The Vessel.
1461 Words
Kevin didn’t flinch—not even a blink—despite the head girl's grotesque transformation. Her face twisted, her limbs stretching with unnatural grace, yet Kevin held her gaze.
“Grrrr… You’re the first to look upon my true form without fear,” she growled, her inhuman lips curled with a mixture of respect and menace.
“You. You. You. I’m sick of hearing that word.” Kevin stepped forward calmly. “Shall we begin?”
Before she could blink, the head girl lashed out with razor-sharp claws, but Kevin vanished.
“Where is he—?”
“Behind you, Senior,” came Kevin’s cool voice.
She spun with a vicious kick, then followed up with a punch, but Kevin sidestepped both with uncanny ease.
“The blackness on your skin, the darkness I feel radiating from you…” Kevin narrowed his eyes. “You must be the kind they call—Shadow.”
Her eyes widened in recognition. She hissed and jabbed herself with a dark needle, boosting her power. Her body contorted, crawling up the restroom wall until she clung to the ceiling like a spider. Her neck and limbs elongated, her head upside down, eyes glowing with shadowy rage.
Kevin glanced at the crumbling ceiling. “Just so you know, destroying school property is an offense. The head girl should know that better than anyone.”
“I don’t care anymore!” she snapped. “You’re more annoying than that guy!”
She launched herself like a missile. Kevin met her mid-air with a spinning kick that sent her crashing into a toilet stall, shattering the door and smashing the bowl. Water sprayed everywhere. She staggered out, dripping wet, torn clothes clinging to her twisted form. She stared down at herself, sniffled thrice—then burst into tears.
“H-How dare you hurt a lady like this? You’re so… mean, junior…” she whimpered.
Kevin blinked. “Wait—what?”
“See? I didn’t even want to fight… sniff You came at me first…” she whimpered again.
Kevin sighed and rubbed his head. “Alright, alright. I’m sorry—”
“Got him,” she thought with a smirk.
Suddenly, a sharp, bone-like tail—shaped like a human spine—snapped out from under her skirt, latching onto Kevin’s wrist. “Got you now!” she hissed.
She twisted her hips to reel him in, but Kevin resisted, then yanked her toward him instead. In a blur, he gripped her shoulders and slammed her into the tiled floor with enough force to c***k it.
Still crouched over her, Kevin glanced at the door. “Seriously? No one’s coming to check the noise in the boys' restroom?”
His gaze returned to her. “Are your shadows blocking people from noticing what’s going on here?”
She turned her face slightly and gave a subtle nod. Kevin noticed the tremble of her long eyelashes.
“How do I stop it?” he asked.
She remained silent.
Kevin’s grip tightened. “Answer me!”
She winced. “You’re hurting me, junior…”
Kevin blinked.
She slowly turned her face toward his, black pupils widened. “Tell me the truth… Seeing my true form—what do you really think?”
Kevin let out a breath. “You’re seriously asking me that—now?”
She nodded softly.
He stared at her twisted, monstrous face… then smiled gently. “You’re not a monster.”
Her eyes lit up in astonishment. Only one other person had ever told her that—Gregor.
The moment passed.
“Alright, moment’s over. Release the shadows—I’ve got people waiting for me on the other side.”
Suddenly, a BOOM echoed from outside. Kevin turned instinctively toward the door. Distracted.
From beneath her skirt, another tail snapped out and coiled around his leg while the first unwrapped from his wrist. With both tails, she flung Kevin upward. He smashed into the ceiling tiles, then crashed to the floor. Before he could recover, she struck with a dual tail jab, smashing the restroom apart—walls cracked, urinals shattered, water spraying like fountains.
She dusted herself off, walked to the exit, morphed back into her human form, and glanced back with a smirk before leaving.
Kevin groaned beneath the debris. “What the hell was that explosion just now?” he muttered. Brushing dust off, he dashed out of the wrecked restroom. His eyes widened.
The building was in ruins.
“My sisters!” he yelled, sprinting toward their class.
Half the structure was crushed. Kevin leapt inside, scanning the chaos—but no one was there. He hurried to the shattered window, then sighed in relief. Outside, he spotted his twin sisters among classmates and teachers, staring at the destruction in awe.
Kevin turned back toward the wreckage. “Some part of me is happy… No school for weeks.” He blinked. “Wait—Feyi!”
He bolted to his class. Still empty.
“Kevin?!”
He turned. “Huh? Feyi!”
She waved and ran toward him. “What are you doing here?!” she scolded, then grabbed his hand and began dragging him toward safety where other students were gathered.
“Feyi?” Kevin said softly. She didn’t respond, focused on coordinating students and checking the injured. Kevin glanced down at her hand—she hadn’t let go.
“Get downstairs! It’s safer there!” she instructed others, working alongside teachers. Kevin stopped.
“Feyi, wait.”
She paused but didn’t meet his eyes.
“Kevin, this isn’t the place for a conversation,” she said without turning.
He didn’t budge.
“About yesterday… I know you were upset after what I told you over the phone.”
She turned slightly, her eyes flickering with tension.
“I’m free from the disease,” he said quietly. “I’m going to live. Longer than we thought.”
Feyi stared at him.
Then suddenly grabbed his hand again.
“We’ll talk later—when we’re safe.” She tugged him down the stairs.
---
Meanwhile…
At the center of the school courtyard, a girl floated above ground, surrounded by four figures—Gregor, Femi, Xavier, and Safiya. The head girl landed beside them.
“I told you to watch her,” Gregor snapped.
The head girl frowned in confusion. “Her…?”
She turned toward the floating figure. Her eyes widened.
“She’s… the one?”
“Yup. Told you something was off about her,” Femi said.
“She’s a Vessel,” Xavier muttered.
The head girl gasped.
Gregor stepped forward. “Safiya, any students still inside?”
Safiya crouched and placed a palm on the ground. “No, Head Boy. The last two just left.”
“Good. Head girl—surround us in shadow. We can’t let this get out of control.”
The head girl nodded and stretched her arms. Darkness bloomed outward, forming a cube of pitch-black energy around them, sealing them in.
“What about the Principal?” she asked.
“I sent word. He’ll know soon enough.” Gregor raised his hand, a twin-bladed war fan materializing. “Now—formation!”
Xavier stepped back. A sniper rifle shimmered into existence. Safiya conjured a glowing rapier. The head girl’s body shifted into her shadow form.
Gregor narrowed his eyes. “This is the final piece the Principal needs for his plan. We don’t kill it—we capture it.”
They all nodded, eyes locked on the levitating girl.
---
Elsewhere…
In a well-lit boardroom, the Principal sat at a table with elite members of a secret council.
A female staffer hurried in and whispered into his ear. His eyes went wide.
“What? Right now?!”
Heads turned.
“Mr. Kolade, what’s going on?” an old woman asked.
“My school… it’s under attack.”
A middle-aged man chuckled. “You mean the one we just appointed you Principal of? That’s dark irony.”
“Do your staff have the abilities to manage it?” the boss asked.
Kolade shook his head.
“Then let your students handle it. They have potential.”
Kolade rose abruptly. “They’re facing more than they can handle.”
“What exactly?” the old woman asked.
“A Vessel,” he said grimly.
Gasps erupted around the room.
“A Vessel… that’s the final piece our organization needs to control the world,” one man murmured.
“Perfect,” said the boss. “Hogan. Oscar. Retrieval mission. Now.”
“With pleasure,” Hogan said, rising with Oscar. They followed the staffer out.
“Oh, and Mr. Kolade,” the boss added. “Don’t worry about the media. We’ll take care of it.”
- Writer
