Elemental Academy

Monsters in the Dark

The next day, the search was on! Aria and Raquel were lost in the twisted brick maze while Phoenix waited at the edge of the maze, tied up, and Quinn was nowhere to be found or heard. None of them could utter a sound; it could attract trouble and none of them could use their elements because it most definitely would attract trouble. Aria and Raquel were blinded from the darkness and deafened by the silence as they slowly crept deeper into the maze, holding hands and trembling with dread. The growl sounded again and the two froze, Raquel let out a shaky exhale and Aria could only hear the blood rushing in her ears.

The sound of large, furry paws faded away from them and Aria gestured to her companion to keep moving. Raquel knelt and picked up a rock and was ready to throw it, if the opportunity came. A trill echoed near them before the growling creature roared.

"Run," Aria hissed before she and Raquel burst into a full on sprint. "Left or right?"

"Right. Then two lefts." The creature started chasing them, causing Raquel to scream. Aria stopped and turned around, forcing a howling wind to smote the beast away from them. "Are you insane?!" The gushing wind stopped and the beast charged again. "Aria," but the air user stood her ground.

With arms outstretched she inhaled deeply and aimed her energy at the beast's lungs. Feeling them fill with air as the distance declined. "Air is everywhere," she whispered. "It's mine to control." Her eyes closed as she took another breath. "Air is everywhere. It's mine to control." The beast let out yelps and growls as it struggled on its back, not being held by anything. Aria opened her eyes when everything went silent. "Damn. He ain't gonna be in midterms," she commented and Raquel chuckled hysterically. "Bandesnhatch. Originally from Veil."

After a few calming breaths, Raquel and Aria ran deeper into the maze, the search back on. Raquel grabbed Aria's arm as she took a sharp right and hid behind a wall. "We're being followed," she whispered. "Three, at most." Aria exhaled defeatedly. "We can't keep doing this for much longer. We need help." Aria sighed as she leaned against the wall, head down. Raquel let out a shaking gasp, grabbing Aria's attention.

The earth user was looking up and when Aria turned to see what it was, she choked on the scream that had to get out. "Are those...?"

Raquel nodded when she didn't finish, "students." Bones where caught in unnaturally huge, thick webs while decaying bodies were hung like party streamers from vines. "I think I just wet myself." Aria pulled Raquel against the wall when she heard footsteps. They loudened until it felt like she was making them. "What," Raquel whispered inaudibly but Aria covered her mouth.

The footsteps walk passed them but didn't disappear, they stopped a few paces - maybe five - away from them. "Sage. Haynes. Sound out," a familiar voice rang but Aria shook her head at Raquel. "Sage!" The voice roared very animal-like. "Haynes! I said sound out!" Raquel swallowed hard as she began to tear up. "Solomon. Hathaway."

Panicked shitless, Raquel tightened her grip on the rock before she turned and beat up the man - who started growling. Aria turned and began to suffocate him, like she did with the previous beast, but Raquel had beaten him to death. The corpse turned from a man into lizard-ape looking creature.

"A yave," Raquel stated. "Also known as the 'shapeshifter from hell'." Quinn appeared behind Aria breathlessly. "How many's that?"

"Four," Quinn stated.

She took a deep breath before opening the bottle of water in her hand. Instead of drinking the content, she summoned it out like a snake in a basket. Taking a defensive stance, she gestured to flicker of light ahead. Raquel make the stray rocks circle them while Aria cautiously crept ahead of them.