Kyle took every precaution he could to avoid coming across Akora for as long as possible; he brought his meals back to his room, either went to Beast Class and Monster Studies as soon as possible or at the last moment, minimized his time outside, and spent a good portion of his free time in his room. Aoife asked him one morning why he was making himself so scarce, and Kyle simply told him, "Akora's probably mad and she looks like someone who knows how to make you hurt." Akora, in fact, was mad, and did know many creative ways to injure, maim, and destroy a victim. She did want to find Kyle, but her plan was not to injure, maim, or destroy, but to just scold him loudly. Kyle did not know this, and figured it was better safe than sorry, and better paranoid than dead. Because of his tactics, Akora was unable to scold him loudly for over a week. Then one day, Asim and Akora caught him in line for breakfast.
"You've been so elusive," Asim said in a tone usually reserved for dear friends and family who have been absent for far too long. "You should come sit with us."
Akora grabbed Kyle by the wrist before he could speak. "Yes, come!" she urged. "You should see how big our Familiars have gotten!"
Kyle, still inexperienced in the art of saying, 'No', grabbed his plate with his free hand and allowed her to pull him along. They approached the table where Aoife was already sitting, with Joy on the table in front of her. Joy had indeed grown a bit, but still retained a few down feathers. She nibbled at half a corn muffin that sat on Aoife's plate, sending out a flurry of crumbs as she ate.
Asim set himself next to Aoife and Joy. Leonidas, who had been lounging on Asim's shoulders, hopped onto the table to begin sifting through the food on his plate. The young gryphon had grown to be about the size of a kitten who was ready to leave its mother. His wings were small, and, like Joy's, covered in down feathers.
Akora sat across from the two and pulled Kyle down next to her. She lifted her satchel and removed her Familiar and pet from it, then placed them on the table. Both had grown to the size of young pups, and the pet had started to open its eyes. Akora fed the two goat milk, but also allowed her Familiar to eat from her plate. Her pet was still too young, and its teeth had yet to poke through its gums.
During this meeting, the others also saw how large Fledermaus had gotten. He was nearly two feet long, and his wings were showing signs of development. Kyle, who had spent this entire time with his Familiar, had not noticed until the others pointed it out. It was funny, to him, the way things grow so quickly, and yet slow enough to fool those who watch into thinking they are the same size as before.
Asim was the first to speak, and he simply spoke of how well his classes had been going. Aoife, when she managed to insert her voice into Asim's endless rambling, also offered mundane goings-on. Kyle waited, admittedly not paying much attention to the two in front of him, for Akora to reach over and snap his neck for being a coward, or for her to begin a long tirade that ended with him in need of stitches. That moment, however, did not come. So, when he could bear the weight no longer, he demanded, "Are you gonna kill me or what?"
For a moment, everyone at the table, Fledermaus included, stopped and stared in utter confusion. Then Akora understood and replied, "No. I was going to, but the feeling has gone."
Kyle sighed in relief.
"Oh, the incident in the catacombs," Asim concluded. "She told us about it." Deep down Asim felt as though Akora overreacted, but there was no way he would ever tell her.
"That why you've been avoiding me?" Akora had a look of amusement on her face.
"Yes," Kyle admitted, a bit afraid of how she would react. He was relieved when she let out a laugh.
"This is going to be the only time I say this," she gasped as she finished her hearty roar, "but I'm sorry." She took a big swig of water when she finally calmed down.
"You sure do laugh quite a bit," Asim noted.
"Where I come from, you must," Akora explained. "Any day could be your last. You best enjoy it, and laugh often, when you can."
He nodded slowly in response, and simply said, "Oh, I see," then took a sip of his tea.
Aoife clasped her hands together. "Well then," she began, "How is everyone doing?"
Asim beamed and answered, "Quite well, thank you. How are you?"
"That's good. Doing well, too."
"I'm good," Akora replied. "We should break into the teacher's lounge next. Anyone else want to come?"
Kyle shook his head. "Akora, no."
Now that Akora had time to calm down, Kyle was able to wander around somewhat worry-free. He still had to worry about tests, homework, and other schoolwork, but he was at least able to relax when the savage was near. His first test was in Monster Studies, and it was fast approaching. Akora had, once again, began pestering Kyle about working to become the greatest Akfernen who ever lived, and Kyle agreed only under than the guise that Akora would help Nixie, Sean, and him study. While Akora was not brighter than the bunch by any means, her methods of understanding monsters were superior to their own, and she would prove to be a great asset to their study circle. They met in the courtyard after classes to study and train. The rules were simple: answer a question correctly, or you would have to do an exercise. (Everyone did train during these sessions, it was just that the one who answered the least number of questions correctly had to work harder than the others.)
Kyle skimmed through his notes, searching for the perfect animal group to use to stump Akora. Because the year had just begun, the first test revolved around different classes and categories of animal, the broadest two being "predator" and "prey". "The Earth deer is an example of what?"
Akora thought about the question. "It's delicious, so it is a prey..."
Nixie chuckled at this. "They have those on your planet, too?"
"An abundance!" Akora boomed. "Let me think... it is a beast, and yours are docile. So that must be the answer."
Kyle nodded. "Prey, beast. Correct."
Akora grinned her menacing grin, then turned to face Sean. "Byrne, the Erdboden dragon is an example of what?"
"Predatory flying beast?"
Akora nodded. "Correct."
Sean skimmed through his notes and looked to Nixie. "The Xylea squirrel is an example of what?"
Nixie leaned back and thought. "Those are the really aggressive ones, right?"
Sean nodded in reply.
"Then it's the territorial critter."
"Correct." Sean re-read his notes. "Critter is such a strange class name."
Nixie turned to Kyle. "The Earth shark is an example of what?"
"Predatory ocean beast," he answered with confidence.
Nixie nodded. "Good."
Akora pointed to the tree. "Grab a branch and lift yourself up."
Kyle regarded her with a look of confusion. "But I got the question right."
"Still need to train," she argued. "Go on, get lifting."
Kyle sighed and stood, then struggled to get himself into a tree. He struggled and shook, and managed to pull himself up once.
Akora snickered and jeered, "We have a lot to work on."
Over the course of the study sessions, Kyle felt himself getting stronger, slowly but surely. The others were far more impressive, however, and often made the exercises seem so effortless. The most surprising of the bunch, for Kyle at least, was Nixie, primarily for the fact that she had previously not shown much interest in physical activity. There were times, it seemed, she made Sean jealous, even to the point where he took breaks from the session to get away from her. It made these sessions a bit uncomfortable. At the very least, they felt ready for the upcoming test. They all went to bed feeling confident.
The day of the test, Kyle noticed Sean seemed a bit tired. "Did you have a rough sleep last night?" he asked his study buddy.
"Yes and no," Sean yawned. "Couldn't sleep so I went out to do some stuff."
Before the two could talk any further, Mr. Reaper boomed, "Take your seats, it's test time." Without hesitation, every student obeyed. Then the massive bird man strutted down the aisles of desks, passing out the tests as he went. Every student felt his heavy gaze upon them, and anyone who had entertained the idea of cheating was immediately persuaded not to.
The test lasted only about fifteen to twenty minutes. Mr. Reaper, while a scary sight to behold, was not cruel to his students immediately (he typically waited until the first month was over, but that is beside the point). After the test was complete, he was generous enough to allow a ten minute break. During this time, he started to grade the tests while the students began to talk.
"That wasn't terrible," Kyle sighed to his companions. "I feel pretty good."
"Wish I could say the same," Sean grumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"What's up with you?" Nixie inquired.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he growled.
Nixie sat back in her chair. "Someone's pissed."
"Sean, why don't you put your head down and take a nap?" Kyle suggested.
Sean folded his arms and set his head in them. "Don't tell me what to do," he muttered. Then, not even a second later, he was asleep.
Nixie leaned towards Kyle and whispered, "What was that about?"
Kyle shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know."
"Probably envy," Akora speculated. "Gruber, you are quite impressive. I wouldn't be surprised if he was envious."
"Pfft." Nixie sat back, shaking her head. "I don't get why, he's already the best athlete I know."
"Try not to worry too much," Kyle offered, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He'll probably get over it."
Akora leaned back in her chair. "Envy has destroyed relationships. It can lead to some ugly things."
Kyle shook his head. "I honestly don't think Sean is going to do anything too serious."
"I'm going to stop you there," Nixie urged. "I'm not worried about anything now, but I know as soon as you start throwing around ideas, they're going to bother me."
Kyle looked down at his notebook. "I know how you feel."
The break came to an end much too quickly for many students, including Sean who was starting to really enjoy the nap. The class immediately moved on from the basic categories to something a bit more interesting: specific monsters.
"Many different monsters roam the worlds," Mr. Reaper began. "The focus of this class will be on those that could cause harm. That way, when your missions begin, you will know what you are up against."
Kyle swallowed hard. There that word was again: mission. It was only a matter of time before their first one.
"We will start with the basics: the lurker. It is a slender creature that stalks the shadows. Often, it hides in piles of leaves or snow, or even just under the water's surface. They attack when their prey lets its guard down."
Kyle took these notes down, and even started to sketch what he imagined it looked like. It was creepy, and reminded him of a boogeyman. The more he thought about them, the more fear he felt. During the lecture he became so afraid that he raised his hand to ask, "Has one ever gotten onto school grounds?"
A choir of snickers met his question. He felt a bit embarrassed, and regretted the question.
"Calm yourselves!" Mr. Reaper ordered. The class obeyed. He continued, "If we mock students, they will not ask questions. If they do not ask questions, they will not learn. If they do not learn, these monsters will kill them, do you understand? Or do you all wish to play a role in the death of a classmate?" He scanned the classroom for any students who dare speak up, but no one did. "Anyhow, the answer is no, or at least, not for a long while. I am sure there have been lurkers and creepers and even red caps before the school was restored, but they are long gone."
Kyle felt a little bit better. He went back to his notebook and resumed his notes. The rest of the class was dedicated to the lurker, and Kyle wound up taking two pages of notes.
The bell rang and the students started to pack up, but Mr. Reaper halted them. "Your first missions are coming up," he announced. Different students felt different emotions, but Kyle's strongest was fear. "I hope you like the group you are with, because you are going with them." Once again, everyone felt different emotions. "I suggest you start preparing now. Don't worry, your first one won't be too difficult. It is a simple camping trip to take notes of the monsters you find." He grinned and added, "Good luck."
The students left the classroom slowly, as if it would prolong their expedition. Kyle and the others were the last ones to leave. Akora seemed excited for the trip, but she was of a small minority. "It sounds like fun if you ask me," she hummed.
"Well no one asked you," Sean snapped.
"Nixie was right," she spat in reply, "you are in a foul mood."
"I didn't sleep well," he barked.
"Tsk tsk, well we won't be sharing a tent. I hope you enjoy sleeping under the stars."
"That sounds lovely and pleasant, unlike you!"
"Sheesh, Sean, you really are nasty when you don't sleep," Nixie groaned in disgust. "You should go take a nap."
Sean just grumbled and walked away from the group.
"Well that was unpleasant," Akora snorted when Sean was out of earshot. "I really hope he leaves this attitude here before that mission."
"Yeah," Nixie groaned. "And I hope he stops hating me."
"He doesn't hate you," Kyle assured her.
"I hope you're right," she groaned.
Akora placed a hand on her shoulder. "He will get over it," she affirmed.
The week leading up to the first mission was far too short for Kyle's liking. Akora was very excited, and had her supplies packed and ready to go. Sean had actually been looking forward to the trip, and packed the bare minimum he needed to bring. Nixie also had not been looking forward to the trip, but now that the day was upon them, she looked forward to finishing it. She carried Marisa in a small tank of water given to her by another student, who had finally started to trust their Familiar, which was a large tarantula with a bad attitude and deep desire to bite. Mr. Reaper had drawn symbols on pieces of paper for each group, as well as tents and small crates of food. "Meanwhile our school struggled to get everyone textbooks," Kyle joked. Nixie only snickered in reply.
"You will have a maximum of three days," Mr. reaper announced. "Keep your eyes peeled, because creatures can be hiding anywhere."
Kyle looked at the symbols on his group's paper. One would take them to the Great Bridge of Arachne, he remembered. He was less sure of the other one. It depicted a tree with branches full of leaves and nothing else. "Does anyone know where we're going?"
Akora looked at the symbol and shook her head. "If I had to guess, I'd say a world of trees."
"World?" he repeated.
Akora nodded. "Do you not remember? The symbols lead to other worlds."
"Oh I remember," he replied. "I just don't believe it."
"Believe me, I understand the feeling."
Nixie set Marisa on a desk and took a deep breath, stretching her arms as she did so. "Are we going now or later?"
Kyle looked at his class schedule. "I can afford to go now. How about you guys?"
Sean nodded. "I'm fine."
"Same here," Nixie and Akora replied, Nixie picking the tank back up.
Kyle took a deep breath. "So should we start looking for a doorway?"
Akora began to shake in excitement and, unable to contain herself any longer, started to chant, "Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!"
He sighed and looked down at the paper. "So let's find a door."
The group started off for a less-crowded area. Students all around them, from their class and not, used various doors to travel to their first mission places. They used doors to their rooms, to supply closets, to old rows of lockers from back when they were deemed necessary, any door that was not to a main hallway or classroom (as that was strictly prohibited). The group had decided to use Kyle's door, because he was staying in a single room and thus no one would need to use his door immediately after them. He drew the symbol on the door and they went through, one at a time.
The door led into another stairwell, much like the one they had all gone through when they came to the Bridge for the first time. Kyle pushed the door shut behind him, remembering the warning they had been given on the first day. They went down the stairs slowly, their footfalls echoing gently around them. They came to the door at the bottom of the stairwell and gave it a push, and it swung open, revealing a beautiful forest with a few other students already setting up camp.
"Reminds me of home," Akora sighed wistfully as she stepped out.
"Bet there's plenty of monsters here," Nixie boomed with confidence.
"Do other students count?" Sean joked.
Kyle noticed Akora retrieving her Familiar and her pet from their satchel and followed the joke, "Look! There's a wolf and a lion now!"
Akora grinned her usual off-putting grin and hopped into the grass. "Watch your step," she cautioned, "there are three leading down from where you are."
Kyle looked down and, true to what the savage said, they were at the top of three broad steps. He quickly walked down them, went out a few more feet, then turned to look at the structure from which they had come. There was a remnant of a wall, a slab of stone brick about eight feet wide and eleven feet tall. There was a door and three steps leading up to it, but nothing else. He looked around and, sprinkled here and there, saw other slabs of stone wall, and a few doors with students coming out of them. "Did something used to be here?" he asked. "Or were only the doors built?"
"Dunno," Sean answered, shutting the door and taking one long step onto the grass.
"I think I heard there was a stronghold here," Akora explained. "I had also heard there was a conflict that resulted in the structure being reduced to rubble. This is all that remains."
Nixie, too, looked around and took in the sight. "Cool."
Akora turned to face the trees once more. "I think we should set up camp near a river. Beasts will come by to drink." Then she looked around at the other students in the distance. "We should also stay away from crowds. Remain in earshot, but if there are too many of us, we may be less likely to find anything."
"Should we remain put," Sean asked, "or should we try to track something?"
"Lie in wait," Akora replied without hesitation. "We'll save tracking for later, if we cannot find anything sooner."
Nixie set Marisa down once more. "I hope a stream isn't too far," she groaned. "My arms are getting tired."
Sean picked the tank up with a mighty heave. "Here, allow me."
"Why, thank you, Sean," Nixie offered, with a hint of suspicion in her voice.
Sean turned his gaze to Akora. "Lead the way."
Akora scanned the treeline. She pointed to a narrow, windy path partially obscured by a small holly bush and instructed, "This way."
The three Birchwood students followed Akora down the narrow path, stepping over tangles of thorns and masses of fallen branches as they did so. Kyle was able to keep up fairly well, which came as a surprise to Nixie and Sean. "You've never done anything but walk the track in gym," Sean gaped in amazement, "but you move through the forest like a deer."
"I walk through the woods a lot," Kyle explained, calling it over his shoulder. "The woods are my backyard."
Nixie noticed that Sean seemed to be struggling with her Familiar, so she offered, "Want me to take her now?"
Sean wrinkled his nose, almost in offense, and spat, "I got it."
Nixie concealed her frustration with him and kept walking.
The path took the group straight to a broad stream. The water flowed smooth and gently, and seemed deep enough for fish to thrive but shallow enough to wade across without fear of being overpowered by the current. Dragonflies buzzed above the water's surface, sunlight reflecting off their wings like delicate crystals. Across and a bit downstream from the group was another group of students, who had already set up camp. Across and upstream, they saw, was an elk taking a long drink from the cool water.
"Take notes, Akfernen," Akora whispered. "There's our first beast: an elk."
Kyle slipped off his backpack, careful not to also knock off Fledermaus (who was lounging comfortably on his shoulders), and began to rummage for his notebook. As he did this, Sean took the words right out of his mouth: "I figured the first wild animal we'd see would be like a dragon or wooly mammoth or something, not a freakin' moose or whatever that thing is."
"An elk, foolish Byrne," Akora explained in a delightfully humorous yet highly condescending tone.
Nixie, though still a bit upset at Sean's foul attitude, agreed, "It wasn't what I was expecting either."
As Kyle began to take notes and sketch the creature, he proposed, "He probably didn't want to send us to a world of face-eating aliens for our first mission."
"With that in mind," Nixie started, "I'm starting to feel okay with the elk."
Sean, realizing he still held Marisa, set the tank down and announced, "I think I agree."
Akora set her Familiar and her pet down in the grass, which practically swallowed the small beasts, and took her bag off her back. "We should start setting up camp."
Kyle looked at the supplies they had been given by Mr. Reaper. They had several crates of food, canteens of water, and only one tent. Awkwardly, he announced, "We only have one tent."
Akora looked at him as if he had said the most nonsensical statement ever uttered. "And?"
"There's four of us," he continued.
"Akfernen, I fail to see the problem."
"Well," Nixie began, "we all like our space, and the tent is probably going to get crowded, and I don't know if Kyle is comfortable with the idea of crawling all over our sleeping bodies."
"That's one way to put it," Kyle half-laughed.
Akora narrowed her eyes at him. "How many of you are there?"
He hesitated. "Um, what?"
"Brothers and sisters," she elaborated, "how many? You should be well-adjusted to climbing around a sleeping pile!"
"Oh. I'm an only child."
Akora looked positively baffled by this. "Only child," she repeated. She thought about this, then went back to the original dilemma. "I brought my own tent, just in case. Two will sleep to a tent, no one sleeps alone or they will be eaten by a predator."
Suddenly the idea of sleeping next to someone did not seem like such a bad thing.
"I will stay in my own tent." Then she remembered the conflict Nixie and Sean seemed to be having. "Gruber or Byrne will sleep with me."
Sean chuckled at the word choice, and Nixie volunteered before Sean could speak up. Immediately after this, she remembered what Akora had said about her sleeping habits, and she regretted her decision.
Akora started to pitch her tent. "Come on, we want these up before dark."
Kyle removed the school tent from the bag, dropping the instructions as he did so. He retrieved the booklet, which was very, very thick. "Oh no, how complicated are these things?"
Nixie peered over his shoulder. "Oh wow, and I thought the math packets we used to get were thick."
Kyle nervously unfolded the paper, then heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the English directions only took up one square of the folded monstrosity. "The rest of the pages are in other languages."
It was Sean's turn to snoop, and he, too, was impressed by the booklet. "There must be a thousand languages that thing is printed in."
Nixie skimmed the directions over Kyle's shoulder, then turned and started pitching. Sean joined her, although he decided he did not need directions. Before Kyle could even finish reading, the two started arguing. And before he could react, Akora physically pulled them apart from each other.
"You two need to control yourselves!" she scolded. "You're going to get too invested, then either scare away our assignment or be so caught-up in your squabble that you miss it!" She turned to Nixie and pulled her away. "Gruber, you'll be sleeping with me, so why don't you help me over here?"
Nixie needed no further convincing to separate herself from Sean. She picked up where Akora had left off, and the tent was pitched in no time.
Kyle and Sean also worked to pitch their tent, but Sean had taken the lion's share of the task. He flung his arms so hard and in such exaggerated movements that Drake was nearly thrown from his perch on Sean's shoulders. It took a while, because Sean was so clouded by his petty rage that he kept making the same mistakes, but after about seven minutes, the tent was ready.
Akora had started looking for a place to build a campfire. When asked if it was necessary, she gave a cryptic answer: "He who does not build a fire may as well throw himself onto his blade, and end it before something else does." So they built a campfire pit.
The group decided to lay in wait. Every now and then they saw different creatures pass by, but each time it turned out to be another student. There was a minotaur with a capuchin on her shoulder, a naga with a kappa on her tail, even a manticore with a manticore by his side (it was one of the most confusing Family-Familiar pairings the school had ever seen). While waiting, Kyle took notes and made sketches of the dragonflies that hovered above the water. "These forest-world dragonflies seem much like Earth dragonflies," he wrote, not knowing what other notes to take. "Will continue to observe."
"Should we try catching fish?" Sean suggested.
"We should wait," Akora told him. "As much as I love a hunt, we shouldn't."
Kyle started to crack open a case of supplies. "And anyway, we have food here."
"How much?" Sean asked. "I'm starting to get hungry."
Kyle looked at jars of dried fruits and bundles of salted meat. "Enough for one person for a few days. And we have more than one case, so we should be good."
The sun was beginning to dip in the horizon. Akora had kyle help her build the fire. Soon they had a roaring flame before them. They gathered around and started to dig into their rations. Kyle hogged a jar of dried apple slices, while he fed Fledermaus, still on his shoulders, chunks of dried meat.
"We should keep watch," Akora suggested. "It would really be something if we caught a night walker."
"Night walkers, huh?" Kyle repeated. "That sounds-"
"Awesome!" Sean interrupted. "I'll take the first watch!"
"Why thank you, Sean," Akora said, taking a bite of salted meat. "I'll go next, just wake me when you feel tired. And stand clear of my feet." She snickered at that last part.
Nixie grimaced as she thought about the night that lay ahead.
Kyle looked around the campsite uneasily. "There aren't going to be any of those lurkers here, are there?"
No one replied at first. That made him nervous.
"There might be," Akora admitted. "But look: there are no leaf or snow piles anywhere, and the stream is clear and shallow enough to see the bottom. They have nowhere to hide."
This made him feel a little bit better.
Nixie yawned and stretched a bit. "Anyone mind if I turn in now?"
"You go right ahead," Sean answered almost pleasantly. "We'll keep watch."
Nixie rose slowly from her place by the fire. "Okay," she began slowly. "Goodnight." She disappeared into Akora's tent with Marisa and her bag in hand.
There was a brief moment of silence, which was broken by Sean who said, almost eagerly, "Maybe you two should tuck in also. After all, the more action out here, the less likely it is something will come snooping around."
Akora and Kyle exchanged glances. She then looked to Sean and said, "I appreciate your enthusiasm." She stood, then pulled Kyle up with her. "Let's take a quick peek in the woods, see if we can't spot something." She pulled him along before he could protest, and her pups scampered along behind them. She took him behind the tents and a few paces into the woods, where she stopped and whispered, "He's acting odd."
"I know," he whispered in reply. "I don't know what's up."
"Is he trying to prove something? I've known many a fool who were killed trying to prove something."
"Well he did seem upset about Nixie being so strong." He thought about this, then suggested, "Maybe that has something to do with it."
Akora shook her head and groaned. "I hope not." She looked back towards camp. She saw Sean, who was sitting by the fire, and did not seem to notice them. "It looks like he can't hear us."
"I hope not," Kyle muttered, shaking his head. "I don't want him to freak out at us, too."
Akora nodded in agreement. "We'll stay on his good side for now. He gives us a hard time, we'll pack up and go back early."
"That doesn't sound like you," he commented.
"I've been told I need to not threaten and punish people with violence so much." She cocked her head in the direction of camp. "Let's go back before he gets suspicious." Without another word, she walked back to camp. She reclaimed her seat by the fire. "Nothing yet," she told Sean nonchalantly.
Kyle emerged from the woods. "Nope, nothing."
Sean looked quite excited. "Excellent. You two should probably head in now."
"Sounds like you're trying to get rid of a body," Akora joked. "But I suppose we should start getting ready to sleep."
Kyle heard Fledermaus let out a tiny yawn, and then he, too, needed to yawn. "I guess I am kind of tired." He turned to his and Sean's tent. "I'll see you when it's time for my watch."
"Sleep well," Sean called with a smile.
"You too," Kyle called instinctively. He set Fledermaus by the head of his sleeping bag, then lay himself down to sleep.
Kyle normally slept through the night, but when he slept in a new location for the first time, every sound, no matter how small, woke him immediately. He woke up many times within the first hour, and most of the offending noises came from Fledermaus shifting in his sleep. At one point, he thought he heard Sean enter the tent. When he looked, he saw a creature at the foot of his sleeping bag. He let out a small yelp that woke Fledermaus with a jolt, but was relieved when he realized the creature was Akora's pet.
Sean burst into the tent, standing tall, proud, and heroic. "Another creature!" he announced.
"Actually," Kyle gasped, "it's just Akora's pet. Sorry to burst your bubble."
Disappointed, Sean backed out of the tent. The curious little cub bounced out after him.
Kyle lie back down. He looked to Fledermaus, who had started to calm down. He set his tiny head down and closed his eyes. His nostrils flared and his tail twitched, and then he was asleep. Kyle smiled at the little creature and started to drift.
Sean, in the meantime, was pacing the campsite. He scanned the horizon for any movement. The dragonflies had stopped hovering and were replaced by glowing fireflies. They were not enough for him, he wanted something bigger, something better. Every time he thought he saw movement, it turned out to be a false alarm, usually either the trees blowing in the breeze or another student approaching the stream to drink. At some point, he began to hear thrashing and growling nearby. Excited, he investigated, and found that the sound was coming from Akora and Nixie's tent. He took a peek inside, and was very disappointed to see it was just the two snoring, and Akora thrashing. At times, he thought about taking his joke seriously and put students down as the creatures he saw. He noticed Akora's pet and thought about marking it as one of the creatures he saw. He thought about putting down Kyle as one of the creatures he saw. Drake started to become listless, so Sean set him by the fire to sleep. He, too, sat by the fire to take a break. The night would be over before he knew it, and the trip would come to a close shortly after that.
A short time later, Akora came out of her tent to take over Sean's shift. "You seem a little less excited than before," she commented when she saw him by the fire.
"Yeah," he yawned. "I was expecting more action."
She sat by the fire and warmed her hands. "I want to wait before we use bait. I want to hunt a creature but I believe Reaper said not to."
"I get it." He stretched and yawned. "I don't want to go to sleep, but I guess I will." He stood, stretched a bit, and then collected his Familiar. "Goodnight. Wake me if you need any assistance." Then he disappeared into his tent, where he fell asleep almost instantly.
Akora took a different approach from Sean's. First, she put her pet and her Familiar back inside the tent and waited until they fell asleep. Then, she crept to the tree line and climbed into the first tree she saw. She found a comfortable spot, then waited. She stayed still and silent the entire time she was in the tree, her only movements being the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed and her eyes as they scanned the campsite and surrounding environment. It was difficult to be apart from her Familiar, for both of them, but there was no easy way for both to be up in the tree.
One similarity to Sean's watch was the utter lack of anything to report. Every now and then another student passed by, but no new creatures. She knew the other students' constant movement was interfering with any wildlife in the area, but unless they all had a large gathering to discuss their nighttime course of action, there would be no way to spread the word to everyone that they needed to be still. After about an hour, however, new footprints began to echo through the woods. They started to come closer, and Akora became very eager. Then there came a piercing shriek and the sound of running footsteps.
Akora leapt from the tree and ran in the direction of the scream. She heard bipedal footsteps coming towards her. They were frantic and uncalculated, suggesting that the owner was running in terror. She stopped and planted her feet firmly on the ground, then extended her arms, hands ready to grab whoever was coming near. Moments later, the minotaur from earlier came barreling through the trees, frantic and incoherent. Akora caught the student and held her tightly, calling over her desperate screams, "You're safe now, you can calm down!"
The screams had also roused the Birchwood Students. Sean was the first out of his and Kyle's tent, and had also blindly taken off in the direction of the scream. Nixie and Kyle were the next to emerge, though Kyle had only poked his head out of his tent. "What was that?"
"Trouble," Nixie answered through clenched teeth. She started to move to the woods.
"Wait."
Nixie turned to face him.
"Don't you think we should wait here? Akora and Sean are probably getting it."
"But what if it gets them?" she argued.
"We don't even know what it is." He looked around. "For all we know, that could just be two students who bumped into each other."
At that moment, Akora reappeared with the minotaur, Sean close behind.
"Kind of like that," Kyle finished.
"M-M-M-M-M-Monster!" the minotaur wailed. She held her Familiar close to her chest. "I ran into it!"
Nixie gave Kyle a look. "Kind of like that?"
Kyle came out of his tent with Fledermaus at his ankles.
"What did it look like?" Sean demanded, his voice ladened with excitement.
"She's all shaken up," Nixie snapped. "Give her a minute."
Akora walked the minotaur to the fire. "Take a seat."
The minotaur sat down. She had black and white patches of fur and a glossy black and pink nose. She had large, dark eyes that were filled with terror.
"Calm down, hon," Nixie soothed, stroking the minotaur's shoulder. "Now, what happened?"
"Th-There was a monster!" she gasped. "I was walking, l-looking for ani-animals and then I saw it!"
Sean slipped past the group and retreated to the tent. He came back moments later with the notebook Kyle had been using to take notes. "Describe it," he urged.
"Okay, seriously, back off," Nixie demanded.
"What? I'm just trying to help her get it out."
"No, you're trying to skimp on this assignment."
Sean grumbled and put the notebook down. "We would've been two-thirds of the way done, but okay."
Still, the minotaur continued, "I-It was big, and hairy, and hopped like a rabbit!"
"Was it a rabbit?" Akora asked, almost annoyed.
"N-No!" the minotaur insisted. "It was too big! It had a tail, a long, long tail!" She spread her arms as wide as she could. Her Familiar even stuck out its tail to give her more length.
"Was it a kangaroo?" Sean suggested, but with a joking tone present in his voice.
The minotaur looked to him, now with confusion mixed in with her expression of fear. "What's a kangaroo?"
"Nevermind."
"Well whatever it was," Nixie began with a relieved sigh, "it seems to be gone now."
The minotaur swallowed hard and shrank into a tiny ball. "I don't want to go back in there."
"Then stay here," Nixie offered.
She looked over her shoulder and into the woods. "B-But my group..."
"You can stay here or one of us can escort you back to your campsite," Akora stated. "Your choice."
She thought about this for a moment. With some difficulty, she stood and whimpered, "I guess I'd like to go back to my group."
Sean immediately placed himself by her side. "I'll walk you there."
She nodded vigorously. "Th-Thank you very much." As she followed Sean into the woods, the rest of the group could hear her, "I'm Bessie, by the way."
Akora turned to face the others. "I think we've found the next creature on our list."
"Just need to wait for it to come back," Nixie concluded.
Kyle retrieved his notebook and skimmed it quickly, looking to see if Sean had done anything to it. Thankfully, he had left it alone. Kyle brought the notebook back to his tent and put it inside. "I wonder how many there are."
"If it is a predator," Akora began, "probably a few. If it's a prey, then there's probably a lot."
"Hopefully we're not on the menu," Kyle sighed.
"And I hope it doesn't want to eat us," Akora added.
Nixie gave Akora a look, but said nothing.
"But if it does want to eat us," Akora began with a tone of enthusiasm, "we'll be able to use ourselves as bait."
"Well I don't want to be bait," Kyle protested.
"We'll let Sean be bait," Akora decided. "He wants to be the hero, anyway."
"Yeah," Nixie grumbled. "Maybe that'll cure his bad attitude."
"I sure hope," Kyle sighed. He returned to his tent, holding the flap for Fledermaus to hobble through. "I'm going to try and go back to sleep. I'll see you for my shift."
"Sleep well," Nixie called with a yawn. "I'll turn in for a few more minutes, too."
"Sounds like a plan," Akora replied. She took her place by the fire and watched the two disappear. As Nixie entered the tent, Akora's Familiar and pet exited and placed themselves beside her. She stroked their fur and kept her eyes on the treeline. She listened closely for signs of an approach. It was silent for a long while, only broken by Sean's return. There was only an hour left in her shift, but something told her it was going to be a long, long hour.
Nixie's shift was uneventful, and the only thing of note from Kyle's was a rather beautiful sunrise. A soft mist had formed above the stream, and the sky was a beautiful pastel blue. Fluffy grey clouds dotted the sky, and more appeared to be moving in, but it was unlikely there would be any rain. Early birds began to sing their gentle morning songs for the world to enjoy. The air was sweet, smelling of pine needles and wildflowers. A bee buzzed by and found a small bushel of flowers by the stream. Kyle watched it gather pollen, and then buzz back home. He opened his notebook and jotted it down. Then he shut the book and took a deep, relaxing breath.
It was quite a lovely morning.
Akora was the first to rise, though Kyle was not surprised by this. She strode to the stream and then knelt beside it, her gaze fixed on the lazy water. Her Familiar did the same, though her pet was more interested in sleeping a bit more.
Kyle peered over his shoulder to see if Fledermaus was acting like him. The lazy little dragon had curled up on his back, belly and legs in the air, and fallen back asleep. He turned his attention back to Akora, who was still by the stream. He wondered what she was doing, or at least why she was just sitting there. He was also curious as to how she would respond if he called out to her, but not curious enough to do it.
Nixie was the next one awake. She stumbled out of the tent and stood there for a moment, bleary-eyed and still drowsy. Once she became aware of her surroundings, she wandered to one of the food crates and began to rummage through it.
"Morning, Nixie," Kyle called.
"Hey Kyle," she half-yawned, half-grumbled. She pulled a jar out of the crate. It contained the remains of the dried apple slices Kyle had eaten the previous night. She began to munch on those at once.
Sean was the final one to wake up. By the time he finally left the tent, the sun had risen well into the sky and the forest had come alive. He did the same thing Nixie had done, and began his breakfast immediately. Any crumbs he did not swallow up were devoured by Drake.
"What's on the agenda for today?" he asked, mouth full of meat.
"We could search along the river," Kyle suggested.
"I like that idea," Nixie responded. "We're bound to run into something, and it beats waiting around here all day."
Akora stood and stretched. "If that's what you want to do, then we could try it out."
It took everyone a moment to process Akora's willingness to go through with the idea, especially after she seemed so insistent on staying put. "Well I think that's what we want to do," Sean announced.
"Then we'll go along the stream." She pointed to the near-empty crate. "Let's finish this off, first, then hide the unused ones in the trees."
And so the group divided up what was left of the first crate and ate a quick lunch, then hid the two remaining crates in the trees just behind the tents. They ensured their Familiars were fed, and Akora allowed her pet to gorge on a canteen of milk she had packed. Kyle brought his backpack, but only packed the notebook and a few pencils. Nixie was prepared to carry the water tank for Marissa, but Akora reminded her that the creature could survive on land as well. To ease her worries, Kyle also assured Nixie that the current of the stream was too weak to push Marissa away, so if the Familiar were to feel too dry, they could just let her take a quick dip. When the group was ready, the set off, walking upstream.
As they walked, they searched for other creatures to add to the notebook. Just as the case had been the previous day, most of what they saw consisted of other students. They saw Bessie again, who was faring much better than the previous night. They did manage to spot a new creature, however. It was a big, colorful fish, swimming upstream alongside them. It looked like a very flashy salmon on its way to the breeding grounds.
"I wonder what kind of fish it is?" Kyle asked aloud as he sketched the fish.
"Freshwater," Sean answered plainly, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"I meant like salmon, carp, catfish, or something like that. You know, its name?"
"That I can't help you with," he replied. "And anyway, I feel like we should leave room for something bigger or better."
Kyle finished his rather lackluster notes and put the notebook away. "Couldn't hurt to get what we can."
After a period of walking, the group came across another campsite. Two of the three students were clearly terrified, while the third only seemed agitated. The agitated one approached the group and demanded, "Did you see it?"
"You'll have to be more specific," Nixie replied.
"The monster!" one of the students yelped.
"You've seen it, too?" Kyle asked with a twinge of fear in his voice.
The two nodded vigorously. "I-It ate one of our crates!" the other whimpered. "We'll have to go early!"
"Did you get a good look at it?" Sean inquired.
"These two did," replied the agitated one. "I wasn't here, I was looking for creatures."
"These beasts seem bold," Akora noted. "Few other creatures will wander into an occupied campsite."
"I heard them scream and I came running," the student explained. "It was gone by the time I got here. I think their screams drove it off."
"Could be," Akora muttered. She thought about this for a moment, then declared to her group, "The key is silence. If we're quiet enough, and leave some food out, it'll come to us."
"What happened to not wanting to hunt?" Sean questioned.
"It's not hunting, it's luring," Akora replied. "This will hopefully not stress the beast. Another reason why I didn't want to do this at first is because it's risky bringing a beast into camp."
"Then why are we doing it?" Kyle demanded.
"I need to see it," Akora answered plainly. "Not only that, but it seems easy to drive off."
"And don't forget our assignment," Sean added. "Getting an entry with this thing in it could really give us a good grade."
"I don't remember you being so serious about good grades in math class," Nixie teased.
"That was different," Sean argued. He had sounded as if he was going to continue with reasons and examples, but he simply left it at that.
"Don't!" one of the terrified students cautioned. "It's too risky!"
Kyle already did not like the plan, and the other students' protests made him even more wary. A monster was stalking the forest, and they were going to lead it into camp. He remembered one incident a few summers back, where reports of coyotes were keeping him and his parents up at night. He had not been allowed to walk through the woods much that summer, and when he did he had to call before he left so his parents knew when to expect him back. He was not allowed outside after dark at all. And that was just for coyotes. These monsters could be, and probably were, different. They could have rows of razor-sharp teeth and enormous claws. They could have enormous tails that deal deadly blows. They could be ten feet tall! Kyle did not like any of these ideas, and tried to stop thinking about it, but they kept creeping back up.
Nixie saw Kyle's concern. "What's eating you?"
"Please don't use that expression," Kyle shuddered.
"What an odd term," Akora muttered. She turned to the other group and declared, "We'll find this monster. Then you'll see there's nothing to worry about."
"Just watch out," the agitated student warned. "No one's been hurt yet. It would be best to keep it that way."
"We'll be fine," Sean assured them with an uncomfortable level of confidence. "We'll teach that thing a lesson."
Nightfall came too soon for Kyle. He and the group spent the twilight hours preparing the campsite. They opened the second crate and ate dinner, but made sure to leave some food for the beast. There was a bit of an argument to determine how they would wait, whether they would all stay awake or have one person keep watch, but in the end they decided on the latter. Sean, again, was the first to keep watch. Surprisingly, Akora was the first to go to sleep. Once her snores were ringing softly through camp, Sean filled his canteen with water from the stream and poured it over the fire. With the moon obscured behind clouds, the campsite became almost pitch-black in an instant.
"What are you doing!" Nixie hissed.
"The fire will only scare it away," Sean tried to reason. "It'll think it has an easy meal."
"This is a mistake!" she snapped. "What if we attract something more dangerous?"
"Like a bear!" Kyle yelped. "A bear could kill all of us no problem!"
"We'll be fine," Sean assured them. "Why don't you two get some rest?"
"Fine," she groaned, heading towards her tent. "But if a bear does come and starts mauling you, I'm staying in my tent."
"I don't need you," he assured her in a condescending tone. "Sleep well."
Kyle also retreated to his tent. "You're crazy, man!"
"Not crazy, just bold."
But during Sean's shift, Kyle and Nixie secretly watched him. He paced and sat by the smoldering remains of the fire, and every now and then he checked the crate to make sure smaller scavengers were not eating the bait. Nixie and Kyle looked around for other signs of movement, but the woods were still and calm. Drake burrowed into the coals and began to doze as Sean paced. Sean yawned, and was clearly growing tired, but they knew he would try to stay up for as long as he could.
Nixie emerged from her tent after Sean started to drift. "I'll take over from here," she said, pushing him towards his tent.
"Nah I got it," he slurred sleepily.
"No, it's bedtime for you, Sean." She nudged him into his tent. "Night, Sean."
Sean collapsed immediately onto his sleeping bag. Drake scuttled into the tent after Sean, a cloud of ash surrounding him as he ran. He left tiny footprints on the bag. Kyle watched Sean and Drake until he was sure they were asleep before shutting his own eyes. Hopefully, everything would be fine.
While the others slept, Nixie patrolled the camp. She made herself scarce, hiding behind the tents and minimizing her movements. While this was in part to make it appear, at least to a prowler, that the camp was safe to explore, it was moreso to lead the prowler to believe she was not there. If it thought it was alone, it would not try to attack. She tried to not think about what the prowler could be, and tried to convince herself that there was no prowler, but every sound made her think of everything it could possibly be. At one point she heard a very sudden rustling in the bushes that froze her with fear. Then something started to crawl out.
The creature was large, but it was impossible for her to tell how large in the darkness. She heard the grass being disturbed, and the sound of the crushed blades was coming closer. She was in front of her tent at this time, and considered diving back inside, but curiosity led her to keep watching. She saw the outline of something approach the crate and give it a few sniffs before sliding its head inside. The creature chewed sloppily, and Nixie could practically hear the sound of its slobber dribbling onto the wood.
Then there was a part in the clouds above, and the moonlight fell on the beast.
The beast was large, easily ten feet long and clearly very powerful. It was covered in short, coarse brown fur. Its eyes, just barely visible as it dug around in the crate, were large and dark. Its front paws resembled something somewhere between a bear and a human's, and peeking through the fur were thick, powerful claws. It had a thick tail, but it was difficult to see from Nixie's vantage point. At some point the creature raised its head to look around, and she noticed it had a long, wolf-like snout. It had a glossy black nose with flaring nostrils that absorbed any scent in the area like a sponge. Nixie grimaced a bit in fear, worried that the beast would smell her. The beast did indeed smell her, along with Kyle, Sean, and Akora, but unbeknownst to her, the beast did not care, and thought that she was asleep inside the tent.
On the other side of the tiny camp, Kyle had awoken, needing to use a restroom (or at least a remote tree). He heard the rustling of the leaves and grass, so before leaving the tent, he cast a cautious glance outward. When he saw the beast, he almost relieved himself right then and there. Fledermaus sensed Kyle's distress and crawled up next to him. The young Familiar saw the beast, and grew tense. While the others stood mesmerized, he bounced forward and let out a hiss.
The beast raised its head from the crate once more and peered over its shoulder. It let out a snarl, then turned around and started to creep to the tent.
Kyle scooped up Fledermaus and covered the little mouth with his hand. He took a step back into the tent, but could still see the beast approaching through the gap in the tent flaps. He saw the beast approach slowly, as though simply investigating the scene and not truly in pursuit of anything. Kyle got to his knees and started to curl up as far from the entrance of the tent as he could, wrapping himself around Fledermaus to keep him safe and quiet.
The beast pushed its snout into the tent. Its lips curled up and showed off its teeth. It licked its lips with its massive, slobbery tongue and took a few more steps into the tent. It let out another growl and poised to pounce.
"Get outta there!"
The beast turned its head once more, then yelped as something hit it from behind. It turned around and dashed out of the tent.
Kyle stood and rushed to the entrance of the tent, Fledermaus still in his arms. Just outside of the tent were the smashed remains of the bait crate. Nixie was standing near the stream, knees bent and ready to run, waving her arms over her head. "Yeah, over here!" she called. "Come and get it!"
The beast started to charge, snarling and snapping his jaws in anticipation of a feast. As it drew closer it started to raise itself onto its hind legs, casting a shadow over its target.
Kyle knew he had to help, but he was frozen.
Akora charged out of her tent and tackled the beast, knocking it to the ground. Rather than go for a pin, she stayed standing tall after that, yelling out war cries and enraged shrieks. "Get outta here!" she ordered. "Leave or we'll be forced to take drastic measures!"
Sean was starting to stir at this point, but he was the type that required a lot to wake up. He was tossing and turning, and looked as though he wanted to get up, but he was too tired to get up.
Akora and Nixie continued to battle the animal, though it was very one-sided. The prowler swiped and snapped at the two, but they were able to avoid the blows. Cautiously, Kyle snuck out of the tent and sidled towards the trees. He spotted a few smooth stones on the ground, and thought that maybe he could help without getting too close. He slipped Fledermaus into one arm and picked up one of the stones, and then hurled it at the beast as hard as he could. The first stone missed. He picked up another one and hurled it again. Once again, he missed, but he got its attention. He gave it one more try, and this time, the stone struck the beast in the neck.
"That's it, Kyle!" Nixie called.
"Give it to 'em!" Akora ordered with zeal.
The beast turned its sights on Kyle and charged. It opened its jaws and let out a roar. Kyle once again froze with fear.
"What are you doing, Akfernen?"
"Kyle, move!"
Kyle may have been struck paralyzed by fear, but Fledermaus was not. The little beast wriggled free from Kyle's grasp and charged at the foe. His bravery inspired Akora's Familiar, who had been running around at her ankles, to charge at the beast. Even Marissa managed to escape from her tank and joined the charge. In a matter of moments, everyone's Familiar had swarmed the creature with a flurry of bites and scratches. The monster shook itself, desperately trying to get the Familiars off.
"Excellent, keep it up!" Akora commanded. She and Nixie rushed to tackle the monster.
At this time, other students had started to gather on the other side of the stream to watch. They shouted words of encouragement and some bad albeit well-meaning advice. Their words managed to break Kyle from his trance. He saw the beast struggle with the Familiars and his classmates, and knew he could not risk throwing another rock. If he hit a Familiar, he would feel horrible, but if he hit Akora, she would kill him. So, he decided to run up to the monster and kick it in the face. He ran and closed the small gap between himself and the predator and planted his foot in its jaw.
The beast chomped down on its tongue, causing its thick saliva to run red. Furious, it leapt forward and pounced on Kyle. He collapsed under its weight and tried to scream, but his desperate cries were choked in his throat.
"Get off 'im!" Akora shrieked. She leapt on the beast's back and wrapped her arms around its neck, pulling its head back the best she could to keep it from eating Kyle. "Akfernen, what are you doing?"
Sean finally managed to get up. He saw that Drake had gone, heard the screams, and knew at once that a monster had wandered onto camp. He flew out of the tent and saw the scene playing out before him. "When did this happen!"
"S-Sean, help!" Kyle yelped.
"Should've gotten me earlier," Sean told him smugly.
"Not now, Sean!" Nixie barked.
Akora pulled on the beast's head harder. It roared in pain and thrashed, then clamped its teeth around her arm. She grunted and slipped her free fingers into its eye. It roared, releasing her arm and giving Kyle time to crawl away.
Sean jumped into the fray with gusto, and grabbed hold of one of the beast's front legs. Akora slipped off the monster and began to beat it in the snout. "Get lost!" she ordered.
The beast pulled itself free from Sean's grasp and shook the Familiars from its body. It snarled and bared its teeth, but rather than attack, it turned and scurried to the stream. The students standing on the bank took a few steps back to make room for the creature. It barreled into the water and half-ran, half-swam with the current and disappeared into the night.
The students stood, victorious but physically exhausted.
"What was that about?" Nixie gasped. "I thought they said these things got scared off by sound."
Akora looked her arm over. "Either this one was aggressive, or it was a different animal altogether."
Kyle looked at her arm as well. She wore well-fitting leather armor, and there were very small indents where the beast bit her, but the skin did not seem to be broken. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine," she assured him, rubbing her other hand across the bite. "At worst I'll have some bruises." Then she started to examine him. "How about you?"
"Fine, I think," he replied.
She turned and looked at the campsite. There were smashed remains of a crate, chunks of grass torn from the ground by the beast's charge, small tears in the tents, and the remains of the fire pit scattered about. "What a display," she sighed. Then she turned her attention back to the fire pit. "What happened to our fire!"
Nixie and Kyle immediately looked at Sean.
"The beast must have put it out during one of his charges," Sean lied. "I'd imagine he doesn't like light."
"The truth, Sean," Nixie ordered. "Tell Akora the truth."
Akora turned around slowly, her eyes narrowed until they were barely slits in her face. "What does she mean, Byrne?" she demanded.
Sean's blood ran cold. "Umm, uh..."
"Build it again!" Akora barked. Her order was so loud, and her voice so angry, that even the students who had gathered to watch the fight scattered in fear.
Sean grumbled something under his breath as he collected the fragments of the crate. Under Akora's supervision, he piled the wood into the pit and started trying to light it. It took him a few tries - well alright, many, many tries - to get the fire burning again. The light slowly filled the camp and revealed that there had been more damage than they initially thought. The grass was destroyed, and chunks of dirt were scattered about like snow. The tears in the tent were worse than what they had seen in the darkness. Worst of all, these patches of grass and scraps of tent were dotted with blood.
Akora turned to the others so quickly they could hear her spine crack. "Who's injured?" she demanded in the best caring tone she could manage.
At once, everyone in the campsite began examining themselves for wounds. Akora, her Familiar, and her pet, who had slept through the entire ordeal, were all fine. Marissa was fine, and Nixie only had a few bruises. Drake was fine, but Sean did have a few minor scrapes from holding the beast's claws. Miraculously, Fledermaus was fine, but Kyle was stained with red.
There came a few half-shocked, half-disgusted gasps from his classmates. Kyle's heart started to race. With a shaky hand, he examined his body. His hand crawled to his throat and he felt something warm and wet. He retracted his hand and saw it was covered in crimson.
Nixie approached him slowly. Her arms were out, hands open as if to show she was not a threat. "Kyle, you're okay," she soothed, moving a bit closer. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
He looked at her with distant eyes. His chest hurt, his body shook, his throat was tight, and he was overwhelmed with emotions of panic and alarm. He put his hand to his neck again, but his fingers were numbed with terror.
"Calm down, I don't see any wounds," Nixie assured him in a very calm voice. She reached into her pocket and retrieved a mass of crumpled tissues, then dabbed the blood from Kyle's neck. "There are small scratches, but it doesn't look too bad. It's probably from that furry alligator."
Kyle nodded slowly, but it was an empty action. He was too shaken to fully comprehend what was happening around him.
Akora and Sean approached him as well. "We'll clean you up and you'll be fine," Sean told him. "You're going to be okay."
"Take a deep breath," Nixie instructed.
Kyle understood that. He was taking in short, rapid breaths, and it took every ounce of strength he had to force his lungs to take in something deeper and slower. When he succeeded, he felt himself regain control.
"That's it, you're doing great," Nixie praised.
As Kyle began to regain control of his breath, he began to regain comprehension of his surroundings. One of the first things he noticed was a look of disappointment on Akora's face; well, not just any look, but the look of disappointment. It was the look that says they were expecting more, the look that says they were let down by you, the look that says that you fell below their own expectations of what you should be. It was the look that says that they expected you to be more than what you were. It was as if she had been expecting something spectacular from a totally average person. He was still too shaken up to ask her what her problem was, let alone vocalize anything at all, so he could only speculate what he had done to let her down like that.
"We oughta get some rest," Akora suggested to the group. "We'll return to the Academy in the morning and just turn in what we have."
Sean took on an expression of confusion. "But-"
"No!" Akora boomed. She took a deep breath and repeated, this time softer and calmer, "No. We've done enough, Sean."
Sean decided to stand down. Akora was right.
Nixie finished wiping away the blood from Kyle's neck. She revealed, as she expected, very small scratches that had not even produced their own blood. "It all came from that creature, don't worry."
"Th-Th-Thanks," he stuttered.
She gave him a bit of space. "Do you need me to walk to your tent or are you fine to go on your own?"
Kyle attempted a few steps. "I'll be fine."
Fledermaus rubbed his head against Kyle's legs.
Nixie looped her arm around Kyle's. "Let's get you to bed."
"Thanks, Nix." Kyle took one last deep breath. "I think I feel better now."
Sean took Kyle's other arm. "You'll be fine."
Kyle started to smile a bit. He felt much, much better. "You guys are the best."
Sean pulled Kyle into the tent and set him down. Fledermaus curled up on his chest. He stroked the tiny dragon and started falling asleep.
Sean sat on his sleeping bag and watched Kyle fall asleep. He made sure Kyle was breathing before he turned to Nixie and called softly, "He'll be fine."
Nixie nodded, and she and Marissa returned to their tent. Akora was there, sitting up on her sleeping bag, a pensive look on her face.
"He really has no idea what he is, does he?" Akora asked aloud, more to herself than anything.
Nixie plopped herself down and helped Marissa into her tank. "I don't either."
"How could he not know!" she growled. "It just doesn't make sense!"
"To you, maybe," Nixie yawned. "But remember, his parents didn't tell him anything."
"Why not! Why would they keep it from him if they just knew he'd be coming anyway!"
"Lower your voice," Nixie muttered. Her eyes were closed now, and she was on the verge of sleep. "Everyone will do their own thing, no matter how much sense it doesn't make..."
Akora flopped onto her back. "You don't make sense," she grumbled. "None of you make sense."
The following dawn was blotted out by an enormous shadow. Some students immediately thought it was the end of days, an apocalypse, Ragnarök, an intergalactic armageddon, but in reality, it was something arguably much worse: Mr. Reaper.
Multiple students from different groups had returned early, being much luckier than Kyle's group, with reports of the creature stalking the woods. When more students returned with stories of the creature sneaking into camps and terrorizing the students, Mr. Reaper started paying more attention. It was not uncommon for students to come back from the first mission with "horror stories" of how they "almost died" at the claws of some "horrible beast", but it was a rarity for any student to actually be attacked. So, when one group returned out of fear, yelling about the Akfernen boy's group engaging in a bloody battle with one of the beasts, Mr. Reaper rushed to the nearest door and entered the world, then spent the remainder of the night scouring the land for both students and potential threats. He found Bessie's group just as the first light appeared in the sky. He landed with a mighty thud that shook the ground and roused the group from their slumber.
Bessie shrieked and started to yell, "It's back! It's back!" Her tent mate, a satyr, ran out with a dagger drawn and a thousand curses flowing from her mouth. When she saw her teacher, she sheathed her blade and bowed her head.
"Apologies, Mr. Reaper. I thought you were the thing."
Mr. Reaper took a few steps closer to her. "Where was the attack?" he droned in a menacing tone.
She pointed one of her thick stubby fingers in the direction of Kyle's camp without hesitation. "Somewhere that way," she answered. "They're right by the river."
Without another word, Mr. Reaper leapt into the air and beat his powerful wings, sending the very trees cowering at the might of his gale, and took off into the sky. In a matter of minutes, he found Kyle's camp, still a mess from the attack. He landed once more and investigated every blade of grass, every drop of blood, and every out-of-place fabric almost instantly. Once again, the campers were woken by his arrival, and three students emerged to discover the visitor.
"Mr. Reaper?" Sean called up in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
As Sean spoke, Kyle emerged from his tent. The knowledge that the visitor was not a threat was more than enough to coax him from hiding.
"I heard there was an attack," Mr. Reaper explained quickly, cutting straight to the chase. "I need to see that everyone survived."
"We survived, alright," Sean declared with a confidence that very few displayed in front of Mr. Reaper, folding his arms with an authority just as alien. "The thing didn't stand a chance."
Mr. Reaper narrowed his eyes suspiciously, lowered his head, and looked over the students. His keen vision could spot even a hair out of place, and he intended to use it. Though the group did, in fact, survive, he wanted to see the extent of the damage. He saw the scratches on Sean's arm and Kyle's neck, the remnants of blood that Nixie failed to wipe away, the bites that damaged Akora's armor, even the nicks on their Familiars. He rose back to full height and nodded in approval. "I must say, I am impressed," he began, "however, I am now instructing you to report to the nurse."
Akora and Sean's jaws dropped. "Nurse?" the echoed in unison.
Mr. Reaper nodded. "Yes, nurse. Your assignment is complete and you may return to the Academy. You are to report to the nurse's office immediately upon your arrival."
Sean made the foolish mistake of opening his mouth to argue. Before any words could come out, though, Mr. Reaper repeated, this time much louder, "That's an order!"