Griffin Tail

Ten: When War Brakes Out

"What's the status? How is the target?" The man with the crimson eyes impatiently waited for the radio response.

"Target acquired," came the reply. "She's in pretty rough shape, sir. She's... dying."

"Don't waste your time then. Bring her back here pronto! We cannot afford any slip-ups, do you understand me?!"

"Yes, sir. Of course. Copy that."

The man with the crimson eyes sighed. "Stay alert. Over and out."

~~~

"Wait... what history homework?" Ato frowned, staring across the lunch table at Trinity and Blythe.
The two of them had kindly invited Ato to sit with them after noticing him sat alone.

"You know," said Blythe. "The homework, for history."

Trinity rummaged through her school bag, pulling out a folded worksheet, sliding it across the table for Ato to see.

He opened it up and peered down at it, his frown deepening. "When was this set, exactly?"

"Two weeks and three days ago," Blythe tucked a strand of long silver hair behind his ear. "Mrs Burgundy set it when we had her as cover because Dr Ringer was absent."

"Uuugh, yeah, I remember." Ato returned the sheet to Trinity. "I gave it to Tris the other day for her to copy. She never gave it back."

"Yeah, that sounds like Tris Spencer," Blythe nodded. "Where is she anyway? This is late, even for her."

"Wish I knew, Blythe. I wish I knew."

"I envy her, y'know? She lives out there and has all of these absences and somehow manages to get away with everything. I would kill for a day off, wouldn't you, Trinity?"

Trinity nodded in agreement. She didn't speak much, Ato doubted he'd ever heard her say more than a few words at a time. Blythe, on the other hand, he talked too much.

"Say, Atori, do you have any plans for after school today?"

"Uh, actually yes. Why'd you ask?" Ato raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, that sucks. You see, Trinity and I were thinking, and we would love to see you at after-school revision for Mortal Sciences."

"Really? I didn't think you guys even liked me."

"Hm? What makes you say that?"

"Oh y'know, nothing much, just all the bullying I used to receive from you. You're probably being nice to me now because you think I'm an easy target when Tris isn't around, am I right?"

Trinity smiled stiffly. Blythe chortled, like, he actually chortled like some kind of potato-faced old man. "You jump too fast to conclusions, my friend–"

"We aren't friends, Blythe. We're class mates. And that history homework? That was due two days ago." Ato stood, taking his things and relocating himself to another table. Just another one of those days...

The bell rang out for the end of the day at 3:15pm. On a normal Tuesday evening, most of the staff and students would head to one of the four common rooms or to the dormitories of Griffin Tail, and a small percentage of others would head to the library for study support, and an even smaller percentage (mostly the teachers) would leave the school grounds entirely and return to their houses or apartments out there.
But this was not a normal Tuesday evening.  
An assembly had been arranged out-of-the-blue. Nobody  knew why exactly, though Ato had a hunch. It was something that Master Olaf had told him earlier...
'The Abnormals are at the brink of another war with the Hunters.'

He hoped that he was wrong.

Three of the assembly hall's walls, similarly to the corridors, were painted red like fresh blood. The north wall however, was a pristine white colour which was used as a projector screen (currently showing the school's logo: a crimson silhouette of a griffin's head with a blue strike behind it). Students and staff alike chattered quietly as they flooded into the large hall and sat in the tiered seating which faced the raised platform at the front.
   The platform itself was a moderate stage with a podium which, again, had the Griffin Tail logo on the front. And behind this same podium, Zansther Olaf stood patiently waiting for the hall to fill.
Once the last seat had been taken, the crowd of roughly 200 settled and hushed.
Head Master Zansther Olaf cleared his throat.

"Thank you all for gathering here on such short notice. I appreciate that you all would rather not be here, but this is a matter of utmost importance, so please bare with me." Olaf looked directly into the crowd. "As of today, May 29th 2018, the Abnormals are at war with the humans."

Whispers rose and fell over the crowd. Some students began to panic, others laughed in ignorance. The staff and teachers remained quiet.

"Settle down, settle down." Master Olaf ordered. When the hall was silent once more, he continued. "As a race, we Abnormals have lived peacefully in the shadows since the Dark War ended one hundred and fifty years ago. Even before then, we posed no threat to the humans, but still we were hunted and killed for merely existing. Multiple sanctuaries like ours across the globe have already began battle with the Hunters.
   "We did not ask for war and we do not want power or control. We want equality between our kind and the humans. We want peace and we want acceptance. Unfortunately, these things cannot be achieved without battle, violence and bloodshed.
   Now, Griffin Tail must once again become an army. You have all been honing your abilities and training in the arts of self defence – now is the time to put this to use! Students and staff alike will be divided into classes of Medics, Front Line Soldiers, Secondary Units and the Elite Core. For now, you must return to your respective common rooms; further instructions will be delivered within the hour. Until then, any student absent from their room will face a serious consequence. This is a grave matter and no disrespect of orders will be tolerated.
   You will have fifteen minutes to deliver yourselves to your common rooms in a calm manner. Once all personnel are accounted for, Griffin Tail will initiate lock-down procedures. We will not fall to cruel mercy of the humans again. You are dismissed."

The corridors were in even more of a disarray than normal. It was like Friday lunchtimes when students are rushing towards the cafeteria to get chips before they run out or get cold, except now, the rush was in every direction. Ato feared he may actually get trampled.
He kept to the walls as he forced his way towards the 4th year's common room. A few other students had made a train behind him, using him as a shield from the bustling bodies of the other students. They were just as surprised as he was when he suddenly got pulled aside into a classroom.
Ato let out a shriek of surprise and looked around frantically, seeing nobody.

"Atori Webber?"

"Huh?" Ato spun around and looked up at the woman who had snatched him in.

"You heard me. Are you Atori Webber or not?"

She had silvery-blue eyes and flowing white hair. The woman was probably a few years older than Ato. Tall, wearing a short skirt and a turquoise shirt under her white vest. He noticed a sword strapped to her back.

"Uh, yeah- yes. Who are you exactly?"

"Aeliana Grimhilt. You'll call me Grim. You're coming with me."

[End of Chapter 10: When war breaks out]