Episode 12: Echoes from the Old Life
Deep in the Burning Wastelands, the crew had set up a temporary camp inside a half-collapsed bunker. Kevin sat against a scorched wall, staring at his cracked burner phone. No signal. The Mythical Matrix's circuits glowed faintly under his hoodie, a constant reminder that his old life was slipping away.
Four days. He hadn't been to school in four days.
Willowbrook High School – East Hollow Suburbs
The hallways buzzed with the usual morning chaos. Lockers slammed, laughter echoed, and the smell of cheap cafeteria food lingered in the air.
Bangu — Kevin's loud, athletic best friend outside of Wyatt — leaned against his locker, scrolling furiously through his phone. He was the star of every sport at Willowbrook: basketball, football, track, soccer — you name it, Bangu dominated it. Tall, energetic, with messy hair and a perpetual grin, he was the opposite of Kevin's quiet paranoia.
"Man, where the hell is Kevin?" Bangu muttered, refreshing the chat again. "No texts, no calls, no 'sorry bro I'm sick' excuse. It's been four whole days. This ain't like him. Wyatt's ghosting me too. What is happening, argh!"
He slammed his locker shut in frustration just as the bell rang — a sharp, piercing tone that cut through the noise.
A calm, automated voice came over the intercom:
"Attention all students and staff: Assembly time in the main gymnasium. All classes are canceled for the morning. Please proceed to the gymnasium immediately."
Bangu shrugged, shoving his phone into his pocket. "Whatever. Maybe they'll announce the new season schedule."
Students streamed toward the gym, chatting excitedly about the surprise assembly. Bangu joined the flow, still glancing at his phone hoping for a reply that never came.
Inside the Main Gymnasium
Hundreds of students filled the bleachers. The lights dimmed slightly as the principal stepped up to the podium, but something felt… off. The air grew heavier. A faint white-blue shimmer flickered across the rafters where no lights existed.
Bangu sat near the front with the rest of the athletes, still texting under his desk.
The principal smiled, but his eyes looked glassy. "Students… today we have a very special presentation about… opportunities. New paths. A brighter future."
The gym doors slammed shut on their own. The locks clicked loudly.
Then the supernatural hit.
The overhead lights exploded in a shower of sparks. White-blue circuits like the ones Kevin now carried began spreading across the gym floor like cracks in reality. Students screamed as several kids in the crowd suddenly convulsed — their bodies forcibly awakening Glimmers from hidden doses of Gillan Dahmer's potion slipped into the water fountains earlier that morning.
Chaos erupted.
One girl near the center levitated, her eyes glowing as razor-sharp wind blades formed around her. A boy on the basketball team grew rocky armor and started smashing bleachers. Three more students turned into aggressive, unstable potion-born hunters, attacking anyone nearby.
Bangu jumped to his feet. "What the fuck?! This isn't a drill!"
A distorted voice — clearly not the principal's — boomed through the speakers, laced with cultist reverence:
"The White-Blue Heart Pillar calls to the Rampager. Kevin Leister… if you are listening, come home. Or we will turn your precious Willowbrook into another wasteland. Every student here will become fuel for the Garden Behind the Fence."
Bangu's eyes widened in horror as he connected the dots. "Kevin… what the hell did you get into?!"
One of the potion-born — a former classmate with stretching limbs — lunged at him. Bangu dodged on pure athletic instinct and tackled the attacker, using his sports-honed strength to slam him into the floor.
But more were awakening. Panic spread like wildfire. Students trampled each other trying to escape while the gym slowly filled with white-blue energy.
Outside the school, unnoticed by most, a squad of Pillar enforcers in tactical gear waited, ready to capture anyone who showed strong Glimmer potential — or to draw out the real prize.
Back in the Burning Wastelands
Kevin suddenly clutched his chest. The Mythical Matrix flared violently, as if sensing the distant horror.
"Something's wrong," he whispered. "Willowbrook… I think they're attacking the school."
The crew gathered around him — Wyatt looking sick with worry, Nathan already preparing illusions, Peter loading weapons, Damon's hollow heart burning brighter, and the others ready for war.
Peter cursed. "They're going after your old life to smoke you out."
Kevin stood up, eyes glowing with white-blue fury and fear.
"We're going back."
End of Episode 12