Halfway through third period, the quiet hallways of Greenville High School were disturbed by the lone footsteps of a single male student as he exited the office doors. He slowly passed by the muffled sound of educators and students in class as he made his way forward. He pulled a pair of large dark tinted sunglasses out from the front pocket of his tattered hoodie and slid them onto his face.

He took each step slowly and gingerly, as if afraid that his body could break apart at any time. The books under his arm were gripped loosely, appearing to be half a step away from tumbling from the young man's arms and spilling onto the floor. If they had, the boy looked as if he would have been neither able nor willing to stoop down and pick them up, instead leaving them for whomever would have them.

Ever so slowly, he arrived at a locker. After a few failed attempts, he successfully put in the correct combination and dropped his books, none too carefully, into the locker, pushing the door closed with his shoulder. Then, his arms free, he continued his slow and gentle stroll through the quiet halls. Finally, he reached his destination and stood in front of a classroom with the numbers 302 displayed next to it. His head drooped further and a sigh is heard as he pushed the door open slowly and with as little force as necessary.

The classroom was loud with most of the students doing as they please while the teacher sat at the front, ignoring the clamor of the class. The young man walked slowly, appearing lazy and uncaring to those watching and gingerly sat a tardy slip in front of the untouched paperwork on the large desk. He turned without a word and began to head to an empty seat in the back of the room. He slid into his chair as the teacher looked up and began to address him.

"It's nice of you to join us today, Mr. Paige, though, I don't think sunglasses are permitted in the dress code." Miss Ryon spoke as Tyler Paige pulled off his sunglasses, only to then pull his hoodie over his head and lay down atop his desk, apparently in an attempt to sleep. Miss Ryon's irritation was clear in her voice as she addressed Tyler once again.

"This is not nap time, Mr. Paige. Pull off your hood and sit up. I know you haven't been here in a couple weeks, but that doesn't mean you can ignore the rules as you please."

Tyler sat, still unmoving.

Miss Ryon sat the magazine she had been reading aside and spoke louder. "Fine, then you can just finish your nap in ISS. Better yet, how about after schoo-"

Before she could finish her threat, Tyler stood, his desk and chair legs sliding loudly against the floor. He stood for a moment before pulling back his hood and glaring at his teacher. The class slowly quieted down as Tyler stood there. It wasn't an unusual scene, Miss Ryon, or The Lion as some inaffectionately called her for her long wild blond hair that framed a face similar to that of a lion, and Tyler at odds.

In fact, The Lion was notorious for singling out the students that she believed to be untalented or useless, most being quite troubled at home, and relentlessly bullying them. There were some that she'd purposely get their names wrong and when they would correct her she'd say, with a laugh, "Well, it doesn't matter, no one will remember you anyways." Most of those students, over time, gave up even trying to correct her and just allowed her to disgrace their names. Tyler wasn't one of the students that she'd been able to use that method on and instead, from the very beginning of the year, The Lion had used every excuse she could to give him detention or ISS. Tyler hadn't really seemed to mind, but after she had begun to call home to his family on multiple occasions, he's stopped coming to class. He'd show up every once in a while. Every time, he'd made it harder and harder for The Lion to have a reason to discipline him. There were even times when he'd gone to class and not received ISS or detention at all, which was almost unheard of for the students that had encountered this particular side of The Lion. So, when Tyler jumped up, no one, not even the despicable Lion, was expecting it. Tyler had never been known to get into a fight with anyone, especially not a teacher.

The class became silent as they watched the situation unfold in unison.

Miss Ryon had a look of surprise, though, a hint of fear seemed to show in her eyes as she looked back at Tyler. Because no one had paid him any mind until then and he'd covered his face with sunglasses and his hood, his classmates and Miss Ryon were all taken aback as they stared at him. Under his usually vibrant green eyes were dark circles, the kind left behind after not sleeping for days at a time. His eyes themselves were bloodshot and slightly puffy, as if he'd cried recently. His face was pale and his dirty blonde shaggy hair was more tangled than usual, as if it was in a desperate need of a wash. His expression showed his irritation and sever sleep depravity. He stood, clearly exhausted, staring at his least favorite teacher.

Finally, he spoke. "I'm fucking tired." His voice came out rough, as if he'd been nursing a sore throat. It was also loud, as he shouted at Miss Ryon without reservation. As he waited for Miss Ryon's reply, he caught little whispers throughout the classroom as the other students began gossiping about him among themselves.

"Is he high?"

What's wrong with him?"

"Why is he even here if he's sick?"

"Do you think he's okay?"

"What an asshole, noone even wants him here."

"Such a jackass, just sit down."

The chatter seemed to swirl around the room for Tyler as his head spun from disorientation. His hearing was unable to pinpoint where exactly the words were coming from and repeatedly cut out, leaving the voices sounding closer, then further away as he listened.

It wasn't just his hearing, all of Tyler's senses had been acting up lately. His hearing would sometimes cut out completely and he'd be deaf for a few seconds, or it'd shift to the next extreme and it'd be as if everyone was shouting at him. As for his other senses, they seemed to be just as messed up as his hearing. Everything he ate tasted different than it used to. The change wasn't good, he could hardly stand to eat anything. His senses of touch and smell would have sudden increases. His skin became really sensitive, making his life more difficult than it needed to be. Some fabric felt as if it were filled with needles as it brushed against him, while others seemed to gently stroke it, sending a relaxing sensation throughout his body. Most things that used to smell bad to him, didn't. They instead took on a new intriguing depth, as if each scent had layers upon layers to it. He couldn't control his senses, it seemed, and this caused him worry. Why were they changing? Was this permanent?

His sight, like his other senses, seemed to change as well. Everything was clearer than before, at times. It didn't ever decrease, but there were times that Tyler was seeing things that weren't really there, he wasn't sure if it was his mind playing tricks on him, or if he was hallucinating. The things he saw, terrible things, were at first only showing up as he attempted to drift off to sleep. Lately, however, it was as if his dreams, which were better described as nightmares, were creeping into his waking life. Sometimes, he'd see a strange shifting darkness out of the corner of his eye and, upon turning to get a better look, found nothing there. He couldn't make out exactly what these shadows were, but from what he could see, they weren't pleasant. Long claws that appeared to be reaching out into the space around them. Their shadowed forms were darker than anything Tyler had ever experienced, even darker than the creature, or "bear" as everyone else called it, that attacked Tyler so savagely a couple weeks prior. It was as if the black that the world knew wasn't really black at all, but a cheap copy created from the essence that these creatures were made from.

Tyler stood in front of the Lion and everyone else, swaying slightly. He ripped his hood back up over his head and lay his head back down on his desk. The classroom was quiet as everyone's attention shifted between Miss Ryon and Tyler. Miss Ryon cleared her throat and addressed her class.

"Let's get back to work, guys."

There were some whispers exchanged, but the rest of the class complied and returned socializing. There were still some that were watching the sleeping Tyler with curious gazes, but before long, they too shifted their attention back to their previous topics.

After watching Tyler's sleeping form longer than anyone else, Miss Ryon eventually returned to her reading, as if nothing had happened.

As the end of third period was signaled by the bell, the halls flooded with students attempting to head to their next destination. Their voices filled the halls as they chattered happily with each other. There was one peculiarity seen in these halls, however. One that seemed to go unnoticed, for the most part, by the bustling students and faculty.

There, walking through the halls, was a large man, dressed in a shirt and tie. The unusual thing about this man was not his large and intimidating form, nor was it the frightening scowl on his face. No, the most eye catching thing about this man was the fact that his hair was soaked, the wetness dripping down onto his shirt. The students and faculty seemed to be unconsciously trying to stay as far as possible from the man, none were walking within two feet of him. It was as if the man had his own personal barrier that he kept around him that prevented others from entering. None seemed to notice this peculiarity of this man's presence and he continued his quiet stride through the sea of bodies.

Suddenly, the man's steps faltered and slowed to a stop. The scowl on his face was replaced with a look of confusion as he stared down at the scuffed floor beneath. He lifted his head, his eyes closed and appeared to smell the air around him as he spun in place. He stopped, opening his eyes to see a classroom door beginning to open. A shrill voice was heard as it did.

"I'm letting you off this time because you seem genuinely ill, but, Tyler, there will be no next time, believe me."

Slowly, a kid was pulling the door open, though he seemed to be using it more as a crutch to help him stand than anything. Others may mistake his sluggish action as a lazy disposition and attitude, but the man knew differently. He knew that it was severe sleep depravity that was causing the kid to seem so sluggish. He watched as the kid allowed the door to shut behind him, and rubbed at his eyes.

The kid, Tyler, turned and began heading down the hallway, none the wiser to the large man that was watching him. The man watched as Tyler rounded a corner and disappeared before continuing on his way. As he did, something unusual happened with the man. Something that, if anyone that knew him for any length of time had seen, they would immediately have disregarded it as a trick of the lighting. The man smiled. It wasn't a large smile and did not last for long, but a smile, all the same. He continued to head through the halls until reaching a classroom at the end and entering it without a word.