When the darkness leaves, I find myself in a silver room with other kids my age and no escape.

A boy with long black hair that covers his eyes was in the corner of the room, muttering to himself.

Hovering over him and yelling at him is a kid with bright red spiky hair and an angry face.

A short girl with a brown pony tail paces around the room, clenching her knife.

The final student, a girl with messy short black hair approaches me. She grabs my hand and presses her lips to mine. “You’re gonna be my boyfriend.”

Huh? Who is she and what does she want?

A portal appears in the center of the room.

My maybe girlfriend hides behind me and raises my arm.

The dark figure turns to us. It has no face, only a collection of stars beneath its hood. “Eager to volunteer?”

“I won’t let you harm my girlfriend,” says the girl behind me, poking my neck with her needles to make my mouth movements match her words.

She is suddenly lifted from the ground and into the air.

“Should she be rewarded for her cleverness or punished for her disloyalty to the team?” The figure gazes at the other students and then turns to me. A tendril goes into the back of her shirt and pulls out her knife. The creature places it in my hands. “I’ll let you decide, Weech.”

“She’s just scared. I don’t think she’s mean,” I say, trembling in place.

“Fear is for the weak.” The creature grabs my arm with its lengthy appendage and makes me cut the bottom of her shirt. “And romance is forbidden.”

My hand carves a heart on her belly.

He tosses her aside and she hits the wall.

I release the knife and cry.

She didn’t deserve to get hurt.

The shadowy figure bends its body around the room while its feet stay in the center.

If it even has feet under that cloak.

“I am KillStreak, your teacher. You will address me as such. You are my students. Let’s do roll call, shall we? Now, each of you little beans is named after a fearsome predator, so you best live up to that title. Who’s first. Ah yes, BunBun.” It looks around the room at us.

“That’s me,” says the girl with the heart mark, wiping her tears away.

“An assassin named after a meal; your parents were wise.” Teacher’s body arches into a smile.

“Thank you, sir.” She bows. “I won’t let you down.”

Teacher stares at her for several seconds before speaking. “Oh, I don’t mind. I became a teacher because I was no good at killing. Took to much time torturing my patients.”

The girl shivers and grabs onto my hand. “I’m really sorry about before.”

I swallow my fear and give her a friendly smile.

Teacher drills a black tendril into its head. “Goopy. Who is goopy?”

The sobbing kid in the back raises his hand.

“Goopies eat heroes and the last Goopy we had turned against the hero he was supposed to defend. Best make sure you don’t follow suit.”

“Yes sir,” says the boy softly.

“I’m BladEagle,” says the red head kid, sharpening his blade on his tooth.

A tendril comes out from teacher and whacks the boy’s legs.

He falls over and blood drips from his mouth.

“You shouldn’t flaunt your weapon.” Tendrils jut out from Teacher’s body and cut each of us on the leg. “Think of each cut as a lesson. By the time it heals, the lesson should be carved forever in your mind.” Teacher’s tendrils come back into him like noodles being slurped up.

I’m hungry.

I forgot what this felt like.

I raise my hand. “Umm. When can we eat?”

Teacher’s body twitches. It hunches over and starts muttering to itself. “Boy interrupted me. Should be punished. But! Boy asked important question related to survival. Should be praised. Punish or praise. Which is it?”

The girl who was pacing around suddenly turns and tosses her knife at our captor.

Teacher catches the blade while still muttering. It then turns to her. “Throwing your weapon should be a last resort, not the first move.”

The girl steps up to him with intense energy.

Acid drips from the blade and teacher drops the knife.

The girl grabs the blade as it falls and then plunges it into his head.

Teacher’s body morphs into a cage around her. “Well played but you guessed my weak point wrong. You’re dead.” The cage recedes on her, crushing her body.

She exhales sharply but says nothing.

Suddenly every thing looks so bright. Her features, from her little nose to her fierce eyes all radiate together. My heart starts racing.

She’s beautiful.

Eyes appear all along the cage, starring at the girl. “You must be WarWolf correct?”

She nods.

“Your parents named you after a cursed abomination.” Teacher releases her. “You’ve got talent.” His tendrils grab her legs and a loud snap is heard.

She screams out in pain and tears fill her fierce eyes.

“Consider that your handicap.” A crying face grows from Teacher’s back and gazes at me. “You must be Weech.”

I nod and back up toward the wall.

A fan of black gooey hands come out from teacher’s cloak and then come together. “The classes are getting smaller every year. As pathetic as most of you are, you should take respite in knowing that you are all special. You were selected for your gifts but these gifts do not guarantee survival. Not once has every member of a class survived up to graduation. But if you’re the first then I’ll get so much praise!” Teacher bounces with joy and then turns to blades. “That means if you fail, then I’ll be washed down the drain with you. Were connected.” His shadow stretches out and wraps around our hands. “Don’t think of failing on purpose to spite your teacher. Do that and I’ll cut myself free of you tumors. Well, my little killers in training. Your first task is to uncover a secret from one of your class mates. Best have a secret ready by the time I return.”

“When will you be back?” asks BunBun, looking to the floor.

“That will be a surprise as will your punishment should you fail.” Teacher carves a portal in the air and crawls inside.

“Umm, so maybe we can trade secrets,” says BunBun, looking at the other kids.

BladEagle glares at her. “Did your parents drop you?”

“Leave my parents out of this,” she says, waving her knife at him.

WarWolf, who is sitting due to her broken legs, beckons the other girl to her. “I’ll trade with you.”

BunBun wiggles in excitement and then whispers in WarWolf’s ear.

WarWolf nods then whispers to the shy girl.

BunBun blushes and turns away.

She looks at me next. “You want to trade too?”

“I don’t have any secrets,” I say, backing up.

Goopy dries his eyes. “Do you think if we don’t have an answer, he’ll kill one of us?”

“Stop being so pathetic! We all get punished if one of you fails,” says BladEagle, pulling Goopy by his hair. “Tell me your secret.”

“I like getting hurt!” he yells, loud enough for everyone to hear.

BladEagle lets go and wipes his hands on his pants. “Little freak.”

WarWolf yells at the two bickering boys. “You’re both incompetent. What do you want in exchange for your secret?”

I move to BunBun while the others argue. “What is her secret?”

BunBun blushes. “I shouldn’t say.”

“Please. I don’t want to get punished.”

“I’ll tell you my secret.” BunBun looks down. “I’m the reason my parents fight.” Her body shakes.

I seize her in a big warm hug. I nuzzle her affectionately.

Finally something I’m good at.

She cries on my shoulder.

Time slips by as my warmth comforts her.

Mom, dad, I’m going to be okay after all.

A portal opens and Teacher enters.

“Time’s up. Let’s see how your first mission went. BunBun, you seem rather relaxed. Why don’t you tell us the secret you obtained?”

“Umm…someone likes girls.”

“WarWolf likes girls. Hmm, valuable intel. You pass.”

BunBun releases me and pats her cheeks. “Yes. I did it.”

“Broken legs, what about you?” asks Teacher.

“Goopy blackmails his father for books that are off limits,” says WarWolf, applying a salve to her legs.

“Does he now? Most interesting. That’s certainly worth points. And did you get anything from one of your comrades, Goopy?” Teacher teeters back and forth.

“I…tried to.” He hides under his hands and cries.

“If you try to defend yourself and fail…you die.” Tendrils come out from teacher

“He found out my secret.” I step in front of Goopy.

I’m not going to get hurt because of him. We have to find a way to work together.

“I pee myself in bed when I have nightmares.” I announce it with pride despite my embarrassment.

Teacher’s body jiggles and makes a strange sound. “Your intel is absolutely worthless.” It approaches me and clangs its blades together.

“No, it’s not. It brought you a laugh. You are laughing, right?” I ask with a nervous look, tripping when I step back in fear.

“Joy has no value.” A blade slices my mouth and then they all recede back into Teacher. “Remember that lesson, child.”

WarWolf beckons me to her.

I walk to her and she pads my cheeks.

It stings. It’s a nice stinging though.

“Stop starring at me, Weech,” she says, turning my face away.

Teacher points a single knife at BladEagle. “What secret did you obtain?”

“Goopy blackmailing his father,” says BladEagle.

“Intel I already have is worthless.”

“That’s not fair.” BladEagle yells out.

“Fair? Nothing is fair! Nothing!” Teacher’s blade thrusts as BladEagle who jumps out of the way.

Teacher pulls the blade in and grabs BladEagle with a tendril. “Don’t ever talk to me about fair. If you have time to complain, you have time to refine your craft. Don’t waste your talents.”

“Hold up.” Goopy wipes his eyes. “The test wasn’t just about gaining secrets. It was about keeping them too. Nobody found out his secret, so doesn’t that count for anything?”

“Standing up for him, the one who bullied you. Glad to see one of you was paying attention. Very well, he shall be exempt from the punishment.”

“What are you going to do?” asks BunBun, clenching onto my hand.

“You’ll find out later. This concludes your first lesson.” Teacher creates a portal. “Follow me into the classroom so we can continue your studies.”

BladEagle helps WarWolf into the portal.

Bunbun holds onto me.

Goopy steps in front of us. “We won’t all make it out of here. The three of us are the weak links. The other two will kill us when the time comes.”

I shake away my fear. “We’re a team. As long as we look out for each other, we’ll all make it through this.”

We all enter the portal together.