Creatures of the Night

Thirteenth Night

Thirteenth NightCreatures of the Night

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##### Thirteenth Night #####

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Things got worse so fast that the mere act of breathing alone is able to suffocate me. My body feels sore yet I can't stop moving. And behind, I can sense someone is chasing me. At the other side of the dark hallway, waiting to be close enough so he can have a perfect shot.

When I fall on the floor, I turn around to face him.

My racing heart is actually destroying the concentration I once had.

There's no light clear enough to let me recognize him. But I can spot his outline. He's tall and slim, and probably muscular. Everything is black about him, but I guess that's because of the lack of lighting. I see his dark eyes before I can see the silvery metal that he points at me, somehow illuminating from the darkness.

He's holding a gun.

I close my eyes, knowing that this is my end.

No time for life flashing before my eyes or thinking about the ones I'll leave behind if I die, because the bullet already pierces through my heart. Breaking the silence in the hallway.

I fall back to the floor. And as I do, I can see the perfect glimpse in one microsecond of the bullet, coming out through my flesh. At the same place where it pierces through.

I blink, rather shocked of what I just saw. But it's no illusion. And know that. I know that I can't die.

As if knowing that one bullet won't be enough, he shoots another bullet. Directly to my heart.

The bullet pierces through my skin, tearing my flesh. But it gets pulled out as soon as it entered that I can't even feel any pain from it—

The third bullet comes in faster than the second, follow by the fourth and the fifth. And I haven't even landed on the floor yet. I had been afraid that this time it will be different, but the bullet came out anyway after my body hit the floor.

I can't hear his footsteps when he walks closer to me. And it's already too late for me to run when he stood just a few feet away from me.

His eyes are burning darkness, looking at me so intensely that it's impossible not to notice. His face is really handsome indeed, I'm able to know as I look into his eyes.

Then, he brings his gun to me. Once again the hallway is filled with a gunshot.

*

Wherever I go, it seems like the darkness always follow me.

Because even though the scenery of the silent hallway has disappeared, along with the man with a gun, the new one is not as far from black.

The first thing that I can make out is a dried black leaf. When I blink, I realize that it's a petal of rose. And it's not just the only petal floating in the air. There's more. Ten, twenty, fifty. I look around the willow dried trees and see the air filled with it. My bare foot can even feel the petals that's been spread on the dirt, mixed with evenly spread dried yellow leaves.

A dark crate then attracts my attention. I walk to it slowly and spot someone sleeping in it. With greyest pale skin and black silky smooth long hair spread around her head gorgeously arranged. The sleeping figure looks almost like me. She looks so peaceful in slumber.

I turn around, and for the first time, seeing many figures standing around us. There are even black chairs arranged all around the place.

Though I can swear that they're not here just a minute ago.

In those crowds, I notice my friends' faces. Banri standing with his head looking at the ground. Shara leaning into Shrade's shoulder and whispering something that makes her brother's face turn sad. Barely having one painting hanging in his hand is Nono. The silent Crease looks almost like a statue when she becomes more quiet. And Arch is sitting beside Shrade, eyes looking at me with such gloominess. My heart feels hurt and my lungs become tighter in my chest. Then, I realize that his stares are not for me, but the girl sleeping in the crate.

I turn my gaze to spot my parents, both hugging each other. My mother buries her face on my father's neck as she fall asleep. Not much far from them, Link and Artro are standing. Each holding a flower in their hands.

I haven't notice their shaking bodies or their eye-sweeping hand movements at my first sight at their direction. But soon I realize what they are doing.

They're crying.

Not long later, as if seeing them for the first time, I also notice their clothes. They are all wearing the same shade as the sleeping girl.

Black.

*

When I wake up, three things happen at the same time. I hurriedly scan my eyes to check the four ceiling corners of my room if any of them are glowing. My nightgown is on fire (or has it already on fire before I wake up?). And a strong wind is blowing through the entire room like an indoor storm.

It took me a couple of seconds for me to recover and start taking care of the chaos.

I put away the black fire on my gown with a snap of a finger, letting it swallow by the wind that’s been blowing uncontrollably in my room.

Smoke fills the air around me once the fire disappear, making me cough two to three times while my hands are trying to flutter it away. Even though I’m used to the black smoke that I can manipulate with my power, this type of smoke─the gas one─is out of my comfort zone.

I look around my room to find everything is in chaos. The couches and tables are flipped. The wallpapers are ripped. The refrigerator looks like it was just been robbed by someone. And not to mention my closet. The glass sliding door has broken into pieces, making the shards spread all over the carpet.

And this all happened just because I had one nightmare. I wonder if my friends are all waken up because of this disaster. But if they do, they would have been bursting into my room by now. The good thing is that I always sleep soundlessly like I’m already dead. So when something makes me uncomfortable, my power usually do the talking. Or in this case, expressing it.

I walk myself to my bathroom quietly and look at my tall mirror only to expect the worst.

Black fabrics are barely hanging on my body, almost falling off completely to expose every inch of my pale skin. I can even see my outline figure easily. Even my matching pair of black underwear was on fire, competing with my nightgown of which is going to fall to the floor first. My oversized breasts are barely covered, not to mention my private part.

The good thing is that my black fire only consumed my garments, not my flesh. Or else this would have caused so much pain─either from the outcome or for the recovery part. But even though my skin is fine, it’s all covered with the dark ashes from the burning material.

My hair is tangling everywhere, but can be easily combed when I let my fingers go through it, luckily.

Deciding that I need to clean myself, I strip away all the material lingering over my skin─which are falling apart more easily than ever─and took a bath to clean the ashes. Once I’m finished, I wrap myself with a towel and walk out of my room to see what time it is. 05.30, I check myself on the clock.

Well, still plenty of time before breakfast is served. But not wanting to have another nightmare and burn my last nightgown (I really need to recover my clothing), I leave my towel to wear my usual outfit, sleeves shirt and pair of pants with an extra heavy jacket. All in black and long.

Since he’s back, Artro must be staying in the 149th floor. Deciding that I want to give him a visit, I press the elevator button.

It seems like I had wake him up when he open his room door, because he’s still wearing his pajama and his messy hair.

“What is it?” He asks through clenched teeth, bringing up his I-just-woke-up mode. He can be pretty grumpy when he wakes up. I only giggle.

“Want to go hunting for today?” I ask him. He and I used to go hunting animals in the forest as hobbies. And we both are pretty good with our guns. “That is, if you’re not so busy today.”

He blinks a couple of time to take my figure before realizing who he’s talking to. “Oh, Arsene,” his voice soften. “Sure. My schedule is clear for today. I can start accepting my missions tomorrow, so I’ll take that offer.”

“Then I’ll wait for you to prepare,” I say. “Let’s have lunch in the cafeteria before we go. The breakfast in my lounge hasn’t been prepared yet, but the cafeteria always opens 24/7. We don’t want our stomachs to rumble when we’re hunting, do we? Or else it might gonna scare the animals away.”

He nods. “Alright. I’ll go get changed,” he says before closing the door in my face.

Even though that’s kind of rude, I’m already used to it. Artro isn’t really the type that will allow a girl into his room, even though she’s his cousin and close friend.

Unlike Link, who even didn’t dress appropriately before opening his door. Remembering his bare chest even makes me feel nauseous instead of.... the other way, somehow.

And that’s when Artro opens his door.

*

She is placed on the knocked down tree, making a natural one-meter table to support her laying figure. His pale and dark figure is leaning on the tree and to the gun, placing his hand all over her. His face shows no expression, but I know that he’s holding his breath as I hold mine as well. The prize is just in front of us, waiting to be capture.

I watch Artro as he place his index finger carefully on MaryX’s trigger.

MaryX is the name of Artro’s gun. He had her since he was just a child. It was a gift from his parents for his first birthday (bullets not included). And ever since he received it, he swears to love it till the day he dies. And he does. He loves it and fully takes care of it. He cares for his gun so much as if MaryX is alive. He loves her so much that he even brings her around with him everywhere, including in his school.

Thus that’s the reason why Artro was shunned by everyone, thinking that he’s weird or even a scary psycho or by many other names I had forgotten he was once called by kids our age. But he doesn’t seem to mind being shunned by everyone else. He’s too proud of having MaryX to even care of other minor things. That’s why when I first met him (he’s at his house, in his room, holding a real gun) I already know that I like him.

I like danger as my playmate.

I wasn’t that of an innocent and goody-good little girl before.

I had no fear to show my true color.

I was evil.

Holding my chuckles with my hand of remembering back those memories, I watch Artro’s cold and calm eyes staring through his pair of glasses at the chocolate feathered dear behind a tall looking tree. The dear is big and full of fat, with horns indicating that it’s a male.

This is a big catch.

That is, if he can shoot it right to the most fatal organ.

Artro pulls the trigger and a bullet pierces through the deer’s heart. It falls to the ground almost immediately. Artro stands up and approaches his catch, bringing MaryX with him. I trail along behind him, jumping on the fallen tree and branches cheerfully.

“Right to the heart.” My eyes are looking at the red dot on the deer’s chocolate feathers, examining it to calculate for how far did the bullet pierce through its chest. “Your skill hasn’t get rusty, cousin.” I bend down on ground that is fully covered by green leaves to lift the deer’s front body to pick up the bullet from the ground with my black leather glove. The bullet has shot through the flesh and out, now covered with fresh red blood as proof.

“What makes you think I’ve gotten rusty?” He smirks playfully. “I’ve been practicing with MaryX, you know,” he say gesturing her in his hands.

“Well, you have been busy, after all.”

“I hope you’re not thinking of something else that does not involve rather any school books and textbooks.”

“How can I be sure that that’s all you’ve involved yourself into? I’m not there to watch.”

“Arsene,” he protests teasingly while leaning on closer to my face. I can see the glow in his dark eyes as he can see mine sparkling.

“Artro,” I play along. But after having a staring contest, I finally break off to start my turn to hunt. “Come on, it’s my turn,” I say holding the grip on my own gun while getting up. “I think I saw something rather juicer than your deer over the south forest.”

Artro gathers his prey by putting it on the side of his shoulder in one swing and walks behind me. They really seem to be more muscle than I can see from him, truly. Because I’m sure that deer can’t be lighter than 70 pounds.

*

Banri is at the lounge when I head back to my room.

“Where’s everyone else?” I ask approaching him, my mountain lion on my other side, carried by my dark clouds.

“Wow, is that a lion?” Banri ask pointing at it as he jumps in surprise from his chair.

“A mountain lion, precisely,” I correct him.

“So you went on hunting with Artro this morning? I heard that he’s back.”

“Yes. And guess who the winner is?” I ask, smiling proudly ear to ear.

Banri put one of his arms under his chest and the other hanging on it to support his chin. “Hmm, that’s hard to guess.” I hit his arm lightly.

“Seriously, it’s hard to guess. I never know how far are you guys gonna hunt. It can be a small delicate little white bunny to a fire breathing dragon. The coverage is too wide to guess,” he says honestly.

“So, where are they?” I ask casually, ordering my cloud to put the mountain lion in the cafeteria’s frozen meat storage room mentally.

“Doing mission. It’s involving someplace underwater, so I signed out.”

“Underwater. Not bad,” I mutter with a certain glow in my eyes─a sign that shows my dark interest. “Then what are you planning to do instead?” I ask, back to my light tone, at him.

“So far, just waiting for you to come back. We didn’t contact you before because we thought you don’t want to be bothered with your hunting.”

Taking a minute to think of something, I say, “Why don’t we just check out our childhood photo album? You guys still keep it here, right?”

Banri nods. “It’s in the storage room, beside Crease’s,” he says standing up and heads to it. I follow behind him silently as he opens the door and revealing a room covered with wooden boards everywhere.

“Here it is,” he says approaching a bookcase full with rows and rows of photo albums. Each with different colors. He pulls one out with the color white that has label written, “Team Alphas.” I smile remembering the reason why we chose that name.

It’s not something that involves werewolf. Rather, it means that each member of the team is a specialist at his or her power. The masters of our own.

Banri open the first page, showing a photo of the group dressed up in our uniform and saluting at the camera like real soldiers. It was my parents that took it, after the seven of us graduated from our first test at the age of ten. I also remember that Shara and Banri fighting about who’s going to stand at my right side. Shara won, like usual.

I open the next page, revealing more pictures of us when we were small. From the smallest things like at the time when we first met as toddlers in Sorcier, then to when we ate together, taking classes, playing on the field, practicing our magic skills, to our proudest and most important moments like our first graduation, when we were given a medallion each as proof that we’re officially part of Sorcier, where wizards from all over the world form in one name, to when the celebration every year we have for the annual anniversary of Sorcier Star competition.

We used to enter sometimes, competing on who’s going to win. Sometimes one of us won, sometimes just unluckily none. I’ve won a couple of times, or Shara or the others won sometimes. And even Link and Artro became the winners at some other times.

“I can’t believe that we’re best friends now. Do you remember what it felt like when we first met?” Banri asks, chuckling. I join him.

“Of course I do,” I say.

We were destined to meet. But it was just not love at first glance.

When I was small, I used to be very picky at having followers ─let alone for my friends. While children like me have tons, I have none. I used to be known as the most frightening child and be afraid by anyone, children or adult. It was because of my power, that I became arrogant and self-centered. But I can’t deny that I like being what I used to be.

The Noirmelns have the history of having our dark nature. Since we overpower darkness, we are consumed with evil as well. The more powerful we are, the more evil we get. Since I am one of the strongest members in the family, I naturally inherit my family's gift—and that is: The evil in my soul.

My soul's color is black, something that can be easily seen through my flesh and body if someone has the ability to. Some who had seen it usually described my soul to be something pure evil, with its cold, radiating black fire heat and pumping flair that's begging to overwhelm everyone else around me.

One day, I hurt someone. The kid didn’t die, but he almost did. Thus, my parents decided that it would be best for me to receive my first seal. I rebelled at that decision, of course. I was just too amateur back then to understand the importance of having those seals and keys. But they forced me anyway (by drugging me and perform the ritual while I was not in my right mind, so I don’t remember much of the event).

After that, I went back to school like usual. The different was just that I was more friendly and welcoming to other wizards than I ever had. They thought there was something wrong with me or that I was replaced by aliens or something, but I was careless after the ritual back then. It felt like something heavy was just lifted from my body and I felt really good. So good, that I started become friends with the guys right away.

I radiated so bright back then that they couldn’t resist getting close to me and the need to become my friends were just overwhelming.

And that was the root of Team Alphas.

Banri smile too as he remember our past.

Banri turn from the next picture to the next one. So fast that I start to spot a familiar figure on the photos. With pale skin and dark features that I hardly can make out. Just like from my─

“Who is that?!” I shout.

“Who?” Banri ask.

“The man. That man that’s standing behind the tree,” I say pointing at the picture, only to find him disappear from it. “What the─” I turn to the previous page, trying to find the picture where I spotted him before, too. But he’s just not in anywhere. It’s like something just snipped him away. But how?

When Banri see me looking questionably insane at the album, he closes it and puts it away.

“Okay, what’s going on?” He asks, sensing that something is not right. “Are you okay, Arsene.”

“That man....” I whisper lowly, so low that I’m sure he can’t hear me. “He was.... in my dream,” I finally say.

“Who?”

“I don’t know. It was too dark to tell. I can’t remember his face. All I remember is─” Flashes of the images from my dream starts possessing my vision and I fell on the floor. I can feel Banri’s hand holding me, but I can’t see him. All I can see is the last second that the man points his gun at me. And then, my burial ceremony....

“No!” I shout, hands covering my ears. “No, no, no, no! I’m not dead. I’m not going to die,” I yell.

“─sene,” I can hear something from afar, but it’s too low to be heard clearly. “Ars─” It starts again, but I’m drowned too deep into the blackness. “─Arsene!” Finally, I can hear someone calling my name. Banri. He’s supposed to be next to me. Where is he now? All I can see is darkness....

As I find my body shaking, I open my eyes to find the sight of him.

“Banri.” I extend my hands to him. He catches them and part his lips with concerning eyes.

“Are you okay?”

I blink. “I think so. What just happened?”

“I think you were just trapped into your own dark thoughts.”

“How long was I gone?”

“Not much. Just three hours.”

“Three hours?!” I shout in shock. I look around, and for the first time spot my interior room. Everything were already back to its normal position just before I left the room this morning. I used my power to create shadow tentacles and help me fixed everything faster. Banri must had taken me here while I was paralyzed in my own thoughts.

“Thanks for taking care of me,” I say.

“No problem,” he replies with a cheerful smile of his.

There’s silence after that. Banri can be so carefree. But in situations like this, he knows what he should do. Nothing. Don’t ask too much. Don’t mention anything bad.

But just before he leaves my room, I go against everything and blur it out.

“My nightmare,” I mutter as he turns back to face me. “It was about me. Death. I saw you with everyone else in my burial ceremony. I was sleeping in this black coffin, so peaceful I thought I was still alive inside. You were crying for me.”

“Why did you die?”

I gulped before I answer. “I was shot by someone. The man I was hallucinating before. I couldn’t see his face, though.”

“So, this nightmare,” Banri ask walking closer. “Do you think it’s going to happen?” There is fear illuminating from his eyes when he asks this question.

“Maybe. I’m not sure. I never predicted the future before.”

“Have you told your parents yet? Your cousin?” Banri intentionally say ‘cousin’ instead of ‘cousins’ because he knows that Link won’t be much help. For me, anyway. Me and Link are not enemies, but we aren’t that close cousins either. It’ll be weird to tell him about my nightmare-that-possibly-going-to-come-true.

“None yet. Just you.”

The last thing I look on his face is grief and.... fear, before he says goodnight to me. He doesn’t say anything because there’s nothing he can do to help me either.

*

I’ve been trying to get some sleep tonight. But if I fall asleep, I’m afraid that I’ll have that nightmare again. What if when I wake up, I’ll find myself already burning everything down? I don’t know how far my fire is going to go out of control. How far can it reach? My room. The entire level. Or even perhaps the whole building?

This makes me wonder if I’ll need another seal to restore my power again. After all, it is functioning to keep me from being insane. If my powers go over-control, then I think it will be the right thing to do. Even if I have to seal away another part of me. Again.

How many seals will it take until a wizard die? Surely I won’t die too soon. There are many wizards in our history that has the same case as me.

And that is called over-sealed.

Finally, after realizing that I will not fall asleep like this, I get off my bed and open my door.

The hallway is quite, much because everyone is asleep. It is 12 past midnight, after all.

Then, I walk to the door beside me.

The door is not locked when I turn the handle. I crack it open as silent as possible and then part my lips.

“Banri? Are you awake?”

Everything inside is dark, without any window or night lamp to brighten the inside. Only the light is that’s coming from the other side of the door I open, and it’s not even enough to see anything besides some part of the floor.

There’s a groan coming from the inside, indicating that he is now.

“Arsene? What are you doing in here?” His voice sounds sore.

“Can I sleep with you tonight? I need someone to watch over me if I have another nightmare again,” I say, crooking my head inside while the rest of my body is hidden behind the door.

It takes Banri a minute or two before he answers, “Sure. Come in.”

I walk in and close the door behind me, making the room fall into darkness once more.

I’m lost in the darkness before I can finally reach the edge of Banri’s bed. Once I do, I used it as a guide to crawl up to the side of the bed and get under the cover. It feels too warm, but that’s fine for me. Banri is a hot breather after all and I’m already used to it.

“Don’t let my fire spread, alright?” I ask Banri, who has his back facing me.

“And you don’t worry about me sleeping next to you?” He teases. I chuckle.

“Yeah, right. Like my fire is going to burn another fire.” Besides his ability to manipulate volume of things, he can also control fire. Banri was basically born from a fire breed, as he told me once, so it’s more likely to be impossible to happen. That’s why I come for his help in the first place.

We both chuckle a little before I fall asleep in no time.