"I hope everyone will make Edwin here feel
welcome" was the teacher's misguided attempt to help him fit into his new
class. Why do they always act as if students are understanding, nice people?
He didn't care too much, he'd dealt with a lot of bad cases in his previous
schools, so he was certain he could handle it, but it still annoyed him.
"What a stupid name" came the predictable result from one of the students in class. Edwin felt no need to restrain himself, however, so he looked at the boy who'd insulted him; who was now looking around to his friends as they shared a laugh. He noted Edwin's stare and turned to him, his face gone stern in an attempt at intimidation. "What?" he said.
"If you insult me then I'll break every bone in your body" Edwin said, gaining the disapproving stares of many of his new 'classmates'. Funny that noone cared at the boy insulting him, but they disliked his behaviour. As is always the way. The boy simply laughed at him. "Since you've already insulted me once, I guess I should break one of your bones anyway. At break though" Edwin said with a smile.
The boy looked like he was going to make a retort but the teacher interrupted any further quarrel.
"Now now" she said, grabbing Edwin's shoulder. A strangely strong grip, Edwin noted. She pushed Edwin towards his new seat, and somehow Edwin was unable to resist her push. He noted that everyone remained silent. Perhaps there was more to this teacher than met the eye.
His seat was near the back of the class, next to a boy with short hair that had been obviously bleached blonde, and his uniform looked very untidy, as if he was trying to look like some sort of rebel.
"I don't enjoy telling you to tuck in your shirt you know" she said to the blonde boy angrily as she looked disapprovingly at him.
"Sorry Miss" he said, smiling a sheepish smile, but not tucking his shirt into his trousers.
Once Edwin had settled into his seat and gotten his notebook and pen out of his bag the teacher returned to the front of the class and began writing out some maths examples on the board. She said, while everyone remained quiet, that she would write up a sheet for Edwin to go over what they'd already been over so far in the year.
"You shouldn't have threatened him, you know" the blonde boy said, leaning over to Edwin.
"I don't care" was his reply.
"You should. He's a member of the boxing club. People say their leader has never lost a fight. Although that's just what people say"
"Yeah well. I'm sure every bully has some stupid rumour about them." Edwin said. The blonde boy seemed amused as that, as he chuckled quietly.
It was then that Edwin noticed the girl in front of him, who had raised her hand to answer or ask some question. She had red hair, very unusual for a high school student. Edwin himself had normal, short, black hair. Most of the other students had ordinary hair too, except for this girl.
"You shouldn't get involved with her" the blonde boy said, noticing Edwin's stare.
"And why not?" he asked, getting annoyed with his next-chair neighbour.
"She seems like a great girl. Friendly enough, but not too friendly. Red hair. Beautiful. No boyfriend either. She even has perfect grades. But people say she believes in demons" he answered, ending with a mocking grin.
"Demons?" Edwin asked, for the first time surprised, and turning towards him.
"Haven't you heard the stories of the demons of this school?"
"Nope" Edwin replied, shaking his head, but interested despite himself.
"Well, you see, these monsters are invisible, except to those who really believe in their existence. Once you believe, even if it's an unwilling belief, you can see them. And when you can see them, they know you see them, and they come after you. Weapons don't hurt them, and bullets go through them. Nothing stops them until they come after you and eat you."
Edwin felt a chill go down his spine, and a cold sweat appear on his back, but he pretended he was fine.
"That's stupid" he said. "They won't attack you if you don't believe in them?" he asked, smiling disbelievingly.
"Mostly.... but its not completely mutual. It's not a 'if you can't see them they can't see you' kinda thing. They can always see us, they just decide to go after the ones who can see them. But even if you can't see them, sometimes they might get hungry and eat you anyway" he said.
"Well, whatever, that's a stupid story." he replied.
"Don't believe it if you don't want to. I'm not saying it's true, it's just the rumour of this school" he said with a laugh that made it seem that he didn't believe it either. Somehow though, Edwin suddenly felt paranoid like he was being watched, but he refused to look around while the blonde boy was watching him. He didn't want to appear weak and childish.
He was the last to leave the classroom for
their break. He waited until everyone had left then looked around suspiciously.
After realising there was nothing around, he felt like an idiot for letting the
story get to him.
He had completely forgotten about the classmate who had made fun of him, and he had seemed to have forgotten about him too, as he'd left without saying anything. Edwin spent the break looking around the school to get familiar with the place. He realised that the teacher had also forgotten to give him a recap sheet for maths. He didn't much care about it either way.
He was walking up a path on which one side was the back of one of the school buildings, and on the other side were bushes and trees in front of a wall, when he bumped into something and almost fell over. He looked around but couldn't see anything that would have obstructed him, and it was clear daylight.
"Must've been my imagination..." he said quietly, reassured by the sound of his own voice. He started to walk but bumped into it again.
There was something there. Right in front of him. But he couldn't see anything except a clear path. He put his hands out in front of him and felt something there. It was big, and felt wet to the touch. Then it moved.
Edwin scrambled back, falling over in the process. He jumped back to his feet and strained his eyes to see, but he couldn't see anything. However, what he did both see and hear was the bushes moving and rustling as whatever the invisible thing was in front of him started to move. Edwin turned, and ran, as fast as he could.
"Better hurry up! Don't want to be late for class!" came a shout that brought his mind whirling back to reality.
As he ran past he noticed some delinquents hanging around near some trees, smoking. Break must be over.
He headed to his next classroom, still disturbed by what he had witnessed. Had his mind simply been playing tricks on him? If it hadn't then.... were they going to come after him?
The day's classes passed without making any impact on him; his mind occupied with thoughts of monsters. He got handed many, many sheets and booklets to help him catch up. He just shoved them in his bag and before he knew it he was on his way home.
He couldn't help glancing around, paranoid that something was following, and eventually he ended up lost on his way home. Damnit. He was new to the area after all. He started to backtrack his steps, so he could start his route again and hopefully get it right. The day had started to end and night was settling in, the world around him turning slowly dark.
He could see the school in the distance now, poking up from behind some houses. I must be just a street or two away.
That's when he heard it. The sound of something shuffling across the floor behind him. He jumped around, expecting to see someone, but there was no one. Wide-eyed and fearful now, he hoped the sound wouldn't come back, that it was just his imagination, and that there was nothing there.
The sound came back. This time it was followed by a very quiet, but unmistakable, growl. The air in front of him seemed to be distorted somehow, as if he could almost see what was there. Wasting no time with the thing, however, he decided to just run.
He could hear it chasing him. It was just as fast as he was and he couldn't outrun it. He didn't know why, perhaps subconsciously he was still trying to get home, although that wouldn't help, but he ended up running towards the school.
The gate was closed, but he jumped at it and scrambled wildly to climb over it, sure that the invisible creature was about to grab him. Somehow he made it over the gate, and turned around to look around desperately to see if it had managed to follow him. He could still hear it. The sound came towards the gate.
Before his very eyes the gate creaked, moaned, then crumpled and broke, falling in ruins to the floor.
Edwin couldn't breathe, and certainly couldn't believe what he'd just seen. The sound came closer and closer towards him, until it was just a step away, then a terrible coldness came over him.... so cold he was convinced he'd just died.
"You're very lucky!" came a shout. He was extremely confused then. The sound of a normal, human voice had come from behind him. Then, suddenly, he was grabbed and pulled to the ground, as something exploded overhead. He tried to get to his feet but whoever had grabbed him maintained their hold and got to their feet first, pulling him away from the…. Thing. He clambered to his feet and saw a girl before him. She had short, brown hair, and wasn’t much shorter than him, but had a very strong grip. She was wearing a blue top with a strangely blue jacket as well.
"So, you've seen them." she said, looking straight at Edwin. "There's no escaping now. Turn around and watch. The sooner you accept them the easier it'll be"
Edwin had no words, but turned around nonetheless towards the chaotic noises. He watched in horror as 'something' crashed through the air time and time again.
He had completely forgotten about the classmate who had made fun of him, and he had seemed to have forgotten about him too, as he'd left without saying anything. Edwin spent the break looking around the school to get familiar with the place. He realised that the teacher had also forgotten to give him a recap sheet for maths. He didn't much care about it either way.
He was walking up a path on which one side was the back of one of the school buildings, and on the other side were bushes and trees in front of a wall, when he bumped into something and almost fell over. He looked around but couldn't see anything that would have obstructed him, and it was clear daylight.
"Must've been my imagination..." he said quietly, reassured by the sound of his own voice. He started to walk but bumped into it again.
There was something there. Right in front of him. But he couldn't see anything except a clear path. He put his hands out in front of him and felt something there. It was big, and felt wet to the touch. Then it moved.
Edwin scrambled back, falling over in the process. He jumped back to his feet and strained his eyes to see, but he couldn't see anything. However, what he did both see and hear was the bushes moving and rustling as whatever the invisible thing was in front of him started to move. Edwin turned, and ran, as fast as he could.
"Better hurry up! Don't want to be late for class!" came a shout that brought his mind whirling back to reality.
As he ran past he noticed some delinquents hanging around near some trees, smoking. Break must be over.
He headed to his next classroom, still disturbed by what he had witnessed. Had his mind simply been playing tricks on him? If it hadn't then.... were they going to come after him?
The day's classes passed without making any impact on him; his mind occupied with thoughts of monsters. He got handed many, many sheets and booklets to help him catch up. He just shoved them in his bag and before he knew it he was on his way home.
He couldn't help glancing around, paranoid that something was following, and eventually he ended up lost on his way home. Damnit. He was new to the area after all. He started to backtrack his steps, so he could start his route again and hopefully get it right. The day had started to end and night was settling in, the world around him turning slowly dark.
He could see the school in the distance now, poking up from behind some houses. I must be just a street or two away.
That's when he heard it. The sound of something shuffling across the floor behind him. He jumped around, expecting to see someone, but there was no one. Wide-eyed and fearful now, he hoped the sound wouldn't come back, that it was just his imagination, and that there was nothing there.
The sound came back. This time it was followed by a very quiet, but unmistakable, growl. The air in front of him seemed to be distorted somehow, as if he could almost see what was there. Wasting no time with the thing, however, he decided to just run.
He could hear it chasing him. It was just as fast as he was and he couldn't outrun it. He didn't know why, perhaps subconsciously he was still trying to get home, although that wouldn't help, but he ended up running towards the school.
The gate was closed, but he jumped at it and scrambled wildly to climb over it, sure that the invisible creature was about to grab him. Somehow he made it over the gate, and turned around to look around desperately to see if it had managed to follow him. He could still hear it. The sound came towards the gate.
Before his very eyes the gate creaked, moaned, then crumpled and broke, falling in ruins to the floor.
Edwin couldn't breathe, and certainly couldn't believe what he'd just seen. The sound came closer and closer towards him, until it was just a step away, then a terrible coldness came over him.... so cold he was convinced he'd just died.
"You're very lucky!" came a shout. He was extremely confused then. The sound of a normal, human voice had come from behind him. Then, suddenly, he was grabbed and pulled to the ground, as something exploded overhead. He tried to get to his feet but whoever had grabbed him maintained their hold and got to their feet first, pulling him away from the…. Thing. He clambered to his feet and saw a girl before him. She had short, brown hair, and wasn’t much shorter than him, but had a very strong grip. She was wearing a blue top with a strangely blue jacket as well.
"So, you've seen them." she said, looking straight at Edwin. "There's no escaping now. Turn around and watch. The sooner you accept them the easier it'll be"
Edwin had no words, but turned around nonetheless towards the chaotic noises. He watched in horror as 'something' crashed through the air time and time again.
As he watched, the distorted 'thing' that he hadn't been able to see became distinguishable. Two creatures came into view. Something was jumping through the air into the large creature and sending it tumbling across the floor. The creature that had been sent tumbling across the floor must’ve been the thing that had been following Edwin. He could tell when it’s appearance came into view. It was a gigantic lump of thrashing tentacles covered in gaping, fanged maws. Edwin felt sick looking at it. The girl had let go of him and he backed away, turning once to her, then he ran.
"Wait!" shouted the girl, as Edwin ran towards the gate. The fight between monsters was in his way, but he gritted his teeth and ran through. A tentacle lashed towards him, but the other creature intercepted it and a piece of thrashing tentacle went flying past Edwin’s vision. Edwin stared, wide-eyed, then tore his eyes away from it and ran on, through the broken gate and out of the school. It was all too much for him, and if the monster was busy being attacked then at least it wouldn't be able to come after him.
This time, as he left the school, he found the route home all too easily, and ran straight for it, ignoring the strange looks he received from people as he ran without stopping.
He found his way back to his lone flat without incident. He didn't feel hungry, and had no desire to watch TV like he might normally do. He went straight to his bedroom, and straight to bed, never before wishing for sleep so badly, so he might wake up in the morning and imagine it all a dream.
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