Perception

Eirin squinted as she opened the sliding window. The cold breeze greeted her as she leaned out of the window after seeing something moving near the oak tree. With the cold wind seeping through her body, she grabbed her sweater and was about to run out of the door until one thought stopped her from leaving. 

Was she allowed to go outside? 

Tons more questions started appearing one by one. What was it that kept lurking in the shadows of the oak tree? Would it be a wise decision to go out and seek an answer? 

Her hand was frozen on the doorknob, hesitation filled her head. It is not the time to go linger around the campus grounds, what's more, she came from the class that started the unknown disease. 

But it was killing her. 

Despite the hesitation, Eirin opened the door and wore her slippers as she walked into the dim and long hallway. There were a few wall lights that opened as she passed them by, but she could never be too careful on such a dark night. She walked downstairs, holding onto the railings tightly and slowly reaching the ground floor. On her way to the training ground, she gripped her sweater tightly after the gentle, yet cold breeze caressed her cheeks. 

The sound of her slippers scraping the grassy ground filled her ears along with the continuous sound of the rustling of the leaves. 

It makes her think of only one word: Peaceful. 

No noise from students, and no murmurs surrounding her. It was just her and the whispering of the wind. 

Eirin roamed her vision, the training dummies she passed by were all worn out and were swaying by the wind. Her hair soon went all over her face, making her think of how cozy it was while feeling the warmth of her sweater. When she arrived in front of the oak tree in the middle of the training grounds, she tucked her hair behind her ear while staring at the tree trunk. 

 "I swear I saw something here," she said to herself while walking in circles, trying to figure out what it could have been. Seeing nothing there made the teenage girl wonder if it was all her imagination, and maybe the isolation from people is making her hallucinate. 

Eirin sighed. It was a tranquil night, and the stars filled the sky. She thought that it wouldn't hurt to stay outside a little longer. Just when she was about to sit under the tree trunk, her eyes widened as she covered her mouth after letting out a squeal. 

She swallowed a lump in her throat while her eyes were glued on what seemed to be a pool of red and sticky liquid on the ground. 

Eirin crouched to look at it closer. As she touched the liquid with her bare hand, it was still damp, and it gave that familiar odor. 

It was Blood. But whose? 

Seeing such fresh blood stirred something inside Eirin. What could be lurking in the darkness that could hurt someone and make them bleed like this? Eirin's back straightened after hearing something rustling in the bushes behind the training dummies and near the trees at the far end of the training grounds. 

Thump, thump. 

Her heart started beating like crazy as the blood on her palm dried out. There are tons of possibilities of what could be hiding behind those bushes. It might be a wild animal that came from the woods near the training grounds... or it could be something else. 

Eirin flinched after having a glimpse of a glint of red. She backed away with her eyes trembling in fear. Just the sight of something red in complete darkness makes Eirin terrified, afraid that it might be one of those things yet again. 

She took a deep breath and gathered all her courage as she sauntered towards the bushes. "Is anyone there?" Eirin asked with a soft and gentle tone, yet there were no answers. It would have been better to hear a wild animal growling than the awful silence. The teenage girl knew what she was about to do could be brave or stupid. 

Her grip on her sweater's sleeve tightened as she continued walking, entering what seemed to be a forest just behind the training grounds. She reached a huge signboard saying NO ENTRY with barricades all around. The signboard looked so old and mossy. She's new to the school and she's already getting Ms. Hockenbury's attention. If she ended up doing something against the rules, it would be the end of her life in the academy. 

And so Eirin turned back, fighting off her curiosity and the will to explore the forbidden forest. As she walked her way back to the training grounds, the voice of a man panting and groaning caused her to freeze on the spot. She swallowed hard as she started breathing heavily. When the man groaned once again, Eirin panicked and slipped because of the unknown liquid scattered on the ground. 

 "W-What the?" 

Her pale hands were covered with mud and blood. But it was not hers. As she knelt on the floor after falling, she looked up and saw traces of blood on the ground. It was her curiosity against her all over again. 

What if it was someone that needed help? She could not just ignore it. But at the back of her mind, she also wondered, what if it was someone dying to kill her like how it did to the owner of the blood? 

Eirin stood up and wiped her dirty hands on her pajamas. She's all dirty anyway. Before following the traces of blood, Eirin hesitated. She thought that it was stupid. Just because of her curiosity, she might end up dead without anyone knowing. However, she cannot just tell a teacher about the pool of blood. They'll learn that she has gone outside of her room despite the rule that no student shall roam the campus grounds with the ongoing plague. 

 "I-I should just leave," she said to herself. "They'll check the campus grounds anyway," Eirin reassured as she backed away. 

 "Ugh." 

Eirin quickly glanced behind after hearing a familiar voice. 

 'Am I insane? There's no way that guy could be here,' she thought and gulped. 

 "Hello? Is there anyone there?" Eirin swallowed her fear, but the moment she took a step forward, a gust of wind blew right at her making her hair fly in the air while she shut her eyes, avoiding getting something in her eyes. 

After the gust of wind, another one came from behind, but this one gave her a push on her back. That's when she heard someone coughing. She could not ignore it. If it was someone needing help, how could she just leave? 

Eirin rushed towards the sound and soon stopped in front of someone she did not expect. 

 "Shade?" 

The man grunted as he looked up. Bruises and blood covered his whole body. His left eye was covered with blood that dripped from his bruised forehead and he was holding onto his stomach which appeared to be bleeding continuously. And by the look of it, he had been losing too much blood. 

 "What in the world happened to you?" Eirin could not believe her eyes. "You need to get to the hospital," she said and rushed to him. 

 "Get away from me!" 

His voice sounded hoarse and angry. Although it was dark, Eirin noticed Shade's eyes were a darker shade of red, unlike his usual black eyes. 

 "You need help," Eirin said after observing the man. 

His wounds were too severe to be caused by an accident. There were clean cuts on his arms that could only be caused by a sharp tool. Even his clothes were torn into pieces, revealing his torso being covered with even more cuts. It was painful just looking at the man, and so Eirin could not imagine how much pain he was going through. 

Eirin walked closer, but Shade drew flames to separate the two of them as he leaned on a tree trunk. 

 "I... don't need your... help." 

He struggled even speaking, and he looked so vulnerable in the teenage girl's eyes that she could not help but feel bad for him. His eyes were filled with wariness, almost as if he could not trust anyone. Anyone, but himself. 

 "F-Fine! Stay here, I'll ask for help." 

The teenage girl turned around and tried to run for help, but the moment she did, she heard a loud thud causing her to look back. She screamed for his name with her eyes wide open. Flames that were created by Shade disappeared as he lay on the ground unconscious. No other thoughts came into Eirin's head except for helping the guy in front of her. 

 "Hey, don't die here," she said but Shade only opened his eyes to glare at her while groaning. "How am I going to leave you when you look like you're about to die the moment I take my eyes off you?" She pulled him and laid his head on her lap for support. 

Shade did not respond making Eirin panic. She slowly leaned toward him, observing his bruised face. That's when their eyes met.