Prism Core

Truth (Part One)

BRAD

I sat there, completely numb, listening to the rock music, which started to get on my nerves. In my time alone, I read the entire manga series I carried around...twice. The sun had begun to set. "Maybe I should just leave. Nobody's gonna show up." I sighed, and I leaned back...too far. The chair slipped underneath me and I fell down and hit the back of my head. My vision went blurry for a second, but my eyes were right on the door's window. Swiftly, a couple people ran past. They were wearing red. Wait, what's going on?  I quickly rushed to the door. The halls were now a war zone. School faculty were running in terror as gang members splashed everything with fuel. My heart started to race. "Are they burning this place down!?" I shouted. Big mistake. A gang member heard and began walking towards the door. Thinking swiftly, I opened the door outwards and slammed it against the guy's face. He cursed in pain as he grabbed his nose. I quickly ran towards the staircase at the end of the hall, and I heard steps close behind me. "Stop right there!" A gang member yelled. I quickly turned my head around and realized only one person was there. Feeling cocky, I stuck my tongue out at him and dashed down the stairs. My chest burned and my breathing grew heavy. I can't run for much longer.  I heard the angry yells of the gang member behind me. Panicking, I tried to run faster. Except my shoelaces were untied. I tripped and landed hard on my left shoulder, which let out a loud crack on impact. "#$%&!" I screamed. I tried to push myself up, but pain shot through my body as soon as I put weight on my arm. "Well then. That was hilarious to watch," The gang member said. He was right behind me. There was no one but us in the stairwell. I backed up to a corner. "W-what are you guys going to do!? I saw all the gas! Why would you do such a thing!?" I yelled. My voice cracked. The member burst out laughing. It sounded muffled behind his scarf, but I could imagine his twisted smirk under it. "Today, my friend, is the Vanishing," The gang member said. He rubbed his short black hair, and I noticed he had a scar on the side of his head. "This school is something special, there is a reason why it was built in this exact spot." Wait, what?  The gang member sighed. "Our leader has a special connection. He had contact with a god from the other side. It spoke to him through his dreams. What he found out was that this exact place is a gateway to that world, the world called Terra. Every night, the border between the worlds weakens, allowing strong deities from Terra to enter." I knew exactly what was going on. The gang was actually a cult, and they were officially crazy. "Come on, man! This is nuts! You don't actually believe that, do you?" I said. The member glared. "People like you are ignorant, selfish, and a virus to our world. Which is why we are burning this place to the ground, along with every person in it!" He yelled. Veins popped from the side of his head, and his gray eyes looked bloodshot. I had to get away. "I think you need to chill out!" I quickly hopped to my feet and lunged at him. I hit his stomach, and the gang member gasped out in both surprise and pain. We tumbled down the stairs, and I made sure to hold him down.

KATE

"What do we do!? Should we call the police?" Ryan asked. His breathing was heavy, and he was trembling in fear. I could feel my own heart hitting against my chest. "My phone is out of battery. Do you have your phone?" Ryan shook his head. We sat in silence and continued to observe. We couldn't leave, someone was bound to catch us before we could leave school grounds. Out of nowhere, a sudden thought came to me. "Our friends are in there! We have to rescue them!" Ryan looked at me, and his face changed. He was suddenly determined. "We have to try to sneak in." We looked at the school. The gang had begun entering. Now's our chance. We approached as soon as there were only a couple members left. "Hey, that's a nice scarf you're wearing!" I yelled. They looked at us in surprise. "Let's go," One of them said, and she opened the door for us. We stopped in absolute shock. Ryan dropped a hefty branch he was holding behind his back. "Wait, you're just gonna let us in? You're not going to kill us?" He asked. The gang members looked dumbfounded. "It's us, Ryan! I got these outfits to sneak in!" The female gang member said. The male gang member took off his scarf. "Cora!? Gabe!? What's going on? Why is the Bloodveil gang trying to burn the school down!?" I asked. Cora looked down. "They are not a gang. These people are dangerous. Somehow, each member has some special ability," Cora said.

"They're the one's responsible for his death."