serving some raw vegetables. Although, I did smell the stench of beef so maybe we’d have something different this time. Maybe the reason why people leave immediately is because of the food.

I leave my room and meet up with Johann along the way. His blonde hair falls down to his cheeks and he’s wearing a long sleeved shirt with formal pants. I feel embarrassed because I’m just wearing jeans and a purple shirt, which is not formal at all. I have no idea why and Claire would always laugh at him but he always dresses so formally even if we’re just going to a market or something.

“Same as ever, huh?” He sparks up a conversation. I grunt and he laughs. Johann is very kind, and he doesn’t pick a fight with kids he knows that don’t stand a chance against him. He is very protective though, and will not hesitate to protect me and Claire when the time comes. Or so he says.

We arrive later on in the kitchen, mildly chatting along the way. Claireen is standing by the table, crossed armed. She flips her clearly dyed raid hair as we enter, and I observe that she’s wearing pants and a jacket now, which she normally doesn’t wear.

“You know I don’t like hands in pockets.” She glares at me. I almost don’t follow, but that wouldn’t be a very good idea. In fact, that would be suicidal. So I follow.

“Fine.” I pull my hands from my pockets. “Are you going somewhere?” I ask her. She smiles as she sits down.

“I have always admired your observation skills, Vinzen.” She says.

“Same here.” I respond.

“But, yes, I would be leaving tonight with Johann to pick up the two first students that will arrive tonight. The others would come tomorrow. You’ll be alone here for a while. Are you alright with that?” She asks. I nod in confirmation. I don’t want to respond anymore because I see beef steak on my plate… with raw vegetables. At least it’s something. We pray for our blessings first, because Claire and Johann has always been devout. I’m not as devout, but I still believe in God. Somehow, I feel like prayer makes us closer together as a family; Claire as the mother, Johann as the father, and me as the dog that stays in the porch.

We finish eating and Johann washes the dishes. I tell them that I’m going to rest, because I need some shuteye after braving the rain just to do errands for Claire. I tell them to just call me when they get back so I can open the door for them. I quickly ascend to my room, ignore the messiness of my room, and try to sleep as soon as possible.



I bolt up and wake in cold sweat. I’m having a hard time breathing, so I quickly open the windows. I don’t feel any wind. Strange. I stick my head out of the window and inhale as deeply as I can. Wind seeps through my nose. Much better. I’ve never really seen it before but the moon is very big and bright tonight. Instead of the gold-ish glow, I see a reddish one. Very strange.

“Vinzen!” I tense as I hear banging on the door. That really shocked me. “Sorry, but I’m coming in!” Johann bursts into my room, grabs my hand, and hauls me to the staircase where I meet two unfamiliar children. Both are wielding knives. One is a male and he is a head shorter than me. He must be sixteen or something. He holds the knife confidently. The other is a female and having the same height as the boy. She’s also holding a knife, but she’s holding it by the tip, as if somebody just gave her a dirty pair of underwear.

“No time to explain.” Johann says, heavily breathing. Alertness is in his eyes, which is almost the first time I ever saw him alert. “Take both of them up to the roof. Once you do, lock the door behind you. Don’t open it no matter what!” He commands. I nod quietly, even though I have no idea whatsoever on what is going on. But Johann is not the dishonest person and he would never put me into a reality show like this.

Johann gathers his composure and heads downstairs. I hear him scream something, but it’s muffled by the sound of gurgling. Nevertheless, I have to follow Johann.

“What’s happening!?” The boy asks. He has very convincing eyes that can almost pierce through your soul. I shake my head, grab them both by the wrist and rush upstairs. The dorm has approximately four floors, so getting to the rooftop won’t be a hassle. As we run, I see my surrounding getting very chaotic. Bits and pieces of matter float up. Some shattered pieces of glasses scrape my skin, but I shrug them off. I hear heavy thuds from downstairs, which could mean that I have to faster. I run as fast as I can before a huge chunk of the third staircase suddenly disappears below my feet. All three of us would’ve plummeted to death if I hadn’t gripped on a remaining part of the staircase. I tell them to hold on as I haul myself unto the solid part.

“You okay?” I ask after we’re all safe. Both of them nod, heavily breathing. Just as I thought that we would have a good rest, a gigantic black hand bursts out of nowhere and grabs the girl by her leg.

“Joven!” She screams as the hand grips her and pulls her down. Joven grabs her desperately.

“Aizel!” He shouts. I can resemble the scene being one from those action-romance movies or something. Wait, what am I doing? I have to help them! I rush over to Aizel, who’s holding on for dear life because of the black hand. I peer over the edge and see a pale white face with black eyes as if two drills bore into them. I quickly look away from the horrific sight.

The more time we spend, the longer Aizel’s pain lasts. I have to save her, I know I do! I’ve never really thought that I’d care or even want to save someone but I want to. Out of nowhere, though, a blue slash of light slices the arm and separates the main body. We pull Aizel to safety and without hesitation, I carry Aizel and order Joven to run to the roof with me.

“We’ll be safe here.” I say as I put Aizel down. She’s unconscious, which is not good. I lock the door behind me.

“What the hell is happening!?” Joven complains. I have no idea either, but I don’t say anything. That might kill his will. Joven points a finger at me. “You nearly killed us!” He shouts.

I throw my hands unto the air. “I saved you!” I retaliate. He gives me a sharp glare, spits at my shoe, and walks over to Aizel. What an ungrateful brat. When I thought that I’d finally get a break, another large hand pops from the side of the building and nearly crushes Joven and Aizel. Joven runs away as the full body reveals itself to us. It’s only over 8-10 meters tall and its body is mangled beyond recognition. It has no head, and a third arm protrudes from where the neck of a human body should be, holding a mask. A red mask that can also be its face.

The monster spots Joven and rushes to him at full speed. No, Aizel’s been hurt already, and I won’t let Joven be hurt too. Instinctively I jump in front of them and the black figure is blown back by an unknown force. I feel my body replenish from being fatigued and I immediately feel reinvigorated. White tentacle-like streams of energy flow around me until the streams fit into my figure, and then they disperse before forming a white lance in front of me. I grab it and feel the knowledge of using spears and lances flow into me. I point my lance at the black figure, which is slowly backing away. I ready my hand in a javelin throw-like position, and throw the lance forward, saying “Vanish” before I do. The lance zooms in a straight line ahead and cuts through the shadowy figure as if it were a weak spider-web. The figure disintegrates into many pieces as the lance of light pierces through it, but all of them fly at me, slowly sticking to my skin like that black symbiotic alien from the Spider-Man movie. As they cling to my skin, I start to feel wrath, greed, pride and many more negative emotions. They all feel wrong. The black pieces overwhelm me and I fall to my knees. They begin to cover up my face, my mouth, my nose, until they finally cover my eyes and the whole world falls to blackness.