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Description
Chapter 6
Mysteries

      Two days passed since the day Evelyn had seen the dark figure appear from behind the tree in the "corner-park," as it was called by the students, near the school. Sophie had listened intently as Evelyn tried explaining what she had seen, and let out a gasp when her friend said that it had no features other than a creepy smile.
      "You mean like…like the…" Sophie has stuttered during the conversation.
      "Yes, Soph, like the time in the forest…" Evelyn had replied, not wanting to believe what her eyes had seen.
      It was had been their theory that they had imagined things, even with a third witness corroborating their story. Yet this…This made it much harder to deny. They waited to see if they'd see anything again in order to actually say something to their parents; without proof or a second sighting, there was no point in worrying them any further. Evelyn's and Sophie's parents had been very attentive of the girls and had medical bills to pay for their long stay at the hospital. That was not the only problem plaguing their parents mind: Evelyn's back ached constantly and, at times, her two scars (where she had received two deep gashes near her shoulder blades) bled for short periods of time. The doctor had said over the phone that she might be turning harshly in her sleep and re-opening the wounds. It was a logical theory, taking into consideration the fact that both Evelyn and Sophie had been having nightmares recently. The same for both of them: black forests of ash, a set of glowing stones and a huge stone glowing scorching red as if a map had been burnt upon it.  This, however, was nothing compared to the tests they had coming up and the "dual" date they had been invited to: Evelyn with the foreigner Uriel, while Sophie had paired with Michael.
      "We'll see you at night mom, Uriel and Michael will walk us to the mall, then we'll go see a movie and they'll walk us home." Evelyn replied as her mom dropped both of the girls at school.
      "Very well dear, just DO NOT turn off your phones…ok? Keep in touch frequently." Her mom replied sweetly but with seriousness in her voice, outlining the "DO NOT" with a longer pause between the words than normal.
      "O…K…MOM!" Evelyn replied annoyed.
      "I'll keep her in check, don't worry" Sophie replied sticking her head over Evelyn's shoulder as she grabbed Evelyn from both shoulders and pulled her away from the car's window.
      "Thank you Sophie," her mother replied, "be careful and have a nice day girls!" She blew them a kiss and a short wave before turning the car around and driving off.
      "I swear… She treats me like a little gir- OW!" Evelyn hunched slightly and took of her backpack hastily, reaching to place her hand on her back. "Wow, that hurt!"
      "The scars again?" Sophie replied concerned, yet calmly, picking up Evelyn's back pack and going around her friend to check her back. "They aren't bleeding at least…" Her tone was slightly doubtful.
      "I'll be ok Soph." Evelyn said, as a person slightly taller than her passed by sprinting, no backpack on his back, black hooded-sweatshirt and shoes shinning with silver skulls.
      Dario seemed to turn his head an infinitesimal bit to his left, just enough so both girls could see the corner of his eye as he turned to look at them; a cold, mysterious, dark glint in his eye. Sophie said it was malice, but Evelyn felt differently, as if there was nothing inside. Dario's shadow disappeared inside the frame of the entrance of the school as he turned left. Soon after, Uriel and Jackie came walking to talk to the girls, and together they walked towards their classes as the bell rung all around campus. Sophie looked around excitedly, but could not see the man she was hoping for… Yet she sighed long and loud as she saw her beloved Michael waiting for them at the classroom's entrance as the group of friends walked towards it.
      Their classes continued as normal, with Sophie doodling hers and Michael's name in her notebook instead of notes, Michael winking frequently back at her while throwing crumpled sheets of paper at Jackie, as the latter shot him nasty looks. While both Uriel and Evelyn took notes diligently, stealing a glimpse at each other every now and then. Dario, however, was nowhere to be seen. Sophie sighed as Michael placed his hand around her shoulders, pulling her close while walking to their last class, while Evelyn and Jackie giggled in front of them with gossip next to a confused, yet curious Uriel.
Today was shaping up to be an amazing day…


*Somewhere close by *

      "It has been done…Shall we proceed?" A dark figure, with a wicked smile, spoke with a raspy and measured voice towards a man in tattered jeans and leather biker-style jacket.
      "No…Not yet…" The man replied, turning around to reveal a nasty cut across his neck and face. It was recent, yet was already beginning to heal into a scar. He walked towards the entrance to the abandoned apartment complex on which they hid from the world. "We need to wait for him to leave." He accentuated "him" with an emphasis of loathing and pain. "Besides we need to wait for our look-out, two of us won't be able to handle them all; no matter how long they've been assimilated already." He paused for a second, still looking outside as the sun shone brightly upon the school; it was just a block or so away. "Did you make sure he was injured enough? We need all the time we can get."
      The dark figure came to stand next to the man in jeans. As the sun hit him directly, yet he remained hidden in shadows, as if his whole skin and clothing had been drenched in the deepest black fit only for the ocean's basins.
      He smiled. "I damned him alright… His spirit was very high, but it was not too hard…" He sighed contently, "We'll have enough time do not worry! Ah… here he comes!"
      Closing the gates that gave entrance to the ruined building came a thin man walking briskly towards the other two. He wore no shirt, yet his sleeveless denim jacket reached down to his knees, exposing his strong, long arms. He paused, even though the Sun's heat was pouring on him, there was not a trace of sweat on his face (or body for that matter). He stopped at the entrance along with his partners.
      "The rest will join us in a while; they are doing recon on His behalf." The new man said, remarking "His" with respect. "They will get out soon, we proceed as planned." He paused turning to walk back to the gate, only to turn around after a few steps. "We attack Michael first, he's still too strong for any one of us." He mainly directed his words towards the larger of the three, with the leather jacket.
      "Fine by me, as long as we get to succeed this time…" He rubbed his face with unfocused eyes…Remembering… "No more set backs." Anger flared on his eyes as he joined the tallest of the three and walked behind him towards the gate; leaving the shorter, and featureless, of the three to walk behind them.

*School a few hours before the end of class*

      "Do not leave! In the name of our Lord..YOU…WILL…NOT…LEAVE!" A man shouted at the old cafeteria man, a dark, shinning dagger protruded from his upper chest. Dark smoke slowly circled around the mans neck and spread like snakes around his arms and legs, twisting around it and engulfing him slowly.
      "By the Heavens!" The tall man crouching next to him yelled, extending his hand to the man's head and placing his palm on it.
      A faint white light emitted from the man' palm, and the black snake-like fog started to retreat slowly. Then, the dagger gave a light jolt and a black, small, thunderbolt sprang from it and hit the man in the chest, throwing him far back a few yards. He landed on his feet, barely, and ran again to the man; this time stopping in front of the man, his long, dark hair flowing behind him. He extended both his arms, palms facing the semi-conscious body and started murmuring in a strange, but beautiful language, as a small orb of multicolored light, very much like a translucent bubble, formed in front of him and then advanced towards the dagger. The bubble reached the dagger and engulfed it. It started to pull it off the man, gently and slowly as blood trickled down the man's chest faster and faster as the dagger clogging the wound was released.
      Steps were heard nearby, then a rustling sound, as if a gust of wind had hit the wall outside the room on which both men were. The dagger had finally come out, while the man turned towards the entrance door as it creaked slightly, when suddenly it exploded into a hundred more, black daggers; which sprang in the direction of both the man and the barely moving body. The dark-haired man shouted something and a hard bubble sprang in front of him to protect him, yet the daggers broke this and rushed towards the, now shocked, man. Suddenly a blinding light shone on the room, followed by the sound of wind rushing around. Everything went white; the standing man was thrown back hard into a wooden table, which broke upon his landing. He turned to look and saw a man, covered in a long dark cloak, which hid every single feature of his, except for a pair of deep black shoes (polished by the way). The dark daggers lay on the floor, slowly emitting gray-ish smoke and dissolving into nothingness.
      "YOU!...NO!" Michael yelled as he got up in a matter of seconds and sprang fast towards the hooded man.
      The hooded figure placed a hand, covered by white gloves, on the head of the dying old man and grabbed his hood with the other. Before Michael could cast or say anything upon the man, the latter pulled his cloak back to reveal his eyes. Michael screamed in pain as he fell to his knees holding his eyes and his head, rubbing both as if acid had been sprayed upon them. A rustling sound followed immediately. Michael finally was able to open his eyes. He was standing at the entrance to the cafeteria, he felt no pain anymore; there was no blood, no daggers, no hooded man, everything was clean and on its place...As if nothing had happened.
      Michael looked up to the sky beyond the ceiling, imploring and confused. Then turned back and walked out, anger in his eyes, but not his face. He was keen enough to know it had not been a dream. Yet, that figure, man, whatever one would call it, had not been actually seen by anyone in many, many years. And the dagger…someone had killed the old cafeteria man. Someone powerful and…banned… Yes, he knew they were around. He knew his orders and knew they would come for the same thing he had. But, why kill someone with such a pure soul, without a real reason to?
      Michael skipped meeting Sophie and Evelyn and walked directly towards their classroom. He would have to discuss it with the others… If that man was involved, this would be harder than he thought… They had to act… And FAST!

©2011 Hector PerezdeLeon

Description
Chapter 6
Mysteries

      Two days passed since the day Evelyn had seen the dark figure appear from behind the tree in the "corner-park," as it was called by the students, near the school. Sophie had listened intently as Evelyn tried explaining what she had seen, and let out a gasp when her friend said that it had no features other than a creepy smile.
      "You mean like…like the…" Sophie has stuttered during the conversation.
      "Yes, Soph, like the time in the forest…" Evelyn had replied, not wanting to believe what her eyes had seen.
      It was had been their theory that they had imagined things, even with a third witness corroborating their story. Yet this…This made it much harder to deny. They waited to see if they'd see anything again in order to actually say something to their parents; without proof or a second sighting, there was no point in worrying them any further. Evelyn's and Sophie's parents had been very attentive of the girls and had medical bills to pay for their long stay at the hospital. That was not the only problem plaguing their parents mind: Evelyn's back ached constantly and, at times, her two scars (where she had received two deep gashes near her shoulder blades) bled for short periods of time. The doctor had said over the phone that she might be turning harshly in her sleep and re-opening the wounds. It was a logical theory, taking into consideration the fact that both Evelyn and Sophie had been having nightmares recently. The same for both of them: black forests of ash, a set of glowing stones and a huge stone glowing scorching red as if a map had been burnt upon it.  This, however, was nothing compared to the tests they had coming up and the "dual" date they had been invited to: Evelyn with the foreigner Uriel, while Sophie had paired with Michael.
      "We'll see you at night mom, Uriel and Michael will walk us to the mall, then we'll go see a movie and they'll walk us home." Evelyn replied as her mom dropped both of the girls at school.
      "Very well dear, just DO NOT turn off your phones…ok? Keep in touch frequently." Her mom replied sweetly but with seriousness in her voice, outlining the "DO NOT" with a longer pause between the words than normal.
      "O…K…MOM!" Evelyn replied annoyed.
      "I'll keep her in check, don't worry" Sophie replied sticking her head over Evelyn's shoulder as she grabbed Evelyn from both shoulders and pulled her away from the car's window.
      "Thank you Sophie," her mother replied, "be careful and have a nice day girls!" She blew them a kiss and a short wave before turning the car around and driving off.
      "I swear… She treats me like a little gir- OW!" Evelyn hunched slightly and took of her backpack hastily, reaching to place her hand on her back. "Wow, that hurt!"
      "The scars again?" Sophie replied concerned, yet calmly, picking up Evelyn's back pack and going around her friend to check her back. "They aren't bleeding at least…" Her tone was slightly doubtful.
      "I'll be ok Soph." Evelyn said, as a person slightly taller than her passed by sprinting, no backpack on his back, black hooded-sweatshirt and shoes shinning with silver skulls.
      Dario seemed to turn his head an infinitesimal bit to his left, just enough so both girls could see the corner of his eye as he turned to look at them; a cold, mysterious, dark glint in his eye. Sophie said it was malice, but Evelyn felt differently, as if there was nothing inside. Dario's shadow disappeared inside the frame of the entrance of the school as he turned left. Soon after, Uriel and Jackie came walking to talk to the girls, and together they walked towards their classes as the bell rung all around campus. Sophie looked around excitedly, but could not see the man she was hoping for… Yet she sighed long and loud as she saw her beloved Michael waiting for them at the classroom's entrance as the group of friends walked towards it.
      Their classes continued as normal, with Sophie doodling hers and Michael's name in her notebook instead of notes, Michael winking frequently back at her while throwing crumpled sheets of paper at Jackie, as the latter shot him nasty looks. While both Uriel and Evelyn took notes diligently, stealing a glimpse at each other every now and then. Dario, however, was nowhere to be seen. Sophie sighed as Michael placed his hand around her shoulders, pulling her close while walking to their last class, while Evelyn and Jackie giggled in front of them with gossip next to a confused, yet curious Uriel.
Today was shaping up to be an amazing day…


*Somewhere close by *

      "It has been done…Shall we proceed?" A dark figure, with a wicked smile, spoke with a raspy and measured voice towards a man in tattered jeans and leather biker-style jacket.
      "No…Not yet…" The man replied, turning around to reveal a nasty cut across his neck and face. It was recent, yet was already beginning to heal into a scar. He walked towards the entrance to the abandoned apartment complex on which they hid from the world. "We need to wait for him to leave." He accentuated "him" with an emphasis of loathing and pain. "Besides we need to wait for our look-out, two of us won't be able to handle them all; no matter how long they've been assimilated already." He paused for a second, still looking outside as the sun shone brightly upon the school; it was just a block or so away. "Did you make sure he was injured enough? We need all the time we can get."
      The dark figure came to stand next to the man in jeans. As the sun hit him directly, yet he remained hidden in shadows, as if his whole skin and clothing had been drenched in the deepest black fit only for the ocean's basins.
      He smiled. "I damned him alright… His spirit was very high, but it was not too hard…" He sighed contently, "We'll have enough time do not worry! Ah… here he comes!"
      Closing the gates that gave entrance to the ruined building came a thin man walking briskly towards the other two. He wore no shirt, yet his sleeveless denim jacket reached down to his knees, exposing his strong, long arms. He paused, even though the Sun's heat was pouring on him, there was not a trace of sweat on his face (or body for that matter). He stopped at the entrance along with his partners.
      "The rest will join us in a while; they are doing recon on His behalf." The new man said, remarking "His" with respect. "They will get out soon, we proceed as planned." He paused turning to walk back to the gate, only to turn around after a few steps. "We attack Michael first, he's still too strong for any one of us." He mainly directed his words towards the larger of the three, with the leather jacket.
      "Fine by me, as long as we get to succeed this time…" He rubbed his face with unfocused eyes…Remembering… "No more set backs." Anger flared on his eyes as he joined the tallest of the three and walked behind him towards the gate; leaving the shorter, and featureless, of the three to walk behind them.

*School a few hours before the end of class*

      "Do not leave! In the name of our Lord..YOU…WILL…NOT…LEAVE!" A man shouted at the old cafeteria man, a dark, shinning dagger protruded from his upper chest. Dark smoke slowly circled around the mans neck and spread like snakes around his arms and legs, twisting around it and engulfing him slowly.
      "By the Heavens!" The tall man crouching next to him yelled, extending his hand to the man's head and placing his palm on it.
      A faint white light emitted from the man' palm, and the black snake-like fog started to retreat slowly. Then, the dagger gave a light jolt and a black, small, thunderbolt sprang from it and hit the man in the chest, throwing him far back a few yards. He landed on his feet, barely, and ran again to the man; this time stopping in front of the man, his long, dark hair flowing behind him. He extended both his arms, palms facing the semi-conscious body and started murmuring in a strange, but beautiful language, as a small orb of multicolored light, very much like a translucent bubble, formed in front of him and then advanced towards the dagger. The bubble reached the dagger and engulfed it. It started to pull it off the man, gently and slowly as blood trickled down the man's chest faster and faster as the dagger clogging the wound was released.
      Steps were heard nearby, then a rustling sound, as if a gust of wind had hit the wall outside the room on which both men were. The dagger had finally come out, while the man turned towards the entrance door as it creaked slightly, when suddenly it exploded into a hundred more, black daggers; which sprang in the direction of both the man and the barely moving body. The dark-haired man shouted something and a hard bubble sprang in front of him to protect him, yet the daggers broke this and rushed towards the, now shocked, man. Suddenly a blinding light shone on the room, followed by the sound of wind rushing around. Everything went white; the standing man was thrown back hard into a wooden table, which broke upon his landing. He turned to look and saw a man, covered in a long dark cloak, which hid every single feature of his, except for a pair of deep black shoes (polished by the way). The dark daggers lay on the floor, slowly emitting gray-ish smoke and dissolving into nothingness.
      "YOU!...NO!" Michael yelled as he got up in a matter of seconds and sprang fast towards the hooded man.
      The hooded figure placed a hand, covered by white gloves, on the head of the dying old man and grabbed his hood with the other. Before Michael could cast or say anything upon the man, the latter pulled his cloak back to reveal his eyes. Michael screamed in pain as he fell to his knees holding his eyes and his head, rubbing both as if acid had been sprayed upon them. A rustling sound followed immediately. Michael finally was able to open his eyes. He was standing at the entrance to the cafeteria, he felt no pain anymore; there was no blood, no daggers, no hooded man, everything was clean and on its place...As if nothing had happened.
      Michael looked up to the sky beyond the ceiling, imploring and confused. Then turned back and walked out, anger in his eyes, but not his face. He was keen enough to know it had not been a dream. Yet, that figure, man, whatever one would call it, had not been actually seen by anyone in many, many years. And the dagger…someone had killed the old cafeteria man. Someone powerful and…banned… Yes, he knew they were around. He knew his orders and knew they would come for the same thing he had. But, why kill someone with such a pure soul, without a real reason to?
      Michael skipped meeting Sophie and Evelyn and walked directly towards their classroom. He would have to discuss it with the others… If that man was involved, this would be harder than he thought… They had to act… And FAST!

©2011 Hector PerezdeLeon