28

28
Mirella’s POV

After what happened in the cafeteria, people started noticing me. For the first time in a long while, students actually came up to me—not to whisper, not to stare, but to talk.

A few of them said they admired what I did. That I stood up for someone when everyone else stayed silent. When two girls and a boy said they wanted to join my group, my heart almost burst with relief. Finally, it felt like things were turning around.

I gave them my number and told them we’d meet after school. I spent the rest of the day planning what to say, how to welcome them, how to make them feel safe.

But when the time came, no one showed up.

I waited outside the old art room for an hour, checking my phone over and over, convincing myself they were just late. But by the time the sun went down, I knew they weren’t coming.

The next day, I found out why.

The female legion had gotten to them first.

One of the girls—Lena—came to me quietly between classes. Her eyes were red. She said the female legion threatened her, said if she joined my group, she’d regret it. “She said she’d ruin my life,” Lena whispered. “I’m sorry, Mirella. I can’t.”

I told her it was okay, but my chest hurt. It felt like no matter how hard I tried, the female legion was always one step ahead.

During class, I felt someone watching me. When I turned, it was Kaelen. He looked away fast, pretending to read his notes, but I knew he’d been staring.

And just like that, all the anger came rushing back.

He was the reason she was back. The reason all of this started again. If he hadn’t helped her, none of this would be happening.

After class, I walked down the hallway toward my locker—and that’s when I heard her voice.

The female legion was standing near the corner, surrounded by her friends, her tone smug and casual.

“I’m going to destroy her little group,” she said. “One by one. Starting with the weakest.”

My heart started racing. I ducked behind the wall before she could see me.

I needed to warn the others.

I grabbed my phone and texted everyone: “Meet me in the old gym. Now.”

When they arrived, I told them everything I’d overheard. Yuki looked worried. Dante’s jaw tightened. The stutterer—Eli—looked terrified.

“She means it,” I said. “We have to be careful. She’s planning something.”

Dante crossed his arms. “Then we stick together. No one goes anywhere alone. If she wants to pick us off one by one, we don’t give her the chance.”

Everyone agreed. We made a promise that night—to protect each other no matter what.

For the next few days, we followed the rule strictly. We walked to class together, ate together, even stayed late together when one of us had extra work. It was tiring, but it felt safer.

Until Friday.

That was the day Eli had to stay after school to retake a test. I didn’t find out until later that evening. He hadn’t told anyone because he didn’t want to “bother” us.

When I realized he hadn’t texted in hours, I started to worry. I tried calling—no answer. Iris called too. Nothing.

Then, around sunset, the janitor found him. Locked inside a storage closet near the gym.

They said he was trapped there for hours. When they pulled him out, he was shaking, his face pale and his breathing uneven. He kept saying, “They were laughing. I heard them laughing outside.”

When I got to the nurse’s office, I could barely look at him. He was sitting on the bed, eyes red and glassy, his hands trembling.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “This is my fault.”

He shook his head quickly, stuttering through his words. “N-no. It’s mine. I shouldn’t have stayed.”

Tears burned my eyes. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

He looked at me for a long time, then said in a small voice, “I can’t do this anymore, Mirella. I thought I could, but I can’t. I’m scared all the time. Every time I see them, I freeze.”

I reached for his hand, but he pulled it back. “Please don’t hate me,” he said. “But I’m quitting the group.”

Those words hit harder than I expected. I tried to convince him to stay—to tell him we needed him, that things would get better—but he just shook his head.

“I just want it to stop,” he whispered.

He left soon after. I stood there, watching him walk away down the hallway, his shoulders hunched like the weight of everything was crushing him.

When I finally sat down, the silence in the nurse’s office was unbearable.

For the first time, I felt truly defeated.

The female legion had won another round without lifting a finger.

She didn’t just attack us physically—she broke us from the inside.

And the worst part? I had no idea how to stop her anymore.

I felt like I was sinking, trapped in a war I couldn’t win. Every time I tried to rise, she found a way to drag me down again.

But as I stared at the empty doorway where Eli had left, a new thought flickered through my mind—quiet but sharp.

If she wanted to destroy me piece by piece, I’d make her regret it.

She wanted a war? Then I’d give her one.

Even if I had to stand alone.

Still, a part of me couldn’t ignore the truth—Kaelen had something to do with all this. His silence. His distance. The way he kept watching but never stepping in.

Was he helping
her again? Or just watching to see how far I’d fall?

I didn’t know.

But I was going to find out.