He grew nervous. He got headaches at home all the time. He was usually able to predict when these episodes would occur, and he would just call in sick. Lately, however, his headaches would come unexpectedly. He wasn’t used to that. Things would go south if he stayed too long, but he needed to talk to Kevin, and fast. He mapped out a path through the crowd that would allow him to access Kevin without touching anyone, and as soon as he had the path, he began to follow it. 

People were moving quickly. He made it halfway across the hall with ease, but suddenly, his head pulsed. He flinched, and when he did, he crashed into someone. Hard. 

"Hey, watch it!" a voice said.

Damn it. 

Images of a tall brawny teen wearing a white and blue letterman jacket flashed in the teen’s head. A jock of some sort, the teen envisioned but he didn’t have to guess anymore. He recognized that voice earlier: Mike Duncan, the school’s best football player and most terrifying bully. 

"What the hell is your problem?" yelled Mike.

The teen took a step back at Mike’s question, trying to put space between them as quickly as possible. He saw the fiery red-haired jock holding a crushed paper cup in his hand, which had once held red soda. Mike looked down at his white-and-blue letterman, and the teen saw what had happened. The jacket was now soaked with the sticky liquid. Behind him were his friends: Lou, Ralph, and Glen who were also wearing identical letterman jackets. Glen was broad shouldered with slick brunette hair, Lou was the newest member of the group with stringy dreads that stretched to his shoulders and mid-sized build. Ralph was a little smaller in height sporting a low fade with thick curly blonde hair on top. The three stared at their leader’s jacket, stunned that something like this could even happen.

"Damn Mike, your jacket-“ Ralph said without a thought.

"Shut it,” the tanned skinned Glen retorted, elbowing Ralph’s side. Or you’re next.”

Mike glared at the teen, ignoring the rapport of his friends. In one motion, he grabbed the teen by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against a nearby locker. The slam to the back of his head caused the once soft throbbing headache to build, causing discomfort. He shut his eyes to focus on calming down.  

I can’t lose control—not here.

Feeling ignored, Mike slapped him twice, breaking his concentration.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!” Mike was really raising his voice now. “You ruined my jacket!" 

"I'm sorry Mike. I didn't see you, I- "

"I don't want your damn apology,” Mike yelled. "I want you to tell me how you're gonna fix this!"

This time, Mike’s yelling got the whole hallway’s attention. All other conversations were silenced. Students stared. Among those students was Sara, who immediately recognized the teen.

"Hey, isn't that the guy from last night?" she asked Kevin and Johnny.

The boys followed Sara’s gaze and saw that she was right. The teen that Mike was shaking against the locker was the teen from the mall. A small group of students now encircled the two, phones in their hands, waiting for the inevitable fight. As much as Kevin was put off by the teen from the mall, watching him get bullied the same way he had was painful. Mike made his blood boil. 

No one should ever be treated this way, he thought.

"We should get a teacher or something," Johnny said. “This could get worse very fast.”

But Kevin wasn’t listening. Without a second thought, he dropped his bookbag and ran toward the bullying. 

"Bro, are you crazy?!” Johnny yelled after him, but it was too late. Kevin had already joined the fray.

Mike slammed the teen against the lockers again, frustrated that he wasn't speaking, only groaning in pain.

"Since you won't clean this crap off my jacket, I'll have to teach you some manners," he growled.

Mike raised his fist in the air, ready to punch the teen in the face, when someone grabbed his wrist. He looked back to see Kevin restraining him, and his face seemed to grow three shades darker.

“Kevin Riley?!” he bellowed.

Kevin felt anxiety gather in his stomach, but he knew he had already committed to helping the teen. Kevin released Mike's wrist but then shoved him to one side. This caused him to release the teen, who fell to his knees and held his head in his hands. Tears rolled down his face from the excruciating pain. Kevin stood between him and Mike, in a defensive position.

"Stay out of this Riley,” Mike yelled. “He owes me a new jacket."

"Beating it out of him won’t solve anything either," Kevin said. 

Mike seemed ready to fight, but just then, the principal, Sara, and Johnny walked up to the pair. Mike’s eyes widened.

"Alright, everyone,” the principal said. “Show’s over. Go home." 

Mutters and whispers began to sound from the crowd that had gathered, but before anyone could decide what they were going to do next, the teen let out a horrendous scream. 

Everyone in the crowd stared down at him, his body tense, as if he was using all his strength to hold back an unknown force. An aura of purple energy surrounded him, which grew and pulsated. Some students captured this moment on their phones while others live streamed. Kevin’s eyes widened, as his mind once more returned to the events in the mall: the purple eyes, him being in that strange vision. It all meant one thing. 

"He's a Jin…" Kevin whispered to himself. 

A clattering began to sound from the end of the hallway. At first, it was quiet, but in seconds, it had built to a roar. Everyone looked over to see the rows of lockers across the whole hallway shaking and banging against each other. The lights overhead began to flicker, catching the attention of everyone in the area. 

"It's too late," shouted the teen. "I can't stop it!!"

He arched his back unnaturally in one horrible motion, and as he looked up at the ceiling, his eyes began to glow purple. He opened his mouth and screamed once more, this time unleashing a shockwave of that same purple energy. Everyone in his vicinity was shoved back violently, and the overhead lights shattered. Shards of glass covered the floor. Nearby lockers flew open, bending and twisting as they reacted to the force. Then, the purple energy dissipated. The teen slumped over and gasped for breath, completely depleted. His face relaxed into a smile: his headache was gone, and so was all that energy, which always came with.

"He's one of them!” 

How did he get in here? 

“We should run.” 

We're all gonna die!

The teen's smile disappeared. His eyes regained focus, and he began to survey his surroundings. Some people were unconscious from the blast. Others who were conscious stared at him with fear. Some spoke to each other, but he knew that some of the voices he was hearing were their thoughts, not their spoken words. They all stared at him with fear as they backed away. 

He glanced over at Kevin, who was being helped up by his friends.

"Quick, someone call the Advent Guard!" yelled a female student.

The teen knew he was running out of time. He ran over to Kevin, who seemed barely conscious, and grabbed his arm. Kevin stared at the teen with surprise.

"There's not much time,” the teen said. “We need to talk.”

Johnny glared at him. "Hey-"

Before Johnny could finish his sentence, both Kevin and the teen vanished. 

Seeing Kevin, a familiar face, vanish with the teen caused even more panic and uproar among the remaining students and faculty. A mob of people ran toward the doors, trampling each other in their attempts to get out as soon as possible. Kevin's friends stood still, shocked. Where had Kevin gone? What were they supposed to do? 

The principal approached them as the chaos moved toward the building’s exits. He placed one hand on each of their shoulders.

"Evacuate now," he ordered.

"That Jin took our friend," Sara replied. Her voice was small. She tried to hold back tears.

"I'll inform the Advent Guard that there’s a hostage situation," the principal said. "Please go home. We will keep you informed."

Sara and Johnny glanced at each other, both clearly unsure about leaving their friend behind. Sara was the first to move toward the exit. She trusted the Advent Guard. They would protect Kevin. The principal was right: it would be safest if they just went home.

Sara and Johnny walked to their bikes in silence. After Sara turned on the ignition and put on her helmet, she looked back at the school. She had no idea how to process what had just happened. As she tried to turn her mind toward getting home, a flood of memories engulfed her. 

She was thirteen. She and her mother were running for their lives. A male rogue Seirei Jin was on the loose. 

"Why you running?" he asked gleefully. "Don't you wanna play?"

He cackled as he was killing civilians, incinerating them with a simple blast of his powers and destroying whatever stood in his way. The Seirei Jin targeted parked vehicles with his energy blasts. Each vehicle he hit flew up into the sky and then fell back down, crushing whatever or whoever was in its path. She remembered an SUV with grey paint that he flung into the air. She remembered because she saw the giant vehicle flying toward her and her mother. They started to run even though they both knew it was too late.

"Run faster, Sara!" her mother yelled.

Then, she’d pushed Sara with all of her strength, giving her daughter the boost she needed to get to safety. “Whatever you do, don’t look back!”

"Hurry, you can make it!" Sara had called out, assuming her mom was still close behind her. 

Her mother had smiled, despite her fate, she was relieved her daughter would be safe, just as a large shadow cast over her body. The vehicle landed on top of her. Sara heard the loud crash behind her and came to a halt. —despite the chaos of destruction and screams around her. She couldn’t hear her mother. Her body shook. Panic and fear rushed over her like a wave. Her heart raced with anxiety.

"Mom?" she whispered.

Still no answer. Gathering up the courage, she turned around, startled by the sight of a flipped car where her mother should have been. Tears welled up. Maybe her mother would be behind the car? As she thought it, something at the lower end of her vision caught her attention. A severed arm she recognized as her mother's was wedged under the vehicle’s hood. A pool of blood was beginning to form. The tears came with full force.

"No!!!" she shouted with a blood-curdling cry. She kneeled before the severed hand, crying uncontrollably but too afraid to touch it. She had no idea what to do. 

"Don't cry, little one," a familiar voice rang out.

Sara looked up to see the male Jin glaring down at her, his eyes fixed on her, his next target. He licked his lips and smiled.

"I'll take you to your mommy,” he said.

She remembered that he raised his hand over his head and formed a ball of energy. She remembered shutting her eyes, preparing for the worst, wishing her mother was with her. Then, she remembered the moment he was shot down by a laser cannon. 

Someone lifted her. She opened her eyes, she was in the arms of a member of the Advent Guard, the rough fabric of his military uniform rubbing against her face. He held her close, like she was his own.

"I got you," he said. "Let's get you out of here."

As his fellow guards charged forward, attacking the seirei jin, he ran the opposite direction with Sara in his arms to ensure her safety. She left her memories behind and returned to her body, returned to the moment of staring at her high school. She knew the Advent Guard would protect Kevin too. They had to.

"Hey Sara!" Johnny called to her. 

A tear had rolled down her face, but she wiped it away before Johnny could see. 

"Sorry, just dust in my eye–that's all. She muttered." 

Johnny nodded, not pressing her for more information. "We should tell Kevin's folks, just in case." 

Sara nodded, and the two rode off together.