Shadows of Alarun

The heavy rain battered Alarun Academy's ancient cobblestone paths, washing away the warmth of the autumn afternoon. Normally a vibrant maze of ambitious students, tonight the campus felt like a sprawling, gothic graveyard. Dayan Kerun pulled her thin, faded jacket tighter against her shivering body, boots slipping on the slick pavement. Unlike the elite students who roamed these halls in tailored coats, bankrolled by wealthy families, she was here on a strict academic scholarship. Right now, her curly blond hair frizzed wildly in the relentless humidity while her mind violently cycled through chemical equations. Failing her upcoming exam meant losing her funding and returning to the suffocating hometown she had fought desperately to escape. She wanted nothing to do with the suffocating darkness that had swallowed the academy over the past two months. Four students had been murdered. The campus was in a state of quiet, terrified turmoil, but Dayan couldn't afford to let fear paralyze her. She just needed to get back to her dorm room, brew cheap coffee, and study until the sun came up. Hoping to shave ten minutes off her walk, she took a narrow shortcut behind the old library. The alley was a pitch-black, damp tunnel of brick and shadows. The only light bled from a flickering streetlamp at the far end. Hugging her heavy textbooks tightly to her chest, she quickened her pace as her boots splashed through deep, freezing puddles. Then, she heard the voices. Dayan froze instantly, her blood running cold. She pressed her back hard against the rough brick wall, her heart pounding in a frantic, deafening rhythm against her ribs. "Please, let me go," a girl cried out. Her voice was shaking, fragile, and terrified. "I won't tell anyone. I just want to go home." "You already know too much," a man replied. His deep, smooth voice was unnaturally calm, sending a violent shiver down Dayan's spine. "I didn't mean to," the girl sobbed desperately. "I will give you the papers back. Just please, please don't hurt me." "It's too late for that," he said softly. Dayan held her breath until her lungs burned. Trembling, she peeked around the jagged brick wall. The shadows were thick, but a brilliant flash of lightning illuminated the narrow space between the library and the music hall. Dayan’s stomach dropped. A dark-haired girl was pinned violently against the rusted iron fence by a tall, broad-shouldered man hidden beneath a wide hood. "Stay away from me!" the girl screamed. Pushing forward, she swung her hands wildly in the dark. Her desperate fingers caught the man's heavy jacket and yanked it down. She managed to grab a fistful of his shirt underneath, ripping the fabric loudly down the back. The man stumbled forward with a sharp hiss. Another jagged flash of lightning tore through the night sky, illuminating the dark alley. In that fleeting second, the torn shirt revealed a wide portion of his bare back. Dayan gasped silently, pressing her icy hand over her mouth. A massive, jagged scar stretched diagonally across his left shoulder blade. It was vicious and raised, looking exactly like a jagged bolt of lightning carved brutally into his skin. "You stupid girl," the man hissed, his previous calm evaporating into pure malice. He raised his right arm, the faint moonlight catching the wicked edge of a silver blade. He brought the knife down fast and hard. The girl let out a short, terrible gasp. Her knees buckled instantly as she collapsed onto the wet pavement, dark blood rapidly pooling in the heavy rain. Dayan clamped a hand over her mouth to stop a scream from escaping her throat. She had just watched a girl die. Every instinct screamed for her to run, but her legs felt heavy. She took a slow and careful step backward. Her wet boot hit a loose piece of gravel, making a loud, sharp scratch against the pavement. The man snapped his head up. His broad, muscular shoulders stiffened like a hunting dog catching a scent. "Who's there?" he called out, his smooth voice now laced with pure, lethal venom. Blinded by panic, Dayan took another step back and her hip bumped a metal trash can. The heavy lid rattled into the quiet night like a gunshot. "I know you're there," the man said, his heavy boots splashing rhythmically toward the corner. "Come out right now. If you make me hunt you down, I promise I will make it hurt." Panic exploded in Dayan’s chest. Abandoning her heavy textbooks, she spun around and sprinted wildly into the dark, tangled maze of the botanical gardens. The rain whipped aggressively against her face as she dodged desperately between ancient oak trees and thick hedges, her lungs burning for air. "You cannot hide from me," the man yelled, his voice echoing eerily through the empty gardens. Dayan dove behind a dense row of ivy bushes near the greenhouse, curling into a tight, trembling ball on the muddy ground. She covered her head, forcing her breathing to quiet down. Then, she heard the heavy crunch of his boots on the gravel path. He was close. "Little mouse," he taunted softly. The sound was terrifyingly close. "Where did you go? Did you see something you shouldn't have?" Dayan bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood in her mouth. The footsteps stopped on the other side of the bushes. She could hear the wet, heavy sound of his breathing less than three feet away. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the piercing agony of the silver knife. Suddenly, a loud, piercing police siren wailed in the distance. The man cursed viciously under his breath. Dayan heard the heavy splash of his boots as he sprinted in the opposite direction, his footsteps quickly swallowed by the storm. Dayan stayed frozen in the mud for three agonizing minutes. When the only sound left was the pouring rain, she scrambled to her feet. She was covered in mud and shaking uncontrollably, she had to find the police. She had to tell them about the murdered girl and the jagged scar. Stumbling out of the gardens and onto the main campus pathway, relief washed over her. The streetlights cast amber halos on the wet concrete, illuminating her dormitory just a few blocks away. She ran as fast as her aching legs could carry her. She was almost safe. She turned the final corner, completely out of breath, eyes fixed on the dorm entrance. A tall figure stepped out of the deep shadows, blocking her path completely. Before Dayan could draw a breath to scream, two strong hands grabbed her shoulders and slammed her hard against the brick wall. "Going somewhere in such a hurry?" a deep voice whispered in the dark.