I stepped into the school, and before I could even take 5 steps in, the loud voice of the security guard shouted, "Halt!"
"Relax, Jason, it's just me, late, as usual, ya know," I said, yawning through my words.
"And what is the reason for your latest tardy appearance, hmm?" he inquired, his big brown eyes scanning my face for lies.
Jason was a pretty young guy, uh, about twenty-six, if I had to guess, although the cheesy red double-breasted guard uniform made him look more a bellhop at a fancy hotel than a guard for rich and spoiled high school kids.
"Hello Earth to Willow, c'mon, let's hear those excuses," he probed, waving his hand in front of my face.
"Uh, umm, I just overslept. I had a long night," I blurted out.
"Heh, thought I lost ya there. I mean, I know my boyish good looks can be disarming but not full-on brain canceling," he bragged, giving me a playful wink.
"Oh, shut up. It was just a brain fart or whatever," I giggled, looking down at the ground, nervously shuffling my feet.
"Well, you look like death," he smirked as he rummaged through his work bag and pulled out a blue Energy drink. "Here, take this Shocker. It should wake you up a bit," he said, handing the bottle to me. I noticed a small tattoo of a double-barred cross on the front of his wrist.
"Gee, thanks, just what a girl needed in the morning. Compliments and an energy drink," I joked, sarcasm oozing from my tone.
"Hey, now that's blue raspberry flavor, the best kind. I'd be more grateful if I were you," he said, giving me his best 'im hurt' face.
I took a sip as I began to walk away, but before I could get too far, a question popped into my head "Hey, Jason, what's that tattoo on your wrist? I've never seen a cross like that," I asked, walking backward as I heard him out.
"Oh, this?" He said, looking at his wrist and pointing. "It's just a club I'm in," he answered teasingly, leaving out the important information. "Oh, and by the way, I'll let you off the hook this time, cuz ya look like you've been through hell already.
"Thanks, you're the best, Jason," I yelled as I ran down the hall to my, uhh, fourth-period class.
"No running!" he yelled after me.
" Okay!" I yelled back, still bolting down the halls.
After a Guinness-worthy run, I approached the big heavy wooden door. I pushed it open only to be welcomed by a dozen very bored students looking at the door like my tardiness was the most exciting part of their day.
"Well, thank you for showing up to class today, Ms. Ruiz. To-what-do-we-owe-the-pleasure, hmm?" Mr. Yoshizawa chastised in his overpriced bronze Harris Tweed jacket with his spotless yellow tie covered in ancient symbols. He's clearly a paragon of style. So I thought as I began walking towards the back of the class.
"I know, Mr. Yoshizawa, I'm sorry, and believe me, Jason already threw the book at me," I lied, then hurriedly got to my seat, plopping right down with an audible poof. "Hey Grace, what I miss?" I asked, the lack of enthusiasm evident on my face.
"Aw c'mon, Willy, it's not so bad," she smirked while brushing aside her flowing golden hair. "And to answer your question, nothing much, just an overview on monsters and other spooky stuff that goes bump in the night," she replied.
"Oh, joy," I groaned as I leaned back in my chair.
"Alright, class, continuing on from where we left off last Friday," Mr. Yoshizawa started as he began writing on the digital whiteboard in big, bold letters, Mythological Heroes. "Now, in accordance with the topic, can anyone tell me who our Academy's namesake is?" He's asked as he surveyed the room looking for any volunteers, and as per usual, Grace's hand was the only one to meet the air.
"Would anyone else like to answer?" He prodded as he scanned the faces of his students, who each had a unique method of making themselves appear less visible. "Alright, then I'll just start picking students out… hmm, Ms. Ruiz, let's start with you."
"That's just great," I thought aloud.
"Great indeed, consider it a gift for your late arrival. Now, if you will, Ms. Ruiz, what can you tell me about our Academy's namesake," he asked, eagerly awaiting the steam that would soon spew from my ears.
"Umm uh, the really buff guy," I spluttered, feeling the warmth in my cheeks.
"Herakles, Ms. Ruiz, Herakles," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, making little effort to hide his disappointment. He took a deep breath then began his spiel. "Our school's namesake is Alcaeus,"
"But you just said it was Herakles," interrupted another student.
"Indeed, I did, good ear you have, Mr. Ward," he lauded as he began jotting names on the whiteboard. Whitney sat there looking quite pleased with himself over his small but admirable academic achievement.
"Alcaeus is actually the birth name of Greece's most iconic hero; however, in vain attempt to please his wife, he changed it to Herakles," Mr. Yoshizawa continued.
"Like most husbands," I joked in my own vain attempt to add some levity to this bore-fest.
"Very clever, Ms. Ruiz. Now class, let's get out our textbooks and open them to page—," He started just before the phone began to ring, interrupting him. "Excuse me, one-second class," he uttered as he began to speak in hushed tones. "Indeed, sir. That's correct, Principal Howlett. She is far behind. I understand, sir. I'll be down there in a moment," he said under his breath, then remained silent for a few seconds before gingerly hanging up the phone and turning back to us, taking a long deep breath. "Alright, class, consider this your lucky day I have to be going, so the rest of this hour will be a study period," he explained.
"Ooh, you're in trouble," mocked Claudia from her seat.
"No, Ms. Alexandria, you are; now get your feet off your desk," He chastised and left the room in a huff.
"And there goes my last defensive barrier against my arch-nemesis," I thought.
"Oh wow, looks like the queen of lizards, Godzilla, is back," Claudia mocked.
"Do you ever have anything else to do besides bother me," I shot back as I sipped on my Shocker while giving Grace the best 'not this again' face I could muster.
"You mean besides making another hit single?" she scoffed, slicking back her venom green bangs out of her heavily made-up face. But, I gotta admit, I liked her style. She had this retro punk style. She wore an oversize black leather jacket with a spiked collar and sleeves with lapels covered in tour badges.
"The ones that I wrote?" I snapped back.
"Pfft, whatever. You write one good song for me, and you think you're all that,"
"Two," I corrected.
"Oh my God, whatever—"
"Oh, and I did all the concept work on your 'hit' album 'Agent 335'. And who was it that filled in as lead guitarist at the recording studio when your guy drank himself into a coma?" I interrupted, folding my arms.
"At least I'm still out there performing. You haven't had the guts to grace a stage since you—" she stopped herself just short of crossing a line she knew she was teetering on the edge of.
"Go ahead, say it," I fumed, hardly able to resist the urge to strangle her.
"I'm gone, let's go, Whitney," she called, then hurried off in a huff, Whitney following close behind. Looking at me apologetically as he moved her to other side of the classroom
"Was he there the whole time?" I asked Grace.
"Yeah, he was; you've got a definite case of tunnel vision when it comes to Claudia," she laughed.
"You got me there," I said, walking towards the window looking over the oval-shaped parking lot filled with overly expensive cars and, for some reason, the ghostbusters mobile.
"It's probably a replica Principal Howlett had commissioned. I hear he has the spidey car as well," Grace pointed out, following my gaze.
"Guess everyone has their hobbies," I shrugged, turning away from the window only to be greeted by Javier waving like a madman at me.
"Hey, Chica, I thought ya'd never notice me over here," he giggled.
"Believe me, I was trying not to looks like I failed," I quipped, pushing my hair to one side.
"Ouch, that hurt, Chica," he said, grabbing at his chest and feigning pain.
"Alright, alright, I'll bite whaddya want?"
"I was wondering if you would model for this character I have in mind," he said, pulling a large artbook outta his Black JEMMA duffle bag.
"No," I said flat out, shooting the idea down.
Aw c'mon, you haven't even heard me out yet,"
"Okay, bien lo que sea, so what's her M.O. and stuff?" I said, slightly annoyed now.
"Alright, alright, I'll cut to the chase. She's this one jaina that I named Rokk Girl. EH! EH! Que piensas," He giggled, making passionate hand movements.
"Que onda? Con ese nombre wey, it's stupid. How'd you even come up with that name?" I asked, resisting the urge to facepalm.
"WHAAAAAA!!!!! ¿Es neta? NO MAMES!!! I thought about this name for like a solid 10 hours," He said as he looked down at his artbook, bewildered.
"How are you a successful comic writer!???! Weyy," I teased, truly astonished at his success.
"Hey! Hey! What can I say? The people love my style," he boasted.
"Umm, feeling a little left out here, guys," Grace interjected.
"Oh, sorry, Grace, I was just telling Javier here that his new character's name 'Rokk Girl' is stupid and that I won't be accepting the gig l," I said while giving Javier some much-needed side-eye.
"I gotta agree with Willow here, Javi. Rokk Girl is a stupid name," she smirked.
"See," I added, as I turned to fist bump Grace.
"Aww, c'mon it's not that bad! Ayo, Swan! You think it's cool, right?"
"Ah, yeah, sure man, super cool," Answered a very tired-looking boy in a white track jacket and blue Cargo shorts that have definitely seen better days.
"See, Chica, he thinks it's 'super-cool,'" Javier boasted.
"Well, I think you're runnin' out of lifelines," I quipped.
"Geez, remind me not to go on the next game show you host," he bantered.
"So, Javi, who's that?" I asked, pointing my thumb towards Swan. "Haven't seen him around here before," I continued.
"Oh, yeah, you haven't seen him before, huh? Willow, that's Swan, our new star track player starting this year," Javier answered a lot louder than necessary.
"He started a week before Spring break," he added.
"Good Ole 'Tunnel Vision Willy' strikes again," Grace jested, wrinkling her nose in laughter.
"Yo, Swan, come hang out for a sec, homes. Meet the squad," Javier called.
"Ah, sure, okay" Swan shifted nervously, clearly being pulled out of his comfort zone.
"Ah c'mon, don't be shy, amigo, move those feet, these two spicy chicas won't bite... I think," Javier giggled.
"Hey! I'd be more worried about you biting rechoncho," I ribbed, slapping his shoulder hard enough to sting.
"Well, guess I'm the new character in the party," Swan joked nervously.
"Was that a video game reference, Swan?" I coaxed, hoping I can make him feel a bit more welcomed because he's definitely giving off that 'fish outta water' vibe.
"Yeah, sorry about that," he laughed nervously.
"Nah, it's cool, dude! I've played my fair share of video games, too, in between jam sessions!" I elaborated.
"What's your poison?" He asked, a hint of excitement twinkling in his eyes.
"I play mostly Holo-Vids; they are—'' I started, as the screeching of the school bell interrupted. ding ding ding! "Well, I guess we'll have to rain check this. But, if ya got nothing going down on Saturday, come to my place, and we'll hang. Grace'll be there," I invited.
"Yeah, sure, uh, It's a date. I mean, uh, like a friend date," he said with embarrassment all over his face.
"Whoa there, cowboy, not so fast. Let's save the dates for later, right, Grace?" I joked, nudging Grace's shoulder. "Right, Grace," I repeated a bit louder, feeling the awkwardness filling the room. "Geez, Grace, you're killing my comedic timing," I thought.
"Uh yeah, so Saturday, right?" He mumbled as he inched towards the door.
"Chyeah, Saturday indeed, yup," I said, hoping to end the awkwardness. "Geez, Grace, amazing save back there," I whinged, pulling lightly on her arm as she stood by the window unmoving. "Whatever, let's go, Grace, off to the next bore-fest," I grumbled loud enough to startle her. She tensed up then turned to me, eyes wide.
"Willow, we have to go, there's someth—"
"I know, I know we'll be late, I get it," I interrupted, pushing her into the crowded halls.
"Willow, this is important. We have to leave now," she implored, looking oddly serious for a reason I couldn't begin to guess.
"Relax, I'll just pop over to my locker to unload some of these paperweights," I said, pointing at my textbook-filled backpack before flinging it across my back as I began pushing my way through the crowd, making my way down the hall. Grace's call grows fainter with each passing step.
I got about halfway down the hall before a blood-curdling scream ripped through the hallway, followed by the sound of gunshots ringing out. The crowd sprung forth, falling all over themselves in panic, shoving each other outta the way.
I pushed myself flat against the lockers in an attempt to avoid being trampled by my oh-so 'considerate peers.' then waited for a break in the crowd, as my heart pounded against my chest. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! Seconds later I found it; wasting no time I darted across the hall, weaving through panicked students at top speeds that would make even the most critical cheetah proud. I slammed on the brakes, narrowly avoiding smashing against the wall. And took a moment to catch my breath and wipe the nervous sweat off my palms before peaking around the corner to search for an exit but what I saw filled me only with dread. It Was pure carnage; blood bathed the halls, and bodies lay slumped against their lockers.
"Shit, shit, shit!" I cursed under my breath as I inched away from the gruesome sight, "Now what?" I bemoaned. "Whatever, I just gotta find Grace and dip outta here," I thought. I tensed up when a hand grabbed my shoulder from behind. I spun around as soon as I could, raising my fist, ready to strike.
"Geez, Wonder Woman, relax, relax, it's just me, Willy," Grace explained.
"Could have fooled me, mistress Iron-grip," I complained, rubbing my aching shoulder.
"What the hell is going on?" I said, barely able to contain my growing anxiety.
"Trust me, not what you think," She whispered, pulling us to the ground pressing her hand to my lips, shushing any further inquiries on my part.
She scanned the area as she dragged me along the halls, occasionally stopping and ducking behind corners. She moved with an efficiency that was unfamiliar to me. So where was the clumsy airhead Grace I'd known all these years, and who was this chick that replaced her? I thought, "Willow, pay attention," she warned; her voice was sterner than I've ever heard from her. "Sorry… right, my bad ... just a bit lost in thought," I whispered.
"Not the time—... Whitney, oh no!" she faltered.
"Whitney, huh?" I said, following her line of sight to the right side of the hall. And what I saw left a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Whitney laid there on his right side in a pool of his own blood, clutching where his arm used to be. I pushed past Grace, who stood there like a stone lost in thought.
"C'mon, Grace, snap outta lala land and help me," I barked.
Apparently, my turn to be the stern one. Grace snapped to attention and imminently knelt and helped me prop Whitney up against the lockers.
"Stay with me, Whitney, c'mon… no going off to the big stage in the sky, okay?" he stared right thru me, his hazel eye losing light by the second. Finally, he reached towards me, and I took his hand in mine, hoping to give some comfort at the end. He took a deep breath and spoke.
"Look, Willow, you and I both know I'm not getting outta here alive,"
"Don't lose hope, Whitney, we can-"
"Don't, Willow, just do me a favor and fill in for me for one last gig," he coughed, blood beginning to drip from his mouth.
"Alright, it's not like it'd be the first time I've filled in for you," I said, forcing a small laugh.
"Ouch, Willow, way to kick a man when he's down," He said while reaching into his breast pocket.
"Take this and give it to Claudia," he pressed a metal object into my palm. "She's by the gym. You have to help her, please," he said, eyes welling up in tears.
"Hey now, none of that okay? We'll find her," I promised. Upon hearing my words, his pain-stricken face relaxed.
"You're the best," he thanked as he slumped forward into my arms, his grip loosening on my hand.
I took a shaky breath and held him tight for a moment feeling guilty. Until I felt Grace's hand on my shoulder, egging me to release him.
"You did good, Willow; you gave him peace in his last moments but do you intend to follow through," she asked, her eyes focused on me like she was scanning for weakness.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and held it for a moment, and when I opened them again, I matched her gaze with an equally steely gaze. "I don't break promises," I responded.
She let out a big sigh of relief like a big weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She then turned towards Whitney and clasped her hands over her heart and muttered something under her breath, before she began shoving me into an empty classroom under a nearby desk.
"Listen to me, Willow, I need you to stay calm, and whatever happens, know that I never meant to hide anything from you," she explained in a strained tone, leaning in close and embracing me like it was the last time we'd ever see each other.
"Whoa there Grace, I have no idea what you're talking about, but we're not going to die here, okay, we're goin' to get outta this alive," I reassured, hoping my words sounded more believable to her than they did to me.
We hid under the large desk, curled into balls as the seconds rolled by, feeling more like hours than anything. I did my best to quiet my mind, racing like a startled hamster on a wheel, and my attempts were also going nowhere like one. Then I turned to Grace, who was muttering in an odd language as she moved her hands in swift and deliberate motions, weaving her hands in signs I'd never seen before.
When she finished, she took a deep breath then turned to me, eyes full of determination and something else, a hint of sorrow maybe. "Willow, take this and run when I tell you to, okay? Don't stop, don't look back, just run and hide!" she ordered.
"What are you plan—oh no, you don't! You are not going to run out there and play hero and get shot up by some psycho kid," I mouthed. Of course, she's out of her mind if she thinks I'm letting her go play the superhero.
"No, Willow, guns are the least of our worries," she warned as she held her hands to her neck, forming a heart shape with fingers. "Do as I say and take this," she ordered once again.
"Take wha-?" my eyes went wide, the space between her fingers began to glow with a bright blue light that completely canceled out all other lights in the room, making it a black abyss everywhere but where Grace sat, eyes closed and humming. And then, seconds later, a necklace with a large azure jewel appeared on her neck, which she quickly unclasped and shoved towards me.
"Huh, I've been getting a lot of neck gear today, and it's not even my birthday," I joked nervously in an attempt to cut the tension.
"No time for jokes now take this, and when I say run, you will run," she ordered, her tone stern and unshakeable.
She slid from under the desk, crossed her arms over her chest in an X shape, and called out "Foteino trelo," her ivory Bracelets started to glow. The space around her body began to ripple, and if that was not weird enough the light from her bracelets started to spread across her body quickly changing her pink T-shirt and Torn blue jeans into white and silver knight-like armor with an open front metal skirt with several golden accents and a large crest on her right uhh shoulder pad thingy.
"Well, those fantasy game designers will be glad to know they've been doing something right, I guess," I joked, unable to help myself.
"I thought I said no jokes," she smiled, now facing me straight on.
I looked her up and down, taking in the new sight that was 'Grace the Warrior Princess', but the new clothes were not the only different thing. Her stormy blue eyes took on a more cat-like appearance, and her body looked much leaner like an Olympic athlete; however, that was not the strangest thing that uh 'stuck' out her ears had grown long and jutted out to the sides like an—
"Elf," Grace said almost if she— "Read my mind?" she interjected again.
"Okay, two things, one you're an elf, two you're a mind-reading Elf!!?" I sputtered.
"I'm not reading your mind, only picking thoughts from the surface of it," she replied matter of factly.
"What's the difference" I shot back as I rolled from under the desk and plopped on top of it. "So, what's the plan now? Kinda lost here, Grace," I asked
"Well, we can't stay here now, can we?" she responded as she pondered the current situation.
"At a loss, huh?" I observed.
"How'd ya know? She asked, looking slightly annoyed at my observation.
"Because you're rubbing your temples, you always do that when you're stuck," I pointed out, stifling a laugh.
"I do?" Grace said with a bewildered look on her face. "Ugh, only you could find time to laugh in a situation like this," Grace grumbled, her face red with embarrassment. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to be getting back to planning our great esca—" Crack!!!
"D'you hear that," I asked as I looked around for the source.
"Wow, of course not, Willow, I have giant ears on my head nothi—" Boom!!!
I barely had time to duck down, narrowly avoiding an impromptu decapitation before The classroom door came careening off its hinges and right through the window with a loud Boom! And here I thought my day couldn't get any worse, but life—replacing the door with a big muscle-bound Werewolf—really takes the cake.
The beast locked eyes with me. I could feel the hot breath emanating from its bloody maw all the way from here. It turned its head in a curious motion that would have been cute if you knew it wasn't a Werewolf. Its eyes shifted between Grace and I like it was deciding who he'd eat first, and apparently, he chose me. The wolf howled and charged right at me, claws outstretched and fangs bared. I quickly jumped back, scarcely avoiding its claws.
"Well, this makes things so much easier," Grace said in an almost giddy tone.
"I'm glad you're happy, Legolas. Now, would you please shoot this thing or something!" I commanded.
"Hmph, I am a lot of things, but an archer I am not," she declared proudly.
She then pressed her palms together in the motion of prayer, the space around her palms began to ripple. She turned her left palm outward, and a golden handle materialized in her grip, and before long, she held a mighty lance that stood at least a foot taller than her. The Werewolf turned towards the newly armed Grace, took a defensive stance, and howled, momentarily forgetting my existence.
Grace cocked her head slyly. "Crying for help, are you? Sadly you won't live to see it arrive," she declared and rushed towards the Werewolf at blinding speeds, expertly countering the Werewolf's incoming attack by leaping onto its arm and driving her armored knee, right into its maw with an audible CRACK!! causing the beast to stumble back in pain, howling through cracked fangs. "You must be the runt of the group," Grace taunted, sticking a beautiful landing right in front of me.
"Wow, you've got to teach me that one, Grace," I marveled.
"All in due time," she smiled before turning her attention back to our hygienically challenged… 'Friend', she took a wide stance and aimed her lance at its chest like she was preparing to strike a cue ball.
The Werewolf bared its remaining fangs in desperation. It turned tail to retreat, but before he could even take a step, Grace seized the opportunity to strike. She launched herself forward as if she was shot from a rail gun and impaled her lance in the back of the beast with enough force to break through the classroom wall and slammed into the lockers across the hall nailing him in place.
"Geez, I almost feel bad for the poor thing," I said, walking towards her, but Grace held her hand up and pointed down, gesturing me to hide.
I gave her thumbs up and mouthed ok and made my way towards what was left of the classroom wall and peeked around the corner, and I immediately regretted it. Just down the hall, two more Werewolves came barreling down the hall straight towards Grace.
"Ah, here they come like wolves to the slaughter," She mocked. As she tore her lance from the corpse of the Werewolf RIP!, the body hit the floor with a thud. She stepped back slightly and pointed her lance at her oncoming foes which were running down that hall at breakneck speeds smacking into each other like pinballs the whole way down
"Looks like I'm stuck in here till Grace takes out the feral fur balls," I mumbled under my breath.
The beast charged forward, but without missing, Grace kicked the corpse of their fallen comrade into one of their faces causing him to fall to the ground leaving only one on the move, which Grace quickly dispatched with one switch stab to the gullet. Still, this time the other one had resumed is its attack by leaping onto the ceiling, attempting to get the drop on Grace literally to no avail. Grace pulled her lance from the second corpse and thrust it straight up, piercing the Werewolf's throat. Glurnk!!! Then swung the body off her lance and into the wall in one quick motion. Bam!!
"Well, well, well, I'm glad to see the centuries have not dulled your skills… Seraphina," growled a deep mysterious voice that was just out of my line of sight.
Grace whipped around in surprise, an expression of fear briefly flashing across her face. And to be honest, I could see why the owner of the mysterious voice was massive. He made the other Werewolves we'd just encountered look like children and in his hand he held a gigantic double-sided battle-ax, the kind you see in one of those gaudy fantasy movies.
My heart skipped several beats when he dashed towards her, brandishing his giant ax slamming it down on her. Grace reacted quickly and materialized a large shield on her free arm to block the attack. Clang!!! The impact caused the surrounding lockers to shutter and me to have a mini heart attack. "You're as tactful as I remember Lykaôn," she jeered.
They launched into a barrage of attacks, making dozens of trades. Then Lykaôn reared back and swung his ax. Still, Grace parried the strike with her shield just in time and thrust her lance forward, forcing Lykaôn to jump back to avoid nasty impalement. They were both breathing heavily now. Still, Grace looked a little worse for wear. Her breaths were labored, and blood poured from her shoulder.
"Ahh, Seraphina, you know table manners were never my strong suit," he snarled, panting through his words. Grace brandished her Lance and prepared to charge, but for the briefest of moments, her mind touched mine, and I heard her voice spout one word.
"Survive," I'm not sure if it was a two-way connection or not, but I tried my best to project my thoughts towards her.
"Back at ya, Grace! We still have those concerts to crash, ya hear me!?" I shouted in my mind hoping I learned some telepathic skills in the past five seconds. I couldn't see her face, but I think she, uh, heard me?
I hunched down by the entrance and waited for my cue to bolt, but I had one problem. Okay, I had many problems, but the most pressing is …where is Claudia? Scratch that the most pressing issue is getting away from the big bad wolfman.
"I swear upon the honor of King Eldric and this shield that you will die by my hand Lykaôn!!!" declared Grace.
"An elf swearing on the honor of the dark king, truly an upside-down world we live in isn't it ?" scoffed the wolf.
"I need no judgment from a filthy mongrel like you. Now, prepare to die!!!" Grace roared. Her lance was glowing with a golden light that bathed the halls in its glow.
"Threatening me with blessings will nerve instill fear in my heart," mocked Lykaôn adding his own light show to his weapon before locking horns with Grace again.
"Time to move," I muttered under my breath. I took one last glance towards Grace and shoved all my emotions and fears in the back of my mind, and bolted down the halls. I threw caution to the wind and simply ran towards the gym where Whitney said Claudia was last seen.
"God, I hope that idiot didn't get herself killed. Knowing her, she's probably mouthing off to the werewolves," I fretted.
And then a sudden realization hit me...
"How many wolves actually came here? Grace killed three and is now going mano-a-mano with their boss. Was that all of them or am I about to walk into the rest of the pack?" I pondered. The thought filled me with panic, which was quickly overriding my bravery. I slumped against a nearby locker and took in my surroundings.
There were claw marks across the walls and bodies strewn across the floors. It took everything I had not to scream or vomit or some strange combination of both. Instead, I willed myself off the lockers. I held my hand over my mouth just in case any unintended projectiles decided to fire off. "Get it together, Willow, you can panic later; now is the time to think,'' I chided myself.
I stepped closer to the wall, careful not to step on anyone. I began examining the surface of the walls for any information I could gather. Hmmm… gashes in the wall are deep but few and far between. So I thought as I looked towards the floor for more clues.
Some bloody footprints were scattered across the blue-tiled floor facing the opposite direction of the gym. From what I could tell, there are at least two sets of footprints here so I assume at least one of the wolves that were here went after Whitney and the other one went towards the gym, I speculated.
"The other two wolves Grace put down came from near the school's entrance along with their boss. Hmm, so that's at least five," I wondered aloud. "Okay, that means if I'm right, there's only one Werewolf left" the hope died in my throat. "Oh, God! There's another Werewolf!" The realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
I swiveled my head side-to-side in a cold sweat and darted to a corner for cover as if it would help me against a super predator, which it definitely won't. So, I resigned to the fact that my antics were utterly useless and took a deep breath and kept it pushing. I skulked towards the gym, mindfully corner-checking my surroundings every few steps until I was about halfway down the hall.
And there, I saw Claudia and Javier huddled near the gym entrance. At the same time, she hurled every obscenity in her lexicon with a few "Do you know who I am?" and "My father is a very powerful man!" remarks mixed in for good measure.
I stopped in my tracks when I got within about thirty or so feet from the murderous furball and ducked behind a large toppled-over table with 'A.A. Spring Ball' decorations all over it. That event was more than a month ago, but at the moment, I couldn't be more grateful for the lazy cleaning crew around here.
"Now, how the hell am I going to drag those two idiots outta this without us all becoming dog food!?" I complained. But as I rummaged through my backpack for any 'tools' that would help, I heard a loud battle cry from across the hall. I peeked over the edge of the table and saw Mr.Yoshizawa charging the wolf with a steel baseball bat like a madman.
"Get away from my students, you monster!" he roared, swinging the bat with all his might right at the Werewolf's face Bam!! But to no avail... the beast simply shrugged off the hit as if Mr.Yoshizawa was a fly.
"Humans never learn…" he yanked Mr.Yoshizawa's bat from his grip."…Not to test their fate. It's always up to upstanding warriors like myself to grind cold reality into you flesh bags," he growled, and snapped the bat in two jagged pieces, then tossed them aside. CLANG!
I could see the terror in his eyes even all the way from here. However, he still shouted at Claudia and Javier to run because I know that would be an excellent idea but nooo…they just stood there like statues mumbling, not that I could blame them.
The beast let out a guttural laugh. "Aww, it looks like your little proteges are frozen stiff. But, hmm, I know just the thing to loosen them up," he gibbed, licking his lips at the thought.
Mr.Yoshizawa whipped around like a viper and went for the kinda high kick that you'd only see in those old kung-fu movies.
But the wolf was faster. He grabbed his leg and sunk his claws deep into his leg. Mr. Yoshizawa let out a loud pain-stricken scream, his face now contorted in agony.
"Don't stop fighting back now..." he lifted Mr.Yoshizawa high up in the air and rattled him around. "...I'd hate for this to be a boring show for the kiddies," the beast mocked. Javier moved to cover Claudia's eyes but was quickly reprimanded by the wolf. "Don't ruin the show, boy, or you'll be the next actor in it," he growled.
Javier quickly removed his hand from her eyes and mouthed something under his breath to her. There was a slight break in her screams as she nodded in understanding of whatever he had whispered. She then turned and buried her face in his chest briefly like he was a giant teddy bear but immediately pulled herself off of him when the wolf growled again.
I shook myself outta shock and went back to rummaging through my bag for anything. Hell, I'd settle for some stale doggie treats or a pipe wrench, preferably the pipe wrench. But, no dice, all I had was an oversized math book and some rusty scissors and a bag of glitter, but how am I going to MacGyver my way outta this and save three people? Crack!!! The sound of Mr.Yoshizawa's bones breaking rang through the halls mixing with his screams in a horrible symphony of agony.
He pinned him on the ground with his large foot and stomped on his leg and is now grinding his foot into the center of his back.
"Mierda, I'm outta time," I cursed, then darted forward, bonehead mode activated. The monster noticed me right off the bat and laughed.
"Another appetizer greets the table! Ahh, I love this place! The service is top-notch," The wolf laughed.
"Too bad your hygiene isn't," I jeered, narrowly ducking his first swing. I spun back and ran back at him at top speed. He reached out to grab me, but I baseball sled under his grip and stabbed the leg that had good ole teach pinned on the ground with my rusty scissors. The wolf howled in pain and yanked me off the ground by my backpack.
"You would-be heroes cease to be entertaining, now you're just annoyances," the wolf barked.
"Well, you're no 'Gun N' Roses' concert yourself, buddy," I snapped back, trying to sound as intimidating as possible while I dangled in mid-air. He snarled and slid me across the ground like a bowling ball. I crashed into the 'pins,' Claudia and Javier like a bruised and sweaty missile.
"Oww, chica! Could have rammed into us a little softer," He complained.
"Chyeah Javi. The next time a werewolf decides to bowl with my face, I'll be sure to tell him to 'slow his roll,'" I grumbled, rubbing the back of my throbbing head.
"Could you two freaks get off me!?" Claudia shouted, her face red with teenage rage.
I rolled off of them and picked myself and Javi up, and left Claudia to her own devices. Then, before I could forget, I turned to Claudia and tossed a Holo-note towards her. The moment she caught it, I could see the look of shock stretch across her face.
"Wh-Wh-Wha…!? How'd you get this?' She asked, stumbling over her words.
"Just take it and shut up, Claudia!" I snapped. I was unable to look her in her eyes. I mean, how could I? She didn't deserve Whitney, she didn't deserve this final gift but I can't help but hate her for what she did to him.
"Where's Whitney, Willow?" She coaxed, her pleas getting more desperate.
"Listen, Claudia, let's focus on getting out of here alive. We can play twenty questions when we aren't on the menu," I said, unsure of how to proceed. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Javi's. He gave me a knowing look and did what little he could to comfort me in this hellish situation.
"WHERE IS HE, WILLOW!?" She shouted, growing more hysterical by the second.
I looked towards Javier and met his eyes. Like me, I could tell he was barely keeping it together right now, but he knew what I was asking without me having to utter a word. He turned to Claudia and hugged her tight as she began sobbing into his arms.
"Aww, you kids are forgetting your poor old teacher over here," laughed the wolf. "I can't simply have you starting your own show when mine is still on the air."
Mr.Yoshizawa looked utterly zonked out, his eyes were bloodshot, and his face was a red mess, and here I was standing helpless and unable to do a damn thing. The beast continued his assault on our teacher. He flipped him over so he was face down on the ground and planted his feet in his back. I wracked my brain for any solutions, but Javier pulled me from my thoughts. "Yo, chica, if we don't do something quick, bro's head is gonna be the next thing being bowled at us," he said as the wolf wrapped his hands around the teacher's neck.
"Callate, I know,"
"Oh, and before I forget, you should at least know the name of your killer. Carry it on your lips to your creator… My name is Arangoth!" The beast howled, yanking Mr. Yoshizawa's head upwards. I could hear the bones in his neck slowly separating.
"Sorry about this, Grace," I muttered. I lunged forward, shouting admittedly uncreative insults at the big furball, which fortunately/unfortunately, grabbed his attention.
"You ruined the climax, you maggot!" he howled, his eyes burning with fury
"You and your pack are after this, right?" I said, pulling up the azure jeweled necklace from under my collar. The beast's eyes went wide, and I knew that was my cue to bolt.
I ran towards the gym, zooming past Javie and Cloudia and giving them a sly wink filled with false confidence. I knew this monster's attention was squarely focused on me. So I had no worries about those idiots getting outta here, which was more than I could say for myself.
I could hear his claws clacking against the gym floor; he was gaining on me fast. I scanned my surroundings, and I saw a ball rack right up ahead, and I could feel a devious smile begin to stretch across my face. "Apologize to your doctor for me, okay, fido?" I mocked the beast let out a confused grunt
I took a sharp turn, then zigged towards the rack and looked behind myself to find that the wolf's footing fell apart as he tripped over himself. "Huh, looks like he can't gain much traction on these smooth tile floors, which makes this all the more useful," I thought as I reached and yanked on the rack hard, causing all the balls to spill out.
"What?!" the wolf shouted angrily as he tumbled over himself like someone stuck a stick between his spokes. CRASH!!
The beast hit the floor hard, undoubtedly knocking the few screws he had to lose.
"Sorry about your ankles, big boy," I laughed, then I shoved the exit open and continued down the halls. My breaths became more labored. Not sure how much longer I can keep this pace going. I burst through the doors of home economics class. I immediately got to work pushing a desk in front of the door and searching for whatever other odds and ends that would be useful.
"It's too bad Mrs. Honeyworth kept all the sharp bits locked up," I mumbled dejectedly, sifting through drawers filled with wooden spoons. It'd be beneficial if I wanted to give him a few dozen splinters. I threw my hands up in exasperation, but I didn't have much time to dwell on it because just then, my furry friend exploded through the door and then wheeled on me, snarling in anger, "You will pay for making a fool outta me you wretched girl,"
Then he lunged at me like a missile, angrily smacking all the obstacles I painstakingly shoved in front of the door outta the way. There was no time left. He was on me in seconds, and he was all business this time. He lashed out with his claws, slashing my left leg. I howled out in pain and hit the floor. I barely managed to step back in time, narrowly avoiding losing my leg.
"Ah, you're finally still, you little imp. This is much better," the beast snarled through bared fangs as he pulled me up by necklace, sticking his furry face right in mine. "What's wrong, brat!! No more witty retorts, hmm?" my hands fumbled around behind me desperately until I felt something at the tips of my fingers.
"Well, girl, what's wrong? Don't be silent now. It's no fun torturing mute prey,"
"Tcht! You and that masked demon should really work on your grip," I sneered. A look of confusion crossed his face, briefly lowering his eyes in thought.
So plunged the wooden spoon I grabbed from the floor right into his eye the moment he took his eyes off me. He roared in pain and brought his free hand over his eyes, covering the weeping wound. And with his other, he launched me with all the might he could muster. But, before I could process my newly obtained flight, I slammed into the wall just under a large window.
"Damn you, you impudent little girl! I'll kill you and every other child left in this wretched place,"
I looked up groggily just in time to see my favorite crimson-clad security guard kick through the door. BANG!!!
"Whoa, now if you're going to call the student body here names, at least use insults they can understand. They aren't very bright,"
"Gee thanks," I muttered in-between my pain-filled groans.
"Thank me later, Willow," Jason said. He lowered his stance and ran straight at the Arangoth, driving his shoulder right into his gut, knocking the beast back a few inches. But for all the good it did, It didn't stop Jason from getting swatted backward.
"You little insect, I'm going to-" The wolf was interrupted by two bullets to the chest.
"Tch, guess the legends are true; I do need silver bullets to put you down," Jason cocked his gun and leveled it at the wolf's face. "I bet they still hurt like hell, though, huh?"
"The pain I feel shall be returned to you one thousandfold when I rip the flesh from your wretched bones, you little human ingrate," spat the wolf, blood leaking from his maw.
Arangoth stood up and opened his jaws wide, and began sucking all the air towards him like some sort of wind tunnel. The desks began to slide, and pictures were torn from the wall "Tch."
Jason went with the wind and rode it right to Arangoth, narrowly stopping himself from being devoured. He planted his feet onto the wolf's chest, proceeding to unload the magazine right down its throat.
Arangoth slammed his jaws shut and began clawing at his throat like he was gagging. "Listen, Willow, just run. I'll hold him here for as long as I can go!" He commanded.
"You're going to die, don't be stupid!" I yelled from the floor
"It's my job, now get the hell outta here!!" he shouted back. CLICK!CLICK!CLICK! "Damn it, I'm out," fumed Jason.
I was losing blood fast, and I doubt I had the energy left to protest his demands much longer. Thankfully some of Jason's earlier shots shattered this window, leaving me enough wiggle room to make an escape with as few cuts as possible. I dragged myself over the broken glass up to the window and pulled myself up and over, spilling out onto the roof.
I was about two stories up from the ground. All I could see below me were the barbed wire fences and a steep hill that led into the depths of the nature reserve. I willed myself towards the edge of the roof, where a sizeable gray downspout was attached to the building. "Looks like this is the only thing close to a way down from here," I said as I crouched down and rummaged through my backpack for my scissors. I began cutting off one of the straps, wrapped the tail end around my left wrist, and tugged on it slightly, ensuring it was secure; after all, I wanted to avoid any impromptu swan dives.
I doubled down on my resolve and took a deep, shaky breath. "Alright, let's get this over with," I shuddered, dreading my descent.
I bent down over the spout and slid the other end of the strap behind it and pulled' tentatively testing if it could even begin to hold my body weight while simultaneously regretting all my midnight snacks this year for the second time today. "Phew," I sighed with relief that it held firm. "Alright, easy does it. No sudden movements, Willow," I told myself while slowly maneuvering myself over the ledge and hugged the wall tightly, carefully scaling down the side of the building. Every muscle in my body was burning, and my bones felt like they were being held together by paper clips. The cold winter air turned the blood that ran down my skin to ice. In short, I was having a horrible day. I had hardly managed to make it down more than a few feet before I could feel the rumbling start. "Oh, come on, what the hell is it now?!" I screamed out in frustration. BOOM!!!
A large explosion ripped through the air, violently shaking the building. I lost my footing and plummeted straight towards the ground. The seconds felt like hours as I desperately tried to halt my journey to the pavement. I closed my eyes and braced for impact, but instead, I felt a sharp pain as my arm was abruptly yanked upwards. I opened my eyes and groaned. The strap attached to my arm had snagged itself onto a metal protrusion that stuck out from behind the downspout. As lucky as I felt, my arm was totally shot, and on top of that, I was not the only thing that gravity had its eyes on.
Debris rained down. Pieces of brick and concrete peppered my back and shoulders, busting open any exposed skin. "If I could just get to the end of this day in one piece, and preferably alive, I'd be a happy girl," though, at the moment, that was wishful thinking. I dangled about ten feet from the ground, barely hanging on. And with my left arm and right leg worse for wear, I don't think I can make the climb down. Then, SNAP!!! The strap of my bag was tearing at the seams. My eyes darted around, searching for anything. Finally, I spotted a dumpster with a torn-off lid about feet to the left of me. My time was running out.
I summoned what was left of my strength, pulled myself slightly up, positioned my injured left leg against the wall, and pushed off it as hard as possible.
Now airborne, I retracted my limbs and balled myself up, bracing for impact. Crunch! "Ugh! That hurt," I complained. "Not only am I beaten and bloodied, now I smell week-old goose and caviar."
I lied there for a few minutes and surveyed my extremely gross surroundings. Besides the piles of trash bags. A large plywood board was lying flat against the dumpster wall, along with a long, red rope and a black hammer. "Thank God for Woodshop Class," I celebrated. I stored the hammer and rope in my backpack.
This board will definitely come in handy getting over that barbed wire fence. After all, I'm cut up enough already. I dug my finger under the board, scraping them against the grimy dumpster floor. "Eww gross," I whinged and lifted. "Argh!" I stood the boards up and began pushing them out of the dumpster.
It hit the ground with a loud thud. I climbed out soon after and dragged it towards the fence. It was just long enough to top the fence. And gave my track star impression and bolted towards and then vaulted myself off the board and landed hard on the ground. I scrambled to my feet and brushed myself off.
I looked up at the classroom I had just climbed down from and saw a giant hole in the window that bellowed crimson flames and charred the building pitch black. "Jason!!! Nooo!!!" I cried.
Tears flooded my eyes. I collapsed to the ground. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" I screamed, my voice horse calling for Jason between obscenities. I couldn't believe it…
First Whitney, then Grace, now Jason… I can't do this. Despair encroached on my resolve, eating away at what little willpower I had left, replacing it with fear and panic. I sat there feeling broken. My heart felt like Arangoth had torn it out and tossed it into the crimson flames that consumed Jason.
I couldn't even feel my wounds anymore. My mind was so clouded by a mixture of hate and despair that flesh wounds seemed so trivial, so pointless.
CAW!!! CAW!!!
And there it was. The sound from my dream. I turned on my heels and stared into the depth of the forest behind me. Without thinking, I stumbled towards the sound.