Subject 15

CHAPTER 18 - Seth

The police arrived about 15 minutes later, and five minutes after they arrived they dragged the boys out of the church and drove away. An emergency assembly was called once the boys were gone, and the school's 3000 attendants were called into the huge auditorium, comparable to the size of an opera house – a huge, domed building able to seat 5000. I saw Raven on our way there, and she asked silently if I was the cause of all this, and if I was alright. I gave a small nod, a confirmation to both questions, before we were lost in the crowd.

I kept close to Samantha, and at one time she grabbed my hand as to not lose me in the crowd of people. I looked back at her when I felt her soft hand in mine, and she smiled her strange smirk, and I smiled to, following the masses to our destination.

When we were all seated and the chatter had died down, the dean, a 6'4" hulk of a man, went to the podium and waited until the remaining conversations died out. "Students," he said in a commanding voice, his Mask a mix of self-control and anger, "We are called here today for a grave reason. One of our students was assaulted by three others and was..." At this he paused, cleared his throat as he looked down at the podium and then finished, "was nearly raped."

A loud assortment of gasps escaped many surprised lungs, and a few people voiced their outrage in multiple curses, but the dean kept his stony appearance as he said, "Ms. Rebecca Marshall..." the dean paused before saying again, trying to hide his anger, "my daughter... was the one assaulted, and she is here to tell her story." I quickly stole a look at Samantha on my left, and she was looking right at me. I was still holding her hand, and I was tempted to let go of it, but she quickly squeezed, and I squeezed back as I turned to look at Rebecca as she walked to the stage. She still had my t-shirt wrapped around her waist, but she was now clothed in some loose fitting khaki pants and a black leather belt as well.

When Rebecca arrived at the podium, the dean stepping aside for her, and all was quiet as she cleared her throat and began to speak. "Hello," she said with slightly hesitant, but her Mask was steely, though I knew that she was still trying to cope with what happened. "I called this meeting for a few reasons... As you know, I was almost... raped... just a few minutes ago... by three of our football players: Aaron Blackfoot, Cody Billiot, and James Lewandowski." The building was as quiet as a grave, and Rebecca continued through tears, "They brutally attacked me, and they would have..." Her voice died out, and she finished the thought by taking off her Mask to reveal the purple bruise on her cheek, and again many people gasped, others cursed, but Rebecca wasn't finished. "But I was saved by... someone, who calls himself the Fallen Angel... And that's why I called for the assembly today." No one spoke, and Rebecca stumbled along the words as she said, "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true."

"You mean the Devil of the Old Faction?" asked someone from the crowd.

Oh no, was the only thought running through my head at this point, and a few people started to doubtfully grumble, but Rebecca said, "It's true! I'll prove it! I have a video!" and with that, everyone was quiet. Not a soul spoke, it seemed as if the air didn't even move, and I forgot to breathe. I gripped Samantha's hand tighter, and I could feel her eyes on me. The dean came to Rebecca, hooked up the holographic projector to Rebecca's Mask, and I held my breath, waiting for what would happen.

I saw the church again, and I knew that I was seeing what Rebecca had seen through her Mask. The audience saw the three young men in suspect pining Rebecca down and stripping her of her Mask. The Mask landed on the floor with some crackling sounds in the audio, facing the roof as the sounds of the struggle reverberated off the church. Then a sound like thunder filled the church, followed by a curse, and I knew that that was when I had broken through the door. A deep, electronic voice, filled with static said menacingly, "Get off of her."

Another voice, one of the boys, replied, "Come and make us." There was another sound, followed by a terrified curse, and then something, someone, flew past the Mask and into the rafters.

The being was huge, with giant grey wings, and its face was a ever-changing constellation of light and dark, but it had the body of a well-built man. It grabbed the boys into the shadows, the audience could hear screams through the thunder, and though there was no visuals of the fight, the sounds kept rolling. We heard a deep and menacing voice, full of static, roar at the boy, and we heard Rebecca stop him, followed by a grunt of pain from what we suspected was the boy. The camera started to shake, a few rustling noises were heard, and the video stopped there.

Everyone was quiet, and the dean stepped back up to the podium to talk calmly into the microphone, "This is a disgrace to this campus, to Rebecca, and to you. Not only that, we now have an unidentified monster roaming about!"

"He is not a monster!" yelled Rebecca, but the dean shoved her off with a wave of his hand, continuing, "We must alert the police, none of you may walk home alone, and we all must report any sightings of this... beast."

"He saved me," screamed Rebecca at the dean, and a few brave souls voiced their affirmation, but the dean said, "You are in shock. Obviously, this thing was after something else and did not just act out of the kindness in its heart, if it even has one!"

"He told me he would protect me," said Rebecca, her eyes ablaze with rage and passion, "And you treat him like a monster." Rebecca stood in front the dean, projecting her voice through her Mask as she said, "Students, I've called you here as a way of asking your help! You know me, and you know my history!" At this, Rebecca said a little softer, "You know I am far from the best person, or even a good person..." She lifted her head and said with power, "And still, this man saved me! He didn't take advantage of me, and he swore to me-!"

With that, the dean stepped in front of Rebecca, turning to her and said in a hiss, "We will not have this discussion now." Without further regard to Rebecca he said, "Students, we must all be on alert. If any of you know anything about this thing, you must report it immediately to a staff member. This thing is dangerous, and it must be treated as such. Do not walk alone, and if you see anything you think is suspicious, alert an authority at once. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir," murmured some of the students, but I stayed silent, and I turned to Samantha. She was looking directly into my eyes. She removed her hand from mine, and then grabbed my neck, pulling me down so that her lips brushed against my ear as she whispered, "Meet me at the diner down the street from here after school."

Before I could say anything back, the dean said, "Classes are dismissed for today; the busses will be arriving here shortly. When an administrator tells your row to leave, you may do so and exit the campus or wait for the bus."

Everyone started talking, and our row that was near the back was soon dismissed. Samantha quickly stood up, and I lost her in the crowd of people. I exited the building without her or Raven, and I quickly headed down the busy road to the diner thinking only two things; What have I done? What am I going to tell Samantha?