Chapter VI

The light from the bonfire bathed the football field in a warm, orange glow and even from the bleachers where Damien and Liz sat, overlooking the celebration of the festival’s finale, its brilliance was pleasant to look upon. His girlfriend was right beside him, their hands clasped together and her head resting on his shoulder. Her eyes were closed but he knew she was still awake, her mind spinning with questions as it had been since the previous morning. Damien felt the same. Even as he tried his best to enjoy himself, watching students laughing and dancing around the fire, he just couldn’t relax. The terrible feeling only continued to assault him and it felt as if there was no escape.

He glanced around, noticing only a few other groups on the bleachers. Aside from them, everybody who had come to the bonfire was gathered down on the turf, which made sense to him. If one was going to bother coming, then it was only natural to enjoy the fire like intended. Yet Damien preferred keeping his distance. Even being that far away, he still noticed a few of his fellow students casting occasional glances in his direction, as if afraid he was going to suddenly go on a rampage despite having not caused a single incident since high school started. But after so much time, he was more than used to such expressions and thus, he just ignored them and kept to himself. Despite knowing it was pointless, he couldn’t help but to glance around to see if Eric was there, but unsurprisingly, there was still no sign of his old friend.

Ah, what am I doing? he asked himself. He’s not coming. Wasn’t I the one who said it would be better to give him his space? So why do I want him to show up so bad? I just wish Lilly and I could have visited him, but having friends over is probably the last thing he needs right now.

Even so, he knew that if Lilly wanted to find Eric then she could have. After all, their constant swapping gave Eric the ability to recognize her house, so if she followed her instincts, she could find where he lived. Damien briefly wondered what Eric would do if Lilly suddenly showed up on his doorstep before deciding that it didn’t matter. Lilly might be worried, but she was smart enough to know that waiting for Eric to come to them was most likely the best option. As he thought of the girl, he considered texting her to make sure she got home safely, but quickly discarded the idea. He didn’t want to seem overprotective or paranoid. She could get home just fine. Yet, even knowing that, he couldn’t help but spare a glance back at the main school building off behind him.

What the…? Just as he looked upon it, all of the lights in the hallway windows shut off at once, as if power to the school had spontaneously gone out. That’s…odd. Why would they shut the lights out? I figured they’d wait until the bonfire was over. Did the power go out?

Deciding not to let it bother him, he turned back to watch the fire, yet couldn’t stop that subtle nagging from digging its claws into his brain.

***

For a moment, time seemed to slow out in that empty courtyard as Eric stared down the creature before him. At the same time, it seemed to be taking him in, as if deciding whether he was a threat or not. However, Eric appreciated that brief second for it gave himself time to gather his bearings. After spending the day searching through his photos and old journals to find evidence that Vinny existed, he decided he would head to the bonfire to apologize to the others for ditching them that day. He’d been walking into the school when Lilly called him and when the phone shut off moments after the school’s power went out, he feared the worst. So he rushed up the stairs and was going to head toward the clubroom when he saw the spider-like creature before him burst through the window. He reacted on pure instinct and rushed after it, only to find Lilly at the bottom. He didn’t know what had happened between the end of their call and his arrival, but he knew just by looking at the blood dripping down her cheek that they were in danger.

What is this thing? It looks like Jay, but it’s deformed and…feral. I’ve never heard of anything like it…not even in Mom’s stories.

The monster lowered its head, its back sticking up almost like a cat’s when it was backed into a corner. Its black eyes were fixated on him, and he felt it sizing him up, almost like it could sense that he was different from the girl behind him. The wind magic swirling around his arms only seemed to make it that much more cautious, but that didn’t mean it was going to retreat. On the contrary, Eric could sense that while his presence had thrown the monster off, it didn’t seem like it had any intention of leaving. There was no doubt in his mind that if he wanted to protect Lilly, he was going to have to fight it.

“Are you…?” it began, speaking for the first time in a voice that resembled Jay’s, but was raspy and demonic. “...Eric Reiner?”

Eric narrowed his eyes, shocked to hear his name come from the creature’s jagged-toothed mouth. He hadn’t expected it to be intelligent enough to communicate, so it’s question changed his perception of the situation just a bit. Deciding to test the waters a bit, Eric responded.

“I am,” he called back. “And what are you? You look like my friend, but I know you aren’t him. So who are you and what do you want?”

The monster laughed, the sound so chilling that a shiver went through his body. He instinctively took a step back so that he was closer to Lilly.

“Reiner…” it hissed. “Reiner. Reiner! REINER!”

Without warning, the creature sprung from its spot in the grass, flying toward them with its claws extended. He could see the insanity in its features and realized quickly that he had been foolish to believe he could have a conversation with it. Barely reacting in time, Eric brought the magic to his fingertips and raised them to aim at the oncoming creature.

“Perkari!” he chanted, sending the mana erupting from his fingers to strike the monster directly in the chest.

Once again, it went flying backwards and Eric, knowing he would hardly get a moment to catch his breath, immediately brought more magic to the ready. The decision was the correct one. Unlike his last attack, the creature didn’t stay down to lick its wounds. Instead, it landed upon one of the courtyard’s tables, then immediately propelled itself back towards them.

Damn! It didn’t even scratch him?! What in the hell am I facing right now?!

Knowing that any mistake could mean their deaths, Eric quickly dug his heels into the ground and changed tactics, recalling a different incantation from his mother’s spellbook, one he hadn’t yet gotten the opportunity to try.

Please let this work!

“Condite!” he shouted desperately.

The moment the spell left his lips, he knew he had cast it correctly. As the monster once again made an attempt to reach them, it was suddenly pulled backwards, its claws going to its throat as ropes of air wrapped around it. Eric knew that if he’d executed the spell correctly, then it wouldn’t be able to see them. Instead, it would only know that its airflow was being cut off, and it was once again being yanked away from its prey.

I need to get it out of the school! Eric thought, knowing that the shouting and screeching would soon draw any stragglers still in the building out into the courtyard to see what was happening. I don’t know what the goals of this monster are, but if it's even partially related to the incidents at the diner and the hospital then it’ll almost certainly kill any innocents that wander out. Not to mention… He briefly lowered his eyes to his hands, seeing the air swirling around them. I can’t be seen using magic! Mom always stressed the importance of keeping it a secret and so no matter what, I can’t allow myself to be seen! Only if it's an emergency… Otherwise…

But even as he thought it, he found he could feel the eyes of Lilly Harper staring at his back. He refused to turn around, not just because he couldn’t take his attention off of the monster, but also because he feared what expression he might see on her face. Up until this point, there wasn’t a soul in that world that knew he could use magic. Lilly was now the only person who knew.

He clenched his teeth as he watched the monster getting dragged back by his ropes. He’d hoped to drag it over the fence and into the neighborhoods, but unfortunately he wasn’t that lucky. Before he even knew what was happening, tendrils of shadow burst from the creature's body, severing the ropes and freeing it from captivity.

What did it—!?

“Reiner!” it screeched, recovering faster than he expected and once again charging toward him.

He raised his hands to defend them, but it was adapting to his attacks far faster than he would have liked. During the last two charges, it had come at them in a straight line, but this time, it moved onto the tables scattered across the lawn and jumped between them.

“Perkari!” he snarled again, sending blades of wind flying in its direction.

But it dodged it, hopping to the next table.

“Perkari! PERKARI!”

His shouts were becoming more frantic as it dodged and weaved past his spells, its smile twisting its face once again as he continued to miss. As it closed the gap, Eric was forced to make a desperate move, knowing that he needed to change strategies. Hurriedly pushing the magical energy into his feet, he leaned forward and shouted, “Proto!”

As if jumping off a springboard, the boy let out a burst of energy under his feet and launched toward the creature, hoping to meet it in the middle. As he flew, he returned the mana to his fists and collided right into it.

“Corsikei!” Eric chanted, sending a surge of magic through his fingers and into it’s cold and hairy skin.

The shockwave that burst in between the two sent Eric flying backwards and smashing into the grass before rolling a few feet. The wind was knocked out of him and flashes of pain shot through his head, but the sound of the monster snarling told him that it wasn’t over yet. When he pushed himself up, his body went cold as he saw it already scrambling back to its feet, barely a scratch on it. Eric had expected it would rush him like it had the previous time, but that wasn’t what happened. Instead, as if realizing it had a chance to get an advantage over him, it began to claw its way toward the still collapsed Lilly.

Don’t touch her!

“Condite!”

Just like the first time, the creature was pulled backwards by the ropes, which yanked it back towards the fences surrounding the courtyard’s outer perimeter. Eric immediately sprinted toward Lilly, not allowing the pain to slow him down.

I’ve put everything I’ve got into fighting this thing and it didn’t even scratch it! I can’t beat it, so if I want to protect Lilly, then we need to run! With any luck, we can lure it away from the school and lose it in the neighborhoods!

Once he made it to where Lilly was sitting against the school building, clutching her arm while her eyes were wide with terror, he quickly kneeled down with his back facing her.

“Grab on!” he shouted. “We need to get out of here so please trust me, Lilly!”

He spoke quickly, his eyes never once leaving the creature still struggling against the ropes on the other side of the lawn. The shadows had already burst out to cut them down so he knew they had only a few seconds at most to escape. He expected Lilly to protest or to at least demand that he explain what he planned to do, but thankfully, she simply wrapped her good arm around his neck and placed her head against his shoulder.

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“I trust you, Eric,” she whispered weakly.

That was all he needed to hear. Just as the monster broke free of its bindings and lunged back toward them, the boy hoisted her up onto his back and grabbed her legs, then kneeled down and screamed, “Proto!”

The energy erupted at his feet and the two of them flew into the air, just over the swiping claws of the monster. He heard Lilly exhale sharply at the sudden movement, but their hold on each other was firm and Eric knew he had to do everything possible to keep her with him. The spell got them as far as the fence, but when Eric managed to place his feet against the thin bars, he shouted the spell a second time and propelled them out into the neighborhoods surrounding the school.

“Where are we going?” Lilly shouted over the rush of the wind.

“Main Street!” he called back as he landed atop one of the closest rooftops. From there, he began jumping onto each house and using it as a launchpad to make it to the next. “It’s magical so if it’s anything like what I think it is, it won’t want to reveal itself to such a large crowd!”

Or at the very least, he was praying that was the case. He knew the existence of magic was supposed to be kept secret, so from what he knew from his mother, the monster shouldn’t pursue them into Main Street. However, if it was behind the recent murders, then he might be condemning more people to its wrath.

But what am I supposed to do?! I don’t want anybody to get hurt but it’s my best bet! This thing is going to kill Lilly and who knows who else! I need to trust what Mom used to tell me! I need to trust that it won’t reveal itself!

He felt the girl nod her understanding. “And…what is that thing? It’s not actually Jay, is it?”

He swallowed nervously, feeling his stomach clenching up at the question. “I…have no clue.”

Just then, that familiar and terrifying screech echoed across the empty and lamplit street, prompting Eric to frantically glance over his shoulder, only to confirm what he had both hoped for and feared. The creature disguised as Jay Brooks had swung itself over the fence and was crawling over the roofs, its terrifying eyes trained on them.

So it is after us! But why? I don’t understand! But…at least it's getting away from the school! He turned back to face forward as he jumped over the gap between two houses and landed on the next roof over. I’ll get us out of this somehow! I swear it on my life! This creature isn’t going to hurt Lilly or anybody else!

Yet, now that they were out of the confines of the courtyard, he was shown just how terrifying that monster actually was. It was jumping across roofs as well, but its movements were limber, almost like a gymnast, as it quickly gained ground on them. Knowing that the only way to stay alive would be to continue to take risks, Eric abruptly spun on his heel and snarled the incantation at the top of his lungs, launching them across the street and onto the house on the other side. The impact of his legs against the rooftop’s tile sent shockwaves of pain through his legs, but he had no choice but to put it behind him as he continued sprinting forward.

“REINER!”

The monster’s scream was accompanied by the worst case scenario as it jumped the gap like it was nothing.

Of course it can jump that far! What isn’t this damn thing capable of?!

“Duck!”

He reacted instantly to Lily’s warning, bending his upper body forward as the tendrils of shadow sliced across the spot his head had just been. The boy clenched his teeth and darted to the right, pressing off of the roof and onto the streetlamp to his right, then began hopping across to the next ones. The creature did the same, directing its shadows toward them as it, too, jumped onto the lamps. However, unlike Eric, who was using them as platforms to jump onto, the creature grabbed them with its spindly fingers and began to swing after them like some sort of monkey.

Fine then! If it can react that fast then I’ll just have to be faster!

Feeling Lilly’s grasp on his body tighten, he propelled them off the lampposts and down onto the streets below. He couldn’t see if anybody was out on their porches or not, but he unfortunately didn’t have the time to check. He increased his speed, pushing his body faster than he’d ever gone before, relying purely on his many nights of study. He could feel it taking a toll on his less than fit body, but he couldn’t let his physical limitations stop them.

Just run, Eric! he urged himself. Run faster than you’ve ever gone before! If it catches you, it's over! So just sprint! Sprint like hell! Sprint, damn it!

He was going so fast that he barely had any room for failure. Every step had to be quickly calculated and each spell had to be chanted with the right intonation and movements since the monster was matching his every action with one barely faster, the shadow tendrils acting as its support.

Therefore, Eric didn’t have the option to stay in one spot for long. He propelled them over the street, jumped up onto the lamppost, dodged back down, swung up to the roof, then crossed the street to the opposite houses once again. He kept this up, never allowing himself to stay in the same place for longer than a fraction of a second. Every step sent him in a different direction and as he did, the monster stayed right behind him. He knew he’d be able to go faster if he wasn’t always dodging and weaving past the shadows, but he had realized that there wasn’t any strategy in where the shadows attacked. Instead, they seemed to be randomly thrown out by the creature in a hopeful attempts to strike them.

He felt Lilly’s body up against his back and always had to readjust his grip on her legs to keep her firmly in place. He wished he could at least free one of his hands so he could take the fight into offense, but at the speed they were going, he feared she may fall off.

And I can’t allow that. I don’t need my hands! I’ll outrun this damn thing!

They rounded a corner and Eric knew they were reaching Main Street. If they made it there, they wouldn’t be alone. There would be other people and, assuming this creature was from the same realm as his mother, then he believed it wouldn’t allow itself to be seen.

After all, it only went after Lilly when the school building was more or less empty! So that’s all we have to bank on at this point!

“Left!”

He once again heeded Lilly’s call and dodged from the roof and to the left, but this time, he realized they had been caught. The creature was on his right, and tendrils of shadow had accumulated on the left.

No… Damn it, no!

Realizing that he was flying right toward the roiling mass of darkness, he did the only thing he could: save his girlfriend.

“Jump, now!” he shouted.

She did exactly as he asked. The girl pushed off of his back and went falling down toward the ground below him, but he had no intention of letting her hit it. Instead, he extended his hand toward her just as he flew into the shadow, flicking it so that her body would avoid the concrete.

“CONDITE! VENTUS!”

He couldn’t see what happened as the darkness overtook him. He immediately expected the sharpness of those shadows to shred his body to pieces and his immediate thoughts were only of Lilly.

Will she make it?

Will this monster leave her alone if it has me?

Is this the right thing to do?

“I’ll be watching over you…protecting you…always…”

Those words echoed through his mind, but they sounded so close to him that he thought his mother was engulfed in that darkness with him. He frantically glanced around, but before he could find where the voice came from, a sharp impact jolted through his body and he could taste blood dripping from his mouth. When he opened his eyes, he was staring up at the night sky. Eric immediately tried to get to his feet, his adrenaline still giving him the push he needed to get away.

“Lilly?! Where are you?!” he cried out.

He hurriedly looked around and found himself lying not in the neighborhood they had just been in, but on a grassy expanse of lawn. Based on their jump from that roof, he could only assume that they were in the park just behind those houses. He was desperate to find the girl, but the first thing he saw was the monster crouched only twenty yards away, its claws against the ground. Eric swiftly raised his hands in front of him and sent the mana back through his arms. He knew his attacks wouldn’t do much against it, but he had to try something.

But why is it just sitting there? And how did I escape the shadows? Did it release me?

“Well?” he called out, hoping to elicit some reaction from it. “What do you want from me?! What are you?”

It cocked its head and smiled, almost like it was suddenly enjoying itself. “Want from you? What I…want from you? I want…your existence to vanish…”

Those four words were all it took for Eric’s eyes to go wide and that hesitation was what almost got him killed. The monster lunged toward him, its claws raised once again to cut him down, and the only thing that saved him from a certain death was the shout of a girl off to the right.

“Jay, stop!”

At that sound, the monster came to a sudden halt as Lilly jumped in between the two of them, her good arm stretched out as if to protect Eric from it.

“Lilly, don't!” he shrieked, but she ignored him, keeping her body facing the monster.

“Please, Jay!” she begged. “Don’t do this! Think about us! Think about all we’ve been through and…think about Alice! She’s gone, Jay! Something’s happened to her and I’m scared she might be in danger!”

What’s she doing?! he thought frantically, realizing that she was probably just rambling off everything she could think of that might help them. This isn’t Jay! She can’t reason with it! Damn, if I don’t do something quick then she’s going to die!

He spun the mana around his fingers and prepared to send it flying at the creature’s chest, but was stopped by its next words.

“Alice is…in danger?” it rasped.

Eric exhaled sharply and Lilly didn’t miss her chance to jump at the sudden opportunity.

“She is!” she pressed. “And I’m worried about her! Come on, Jay! Snap out of whatever’s happening and help her! Help Alice!”

“Alice Mendez…” it growled. “...will vanish, too!”

“What?!”

At Lilly’s exclamation, the creature swung its claws toward her neck, but Eric had been ready. He yanked Lily out of the way and shouted “Condite”, once again sending ropes of air swirling around the creature and ripping it away from them.

“Jay!” Lilly shrieked, but Eric wasn’t about to give it another chance to kill them.

He scooped Lilly up in his arms and used Proto to propel them away from the park. Lilly clung to him and he could see tears in her eyes, but there was nothing he could do for her now. All he could do was take advantage of the chance she had bought them and get to Main Street. They landed on the fence of a nearby backyard then jumped onto the roof, and when Eric turned back, he saw the monster staring up at them. He expected it to immediately come charging after them like it had been doing, but to his shock and relief, it instead turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction. Across the lawn was a fence that separated the park from the surrounding forests and it quickly jumped over and disappeared from view.

“It ran?” he breathed. “But why?”

Lilly glanced over his shoulder and shook her head, her voice weak as she whispered, “it was him, Eric. I know it was. It’s Jay.”

The boy grimaced, knowing now that it was hard to deny that. Even if he’d shaken it off, the monster had still reacted to Alice’s name. He couldn’t even begin to guess what had happened to him, but he had a terrible feeling that the creature that just tried to kill them was actually Jay Brooks.

“We’ll…figure something out,” he whispered back, wanting to give her some comfort after everything that had just happened.

Feeling his body growing weak from all the running, Eric jumped from the house and landed on the street below. He set Lilly down and leaned on his knees to catch his breath. He could see the girl wincing as she held her right arm with her left. She’d been doing that ever since he found her and he could only imagine what she might have done to it.

I’m going to need to heal her. If I send her back to her apartment now, it’ll rouse suspicions as to what might have happened here.

“What do we do?” Lilly uttered. “Do we call the police or…”

He shook his head. “No. The best we can do is give them an anonymous tip, but if we seriously tried to tell them that a monster tried to kill us, they’d laugh in our faces.”

“And if…that was what attacked the diner?” Lilly asked, voicing the same fears that had been going through his own mind. “If that’s the case then what if it kills more people?”

“Then…” His thoughts flashed back to when the monster had said it wanted to wipe him from existence, and that only made him think about what seemed to have happened to Vinny. “I don’t know. But it’s clear that there’s nothing we can do to fight it. For now, we need to get off the streets and go somewhere safe. I…” He grit his teeth, knowing what he needed to do, but also still unable to stop himself from hesitating. “...I think it’ll be best if you stay the night at my house. I can better protect you there if the creature comes back. Plus I can heal that arm of yours.”

Lilly looked back at him with a stunned expression. “You want me to stay over at your place? But…and…you can heal my arm? I don’t…understand. And…everything you just did…”

“Just come with me, Lilly,” he urged. “I promise that I’ll explain everything I can at home. I’ll tell you about my magic and…” He had expected her to outright refuse given all that had happened but Lilly actually looked to be seriously considering his offer. “You can tell your parents that you’re staying at Liz’s house tonight, and I promise…my father won’t care.”

Lilly furrowed her brow and glanced up at him, as if hearing the slight bitterness in his tone at the end. “And you promise you’ll explain how you did…well, everything you did tonight?”

He nodded firmly. “I swear on my life.”

His girlfriend considered his words for a moment, glanced around at the silent neighborhood around her, and then sighed.

“Alright, your place it is.”