It had been a mostly great day so far. The lessons were ones he preferred: Physical Education, Beast Biology and the sort. The weather was practically immaculate, the sun’s glow not hindered by any clouds, and a warmth that was normally foreign to this time of the year. And here he was, sitting outside on a bench with his friends surrounding him.

But it was not a perfect day. There had been a minor bump. He hadn’t missed the heavy eyes of his brother when he had woken up. But try as the boy could, that was the most he could dig out. Alex had reassured him of his wellbeing, and with his stubborn personality, it was best to leave it there.

Nonetheless, here in the present, all around him in the playground, groups of kids talked and laughed. All huddled in their own little groups. Archie was a popular figure himself, an entourage of people with him. A great day indeed. As he chattered with his friends, a shadow fell over him.

Looking up, he came across an unpleasant image. A short figure, but one with an awful air of superiority, his face in a devilish grin. His pack of dogs weren’t far behind.

“How’s your day going, Archie?” Out came his snide voice.

“I’m good, thanks Damian.” Archie’s tone was just as disdainful.

He didn't like the boy using his nickname, that was reserved for people he was close to.

“I’m not disturbing your minor gathering here, am I?”

Archie felt like kicking him there, but he hoped to get through the day without any trouble. Thus he ignored Damian, twisting around to get back to his previous conversation.

“What’s the matter? Can’t speak?”

But the short boy wouldn’t let him off that easily

Archie didn’t know why Damian was always so annoying. Maybe he was jealous of his popularity, or maybe of his athleticism despite his background. Even for a child, it was a hard task to investigate the mind of another kid.

Archie still refused to look up, but he could feel the gaze of the pack settling on him.

“Hmph, guess that’s to be expected from a mute.”

Still no response.

Damian started to seethe. No one was allowed to ignore what he said. He let out a sly grin.

“Tell your parents I said hi.”

A ripple of laughter followed the comment, but Archie’s blood ran cold.

“Oh wait. Parents are too expensive for you to afford.” Damian continued on, unaware.

The words hit him. A punch to the gut. But it also stung much deeper – an unsuppressed heartache formed in his chest. Before he knew it, his fists clenched at his sides, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

“Say that again.” Archie growled, standing up.

“You think you’re tough?” Damian sneered, his face twisted in a mocking smile

Though he grinned outwardly, he unconsciously shivered. Confused, he ignored the sensation.

“Calm down Archie, don’t let him get to you.” One of his friends attempted to defuse the situation.

“You heard me.” The short boy said, shrugging. “No parents, no money - guess that’s just your life, huh?”

Archie didn’t think. He lunged, his fist colliding with the boy’s jaw. There was no hesitation, no pause - just pure anger, raw and blinding. There was a brief period of silence and shock before everything exploded into chaos.

The pack leapt at him. His friends replied in kind. A massive scuffle immediately broke out. Countless kicks, punches and scratches combined in a whirlwind of moves. Despite the growing intensity, Archie didn’t let off his eyes from Damian.

He had tried to make his way out, but the taller boy had followed, striking at that hateful person’s back. Not willing to let this go without retaliation, Damian turned around. Both sides clawed and tore. Scraped and ripped. Seconds turned into minutes, but Archie barely registered the blows.

He didn’t notice the gathering spectators, the blood on his nose or the splits on his clothes. All he could focus on was the way his fists felt against skin, the satisfying sound of each punch. The way that Damian reeled back with every blow, the wrath in his eyes replaced with tears. Archie’s anger had taken over completely.

“Enough!”

A commanding shout broke through the haze. Archie was yanked back by a pair of strong arms, but his fists still swung wildly as he struggled against the hold.

“Get off me!” He shouted, his voice raw, and his chest heaving. The teacher holding him back barked orders to the other students, and the playground slowly calmed, but Archie’s rage still bubbled beneath the surface.

Damian looked up at him, his face bloodied, a mixture of shock and fear colouring his expression. Archie stared back, his fists shaking, not sure whether he wanted to cry or keep hitting. He saw the faces around him, filled with judgement.

“Both of you are in big trouble. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about the rest of you.” The man glared intensively at the encompassing youths.

He leaked a small amount of mana, the students thus unable to move. Archie bit his lips as his anger finally dulled.

‘Alex is going to hate this.’ He sighed remorsefully, suppressing his sobs.

He nary gave another thought to his own injuries, his bruised skin but a minor inconvenience. Only the thought of his brother’s, and sister's, reaction filled his head. Shame.

***

Austin sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the wall. The morning light filtered through his windows, the boy with his back to it. The room was quiet. But his mind was loud - too loud. He hadn’t gone to school today of course; he simply couldn’t. Not after what happened yesterday. And at the beginning of today.

He didn’t feel like facing anyone after the stunt Aquilo pulled. The school was understanding of course, and he had earned himself a temporary reprieve. Instead, he was left with his own thoughts.

‘What were we even thinking?’

The question had circled in his head ever since they’d gotten back. They were lucky that nothing had happened. Very lucky. But even then, the fact that it could have gone wrong, very easily at that, gnawed at him.

It had been Aquilo’s idea, of course. He was always pushing the limits, tiptoeing the edge. But this was beyond that. This was jumping into a ravine with no idea of what you would land on.

This wasn’t the first time Aquilo had pushed him into something reckless. Flashes of past memories flew by. There had been the time they snuck into school at night. The day they crept into a restricted area in the central sector. The laughter they shared afterwards.

And they were never caught. Or at least, no one who found them thought it was worth the effort of removing them. But this? This was different.

At first, it seemed like a thrilling adventure. They got through the wall, and into the forest easily. Everything had gone well. The night passed and they woke up unscathed, ready to make their way back out.

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But as the hours ticked by, and the light faded once more, they found that leaving the forest wasn’t that easy. They had gotten lost. Having phones did nothing to redeem the problem, the devices were useless this deep into the forest.

All that excitement had turned into dread. Every second of so-called fun into panic. The sand clock had turned upside down. They hadn’t faced any real danger, but they could have. It wasn’t certainty, but even being a probability was too much.

‘If just one thing didn’t go in our favour, if we found one of those creatures, we wouldn’t have stood a chance.’

Austin shuddered at the thought, remembering the distant cries in the forest at night. He naively believed that Aquilo had done his research. That the edge of Arbor was safe and had no beasts. None of that changed the reality.

He was normally diligent and cautious, yet Aquilo’s overzealous energy seemed to overcome it. Well, never again. He wouldn’t let himself be dragged like that.

He started to recall the events that transpired.

It had been dark. That was the biggest constant. An unending blanket of black. The canopy worked to keep even the dim light of the moon and stars out. Their only saving grace was the pathetic light of their phones.

And even that. It could just as well have acted as a lure to whatever insidious creatures were in there. Directionless, they stumbled around, heading away from any source of noise. And only through sheer dumb luck, had they seen the plains.

Yet even that was only half of it. They had to make the gruelling trek to the mine, the tips of the mountains as a guide. Pushing their already tired bodies. He knew they would make that walk, of course he did. Yet he underestimated how much more difficult it would become.

He didn’t talk with him. The two stayed silent, even Aquilo’s fire dampened by the circumstances. With only the sound of their footsteps crunching on the ground as company, they made their journey.

Austin shivered as he remembered the cold, the way his legs ached with every step. This wasn’t what he had been promised. As hours passed, Aquilo was the first to collapse.

Austin had contemplated leaving him there, but he knew he couldn’t. That was simply not him. So, he half dragged, half carried him until he could do it no longer. Thus, he sat there, resigned to whatever came next.

It wasn’t too long until a patrol discovered them. The next bit was a haze, he was too exhausted to entertain his senses. Countless shouting and questions, a cover for warmth, some food and water, sitting in some vehicle.

And before he knew it, they’d arrived at the gate. The guards at the checkpoint flagged them, and they waited, now inside the protection of the walls. Despite how agonising it felt, it wasn’t actually that long.

Aquilo’s parents had been the first to arrive, their faces pale with a mixture of worry and relief. They’d rushed to their son, hugging him and letting loose all their emotions. Yet just as quickly, their faces warped into one of fury.

Demanding to know where he’d been, why he’d put himself in danger. They even glared at Austin like it was his fault, but he kept silent. On Aquilo’s part, he hardly seemed to be taking in anything said.

Austin’s own parents had shown up soon after, their hover car pulling up in a blur of lights. His mother had thrown her arms around him, the situation not playing out too differently from Aquilo’s. Tears had quickly turned into anger.

“What were you thinking?” She’d asked over and over.

And the truth was, he didn’t have an answer. The more Austin contemplated what happened, the more irritated he became. Why did Aquilo have to bring him too? Why didn’t he go on his little adventure alone?

His fingers tugged the bedsheets.

‘No, what was Aquilo thinking.’

He’d been the one pushing for it, the one who was so confident in his ability. And now? Now they were all paying for it.

‘Why do I always follow him?’

Austin clenched his fists, the resentment failing to leave. He was done with Aquilo’s reckless games.

***

Cortez sat at his desk, staring blankly at the digital whiteboard in front of him. Aquilo and Austin were nowhere to be found, and the little he had seen of Alex was more akin to a sleep deprived zombie. He was alone in this place.

The soft chatter in the background, the sound of pen against screen, he didn’t hear any of it. The teacher’s voice droned on, but he wasn’t listening. His mind was stuck elsewhere. On the mess that had been created.

It felt surreal to be surrounded by normalcy as you drowned. Only mere steps away yet leading completely different lives. Maybe he was just being ungrateful. He was sure most people would do anything just to get to the position he was born in.

Regardless, it didn’t change how he felt. About what he did. His part in the plan. He tried to, and when that failed, he attempted to justify it.

Because surely, when your friends request for you, ask for your help, you comply. Right? That’s what a friend does. Wasn’t he just being a good ally? So, then what was this? This overwhelming feeling of guilt. This persistent sensation of self-reproach. He looked down at his desk.

‘I shouldn’t have gone along with it.’

Why hadn’t he been the voice of reason?

‘I should’ve said something.’

Why had he let Aquilo convince him it was a good idea?

‘Stopped them before it got out of hand.’

Why had he been so blind?

Why? Why? Why?

His mind a muddle, it wandered back to a previous day. Returning from dinner with his family, that’s when he first heard the proposal. Exploring the outside? At the time, it seemed entertaining, thrilling even. It felt more like a place of fantasy than reality.

He would have joined in himself if it wasn’t for his parents’ unrelenting watch. Still, he wouldn’t end it there. He would assist somehow. Acting like it was just a game.

He used his privilege secretly, without his parent’s consent of course. And after that… It happened so fast; the pair were already setting off the next day. There was no time to think, to ponder on the plan’s reasonableness.

Regardless, these were mere excuses. Even then he should’ve known. It was reckless and stupid.

So why had he gone along?

‘Because you wanted to feel like you belonged.’ He realised bitterly.

It hadn’t been easy, getting to the bonds he had now. He needed to fit in and maintain them. Yet was that worth it? The chance of never seeing your friends again? What use was a good relationship with a dead person?

His mind travelled again. To the consequences of what he had done. He heard about it from his family this morning. That Aquilo’s parents had called, asking about the blonde boy’s whereabouts. Cortez’s father didn’t even bother asking him, merely answering no. Because of course, he would know.

Nevertheless, it would be cheap to try to offload his burden like that. His father might be thoughtless, or rather uncaring of Aquilo and Austin’s plight, but it didn’t change Cortez was the one who allowed it to happen.

A simple no. That’s all he had to say. To be firmer for his friend’s sake. His father was right in some ways, loyalty didn’t come without responsibility and consequences. He began to think about other possibilities.

If Cortez had been there when his parent was called, would he have spilt it straight away? Could the two have been found earlier? Or would he fear the backlash and the inevitable more stringent restrictions that would be placed on him? Would he rat out his friend’s plan?

The endless questions seemed to float around him.

“I just hope they are okay.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Nothing else matters. No use in crying over the past. I just have to make sure this never happens again.”

With that temporary resolution, his mind turned to the classroom’s front.