Mordecai’s eyes opened to a sharp pain coiling around his limbs. Red hot fire lashed at his body as he struggled to move. The more he struggled, the harsher the burning sensation. The world around him was pitch black, devoid of anything and everything. When tried to call out, nothing left his mouth. When he tried to turn his head, the burning sensation enveloped his throat and kept it in place. He opened his mouth to emit some form of scream, but all his ears were met with was empty silence. He felt like some rodent caught by a serpent ready to kill him in one fell strike. Or an insect caught in a spider’s web.
After a few moments, all he could do was allow his vision to blur as tears streamed down his cheeks. Soon moments between full minutes, and full minutes turned into hours. Eventually, he wondered if he had found himself in some sick Hell. If he had died in his sleep and had been sent to Hell for some great sin. He wondered if he’d ever see his dog again, or his brother or uncles, or cousins. He pondered if he’d spend the rest of eternity in this state.
Then he heard it, or rather, he felt it. A crisp voice coupled with a feeling of overwhelming heat breathed down his neck and moistened his skin. It was maternal yet vile. Each word was dripping with latent desire and malice. “You… you… are competition…? You are in their heart? Friend or love? Ally or enemy…? Will you… will you- will you… betray them…? Are you loyal? Or must I slay you now?”
The burning sensation seeped deeper into Mordecai’s flesh as what felt like dozens of small pricks began to climb up his legs. The pricks soon turned into burning jabs, like thousands of hot needles stabbing into his skin.
“How many gold pieces will it take to sell out the messiah? Will you sabotage the one sent to deliver us for your own gain? Creature born from greed and envy… one of many children of fear… I suppose we must wait and see…. Man thing.”
Mordecai’s eyes burst open, the white light of the sun blinding him for a moment before his vision was able to adjust. When he turned to his window, it took him a few seconds to realize that his curtains were swaying, and his window was open. He pressed his hand to his cheek as he realized that he had been crying.
“I- I- I-” Was all he could say as he began to tear up again. As if by instinct, Mordecai curled himself into a ball and whimpered, “Cresca, Cresca, Cresca.”
And as though she sensed his fear, a black hound with white patterns across his body rushed into his room. At the sight of her, all Mordecai could do was fall into her, embracing her furry body and taking in her scent. Crying into the canine as it stood there, allowing him to take him to release his emotion. Fear, sorrow, loss. So much had happened in there, but it was all a dream. Still, Mordecai had never experienced any nightmare like that. That felt real, it felt alive, it felt like Hell. Mordecai didn’t even notice the hand clasping his shoulder and pulling away. It was his uncle Sandor, fear and confusion were obvious on his face. Yet soon both faded as concern took over.
The older man pulled Mordecai into an embrace of his own, his frizzy black mass of a beard replacing everything Mordecai could see before he was pulled away, Sandor spoke a bit more, but Mordecai couldn’t seem to hear anything other than, “Are you okay?”
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As the car took another turn, Mordecai gazed at the Falcon Feather Tower memorial, though almost everyone his age called it the Falcon Frost Tower. Though they’d never say that in front of older people, sometimes out of respect, though it was mostly out of fear of a scolding.
Uncle Sandor gave Mordecai another concerned look before asking, “Are you sure you want to go to school today?”
Mordecai’s response was quick and sharp, “Yes, it was just a nightmare.” Mordecai tried his best to shake the memory from his head, but he just couldn’t seem to forget the voices.
His uncle shook his head and sighed. “Okay, but if you need to talk, I’m here.” He turned to look at the street as he parked in front of the school. “Love you, nephew.”
Mordecai glanced at him before opening the door, “Love you too, uncle.” And with that, he grabbed his bag, jumped out of the car, and made his way inside.
The hallway was bustling as always, with younger and older peers all making their way to their next class. Mordecai’s eyes darted around, trying to find the one person he could talk to right now in this sea of youths. And when he did find them, a feeling of joy washed over him, pushing him to sneak and swerve through legions of peers before finally slamming himself into the locker next to them.
Mordecai put on a wide grin, trying his best to seem mischievous, “Hey…” He leaned in as Edem’s head tilted, a look of bewilderment on their face. But before they could respond he finished his sentence. “Wanna see a dead body?”
Edem’s black eyes lit up, their bewildered face cracking into a smile. “So you found my last victim?” Her narrow nose scrunched up as she attempted to make a malicious face. “But now that you’ve found them, I’m afraid I’ll have to add you to the pile.”
Mordecai backed away, trying his best to look frightened. “I think I can handle you.” He wondered if he actually could handle them in a straight fight.
Edem liked to show off their self-defense techniques, and they were surprisingly stronger than they looked. Mordecai remembered one time, Edem wanted to show off their combat prowess and knocked him to the ground 5 times in ten minutes. It wasn’t necessarily embarrassing, but he was squeezing his stomach before, during, and after they got him ice.
“Sure you can bud-” Edem stopped mid-statement. Their body seemed to stiffen, and Mordecai swore their pupils dilated. Their jaw slowly descended, and their head began to slowly tilt as they mouthed something.
Mordecai couldn’t tell exactly what they were saying, but the first word was likely ‘what.’ But only likely. Besides that, every other word in the sentence didn’t seem to go together at all. It was impossible to tell what meant what, but by the time they had finished mouthing their words, Edem’s head had completely turned. Mordecai peeked behind them to see the source of Edem’s bewilderment.
Mordecai only caught a glimpse of him, but the back of his head was shaved, and he had dawned an ebony fedora with a gold ring. He was wearing a dark violet sweater vest, and the skin of his hand was a creamy chocolate. What really had Mordecai’s head tilting was the way he walked. There was a pep to it, a sense of suaveness emanating from his person. Mordecai had never seen him at the school, he had never seen the man, but he definitely wasn’t a student. And as if on cue, he turned around and gave the two of them; no, just Edem a confident smirk. His eyes were green and gold, alluring and confusing. His most distinct feature was his black and silver goatee. He gave Edem a nod and turned his head back, continuing on his merry way.
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“What was his problem?” Mordecai asked. Concern was bubbling up inside of him; Edem’s fists had balled up for a split second, but they quickly loosened back up again.
Edem smirked and shook their head. A grin grew across their face before muttering, “Yeah… so, how are you?”
The next four hours went by as usual. Lessons, assignments, and peers answering questions so incorrectly it hurt. They discussed the history of Wolfbird schism and the massacre that put an end to the Wolfbirds of Kingsshroud, and how the nation of Kingshroud is still paying reparations to half the continent and is still receiving most of their exports from half a world away.
Mordecai's next class would be interesting though. For the past 22 days, Mr. Gilligan had been missing, and a substitute had taken his place. Mr. Gilligan was always kind to his students. He was kind to everyone come to think of it, which is why Mordecai didn’t understand the rumors about him being kidnapped. Who would kidnap a middle aged man? Though there was always the possibility that he was dead. There was always the chance he was dead. A high chance he was dead, he was probably dead, he was definitely dead. No no, he wasn’t dead; why would he think that?
Mordecai stopped and shook his head, he had to keep his mind on the exam. The substitute was still capable and was able to teach biology. So of course they were still having an exam, an exam that he would definitely pass, and Edem definitely get a higher grade on. When Mordecai finally opened the door to the class, his mind went blank for a second. It was him, the man from before; his fedora was off, and his sleeves were rolled up. With his full face in view, Mordecai was able to see a light spray of chocolate freckles across his nose and face. His eyes were gentle and paternal, though something behind them felt disingenuous. Maybe it was the glimmer in his eyes, or maybe it was the sneer behind his smile. As he walked to his seat and sat down, Mordecai’s eyes never left the man’s face. He could’ve sworn they had locked eyes for a moment, but maybe he had imagined it.
The man looked around the class and gave a quick nod, before speaking in a thick accent. “Well most of you are here, so I should formally introduce. My name is Doctor Heureux, but…” he paused and leaned forward. “My full name is Malloe Heureux. I will be your new permanent teacher, your substitute has filled me in on everything, so you’ll still be taking your exam.” He stopped and looked around, “though we’re missing someone aren’t we? Edem… has anyone seen Edem? The schedule says they’re here today.”
A few of his classmates looked at each other, then at him. Out of everyone in the room, he talked to Edem the most, so it would make sense for him to know where they were. Mordecai reached for his phone, shrinking in his seat as a few more eyes fell on him, following the lead of those who already had.
“I- I’ll text them.” He could feel Doctor Heureux’s eyes on him, burning right through any mental barriers Mordecai put between them.
When he finished texting ‘Where are you?’ there was an ellipses box that lasted a few moments before they texted back.
‘Busy’ followed by a ‘Be there latent.’ Though it annoyed him that they didn’t correct themselves, and add later instead, he could feel that something was off.
Mordecai raised his head, sweat beading down his brow as he blurted out. “They’ll be here later, we can just take the exa- take it now.”
Doctor Heureux raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “Did they respond? Not to make a bad first impression, but I can’t be completely lax with this job Mordy.”
Mordecai gulped, “They said they were busy, they’ll be here soon, later, eventually, they’re coming, and please don’t call me- they’ll be here.”
Doctor Heureux stiffened, “I’m sorry Mordecai, but if they don’t show up soon, I’ll have to call security. A missing student on my first day, that won't work. No, with Mr. Gillian missing there’s always the chance that they could be in real danger… or just skipping. Either way, I’ll have to call security to find them. Oh jeez, it’ll be a whole thing.”
Mordecai, without thinking, blurted out. “I can find them… I mean I’ll get them. I’ll go get them. Just- please give me a few minutes- sir.” He punctuated his statement by staring down at his feet. Trying to stave off the feeling of the eyes on him.
He didn’t look up, but Doctor Heureux chuckled and gave a light cough. “Alright, normally I wouldn’t do this, and most teachers probably wouldn’t… however as long as you’re fine with not getting extra time… by my guest. You’re lucky you look like my little cousin.”
Mordecai stood, up relented for a moment, silently cursed Edem, and decided it was too late to back down now, before rushing out the door. He ran down the hall, before turning to run down another hall, his eyes looking into random classrooms, before darting back to the center of the hall. When he heard footsteps, he turned his run into a speed walk. Briskly walking moving down the hall. When he passed Ronnie he doubled back when he remembered they shared the previous period with Edem.
He took a quick second to gather his thoughts so he could clearly ask Ronnie, “Hey- Hi- have you seen Edem?”
Ronnie paused and spent what felt like an eternity thinking to themselves, mumbling and spinning around their fingers until they eventually replied. “Actually, yeah, I think they left out the back exit, the one closest to the dining hall. Weird, but hey, I’ve seen weirder; like that time I saw Jackson and Jacey-”
Mordecai didn’t have time for intriguing stories, he had to go. First, he briskly walked, but soon he broke out into a full sprint. Wondering why they would leave out the back door. Why would they even leave the school in the first place? And why this period of all periods? And what was he doing? Breaking so many rules, damning himself to detention or suspension. He couldn’t do this, he had to turn around, he had to leave, and pray that Edem would be fine.
And before he knew it, he was outside, ankle-deep in a puddle. The smell of trees and sewage from the nearby city filled his nostrils.
“Kill me.” He whined to himself, realizing that he had damned himself.
But then it dawned on him. Why was he in a puddle? It hadn’t rained in two weeks. And it wasn’t raining now. He had even stared out the window last period. There wasn’t any rain. He looked around and spotted a shoe in the puddle. It was black and gray, but the pattern was checkered. He ran over to it, and pulled it out of the mud. There was no doubt in his mind that this was Edem’s shoe. But why and how? He up from the shoe as his brain began to stir. There was a path of muddles and small streams, coupled by cracks in the earth, all leading in one direction. Mordecai looked back at the door, then back at the path of earth and water. He began to step forward and back, forward and back. Clenching and unclenching his hands before deciding to follow the path. Once again going against what he believed was intelligent. He was going to be expelled for this, he knew it, and his uncle would hate him forever.
Mordecai ran through mud and deep brown puddles, Edem’s shoe in hand, until eventually, he heard echoes. When he turned his head, head he saw the source, a large sewer drain. He rolled his eyes and cursed Edem again. But as he found his feet moving, he cursed himself. As he drew nearer, echoes turned into speaking, and speaking turned into shouting. And there he saw them.
Edem, their back to him, and in front of them was a tall tanned man, his hair a sandy brown. His blue eyes seemed to shimmer as they tore their attention from Edem and locked onto Mordecai.
His voice boomed like thunder when he spoke, “Another suitor I see! One who wishes to fight for the hand of the savior who shall bring magic back into the world? Oh yes, so it shall be a battle royale of sorts… congratulation boy with the seasoned tan of a warrior, you have the honor of dying to me. Son of the God of Earthquakes and Crashing Waves! I am Percival Johanameister, but you may call me your doom.”
Edem began to shake and cackle, his hands tremoring and unable to move. He was going to die, and all he could say was. “I- I- he- he- I- I- please- I… this- this- this… this isn’t even a tan.”