Zeph had lain in bed for the remainder of the week, too anxious to sleep. But too weak to do anything physical. The wait until Monday almost killed him, but eventually, his torture ended as the sun finally rose on Monday morning.

He would have to keep his hand lightly bandaged, but everything else could come off. He couldn’t come to school looking like he had just risen from the graveyard. Santina had specially instructed him to do no physical activity or even slight running for at least three weeks. He wasn’t a physical person, so it wouldn’t affect him much, and luckily the pain was so minor that he didn’t even notice it anymore.

Suddenly a blur of a tiny human burst through the door.

“MORNING!!!” Vinnie said, jumping on the bed.

The boy had far too much energy early in the morning. And seemed to have already accepted him as a part of their new life. Small children confused him, but he was thankful he was welcome. Vinnie made the days of waiting a little more bearable.

“Morning, Vinne,” Zeph said with a smile, and just as fast as he got in the door, he was out again. “MOM Zeph’s, awake; we need breakfast!” he screamed, running into the kitchen. He couldn’t help but laugh; at least it wouldn’t get boring.

Breakfast was uneasy for zeph; thankfully, Vinnie blared about whatever came to mind. The boy didn’t have a filter., so everything and anything came out of the boy’s mouth. But he and Santina didn’t talk, and zeph felt awkward around her now. It wasn’t because he wasn’t grateful, but because of what she told him.

The thing that had happened to him, why the police chased after him. His worst nightmare. She had gotten him to tell her exactly what had happened. Santina comforted him about leaving the police officers after that and said he had done the right thing. He would have no doubt been charged with their murders.

She explained everything she knew, though she didn’t know much. Only why the police reacted the way they did. Perils they were called, and it seemed they were like the Mafia of the entire city of Viel.

He didn’t know things like that still existed, but it seemed they did. No one knew about it except a few people and the police force. Santina said she believes they or a certain group of the perils control a major part of the city.

The perils of sin she called them, and he could see the immense anxiety in her eyes when she said their name. It seemed the perils weren’t a big group but just a Bunch of gangs running under the same name. All because of the things they could do; Santina said it had something to do with the tattoos, which explained why the woman did whatever the hell it was. And why the police could recognize the man, but Santina didn’t know more than that.

It had left him spooked, but at least it explained something, but it also showed how incredibly unlucky he had been. She said she had never even encountered them before. They were almost a myth and a secret of the police. She left it with a warning that he shouldn’t get in trouble for her or her son. That felt real; he could still remember how her pupils stared into his soul as she said it. Thankfully She wouldn’t have to worry; he would do nothing but study to become a doctor. It still scared him that there were people out there with weird powers that weren’t the friendly type. Hopefully, the police would deal with them, though he knew he would be forever scared of them.

But eventually, the clock it 7:00, and Zeph needed to be going if he wanted to be there before class. Hopefully, he could catch up with the professor and have him give the materials they went over the previous week. Zeph was out the door with a leather bag over his right shoulder and a wave goodbye.

Zeph had forgotten the feeling of fresh air, the feeling of it hitting his nostrils. It felt good not to be stuck inside. The university building was spottable even from the small alley that they lived in. Its head is sticking up from above the other tightly compact buildings. He rushed through the streets and alleys of Viel, and within less than two minutes, he had already gotten to his destination.

Victory University, written in bold above the giant entrance. He couldn’t help the giant pang of anxiety deep in his stomach as he walked through the entrance.

Zeph eyes almost fell out of their sockets when he walked through the school doors. From the outside, it was grand and imposing. It being much larger than the other buildings helped make it feel special. But as soon as he walked in, he felt like he had walked into an art piece. He had never seen something so beautiful and eternal. It was hard to describe with his word, the ceilings were so high they were hard to see, and the walls were pure white marble.

He didn’t know how much it must have cost to make this place, but he doubted no small fortune. No wonder only Viel had places like this; no one else had the funds. There were systems and patterns in the walls giving it a nature-like feeling.

People were storming through the building, everyone heading to class. Some had the usual doctor attire, and others had just “normal” clothes for class. If This was only a place for medical students, he now wanted to see what the other schools looked like. The contrast from the large grey, and brown building from the outside to the beautiful pure white, walls with the pure black flooring. It was beautiful. He hoped he would get used to the beauty of the place or he would have difficulty focusing, but Zeph didn’t let his mind wander on its beauty any longer. He had a class and professor to catch. He was here to study, not sightsee.

The place was filled with corridors, with every side having a giant classroom you could sit in. He couldn’t wait for the later years when he would be allowed into the field. That was when Zeph felt he would truly shine.

Luckily Santina had briefed him on where he needed to go, and he stood outside the door with 30 minutes to spare before the class started. He drew a quick breath; he could do this.

With a push to the beautiful dark wooden door, the classroom opened. He was met with something he hadn’t been expecting.

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People, a lot of fucking people.

Hadn’t he come early?

The classroom was gigantic, with a giant board at the bottom where no doubt the professor would teach. And then with seats in front of the board getting higher and higher. There could at least be space for around 100 people in here, maybe more.

And every single seat was filled.

Zeph couldn’t believe it. Was it the wrong room? He checked on top, and it read 27. Just as his paper read, this was the room.

Zeph awkwardly walked in even though no one was looking at him; everyone had their heads in their books. The teacher wasn’t even here, so he couldn’t get briefed about the week’s earlier material. Though even if he had been here, he doubted he would have the courage to talk to him with this many people in attendance. He slowly began walking up the stairs, looking for a place to sit. Not a single seat, every single row of seats was filled to the brim. The people here also varied in age; he thought it would only be people his age. No, they’re where even people around his mother’s age were sitting in the seats. The university didn’t have an age limit, so it made sense. It made him even more grateful that his mother sent him to school instead of herself.

It was no time to get intimidated now. He continued walking up the steps until he reached the last row of seats, just as he was about to lose hope. He spotted it; toward the end, there seemed to be a single seat free. He couldn’t believe it; it seemed every student was there, except him before, 30 min before the class started.

He made his way through the last row, trying to be as invisible as possible. But there was an obvious annoyance as some people had to move their chairs so he could get by. God, he just wanted to disappear.

But finally, he made it to do end of the row, with the only seat left. A woman with pitch-black hair and large glasses sat next to his seat. He tried to sit quietly and watched the entire room from his seat. It looked even bigger from up here. He just hoped he could hear the professor properly.

“You finally arrived,” The woman beside him said, not even looking up from her textbook, her finger tracing under where she was reading.

“yeah..,” Zeph replied. “I had some sickness before the start of the year and didn’t want to spread it to anyone.”

Zeph had never had social anxiety, but for some reason, he felt it difficult to talk.

“Mhm, Cute,” the woman replied.

Zeph didn’t know if he should take it as an insult or just let it slide.

“You couldn’t possibly know where I can get the textbooks from last week, do you miss…,” Zeph asked; he let it slide. It wouldn’t be wise to torment the person he would be sitting next to for the rest of the year. He hoped it wasn’t permanent seats, and the earliest people got to decide where they wanted to sit. That is probably why the lecture room was packed half an hour before class.

“My name is none of your concern, and No,” the woman said, continuing her studies.

Ok, what just happened?

He was confused about why she had begun a conversation and cut it short. And he felt she would know how; she looked like she had her things in order. Everyone in here did. He knew it was a hard school to get into; you needed both money and grades. But he almost felt like another species than these people, with their clothes and haircuts.

It was all refined, sharp. These people didn’t mess about, and he almost felt ashamed that he wasn’t meeting the same standard. Even though he knew his performance on the test and his grades were all that would matter. Their presentation of themselves just made them seem high-class. No doubt they were, but he hadn’t realized there would be this big a disparity between people here in viel. These people compared to the people he saw yesterday trying to get home. It made sense that the biggest contrast between people’s lives would be here, Viel.

“Umm, ok, “Zeph said awkwardly, “but would you know who I should ask? I can’t seem to find the professor,”

She drew her head from her textbook for the first time, her eyes glaring at him through her glasses.

“Don’t you get it the first time, lazy bum!” the girl said. Zeph was taken aback by her harshness and straight to his face.

“I was seizing you up, but you won’t be any competition for me or anyone in this room. No, I won’t help you, nor will anyone else. You think I will allow you to even get a slimmer chance of taking my spot at the best hospitals?” The woman finished.

“Find your own textbooks!” She said, returning to her reading as if nothing had happened.

Zeph was stunned. He sunk into his chair and looked over the entire classroom.

Competition.

They all wanted the same thing, just as he did. Become a doctor. But it was more than that; they didn’t have space for this many doctors in Viel. So others would have to travel to other cities, some even rural parts of the country. He understood now. It was all a competition to the top, and you would do anything to get there. He hadn’t just lost a week of study time; all the other students had gained on him. Why hadn’t his mother told him about this? Eventually, the teacher walked through the door and began the lecture. Zeph knew it was going to be a long day.

After a two-hour-long lesson, the class eventually ended, with everyone standing up to leave. Zeph had a mission; he needed to find the office of this giant school and find a way to get his books. He didn’t have a second to fall behind. He had three more classes today and had already gotten homework that he didn’t doubt would take him over 3 hours to complete. Thankfully the office was right down the corridor from his first lecture. It took no more than two minutes, and he walked out with all the books he needed; after he showed his approval letter to attend the school, he was thankful that he had taken it with him. Zeph still didn’t know how they took attendance; he hadn’t seen the professor check off a list or anything. But he could think of that another time.

He needed to get home and study; the rest of his classes would be in the late evening, so it was time to catch up and get ahead. The beauty of the School ground seemed to have already faded when he realized its essence, it was a battleground, and he needed to get out on top. He followed the rest of the students as most of them headed toward the entrance to the school, even with the school being so large. With this many students, it still felt cramped.

As sunlight hit his face again and the sound of the busy city of viel came back, he felt something. A piercing stare!

His body stopped, but it was pushed forward by the students behind him. A woman stood on the other side of the street, outside the school ground. He didn’t know why or how it was possible. But he felt her staring at him. Purple glowing eyes from under her hat. Staring directly at him, he seemed to be the only one noticing her.

He was pushed and shoved toward the entrance until he had finally left the school ground. He tried to look away to see if it was just him, and he looked up again. She was still staring, a purplish glint in her eyes. She was of above-average height, with an oversized coat covering her figure. She looked like the average civilian except for her eyes. Zeph began to panic. Did he know her? He didn’t have the faintest clue in the world. That was when he saw her face beneath her hat. His heart froze; he would never forget that face.

That night. It was her. Zeph immediately looked down at the ground and tried assimilating with the crowd. Had she come for him? Was she a peril? Zeph anxiety returned tenfold, and his brain kept repeating how the woman had sliced the man in half with nothing but a wave of her hand. How had she found him?

Aargh, he needed to stay calm. Deep breath, do what he did when he was treating a patient. An erratic mind solved nothing. He saw an alley up ahead; he could run through it. He would get to it and then run into the other street and disappear. And maybe she wasn’t even after him; he could be lucky. He inched closer and closer to the alley. But just as he began his spring into action, he felt something against his lower back.

“Keep moving,” a silent voice said in his ear.

FUCK!!!

She was after him; of course, she was. And now he was at her complete mercy. The only thing he couldn’t do was led her back to Santina and Vinnie. Though she probably didn’t want anything to do with them, she wanted no witnesses!. Just as Santina had explained.

“We are gonna go on a little adventure,” The woman said.