Shortly after Phon returned, the lunch period had ended. Xard felt that he wanted a break from associating with the two Fiends, so he decided to skip class knowing that they’d likely just be there as well. It’s not as if he particularly disliked them, but talking with and being around them had left him a lot to think about, and he didn’t know if he could handle any more for the day.
Unfortunately, the redhead didn’t have any form of special permission slips that would allow him to go wherever he pleased. Normally, students would get in trouble if they were found out of class without the proper permissions, or weren’t on their lunch break. So, simply wandering around the school was out of the question. If he left the grounds and wandered around town, he could catch the eye of the police, especially since he was still in uniform. Also, the idea of breaking rules to that degree didn’t really sit too well with him.
He could just go home, but felt that would cause some unwanted tension with his parents. The faculty most likely wouldn’t mind. They were still in the ‘do what you can’ mode where he wasn’t really forced to do any school work due to his ‘grief’. The only option he could think of to ditch successfully was to feign illness and go to the nurse’s office. Xard had been there a few times before when he had genuine medical concerns, and the school nurse, Mr. Valker, seemed to be pretty laid back. So, the boy doubted he would mind.
When he opened the door to the clinic, he saw the nurse huddled over his desk, seemingly scribbling through some paperwork. “Hey Mr. Valker, it’s Xard Randex. I’m not feeling so well so I’m going to lay down in one of the beds for a bit if that’s alright,” the student announced. Mr. Valker didn’t even look up from his work, and waved with his hand. Xard accepted that as permission and proceeded to lay down on one of the beds, all of which were unoccupied.
The student hadn’t been planning to actually sleep. He was just going to fake it until the school day was over, but guessed he actually was more tired than he thought when he found himself rubbing his eyes. Xard looked at the clock. About an hour had passed, and he decided to go back to sleep or at least would keep pretending to do so. The student rolled over and was startled when he saw Mr. Valker sitting in a chair right next to his bed, staring at the boy intently.
“You’re one of them aren’t you Xard, a Fiend?” the nurse asked seriously. “Who did you kill, Xard? Was it that student you were always hanging around with? What was his name… Warig?”
The student felt panic and unease surge through him. “Uhh, I’m feeling better, so I’m gonna go,” Xard spouted as he scrambled to his feet. He grabbed his bag next to the bed and darted out of the room, then power-walked through the halls, only slowing down once he reached the outdoors of the school’s main courtyard. Guess I’ll just go home for the day after all. I can probably just hide out somewhere until I’d normally come home, the Fiend thought to himself before pondering where he could go to kill time.
“Stop right there Xard!” he heard shouting from behind him. It had to be Mr. Valker, but he didn’t really want to stop and check. Xard felt he’d been through enough for the day, and would deal with it some other day. It was the first time that he felt being a Fiend was fortunate. He could outpace anyone trying to tail him without even really trying.
“I told you to stop Xard… I mean it!” The shouting continued when the student picked up the pace. He was just about to pass through the school's gate, when a loud gunshot boomed behind him. A single bullet went whizzing past his head and out of sight. Normally, his instinct would have been to run away from there as fast as possible and call the police, but this time that didn’t cross the student’s mind at all. He dropped his bag, turned around, and stared at Mr. Valker who was slowly walking towards him with a handgun drawn.
Xard didn’t know why, but he didn’t feel afraid at all, overcome with a feeling that he should stand his ground, that this was something that he could handle. If possible, the boy could diffuse this situation so that no one would get hurt. As the gun drew nearer, a few sparse thoughts of, What the hell am I thinking! ran through his head, but were soon drowned out by determination. The Fiend didn’t know why this was happening, but he needed to find out, no matter the risks.
“That’s very good, Xard. Now put your hands up,” Mr. Valker ordered as he edged steadily closer.
The student felt it would be best to comply for now and lifted his arms to the sky. “I didn’t know you were such a stickler for school rules, Mr. Valker. Ditching school early seems a little undeserving of pointing a gun at a student,” Xard said cooly. He didn’t know where the confidence or verboseness was coming from. Perhaps he was mimicking what he felt the other Fiends would do in this sort of situation.
“Now answer me honestly, Xard. Are you a Fiend? Did you kill someone?!” the nurse roared at him. The student only gave a slight nod in response. “Then I’m afraid you have to die!” Mr. Valker yelled before aiming his gun directly at the boy’s head and shooting without further warning.
Xard moved his left hand and opened his mouth, wanting to shout “wait” but it was too late. The bullet was already rapidly approaching. Even with The Fiend’s improved reflexes, there would be no way to dodge in time.
However, his instincts kicked in and his left hand kept moving. The young man didn’t know why he was doing it. Surely the bullet would go right through and hit him anyways, but somehow he knew it was the right action. Once his hand was directly in the line of fire, he opened his palm. The bullet hit directly in the center of Xard’s palm, tearing through the glove, but it didn’t penetrate his skin at all. It instantly lost all momentum and clunked to the ground.
Xard suddenly felt a wave of pressure inside of him, stemming from the impact point on his left hand. He wasn’t sure what the feeling was, but he knew he had to get it out of his body. The Fiend could feel it worming around inside of him, and guided it to his right hand, where the pressure shot out of the tip of his right pointer finger and up towards the sky—ripping through the tip of his glove with ease.
“What the? What did you do?!” Mr. Valker yelled, looking at his gun to make sure nothing was defective. “I guess I just wasn’t close enough,” he began taking steps closer. The nurse had been halfway across the courtyard originally, but marched about ten feet away. He raised his gun again and aimed to fire once more.
“Wait, wait, wait, wait!” Xard protested while frantically waving his hands. “At least tell me why you’re doing this! Did I ever do anything to you?!”
“Tch, you think I’m stupid enough to reveal all my reasons to you? You’d just use that time to escape!” Mr. Valker snapped at him.
“I’m one of your students. I at least deserve to know why. I get that people would normally be upset when confronted with a murderer, but this seems to be on a more personal level for you. I just want to understand, okay,” the boy insisted.
“Fine then,” the nurse agreed, still refusing to lower his gun. Xard had doubted that he would, but it was worth the slim chance. “A few years ago, my fiancée was killed by a man with red eyes. I didn’t know what it meant then, but after those Drazahs revealed what Fiends were, I knew. I also knew that every single one of them were murderers, every single one of them took away someone’s beloved. Every single one was evil and had to die! That’s why I started killing them. Someone has to. They deserve to die more than anyone else!”
Mr. Valker’s face grew bright red in anger. Xard guessed it must be painful reliving these memories, but there was something he had to confirm. “I take it you’ve killed a fair few then. Tell me, did a single one of them wrong you personally? Did you have proof that any of them were bad people, or did you kill them just because of what the world turned them into?” he questioned as calmly as he could.
“What does that matter?!” the serial-killer rebutted. “They’re all murderers. None of them could possibly have a single shred of decency in them! And you… you’re worse than all the others! You killed someone you cared about on top of it. How could you possibly do that to someone you loved?! You’re the first proper Fiend I’ll ever kill, but you won't be the last. I heard those Drazah brats are stomping around here. Since my cover’s blown, after I’m done with you, I’ll go kill them next! If no one else will eradicate the evil from this world, I’ll do it myself!”
Mr. Valker steadily aimed again and shot three times, sending multiple bullets soaring right at the student. However, Xard didn’t even look. From the middle of the nurse’s outburst, he had been looking down at the ground, causing a few of his hairs to fall in front of his face. Fury had slowly been building in him, and suddenly he felt the same calmness wash over him from the incident with Warig. This man needs to be stopped!
Each of the bullets landed a direct hit on Xard, two in the chest and one in the leg. They were clean hits, vanishing into his clothing, but there wasn’t even a scratch of damage. The Fiend looked up and glared intensely at the gunman. He could feel his hair pulsating, and anyone looking closely at him would definitely notice his golden eyes glittering more than normal.
Without a word, Xard lifted his right hand, extended his pointer finger and thumb, making a finger pistol, and aimed it right back at Mr. Valker. The Fiend guided the energy swirling inside him towards his finger tip, and released it in three equal bursts; the same as the bullets that hit him. He hadn’t even properly lined up his shots, but knew that he was shooting right where he needed to.
The first energy bullet knocked the gun out of the serial-killer’s hand and sent it flying. His kneecaps were blown out by the remaining two, causing him to collapse on the ground and writhe in pain as blood pooled beneath him. Mr. Valker started to shout obscenities, but that was quickly drowned out by an even more boastful voice.
“What’d I tell you, Drim! If you want to find a Fiend Killer… Then follow the Fiend!” Xard looked around for the source, and found the Drazah siblings standing atop the school's roof. A second later, they were suddenly right next to him. “Wow, you sure did a number on him, little redhead. Looks like he’ll bleed out soon if we don’t do something,” Phon nodded towards her brother.
Drim walked over to the nurse, who was writhing on the ground in pain, and held his hands out over the bloody kneecaps. Vines shot out and wrapped tight above and below each knee. “That should stop the bleeding,” The Slayer stated as he held his palm out flat. A blue plant materialized in his hand, then began rapidly scrunching up and twisting. Eventually, a ball of goo was all that remained.
A long thin thorn shot out of Drim’s wrist and into the goo, coating it. He bent down and jabbed the thorn into Mr. Valker’s neck. “This works as a fast-acting sedative. He’ll be asleep in less than a minute,” the boy explained after he retracted the impromptu needle and reabsorbed both it and the floral goo.
Xard wanted to say something, but Phon beat him to it. She crouched down next to Mr. Valker’s head and cackled, “Y’know, not a single one of those Lesser Fiends you killed was a bad person!”
“How could you possibly know that?!” the gunman shouted with the last remaining energy he had.
A sadistic smirk stretched across The Vixen’s entire face. While she stared at him dead in the eyes, she answered cheekily, “If they were, you would have turned into a Lesser Fiend yourself.”
Suddenly, Mr. Valker’s face contorted wildly—not from any physical pain, but he seemed to be struggling with the reality just imposed on him, and took it as a mental blow. Phon watched adoringly for the next few seconds until he lost consciousness.
“So, this was your job, huh? Catch the Fiend Killer? I didn’t even know there was one,” was all Xard could think to say in the moment.
“I doubt many people did,” Drim assured him. “He was quite careful about his killings. It took us a lot of research to even track him to this school. Even then, we were only confident that it was someone who attended this place. We weren’t even sure if it was a teacher or a student. I guess he got so riled up when he met you today that he got careless.”
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
“Well to be honest, we actually didn’t really track him to the school,” Phon added. “More like we investigated this school because you attended it. Through our research, we discovered that there had to be a murderer operating in this school, and a Fiend Killer at that. We really didn’t know what we’d be facing. I honestly thought it would at least be a Lesser Fiend since they were able to kill so many others. Oh, and you made great bait by the way.”
“I guess I should take that as a compliment,” Xard was surprised at his own words. He wasn’t mad that they had used him. It was a smart tactic, one that he may have used himself if he were in their position—whatever it took to get the job done and save people. “I have to ask, though, why didn’t you step in once he started shooting at me?”
“We wanted to see what you would do,” Phon spouted without an ounce of remorse. “Also, we were pretty confident that you hadn’t fully awoken to your Curse yet. So we figured this would be a good chance. Y’know, character development and all. Not to worry, though, we were ready to step in at any moment if we thought you were in any real danger.” Xard glanced over to the girl’s brother since he didn’t really feel he could trust her words, and the boy nodded in confirmation.
“So, what will you do now?” Drim asked suddenly.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” the student brushed the question aside. “I plan to just forget this ever happened and go back to my regular life.”
“Heh, not sure that’s going to be possible,” The Vixen chuckled as she pointed behind herself towards the school. Xard feared what he’d find, but looked over, and there were countless eyes peering out from every window, all glaring at him. “Now, how about we take this conversation somewhere a little more private.” Phon lifted her hands to her eyes, and then a second later, the three of them were up on the school roof.
Xard glanced down at Mr. Valker still lying on the ground, and a few seconds later, the scene was swarming with police. “Wow, that was a fast response time, but they were there the whole time, weren’t they?” the redhead guessed, a little depressed since he already knew the answer. After the first shot was fired, a couple minutes later, he felt several eyes watching him from behind. He assumed someone must have called it in after that first gunshot.
“Yeah, they have been there for a little bit now,” Drim confirmed. “I guess they must have realized you were a Fiend and became too wary to act. Plus, they were aware that we were on the premises as well, and most likely didn’t want to take the risk.”
“Even with so many of them…” Xard sighed sadly as he watched the scene unfold. An ambulance had arrived and carted Mr. Valker away. “How cowardly can they be?!” the student suddenly yelled out, unable to hold himself back. He could feel pressure building up in the back of his eyes, like he wanted to cry. The boy felt a sense of betrayal from those policemen, not that he actually knew any of them.
“Y’know something, I actually wanted to be a police officer, at least until I became a Fiend,” the young man confided. “At first, I thought that I didn’t deserve to be one after I murdered Warig—that I was beneath them, since I gave into my anger and couldn’t properly uphold justice. Seeing them now, though, how sad they are, refusing to come when someone calls just because they’re afraid. Neglecting to act because there’s someone stronger than they are. No, I see now that I would never have fit in among their ranks. Unlike them, I can’t just stand idly by when I know there’s something I can do!”
About a minute passed, and the three of them just stood there in silence. Xard hadn’t looked at the other two since they got up there, he was too absorbed in his own thoughts. “Oh, are you done?” Phon cut in. “That was a great speech and all, albeit a little boring. If you want, I can help you work on your monologuing. Anyways, that doesn’t change that you need to figure out what you’re going to do. I doubt that you’d be happy staying here.”
The girl glanced at her brother, prompting him to dig into his backpack for a scroll, which he then handed over to his sister. Phon then presented the scroll to Xard. “Regardless of what you do next, this will at least remove one shackle.”
The student unfurled the scroll. It was a diploma with his name on it. “How… how did you get this?” Xard was entirely confused, wanting to cry even more now.
“It was our payment for completing the job,” the girl explained. “Your principal was kind enough to give them to us in advance. Three diplomas; one for me and Drim since we never actually went to school, and one for you.”
“You cheeky bastards,” was the only comeback Xard could think of. “You knew from the start that I’d end up an outcast, and I played right into your hands. Thank you for this.”
“I did say you were good bait after all,” Phon snidely remarked. “You know, if you’d like, you could join us. I’m guessing you probably have heard stories and think of us as criminals. We’re not all bad, though, if you get to know us. Well, Drim’s not anyways. You wouldn’t have to commit crimes or do anything that makes you too uncomfortable. Heck, you could even just focus on requests that help people. Don’t worry, you’ll get some time to think it over… Ten, nine, eight…”
“Wait, that’s not enough time dammit!” Xard rebuked, but The Vixen just kept on counting. When she got to around three, the ex-student shouted, “Fine, I'll do it! I’ll join! Jeez, could you have a little more patience, damn she-demon.”
“Hurray... we got a new member...” Phon cheered half-heartedly as she barely waved her arms. Then she pointed at her brother and commanded, “Drim, do the thing!”
The Slayer pulled out a popper and pulled the string. A small blast of confetti shot up into the air, was immediately caught in the wind and swept away, where it rained down on the puzzled police officers.
“Wow… you guys sure know how to make a guy feel welcomed…” Xard’s words were entirely devoid of any emotion.
“Alright, I guess we should go ahead and retrieve the slacker then,” The Vixen changed gears as she moved her hands to her eyes again. Kada appeared in the middle of the three of them. She was now wearing a tracksuit instead of just the bikini from earlier. The woman was also balanced on one leg, with both arms raised, and her other leg sticking behind her horizontally. It appeared she was attempting a ballet pose. After a second of her realizing the change in her surroundings, she lost her balance and collapsed.
“Dammit, Phon! You have the worst timing!” Kada cried out as she rubbed the parts that had hit the roof. “I had finally gotten the students to complete a 28 person human pyramid with me on top, and we were about to take the picture!”
“What’s up with the tracksuit?” Xard was surprised that he was the first one to comment on it.
“Ugh, one of the other teachers got upset and forced me to wear it,” the substitute teacher grumbled. “Oh and hi, Xard. I guess this means you guys got him to join, huh?” The three of them nodded which prompted Kada to charge at the boy and tackle him with a hug. “Yay, this means I’m not the noob anymore!”
“Well, there’s your welcome,” Phon chuckled again. “I’m assuming you’ll be moving in with us then. Would be kinda hard to work with us otherwise. We’re stationed in Constead for now, but we definitely won’t be here forever. If you have any regrets or second thoughts about leaving your past life behind, now’s the chance to change your mind.”
Xard pushed Kada off of him, looked up to the sky, and without even hesitating, he proclaimed, “No, I’m ready to move on and start a new life.”
“Good good, now all that’s left is to figure out who will stay in what room,” The Vixen pondered. “Since you’re a boy, you can’t really stay with me or Kada. Two per room is a little tight, though. Hmm, maybe we could put a futon in the living room.”
Phon started muttering to herself before Drim interjected, “If you’re worried about that kind of stuff, then I’m the last person Xard should share a room with.” Both girls looked at him confused with tilted heads. The Slayer tried to give them a moment to catch on, but when they made no progress, he revealed, “Xard’s gay… Didn’t you notice?”
“Ehhhhh, really?!” the two clueless women hollered out in unison. Xard was just as shocked. He had only ever told his parents and no one else, not even Warig. The man didn’t think he gave off any telltale signs or really fit into any of the big stereotypes. So he had absolutely no idea how Drim could have figured it out.
“Well, I wouldn’t be too worried over that either, Drim isn’t really my type after all… Well… Huh,” Xard spouted out a mess of words. He had never really taken the time to look Drim over properly, especially with his hood always up. The scary face would likely deter people at first glance, but now that he was looking closely, it didn’t seem scary at all. “You know, now that I really look at him, he’s pretty handsome, isn't he?”
“Cosdammit, not another one!” Phon exclaimed, whining to no end. “If we hadn’t just made you an official member, you can be damn sure I wouldn’t invite you now!. If you dare flirt with him, I’ll beat you to a bloody pulp,” she hissed as she pulled her toy gavel and bashed it against her palm, creating a resounding squeak noise. Xard noticed that Kada instinctively flinched at the sight of it, and wondered how many times she’d been hit.
◆◆◆
Kada and Xard approached the front door to his house. Drim and Phon had gone ahead to buy things they would need for an additional person, as well as to get the apartment set up. It had been decided that the Drazahs would share a room since they were siblings, and that Xard would take Drim’s old room.
“So, are you sure your parent’s won’t have a problem with this?” Kada asked before they stepped inside.
“Yeah…” Xard replied with a sigh. “About a year ago, I came out to my parents. They’re super religious, so of course they didn’t approve. Ever since, they’ve basically been treating me like I don’t exist. If anything, they’ll probably be relieved that I’m leaving.”
The two of them entered the house and Kada followed the resident towards the stairs. They passed the living room on the way where the boy’s parents were watching tv. Wow they didn’t even turn their heads or greet him at all. I guess I can’t comment, though. My own home life wasn’t great, Kada felt a bit of kinship before she headed up the stairs to Xard’s room.
They packed up a couple boxes of the man’s belongings. His few-day-old senior in the group had told him to pack light since there wasn’t much room at the apartment. After the redhead was content with everything, they headed down the stairs. Kada headed to the door, but Xard paused by the living room for a moment.
He turned towards his parents, who still weren’t even looking at him and announced, “Mom, Dad, I’m moving out. I assume you had your suspicions, but I was the one who killed Warig, and turned into a Fiend as a result. I found other Fiends who are willing to take me in. There’s a good chance that I’ll be labeled as a criminal as early as tomorrow. So it’s likely the police will come to ask you some questions. Please be prepared for that, and you’re free to tell them whatever you like.”
After the son had said his peace, he headed back over to Kada. She wanted to ask him if he wasn’t going to say anything else, but felt she didn’t have the right to intervene. Just as he was about to pass through the door outside, a soft voice came from the living room. “Goodbye son,” his mother bid him farewell.
“Good luck out there,” his father followed up shortly after. Xard froze when he heard those words, and Kada could see tears dripping down his face. After a few seconds, he bashed his hand against the doorframe then departed immediately. The woman followed after him through the frame that was entirely destroyed on one side.
Discord, , and Amazon Release (Pending), can be found on the Fiends For Hire .
What school perk do you wish you had
