Awakened fury

No more hiding

The hallway feels wrong.

Too quiet. Too still.

I slow down, my steps echoing faintly against the floor. Classes are in session, but something about this silence doesn’t feel normal.

Then I see him.

Standing at the far end of the hallway.

Waiting.

My heart skips.

No.

Not here.

He doesn’t move at first. Just watches me like he already knows what I’m going to do.

Like I’ve already lost.

I take a step back.

He takes one forward.

Slow. Calm. Certain.

“Stay away from me,” I say, my voice low but firm.

He keeps walking.

“Do you really think a place like this can protect you?” he asks quietly.

My chest tightens. I glance around. Doors are closed. Voices are distant. No one sees him.

Or maybe… they can’t.

“I’m not going with you,” I say.

A faint smile touches his lips. “You don’t have a choice.”

Something inside me snaps.

The air shifts.

That same energy rises again, fast and unstable, like it’s been waiting for this moment.

Not here.

Not again.

“Riley.”

My breath catches.

I turn slightly.

Elisha.

She’s behind him now, her expression completely different from anything I’ve seen before. No teasing. No mocking.

Serious.

“You picked the worst place to try this,” she says.

The hunter glances at her, unimpressed. “And you are?”

“Someone you shouldn’t ignore.”

He moves first.

But Elisha is faster.

She grabs his arm and twists hard. A sharp c***k echoes through the hallway as she slams him into the wall.

I freeze.

What—

The impact sends a vibration through the lockers.

Elisha doesn’t hesitate. “Riley,” she says sharply, “if you’re going to lose control, at least aim it properly.”

“You’re… helping me?” I ask, confused.

“For now.”

The hunter recovers quickly, shoving her back. She slides across the floor but steadies herself.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he says coldly.

Elisha smirks slightly. “Funny. I was about to say the same thing.”

He lunges again.

This time, I react.

I feel it before it happens. The movement. The intention.

My hand lifts instinctively—

And I release it.

A burst of energy slams into him mid-step, throwing him backward across the hallway.

The lights flicker.

Lockers rattle violently.

The sound echoes too loudly.

From inside classrooms, voices rise.

They heard that.

“Elisha—”

“I know. Too loud.”

The hunter pushes himself up slowly, blood at the corner of his mouth.

But he’s smiling.

“You’re getting stronger,” he says.

I hate that he sounds impressed.

“But not enough.”

He raises his hand.

The air around us tightens instantly.

Pressure crashes down on me.

I gasp, dropping to one knee.

It’s stronger than before.

Heavier.

I can’t move.

Elisha steps in front of me immediately. “Don’t touch her.”

Something about her voice changes.

The hunter pauses, just for a second.

“You…” he says, narrowing his eyes.

Elisha’s expression hardens. “Yeah.”

For the first time, he looks unsure.

“Riley,” Elisha says without turning, “if you can move, run.”

“I’m not leaving you,” I manage.

“Now is not the time to be loyal.”

I try to stand.

The pressure increases.

I can’t.

Fear twists into anger.

Frustration.

Power.

It starts building again.

Stronger.

Faster.

“Riley—don’t—”

Too late.

The energy explodes outward.

A loud impact shakes the hallway. Windows c***k. Lockers dent inward.

The pressure disappears instantly.

The hunter is thrown back again, harder this time.

Silence follows.

Heavy.

Elisha turns to me, her eyes sharp and focused. “Okay… that’s new.”

Distant voices grow louder. Teachers. Students.

We don’t have time.

The hunter rises slowly, anger written across his face.

But something else is there too.

Calculation.

He looks between us.

Then steps back.

“This isn’t over,” he says.

And just like that—

He’s gone.

The hallway falls silent again.

My breathing is uneven. My body trembling.

Elisha looks at me.

“That,” she says, “is why you’re a problem.”

I stare at her. “You knew.”

She doesn’t deny it.

“Yeah,” she says quietly.

A pause.

“I did.”