Kai joined his classmates in screaming and retreating from the body. The horror continued. Behind the corpse hovered something unknown to Kai but he could feel the malice and dread seeping from it. There was a large floating disk. It was colored a snotty yellow swirling over ash-black lines, and the edges of it dripped slopping onto the floor beneath it. The students pushed and stumbled over each other trying to escape. Some made it through, others were being trampled. The chaos persisted until they heard a voice speak to them.

“Calm down.”

It was the most soothing words any of them had ever heard. The panic that was rampaging in their hearts evaporated and they all turned to face the speaker. 

The blonde boy stood by the emergency door at the back of the classroom. He appeared unfazed and gestured for the students to make their way towards him.

“Don’t push. Let’s all make it out together.”

The students obeyed sheepishly, moving towards the exit quickly but calmly. Kai took a step to leave as well but he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He turned to see the same blonde boy standing behind him.

“How did you… ?!”

“Stay here a moment,” he said gently with his usual goofy smile.

Kai’s mind told him he needed to run with all his might, but for some reason his body wouldn’t listen to him. 

Suddenly, the slimy disk at the center of the class expanded to at least four times of its original size. The muck began to drip faster and scraping sound began to tear into the classroom.

“Mina! Could you take him for now?” The boy yelled.

“Of course,” his sister responded from beside Kai. He nearly jumped at her appearance. How did they keep sneaking up on him like this? Moreover her hair was tied up unlike before and she had a look in her eye that was sharper than the previous kindness.

*Thump*

Kai’s head snapped back to the disk. A part of the slime began to bulge outwards. It stretched and pussed until it tore, allowing a large animalistic hoof to tear through the gunk. The hoof stomped out onto the classroom floor, crushing the slime beneath it.

“Now Mina!” The boy yelled.

His sister pulled Kai’s arm, gesturing for him to follow her. Without hesitation, Kai followed her as she took him not through the emergency exit, but the main door of the class.

Two massive hands tore through the slime, gripping the edges of the disk and further. They were humanoid, but unreasonably hairy and calloused. Slowly, a large, despairing head began forcing its way through. The slime trailed on the nose and cheeks of the face as it ripped through the spiraled surface. Its bloodshot eyes shone erratic, untargeted fury and it snarled as drool and slime dripped from its mouth. Its teeth bent inward from rageful gritting and its nostrils flared wide as saucers. The head was not that of a man, but an ox or a bull and was fitted wretchedly to its neck. 

“What in Astia-” Kai began to yell.

“MOVE NOW.” The blonde boy yelled.

His sister yanked Kai through the door, onto the corridor and pulled him as they ran across the courtyard. Kai was surprised that a girl of such small stature possessed such incredible strength.

The bull creature fully emerged from the disk, revealing a terrifyingly impressive physique. Below its head stood a humanoid body, grotesquely muscular and hairy with the exception of its pale, bare chest. Its horns scraped the panels in the classroom roof as it towered over the blonde boy with bloodshot red eyes beaming down on him. Time seemed to freeze. The boy’s sister and Kai stared through the large windows from across the courtyard, anxiously waiting. After several seconds of calm, the bull angrily bellowed, shattering all the glass in the room. It charged at the boy in a blind rage, lashing away tables and chairs in its path.

“Tsk.”

The boy leapt backwards as the creature came upon him, arms outstretched with murderous intent. His face remained calm, loosening his uniform’s tie while the bull creature began to close its arms. However, as soon as the boy’s foot hit the ground, he spun out of the impending hold around to the side of the bull like a graceful dancer. He leapt into the air and slung his tie around its left horn, planting his feet into the creature’s side and pulling shifting its weight over. Before the creature could process the movement, it lost its balance and its momentum forced over into the back wall of the classroom, causing it to collapse. 

The boy landed cleanly on his feet and watched as debris began to crush the creature as the wall and a section of the roof fell onto it. He slowly backed away from the rubble, confidently but cautiously. He had already noticed the creature's twitching arm and knew that it had only been stunned. The moment he got into the corridor, he ran across to his sister and Kai stared at him in amazement. Dealing with the likes of Tom and Dill was one thing, but he fought that creature with such confidence and ease.

“W-Who are you people?!” Kai interrogated them.

The blonde boy smirked.

“Still alive, brother?”

“Im not your brother!”

Suddenly, a loud roar erupted from the classroom.

“No time for specifics, brother. We got to peel!” 

The boy and his sister took off running down another hall. Kai briefly considered avoiding them. Then he remembered the 8-foot bull monster slowly recovering in their classroom…and decided he would probably stick with the one who just beat it. He ran to catch up, but somehow he had lost sight of them. He kept on sprinting down the hall and started making his way to the back exit of the school where the Cy-Bike was waiting for him. As he gained distance, a hand suddenly stretched forth and yanked him into a classroom. 

In a matter of seconds Kai’s mouth was covered and his body pressed against a wall by the blonde boy as he and his twin hid in this room.

“Shhhh” The boy gestured with his free hand. The three heard the creature bellowing out in the courtyard, thrashing and throwing things around. The commotion faded into the distance and the boy exhaled.

“Okay Kai, here’s the deal. We were sent here to get you by someone very important. So I’m going to need you to cooperate until we get out of this place,” the boy said calmly.

“Sent? Who sent you? And why for me?”

“That’s not important right now.” His eyes were razor sharp now. Even his typical stupid smile had faded as his face tightened with his gaze. 

Kai nodded his head nervously, understanding the position he was in.

“Now,” the boy continued,”I need to confirm something.”

He eased off him slowly and adjusted the cufflinks of his shirt pocket.

“We’re aware that you are in possession of a black book. A very important book. Is it here? Or back at the inn?”

The words he spoke made Kai’s blood run cold.

He shouldn't know about it.

No one should know.

Never know.

“What are you talking about?” Kai asked him quietly, averting his gaze.

The boy stared at him for a few more seconds then sighed.

“Right…” He said, as he held up his arm and opened his palm to Kai’s face.

“Gentle, brother.” His sister told him,

“I know.” The room went quiet as he stared at Kai intently.

Kai looked back at him in confusion and slowly raised his hand to move his outstretched arm from his face. But before he got the chance, a feeling swept over him. It wasn’t his physical body per say, but something else. The world felt like it disintegrated around him and his body was chained in place. He tried to yell but his mouth felt stiff and he couldn't even close his eyes. The only thing he could focus on was the boy in front of him. It was as if he glowed before him even though there was no additional light. Kai’s heart sped up as he noticed that his deep blue eyes had been replaced with a shining gold color. Those eyes felt like they peered beyond his heart or mind and shook something else.

“Where is the book Kai?” The boy spoke calmly, but his words echoed in Kai’s head what felt like hundreds of times in his head. His skull felt like it rolled straight off of his neck and bounced across the floor. When he came to, his backpack was open on the floor and the blonde boy was holding the black book in his hand. Kai immediately caught his bearings and rushed towards him.

“Hey! Don’t open that! You don’t know what you’re messing with.”

The boy held out his hand and Kai stopped in his tracks. He tried to take another step but couldn’t. He strained and groaned until veins popped in his neck but his feet wouldn’t budge. His eyes widened as he watched the boy open the book.

“ Calm down. I know way more about what I’m messing with than you, brother.”

He quickly flipped through the book with one hand then tossed it over his head to his sister.

“It’s legit.”

The sister skimmed through as well and nodded.

Kai felt the tension leave his body and he stumbled forward.

“Okay! Someone needs to explain rig-”

SHEEEZ!

It was an awful, scraping sound, not from the bull creature, but from somewhere on the opposite end of the hall.

The blonde boy’s head whipped around.

“Huh?! It can’t be! Only one thing reacts to Emu like that!”

“It’s trying to corner us. We’ve got to take it down fast!” The sister responded. She turned to Kai.

“Wait here, and don’t move.”

Her brother signalled to follow him and bolted out the door. The girl quickly followed behind. Kai was forced to take a moment’s breath, leaning against a nearby desk. After his respite, he made his way out to the corridor and cautiously scanned the hall they ran down. Not a human in sight. He sighed to himself and contemplated if grappling with the bull creature was a better fate than being in the company of those crazy twins.

“S-Smith…”

A voice weakly called out to him from behind.

He turned around slowly to see a stream of blood that trailed back to a dark pool. Sitting in the center was a young boy his age, back pressed against the wall clinging to life.  There was a severe wound in his abdomen, no longer gushing blood for it was already across the floor. He knew him. Danny Tufla. A respectable kid from his village and in his form. Ms. Wikivich had sent him to find…

“J-Jenny…” Danny sputtered out, weakly pointing to the opposite corridor. Kai’s eyes opened wide and rushed towards his classmate at top speed.

“Danny! Where is she Danny?!” Kai knelt down and held his shoulders as he wheezed.  The boy tried to speak but Kai was rewarded with blood from his mouth instead of words. The boy gripped Kai’s collar, fear swirling in his eyes and his limbs trembling in terror. He kept trying to tell him something, but his wounds betrayed him. He weakly pointed again to the corridor, before his eyes glossed over and the light faded in them.

“Danny!”

Kai tightened his grip around his classmate.

“Danny! It’s going to be okay Danny!”

His words were met with more silence. Tears streamed down his face as his classmate's blood stained his hands and clothes.

“We’re going to get you out! We’re gonna-” He was cut short by another faint voice.

“P-Praise Astia…You’re okay…”

His eyes shot back open and his head whipped around at the scraping sound of a familiar voice. Behind him, in the courtyard’s corridor was his closest friend. Jenny limped along, hugging the wall with a shattered arm and blood running from her forehead. One her eyes were completely swollen and shrapnel was sticking out of her right leg. It was the first time in years he had felt genuine fear. He released  Danny’s corpse and shakily stood to his feet. His eyes and fingertips twitched in terror as he began to slowly walk towards her.

“Jenny…” was the only word he could make out.

“You…you need to run Kai.”

A nervous smile crept onto Kai’s face as he continued to slowly approach her.

“What are you talking about? This is a joke right? Come one, we’re going home right?! You’re going to be okay.”

Jenny limped some more before collapsing to her knees.

“You need to run Kai! Go now!” 

It was the first time she had ever yelled at him, and he didn't have the reaction that he thought he would. It made him think back to all the promises they had made of exploring the world, finding their purpose and reuniting after they fulfilled their dreams. 

They were still going to do that right? 

He held out his hand as he got closer. He didn’t know why, but with each step the corridor felt like it was longer than before. He knew couldn’t save her in time.

But their promise…they could still keep it right?

“We’re still going to leave this place Jenny. We’ll meet again in some place better? Right?” He managed to spit out.

Jenny breathed heavily as she watched him get closer. She slowly looked up from the corridor tiles and watched him with blurry eyes. Her head was pounding, her heart racing. She knew it was her time. But still, she mustered up one final smile.

“Of course Kai. I’ll see you there.”

CRASH!

As if the world stood still, Kai watched as the bull creature burst through the wall behind Jenny at the end of the corridor. It was larger now, more beastly and more rage in its eye than ever. It moved down the corridor at horrifying speed, breaking columns as it approached. Kai’s blood finally began to flow again and he knew it was no time to let fear consume him. He had to reach Jenny before the creature did. He could do it. He could make it. He had to.

His first step was a powerful one. So was the next. He had to run top speed now more than ever. But before he could take the third his body betrayed him. He had been battered in the classroom and his heart had been working overtime since then. His frail body had spited him when he needed it most and he fell over unto his face. 

Kai strained his neck to look upwards at the creature. It was so close now. So close.

He managed to move his hand forward and dug his nails into the concrete to try and pull himself forward. But it was to no avail. He groaned and tensed, gripping the floor till he yelled and blood started to run from his fingers. But it was too late. The moment was here.

Jenny rested herself against the wall to her side and smiled at him as the creature closed its distance. Without even stopping to pay her much mind it pulled back its enormous fist and slammed her into the wall, crumbling the whole structure. Kai didn’t even see her body break. Just the last smile she gave as the vile creature’s fist hit her face. 

There was a moment of silence… 

Then another…

Then he finally screamed.

“NOOOOOOOOO!” he wailed. It was a high pitched, thrilling scream from the depths of his heart. His vocal chords scratched as he wailed on the ground. The warm tears burnt him and stung the cuts on his face as they streamed down. 

But despair waits for no man. 

The creature towered over him menacingly. It quickly grunted then raised its arm in the air. But Kai didn’t care anymore. He couldn’t save anyone. 

Not his mother. Not Danny. Not Jenny. Not himself.

His mind began to break as another despairing smile crept across his face.

“I see why you left now dad…”

He looked up at the creature for a final time.

“I am cursed.”

The creature’s arm fell.