CHAPTER FOUR

The bell rings as the clock stroke 9:30 a. m. which means it's time for recess, all of the students are huddling together just to buy their food. I'm lucky I decided to bring my own snack to school. I'm just about to have a bite when...

"Ouch!" I bit my finger instead of my sandwich because someone snatched it from me.

"Hey! that's mine!" I exclaimed.

"Yours? Is your name on it? I didn't see any names written on it" she grinned as inspects at every side of my burger.

"No" I replied, I make an obeisance as my shoulders sagged down while I looked down to the ground, knowing I can't have it back.

"Your name is nowhere to be found in this food, so that means it doesn't belong to you in the first place" she grinned foolishly and took a bite "But I made that on my own!" I protested that made her head turned around to face me and sneered "I touched it, so it's now mine, whatever I touched, it's going to be mine and there's nothing you can do about it" Kathleen warned me and take another bite before finishing it.

I go back to my seat while my shoulders sagged down and drink my water as my eyes were closed while I calm myself down; my eyebrows narrowed as I opened my eyes and noticed that no liquid from my tumbler goes down for me to drink.

"Huh? Why did the water stays at the bottom?" I curiously wondered as I try to make the water flow down but still, nothing happened; I let out a deep sigh of surrendering, knowing that I can't get it out and I'm running out of energy to do some things.

I placed my tumbler on the table and No desire to sit on the chair while my lips formed a curve down, a loud sound of a glass that just broke was heard at the back; I turned around to look at what is it that just broke, my eyes lengthened as I gazed at my tumbler that I accidentally pushed off the table and falls down.

I kneeled down to the ground as I picked up the pieces of my tumbler "Ah!" I whispered as I get my hands wounded by a sharp piece of my tumbler but... "I didn't feel any pain? How come this doesn't hurt? It... It feels good. What's happening to me?" I thought in my mind as I inspects my hands that ain't feeling any pain while fresh blood of mine flows down.

My sight suddenly turned red with some black in the outline of some things I glared at. As I gazed at my flesh, I was mesmerized by my own blood, its like there's something like a spell that made my flesh sparkle in every angle I looked at while I slowly move my hand closer to my face.

I sipped my blood flowing from my wounded hands as I closed my eyes and enjoy the savory taste of fresh blood of mine, I opened my eyes after I finished eating my blood; I lift up my head as I glared at the people in front of me wearing a sarcastic grin.

I took my backpack and left the room without any word to say, I pushed the door shut from the outside and let out a sigh; I lift my head and eyes as I was about to walk away, my eyes broadened as I saw someone standing in front of me when I rotated to the right.

"Didn't I told you earlier to wait for me in the room after recess, Esquivel?" he asked with his arms folded in front of his chest as he gazed at me, I looked down shameful of what I was about to do; he grabbed my wrist and pulled me somewhere, "Where are you taking me?" I asked in curiosity "Did you just forgot about earlier?" he replied without even giving me a glare "What's with earlier?" I questioned, I just totally forgot about what just happened earlier.

Whatever I do to remember what just happened before I go out of the room, I still can't remember it. It was all blank.

Minutes passed since he began to drag me somewhere, we stopped in front of a door with some vines surrounding it as he released my wrist from his grip, he looked both ways before stepping forward to approach the door; he placed his hand on the central part of the old door and a blue vertical neon line occurred and moved from the north to the south.

After the scan finished, the blue vertical neon line disappeared and the door unlocked, he pushed the door open and dragged me inside; the door closed shut after we both get inside, I gasped as I heard a locking sound of the door behind while my eyes opened wide.

I turned around and ran towards the door and hit the door many times for the door to unlock "Are you finished?" he asked in boredom "Why is this door locked?" I nervously asked as some of my glacial liquids flows down.

"Don't be nervous. Its just how things in this place works." he calmly spoke and dragged me again to the center of a small circular stage and left me there, a rectangular table appeared in front of me with some weapons on it.

I lift my head and a white manikin appeared 5 meters away from me at the front "Every stage of this training has an upgrade that shall make your aiming power improve and go stronger. Your main goal in this training is to SLAY the manikin in four minutes." he instructed while walking around the manikin and me.

I picked up the light crossbow "The timer starts... NOW!" I aimed at the white manikin and shot it in the left eye "Bull's-eye!" I exclaimed in happiness knowing that the manikin could be dead by now even though manikins don't have a life. I twisted my head to the right and saw him leaning against the wall with his arms folded in front with a lopsided grin on his face then suddenly points at the manikin that made my eyebrows narrowed in confusion "Isn't that enough? I killed it, right?" I thought in my mind and slowly turned my head to gaze at the "OH MY GOD!" I said shock headed with my eyes opened wide when I saw the manikin having a foolish smirk on its lips and a red right eye that I shot earlier while galloping towards me.

My heart beats fast and loud as my body is shaking in fright of the white manikin in front of me; I dropped the crossbow and took the Glock 19 gun and shot the manikin's head where the brain is located but it only made it worse, the manikin ran rapidly towards me and I got statued in my place while he gets near me. When the manikin is about to reach out to touch me, large arms pulled me near the body and shot the manikin right straight to the heart by the use of a needle-pointed blade that made the manikin fell to the ground and some red liquid crawls to the ground; I lift my head and saw him glaring at me "Next time, focus on your training before you get killed." he instructed then made a thin smile and released me from his large warm arms that protected me from being slayed.

"Training's over for now. You'll need a better concentration next time." he stated with his calm, deep voice as he hold my hand and left the training room.

The class ended, and I still can't believe on what he did in class. The happenings keep on replaying in my mind. My heart is still pounding and whatever I do, I can't calm it down. Oh my. What does he do to me? My hands are shaking and glacial liquids flow from my skin.

As I traipse to my condominium, a body of someone is lying down while facing the ground caught my attention. He is placed near a couple of trees, I approached him in my confusion. My eyes widened as I glared at the whole body, there's a knife with sharp Fangs in each side attached to the handle of the knife with a needle-pointed blade stabbed in his head bathing in his own blood.

3rd Person's POV

A person hiding behind a tree, 5 trees away from them sneered devilishly as he/she took a photo of Alycione near the dead body, put on the hood of his/her dark green hooded-cloak and silently walks away without her noticing it.

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Alycione's Point of View

I looked around and I saw no one other than me and the person being slaughtered by someone. I picked up some dried leaves nearby and put it over him. A moment later, when I put some dried leaves near his head, a small white cloth with some blood of the victim that surrounds the left fang caught my eye. I pulled out the cloth and a note is written....

“Be Happy,

Now Get Ready”

Based on the writings, it's handwritten by someone who used an old pen. "What's this note supposed to mean?" I thought in confusion "What will I get ready for? Oh well, whatever it is I'll be ready for it even though I don't know what I'm preparing for" I thought.

****************

I'm here, again, at the Academy, silently traipsing in the rock pathway leading to the school canteen. When someone walks right past me and...

"Oh shoot."

"What a scene." some students around us spoke in surprise on what they just seen when Kathleen poured her porridge at my back so I turned around to face her.

"Oh, hi there [2]Lamia" she greeted with a foolish smirk as I face her with a confused look.

[2](Folklore) A female demon or vampire.

A monster preying upon human beings and who sucked the blood of children, often described as having the head and breasts of a woman and the lower half of a serpent.

(Greek Mythology) A monster represented as a serpent with the head and breasts of a woman that ate children and sucked the blood from men.

"I didn't know that a bloodsucker enters this Academy. Did you girls?" she stated that made my eyebrows narrowed "I don't know what are you talking about Kathleen." I spoke, "Oh, really?" she asked while grinning "What if I told you that you were caught, sucking your own blood in your wounds?" she smirks while having her arms folded in front of her.

"What?" I replied with my eyes opened wide "See for yourself." the one standing beside Kathleen at the right spoke as she handed me over the phone and showed me a video, I pressed the play button and saw myself sitting on my feet while gazing at my wounded hands and slowly lifting them to reach my face. I licked and sipped the blood flowing from the wounds and I can see that I enjoyed it then the screen went black. "No, this can't be me." I denied as I shook my head.

"And now the Lamia is really denying it." Kathleen spoke while shaking her head and clicking her tongue three times. "You can't deny that now Lamia, everyone witnessed the scene by their own eyes." the one beside Kathleen at the right spoke with those foolish smirk.

My eyes widened in shock due to what I just heard and made my heart pound, my body loosed it's strength as my knees were now shaking that made me drop to the floor while panting. An arrow with blazing fire at its tip suddenly crosses near the place where Kathleen is standing that made her stop traipsing "Stop right where you are Maderia!" she warned her, I turned my head around and saw her traipsing towards us with her bow and arrows at her back. 

"And the Mighty Huntress just appeared." She sneered devilishly and folded her arms in front as Scyxia approaches me "Are you alright?" she asked with worries in her eyes as she sat down on her feet for us to be on the same level, I'm still shaking in fright so I didn't answer the question Scyxia asked.

"How's your training? Can't slay anyone? You know what, you shouldn't be called the ‘Mighty Huntress’. You should be called hmm... [3]CRAVEN" she sneered devilishly then laugh that made Scyxia clenched her fists in anger.

[3] having or showing a complete lack of courage: very cowardly.