What is it that you seek?
"Redemption."
What do you wish to learn?
"What… I am…"
Why do you flee?
"To escape… who I am."
*
Rune felt the bright sun warming his cheek through the train window, but it couldn't calm the icy nervousness flooding his entire body. He kept his head low, avoiding eye contact with each new passenger boarding the crowded train. He couldn't stop his cold, pale-white hands from shaking. Once more, his gaze lingered over the three vacant seats in his section, silently praying they would remain unoccupied for the remainder of the train ride. Being a transfer student at an incredibly prestigious school was already painful enough. He did not need the additional anxiety of sitting across from his future peers, exchanging awkward glances, and enduring deafening silences for the next hour. It was too painful to bear. His anxiety was already at its breaking point.
From the train's rearmost section, Rune audibly gulped and grimmaced as a petite girl carrying a vivid blue suitcase moved methodically towards him, her eyes scanning each compartment for an empty seat. She wore the same uniform as him – navy blue sweater vest sporting a red wolf crest, a white undershirt, and black pants, though some girls opted to wear skirts or leggings.
As she inched closer, a powerful, uncomfortable rhythm pulsed in Rune's chest, making him wince. Only a few sections away now. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. His heartbeat about to explode through his chest. He knew it wasn't rational; no one should be this nervous about a menial situation like this. Why couldn't he just be normal like everyone else? Does everyone have the same crippling pain of worry just merely anticipating the act of speaking with another human being?
In his racing mind's eye, he pictured an uncomfortable scenario of conversing with the girl if she happened to sit next to him. Would the words even come to him? 'Great weather, eh? Umm, what are some fun things to do at Arkonis Academy?'
He shuttered at the painful thought.
To Rune's good fortune, the short girl seemed to find a seat just ahead of him, allowing him exhale a sigh of relief. His head lowered to his feet once more.
Then, before Rune knew what was happening, the train screeched to a sudden halt. His head swung forward then quickly backward, smacking against the wooden headrest.
Unexpected shrieks and yelps erupted throughout the train. Faces and hands quickly planted up against almost every window, hoping to get a glimpse of what had caused the sudden stop. The majority of passengers also seemed to be wearing the same uniform as him. Rune just kept quiet and continued to overhear the various concerned students.
"Did we hit something?" a student asked, sounding rather worried.
"This better be quick, I don't want to be late again like last year. You remember what happened then, don't you?"
Rune downed another hard gulp, considering it might be easier to ignore the voices around him, but struggling to do so.
"I wouldn't worry about it; these things happen all the time."
"What happens all the time?" another student shouted back in surprise. "Slamming on the breaks and stopping in the middle of nowhere?!"
Rubbing his weary eyes, Rune noticed he hadn't looked out at the landscape for quite some time. It was really the only thing that could even remotely distract him from his anxious thoughts. The morning sun peeked through a line of towering mountains in the distance, which caught him by surprise. Their peaks were blanketed in a layer of pristine snow, leading a chill to run down his spine. He squinted at the unexpected frigid view, wondering where in the world his foster parents had sent him to.
Was there really a school out here?
From the brief information his foster parents were kind enough to share with him, they mentioned that the school was renowned for producing highly skilled athletes and weightlifting champions. That part made him cringe, but what actually made him feel a bit excited of this new venture, was the supposed mammoth sized library. Perhaps there was a thin silver lining afterall.
Suddenly, the starling sound of the train's intercom crackled in his ear.
"If I could have your attention please. We're experiencing a minor issue with the train. Absolutely nothing to worry about. For precautionary sake, we are making a brief stop for inspection." The intercom popped, ending abruptly.
If even possible, Rune's worry escalated. His shallow breathes turned to wheezes. And by the sounds of the nervous chatter bouncing around the loud train, he wasn't the only one who was worried.
"Oh no, we're going to be late!" a girl from the front wailed, while other students wore expressions of terror.
The clatter of metal on metal reverberated through the train, momentarily startling some occupants, including Rune, who let out a gasp. Was someone attempting to fix the train from outside?
Another loud bang and a screech resonated right outside Rune's window making him jump. It didn't sound normal. Though, he didn't quite know what a 'normal' sound was, when fixing a train. It was like the sound of metal tearing apart. Rising to his feet, he peered out the window to see a dark figure dart beneath the train speedily. He stood there for a moment, wondering what it could have been. It was large enough to be a bear, but it was much too slender. Was he seeing things? It wasn't uncommon for his eyes to play tricks on him when he was anxious.
After waiting for it to reappear, he flopped back into his seat, his curiousity left unsatisfied. Thinking it wouldn't be rude, he decided it would be a good time to stretch his legs in the tight seating area for some relief.
Time ticked away slowly as he stared blankly at the snow swirling against the icy window, trying to ignore the ceaseless chatter from fellow students; a chatter that he had never been a part of and never wished to join.
An altercation at the front of the train drew his attention away from the window to a group of tall, well-built students. They were hovering over a shorter student like hawks, likely teasing him. Their appearances resembled that of typical private school bullies he had seen in the past; styled hair, annoying grins planted on their faces, sleeves rolled up to flaunt their intimidating muscles. Rune couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but whatever it was forced the student to shoot right up and dart down the aisle to the next car ahead of them. They chuckled to themselves and took the poor kid's seat.
Rune slouched down even further, now appearing like a turtle hiding in its shell, wanting to become invisible. A flurry of daggers stabbed into his stomach, adding to his already unbearable pain.
The sudden realization occurred to him when he glanced at the alarming time on his flip phone, that he may actually arrive to school late. Orientation would commence with, or without him in just over an hour. A sharp pain began to churn in his stomach, simmering like a pot of boiling, searing water. Abruptly, an all too familiar, excruciating pain pulsed through his arms. The intensity caused tears to well up in his eyes, as if liquid fire was coursing through his veins. With a wince, he clutched his right forearm tightly as if stopping a wound from bleeding. This repeated discomfort always seemed to strike at the most inconvenient times. He didn't precisely know the trigger, but he had his suspicions. Regardless, he despised it.
And then, out of the corner of his eye, something appeared in the snowy distance, catching his teary eyes by surprise. He squinted and moved his face closer to the glass, his breath fogging up the frosty window. It was difficult to see, but it looked like there was some sort of black figure at the base of the mountains, less than a hundred meters away. Not one passenger on the train seemed to notice. They were all too enthralled in their own meaningless conversations. His face went back to the window and noticed the figure was now moving toward the train. Its movements were awkward, akin to a bizarre, two-legged creature. Rune rubbed his eyes once more, hoping to get a clearer look. Surely it was his imagination again. The snow was falling so heavy that it caused him to weave his head back and forth to follow the dark figure dash across the open fields between the thick chunks of snow. The figure then stopped abruptly, as though caught by surprise. The train window now completely enveloped in a thick fog from his heavy breathing, forced him to use his sleeve to wipe it clean.
What… is that? he thought to himself, his focus remaining on the black object.
He leaned in even closer, trying to figure out what it was. Trying contemplate it logically, he figured it must be a mountain climber, but that didn't make sense. No human could run that fast especially in what looked to be, a few feet of snow on the ground. And from its irregularly large build, it was too large to even be human, he was certain of it. Something felt wrong. His heart began to race. The figure still idle, seemed to be contemplating something perhaps; its shadowed head rotating like a revolving satellite. Then it stopped as it reached Rune's direction, almost as though it was looking directly into his eyes. Somehow, Rune could feel its presence. Sinister almost. He grabbed his chest tightly. Then a bright red light pustulated from its face, like a police siren. Rune shut his eyes and held his breath feeling dizzy. Then a cold hand gripped his shoulder.
"Ah!" Rune screamed, springing up a few inches from his seat.
"So… is that a no?" a friendly sounding voice asked to his flank.
Utterly startled to his core and panting out of breath, he turned to see a girl standing in the aisle beside him. She was pretty, with golden, curly locks down to her waist and a smile from ear to ear. She was looking at him expectantly. "Well?" she said, twirling her hair with one finger while chewing bubble gum.
Lost in thought, Rune was completely unaware of the question that was asked.
"U–Umm, I –I'm sorry?" Rune stuttered, turning back to the window and noticing the black figure had vanished. His jaw hung open. He didn't know what made him more nervous; that black figure or talking to a pretty girl.
"I saiiid," she dragged out the word slowly, gesturing to his spread-out legs covering all four seats in his section. "Mind if I sit here?"
"Erm - uh, y–yeah," Rune replied, still caught by surprise. He quickly tucked in his legs, allowing her to sit in the seat across from him. "S–Sorry." His mouth went dry.
"No worries, I thought you were just ignoring me on purpose," she said, then quickly analyzed Rune up and down with a smile, chewing her gum. "Looks like we go to the same school! How cool!" She smiled brightly once more and let out a playful giggle. She began blowing a bubble so large, he thought it was going to explode all over her glowing face. But she popped it with control and began aggressively chewing it once again with loud lip-smacking noises. "I don't recognize you though. And I know everyone who goes to Arkonis. I'd remember someone like you. Your facial traits stand out, like your gaunt face and slender figure. You don't see many slender students here."
"Oh," Rune forced out a fake laugh and he could feel his hands going numb with nervousness. "I… j–just transferred here, so that's probably why."
The intensity of her gaze was unnerving, and the glossiness of her pink lips made him feel unbearably shy. He didn't know where to rest his eyes while she spoke, so he just stared at his own scuffed black shoes.
"Really? How cool! You're going to love it!" she chimed in cheerfully. "Everyone is so nice, and the school clubs there are great too!"
Rune nodded with a smile, then swiveled his head back towards the right, peering through the window to see if he could spot that dark figure once again. In an attempt to ease the uncomfortable pins and needles in his hands, he rapidly moved his fingers around like he was playing an invisible piano. He already found himself longing for a different school fate. Perhaps his foster parents sent him to this isolated school to lower his chances of causing any unintended
"My name's Cassie," she said, inching closer to Rune's peripheral vision, clearly hoping he would pay her more attention. "It's going to be very difficult to navigate the school by yourself as the campus is huge! I'll show you around, kay'? I know the school like the back of my hand. I can show you where your classes are, where the school clubs meet, where the cafeteria is…" There was barely a pause between each sentence.
"Oh, no, that's okay. I have this… nice map with me, so I should be fine navigating the halls." Rune held up a sad, crinkled looking map that that he pulled from his pocket. "Thanks though."
"Fine… whatever," she sneered. Her bright smile faded, turning into a nasty scowl in the matter of an instant. "I was just trying to be nice, geez." She quickly rose from her seat and walked to the front of the train and joined a group of laughing students.
Wow, I didn't think I sounded that harsh, he thought. She sure was pretty though.
Like a painful memory stabbing him in the head, he was reminded that even brief interactions with people were so difficult for him to handle, as if disarming a bomb. It just proved how poor he could read people or communicate with them. It was always a constant worry and struggle.
Wanting to get lost in the tranquil scenery of the snowy mountains, he returned to the window, only to be interrupted by a gaze connecting with his. A pair of large brown eyes just an inch above the seat in front of him, met his apprehensive look.
Noticing his glance, she abruptly stood up, a big smile appeared on her face for a reason he couldn't understand. She was beaming at him.
"Heyyy, nice work! Not many guys stand up to Cassie's famous charm," the girl blurted out, followed by a sharp giggle. She had short brown hair and was also sporting the same uniform as him.
Rune looked around him, figuring she was talking to someone else.
"I'm talking to you!" she said.
Rune pointed to himself curiously.
"Yeah you."
"Um…Hmm. Um, what?" he said uncomfortably, his gaze locked on the upper half of a girl who had a more athletic figure than Cassie's but notably smaller. She had very small features – small ears, small button nose, small physique, but large, vigorous eyes.
"She's only the most popular girl in school. She's got a lot of guys wrapped around her tiny finger. They do whatever she asks of them, almost like zombies. Come to think of it, I think you're the only guy who's ever her shot her down," she said, looking deep in thought.
"Shot her down?" Rune questioned. "I really didn't do anything. I just… didn't want her to show me around, that's all."
"Exaaaactly. I totally admire that," she said with a wink. Suddenly, the train lurched forward, causing her head to jerk back violently.
"Woah!" She shook her head back and forth quickly. "Yay, looks like we're on the move again. Maybe we'll make it to school just in time." She then turned back around to face the front of the train.
Huh…What a weird bunch of people, he thought to himself.
The familiar voice sounded over the muffled intercom once more.
"Sorry for the inconvenience, everything is now in order. Next stop…Arkonis." The PA crackled once more and the sound of the old, rusty engine croaked into full throttle.
Relief washed over him as the train resumed its journey, but it was quickly replaced by a fresh wave of anxiety at the thought of stepping onto the school grounds for the first time. He looked at his small phone, informing him that the assembly started in forty minutes. A wince creased his face involuntarily, his eyes shutting in annoyance as he stared skyward. There was no way he would make it on time.
"Next Stop, Arkonis." The voice crackled, snapping Rune out of a daze.
There was a sudden shuffling from inside the train. Wanting to avoid being tardy, students rose from their seats at the sound of the announcement, grabbing their bags from various compartments and donning their heavy winter wear. When the train finally crawled to a stop, students jostled to reach the exit. Rune, however, chose to remain seated and wait for the commotion to subside.
He cast a final look out the window. Sitting upon a tall mountain in the distance, looked to be a large gated community filled with tall stone structures that could have resembled modern castles. His eyes shifted in horror, following a narrow staircase that descended all the way to the base of the mountain.
"You'll wanna' head there," the brown-haired girl pleasantly informed him, who was staring at him from the aisle. "I mean, that is if you want to go to school."
"That is our school?" he mumbled, unable to take his eyes off of the surprisingly brilliant site. "Its… huge…"
"It's even bigger up close," she said.
"How… do we get up there?"
"You climb, silly!" She stuck out her tongue. "Well, see ya later."
Rune gulped as the steep mountain stared back at him. If he hadn't seen the staircase with his own eyes, he would have never believed something like that existed. How could one climb it without a set of specific mountain climbing tools? There must have been half a hundred stairs or so.
"But why is the school on a mountain?" he questioned, but quickly recognized he was the last one left on the train.
With his two large bags of luggage clutched tightly in his hands, he disembarked the train, taking a fresh breath of icy air. The relentless snow pelted his eyes with no remorse. From head to toe, his body shivered underneath his thin sweater and pants. It must have been at least ten degrees below zero, and the freezing wind didn't help either. His breath was clearly visible in the cold air as he coughed, his lungs working in overdrive to acclimate to the cold. Angrily, he dropped his bags as he watched the other students head toward the mountain base.
He wondered why his foster parents never informed him of the local temperature. He reached into his luggage and grabbed the only coat he had brought – a thin, black leather coat, most likely only warm enough for a brisk summer night.
Catching a glimpse of the last few students just disappearing out of sight under the train tracks, Rune hurried after them. He took another anxious glance at his phone, noticing that more time had passed than he had guessed. The trail of panicked students rushed up the long narrow staircase in single file like a colony of ants hurrying away from their flooded home.
Upon reaching the mountain base, his eyes were already stinging from the icy chunks of snow crashing into them. But he held them open, tilting his head skyward. The intimidating staircase seemed to disappear halfway up, obscured by a dense layer of frosty mist. His jaw quivered from the cold and likely the anticipation of the upcoming treacherous climb.
Of all the frightening scenarios he had envisioned (and there were many), this was way beyond what he had pictured his first day to be. He swallowed hard, then nodded to reassure himself. Lacking any confidence whatsoever, he took his first step. A coating of ice seemed to have taken to almost every stair in his vision, making his climb even more hazardous. As he traversed the uneven, ice riddled steps, slipping every once in a while, he continued to overhear conversing from his peers ahead of him.
"I can't wait for the party tomorrow night." A student had to shout to overcome the sound of the high-pitched wind. "Its gonna' be rad!"
"Who says rad, anymore?" another student shouted back, protecting his face from the blizzard. "I just can't wait to start dating! Three girls confessed their love to me last year. This year, I'm going to decide which one to pursue."
"Man, you're a lucky guy! I don't even have any prospects."
Twenty grueling minutes later, Rune, who was now sucking wind, assumed he was about half way up. It was an odd feeling, he thought; his lungs and legs were on fire, but his entire outer body was frozen to its core. He wondered at what point frost bite kicked in. His hands were whiter than sheets and were almost entirely numb.
He knew he didn't have a minute to spare, but if he didn't take a brief rest, he feared his body may shut down. Moments later, a platform greeted him at the top of the stairs. A resting point, likely. A wide-open area with a welcoming wooden bench buried under a foot of snow. The landing was icy and uneven, but carefully sliding towards it and wiping the bench free of snow, he plopped down, planting his luggage to his side and rubbing his arms furiously. Uncontrollable tears streamed down his face, rapidly turning into ice due to the persistent wind. Each ascending step made breathing more laborious and the wind seemed to be getting stronger. The wind felt like razor blades, gnawing at his unprotected hands and face. He wondered why there weren't other students struggling like he was.
Then, through the raging blizzard, he spotted a small group of loud and muscular students strolling past him. If it wasn't for the high-pitched winds screeching in his ears, he could most likely hear what they were saying to each other. But from a quick glance, Rune deduced that they were likely the students from earlier, picking on that helpless student in the train car.
He had hoped that if he remained frozen, they wouldn't notice him. However, not a second later, their gazes caught him shivering on the bench. The dark blond, curly haired student who was slightly ahead of his other two companions, seemed to be the one dominating the conversation. He sported an expensive trench coat over his school uniform, with a conceited expression arranged on his face. The second student was of similar stature, his hair parting in the middle, and seemed to find everything the first student said amusing, regardless of its lack of humor. The final student was clearly the tallest, towering over the other two like a giant among men. Rune had no idea how someone could get that big. His arms appeared to be the size of cast-iron cannons. Though, he seemed rather different than the other two at first glance. His face was as stoic as an age-old statue and he strutted with a commanding presence, arms folded, seemingly unfazed by the world. His cold expression perfectly matched the ice-cold persona emanating from him, yet oddly contrasted with his meticulously groomed black hair, neatly slicked to one side, reminding Rune of a mother diligently preparing her young child for school.
As they passed him, the curly haired student pointed at Rune and smiled mischievously. He paused, stared at Rune for an instant, and finally he heckled, "Tired already, new guy?! You'll have to do better than that if you're going to last here."
Rune wasn't entirely sure what that implied, but he moved his head to his chest and focused on massaging his arms for warmth.
As the feeling in his hands and arms returned, he heard a harsh scraping sound of something being dragged across the ice. A strong gust of wind managed to dislodge his suitcase, which began to slide haphazardly across the slick surface towards the staircase he had just ascended. His heart leapt into his throat, and he propelled himself desperately after his runaway luggage, feet struggling to grip the slippery ground.
He could hear the cruel, hyena-like laughter of the three onlookers echoing around him as he moved clumsily like a newborn deer. But it was too late. Rune watched in horror as both bags tipped over the ledge and vanished into the mist below. He could swear his heart stopped beating, as the sound of his luggage crashing grew fainter with each passing second. He stood there, not knowing what to do next. He wanted nothing more than to just give up and go home. He didn't bother checking the time on his phone. He knew he would be late.
"Hah! Did you guys see that? Wow, sucks to be him." The wind conveniently died down for a moment, allowing Rune to perfectly hear the relentless mocking of the curly haired student. The student then signaled to his group of underlings to follow, heading to the next set of stairs.
This state of humiliation brought him a familiar feeling. A sensation he received many times at previous schools. A feeling of never wanting to interact with anyone again. His gaze shifted from the school that was finally in view, then back down into the fog below.
Perhaps his foster parents sent him to this school knowing he would fail. An excuse to throw him back into the foster system and to be clean of any responsibility of his future actions. They would like that wouldn't they, he thought, clenching his fists.
"No…" he said aloud, shaking his head. "This time will be different."
Ignoring the cowardly thoughts of running away with his tail between his skinny legs, he gulped and leapt down the stairs, furiously following the runaway luggage.
Nervously avoiding the deadly icy patches laid upon every other stair, his hands skimmed the sharp, icy edges of the railing, making small cuts into his fingers. There was no hope of catching up to the suitcase. Its inevitable destruction awaited it at the base of the snowy mountain.
Less than a minute later, the resonating thud of the bag colliding with the bottom echoed up the staircase. But by the time he had finally arrived at the base, the full contents had been scattered all over the snowy terrain; books, clothes and other objects littered the snowy ground. A surge of pain shot through his body from head to toe, as he stared at such a demoralizing sight.
However, something completely unexpected caught his eye. A tall, shaggy-haired student wasted no time in helping. Kneeling down, the student began sifting through the freezing snow, gathering up all the items like a speedy, well-oiled machine. Rune stood there for a moment, awkwardly in bewilderment – wide-eyed and slack. He wasn't sure if he was more impressed with someone helping him or the fact that this student could move his arms faster than anyone he had ever seen. He couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious of this tall and lanky student. Rune didn't exactly want his help, he preferred to be left alone with his predicament.
"Uh," Rune said, huffing and puffing, arriving in front of the crouched student. "It's okay you… don't need to do that."
"And let you do this by yourself?" the student replied, his head still darting around collecting items as quickly as possible. "I don't think so,"
Rune crouched down, gulping nervously. "Well, Th…thanks for the help. You really didn't have to," Rune slowly spat out, as he tried to slow down his rapidly beating heart, trying to take deep breaths.
"Hey, no problem man. This happens to me all the time. You're lucky I arrived late. I…somehow fell asleep on the train, again." the student said with a grin, placing more items back into the bags. Based on the student's height, Rune was surprised that he had a softer voice, a more playful or goofy tone, which made it easier for Rune to lower his guard. "You can just help me out when it happens to me next time." The student stopped and looked around furrowing his eyebrows. "Woah, but seriously! How can you lift this bag?" He began inspecting the items. "There's gotta be over a hundred pounds of stuff in here. Huh? Eighty-pound weights? Is this a joke?" he said, raising his chiseled jaw in amazement toward a hunched over Rune, studying his small physical appearance.
"Oh." Rune forced out an awkward laugh. "Yeah…just a joke. They're not really eighty pounds," he hastily replied, while quickly packing the weights into the suitcase himself.
"Yeah, I figured as much," the student said, shoving more stuff into Rune's bag. "You look a bit too skinny for those weights. I mean much too skinny."
Rune's lips thinned irritably. "I get that a lot," he said quietly, crossing his arms to cover himself up.
"Like, look at you, you're a twig!"
Rune scowled. "Yeah…I get it already…"
When the last shirt was finally stuffed in the suitcase, the student looked at his watch. "Oh darn! We're going to miss orientation! We're so late!"
"I already assumed I would miss it…" Rune said with a look of impending doom.
"Nah. Come on, let's book it!"
"I… can't. I'm too exhausted. My legs won't move anymore. I'll meet you up there. You can still make it if you hurry."
"Ugh, don't be like that," the student replied as he gritted his teeth. "There's no way I'm leaving a fellow klutz behind."
Rune couldn't help but notice how determined this student was to help him and he really wasn't sure why.
"You…wouldn't?" Rune scratched his head shyly.
"Nope. Not all of us Arkonis students are…you know, arrogant, stuck up, selfish, like we are made out to be."
Rune cringed back. "I didn't mean…"
"Well, to be honest, we mostly are. I am too, so don't go telling anyone any different, got that? Anyways, I think we share the same bad luck. I watched your bag tumble all the way down here. It brings me back to my youth. Look, I'll help you carry your bag to make it easier," the student said as he tried to pick it up and it didn't budge. "Ugh, I can't even move it. I guess you're stronger than you look. Sorry, but looks like you'll have to carry it yourself after all," he laughed as he scratched his head. "I'll just be your moral support."
"Well thanks for trying."
"Come on man, let's move it!" he demanded like a drill sergeant. "We have less than ten minutes to get to the top, and then all the way to the gymnasium," he cried out as he began pushing Rune from the back toward the stairs.
"Ah, what are you doing!" Rune snarled. "I can walk by myself."
Struggling their way up the steep staircase for what seemed like an hour, they finally made it to the top. Rune was deafened by the sound of his heart pounding in his ears as he tried to catch his breath.
Standing on the top platform, Rune took a moment to peer over the ledge behind him. He was hoping to see the pretty fields of snow below, but the veil of thick fog denied him any satisfaction of reaching this height.
"Come on. We're not there yet."
Rune turned to follow and was stunned at the sight that awaited him ahead. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he looked down at the dazzling campus nestled in a vast canyon, surrounded by snow-capped cliffs on all sides. It was a breathtaking view. The snow had even stopped, making the school look as though it was encased in its own protective bubble. A variety of buildings were arranged neatly along tiny streets, much like a small village. Some were tall structures with expansive windows that offered views of the mountain cliffs, perhaps serving as classrooms, dormitories, or administrative buildings. The purpose of the smaller buildings, however, remained a mystery to him. A metal fence, twelve feet high, surrounded the mountaintop campus, giving it a prison-like aura. Rune wore a worried look, wondering if the fence was meant to keep intruders out. But the location was so remote, he found it hard to believe anyone would climb a mountain to break into a school.
"Come on, this way!" the student shouted, his head half turned toward Rune.
The student now led Rune down a paved pathway toward the tall buildings in the distance. Beautiful, luxurious green hedges guided the paved path on both sides, with a few human-like statues strewn about.
Rune followed the student, turning his attention from one statue to the next as he passed. Some are wielding weapons and some are holding books. Recognizing names like 'Hermes' and 'Athena', he thought they must be Greek gods.
Passing over another hill, the view of the campus became much clearer. Those small buildings turned out to be tiny shops and restaurants that were conveniently placed around the campus, serving the thousands of students who attended the school. Due to the considerable distance from the nearest city, the academy was likely dependent on these internal shops to provide essentials like clothing, textbooks, and pharmaceuticals, as well as diners and cafés to provide food and some sort of entertainment. It was unlike anything Rune had seen before – an entire village devoted for the sole purpose of operating a school out in the middle of nowhere. As nervous as he was about attending the school, there was a tiny feeling of excitement. Something different for a change.
The bitter taste of iron flooded Rune's mouth. His lungs were ablaze.
As he finally caught up to the student who was taking a much needed breath, Rune joined in, gasping for air. The tall student pointed to a tall building in the distance.
"Th…th…th…that's …where we need to go," he instructed, through exhausted, wheezy breaths. "But man, I used to be in better shape than this! If you can believe it, I used to be the top track athlete at my old school."
Rune stared at the student, keeled over, gasping for air and couldn't quite spot the so called 'top athlete' he claimed to be. Even in this atmosphere, sweat was trickling down the student's hair.
"No offence, but I find that hard to believe…" Rune was too tired to think before he spoke. "It looks like you could use a wheelchair right now."
"Hey!" the student snapped, shooting Rune daggers. "That's actually funny… Come on, the principle is going to yell at us if we're late…and you don't want to be on his bad side, believe me."
Rune looked around at the desolate streets. "Where is everyone?"
"Yeah, it's a ghost town. This is a bad sign. It means we're really late. Ah, I hope I don't regret helping you out."
Rune gulped with a grimace. Desperately wanting to reiterate that he didn't ask for help, he instead quickly grabbed one of the students bags to make it easier on him.
"Nah man, don't do that," the student pleaded, looking defeated. "That makes it even sadder."
"Come on, we don't have time to argue," Rune demanded, wondering where this sudden courage had arisen from.
"Alright, lets sprint the rest of the way. Oh hey, I'm Vincent, by the way," he said, holding out his hand to shake, but then realizing Rune's hands were full of luggage. "Oh, sorry." he laughed.
Rune shifted the bags to one arm and shook his hand, not knowing how to respond verbally.
"And your name is…"
"Uh…"
"What, forgot your own name?"
Rune grimaced. "Sorry. I'm Rune…" he replied hesitantly.
"Odd name," Vincent said, raising an eyebrow, then taking off in a sprint where Rune quickly followed.