"I saw the weirdest thing the other day," Qiric said. "There were these four guys just floating in the air, not even slightly caring about gravity. I mean, sure, I've heard of the unusual phenomena that sometimes happens, but this takes the cake. One of 'em even had a spotlight for a head!"
"Yeah. I saw 'em too," I nodded. "What do you think they were searching for?"
"Who cares? I've already decided that I'll transfer to the Aridovia campus next term; maybe live with my cousin," Qiric decided. "It's just been one bizarre thing after another, with no explanation! And the provincial affairs court just pretends like nothing's happened! Nothing against the people, but the vibes here are just… you know?"
"Nothing ever actually happens though," I reminded him. "I don't think it's worth moving to the desert over a load of rumours, yeah?"
During today's lecture in Demography, Mumai glanced out the window. "Hey, look," he said. "It's those four people from last night."
A stir rolls through the class. "How'd they get on campus?"
"Didn't you hear? They can fly."
"So they weren't just passing through?"
"I heard they were looking for something."
"Students, please," Professor Duss said. "I'm sure whatever it is can wait until after the lecture."
"But what if they're shooters?" Arle sounded worried.
"Shooters don't travel in packs," Qiric said.
"Eee! They just shot someone," someone else screamed.
"What the… everyone, away from the windows," Professor Duss instructed, then toggled the blinds, plunging the room into darkness.
A moment later, the intercom crackled on. "Lockdown, lockdown," the principal's voice quickly said. "Everyone stay inside, stay away from the windows, and hide. The police have been dispatched to our campus."
"Pfft. Nothing ever happens, huh," Qiric muttered.
"Sorry for jinxing it, I guess," I shrugged.
As we waited, more hushed whispers floating through the darkness.
"Who was it that got shot?"
"A security guard. Told you they were shooters."
"I should've brought my gun."
"What, are you stupid? No way you can win in a 4v1."
"Ugh, why'd it have to be here…"
"Shh! You guys hear that?"
Silence fell again. And through it cut hard, heavy, metallic footsteps, steadily moving down our hall.
Then we heard a voice, crackly and distorted, like someone was speaking through an outdated talkbox: "Hiding, huh. Who do they think they're fooling with strats like these?"
Another voice replied with a static-like noise – a broken talkbox? "###~~#."
"Please. Protocol or not, cowering is like the worst thing to do. Why not evacuate? It's harder to hunt in a stampeding herd."
"##! ##~~~###!"
"Yeah, I sensed it too. Faint… maybe a disguise? Three, take a look."
A purple beam of light suddenly shone in through the wall and proceeded to sweep across the classroom. The moment it passed over me, it slowed down, then doubled back, sweeping over me again. Then it turned off.
"In there?"
A muted but still incomprehensibly-garbled voice replied: "--- ----."
Were they talking about that woman? No way, right? I was just being paranoid. No way they knew. It was only for a moment, and I didn't touch her once. She didn't even leave behind any blood! Or, I guess whatever that silvery fluid was. Witchblood?
Before I could silent-panic further, the classroom's door fell off its hinges. Everyone froze as the four people walked in, skin silvery and hard. Their faces… weren't really faces, were they? In fact, these people rather resembled robots. But they seemed highly intelligent too, which would make them… androids, right?
"Huh. No one screamed," the one in front said. It appeared to be the group's leader. "What, are you guys used to this or something?"
"#####~~," the one next to him said, electrical energy sparking across its fingers.
"Whatever," the leader shrugged. "Listen up, humans. You lot are humans, right? My name is One. We're here for one thing and one thing only. Three narrowed it down for us, so to minimize problems, just let us search for it in peace. Once we find it, we'll be on our way."
The spotlight android suddenly looked back at something. "--- --."
"Already?" One sighed. "Well, as long as they don't–"
"Police! Stop right there," someone shouted from the hallway. "Come out with your hands on your heads!"
"Ugh, so high-strung," One muttered. Then he stuck his head into the hall. "There's no need to make a big deal of this!"
"You're trespassing on government-sanctioned property," the officer replied. "And you killed a man!"
"He died? He was talking all big, though." One sounded befuddled. "Whatever. We'll be out of your hair once we secure the objective. Then it'll be like we were never here."
"Don't make me repeat myself," the officer warned. "We will shoot if you do not stand down."
One stepped back into the classroom."Four, make sure they don't shoot," he said. The android in the back nodded, then pulled out two handguns. "And… wait, how many are there? Two, back her up."
"##~#." The electric android followed Four into the hall.
"They've opened fire!" Gunshots.
"Hand cannons! Back up, get the shield!" More gunshots, flashes of light.
"Watch the mage! Draw them outside!" More gunshots, screaming.
One nodded his approval. "Anyway. Three, which one was it?"
"--- ----." The spotlight android shook his head.
"What…? No way we got juked that easily," One muttered, "or maybe it was a red herring?"
"What are you looking for?" Someone asked.
"Who," One corrected. "A Witch."
The noises out in the hallway faded, mirroring our own stunned silence. Witches are real?
"Wait a minute," Qiric spoke up. "Is the Witch your master? That would explain why you guys can just fly."
One glanced over at Three, who shrugged. "Actually, yes. Spot on," One said. "She's playing hide and seek with us, you see. It's all just a game to her, and she's very good at playing pretend."
Two and Four re-entered the classroom. "###~~," Two crackled, hands sparking.
"Cool. That should give us some time," One said, crossing his arms. "Still, this is annoying. We went to all this trouble only for it to be fading traces… maybe one of you knows where the Witch went?"
Silence.
"Come on, we only bite if you bite first. League's honor, as they say." He nudged Two. "You tell 'em. We're chill, right?"
"####?? ##~~~#!"
"Riiight?" One made an inviting gesture. "Anyway, if you wanna blame anyone for what happens, blame the Witch. Because, uh… yeah. We're just following orders."
"--- ----- ---," Three suddenly said.
"What, already? Sheesh." One rubbed his smooth, metallic head. "Well, if any of you encountered her, I doubt you'd even realize it. You know how Witches are. Guess that means we're done here."
Four pointed down the hall, and the androids all ran away.
A short while later, human footsteps began echoing down from the other end of the hall. "Casualties here," a voice said. "This is bad. The whole squad's been wiped out."
"I'll check the classrooms," someone else said. "Keep an eye out!"
A black-clad soldier stepped into our classroom and turned on the lights. "Special Forces! Everyone okay in here?" He asked.
"The androids are looking for a Witch," Professor Duss said.
"Androids, huh… that explains a few things."
"The Witch is their master," Mumai supplied. "If you can't stop them, go for her."
"They really just told you all this?" The soldier sounded doubtful.
"Well, they didn't try to kill us," Qiric pointed out. "And they're robots! I doubt they have any reason to lie."
"I bet they have a vesper clause," another student said. "Don't attack unless provoked."
"Oh yeah, that is a thing," the soldier nodded. "All right, you guys hang tight. I'll run this intel to the commander. The rest of the crew is sweeping the campus as we speak."
"Hope they can get her," Arle said. "Witches are dangerous, impossible creatures; neither woman nor monster."
"Oh yeah! They're immune to most weapons, right? Definitely immune to the special forces' guns."
"You have to do a ritual burning to kill them for good," Arle explained. "Immobilize them on a stake, and set them ablaze at either dawn or dusk – the crux of light and dark."
"Why do you know so much?"
"Hey, what's with that look?" Arle raised her arms. "One of my ancestors was a witch hunter! Why would I give instructions on how to kill myself?"
"If it's the crux of light and dark, then a solar eclipse would work too, right?"
"Theoretically. But those are so rare it's basically a non-factor."
As the chatter continued, I rubbed my temples, trying to make sense of things. Were those androids really telling the truth? And if they were…
Was that masked woman really the Witch?
And if she was, then that 'residue' One mentioned… it really was coming from me?
But it wasn't enough to incriminate me as an accomplice, was it? I mean, she looked hurt! And the way she covered herself… and the way those people flew by… and the way she disappeared… it's like she was hiding from them.
But if she was their master, then why…?
"Hey. Kendel," Qiric said, poking my face. "They gave the all clear."
"Huh?" I blinked. The students were filing out of the classroom.
"And bonus, all classes are cancelled," Mumai added. "Come on, we're hitting the ice block. You too, Arle!"
"Any excuse to down a kleg, eh?" Arle rolled her eyes. "The ice block only opens this early on weekends."
"Uh, really? When did they…"
"It's always been a thing! I'm going back to my dorm."
As I picked up my backpack to head out, a blue haze started to fill the room. It didn't smell like anything, and Professor Duss did not even look up from his papers. Hell, none of the people still in here seemed to notice it, despite it thickening into almost fog-like density.
Then a man wearing a white hood cautiously walked in, waving around some kind of tool. The rest of the class didn't seem to notice him, either. "Curses," he muttered. "Too late. Why does this always happen…"
Then he left, and the haze faded away.
"Zoning out again, Kendel? You've been acting weird all day," Qiric said to me.
"N-no! I'm… fine," I hesitantly replied. "I think."
"Fine, we can talk about it later," he shrugged.