The Last Dainv

3rd floor, Sterling Institute, Infirmary. Unit 2E4.

White walls. White floors. White ceiling. White beds. White light. Everything was white. Why was everything white? The dark hunter didn't know. It could be for the purpose of eliminating any shadows that may be cast. Otherwise, infiltrators can finish the job in the infirmary.

Gale nodded proudly at the last rhyming thought.

Mikael lay unconscious on the bed covered by a wall of sheets that surrounded him on all sides. His chest rose and fell steadily, a state between life and death—sleeping. The one punch ended the whole thing as efficiently and as fast as possible. In the wild where the dark hunter hunts, everything needed to be subdued as fast as possible.

Gale nodded proudly at his profound thoughts.

Suddenly, Kyle slapped Mikael across the face. The unconscious boy's eyes snapped open, gasping for air and rubbing his cheeks. "Where am I? What happened? What was that for?"

"You lost," Rachel said as she clenched the hospital bed railings. "Now you better tell us everything. Especially the tea. Or else."

"Lost? The fight hasn't even started yet," Mikael said. "Wait... what! Why am I here!"

"You know this place, eh? Well too bad..." Kyle closed in on Mikael's ears and said, "we're the ones asking questions, capisce?"

Pulling out his phone, Clyde played the video of the explosion Gale caused during their fight. The next moment, Mikael was on the ground, unconscious.

"That feral was too strong," Mikael said, sighing. "Next time I'll be stronger. Next year. I challenge you again next year, feral. And if I win, I get you!"

"I accept!" Gale said in a low voice.

"No one is getting anyone!" Rachel slapped Mikael across the face on the opposite side. "Now spill the tea!"

"Ok! Ok!" Mikael rubbed his other cheek. "Just stop hitting me!"

Kyle grabbed Rachel by the shoulders and pulled her back behind them. "We're the ones asking questions here, princess, capisce!?"

"The tea! What about my tea?!"

"You've derailed this whole investigation more than the feral over there!" Clyde shouted. "Now, sit back and enjoy!"

Rachel grumbled. Looking at Gale, she simply said, "lights."

Gale walked over to the switch and flipped it. The white infirmary now became dyed in darkness, just like the way the dark hunter likes it.

Putting up her hand, Rachel's turned into a glow stick again, bright enough to ray directly at Mikael's face like an interrogation lamp.

"Go," Rachel said.

Kyle cracked his knuckles. "Let's start simple. How often did Lucian and Ariana hang out together?"

"Every day," Mikael said. He squinted against the light from Rachel's hand. "Even during the winter week break. They stayed here and hung out."

"Where did they hang out?" Clyde asked.

"Library mostly. Sometimes the courtyard. Ariana would also come watch Lucian practice in the gym."

"She watched him train?" Rachel asked. "Do you know why?!"

"Yeah. She'd sit on the bleachers and just watch. Sometimes she'd read a book while watching. Other times she'd just stare at him the whole time. Don't ask me why, woman."

The temperature in the room increased by a couple of degrees. Everyone could see the sparks coming off of Rachel's head. "That's so romantic. What else did she do?!"

"Ignore her!" Kyle slammed the bed. "Did they have any more plans together? Anything they talked about doing in the future?"

"They planned to go to Bar+ during summer break," Mikael said. "That's the karaoke restaurant at Bloor and Yonge. Lucian talked about it constantly. Said she wanted to sing for him."

Rachel leaned forward. "Did Lucian give her gifts? Anything romantic?"

"Snacks," Mikael said. "He'd always give her snacks. BBQ potato chips she liked and Coke Zero Cherry. He also managed to get instant bubble tea packs from the NETS for her."

"That's so cute," Rachel muttered.

"That is not cute! Those are some of the more expensive shit on the market!" Clyde shouted.

"What's got you rustled?"

"BBQ potato chips? That was worth at least 3 vinegar and salt chips or 5 sour and onion chips. That shit is expensive just for being chips!" Clyde shouted again.

"Idiots!" Kyle slammed the bed again, then leaned in on Mikael. "What about Zachary? When did he start getting involved?"

"About three weeks ago," Mikael said. "There's rumours that Zachary's mom is in some kind of conflict with Lucian's mom. Something about Lucian's mom finding out smuggling operations Zachary's mom was running through the Path."

Kyle and Clyde glanced at each other. "Counterfeit prototype ammo magazines by Glorious Bastard's bazaar. Tell us something we don't know."

Mikael tilted his head. "What? I didn't even know that... Wait, was I supposed to know that?"

"Doesn't matter. None of our business," Kyle said.

"Not getting paid. Who cares? What does it have to do with Lucian's case?" Clyde asked.

"Well, technically Lucian and Ariana have nothing to do with the adult disputes between their families. But Zachary made it personal anyway. For him, it was just another reason to go after Ariana."

Rachel's glowstick hand grew brighter. "Why would Zachary go after Ariana specifically?"

"NETS did say Zachary actually likes her," Mikael said. "Not just to mess with Lucian. Actually likes her. Brought her chocolates and everything."

"What kind of chocolates?" Rachel asked. "Heart shaped ones? Did he make the chocolate himself?"

"Kinder Bueno," Mikael said. "Can you believe it? A single Kinder Bueno bar costs like ten bags of potato chips or two meal vouchers in the NETS economy."

"Dammit..." Rachel muttered.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Gale's ears twitched at the word. Pulling out his own Kinder Bueno bar he received as a treat from Rachel, he unwrapped it as quietly as he could. Inside were two wafers. However, the two wafers were covered in another layer of plastic.

How annoying!

Unwrapping the first wafer, he took the first bite. The world went black and the back of his head hit the wall behind him. That also snapped him back to reality.

The three beside the bed looked at him.

"You ok?" Rachel asked as she tilted her head.

"Definitely ok. The wall can't knock me out," Gale said. But somehow, the Kinder Bueno literally knocked him out for a second.

The wrapper said this was to be 240 calories. That is a lot of calories for this compact of a food. A treasure in the wild! Gale quickly ate the rest of the wafer and opened up the other wafer, eating that quickly too.

"So Zachary's serious too, eh?" Kyle said. "Not just messing around."

"Yeah," Mikael said. "But here's the thing. You asked earlier about how Lucian and Ariana met? I was there when it happened."

"And then? And then?" Rachel said, her pitch going higher.

"I was walking through the courtyard. Saw Ariana bump into Derek. That's Zachary's lackey. The musclehead guy I mentioned before. Then, Derek started yelling at her about not watching where she was going. Getting aggressive. Making a scene. It was supposed to be Zachary who stepped in to save her. That was the whole setup."

"OH MY GOD!!!" Rachel squealed just as Kyle pulled her back.

"Turns out, Zachary orchestrated the whole thing. Had Derek create a situation where Zachary could swoop in and play hero. But Lucian got there first. Stepped in before Zachary could make his move."

"So Zachary's plan backfired," Clyde said.

"Completely. Ariana ended up grateful to Lucian instead. Started talking to him. That's how their relationship began. Zachary just stood there watching it happen."

"He must've been pissed," Kyle said.

"He was. But he's patient. He waited to see if anything would develop between Lucian and Ariana. When it became obvious they liked each other, that's when Zachary started moving in anyway."

"What did he do?" Rachel asked.

"Everything. Started sitting next to Ariana in classes. Walking her between buildings. Offering to help with her projects. Made it totally public that he was courting her. Everyone in Sterling knew about it within a week."

"How did Lucian react?" Clyde asked.

"He got depressed. The pressure from the Tablemasters was intense. Zachary's one of their top dogs. You can't touch them unless it's an official duel with an actual teacher present as referee. And Lucian knew he couldn't win that fight. Not because he couldn't, but because of the political implications."

"So he felt trapped," Kyle said.

"Yeah. He got more quiet. Stopped joking around during training. Started training way harder than necessary. That's when the accidents started happening."

"Like the injuries?" Rachel asked.

"Right. Torres couldn't get up for three days. Lucian apologized, but the damage was done. Poor man lost 3 days worth of training."

"Did he talk to anyone about what was bothering him?" Clyde asked.

"No. He shut down completely. Wouldn't open up to anyone."

Kyle leaned forward. "You mentioned the Night Patchers earlier. What happened there?"

"That was the week before he disappeared. I saw him talking to one of their members near the east wing. They do their deals there because there's fewer cameras."

"What's the Night Patchers?" Rachel asked.

"They deal in magitech. Researching the inscriptions in the school. The walls. They try to find ways to get around the system," Clyde said. "Amateur."

Rachel grumbled.

"What do you think Lucian was trying to get from them?" Kyle asked.

"I don't know. That's one thing I really don't know. Then he disappeared the Friday after. Crazy, am I right?"

"What's crazy is how he disappeared in this fucking school. Must've spooked the faculty," Kyle said.

"Last time a kid disappeared in Sterling 6 years ago, the body was found buried in the courtyard. Few teachers got fired. But this is different. Lucian messaged you on Monday. Something isn't adding up."

"Which means we go to the Night Patchers."

"Wait. One more question," Rachel said, extinguishing her glowstick and holding up one finger. "Do you think Zachary was gaining Ariana's affection?"

"Fire princess! Seriously?!"

"I'm serious!"

"Ariana's a good girl. She wouldn't easily fall for someone else when she's already fallen in love with Lucian."

"I knew it! That bastard Zachary!"

"Come on, princess. Let's move. Night Patch kids next. East wing," Kyle pulled and dragged Rachel by the arm.

"Gale, lights please," he said.

The dark hunter flipped the switch, and the darkness of the room flipped. His eyes winced at the sudden brightness, but he toughed it out. Literally no point in closing his eyes as Presence Between fed him the visual regardless. Opening the door, he went out first.

"Feral! Don't forget the fight next year!" Mikael shouted from inside the room.

"I accept!" Gale declared.

The three came out of the room. Kyle had a face he hadn't shown before, one of distraught. Clyde showed a deadpan expression, but there was exhaustion in the way he moved.

This was the first time Gale saw them like this. Not even in the Tomb did they look this tired. It could only mean that investigating was actually tough. Another reason was added in his mind to reasons why the twins were awesome.

Rachel's face was still smiling. "Why can't we go to Ariana first?"

"No," the twins said simultaneously.

"Why not? We could see a lot more from her side."

"Fire cheeks, this shit is starting to get serious. A kid doesn't just go 'missing' in Sterling. That never happens," Kyle said.

"Those totems outside were meant to keep the kids in, not out. Someone found a loophole from the gift of the legendary caffeine Transcendent? This might be more serious than a death."

"We go to these Night Patcher shits and get everything out of them. No more bargaining. Either you're in on this or we need you and Gale to leave, as well as that blue haired alien somewhere in this school."

Rachel nodded slowly.

Gale did the same, mimicking her. He didn't exactly know what was happening, but all of their faces turned serious.

The group walked through the east wing from the courtyard. One side of the hallway displayed arched windows, and the other side was lined with doors to classrooms and labs.

It was quiet. Too quiet. No students walking around. No voices coming from classrooms. Just the sound of their footsteps and breathing.

Presence Between's tendrils spread out. He felt the insides of classrooms. Empty. Nothing moved except the four of them.

Gale didn't like this. In the woods, if it was this quiet, something was bound to ambush them. Even Rachel beside him looked scared as sparks and embers flew from the top of her head, making the temperature increase around them.

Kyle and Clyde stopped abruptly. Gale and Rachel's noses hit their backs at the same time.

"What was that for?" Rachel said harshly.

"We're here," Kyle said as they both looked at the door to their left.

The door held a symbol. A triangle and a moon inside of it. On the edges of the wood, it was reinforced with metal bolted right into the wood.

Clyde twisted the knob. No give. "Locked."

Kyle looked at Rachel. Just looked. Didn't say anything.

"Gale," Rachel said.

Gale walked forward. He grabbed the metal doorknob with one hand. Applied pressure. The metal crumpled like paper in his grip. Pull.

The entire door came off its hinges. Wood splintered where the bolts had been attached. The hinges tore free from the frame with a screech of metal.

Inside was darkness. But not complete darkness. Monitor screens glowed throughout the room. At least eight of them that Gale counted. Some sat on desks. Others were on the floor propped against walls. A few had been mounted directly onto the walls themselves.

The screens cast blue and white light across everything. Enough to see shapes moving inside the room. People hunched over keyboards. Others standing and looking at the door where the group now stood.

"Don't touch your computers," Kyle said with a commanding tone. "Everyone, don't move. If anyone moves, you're under arrest. If you resist, you're under arrest. Capisce?!"

"Light it up," Clyde said to Rachel.

Raising her hand, Rachel lit up the room again with her glowstick hand. The room was revealed. Shiny tile that clearly had dried up fluid. Bits and pieces of chips scattered throughout the floor. Bags of chips, candy wrappers, and empty soda cans littered the floor and desks.

A familiar face among them could be seen, hiding behind a monitor. If Gale remembered correctly, the boy's name was Viktor.

"Viktor?" Rachel muttered.

But before the boy could talk, Kyle pulled her behind him. "Everyone out. Now."

One of the Night Patchers stood up from his chair. "You can't do this. We're working on something important here."

"Rachel," Kyle said.

"Gale," Rachel said.

Gale stepped into the room properly. His boots crunched on fallen chips.

Whispers started up.

That's the feral.

The one who beat Mikael.

In one punch... shit.

"He can't take us all down," the first Night Patcher said as ether coalesced onto his raised hand towards the group.

Viktor grabbed his arm. "Shut up. Are you blind? Those are the twins! The demonic one is even more dangerous!"

The coalescing ether suddenly dissipated. Looking down, the first Night Patcher moved towards the door first. "You'll regret doing this..."

"Tell it to someone who cares," Kyle said.

The rest of the Night Patchers started filing out of the room. They moved slowly, carefully stepping around the group standing in the doorway.

Then suddenly, before the last one exited, all the monitors started glitching at once. The screens flickered. Images distorted. Lines of code scrolled past too fast to read.

One monitor near the back went completely blue. But it wasn't the normal error screen. Instead of the usual text, two letters appeared in white.

E_W

"ERIN!" all three of them shouted at the same time.

Gale looked at them and also made a surprised expression himself, then shouted, "Erin!"