[Jace]
Jace focused on keeping people calm while also looking for material to turn into a new weapon to fight the seemingly unending onslaught of monsters that poured from the runes that had appeared everywhere.
I wonder why the government funds this place...if these word powers are permanent, any survivors would be potential threats to the status quo of things in the rest of the world...unless...no I have to focus on living through this fight first, then I can theorize all I want about what will happen after a year.
Jace came across a student who had a gash in his leg. Jace quickly tore a strip of cloth from a dead student’s shirt and used it to help stem the bleeding.
“I hope someone chose a word that heals people, or there are going to be a lot more bodies to take care of...” Jace muttered under his breath.
“Well, if there are people with healing words, they are probably busy in their classes.” The student said.
“True, just going to have to make do with what we have then.” Jace replied, chiding himself for have saying his complaint out loud.
With the strip tied off around the students leg, Jace noticed that the surviving students had beaten back the majority of the monsters and some were providing help to the students that we injured during the last wave while others kept watch for the next wave of monsters from the outside. Jace made sure that the barricade at the door was secure and then continued to help provide aid to the incapacitated students.
Manipulate...items, people...maybe....wait, right I technically do have a healing word....just not a powerful one Jace thought, humored at the thought that the word he picked gave him a footing in multiple areas that would help with surviving through the year.

As the fields outside the classroom dimmed, desperate screams from the students reverberated through the halls.

Screaming... what is going on? Oh no... am I about to find out what actually happens to the students-

Milayou's thoughts were cut short by the eerie rune-like glow emanating from a nearby wall. A grotesque monster began to emerge, it's jaws already closing down on the nearest student.

Oh no...!

A rather muscular student strode up to the monster, and kicked the other student out of the monster's reach. Bracing his hands against the monster's jaws, he gave a deep grunt.

What is he trying to do... is he trying... to kill it?

Blood began to spatter about him, as the monster desperately flailed in his grip.

Eeeuh... all that blood... it's going to go everywhere-

True to her thoughts, the boy gave one last heave, and ripped the jaws off of the monster. Entrails and blood spewed all over him-

Aaaah! Please don't get that blood on me!

-and all over the classroom.

Several students nearby sat agape at the sanguine spectacle that just unfolded, drenched in blood. One student seemed nearly ready to faint. When Milayou opened her eyes, she was... strangely clean. Blood and entrails covered every visible surface around her, yet her clothing, and the ground near her was pristine.

It's... not on me..? Did I somehow...

Chop!

Milayou's thoughts were interrupted by a massive crashing sound. The boy that had ripped the monster in two cleaved the other wall with his bare hand.

How did he just do that...?

Bringing his other hand to bear, the boy tore the wall apart as if it was cardboard. Through the veneer of blood on him, Milayou could barely make out a word on his bulging right bicep.

"Strength"... Words... Supernatural powers and abilities.... did I just use my word power there?

A familiar ghastly glow appeared on the floor in front of her. What could only be described as “limbs” sprouted from the rune, clawing at the ground furiously. Milayou bolted up from her chair in surprise, nearly slipping on the blood surrounding her.

Ahh...! Ahh...! Word powers...?!

A head materialized of the the rune, whirling around in a frenzy. The monster's eyes surveyed the room, coming to a stop at the seemingly helpless target in front of it.

Reflect... send something back, turn away... The monster is coming... from somewhere! Can I... send it back?

Milayou visualized, in her mind, the monster being sucked back into the rune. As if on command, the monster in front of her began receding into the rune. Snarling desparately, it scraped at the ground in a panic, semingly aware of it's fate. Within a second, the monster's entire body disappeared into the mysterious glow. Milayou gasped in relief.

Phew.... okay, at least I can defend myself...

[Gideon]

After fixing the hole in the chain curtain, Gideon has his followers pull up chairs for themselves and arrange them into an inward facing circle at the front of the classroom, where they take a seat.

“Greetings, you may call me Gideon. What is your name?”
“Jacob.” Jacob responds flatly.
“Greetings, my name is Gideon. What’s your name?”
“Ethan.” Ethan responds flatly.
“Greetings, I’m Gideon. What’s your name?”
“Wilson.” Wilson responds flatly.
“Hello, I’m Gideon. What’s your name?”
“Sarah.” Sarah responds flatly.
“I’m Gideon. You? ...”
“Ashley.” Ashley responds flatly.
“So... this is fun.” Gideon muses to himself, even though he was surrounded by five others in the class room.

This is so dull, they won’t talk to me because I’m controlling them. Maybe I can tweak with the Bindings some.

Thinking back to when he took control of the five, he remembers that his sole thought was for them to become under his control. Only now was he realizing that without his control, they’d do literally nothing.

After giving it some serious thought, Gideon tweaks the mental bindings on Ethan first. Ethan made for the best test subject as his word wasn’t particularly dangerous, and his personality made him easily controlled even without a mental binding. Ethan would prioritize preserving Gideon’s physical well-being, health, and life, act according to Gideon’s desires and intentions, unswervingly obey Gideon’s orders, and care for himself as well. Ethan would also have to be reasonably polite and not attempt to harm the other’s Gideon has mentally binded unless ordered to do so. In addition, Ethan would position himself so that he is within optimal range to protect Gideon should the need arise. As a bonus, Ethan would be encouraged to be honest and open with Gideon, as Gideon didn’t want a servant that worked himself to death.

While specific, the binded would still have plenty of freedom to think and do whatever they’d like as long as it didn’t interfere with their duties.

Gideon stopped there. If this worked, he would next try to fiddle with their sensations of pain, fear, and other such feelings and emotions that could prove inconvenient in a fight. He made the modifications and prompted Ethan to stand up and introduce himself to the small circle.

“H-hey, I’m Ethan. Umm... I’m 16? My w-word is Rejuvenate because you know...” Ethan looks at Gideon as if pleading him to let him stop. Gideon relented and Ethan quickly sat back down. “Thank you, Ethan.” Gideon smiles lightly and makes the changes on the rest.

“So are you going to attack me now? Make me walk into a closet and strip off all my clothes for you? You’re already thinking about it aren’t you, pervert?!” Ashley accuses Gideon with an outraged, glare, her finger leveled at his chest.
“Erk!” Gideon blushes and looks away. “I’m only thinking about it because you brought it up!” Gideon complains, rolling his eyes and pretending he isn’t bothered by it by leaning back in his chair, his hand behind his head.
“You really think he’d attack us?” whispers the other female student, Sarah, fearfully. Sarah was short and petite, barely even 5’, wearing a pink hoodie and light blue Nike lacrosse shorts.
“I bet it’s all he can think about! He’s probably just waiting for the right moment to do it, when no one’s looking.” Ashley whispers back fiercely.
Sarah gasps and Ashley continues, “Or maybe he’ll give us up to all the male students in the class, and say something like its the duty for us females to help the males blow off steam. And then they’d all surround us and tear off our clothes and throw us down and **** ** **** ***** **** ***** *** *** *** **** ** *** **** ** ** ***** ******** *** ***** *** ****** *** *** ** ******* ********!!!!!” Ashley exclaims dramatically as her imagination runs wild. Sarah grows increasingly pale as Ashley’s language shoots from dirty to downright vulgar.
“Noooooo!” Sarah hugs her legs to her chest and pulls her hood over her head, in total shock as she too imagines the horrors of countless teenage males slowly surrounding helpless little her.

Jacob and the other student, Wilson, flush red as they too are drawn into Ashley’s wild fantasy. They shift uncomfortably on their chairs. “I’d like to volunteer to not stand up and introduce myself.” Jacob interjects sheepishly.
“...me too.” Wilson adds awkwardly.
Gideon didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

((Warning: May trigger people))

[Elliot]

When the first monster appeared, Elliot jumped backward and accidentally hit his own desk, startled. No. This can’t be happening. I don’t want to fight. I don’t want to deal with this. I’ve had enough already. I’ve suffered enough. I just… I don’t want to be here anymore.
Elliot started fading away, starting with the tips of his fingers. As soon as he noticed, he collapsed onto the ground in fetal position, hugging himself. I’m dying. I’m dying. I didn’t mean for this to happen.
His entire body quivered out of fear. But this is for the best right? No one would really care if I was gone. I’m worthless. I can’t do anything meaningful.
The majority of his arms and legs were gone by now, and tears slowly streaked their way across his face.
I don’t want to suffer anymore...is that selfish of me?
Elliot was just left with his torso and head now. While he couldn’t feel any of his limbs anymore, he could feel the intense emotion pain wracking his heart. He glanced at the others in the classroom and used his power one last time to erase all memories anyone had of him.
I-I just wanted to be accepted. To be loved. Was that...too much to ask for?
All that was left of Elliot were several beaded drops of tears on the floor.

[Bran]
Bran's eyes widened in shock as he felt a burning, rumbling sensation in his chest. He looked back and forth about the room to see other people looking at newly found tattoos on their bodies.
Well at least I won't look like a weirdo, he thought to himself. Sure enough, there was his word. WAVE. What was that even supposed to do? When the monsters appeared, a rush of terror flowed through Bran. He'd never seen anything like it. What were these things? He fell back as he avoided an elongated snout snapping towards him. The creature leapt onto him with an enormous weight. It pinned down his legs and manage to get one arm before Bran pulled the other up to shield from the army of teeth chomping up and down. He shoved forward with all his might, wishing the beast away.
"GET OFF!" He cried out the words with a frantic push of his arm. The burning sensation on his chest intensified, and Bran could feel a ripple shuffling its way through his arm. Suddenly, his arm, and in turn the monster's maw, began to vibrate intensely.
Huh. Waves. So that was a sonic blast. I've got my own natural frequency, though, so I probably shouldn't vibrate myself for fear of rupturing anything important. Bran looked up to see a boy controlling ice and speaking to the gathered students who remained after the initial assault. A girl, one he was sure had been crippled before the creatures had appeared, hovered above with newly sprouted wings, blowing gusts of air over the assembled as she made a hasty exit. That's not going to be useful in a fight, he couldn't help thinking. But damn does it look awesome. She's gonna need some help. Slowly but surely, Bran jogged over to where the winged girl appeared to be making a landing. The two characters at the landing site would make for interesting companions. At least Bran hoped they'd all accept him as a companion.

[Jace]
As Jace made his rounds around the room, one of the surviving students came up to him.
“Maybe someone should go out and see how the other classes are doing, and also maybe get some supplies or something.” The student said.
Interesting...
“Good point.”Jace agreed. “Since we have no idea when this madness is going to end.”
Jace decided that he would go out and scavenge for supplies while the others stayed in the class.
As he set out, Jace wondered how the Mr. Brindley knew that there was going to be a fight just after everyone picked their words.
Maybe it has something to do with the island in the sky...but....why is the island there in the first place....
Jace found himself near the track before long and saw a massive fight down on the track itself.
Is that a student in the center of that fight...or a rouge...no that wouldn’t make any sense...Jace thought, noting a massive white person in the center of the melee.
Jace glanced to his right and saw a student fighting off a few monsters with what appeared to be a few dragons.
Might as well work with the guy, who knows what else is out here.
Jace approached the student carefully while also watching to make sure he didn’t get attacked from behind.

Spike slowly took his steps forward, as his eyes were on his surroundings.
As he glanced around he noticed a group at the tracks, and just a few meters before the tracks he noticed a guy with a few dragons. Easy to guess his word...

As Spike glanced at the schoolgrounds, he quickly made his choice of going to the cantina. There would be food, drinks and even enough room to defend himself if he had to.
As Spike looked at his thumb, he noticed the wound had already healed itself, almost like the blood kept inside so that his body could heal what had been damaged.

As he made his way to the cantina, he quickly made up his mind. It wasn't that smart at all... He could get surrounded easily and who knew what could happen!
He quickly made up his mind and changed his plan towards the pool.
With a quick steps, he made his way towards the pool. As he made his way there, he quickly started to notice bodies being teared apart, they had to be students who had applied here for a future, but instead found their ending.

He didn't gave a second thought about it, and looked around for a shovel. He couldn't let them lay here like this. They were humanbeings aswell.
As he found one, Spike immedialty began to dig, although the blood that was around his arm now was liqued again and made asure he would remain safe. As he slowly began digging 4 graves for the bodies, he dumped them in it as he had finished them. Although, before closing the holes, he sucked out all their blood to be used for his own battles.
Both arms were completely surrounded with blood, he kept it hardened so that he could easily move but still had his weapon ready when needed.
He then began to cover the graves with dirt again, still keeping his eyes on his surrounding.

[Nico]
The three smaller dragons had dealt with with each of their foes and began to attack the other two monsters as the larger one rounded for a pass from above.
Well...I can keep this up for a while, but who knows how long the monsters will keep coming Nico thought, calculating his odds for survival out in the open.
Just then Nico caught sight of a boy moving in his direction cautiously, obviously watching for monsters that could get him from behind.

---

[Jace]
Well, he sees me now Jace thought cautious of his surroundings and of the boy with the dragons.
“Get over here” The boy yelled to Jace.
Jace started to move faster, but not losing his awareness of the surroundings.

---

[Nico & Jace]
Jace got to the boy and watched the dragons fight the two monsters.
“Well, you certainly know how to watch you back, but if your word doesn’t allow you to get your own backup, you must be a little crazy coming out this far on your own. I’m Nico by the way.” Nico said.
“Jace.” Jace replied. “ Let me guess, your word is Dragon.”
“Yea, no one in my class knows, and I intend to keep it that way for the time being.” Nico said, focused on the fight in front of him.
Hm...he must not trust some of the people in his class....Jace noted with interest.
“Well, mine is Manipulate, and yes I know I can technically mess with minds, but that is a little too wrong for my tastes.” Jace said.
Well, at least he seems to have morals Nico noted.
“One of the guys in my class chose Bind, I really don’t think he should be allowed to go unwatched.” Nico said.
“Makes sense, anyone with that kind of power needs to be kept under surveillance, but I don’t know how we will manage it.” Jace said.
Maybe I could...no...too risky...Jace thought.
“We need to get somewhere better to hold off until this all blows over.” Nico said, jerking Jace from his thoughts.
“Good idea, the Gym may be a good place.” Jace suggested.
“For now anyway, it will have to do.” Nico agreed.
The dragons had finished the fight with the monsters and move with Nico and Jace as they made their way toward the Gym.

[Eliisa]

After resting for some time in the tree, Eliisa decided it was time to do some reconnaissance.
I should try be discreet, don’t want to attract the attention of those monsters or dangerous people.
Switching her form directly to a smaller sparrow, she stretched out her wings and started flying. Now that it she wasn’t fleeing for her life, she could enjoy the flying, rising with the thermals and feeling the wind ruffle her feathers.
I can’t see how we humans can be satisfied with just walking. It’s so...freeing up here. Feels like I can go anywhere and accomplish anything.
Looking down, she spied several dragons ferociously attacking the blight monsters using their sharp claws and teeth in addition to having a flame breath.
Now I really feel like I’ve been dumped in a fantasy world. Being able to shapeshift is fun and all, but I’m not sure if it’s worth risking my life for that.
Banking her wings slightly, she spotted more people on the track, engaging in the monsters. Eliisa decided that she didn’t want to meet more people yet, so she continued on, soaring over the gym and the dormitories.
I wonder what the rooms are like. Hopefully they’re nice and spacious. And that my roommate is either dead or a kind person.
Soon enough, she completed an entire circle around the school and made a mental map of it.
Since this environment is completely foreign to me, I should find out as much information as possible.

---

[Naoi]

He couldn’t afford to slip up now--he was responsible for the lives of 20 some students in the classroom. Naoi killed a monster as it pounced toward a fellow classmate.
This is not a job I should be handling by myself.
He pointed to a boy, “Help me watch my back! I can’t watch the entire classroom with just me and seconds matter in life-or-death situations.
The boy hastily replied, “Okay.”
Naoi felt exhausted. It was no small feat constantly imagining constructs to protect the others while simultaneously killing all the monsters that spawned.
If this goes on much longer, I might not hold out until the end. I have to find others so dealing with blights will take less of a toll on me.
Materializing more mochi ice cream to snack on, Naoi waited for the blight to end so he could check out his room and collapse on the bed.

At around 10:45 a.m. the blight monsters started fading and retreating into the same seals they spawned from. Approximately 45% of the students had died, totaling 98 dead, 119 alive. Relief was visible on the students faces, they had survived the first day. But there was more to come, always more to come until the day they could finally graduate from the school.

[Marcus, Lauren, Ryika, Alice, Bran]

“Birb” Ryika pointed at Alice.

“Hey.” Lauren responds.

Gasping for breath, Bran ran up to the group.

“What are your names?” Alice repeated herself, slightly peeved at her question being ignored.

“Lauren.”

"Silent Thunder"

“Cool. Nice to meet you Lauren and Silent,” Alice responded happily. Silent Thunder is kind of a weird name, but okay!

...She actually believes that that's her real name? ... Lauren gives Ryika a look and is about to say something, but gives it up and falls silent. Not worth the effort.

Covered in head to foot in slowly drying blood, Marcus approaches the group and asks haltingly if anyone had a Word that could remove the blood on him. As it dried, the blood began to form an uncomfortable crust that cracked and flaked off whenever he moved.

“Err… no. I just have the word ‘wings’,” replies Alice.

"Can't you use that to make the blood fly off?" Lauren points out.

“How?” Alice tilts her head, confused.

"Just... Imagine the blood flying off of him? If you can make yourself fly, you should be able to."

“But.. my wings allow me to fly,” Alice says hesitantly.

"They'd have to be huge. Or flap much faster."

“So... you’re saying that the word ‘wings’ allows me to make things fly? And that that’s the reason why I’m hovering right now?” Alice asks.

"Probably. Just a guess." It's the only thing that makes sense.

“Alright, I’ll try it then!” Alice exclaims enthusiastically. She closes her eyes and pictures all of the blood flying off of Marcus.

"Thanks!" Marcus exclaims as he watches all the blood on himself literally fly off of himself. Being clean again was a nice feeling.

Unfortunately, not everyone was as lucky as Marcus, as the blood splatters on everyone else.

"KYAAAHH!!!" Lauren squeaks in surprise and disgust.

“Ewww!” Alice then imagines the blood flying off of herself, making the blood re-splatter on Marcus and everyone else.

"Really?!" Both Lauren and Marcus burst out, blood flinging off their hands as they throw them up into the air.

“I’m sorry!” Alice says, flabberghasted. Oops. I did that without thinking.

"Eugh..." Lauren sighs in frustration, annoyance, and just general DONENESS. She Transmits all the blood as far away as she can see. It may or may not land on someone else.

Giving Lauren a look of gratitude, Marcus takes a look at the rest of the group. Some words were exposed, others weren't. One girl was flying, but others weren't using their words as obviously. "I'm Marcus." He says.

“Hi Marcus, my name is Alice! And my word is ‘wings’!” Alice introduces herself cordially.

"That's nice." Marcus responds. Girl, why the hell would you choose wings?

"Thanks!"

Ryika had bolted away once the blood had splattered on her, heading towards the main campus again. She stopped 30 feet away from the group before getting splattered by more blood.

"Fueeeeeeeee~!" Ryika was blinded by the spray of partially crusted blood transmitted by Lauren. She blindly ran by the buildings, knocking into both bystanders and monsters in her path.

*klyiish plinkplinkplink* Ryika slams into a window face first, shattering the glasses and flipping forward over the ledge. *unconscious* Residents off class one stare at the bloodied mass from the window.

“She dead” was the last thing Ryika heard before blacking out.

[Eliisa]

Once Eliisa noticed the blight monsters disappearing and sinking back into the seals, she flew over to what she presumed were the dormitory buildings and shifted back to a human with her regular clothes. Taking out the envelope stuffed in her jean pockets, she carefully took out the contents and smoothed the paper out.

Dormitory building: C
Room: 227
Room type: Double
Roommate: Milayou Riviel

Milayou...that’s quite a unique name.
She tipped the envelope so a key fell into her palm. Eliisa skirted around all the buildings until she finally saw one with a ‘C’ on it.
Going into the building, she glanced around and noted that it was fairly high quality.
Seems like I’m the first one here? Not really surprised since I flew here.
She spied a receptionist and several guards and started walking past until she was stopped by a guard.
“Hey miss, you have to check in with the receptionist the first time you get here. After every blight, you have to report in too when you get back. We need to keep track who is alive and who is dead after all,” the guard said sternly.
“Oh, okay. I’ll do that then,” Eliisa complied.
What do they tell the families of the ones who died…? Even if they told the truth, it would sound ridiculous. Eaten by a monster--who would accept that?
Eliisa meandered over to the receptionist and greeted her, “Hello, I was told to come to you.”
The receptionist adjusted her glasses and looked at her, “Yes, that’s true. What’s your name?”
“Eliisa Gerhardt. Spelled E-L-I-I-S-A.”
The receptionist scribbled something down on her clipboard, “And what room are you in?”
“227.”
“That should be on the second floor. Here, you need to sign this contract," the receptionist said while handing her the paper.
"What does it say?"
"Read through it."
Eliisa read and made a mental note of the various policies. That she was to cause no huge disturbance in the dorms lest she be kicked out. That the school was not responsible for any injuries received while she was here.
She sighed, They sure don't want any legal cases falling on their head. She signed it and gave it back to the receptionist.
"Your luggage should be there for you already. If you wish to change rooms or roommates, just come back here and I can get that sorted out for you. And there is no Wi-Fi here in the entire school, before you ask.”
Eliisa nodded and thanked the receptionist. She climbed the set of stairs and read the sign saying that her room was on the right hand side of the building. Eliisa silently admired the plush carpeting of the floor and the material of the walls, they were of much higher quality than any boarding or private school she had attended in the past.
Eliisa encountered a door labelled ‘227’ and fished out the key from her pocket to unlock the door.
Once inside, she found her luggage and unpacked her bedding stuff, sheets, comforter, pillow, etc. And began putting them on one of the mattresses. Once she was done, Eliisa flopped onto her bed and started lightly napping.
364 more days to go, but this bed is really comfortable. Wonder what my roommate will be like...

[Nico & Jace]
By the time Nico and Jace got to the gym, the monsters were retreating into the seals and the seals were disappearing.
“Well....that is interesting....” Jace mentioned, noting the change in the area.
“Yes, but I’m not sure how the monsters were...defeated...or maybe it all has to do with the island...” Nico said, voicing his suspicion that the island has some sort of role in the school.
“Maybe...” Jace agreed. “We should get to the dorms, un pack and try to sort out eveything that happened”
“Yea...I don’t think we should test that theory this early...” Nico agreed.
I wonder who I’m stuck with as a roommate. Jace wondered, pulling out his envelope.
Jace opened the envelope and pulled out piece of paper and read it to himself.
Dormitory building: A
Room: 314
Room type: Double
Roommate: Nicolas Bolivar
“Hey...Nico, open your envelope and read the paper inside it...”Jace said, deep in thought.
Nico opened his envelope and read it.
Dormitory building: A
Room: 314
Room type: Double
Roommate:Jacen Baker
“Well...that is very interesting....” Nico said. “Well...at least we don’t have to worry about Gideon.”
“Is that the guy with the word bind?” Jace asked, pondering the events of the day.
“Yep, an arrogant idiot who didn’t even check to see if anyone was lying about what their word was.” Nico said, disgusted at Gideon’s slip up.
“Well, for now lets get to the dorms and unpack, we’re going to have to dig in for a really long year.” Jace said.
“Yea....” Nico said. It’s going to be a long year, and I have a feeling it’s going to have a long cold war to go with it.
As the pair made their way to the dorm, they both made a mental map of what they had seen of the school.
By the time they reached the dorm, they felt that they had a decent understanding of the layout and entered the dorm itself.
Jace noticed a receptionist in the lobby and guards near the stairs up.
“We should check in, just in case there are adjustments to the rooms based on who died.” Jace said eyeing the guards.
“Eh, checking in yes, change room assignments, not until they have an accurate assessment of who died over the last half hour or so.” Nico commented.
Nico and Jace approached the receptionist.
“Hello, I need you names.” the receptionist said cooly.
“Jace Baker.” Jace said calmly.
“Nicolas Bolivar.” Nico said with slight disinterest.
“Room numbers?” the receptionist said, writing on a piece of paper.
“We’re both in room 314.” Jace said.
“Third floor, your luggage should be in there.” the receptionist said, glancing up at Jace .“Oh and there is no wifi anywhere in the school.”
Well...that could prove an issue...kinda... Jace thought, pondering a work around.
How do they not have wi-fi, what is this....the 90’s? Nico thought, disgusted at the lack of internet access.
“You both need to sign a room contract.” the receptionist continued after a moment.
Both Nico and Jace filled out and signed the contract and handed it back to the receptionist.
“If either one of you have any issue with your room assignment, come see me.” the receptionist said, taking the forms from them.
“Good to know.” Nico said.
Nico and Jace made their way up to the third floor and opened the door to the room. It was a decent sized room with a tv on the side with the door, a bathroom and closet space on the left wall, beds up against the far wall and a window to the right. The suitcases and other bags and such were divided out onto the beds according to who owned them.
Nico and Jace immediately went through their bags to see if everything was there, which thankfully it all was.
“Well, my laptop is here, but no wi-fi....must be a way to isolate everything that goes on here...” Jace said, pondering how he would work with that info.
“Well, everything I brought with me is here.” Nico said, content that his collection of cards was not damaged, or even bent from the search that must have gone through them.
“Well, if no one moves into either dorm room next to us, we each could have a room to ourselves.” Jace said.
“And possibly increase the chance of Gideon moving in with one of us...” Nico said, a hint of warning in his voice.
“Point, very good point.” Jace conceded.
“Well, we might as well unpack and relax...no point in losing sleep on the first day, just sleep lightly in case someone or...something jumps us in the night.” Nico said eyeing the window suspiciously.

A soft sigh of relief escaped Kylie’s lips when she noticed the sunlight beginning to flood through the windows again. Whatever had caused the darkness—she was still not aware of the actual eclipses—was gone for the time being. The various hideous creatures began to disappear into the seals where they had spawned from.

Finally, safe at last.

Ammiel sheathed his sword and approached Kylie.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her eyes to the floor. Her voice was shaky and her head was spinning. Ammiel bowed and disappeared with a flash of brilliant light. Kylie took a deep breath and ran outside the room, not wanting to look back at the mess that was left inside.

Thankfully it was warm outside and the sun was shining. Kylie covered her eyes and look up at the sky. She saw that the floating island in the sky was just grazing the corona the sun. Had then been what caused the darkness? It seemed to be slowly hovering away from the sun, so it must’ve been eclipsing the light before.

Suddenly, Kylie felt weak and she staggered to her knees, feeling out of breath.

“Agh, what’s… what’s wrong with me?” she grumbled to herself, not able to keep her head raised. She remained there on the sidewalk for at least a minute, gathering herself and unknowingly recovering from all the energy she had expended earlier on summoning Ammiel and having him fight. Soon, however, she began to feel a little better and she managed to get on her feet again.

“I’m never going to class again,” she decided.

-Reina-

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzz-Thud!

The ugly cacophony produced by the dutiful, bright red alarm clock was abruptly cut short by the swift swat of a hand. However, an unmeasurable amount of force was placed behind that hand to slap either the snooze or off button, Reina was too exhausted to care or tell, and sent the poor alarm clock, which had been precariously sitting on the edge of the bleak, wooden nightstand, tumbling down to the carpeted floor with a soft thud. Flinching slightly, Reina grimaced and retracted her right arm as she rolled over, away from the nightstand and the fallen clock. Still having not opened her eyes, the drowsy, young girl begged for sleep to take her once more, to whisk her away to the lovely land of dreams for at least another hour...hour and a half. Sleep did not answer her beck and call, though. The poor girl lay awake for several more minutes before she finally gave up on the hope of rejoining her fading fantasies.

Letting out an extended groan, she rolled back over to the side of the bed facing her nightstand. Reina lethargically reached out with her right hand and groped around the now barren nightstand until her fingertips fell upon a cool wire frame. Grasping the frame in her fingers, Reina their sleek wire arms and slid them onto her face with ease. The world came into focus instantly, yet the languid, young lass still could not shake the feeling of exhaustion. She wobbled and stumbled her way over to the small washroom that was connected to her room, and her room alone.

After about 30 minutes of morning preparations, Reina finally managed to wash away the remnants of sleep that had plagued her body, and she returned to packing her remaining necessities. Shoving clothes and items into bags with no clear system of organization, Reina zipped up her 7th bag with a huff. 5 Suitcases and 2 bags lay strewn across her white carpet in no particular arrangement on either side of her queen-sized bed. The room was a ghastly sight. The early morning sun had not managed to sneak in through her tightly drawn curtains, so the room was thrown into a hazy, dull light. The walls, normally a lovely, light sky blue were now a haunting faded bluish-grey hue, and her carpet, once a pristine white, now reflected a drab grey color. The poor lighting only contributed to the depressing atmosphere that radiated from the room. Most of Reina’s belongings had been packed away in her various bags, leaving only her barren desk, desk lamp, and chair in the back left-hand corner of the room; her messy queen-sized bed in the center of the room along the back wall; the two old, wooden nightstands that rested on either side of the bed; 2 dressers along the right- hand wall, next to the door leading to the conjoining bathroom; a distinct pile of various dolls and stuffed animals that Reina had sewn over the past few years in the front left-hand corner; and countless other items left precariously across her floor. Gazing around her now mostly barren room, Reina felt her gut twist. She had lived since she was little. This room had been her sanctuary, but now it looked so different...so sad....

Dragging her bags out to the foyer area, Reina huffed and puffed as she dropped the last of her luggage down to the side of her front door. She took a moment to catch her breath before she straightened herself and waltzed over to her front door. Peering through the thin, translucent glass found to both the left and right of her front door, Reina waited for the arrival of a dark gray shadow to appear in the street. The small, self-driven moving truck was to be there any minute, courtesy of her father. It was going to be a long journey from West Virginia to Illinois, so a moving truck was necessary, especially since her family only owned two small cars that would be unable to house 7 bags and two people.

This was to be Reina’s big trip, the first time that she would be away from her parents for a long while. Reina was on her way to Skyline Institute. It had been several weeks since the new school year had begun; however, Reina’s parents insisted that she give her home high school at least one week, just to make sure that she was really comfortable in challenging herself again. The young girl felt confident, so she packed up her things, replied to her acceptance letter, and made all of the necessary arrangements and inquiries for her new journey. It was time for her to move on to bigger, better things and places. It was finally time for her to challenge herself once more, and what better place for that other than Skyline Institute.

[Gideon]

Gideon and his followers were on their way to his assigned room, Wilson and Ethan in the front, followed by Gideon, with Ashley, Sarah, and Jordan behind them. Back in the classroom, GIdeon had considered staying to teach the other students how to use their Words, but ultimately decided that he was too tired and left.
“Do you seriously expect us to stay with you in the guys dorms?” Ashley asked indignantly, following behind Gideon.
“I’m not sure we’re even allowed to stay...” Sarah adds timidly.
“Hopefully I can work something out. It’ll be safer for all of us if we can watch each other’s backs. Now that everyone has powers, I’m sure there will be more than one student eager to test theirs out on some poor soul, probably the smallest, weakest one they can find. And all of us will be vulnerable when asleep, so we’ll need people taking shifts to ensure we aren’t attacked at night.” Gideon explains. It did make sense.

Dormitory building: A
Room: 316
Room type: Double
Roommate: Naoi Yukimura

A Japanese name from the sound of it. I wonder what Word he’ll have, or if I can make use of him. If not, I hope he can relocate gracefully enough. I already have five people with me.

As they near the male dorms, the group of six receive some strange looks, especially the the girls, but no one says anything as they pass.
Gideon comes to a stop just inside the lobby, where a receptionist and several guards awaited.
“Hello, may I have your names please? Oh, this is not a co-ed dorm. The girls will have to stay in separate accommodations.” The receptionist states cooly when she notices the girls in his group.
Gideon sighs. “Are you suuuuuuure?”
“Quite so.”
Gideon glances at the guards. He somehow doubted they were just for show.
“Are you going to stop them from entering?” He asks, gauging their reaction.
The guards shift slightly. Deciding not to press his luck, Gideon abruptly defuses the tension and smiles. “That’s too bad. I’m Gideon, and these are Wilson, Ethan, and Jordan.” He says, introducing them in turn. “I’ll be back soon, forgot my jacket inside the classroom.” With that bare-faced lie, Gideon promptly leaves. His Binded watch him go before realizing with a start that they missed their cue to follow him. Once outside, Gideon turns to Sarah and asks her “Try and make all of us invisible. Just imagine one of us turning invisible, without even a shadow or a sound left behind when we take a step.” If this doesn’t work, I suppose I could break into the second floor and use Ethan to repair the wall. They can’t have guards on every floor.
After a moment of concentration, Ashley turns invisible. Her words of surprise grow muffled as she disappears from view. A few seconds later, Sarah shakes side to side violently as Ashley presumably grabs her by the shoulders. A very loud Ashley rapidly comes into view again.
“That’ll do nicely. Please leave Sarah alone now, Ashley. You might be scaring her.” Gideon points out with amusement.

---

This will either work out very well or very poorly...
The moment the group nears the entrance, they turn visible. One of the guards must have a nullification Word. Let’s try something else. He asks Sarah to use Hide to prevent the cameras from seeing them before continuing. Gideon walks along the outside of the dorm and stops near the back. After binding wires in a square pattern on a section of the wall, Gideon has Jordan create hugely thick and heavy metal plates by the wires. Gideon binds the wires to the plates, causing a section of the wall to be torn off. Before he can enter however, a guard approaches them and asks them to stop. Gideon apologizes and has Ethan repair the wall before they leave.

This is some serious security they got here. They have people watching every single student at every moment, and using Words to do so, since we were all invisible and they still found us. Why would they even care so much? They expect most of us to die anyways. What could be so wrong about bringing girls into the male dorms? This is stricter than a prison...

So, I can either make my own house, which shouldn’t be too hard if I find a few students with the right Words, or I can give up and sleep in the dorms. I’d have to leave Ashley and Sarah alone overnight though. I suppose they’ll be able to take care of themselves if I instruct them on what to do. I can make the house tomorrow once I find some furnishing-oriented students.

Rather tired and slightly offended that their privacy was being so horribly invaded at every moment, Gideon walks back to the front of the dorm. After making it clear to Ashley and Sarah that they are to switch off watching over one another overnight as the other sleeps, he heads into the male dorms with Ethan, Jordan, and Wilson.

“You guys really don’t have a choice in the matter, I know, but I hope you’ll at least agree with me that we could all die in our sleep if no one is protecting us. So, in order to prevent that, we’ll be taking shifts at night. Two of us will go to sleep first, and halfway through the night, we’ll swap with the other person. I’ll be doing my part too, so its fair for all of us.” Gideon explains sincerely.
The others nod.
“I think it’s a good plan actually.” Jordan says. “We’ve seen school shootings on the news, and it’s already pretty hard to get guns. Now, it’s like everyone has a gun.” He continues.
“That’s true.” Wilson agrees. “I really don’t get why they try so hard to keep girls out of dorm rooms though. Aren’t most of us going to die anyways? It’d be like... a last meal or something. They should let us have fun.”
“Mhm.” Ethan nods. “I haven’t even had a girlfriend yet.”
The other guys all nod sympathetically.
“We can help you out man. It’ll be okay.” The others share their support for his plight and a touching moment is created.

---

After grabbing everyone’s luggage, they head up to Ethan’s room, Room 387. Gideon decided that being near the roof, on the top floor would be the safest place in case of a blight. If necessary, Gideon could create a zip line or net to descend safely. Inside was a spacious, fairly luxurious dorm room. There was no room mate to be found, and Gideon assumed that whoever had been assigned had died in the blight. Hopefully no one would be reassigned here, but if they were, they’d just be asked to leave.

The four guys set their luggage down and file out. Fortunately, the room was spacious enough that even four people didn’t feel cramped in the one room. The last to leave the room, Gideon turns and covers the walls in layered steel mesh, partially welded together. He does the same to the door frame after closing the door and binding the door to the mesh as well. This way, no one could enter easily, and if someone did enter, they’d find it a bit more difficult to do so stealthily. After thinking about it a moment more, he lays extremely thin, basically invisible spider silk across the entire room haphazardly. Even if someone somehow got past the steel, they’d break the spider silk and Gideon would find out when he returned.

Chatting off and on, the guys walk down to the cafeteria to eat some food. They’d had a long day. It’d probably be worse for the other classes actually, if they hadn’t had a reliable person in the room preventing casualties. Watching your classmates and friends die would be terrible for your mental health.

[Ryika & Lauren]

“It’s not like I was worried about you or anything--just that you left your… book with me, so here it is!” With a HMPH, Lauren thrusts the book forward and turns away, cheeks ever so slightly red.

Ryika stares upward at the outstretch book, sniffling as she inched her hand towards Lauren’s foot.

*Latch*

Ryika grips onto Lauren’s left leg and feebly tugs her leg.

*stomp*

“KYAAH!” Lauren stomps on the hand reflexively. “...oh, sorry. Acted on reflex.” Coulda been a hobo. Or a zombie. Or both.

Ryika retracts her now twitching hand, tenderly patting it with her other.

“...you okay?” Lauren asks, feigning indifference. She glances down at the pitiful, blood-covered figure.

“That was mean”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Are you really?” Ryika meekly muttered while rolling over, glass shards falling off of her jacket.

“No, I already passed away. What you’re seeing is an illusion of the friend you once knew, a figment of your imagination.” Lauren drawls with heavy heavy sarcasm.

Ryika pulled the continuing to be outstretch book of hers from Lauren’s hands and clutched it to her chest, rising on her knees. “Is the blight over?”

“If by blight you mean the monsters, yeah. They’re all gone. It’s a miracle you didn’t get gobbled up, you dummy.” Lauren admonishes.

“Pfft, not with /this/ handbook I won’t!” Ryika boasted while brandishing the book in front of Lauren.

“You mean the handbook I just returned to you.” *>.>*

“I’m sure it would’ve turned up eventually.”

“A light drizzle would have annihilated it.” Lauren points out.

“It’s waterproof… wax… duh… c’mon basic arts and crafts.”

“And I don’t suppose the paper is waterproof as well??”

“Go ahead, lick the paper. Maybe it’ll change color.”

“Figments of imaginations can’t lick things, remember?”

“Aww… I guess not.” Ryika glumly looks down at the book, gently patting the cover.

“...please don’t actually lick it. I--just don’t.” Lauren sighs mentally.

“Nope.” Ryika shakes her head, sending more bloody glass chunks flying from her hair.

“Oh my god go get yourself fixed up already!” Lauren Transmits all the glass and blood off of Ryika and storms off, Transmitting Ryika behind her every dozen steps.

“Nooo stop!” Ryika shriek as her knees painfully impacted with the ground after every transmit.

“Can’t hear you~” Lauren sings playfully.

*Zap~!* Ryika bolts the ground near Lauren, inadvertently shocking the pair at the same time.

Convulsing uncontrollably, Lauren falls to the ground.

“i-i-idiot!” Lauren squeaks between convulsions.

Ryika crawled over to her convulsing companion and prodded Lauren with the spine of the book. “Serves you right.”

Still twitching, Lauren glares at Ryika and Transmits the aftershocks of the electricity in her onto Ryika.

Positions immediately switched, Ryika convulsed in the exact manner that Lauren had been moments before. “H-hey, what did you d-do?”

“I’m surprised that worked too.” Lauren responds, distracted. “Hey, maybe I can Transmit your wounds onto something else. And heal you.”

Since they were already near the nurse’s office, Lauren brings them the rest of the way there and peeks through the window.

I mean if he’s already being treated...

With a slightly guilty grin, Lauren Transmits Ryika’s head injury and glass cuts onto the boy resting on an infirmary cot. The boy promptly explodes with new injuries and the nurse rushes over aghast.

Ryika immediately brings her hands to her head, dropping the book. “Oh, the headache is gone!” Ryika springs to her feet and runs in to hug Lauren.

"D-dummy..." Lauren mutters, cheeks burning crimson. She hugs Ryika back.

---

"Where is it... Aha!" Ryika pulls out the envelope tucked in the back of her notebook. She ripped it open along the top and pulled out the paper detailing her room assignment.

"Hmm room 148... What did you get Lauren?"

Whew. "I have room 265." Lauren sighs in relief. She doubted she'd be able to handle Ryika as a roommate.

"Aww... I thought that... We could... Stay together." Ryika drooped.

Aww... She's like a small plant. Lauren actually felt bad for a moment before remembering she was still only a figment of Ryika's imagination.

When they got to the lobby, they gave their names to the receptionist as requested. The pair were about to walk onward when the receptionist called out.

"Hold up you two! You have stuff to sign before you go on!" The receptionist beckoned the pair to approached the desk, sliding packets forward with a pen on top of each.

They each signed the contracts. "Oh, and one more thing." The receptionist added. "Your roommate, tragically, passed away during the blight, as did yours. So, you've been reassigned to be rooming together!" The receptionist smiles, believing she did them a service by making the most out of the situation.

Ryika's face lit up at the news, smiling at Lauren, who was not.

Fuuuuuuck. Lauren wilts despondently. She twitches, then begins to laugh uncontrollably. "This, this is great! I'll never be away from you now! Never! Ahahahahahahahhaahhahahaha..." Still laughing quietly to herself, a crazed look in her eyes, Lauren walks to her new room.

This is going to be so much fun! Ryika thought as she skipped after the rapidly retreating Lauren.

[Milayou]
The fields outside school grew brighter and brighter, as the floating island's shadow slowly lumbered past the school. Patches of crimson glistened in the advancing noon sun.

The chairs in Classroom 1 have been tossed wildly about. In the center of the room, Milayou stood in a clearing of chairs. Several students huddled nearby, some injured, some less fortunate. With the last of the runes fading away, she gave a shuddering sigh of relief.

“Ohuuhoh... N-no... This all can't be... happening...”

The whimpers and cries of the students still around her were solemn reminders of the first blight that had passed.

The monsters... they ate... everyone...? T-they're all...

Milayou fell to her knees, pale as a ghost. Desperately looking around the room, she sees a figure sitting in the corner, seemingly unfazed by the carnage that had unfolded in the last 30 minutes. The classroom “teacher”, Mrs. Hawkins.

The... teacher... why hasn't she... done anything? Anything to hel-

Crash!

What could only be described as a bloody mess blows through one of the remaining windows in the classroom. Glass, plaster, chairs and desks ricochet all over the room from the impact. A desk leg glances off of her shoulder, barely missing her head.

Aaah!

As the dust settled, a limp body splayed out on the floor, bruised and cut. “She's dead...” a nearby student whispered, “She must be dead...” Milayou looks around frantically, again, tears nearly at her eyes.

Sh-he... what happened to her?

A small chuckle came from Mrs. Hawkins, drenched with derision.

Could I have stopped her...? Someone... needs to help! Mrs. Hawkins... wait! She's been here... the entire time... she hasn't done... anything?

Are they... in on this? Did they mean for this to happen?

Mrs. Hawkins placed her feet back on the ground, and stood up from her chair. Tilting her head at at the remaining students, she began to speak with the same brevity as she did before the blight.

“Well, well, you're alive! You're still alive. However, you've failed to keep quiet, and I think some of you got some blood on me.”

Mrs. Hawkins dusted off her suit mockingly.

“Students of Classroom 1... you’ve survived your first blight of many. Congratulations, I guess!”

Milayou stood back up on her feet, her legs still feeling shaky.

“Mrs. H-hawkins… there’s someone-”

“Yes, yes. Mortally wounded or something similar. I would send her to the infirmary, but she seems to be better off already.”

Mrs. Hawkins gestures nonchalantly back to the student that had came through the wall. Already, another student was helping her out of the room.

“Those of you that can still walk, head to the receptionist’s office.”

Glancing back at Milayou, Mrs. Hawkins muttered under her breath.

“Another Riviel...”

Another Riviel.... does she really mean me?

[Katie]
While the two wolves and the eagle were dealing with the monsters, Katie ran and hid near the door of the room.
Got to find somewhere safe, have to avoid the monsters.
Katie ran from the room and made it halfway to the library when light started to return to the school. The monsters fell back into the seals and the seals started to disappear.
Maybe I should head to the dorms and try to calm down and relax for awhile.
Katie took out the envelope she had received earlier and took out a piece of paper and read it.
Report to dorm D for room assignment.
Well, I wonder if I’m gonna have a roommate or something.
Katie got the the building and walked toward the receptionist inside.
“Name please.” The receptionist said.
“Katie Wells.” Katie said shakily.
“Katie...your in room 222, second floor, your personal belongings should be in there.” The receptionist said. “Oh, and your roommate is dead, so you will have the room to yourself for the time being.”
“Okay...” Katie said, distracted.
Katie walked to the stairs and went up to her room and collapsed on her bed.
Why would anyone come to this school when people die within an hour of starting the year...how can this be okay.

[Gideon]

"So how old are you guys?" Gideon asks lightly, making small talk with his Binded as they walk down to the cafeteria.
"I'm eighteen. Just turned eighteen actually." Jordan responds.
"I'm turning eighteen soon." Wilson says cheerfully. "Hopefully I'll live long enough to get there..."
"I'm sixteen." Ethan adds a bit reluctantly when the others glance at him expectantly. "You're all so much older than me..."
"Not really, I'm only seventeen too." Gideon says comfortingly. "I wonder how old the girls are."
"We should ask them later. We'll probably see them at lunch right?" Wilson adds in eagerly.
"We probably will." Gideon says back.
"Man, I was really looking forward to graduating Skyline with honors and joining the military as an officer. I heard that you could immediately get a high-up position once you graduate West Point if you attended Skyline. Looks like it was too good to be true." Jordan says miserably.
"It's actually most likely true." Gideon points out. "It's going to much harder to graduate than you thought, but from what I've heard, the perks after graduating are genuine.
"Really?" Jordan perked up before his face fell once more. "At this rate, none of us will survive though. Look how many of us died just on the first day."
"That's only because of the idiots that picked stupid words like Grass and Frog probably." Wilson laughs scornfully.
"Frog could be useful though. What if you made a gigantic one?" Ethan realizes, eyes alight. Wilson looks at him funny and starts arguing about how colossally stupid it would be to have "Frog" as your word.

---

"Why did ya wanna join the military anyways? All wars are stupid anyways." Cynical Wilson is cynical.
"...My dad, and his dad, and his dad too as far back as they can remember all served in the army. I guess its a family tradition or something. My dad expects me to do it. And hey, wouldn't it be pretty cool? I could command a whole army and win battles and stuff. It'd be honorable!" Jordan says excitedly.
"Sure, sure." Wilson scoffs.
"What are you planning on doing after you graduate?" Gideon asks curiously.
"Hell if I know. Get rich on some cushy government job that Skyline will give me? It'll work out.
Gideon gives him a dubious look. Somehow I doubt it.

--

The girls call out to his group as the boys walk into the cafeteria.
"Hey Mister~, you gonna let a girl eat all alone~?" Ashley says flirtatiously, licking her lips and winking before grinning and turning around.
"You're such a tease." Sarah complains. "How do you have so much confidence?"
"It's easy! All you have to do is dress like this..." Ashley partially unzips Sarah's hoodie and throws the hood back, letting Sarah's long, smooth hair hang free down her back. "Instead of whatever that was supposed to be before." She finishes.
"It's too embarrassing, everyone can see..." Sarah murmurs in a panic, looking down at her chest.
"That's the idea." Ashley whispers mischievously.

"Don't look, but here come the guys. I bet they'll be looking at you a lot more often now." Ashley giggles teasingly.
Fuuumuuuu... Sarah thinks in despair.