The beat of the distant drum rattled William’s bones, growing louder with each strike. He hadn’t notice when the rhythm had changed, speeding up and taking precedent over the chimes. The chimes chattered, their presence constant, like entering a restaurant full of conversations that had nothing to do with him. He was alone.

He had no where to run.

They can’t hold out forever.

He could play this game better than they could. He knew the school grounds better than anyone. Every nook and cranny were his to exploit. He’d come out swinging if he had to. He’d proven that much in the games.

Don’t be stupid. This isn’t some game.

From the darkness the monster-man emerged, wing tips trailing fire behind him like a pair of Phoenix tails. The darkness had swallowed the horizon. The walls of darkness thundered onto the campus, engulfing the buildings in a torrent of angry water, following the creature at a shrinking distance.

Frozen in his panic, William gaped, his sense of self-preservation gesticulated rather than issue orders to his feet. A monster he could run from. A tidal wave of darkness on the other hand…

His mind struggled to make sense of the experience. “This isn’t real!” He needed it to not be real. He needed the whole experience to be another hallucination. Maybe the monster-man wasn’t a monster after all. Why then did he feel a fear so raw it made him sick?

The cascading sheet of water surrounded the Academy, engulfing the streets and building in its haze of dark water. There was no where to run. He had to run, his mind screamed. The thunderous roar of the water rushed toward him with a promised of death. He ran.

He had no plan. Running delayed the inevitable for no good reason.

He saw the students at the base of the educational towers. “Help!” he called to them. In the twilight world, the gathered student had a glow about them, thousands of faces shining with delight as they sipped hot drinks and nibbled festive treats. He had the impression that he was looking at ghosts caught in a happy memory. Would they answer him at all? Or would they return to their pre-recorded message?

He collided into one student, knocking her drink to the ground. She cursed him. He shook her, pointed to the tidal wave that had swallowed another section of the school grounds: “Everybody needs to get out of here. You need to RUN!” He shook her again, feeling his grip squeeze so hard he could feel her bones. She was so frail, so easy to break…

“You’re hurting me!” She shouted as he friends pushed him off of her. He let go. They couldn’t see it. They refused to see it.

Horrified he look down to his feet, watching the shallow stroke of the tide nudge him. Everyone but him, stood above the water, as though standing on a glass surface. Their reflections shone back at them, stripped of the physical details that made them who they were.

He had no time to save them. Where would they go anyway? He entered the educational tower, casting one last look at the tidal wave as it swallowed another row of buildings.

The torrential roar muted when the door to the tower closed behind William. He breathed as though he had held his breath since leaving his residence. Students clustered in quiet conversation and hearty laughter. The water hadn’t followed him into the building. Maybe he was out of it’s reach? Maybe he was imagining things. He give anything to learn that this was all a bad dream caused by the meds the doctors gave him.

Movement in the courtyard caught his attention. It was full of cheerful students dining on festive snacks and hot drinks. He enjoyed this event. He loved the holiday songs, the snow sculptures and the little delicacies that he wouldn’t be able to have back home.

He saw it again, the thing that had caught his attention. Seth, the star Captain, requested drinks, by gesturing with two fingers. He rubbed his gloved hands together as burst of pixie dust escaped from him mouth. He had a glow about him, an inner light that might have been brilliant at one point, but was dying out. Staring at Seth was like looking through the dusty windows of an old light house.

They had got to him too...

Chimes sounded across the campus, commanding the student’s attention. Screens blinked open in succession down the hall. Three large screens appeared in the courtyard. Students craned their heads while munching on their treats.

“In light of today’s competitive play…” A masked agent of the Gaming Commission addressed the students. An announcement from game representatives were uncommon, which meant that a change in the game was immanent. Any slight adjustment could change the dynamics of the game. Top teams could become losing teams overnight.

“…While we encourage high level competitive play to prove one’s excellence in team-based combat as a stellar example of co-operative superiority, we do not condone the use of excessive force with the intent to disfigure or kill opposing players. We feel that these actions are not in the spirit of the game.”

He watched as Seth pushed his way through the crowd with polite nods and excuse me’s. He shone brighter than all the others, despite the clouded patches that caused him to flicker, leaving William with the impression of looking at a candle. Some candles just burn brighter than others.

William pressed his hand against the window, catching sight of his own reflection staring back at him. His reflected self offered a curt nod in his direction, jutting his chin out in mock approval. Dark webbing framed his eyes. William stroked his face, feeling nothing. He followed the webbing down his jaw, his neck and peered at his chest. He pulled at his shirt, revealing that the rash had nested on his chest. He scratched at it.

“The goal of the games has always been to practice confidence under pressure, individually and as a team. It is with great relief…”

A face pressed against the window, smearing as it looked into the building from the courtyard. William jumped back from the face, as it waved a brilliant red mitt at him. Astral cupped her dark tinted glasses to peer into the room. Frost danced up the window in swirls and vines.

“Come outside!” Astral invited with a swift wave of her gloved hand. Were those his gloves? That little thief was going through his things again!

He stormed outside through the side door.

“…the participants of today’s game were transported to the nearest hospital with severe injuries. We are assured that all participants are expected to make a full recovery.”

What? How was that possible? William paused half-way through the door, letting in the mixed scents of spring water and flowers. The wind pulled the door from his grip. The roar of the tidal wave was deafening, yet the Gaming Commissioner’s voice remained clear through the din. He gaped as the walls of dark water blocked off any chance of escape. He was going to die here. Water fell into the courtyard, failing to fill it, let alone disturb its still waters.

Red mitts pulled William from the door into the reflecting pool, stumbling into her. He stared up at Astral, horrified. She was a tall creature clothed in darkness. Her shape shifted as though she lacked a solid being. Her fingers coiled around William’s arm, seeping into his person with small infectious barbs. She was not going to let him go.

Wide eyed, he cowered from her as she towered over him. She pushed a plate of dismembered gingerbread people into his hands. She spoke to him, but he couldn’t understand her; speaking in sounds but not words.

“…All footage has been handed over to officials for analysis, therefore footage of today’s games is restricted from casual use.”

Behind her, the monster-man, joined by two new humanoid monsters, entered the courtyard. William jerked to run, but Astral’s hold on him was firm. ‘There is no escape,’ he thought he heard her say. “What are you doing?” he shouted over the thundering cascade of darkness. Her darkness, he realized as the walls contracted, swallowing the unsuspecting students in its depths.

He was alone with her. He remembered his fear of her. He remembered the first time he met her, already in his house, eating his food, taking up his father’s time. They were children then, but it didn’t matter, he didn’t like her. It was more than just dislike. He saw the way the shadows scattered around her, the way her shadow didn’t quite move in sync with her. The way she’d watch him through eyes that were much older than her small stature suggested. Under her gaze, he couldn’t hide. He tried to be brave, but her unspoken words said: you’re a coward, and we both know it.

He remembered Astral standing at the foot of his bed in those early days, glaring at him as the shadows consumed his room. Those early days, he lived in a constant state of fear. No one believed that she was a monster. Over the years, they learned to tolerate one another, but he always had the impression that she was waiting for her chance to take him out.

Today is not going to be that day!

He slammed the plate of cookies across her face. He pulled free of her winding grip and the cascade of dark water engulfed them, as though her will was the only force keeping it at bay. He launched at her, using his body to pin her down. Images of the dead boy floating in the icy creek came to mind. In his mind’s eye, the boy became Astral floating face down. He punched her, ramming his fists into her ribs when she covered her face and head.

He couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t stop. Years of frustration pounded down on her.

Arms slithered around his waste. He kicked and screamed, struggling against their strength. “She’s a monster!” he screamed.

He must have struck a chord with the students. They watched the seen unfold, horrified. They weren’t watching him, they were watching her. His heart skipped a beat as Astral got to her feet, warping an arm around her stomach. She licked the blood from her lips before setting her frosty gaze onto William. He held his breath, willing himself to disappear under her penetrating pale blue stare. The inner glow of her eyes reflected her inhuman heritage and the promise that their temporary truce had come to an end.

“Is she Enhanced?” the students murmured to one another.

Of course, that’s what she was. Why hadn’t he put it together before? His father had explained to him that she had a degenerative disease that would eventually lead to permanent blindness. The odd glow of her eyes when the light hit her just right and the sparkle of power told him that she was more than just a set of bad genes.

“…We at the Council’s Academy strive for excellence. Excellence begins with you.” The transmission blinked out.

This was his chance to fix everything that had gone wrong in his life. He shouted over the confusion, certain that this time he would be heard, “Can’t you see? She’s been lying to all of us this whole time! She’s Enhanced!”