Luines - Book 1

Chapter 09: The Old Balete Tree

"Hurry up, Zee!" Hal yelled. "Pucha, bal! We won't get a good spot!" She was waiting anxiously for Zee to reappear in their meeting place, the Old Balete Tree. Zee's wind brushed through the leaves and her hair, and twirled around her. Hal felt like her body was being swept away with the gust, as if every inch of her was being taken. She closed her eyes, and let Zee fly her to their location.

She opened her eyes, hearing a loud blast of cheers from a crowd. The lead vocalist spoke, "On behalf of GEOS Academy, we welcome all the freshmen and let's rock this academy!" Screams blasted around them, while the large populace began to jump with the beats of the drums, and strums of an electric guitar.

"Takte! They started already!" Hal pulled Zee into the freshmen populace and squeezed her way there with a slight psychic nudge, or an elbow. They had to get near quick to see her favorite band, Let Hell Break Loose. Hal stopped where she could at least recognize their faces. She nodded her head to the beats, but there was something bothering her at the back of her mind.

They bit her like a bunch of irritating mosquitos at her nape that won't quit. As she looked back, Zee was glowing like a luminous firefly; his eyes were down as he held onto his hands together. She bit her lip as the words muttered around her began to form. Why did they let that freak in? The Realm folks always ruin everything, especially starboy here! If it were up to me, I wouldn't let that freshman nerd inside.

"Pucha, if any of you want to fight, I'm all yours!" Hal was about to lift her hands, and hurl the student population away from them . They deserved it, but Zee held her hand and put it down. She could see in his tearful eyes he held all of it in as strong as he could. He smiled, "I don't wanna ruin this day for you, Hal."

"If I may, I'm flabbergasted by the vile commentaries of the humdrums that surround us and they need to be punished for their abhorrence of our kind. " Reeg Myrkvi blew a grayish smoke that stunk like rotten fish and dried moss. The terrible fog settled around them, leaving them untouched.As she looked around, there were two other people unfazed by the spell, Byagi and Lizard. Byagi gleamed at Hal, while Lizard patted her on the shoulder.

"Hal and Zee, was it? Damn, those humans think of us as a freakshow. I'm glad you aren't like any of them, Hal."

"Zee is like a brother to me. Anyone who messes with him will have to go through me." Hal said. "Besides, what did you do to the populace?"

Reeg snapped; Lizard rose to the sky and flapped his wings viciously. As the fog dissipated, the rest of the human populace were in a high drunken state as they swayed in unison to the melodies of the band. The Realm folks were left unharmed and they cheered on them. Hal laughed as she had a bright smirk of pride. She pulled Zee out of the zombie mosh pit and said, "Bal, take us to the Old Tree. I've got a stash of alcohol hidden there."

However, that was just an old memory, a dream she had last night. Hal sighed as she rested by the Old Tree. Days have been tough for Hal Cruz, that she hasn't gotten any proper sleep lately. The nightmares have merged with the recent events and memories, switching from Neon Requyem to her dad, and that moment during freshman year wherein she first met Reeg, Byagi and Lizard.

She was running like a zombie on autopilot, checking on Reeg, and Lizard in the infirmary, and searching for the oldest being in GEOS Academy for the wand. She overturned every archaic painting, and statue in the Academy and always returned empty-handed.

"Day 5 and still nothing." She leaned her head under the intertwined fig branches that wrapped around its oldest trunk. The Balete Tree in GEOS Academy lore existed even before the Academy was built, and was the very spot where the founders - Azraff Gamil, Shen Einsling, Milos Oskaron and Florenz Silny - decided to turn the land into an Academy. Nowadays, it was her gang's territorial claim. No one in the right mind would enter those premises without an invitation from them, unless they would be prepared to be squashed, flipped or burned. It's been quieter around the Balete without her usual gang. A few days ago, Byagi said goodbye and he had to leave school to work with his family. Their business was sinking and they needed all hands to help. The truth was his parents were scared for Byagi when they heard Bakunawa was back again, and pulled him out of GEOS Academy.