Meet Thy Enemies

Mariella Kuibreza

The halls taunted me, stretching its arms long into the distance.

Once I had arrived at the main lobby, I stood at the edge of the stairs and watched as the students of Morvian talk with their friends, smiles wide before disappearing into their respective classrooms.

No white lotus flowers.

No portrait.

No respect.

My heart shrank at the sight. Clearly, no one had planned to at least face the altar for the twins. How could they not notice? I doubt no one would have known those two, but wouldn’t two missing students worry you? They were only children.

“Excuse me.” A voice from behind said, walking past me after I stepped aside. I thought they wanted to say something, a little note of reverence. I hadn’t realized that I was standing for too long until I almost lost my balance.

“Mari?” The tone was soft, unbelievably so. I would not have recognized Shanz for a few seconds, but she left no time to spare. “We have to get to the room. It’s almost the third bell.”

Her features gave no intent of showing reaction, only relaxed eyebrows, hooded eyes, and a tug on my arm telling me to move forward. I knew better than to think she didn’t care, we only had to finish this day without acknowledging the glaring walls.

With every step, I felt more and more as if I was on shallow waters, my shoes burrowing themselves in sand. It was no nuisance until the water darkened into a bright red, with one of the twin’s faces staring at me. The world began to spin as his arm shot out of the water, gripping my ankle to climb upward.

“Why didn’t you help me?” He said about four octaves higher, allowing it to ring about the walls as words clogged in my throat. The air became ice, as if to slap me with its harsh temperature.

“Ma-Martin… I-”

By then his torso was out of the water, and blood poured from either side of his head.

And then he was gone, his head dropping back into the scarlet pool, followed by his body, back to wherever he came from. We both fell at the same time, but when my senses had returned, I reached hard ground.

“Mari- Mari?” Two hands clamped down on my shoulders, and I found my way to Shanzina scanning my face from hair to chin. “What’s wrong?”

But neither of them were there, as was the pool, nor the sand, nor the blood. All of it had disappeared. “I… I saw them! Martin- Marvin- I had seen them! They were right here!”

Even with my whisper-yelling, the fact that I had fallen was enough to garner a good few curious and judgemental looks at my direction. Shanzina brought me to my feet, patting down any signs of hysteria found in my uniform, “They weren’t here, Mari. It’s the Phantrits. They’re trying to get to you.”

I calmed myself with every breath I took, watching her hand move up and down my arm in an effort to help. Before I could speak, her gaze shifted past me, and I saw her pupils shrink into dots before staring back at me. I hadn’t known why, but my stomach turned at the sight. Her hands forced me to stop from turning around, “Shanz-”

Appearing in between us was a creature staring at Shanz with eyes of night and a smile, wide enough to reach the end of its cheekbones.

A Phantrit?

Shanzina and I never broke eye contact, even as it snapped to my direction. Her grip got tighter, warning me to stay still, and everything around us went quiet. No footsteps, no murmurs, and no bell. Nothing but the sound of its eerily slow breathing as it bared its teeth in a grin.

I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to, it could pounce at me any second. Slowly it moved itself in front of me. I could see through it even as it looked straight at me with a face that almost forced a scream out of my throat.

Wrinkles. Everywhere. It seemed to double the more it grinned. The head had a few strands for hair that dangled over what was its face. There were no eyeballs, only a red dot that served as a pupil with eye sockets that could fit my whole fist. Its teeth were sharp, like curved broken glass stuck into its gums. The pressure in my lungs had reached its limit. I wanted to run, to keep breathing.

Shanzina blinked. Now its attention was on her, letting out a roar that shook the walls around us. I gasped, welcoming the air into my lungs. Then it turned to me and rose, spreading its arms to the side to grab my face. I screamed.

“Fuck!” Shanz no longer had her hands on me, yet I could hear her, as if she was trying to get away from something. Another Phantrit.

I could feel my bones quiver at the one still holding my face, its jaw stretching so long that it could swallow me whole. My skin began to stretch as if by tiny pinches. I heard myself choke for air. It was taking my mana-energy from me, and it was taking it for itself.

I’m gonna die.

Someone.

Help me.

The words never left my mouth, it was too draining to even think. Now I understood Professor Hale’s insistence on teaching us how to handle them, I hadn’t expected they’d be coming at us right after.

I could sense every drop of mana-energy that the creature had vacuumed into itself, creating a hollow sound that bounced from wall to wall. A tear fell down my cheek as I closed my eyes, remembering the anointing.

“Phantrits will be after you now.”

“Are you telling me that this school is nothing more than a vessel, for evil spirits?”

“What if they’re waiting for us outside?”

“They won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Mariella’s safe with me whether she’s in or not.”

Well where the ‘piervo are you now, Shanzina?

My back was slammed against the carpet floor, and the phantrit roared again, much angrier than before. I heard it fly into the distance as the atmosphere calmed. The warmth of the sunlight shone through a window as my body laid there like a heavy vessel, waiting to be moved.

“Mari?” Shanz called out, her voice weak and hoarse. My eyes refused to open after the drainage. Grabbing my jaw and shaking it side to side, she yelled, “Mariella, wake up!”

I groaned as a response, and she must have been satisfied with my answer as I heard a relieved sigh. She spoke again, “Oh thank sweet Jeezuz, I was right on time.”

“What?” I managed as she yanked me to sit up, her grip much stronger than before.

The chime of the third bell rang, indicating that there was only fifteen minutes before the start of classes. Shanzina made a noise of complaint.

“Aii, pisteng yawa.”