Drea woke up that morning and began that day as usual. She slowly descended the stairs by herself and walked quietly to the kitchen. Jackie hadn’t been around that morning, but Drea really didn’t blame her after yesterday.
She stopped right outside the entrance, hearing conversation drift out towards her. She could hear her mother, father, and sister talking about her, but she really didn’t care for what they were saying. She knew what it’d be about, so she walked in anyway. As soon as she stepped in, it got so quiet that the only sound was the ruffling of their father’s newspaper. She stood there for a second, staring at everyone in turn as they stared at her.
It remained quiet as Drea got her breakfast. She set her bag down on the chair and stood to eat her bagel. It was all incredibly awkward as she pretended not to notice everyone stealing looks at her. Every time she looked back at them they’d look around the room to make it seem as though it wasn’t too obvious. She rolled her eyes with a hint of a smile. It was actually kind of funny.
Drea looked at her phone. It was time to leave. She grabbed her bag and headed for the door, looking back without emotion to wait for Jackie. Jackie was still looking a little down, but she didn’t say anything. She only got up, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door. They left quietly. Drea could tell from Jackie’s aura that she was still unhappy about their argument yesterday and the way it all turned out, but she was trying really hard not to show it. Jackie looked up to Drea, so it was hard for her to feel like she’d disappointed her.
The silence was penetrating and loud as they walked to school. Drea was pretty lost in thought, oblivious to Jackie walking next to her. She was anxious about starting this training; it just couldn’t leave her mind. She didn’t even know when she’d see him or what they’d be doing.
It was strange though how lately she’d even been able to feel other people’s auras with more clarity, especially since he’d arrived. She was able to know where everyone was without getting overwhelmed, and she was still able to recognize who they were. The intentions of people became clear to her as she found the ability to look even deeper into people’s minds. It was as if she’d closed her eyes, but could still see everyone and everything clearly.
Over the years she’d gotten stronger, but just a few days earlier she could only move her mind into only one other person to feel their energy and hear their thoughts. Now she felt this amazing feeling of being inside of everyone’s heads all at once. She’d somehow found the focus to recognize specific thoughts without getting overwhelmed. It was like having eyes and ears everywhere, on everyone, like being omnipresent.
She wondered how this training could teach her more. She was already pretty adept in using her mind, but if that was all she could do, how important could she really be?
As the two of them approached the main gate and entered the school, Jackie stammered, “Um Drea, about yesterday…”
“It’s fine Jackie,” said Drea looking down at Jackie with a small smile and kindness in her eyes. “I’ll fix everything today.” She walked off towards the right where the high school was. It took a second, but then Jackie realized what she’d said.
“Drea!” she yelled, “What did you mean?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Drea yelled back, waving her hand in the air at her sister who still stood there looking worriedly at her as Jenny and Keisha approached her.
Drea walked on towards her homeroom, looking around to see if the boy was near. He’d said that he would show up, but he failed to mention when. It was too bad he didn’t even tell her his name.
She continued walking towards the building, noticing with confusion that her necklace was once again beginning to burn. It was getting hotter as Drea neared a dark aura, the bloodlust seething and growing around her. She wasn’t surprised to see Drake standing nearby with his group of friends. His back was to her, so she took a moment to observe, feeling the necklace heat up within her shirt. She wanted to ignore it, but the bloodlust was just so powerful around him. It was unmistakable in his aura, but he looked like just a normal high school teen. Why does he feel so inhuman?
His aura felt familiar somehow though, in fact, it was just like that of Crystal’s yesterday. She didn’t notice how similar they had been, but they weren’t exactly the same. Drake’s was concentrated and choking, making her feel as though a hand was grabbing at her throat, constricting her air. Crystal’s felt sly and controlled, like snakes were whispering in her ears with the same bloodlust snaking around her body.
How do they not notice? thought Drea, referring to the way his friends just stood by. It seemed so obvious to her, but this only acted as proof to how different she truly was.
Drake must’ve noticed her as he turned his head to face her. It was as if time slowed down for a brief second as he stared at her. He had a slight smile creeping across his face, his aura surrounding her, evaluating her. He didn’t dig deep into her mind or even try. He was playing a game with her, a game she didn’t plan on losing.
She didn’t flinch, but continued to glare back. He was still smiling at her when his eyes changed to resemble a wolf’s and teeth grew sharp. His nose turned black like a dog’s and extended. His eyebrows grew hairy and large. He resembled a wolf now, just like Crystal. Now her eyes did grow wide, but she refused to be scared.
The only difference was his eyes, his inky, dark eyes. All it would take was one look to drown in those pools of ink, those pits of tar and darkness.
The necklace was burning angrily now in response to his aura, heating up to the point of being cool as his appearance changed. Drea had to grab onto it to stop it from really burning her, but even then it felt like it was seething her hand.
He sneered in seeing her reaction and changed his face back to a human’s at will. He looked human again as time returned to normal. It was as if nothing had happened. With one more look at Drea, Drake turned back around to face his friends and continued laughing and talking normally.
His friends didn’t even give him a second look; to them he was the same person who they thought he was. It was so strange how no one else could feel his brutality and savagery with the amount that he elicited. It was kind of like when someone who no one expected was the killer, but there were signs of it all over. It amazed her how they couldn’t feel it, but she realized just how much she’d changed by gaining the ability that she had. It made her feel as though she were no longer human either. She only wondered if she still was.
Drea narrowed her eyes in his direction, shivering with the thought of a monster in their midst. It was unreal. Her necklace calmed as well, becoming warm in her hands as she began to walk away slowly, keeping her eyes locked on him. He was still laughing pleasantly, looking so normal that if it wasn’t for his aura, she wouldn’t know he was anything other than human.
There was a savagery about him that seemed to pour out of every piece of his body, foreshadowing his desire to attack and kill. She knew his target would be her, but he didn’t attack. Something was holding him back, something more powerful than even him. He was waiting for something before he would reveal who he really was.
Drea walked on into the high school building to escape him, sighing in anxiety as she walked in. She kept wondering when the boy would appear, but that wasn’t what made her heart jump out of her chest. There was something about the boy that made her search her memories for something that wasn’t there, making her feel as though she knew more than she thought. Her memories were still hidden from her, and she just didn’t know where to look to find them.
Maybe that was what was making her jumpy. Maybe discovering something she didn’t want to know was scaring her. Maybe she had a fear of what would happen, and of what she would be agreeing to. Having time to change her answer wasn’t a great feeling either, she just wanted to tell him before she did.
In the meantime, she’d have to move on with her day and all the schoolwork that came with it. Fun, she thought sarcastically, and continued her walk down the hall and to her classroom. She saw that Crystal, Katie, and Kaia were all gone from school that day as she walked in the room.
I should be the one who’s staying home from school today, she thought angrily. It didn’t even make sense that all of them were gone. It could be a coincidence, but what were the odds of that? Probably ditching, she thought as she sat in her seat. Drea tried to convince herself of that anyway, yet she couldn’t shake the thought that they were up to something a lot bigger than ditching.
Thinking back, she realized that the aura of Katie and Kaia were also similar to that of Crystal’s, meaning that if Crystal wasn’t human, then neither were they. Thinking of the fact that two more of them had this wolfish aura made her feel really paranoid and suspicious, a feeling Drea absolutely despised.
Before she could think more on the subject, Karen came up and sat on her desk. She smiled happily saying, “How are you today Drea?” Drea also smiled back at Karen, happy to feel that sense of normalcy in seeing her with the strange morning she was having.
“Alright Karen,” she responded, but before she had time to say more, Karen continued, “Did you fix up everything with your sister and family?” Karen knew she wouldn’t talk until she was ready, but Drea couldn’t blame her for trying. Karen just had this sixth sense when it came to knowing if something was wrong with someone and she always tried to make it better. She’d make a great psychiatrist. Of course with her mind abilities, Drea kind of had that sixth sense too.
Drea just had a hard time showing her true feelings and tended to keep to herself in order to feel strong. Ever since her brother died, she thought she needed to be strong for everyone, but she only ended up hurting herself by keeping it all in. When she met Karen six years ago right after her brother’s death, Karen had made her feel better just by being her friend. It took a while, but she eventually told Karen all about Kevin and why she was so withdrawn. It felt good to let it out, but now wasn’t the time to do that. She could tell Karen was itching to hear about what happened, but refrained from really getting involved.
“I really am fine Karen,” said Drea with a slight smile, “Still working it all out.”
“Oh I see,” said Karen, “but don’t blame your sister. She’s just trying to fill the same space you are with your brother.”
There was one of those awkward silences before Drea said, “Thanks Karen,” after a bit of thought. It seemed that Karen always knew the right thing to say.
The click of heels approaching the classroom took their attention to the door. The both of them turned their heads to see Ms. Kray walking in the door. She went over to her desk and faced the class. “Alright class, take your seats so I can begin our lesson plan today.”
Karen patted her on the shoulder and with one more smile, she slipped off the desk and walked over to her seat. Once everyone was seated, Ms. Kray looked around, and in seeing Drea, said, “Oh Andrea, I wasn’t expecting to see you here today! I hope you’re doing better today then.” Drea nodded to show she was listening as Ms. Kray took another look around. “Crystal, Kaia, and Katie are out today too… I wasn’t expecting that. Well lets all hope they come back soon.” After attendance, she began her lesson for the day.
The classes kind of blended together for Drea after that. It was all a blur as her thoughts strayed elsewhere. She just couldn’t help but to wonder what she would be getting herself into with her acceptance of this training. Maybe she needed the answers, but was it truly the right decision?
The classes continued on. By the end of the day, he still hadn’t shown up, and Drea was beginning to think that he wouldn’t; she couldn’t even feel any of his aura nearby.
She went to the bench outside the building and sat to wait for Jackie after school. She usually sat to wait for Jackie since she got out at three. She’d end up doing homework or just thinking to pass the time.
A few minutes later, Karen caught up to Drea as she waited. “Well Drea, I’ve got to be going home today.” Some days she waited with Drea, but other days she needed to be home so she couldn’t. “My mom’s bringing home her new boyfriend, so I’ve got to make sure everything looks nice when they get home.” She rolled her eyes and said, “See you later Drea.” Then she took off in a trot towards the main gate.
Drea sat there for another forty minutes doing homework and thinking as she always did. When she looked at her phone, she saw it was only another few minutes until Jackie got out, so she got up to wait by the main gate. The boy still hadn’t shown, so she had pretty much given up on him. Maybe he was just kidding her.
She sighed, but lifted her head as she sensed a few strange auras approaching her, not just strange though, savage and dark. She looked down once again as her necklace heated up. It seemed as though it would heat up when the dark auras came near, but why? Every time this sensation of bloodlust and darkness would come near, it would blaze up uncontrollably. Drea knew it was special, yet she had no inkling of what it really was.
She tried to walk away, but only got a few feet before she could see who it was eliciting the sinister aura. Crystal, Katie, and Kaia were walking in a group towards her and they didn’t look like they had come to mess around. Drea automatically knew something was wrong in the way they stared at her, not even trying to hide their intent to kill in their dark auras. It wasn’t a coincidence that they’d missed school or that they showed up now: they’d been waiting for this moment; they’d been waiting for their target.
Drea knew immediately that she was the reason they were here. She was that target, but she wouldn’t back down, not that she could anyway. The evil in their eyes rooted her to the ground, their shadows snaking up her spine to keep her in place. They no longer felt human; they felt like animals stalking their helpless prey. They were sadistic killers full of purified hate and anger.
It was unbelievable how much aura Crystal was sending her way, trying to intimidate her. It’s working, she thought weakly as her breathing became shallow. Her energy was being sucked out of her like a vacuum. They were clearly no longer human, but what they had been transformed into remained to be seen. Drea was left standing there as they got closer with her charm dancing against her chest.
The three of them stopped right in front of her, their aura laced with an incredible amount of bloodlust. Crystal approached with a mixture of overwhelming confidence and arrogance in her movements. She stared into Drea’s eyes without even blinking, an unmistakable amount of hate building up in her aura. “Seems you’re becoming more dangerous than I thought,” she said, “I can’t have you ruining our plans, so I guess I’ll just have to kill you.” It sounded like one of those movies where people got abducted or killed without anyone else knowing, but unlike a movie, this wasn’t planned. This was real and Crystal was dead serious, and based on her tone, Drea knew she wasn’t kidding about killing her and leaving her body to rot. None of them had even a hint of a smile.
Crystal shot her hand out quick as lightning and grabbed Drea’s wrist with incredible force, pulling it towards her. Drea planted her feet in a stance that wouldn’t allow her to be dragged, but that was all she could do with her seemingly useless body. The aura of bloodlust was chokingly strong.
Crystal stared at her and narrowed her eyes dangerously. “You actually want to try and resist? I’m not going to kill you all at once, don’t worry. I’ll just take you apart in pieces.” A silent smile cracked on her face like the crack of a mirror as she stared into Drea’s eyes. In less than a second, the drilling feeling came back into Drea’s mind, but it was much more painful than the other day, if that was even possible.
Just as Crystal had made it feel like hot iron was being poured into her veins yesterday, now it felt like she was pouring hot iron into her brain. Her eyes began to blur with the pain in her head as spots blossomed and bloomed in her vision. It all seemed blurry and unclear as if the lines had been taken away and the colors had been smudged. It was becoming hard to think, but Drea knew she had to get away, that standing her ground would help for some reason, a reason the pain had made her forget. She could barely feel her own body anymore with the weakening of her senses. Her ability to feel aura was diminished. Even the immense burning of the necklace was overshadowed by the pain Crystal created, becoming an afterthought in her blurry mind.
Crystal was losing her patience now though. It was taking more effort than she expected to dismantle her. She began to emit and incredible amount of aura out of the hand holding Drea’s wrist. She started to squeeze that hand tightly.
It was like a snake was coiling around her wrist, curling so tightly that it broke through her skin all the way down to her bone. Crystal’s hand was cold as ice, cooling off to the point where it felt hot. Drea’s hand was going numb with the pressure, her body following suit. She was able to get out a few broken words before she felt like she’d lose consciousness, “Why… why, do… you want to… to kill me?” Her speech was broken, her head turning to mush under the pain, but she felt like she had to know why she was dying. She had to know why she was the target. Drea could no longer stand it; it felt like her wrist really would snap. Crystal continued to squeeze, her hands becoming saws.
“So you really want to know why I’m killing you?” She chuckled. “We’re looking for something and you’ll get in the way. We know you’re a Kaienshi, and we can feel your strength. That idiot trainer of yours will only make you stronger, which will cause us even more problems. It’s around here, and we don’t want you finding it first.” She reached out and grabbed the Drea’s collar. “I’ll find it when you’re dead.” She let go of her shirt, smiles dancing in her eyes.
Questions bounced around it Drea’s head, but she lacked the energy to ask them. I’m a what? A-and my power; I don’t want to die… I don’t want to die… Time felt like it was slowing down as the pain kept on. Every second felt like an hour, every minute a century. Her wrist almost felt numb, as if it had already been broken off. Crystal was certainly taking her time with the inhuman strength she somehow possessed. Tendrils of fear snaked into Drea’s heart as the thought of death began to sink in. It was real this time, and no one was around to save her when she couldn’t save herself.
Just as she thought her bone would snap, what looked like a shadow in her bleary eyes used the butt of a knife to hit Crystal’s wrist with an incredible amount of force. She was forced to let go, her arm falling limply back to her side. Drea fell to her knees, but felt little difference in the amount of pain she was in. She didn’t even have the energy to feel the aura of her savior as the pain continued to snake up her arm and into her head. The charm burned ferociously still, reacting to the aura the three girls were spewing.
Drea’s vision was slowly refocusing without the constant pain. Within a couple of seconds, she could see the damage done as she clutched her arm to hold it up. She barely had the energy to move it. Her wrist was bruised and crushed, the bone deformed and cracked, but still attached. It was a horrifying sight to see the blood drip from where her skin should be, the muscle even crushed to the point where the bone was visible through them. The nerves had been crushed as well, stopping all movement of her hand and sending little shocks through her arm. She was too shocked to even cry at the sight of her deformed wrist, but just sat staring.
As her eyes refocused, so did her aura. She was able to feel the things around her again, but nothing was clear. It was still fuzzy and difficult to sort out. She could recognize the aura of the boy from yesterday though. He was the one who had saved her. His aura had been easy to pick out due to the sheer force of it. It had grown stronger and more forceful as he stared down the enemy before him. There was no more gentleness in it anymore, only hatred directed towards Crystal, Katie, and Kaia.
Drea could see from where she sat that he was also dressed differently than the previous day. He had on a black t-shirt and cargo pants. What looked like white bandages covered the rest of his arms, though he looked uninjured. On his feet were black sandals. His jet black short hair shone blaringly in the daylight. He was completely different in both his aura and his looks, emitting a powerful aura to match.
On the other side of the school, Jackie stood there waiting for Drea. She’s always here on time, thought Jackie worriedly, arching her neck to look around. She knew Drea wouldn’t want her to worry, but she also knew Drea wouldn’t just leave her behind.
Jenny and Keisha came up behind Jackie and looked around. “Where’s Drea?” asked Jenny, “Doesn’t she always walk home with you?”
“Yeah…” said Jackie distractedly, looking off in the direction of the high school.
Seeing the look on Jackie’s face, Keisha put her hand on her shoulder encouragingly. “Well then why don’t we go find her? Maybe she fell asleep waiting there or something. You did say she was acting strange lately.” She smiled and took a few steps forward. When she looked back and saw that no one was coming, she yelled, “Well come on!” and grabbed Jackie’s wrist, pulling her toward the high school.
All three girls advanced into high school territory. They were pretty lucky no one was around. The older kids would always bully the younger ones. It was some sort of unspoken hierarchy system.
They looked around for Drea in the unfamiliar school grounds, taking steps slowly as they swiveled their heads. In another few minutes, Jenny pointed ahead. “Look! That must be her and some of her friends.” They ran towards the people, thinking it was Drea and some other high school kids, but as they got closer, they saw that they were wrong.
Thirty feet away from them was a group of people standing around, but they didn’t look like friends. One of them was on the ground, and when Jackie looked further, she saw it was Drea. She was on her knees, holding one of her arms in her lap. It had somehow gotten bruised blue and purple around the wrist, but even from that far away, Jackie could see the blood dripping into a puddle. Her heart fluttered as she saw her strong, independent sister huddling on the ground, almost in tears.
A boy dressed in all black who was about her age stood protectively in front of her, holding a knife to fend off three other nasty-looking girls standing like statues in front of them. The girl in front was clutching her arm as if she was hurt. The boy and her stared each other down as if they tried hard enough they could turn the other to stone.
Sensing the feel of danger in the air, Keisha directed them quickly over to a nearby tree. They made sure no one could see them. Everyone was too focused on the situation to even notice anyway. Jackie sat on the ground, watching from behind to see what would happen to her older sister. They all waited in silence, fear grabbing their hearts with death and danger gathering around them.
Drea hadn’t noticed the aura of three more people, let alone the aura of her younger sister. The pain was too great to extend her mind; she could still barely think. Only the strongest auras were visible in her senses.
Her hand, wrist and arm were difficult to move as the throbbing became worse. When she looked back up, she saw the boy was still staring at Crystal, who continued to clench her now disabled arm. She stared back with so much animosity that it probably wouldn’t be surprising if her eyes caught on fire. The boy’s face remained a mask even with the hatred lacing his aura. No expressions or movements gave away any emotions besides his anger. He still held the knife out with obvious skill. It was clear he’d use it if he needed to.
Crystal picked her head up, trying to salvage her dignity. She wasn’t about to give up despite her unusable arm. Why is this so important to her? thought Drea weakly, even her voice a whisper in her head.
With her gaze unwavering, Crystal spoke: “Don’t think I won’t be coming back. Don’t think I won’t kill the both of you.” She gestured to Drea. “And I will be coming back for you. You two, time to go. We’ll be handling this later.” She turned to her left and slashed her hand, which was now growing claws, across the air. It opened a rift in space. Kaia and Katie went in first, obediently. With one more evil smile, Crystal walked in behind them. She was still clenching her arm as the rift closed behind them and they disappeared.