"You know Pennigren still expects you to clean the mats right?"
The bag of ice pressed against my head had begun to get uncomfortably cold, and I placed it back on the table beside me. Pattern was sitting on the edge of the too small infirmary cot, watching me as I rubbed my temples.
After a quick evaluation by Pennigren, he'd sent me to the nurse declaring a minor concussion and that both Pearce and I had an "undetermined combat report". Considering that neither of us were able to finish the match, I guess it was only fair to call it a draw. From across the cot where I was confined, the windows showcased a beautiful sunset that sent an orange-pink hue over the white tiles of the clinic. I had missed the rest of my classes for the day, and most of my teachers had given me exemptions for assignments and homework. All but Pennigren of course.
"Are you serious?" I sighed, " If I didn't know any better I'd say he wants me to fail his class."
Pattern shrugged and patted my knee, "I would help but I'm not one for random acts of kindness."
I pouted and picked up the bag of ice again, pressing it against my temple, "But I'm hurt."
Pattern barked out a short laugh, "Yeah, looks like your arms and legs still work to me. You're speaking coherent sentences too, so, in my book, you're basically brand new."
I stretched and yawned, slapping Pattern off the cot and onto his feet,
"Yeah, yeah, get back to your dorm pal, I'll see you tomorrow."
He smiled and pulled his bag onto his shoulder, blowing me a kiss as he exited the room.
Ignoring the throbbing in my skull I slipped on my shoes and pulled my sweater back over my head. There wasn't a nurse in sight and I assumed that meant I was free to go. I strolled past the check-in desk as I left and grabbed a handful of candies from the open bowl sitting unsupervised.
----
The training room was eerily silent when I flicked on the lights. All the mats were rolled up in the center of the room, hand wraps and miscellaneous weights lay scattered and spread across the floor. The weapons racks had been shut up in their cases and the Senior's Closet was locked, which meant I couldn't get any sword practice in even if I wanted too. I tugged at my hair and surveyed the room, all there was for me to do was clean. Pennigren had put anything slightly entertaining under lock and key, even the radio.
"Please," I said out loud, "He must be crazy if he thinks I'm playing maid. Mats and that's it."
I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and checked the time. It was already 6:30 in the evening. Mat cleaning was going to make me miss dinner and not leave any time for me to pick up my assignments. This was not my day.
I turned music on my phone and left it playing as I began unrolling the first mat. A musty stench rose from the rubber and nearly made me gag. I pulled my sweater over my nose and tied it with the drawstrings, attempting to keep the smell of feet and sweat from choking me. As I held the spray bottle of cleaning agents and and a cloth over the rubber, I realized I didn't actually know what constituted as "cleaning" a gym mat. Was I using the right disinfectant? I was in a short sleeve shirt, was I risking ringworm by not using gloves? If I cleaned one side and then flipped the mat over to clean the other side, doesn't that make the first side just as dirty as before?
With a sigh I dragged the corner of the mat towards me. It made a scraping sounds as I pulled it and I frowned. Lifting the corner, I looked on the underside to see if something had gotten caught. A small ring glinted back at me, stuck to the bottom of the mat. I removed the accessory from its musty doom and examined it. It was well made and very much real, when I rotated it tiny diamonds shined blue, red, and green in the artificial glare of the lights overhead.
Skkkkkkk…
I startled, shoving the ring into the pocket of my sweatpants.
What was that sound? My music suddenly cut off, and deafening silence closed in around me.
Skkkkkk….
Something was wrong. The hair on the back of my neck rose and my tongue dried on the roof of my mouth. I rose slowly to my feet, listening intently. The lights overhead flickered weakly, and then silently went out, blanketing me in darkness.
SKKKK….
The noise was louder now, like the sound of something metallic being dragged against the walls outside the room. I willed my body to move and I blindly felt my way through the room, ducking behind the cluster of punching dummies in the corner. I wrapped my finger around the nozzle of the spray bottle of chemicals like some rudimentary gun and sat tense in the darkness, waiting for an attack.
The door opened slowly and the temperature in the room rose to an unbearably hot degree, plastering my hair to my cheeks and forehead. I slapped a hand over my mouth as the light from the outside hallway illuminated the creature. It was the same one from my nightmare, the rotting skin, the slits in its face, and the terrifying, pupiless white eyes; eyes that were burning into mine, sending a surge of adrenaline through my body so severe it made my hands shake. In its hand, was a massive double edged sword, with strange markings etched into the metal that I could only assume was some ancient, evil language. The creature took a step forward and dragged the sword with it, making an awful screeching sound against the floor.
I was sitting defenseless against what I could only assume was a demon.
It should have been impossible for any unearthly beings besides fallen angels to enter the school, which meant either the Protection had been unknowingly compromised, or someone had summoned the ghoul.
"Deviant," its voice filled my head, a horrible rasping boom,
"Return to us. Bear the seed of Asmodeus and sanctify the Earth."
Every syllable it voiced sent a throb of pain through my skull, and I dropped the spray bottle, clutching my head. It was infecting every inch of my consciousness sending white hot images flashing before my eyes. A small white haired child, no older than 12, smiled cruelly at me, tapping on his wrist as if to say, time is ticking.
The footsteps of the creature were louder, and the sound of the sword on the ground became painful. I squeezed my eyes shut, digging my nails into my temples as if I could make it all stop. I had to move, I couldn't sit here and let myself get killed. I had to move, I had to move, I had to….
"Deviant," the demon repeated, "Return to us. Bear the see--."
The lights sudden flickered on, brighter than before, blinding me momentarily before they finally dulled to their original glow. The temperature returned to normal and my headache vanished as quickly as it had come. I opened my eyes and scanned the room breathlessly, still overwhelmed at what I had just experienced. The demon was nowhere in sight, the area was empty again, and the my phone started up in the middle of a song.
"...Kimily?"
I was on my feet in a flash, swinging my arm in a haphazard arc, not even bothering to identify who the voice was coming from.
Pearce caught my wrist, a surprised expression on his face and pushed me away from him, sending me face first into a punching dummy.
"Jesu--" he choked, "What the hell are you doing?!"
I righted myself, and clenched my fist, "Where is it?" I yelped, "Where did the demon go?"
He looked at me like I had just poured gasoline on myself and asked him where the lighter was.
"How long have you been in here? Have the chemicals gotten to--"
"Shut up!" Oh God, maybe I really was losing it. There was no evidence that anything other than me and my cleaning items had been disturbed and there was no alarm blaring to warn of us any possible assailants.
"I came in here to find one of my rings, not to be verbally attacked." Pearce took a step back, shoving a hand through his hair. "You look terrible."
I stiffened. A ring? Crap.
"You haven't seen one have you?" he cocked his head at me, "It's pretty important to me and I'd like it back."
I reached into my pocket and held up the ring, "Like this?"
He reached for it, but I pulled back, slightly shaky. "Tell me the truth."
His expression hardened and he crossed his arms. "What truth?"
I inhaled slowly, "You summoned a demon just now. That's illegal and I'm willing to bet you used the cover of being a new student so no one would suspect you."
"What?" he breathed, but he sounded weirdly amused. "Like hell I did! You're crossing the line here Kimily, that accusation is a serious one."
I tensed, wary of the hostility in his tone. "A demon was just after me, I...there's no way it could have gotten in here on it's own and you're the only person I've seen in this side of the School all night."
"So that means I did it?" he took a step closer a half smile on his face. I faltered slightly,
"If I'm wandering the halls at night I'm obviously conjuring up evil spirits and sending them after you? You, who I just met yesterday."
I opened my mouth to retort but he stepped even closer, trapping me against a silicone dummy.
"Let's say I did summon a demon, what good would it do calling on something that powerful to attack you?"
"I…" Obviously I didn't have an answer, my accusations were biased. There was no real reason as to why Pearce would want to hurt me, but the strange feeling he gave me whenever he entered the room was enough to make me suspicious of him. "...I don't know."
His hand moved and before I could react his long fingers reached into my pocket and pulled out the ring. I couldn't move, and my skin seemed to burn where he had touched it, a rush of heat spreading up my neck. He bent, so our eyes were level and stuck the ring back on his finger.
"I've fought you in hand to hand, trust me, there's no need for supernatural assistance."