Monsters Within

Chapter 7

Rai sat on a big rock and rested her back on a tree. She sighed, her eyes closed as she tried to calm the fast beating of her heart. It had been a while since she visited the forest, and she still couldn’t stand being in this place for too long. There were a lot of memories.

Aside from its creepy atmosphere, there were also unusual sounds in the place, as if it was whispering to her. She didn’t want to listen too carefully because she was afraid of what it would do to her. That’s why to block off all the sounds, she focused herself on the guy she was with and sensed his every movement.

Jasper searched inside his bag and gave her an unopened warm water bottle. Stretching his arms, he sat on a rock near Raiku. He didn't feel the numbness until now. If they didn't stop walking, he would surely be cursing the pain by now.

"Ah! I just remembered," said Jasper, "how did you knock out that wolf a while ago? I mean, it was too fast to see, and I was too scared to watch."

"Haven't you heard of martial arts, punk?" she asked while her eyes were still closed. Her voice was low and tired, like she was just pushing herself to answer him.

"Please don't call me punk," Jasper begged. "Well, why am I not surprised?"

"Saying something?"

"Nothing!" he said abruptly. He drank with his bottle to prevent himself from saying anything. He could be really straightforward at times, and before he knew it, he had already said everything on his mind.

Minutes later, Rai woke up and saw Jasper sleeping soundly not far from her. She didn't know when she lost consciousness, but she let the guy sleep. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before roaming her eyes on the surroundings. It would not be a good idea if both of them slept in the middle of the forest.

The bushes and trees were hiding them from anything and anyone outside. The leaves of the trees were also thick. They were blocking the light that was coming from the full moon, enabling them to hide. Rai had sharp eyesight and smell. Almost all her senses were beyond those of a human. That's why it was not hard for her to see with no light even from the moon.

She drank from her bottle, but it was empty. She stood up and searched for a river or anything that could give her water, still cautious of her surroundings. Not too far from where they were, she saw a spring with a fall. She didn’t waste any more time and immediately opened her bottle to fill it.

When she was done, she decided to get Jasper a bottle as well. But she lost her balance and fell in the water. It was so cold and hot at the same time. Rai couldn't understand the feeling, but it was indeed drowning her. She could feel the ground on her feet, but for some reason, she couldn't stand up or make herself float. The water continued to pull her down despite Rai's attempts to break free.

"Jasper!" she called out to him. No one could help her at that moment aside from the guy she was with. Even though she didn’t want to ask him for help, she didn’t have any other choice.

Moments later, Jasper came running in her direction. Without thinking twice, he jumped to save Rai. He swam towards her and stretched his arms to grab hers. But when he was about to reach it, she disappeared.

"Rai!" Jasper tried diving in to find her deep down, thinking that she was just under the water, unable to swim. But she was gone. For an unknown reason, Rai disappeared in the water without any trace.

"No way," Jasper whispered in disbelief. He was still catching his breath when he realized something. "Don’t tell me this is the way to Lightford Academy?”

RHOILANDER CAME HOME from work and called out to his daughter. He placed his coat on the sofa before shouting again. But after several calls, she didn’t answer. He started to feel nervous as he searched for his daughter in every corner of the room. But a note told him that she was gone.

“No…” He slumped in his seat while clenching his fist with the piece of paper. “Why so early? Why take her away from me at a time like this?”

Mutants were formerly just ordinary humans. And because of some circumstances, their blood was replaced by a still unidentified DNA, enabling them to do something humans couldn’t normally do. It was said that scientists injected their ancestors with an unknown serum, and their children and grandchildren inherited it.

Silver, the chief of their small province, made a contract with the personnel of Lightford Academy. When mutants turn fourteen to sixteen, they must attend school to sharpen their skills further.

It started when younger mutants couldn’t control their abilities and started rampaging at the province, killing many innocent lives. They were not as dangerous as the other older mutants, but they still needed to care for them before they went berserk and chose the wrong path.

Mutants had the lowest population rate, but their abilities were more potent, mainly when cultivated. They all needed to learn how to prevent destruction, such as the famous Archaic incident.

Rai had already turned fifteen, and Rhoilander was aware that the time might come any moment now. But the loss of his wife and eldest daughter was so fresh that he couldn’t bear to see his last treasure went away.

He needed to do something to follow his daughter. He had to know that she would be doing fine there. And he had to make sure that the school wouldn’t make the same mistake, just like what happened before.

RAI OPENED HER eyes slowly. She blinked continuously to see more clearly until the blurry faces in front of her became visible. She was not familiar with any of them, but they didn’t look really dangerous or scary. They seemed rather friendly.

Her head throbbed, irritating her. “Who the f**k are you?” she asked every one of them.

She roamed her eyes around and found herself on a white bed. It looked like a hospital room for her with white walls, a side table with flowers, and the IV fluid that was in her hand. She thought that this was a normal hospital in their village. But that thought was immediately washed away when she remembered what happened to her last night.

“Err... we are students from this school, and we just helped you from drowning in the river,” answered the girl with a foreign white complexion. Her short hair was blonde, and Rai noticed that she had generous, smiling eyes.

“In short, you must thank us. We even saved your life,” an equally irritated girl said from the corner of the room. She had sharp eyes but not sharper than the glaring Rai. She had jet black hair that touched her shoulders that complemented her black eyes.

“Stop, nee-chan,” said the short-haired girl. She faced the confused girl again and smiled. “Hi, I am Erena. These are Rinmaru and my older sister, Xanthe. We saw you floating in the river. If you tell us what happened, we will help you find your way back home.”

She was so gentle. Her words eased her nerves, but she knew that no one could help her now. She knew where she was. That’s why asking about it would only be a waste of their time.

“No one can help me now. I will never be able to come back home,” she said, still confused about what she was feeling.

The three girls with her exchanged looks and glanced in Rai’s direction with pity. They understood what the girl was telling them, and she was right. No one had ever come back home the moment Lightford Academy took them. It was the same for all of them.

Erena sighed and sat beside the bed. “We will let you be on your own to think. I do not know what happened to you before you got here. And you are right. We can’t help you go back, but we can help you with your stay here at least."

"I don't want to f*****g stay!" Rai gritted her teeth. "I hate it in here. I hate this goddamn school!"

The three stood up when the lights flickered. After that, Rai screamed like she was in pain. She continued to do that while holding her head, then rolled on the bed like a fetus.

"I will call the dean." Xanthe ran outside without waiting for her friends' response.

The whole place was shaking like there was an earthquake. The students from their dorms felt the shaking so they had to go out of the room to check. This was not the first time it happened, but it was the first time it shook so violently.

A guy stopped Xanthe from running. "What is happening?" he asked in a low and curious voice.

"Craze! It is the girl we brought. She just went on and screamed. I am calling Dean Yamazaki for help."

Xanthe left him while he went on the way to the girl's dorm. He saw the new girl holding her head while screaming. He thought that the girl's ability was her voice, but he was wrong. It must be something in her head. He knew.

When the girl saw him, the shaking slowly died down. Rai stopped screaming as well, an unknown expression was painted on her face. They did not know if it was curiosity, relief, or happiness.

The girl walked near him and said, "Jasper." She was about to touch the guy when she lost consciousness and fell on the guy's arms. At the same time, the shaking of the ground finally came to a stop.

Craze's eyebrows creased while holding the girl who seemed so soft and fragile. While staring at her, he couldn’t help but wonder who she was, and why she knew his twin brother’s name.