Morningstar

Lexan sees most of the students move towards the same direction. He decides to follow. They stop by one of the outdoor hallways. He finds the assassin talking to a group of men. He sees faraway the group of female gunslingers with Tilray’s group. That is new. There must be a reason for them to be together.

The assassin nods at the group and takes a step back. Lexan sees Tilray draw her shotgun. He knows what this means. It means that those are the last people that he is meeting with. After this, the trial starts.

Tilray fires her gun. Lexan sees the assassin move, evading the shot. He moves faster than a snake. He climbs the railing and then the wooden column. He steps on the ceiling within seconds.

The students break free, trying to find a better view of the assassin. Some even run away. Lexan takes a second. The assassin does not want him to waste his potential. He has never been known for doing reckless things, but now he will.

He grabs his short spear, which is one foot long. He holds it in front of him and presses the button. He holds on to it as the spear grows, hits the ground, and he uses the boost to jump towards the ceiling. When he steps on the ceiling, he almost stumbles, but he is the first to reach it. He hits the button of the spear again and it shortens.

The assassin is running away through the ceiling. Everyone is running on the ground, following his path. Lexan sprints, following the assassin. He was not planning on killing him. He was planning on evading him until dusk arrived. But now, he will show him his potential.

The assassin turns his head without stopping his run. “Lexan,” he says. “You joined.” He slips his hand inside his cloak. Lexan presses the button of his spear again just in time for the flying knives that the assassin throws. He moves his spear, hitting the knives away from him.

The path is almost over. The assassin has the choice to jump to the ground or face Lexan. The assassin does neither. He jumps on the edge. For a second, Lexan thinks that he is flying. He grabs a branch of a tree far away and pulls himself on it before continuing his running on the branches.

Lexan knows that he needs to take a risk if he wants to keep being in the game. He holds his spear with both hands and uses it as a lance. He places one end to the floor and pushes himself. He feels the air hits him as the spear makes him go higher. He will reach the tree. He has too. But he does not. He lands on the grass below. He stands up frustrated.

He has lost the trace of the assassin.

***

The assassin is already prepared. The Times want one hundred students dead. They had made a suggestion list, which he had memorized. He had studied every single student to get the upper hand. He has ninety-nine students left since Meer tried to kill him. She was not one of his options to kill.

He does not want to kill one hundred people, but he has to. The students do not know that he has a goal. If he does not kill one hundred students before dusk, the Times will kill him. The students do not know that because every single assassin before him has made their goal. None has been killed before and he is not going to be the first.

From the tree, he watches the people disperse. He thinks of a strategy. He should focus on the strongest on the list first. He promised that he will kill two people between Tilray, Ilya, Shin, Urho, and Norm. That is a good place to start.

He jumps around in the trees, searching for anything that might give their location. His eyes catch the flaming hair of Phoenix and, to his surprised, he finds that her group is not alone. Tilray’s group is with her. He knows that they do not get along. They must have formed a temporal alliance for a common enemy.

“Let’s make a deal,” he announces. He moves to another branch and hides behind the trunk of the tree. Someone shoots at the place that he was. Predictable.

“We do not want your deal,” Tilray’s voice announces.

“It is a pretty great deal,” he says. He climbs down the tree from behind the trunk as he hears someone shoot again. He appears from the tree, rising his hands. They all point their guns or weapons towards him. Someone fires, but with a quick bent of his back, he evades it.

“Let him talk,” Ilya says.

“He killed one of us,” Rin answers.

“And I promised that I was going to kill two of them,” the assassin says. “But, since I already killed one that was not meant to die, then I propose to kill one of you. The catch is that it could be anyone from the two groups.”

“No deal,” Phoenix answers quickly.

“I see,” the assassin says. He still has his hands raised. “To choose between two people from the other group or one from all of the groups is no brainer. You will choose two people because it does not affect your group.”

“What?” Tilray asks, but the assassin can tell that it is directed to Phoenix.

“We have a temporal partnership,” Shin protests. His axes are on his hands.

“My group comes first,” Phoenix says. She looks at the assassin. “No deal.”

“Yes, deal,” Tilray says.

“Just shoot,” Norm yells, and they do.

The assassin moves between shots. He moves his arms. Right under his gray cloak, his black long sleeves are protected. They are bulletproof. He deflects some of the shots. Shin swings one of his axes at the assassin. The assassin uses his momentum to grab his arm and flip him, even though he is bigger than the assassin. He falls on his back.

Zanna shoots. She is the sharpshooter of the gunslingers. It forces the assassin to move away from his path. His target was Norm, but now, if he wants to stay alive and to kill someone, he needs to switch targets.

He jumps on top of Urho and stabs a dagger in his chest. “May the saints guide you,” the assassin whispers before he pulls his knife and sprints away to the nearest tree.

***

Zanna holds her gun towards the assassin. He is fast for her scope. She must do the shot. She watches him climb the tree and then she lowers her gun. She will not make the shot. He is too fast.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers.

“Don’t be,” Rin answers, placing her hand on Zanna’s shoulder. “His speed is inhumane.” Zanna’s eyes go to Urho’s body. Ilya is kneeling beside him.

“How dare you?” Tilray asks, moving towards Phoenix. She shoves her, but Norm is already trying to pull her. “How dare you chose your group over ours? We had a truce!”

“You would have done the same if the tables were turned,” Phoenix yells.

“I should kill you right now,” Tilray says, trying to break from Norm’s grip, who is holding her by the wrists.

“Then do it,” she yells. “Do it, and you will not see the end of the day. The Times will kill you for killing me.”

Tilray breaks free from Norm’s grip but does not go towards Phoenix. She grabs her shotgun from the floor and heads the way where the assassin went. “Let’s go,” she says, not taking a glance at Urho. “Let’s kill that bastard.”

Ilya nods and stands up. Her eyes are dried. They are not supposed to cry over death. She, Shin, Killam, and Norm follow Tilray. Shin takes one last look at Urho before leaving. Phoenix approaches Zanna and Rin, not taking her eyes from the leaving group, who left Urho behind.

“What should we do?” Rin asks. “Should we go after the assassin?”

“No. He must be long gone,” Phoenix says. Then she turns her face to look at Rin and Zanna. “We are going to trap him. The next time that he kills someone, we will ambush him.”

Zanna knows Phoenix all too well. She has a fire inside of her that is going to keep burning until it gets what it wants. Right now, Phoenix’s fire wants revenge on Meer’s death.

***

Yenta and Wither have stationed themselves at an opened field with only grass. Wither had asked why Yenta chose that location, but he had a simple answer. There were no trees nearby and no other place for the assassin to hide.

“I do not understand something,” Wither says. His black eyes look worried. “Why are we here in the open when we could be hiding?”

“Because we must kill the assassin,” Yenta says. “And he said that he was coming to kill one of us.”

“Am I the only one that knows that no one has killed the trial’s assassin before?” Wither asks. He is standing on Yenta’s side. His long sword is buried in the ground near him and his hand is holding the handle, ready to pull it out.

“But there is always the first time,” Yenta says. The wind picks up. Yenta sees that it sends shivers down Wither’s spine.

“He is here,” Wither whispers. There is something in him that Yenta has always envied. Wither can feel things before they happen.

“Back to back,” Yenta says as he picks his sword. He presses his back against Wither’s back. He can feel Wither’s breathing become heavier. “Relax. The trees are far. He needs to come out to this field to kill us.”

“You are wrong,” Wither whispers. “I feel it… He–”

But he does not finish. Yenta hears something break the wind. He turns Wither around in order for Yenta to look at what he was looking at. He feels when something strike his chest.

***

Agrion is with his friends Hakea, Xeon, and Drew running around inside one of the buildings of Morningstar. Agrion has always known that they are a great team. Xeon is the calm one. He is also the stealthiest. He is the second tallest of the group and the slimmest. He moves fast, ducking between windows and checking to see if they can follow him.

Hakea drops below a window when they hear something fall. It came from the hallway next to the one where they are. He signals something with his hands. He wants them to hide at the nearest classroom.

Drew moves to check if the classroom’s door is unlocked. He slips inside when he finds that it is opened. Hakea signals Xeon and Agrion to enter and he enters last, closing the door after him. Hakea lifts a finger to his lips.

They remain quiet until they are sure that no one is around. Agrion crawls to sit beside Hakea against a wall. Hakea smiles, assuring them that everything is going to be all right. He scratches his head, his dirty blond hair moving around.

“In half an hour, we will move to another destination,” Hakea commands as the leader that he is. “We cannot be stuck in the same place or he will find us.”

“Do you think that he wants to kill us?” Drew asks. He is sitting opposite from Agrion and Hakea with his back against the leg of a table. He has his legs bent because if he leaves them flat, they might reach Agrion. “I mean, we were the last group he spoke too. He could have killed us at that moment, but he did not.”

“He is giving us a chance,” Xeon says. He is standing next to the door. He is calmed but ready to strike.

“Why were we there in the first place?” Agrion asks. “We could have used that time to be closer to the dorms, where better hiding places are.”

“Xeon wanted to make sure that Zanna was all right,” Hakea says. “He wanted to follow her to ensure her safety during the trial, but she disappeared when the first shot was fired.”

“So, you agreed on following Zanna too?” Agrion asks Hakea.

“I did not mind,” Hakea says as he shrugs. “Phoenix is with her. I thought that if I could help Phoenix with something, she would finally notice me.”

“She notices you,” Agrion counters.

“But not how I want to,” Hakea says. He then hits Agrion in the shoulder. “You should know how it feels to have a crush. We all have had at least one.” He then looks up at the ceiling as if he could see the sky. “Man, crushes tend to make you crazy. How I would love to fuck her.”

Agrion opens his mouth but stops. He does not have anything to say. He hears Drew yawn and everyone’s attention goes to him.

“Are you tired?” Hakea asks.

“Yes,” Drew says and yawns again. “It is odd. I went to sleep early last night. I wanted to be ready for today.”

“Come to think of it, I am feeling sleepy too,” Agrion says.

Hakea stands up fast. “Do not breath,” he orders. “Sleeping gas. We have–”

The window breaks. Agrion covers his face with his arms from the flying shards of glass. When he removes his arms, he sees the assassin crouching on the window’s frame. His blue eyes catch Agrion’s eyes. He is the embodiment of fear.

“Get up!” Hakea says, pulling Agrion from his wrist. “Snap out of it!” Agrion’s eyes feel like closing but the sudden pull of Hakea snaps him in focus. As Hakea pulls him up, he takes a glance at Drew, who is still sitting in the floor. His eyes are closed. He must have fallen asleep.

“Drew! Drew!” Agrion yells, but the assassin is already next to him.

“We have to leave him,” Hakea says as he continues pulling Agrion. He is following Xeon. With one last look at Drew, Agrion forces himself to run away.

***

Phoenix, Rin, and Zanna tracked the path of the assassin. He does not have a pattern. He jumps around in the campus, killing whoever he finds. That is what Phoenix thought first, but it does not seem that way. If he finds a group of people, he kills some and spares others. It is as if he has previously chosen who he is going to kill.

He did give her a hint before. He said that Meer was not meant to die. He might have not wanted to kill her, but Phoenix refuses to believe that. He could have spared her if he wanted to. Instead, he did not hesitate to break her neck.

Now, Phoenix sees when the assassin slash the necks of two running people in one move. They are at a hallway on a second floor. She rises two fingers, hoping for Zanna to see. She is outside on top of another building pointing her sniper at the assassin. The assassin takes a knee and whispers something before standing up. He does not move.

“You are forcing my hand,” the assassin says. Phoenix knows that he has already felt her presence. He turns around and Phoenix moves from the corner of the hallway to make herself visible. Her shotgun is pointed at him.

“You should not have killed Meer,” she says. She maintains her focus on his blue eyes. She sees the shadow of Rin as she comes visible at the end of the hall. Rin points her handguns at the assassin.

“She should not have shot me,” he says. “Tell Rin and Zanna to lower their guns.”

“No,” Phoenix says. “You are not getting out of here alive.”

“Those eyes,” he says, which Phoenix knows that he is trying to distract her. “They have a fire that has burned most of your life. What is the reason? Death of your parents? Friend? Lover?” Phoenix feels a twitch in her eyebrow. “Lover, I see.”

“Shut up,” Phoenix yells.

As she finishes her yelling, the assassin moves. She hears several shots. One of those shots breaks the window but misses the assassin. Two shots come from Rin’s handguns, but the assassin makes a spin, evading them by inches. He ducks beside Rin and stands up behind her. He places one arm around her neck and the other holding her head.

“Let her go!” Phoenix yells. He has a wall beside him. There is no way for Zanna to make the shot.

“Shoot me,” the assassin says. Rin’s hands are trying to pull his arm away. “Don’t you want me dead? Then shoot me. I am letting you, but I will snap her neck before you do.”

“Let her go!” Phoenix yells again. She has to do something. Rin cannot die today, not another one of her friends.

“Shoot me!” he rises his voice. “Isn’t this what you wanted?”

“No!” Phoenix shouts. She falls to her knees, dropping her shotgun. “I am begging you. Let her go.” She presses her hands together, ready to beg. She blinks and then the assassin is gone. Rin falls to her knees and she runs towards her before crouching. “Are you all right?”

“I am,” Rin answers, even though her breath is heavy. She is not dead. He spared her. “He-He let me live.”

Phoenix watches the hallway. Where did he go to? “He did,” she says. She stands up and extends one hand to Rin. “Come on. We won’t be killing him today.”

***

The sun is already leaving. Tilray wanted to yell at the sky. She needs more time! In only a few minutes, sunset will end, and dusk will begin. By then, the trial will end, and she won’t skip to graduation. She will not get her revenge for Urho’s death.

“Where is he? Where is he?” Tilray continues asking. She is walking fast through the campus. They are now inside one of the small forests in the campus where the assassin must be hiding.

“Tilray, we won’t find him,” Ilya says.

“We will,” Tilray yells, which causes Ilya to lower her sight.

“I am on this one with Ilya,” Norm says. “Let’s turn around. The trial is almost over. We lost someone, but we do not need to lose anyone else.”

“Shut up,” Tilray orders. Shin shakes his head in disappointment.

“We have to get our revenge,” Killam says. “That rotten piece of–”

“But what if he is dead?” Norm asks. “What if someone already killed him?”

“Like who?” Tilray stops abruptly. She turns to face Norm. “Phoenix? She and her group cannot get the glory!” Norm eyes widen. “What?” He points past her.

Tilray turns to find her target. The assassin is standing with his back against the tree. One of his legs is bent and against the tree also. Under the gray cloak, she can see that his hands are inside his black pants’ pockets.

“Sorry to disappoint you,” the assassin says. “I met with them again and they failed to kill me. Don’t worry, I did not make your life easier. They are still alive. I am afraid that I reached my quota already.”

Tilray pulls her shotgun fast and shoots. The assassin does not move, but the shot did not hit him. She missed. She missed because of her desperation.

The assassin looks at the sky, unconcerned with Tilray’s shot. “Two minutes until dusk,” he says. He pushes himself with his feet against the tree and begins walking towards them. “One more kill will not harm me.”

Tilray shoots again as Killam begins to run with his two katanas out towards the assassin. The assassin evades the shot. Norm runs on the opposite side of Killam with one hand on his huge sword, that is even bigger than him, that is behind his back. Killam swings, but the assassin slides on the grass, evading the swing. As he stands up, without stopping his running, Norm swings down his huge sword at the assassin. The assassin moves to the side as if he could control every single detail of his body. He jumps towards Norm as he continues in the same swing. He grabs him by the neck and pins him down on the floor.

The assassin leaves Norm behind and continues running. Shin throws both of his axes as if they were boomerangs. The assassin grabs one of them by the handle. He twirls and, using the momentum of the axe, redirects it towards Shin.

Ilya pulls her rapier out. She slashes at the assassin. He grabs her wrist and twists it. Ilya lets out a scream as she falls. Tilray shoots at the assassin. He must die. She shoots again and again without stopping, but the zigzags of the assassin help him evade. He jumps on top of Tilray. She falls on her back, and the assassin places a knife against her neck.

He stares directly into her eyes. “Dusk,” he says and pulls the knife away from her. He stands up and marches away.

Dusk has arrived. The trial is over. Tilray screams. She failed. She did not kill him, and the worst part is that he almost could.