Thursday, 7:45 p.m.
Commerce City High School
All the classrooms were deserted already, except for the one in Home Economics. Inside, Laura Collins was finishing up the last batch of props to be used for the dance. It was getting late, but she was confident that everything is all set. The rest of the group will take care of attaching these to the gym tomorrow morning.
“And that’s the last one, finally!” Laura said triumphantly.
It had been a hectic day for her. Not only was she dumped with a lot of lessons, but that male friend of hers had been acting weirdly all throughout the day. For one, Rick had been bothering her all day long, staying with her or watching her. And if she would try asking for his help, he would quickly walk away. But Laura’s sure that he was still watching. She could feel his eyes looking at her and everything around her.
It was giving her the creeps.
At the same time, a flurry of images popped into her head, like a vision.
It was the long, dark alleyway again. There was a flight of shadows, flashes of light, buildings and rooftops rushing past her, and a woman. That woman stood in the darkness, her eyes glowing white. She looked so familiar.
“Hey, Laura!”
Laura gave a shrill yelp, suddenly pulled back to reality. She turned to the source. Rick Alderfer was standing by the doorway, looking intently at her.
“You done? I’ll walk you home,” he offered.
“No, not yet,” Laura lied, “I still had a lot of things to finish.”
She had no intention of being with him for now. She was still bothered by his actions yesterday afternoon. Rick had apologized to both them earlier but did not elaborate.
“But it’s getting late,” Rick said, “it’s not safe for girls like you to walk alone.”
“Look, Rick,” Laura was a bit irritated, “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I’d appreciate it if you could go ahead and leave. I’m still busy, and I have a lot of things to do.”
Laura pretended to busy herself with the props. After a few moments, she looked at the doorway. Rick was still there, looking at her intently.
“What?” Laura asked in irritation.
“Nothing,” Rick shook his head.
“Aren’t you supposed to be doing something every afternoon?”
“Well, not today,” her friend shrugged, “it’s for a good reason.”
Laura frowned at the tone of his voice, as well as his choice of words. She rearranged some of the props again. When she looked back, Rick was already gone.
“What a weirdo,” Laura muttered in spite of herself.
She lingered for a couple of minutes before packing up and leaving the room. As she walked down the hall, a familiar voice called out.
“Oh, Miss Collins, you’re still here?”
Mr. Potters was smiling as he approached her.
“It’s getting late,” he added.
“Good evening, sir,” Laura was mildly surprised, “you’re still here?”
“I was checking some papers in the faculty room. I guess I’m not the only one in a hurry to get things done.”
“It’s for the Friday night dance, right?” Laura asked, smiling.
“Yes, it’s actually my first time to attend such an event.”
They walked together out of the school.
“Thanks for accompanying me home,” Laura said.
“It’s nothing,” Mr. Potters replied, “it is late already, and this is certainly not the time to walk alone.”
“Yeah. By the way, did you hear about the alleyway murders? Another pile of corpses were found yesterday.”
“Really? I didn’t hear that. I’d better get you home faster, if that’s the case.”
Both of them picked up their pace and continued walking
“So, Mr. Potters,” Laura asked after walking for a while, “what do you think of school? I suppose this is your first time teaching, right?”
“Yes, that’s right,” the teacher laughed, “Being a teacher does have its challenges, but I must say the benefits far outweigh the problems.”
“Hmm, I can sure-,” Laura stopped, her skin suddenly turning cold
Blocking their path was a group of people wearing tattered black robes. Shadows cast from the street lamps obscured their faces. Even from a distance, she could hear their voices.
“Ah, it’s the Vessel,” one of them hissed.
“The Mark is still upon her,” another added.
Suddenly, Laura felt a stabbing pain in her head. It was so painful she knelt down weakly. For some reason, the sight in front of her was so familiar.
“Look, let’s go!” one of the hooded figures screamed.
“Oh, no you don’t, you will not get the Vessel.”
Vessel? Laura thought, the word sounded familiar to her.
She looked up and saw Mr. Potters standing between her and her attackers. He was now wearing a pair of red fingerless gloves. In the middle of the gloves, a flame-shaped symbol was burning.
“Mr. Potters?” Laura whispered.
“Let me deal with these Slayers first,” her teacher said.
Laura silently watched as Mr. Potters launched himself towards the attackers. With martial art moves she recognized as Karate, all the Slayers were being killed. Each strike that lands on them sets that area on fire. By the time he was done, all that was left were the burned corpses of the attackers.
“Mr. Potters,” she whispered amid the haze in her head.
“Quick, let’s get out of here,” her teacher pulled her hand, “There might be more.”
They began to run. It was only when they have hidden themselves in an alley that Laura slumped down to the ground.
“Are you all right?” Mr. Potter’s asked.
Her teacher walked closer and helped her stand up. Laura’s legs felt like jelly.
“What was that?” she finally asked.
“Those Slayers, they’re good,” Mr. Potters said, “I had to use my magic to destroy them.”
“Magic?” Laura narrowed her eyes.
The word itself stirred something in her mind, but she still could not put a finger on it.
“Yes, magic,” Mr. Potters smiled, “To defeat magicians, you need to be a magician yourself.”
Laura leaned on the wall, still trying to catch her breath.
“Thanks for the save there,” she said gratefully, “It was weird, I mean, they all seemed intent on killing me.”
Mr. Potters was looking out of the alleyway, his back facing her.
“It can’t be helped,” he said, “You’re quite the tempting target. I find it hard to keep you to myself with all those idiots trying to steal you from me.”
“Mr. Potters?” Laura was puzzled.
“Well, well, it seems like you got rid of them all. I’m impressed,” someone spoke.
A lump formed in Laura’s throat. At the opposite end of the alley, blocking the only exit, stood a blonde woman. Her glowing white eyes and voice triggered a new flood of memories, sharper than ever before.
“Dash, Metronome, Vessel, magic, Slayers, the woman, the vial…” Laura muttered.
Her memories had finally returned. Laura now remembered everything that happened last Friday. She shuddered at the realization that she was in deep danger. Oblivious to Laura’s fear, Mr. Potters approached the woman and bowed down.
“I prefer keeping the Vessel to myself,” the teacher said, “Mistress Freya.”
Laura frowned, “Mistress Freya?”
“Why, yes,” Freya said, “After all, I am the Witch-Princess. One should be aware of the ways in addressing people of higher station.”
Laura’s teacher turned to face the girl, smiling. But it was one with malice.
“That is true, young Vessel,” he replied, “for I’m her minion, the Baron of Despair Craven. And Harvey Potters is an alias I’m more than happy to be rid off. It practically stinks!”
It only took a moment for the truth to dawn on Laura.
“No,” she took a step back, “this is not happening.”
“Yes, it is,” Craven smirked, “I actually wanted to see your anguished face when I trap you inside my paradox realm, but those Slayers had to disrupt my timing. Competition is never good, take note of that.”
Craven started to laugh maniacally as cloth-like shadows rose up. It began to wrap around him, turning into a tattered block robe. It was the same tattered robes worn by Slayers that tried to kill her last Friday.
“I hope you don’t mind dying tonight,” he said.
Before Laura could react, the Baron of Despair Craven lunged at her.