Everything tonight happened so fast. My heart pounded so hard I could hear it in my ears. My neck burned, the claws digging into my skin sent searing pain through my body. Breathing was difficult, and with each second, the grip tightened.
His face was monstrous, inhuman. Shadows twisted around his black-veined features, his eyes like endless pits of darkness. I had never feared anyone before until now.
Back in Oxville, I was the one people feared. Students. Teachers. I did whatever I pleased and got away with it.
I was a nightmare. A tyrant. I terrorized my juniors, my classmates, even the bravest of them never dared to challenge me.
And now, here I was, helpless. The once-feared Terra Tunes, trembling in someone else's grasp.
I struggled, desperate to free myself, but his fingers were like iron around my throat. The more I fought, the weaker I felt.
A wicked smile stretched across his face. His voice was a low, venomous whisper.
"I've caught you now, you little spy."
Gasps echoed through the basketball court. Everyone had frozen in shock, their eyes locked on me.
Eska rose from her seat, her expression calm, too calm. I could see the fire in her eyes, the effort it took to keep herself from transforming in front of everyone. Her voice was steady but carried through the gym like a blade.
"Let her go."
Nemus turned to her, his dark eyes locking onto hers as a low, menacing chuckle escaped his lips.
For a moment, a still breeze swept through, lifting strands of my brown hair. I glanced at her, heart pounding, already terrified of what was to come.
"Tell me, Eska Vew," he sneered, drawing out her name, "what are you going to do if I don't? Call the police?"
He laughed again.
The atmosphere became tensed at that moment, Eska clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. She exhaled sharply before speaking.
"You've got the wrong girl. She doesn't even know what you're talking about."
Nemus sneered, his lips curling with cruel amusement. His grip on my throat eased, just barely as his attention drifted back to me.
His eyes were hollow, soulless, more chilling than anything I'd ever seen in a horror film.
"I never forget a scent," he murmured, his voice low and deliberate. Then, with a sick smile creeping across his face, he added, "Perhaps things would be much simpler if I just turned her into one of us."
A fresh wave of terror washed over me.
No!
No, no, no.
The last thing I wanted was to become a bloodsucking demon.
Nemus tilted my head, exposing my neck. I felt his breath against my skin. The anticipation of his fangs sent me spiraling into panic.
I clenched my eyes shut and screamed, waiting for the inevitable pain.
But instead of his teeth, I felt his grip suddenly release. My body collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air.
Dazed, I opened my eyes. Blood dripped from Nemus's hand, the same one that had been wrapped around my throat. And standing in front of me, was Jesse already transformed.
Jesse?
The guy who had hated me from day one. The guy who had never wasted an opportunity to make me feel less.
And yet, he was the one who had just saved me.
He turned his head slightly, his soluless eyes catching mine. For a second, he seemed just as surprised as I was. But then his attention shifted back to Nemus.
"I think that's enough excitement for tonight," He said, his voice distorted, deeper and unnatural.
Nemus wiped the blood from his palm and chuckled stepping back a bit. "But come on, the party's just getting started."
"Hey, buddy," Zack called out, his voice firm and commanding as he stepped out from the back bleachers where he'd been the whole time, coming to stand beside Jesse. "I think it's time for you to leave."
Nemus smirked. "I'm not going anywhere." He lifted his hand, signaling his enforcers. Shadows moved as they spread out, surrounding the court.
Everyone was in a panic. No one knew what to expect next but Pink, who had just about enough of this drama stood up and yell, her voice sharp and defiant.
"I won't let you turn Terra into your kind!"
Nemus turned toward her, amusement flashing across his face. "Pink Spencer," he cooed, his voice dripping with twisted delight. "I'll enjoy ripping you apart. Bit by bit."
"You'll have to go through us first," Summer snapped, her milky-blonde hair swaying behind her.
The cheerleaders all stepped forward, forming a protective circle around Pink. Slowly, one by one, they began to transform into their original form; fangs, claws, inhuman eyes.
"Yeah!" a blonde guy from the crowd shouted finally finding his courage. "We won't let you terrorize us again!"
"Get out of our school, Nemus!" a junior yelled. More voices joined in, growing louder, angrier.
Nemus's smirk vanished. The whole school, well, not literally, has turned against him... again. His patience had run out. With a flick of his fingers, his enforcers lunged at the crowd and a fight erupted.
Chaos swallowed the gym. Claws slashed. Fangs sank into flesh. Students screamed, some ran, others ducked behind bleachers. Blood spattered the polished floor.
I tried to move, but pain kept me pinned. My throat still burned where his claws had been. Every breath was a struggle.
Then, amidst the chaos, I saw her. A deathly beautiful figure, her dark-dyed, glossly hair spilling out from beneath the red cloak she wore. As she approached, my heart skipped like I knew who it was.
Regina.
She moved through the mayhem like a phantom, her half-vampire, half-siren presence radiating silent danger.
She was coming for me.
Panic shot through me. I tried to crawl backward, but my limbs trembled too much to cooperate and she was getting closer.
Then, without hesitation, Eska stepped in front of me, her boots scraping against the pavement as she planted herself between Regina and me like a shield. Her dark blue hair whipped around her shoulders, catching the moonlight like strands of midnight silk. The air grew heavy, thick with charged silence, as if the very shadows were holding their breath.
Regina hesitated. Her eyes locked onto Eska's with a strange intensity, and for a brief moment, a flicker of recognition passed between them. Then slowly, Regina took a cautious step back, her expression unreadable.
Eska remained still for a heartbeat longer, muscles coiled, before finally kneeling beside me. Her movements were slow, careful, but her gaze never left Regina as she continued to retreat.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly, her voice low but laced with fierce protectiveness.
I tried to answer, but the words wouldn't come. My throat felt tight from the pains. My heart pounded wildly against my ribs, and all I could manage was a shallow, shaky breath.
Eska's arms were firm yet gentle as she helped me sit up, her cool hands steadying my shoulders. Then, a pulse of power swept through the gym.
A figure entered. He looked young, maybe in his mid-twenties, his dark-brown hair was neatly combed, not a strand out of place, and his deep, curving brown eyes scanned the chaotic scene with unsettling ferocity. He wore dark, old-fashioned clothing, that clung to him a shadow from another era. In his left hand, he carried a staff. It's presence reek of something strange and ancient.
He stepped forward like a silent wind, gliding into the madness without effort. As he moved, the disarray, the yelling, the motion, the scrambling bodies seemed to grow distant. His lips moved in a silent incantation as he raised the staff, and then, suddenly, everything froze.
My eyes widened, the breath caught in my throat. I was anxious to see what happens next but soon, a dizzy spell washed over me. I fought to stay conscious. But the weight of everything dragged me down.
The last thing I saw before darkness took me was the stranger's piercing gaze.