09/06/3122 YDB – September 6th, 3122
Esme Soto raced down the dimly lit street at night, heart pounding like a drum in her chest, blood trickled down her temple. She needed to find shelter, but it was so empty here, no buildings, no houses, just an empty park near her that leads to more open space.
She tried to take some slower deeper breaths as a trembling hand moved to adjust her glasses as she wiped blood off her face with an already tattered piece of her shirt that she tore off. She noticed a tiny little crack that had appeared on her right lens. I need to calm down. I need to figure out where I am. She thought to herself as she looked around.
It was so dark out that she could barely see anything but squinting into the darkness she noticed off in the distance the silhouette of Trinity Academy. Her heart soared as she finally saw a landmark she recognized.
Looking around cautiously she saw that no one was around her. Maybe she escaped, she hoped at least. Having caught her breath a bit she began running towards the school. She dropped the tattered and bloodied cloth to the ground as she felt a shiver run down her side.
From the dim light offered by the waxing moon Esme noticed something leaping over her head. Immediately she broke into a sprint only to feel something trip her from behind. She slammed her back hard onto the concrete.
Looking up in a daze she saw that a hand had grabbed her glasses before they fell with her, vision now blurred, she stared up at her assailant.
"We can't have you lose those now." A voice full of malevolence spoke. They then looked down at Esme who quivered beneath them and grinned, "You'll do perfectly. Try not to get caught immediately." They said as they leaned down towards her and Esme could only scream, but no one could hear her.
***
09/08/3122 YDB – September 8th, 3122
Monday morning Archer strolled down the street towards Trinity Academy. As he walked past other students he wondered what the second week of school life would entail. Could be nothing at all this week, nah as if. Archer thought as he reached the main gates.
There he was greeted by Esme Soto, the ever-vigilant student monitor who stood by the gates every morning to make sure students met the dress code. Esme was currently admonishing another student for having her skirt too high.
"Alright, alright. It's lower now, happy?" The girl said annoyed.
"Good now make sure I don't catch you again." Esme said tapping at her note board angrily.
"Whatever." The girl said as she stormed off.
"Bad mood this morning huh?" Archer said as he approached her.
"Oh, Archer." Esme said as she gave him a once-over, "Yes, some people don't understand that the dress code is a requirement."
"I was more so referring to you." Archer said.
"Me?" Esme said with a pause as she looked up at Archer.
"Yeah, you seemed a bit more irritable today. I think that was the first time I saw you angry." Archer teased.
"I guess I'm having an off day." She snapped before realizing that she was getting needlessly angry, "Sorry I haven't had a good couple of days."
"That's understandable." Archer said as he noticed a small crack in her glasses, "Hey did you know your glasses are damaged?"
"Huh?" Esme said in surprise, "O-oh, I guess they are. I'll need to repair them." She said as she nervously clutched at her glasses. As she did so, Archer noticed what looked to be a few specks of dried blood on the end of her sleeve.
Interesting. Archer thought watching her reaction, "Well, I'll be heading to class, see you tomorrow morning."
Archer said as he walked through the gates he didn't make it far before another familiar face met with him. Luna Foy, came speed walking towards Archer and before he could say anything she ducked herself behind him.
Archer didn't need to ask what was happening as trailing close behind her was Theo Bradly whose face soured upon seeing Archer.
"You again? What are you doing bothering her again?" Theo said giving Archer a death glare.
"Oh, yes, she just came to ask what the next subject our professor was teaching today." Archer said briefly seeing Luna's pleading eyes, "We're in the same class. Did you know that?"
"Yeah, I need some notes." Luna said nodding along.
Theo folded his arms looking unconvinced. The large muscular man stared down Archer awkwardly smiled at him. Folding his arms Theo asked, "What was she asking about?"
"Monster biology. We're learning the differences between dungeon creatures, tower creatures, and those that reside in abandoned ruins. Oh, we also are going to have a gardening class first." Archer said nodding his head as he placed his hands behind his back as he gave his speech and stood straight up.
"I can teach you if you want Luna." Theo offered.
"We should get to class, bell's going to ring soon. I'll see you later." Archer said as he received another death glare from Theo and he and Luna parted from him.
"Thanks." Luna said breathing a sigh of relief.
"I thought we agreed to keep away from each other." Archer joked.
"Sorry, I just needed to get away from him." Luna apologized.
"He's not the only one that has been following you huh?" Archer said looking amused.
"No, I couldn't leave my room over the weekend without them following behind me, it's annoying." Luna said, "Still better than being possessed."
"That is what you get for taking something that doesn't belong to you." Archer teased, "Still it does look good on you."
"Why am I being teased now?" Luna said with a pout.
"You go on in class first I'll follow behind."
"Right, no relationship." Luna said looking a bit sad.
"You'll forget about me soon."
"I doubt it."
Archer pretended not to hear as Luna entered the class and a few seconds later he followed suit. Entering the class he was surprised by the sight of not just Professor Blackowl sitting at his desk but also another teacher. She was a narrow-eyed woman with shoulder-length, light bronze-colored hair and a calm look.
As Archer sat in his seat the first bell rang and the mysterious woman introduced herself, "Hello class, I am Professor Aurea. I am the teacher of home economics. Today class 101 will be practicing home economics."
"Is that necessary? This is an academy for heroes." Annaxia said.
"Well Miss Torri, being a hero means you need to be a functioning member of society, and that includes taking care of yourself. You must learn to appreciate food and where it comes from." Aurea said which received an unpleasant eye roll from Annaxia.
"Now class come with me. We are heading over to the garden." She said happily to the groans of some. Annaxia and her two friends seemed to grumble with each other as Blackowl watched the group from the back. The door leading to the outside garden was locked and Aurea used her keycard to open it.
Roaming into the garden Archer was finally able to lay his eyes on the place. The garden area was large and there were plenty of fall vegetables growing in the gardens and near them were the fences where the animals were kept.
"Urgh, must we be in the sun? The foul rays are wreaking havoc with my ki." The student with the glasses and who wore his jacket like a cape complained. Archer wondered how he got past Esme every day with that getup.
"It builds character Kaiden." Aurea chided.
Archer frowned as he noticed one of the pigs lying prone next to the fence, which was normal, only that it appeared that it wasn't breathing.
"Luna, you take care of the garden right? How is it?" Emmra asked Luna.
"Oh it's really fun. The rabbits are adorable." Luna said smiling.
"There are rabbits here?" Emmra asked excitedly.
"Yes, they are next to the chickens, speaking of which we will be needing eggs for this experiment." Professor Aurea said.
"How many professor?" Ran Almer asked.
"Enough so everyone has at least two. We have extras in the kitchen fridges but it would be best to use the fresh ones, so I want a total of seventy-two eggs." Aurea said.
"We have that many chickens here?" Alex Murphy, Ran's scrawnier friend, asked.
"Yes the farmland for the animals is very spacious."
"I'm sure that your impoverished upbringing is wowed by that fact." Danson mocked.
Alex visibly shrank back as Ran stood in front to defend him. Aurea gave a little grin as she intermediated.
"Now, fight in your own time. Right now is class time." She said, "Now who would like to go get the eggs?"
"I will." Archer volunteered immediately.
Luna looked at Archer in concern, realizing that he shouldn't be volunteering for anything, she quickly raised her hand up, "I'll help too!"
"Can I go?" Emmra asked.
"Yes, you three should be enough. Go ahead, the baskets will be just outside the fence gate to the coop." Aurea said.
"Alright." Archer said with a nod before darting towards the coop.
"F-ranks doing the menial work, appropriate." Kenneth said, drawing the ire of Selena Schenn, but was stopped by Emmra and the blonde girl who joined their party for the dungeon.
Luna quickly jogged behind Archer with Emmra bounding behind, "Hey wait up!" She called out to them.
"How many chickens are in the coop?" Archer asked as he strode towards the fence.
"Almost a hundred." Luna asked struggling to keep pace.
"Pigs?"
"Eight?"
"Sheep, goats, cows?"
"Uh… one milk cow, a few goats and sheep for milk and wool."
"Rabbits?" Archer said as he opened the gate to the door.
"A dozen? Archer what's happening?"
"I'm not sure." Archer said entering the pens.
"Hey you forgot the baskets!" Emmra called to them.
Archer moved directly over to where the pig was laid next to the fence. He placed a hand on it, still warm. He saw that the jugular had been punctured and it looked like the pig had been drained.
"What's wrong with the pig?" Emmra asked as she handed Luna some baskets.
"Dead." Archer said as he looked around.
Ran Almer and the rest of the students were busy picking some vegetables before he noticed Archer kneeling next to a pig. Ran then turned to Blackowl and Aurea.
"Could I go help them?" He asked. Blackowl gave Aurea a tired nod and she gave him the okay. Ran nodded and quickly ran over.
"Ran?" Selena said confused.
"I'll be right back."
"What caused this?" Luna asked.
"Don't know, throat was slit. I noticed it not moving when we entered." Archer said as he got up and went over to a shed where the pigs slept. There he discovered another dead pig alone in the den. This one was different, it struggled, or at least enough to mess up the bedding.
Staring at the dirt he noticed imprints on the ground. As Luna and Emmra approached, Archer cautioned them to stop, "There's footprints careful. Another pig dead in here."
"What?" Emmra said looking horrified as Archer pulled out his phone and took a picture of the footprints and of the cuts on the pig.
"Hey, what's happening?" Ran asked as he entered the pens.
"The pigs are dead." Emmra said voice sounding a bit shaky.
"What?" Ran said as Archer moved past him and studied the tracks. Ran watched as Archer entered the coop before going to check on Emmra.
Inside the coop was far messier than the pigpen, on the floor were five chickens, necks and wings clearly broken, feathers scattered everywhere. Archer looked at where the necks were broken and seemed to have foundation makeup around them.
Archer as he headed out then saw a small pile of feathers near the entrance of the coop. Picking up a feather he sniffed it, it smelled familiar, and he carefully stashed a couple into the inside of his jacket pocket and zipped it closed. Archer then headed back out and Ran met him.
"What's in there?"
"Oh nothing good." Archer said, "Someone should tell the teachers."
"I will." Emmra said running off to get them.
Archer then stared out of the cage and at the doorway, no forced entry. Glancing at the undamaged barbed wire fences that were emplaced for the garden he doubted that they went through that way. He pondered something before noticing that Ran was also trying to gather all the clues around him. Smart, might be smart enough to win the match. Archer mused.
***
"Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable." Aurea said shaking her head in anger. After being informed about what happened, home economics class had to be cancelled early and members of the student council and monitors were called in along with a couple of teachers.
"Now if any student is found to be responsible for this they will be harshly punished, and any co-conspirators will as well." Blackowl threatened the students who all nodded along.
"Archer Griffen." Mercy Cowen said approaching Archer who stood off to the side.
"Oh, Mercy! You remember my name." Archer said with a smile.
"Of course you are involved with another black mark for this school."
"What are you- oh right, the orientation." Archer recalled nodding his head as if he was remembering a fond memory before recalling a question he wanted to ask, "Oh do you have any idea what caused the deaths?"
"Why would I tell you?" Mercy asked folding her arms.
"Well…" Archer said inhaling as he tried to think of a reason before he was hit by a familiar smell, "Huh." He muttered.
"What?"
"You live in a dorm given by the academy right?" Archer asked.
"What? Why are you asking me that?" Mercy said looking bewildered.
"Do you?"
"Uh, yes?"
"The academy also offers you food and other supplies right?"
"Yeah?"
"Like shampoo and conditioner?"
"Yes, wait why am I answering your questions?"
"Because you like me?" Archer asked hopefully.
"You're unbelievable." Mercy said rolling her eyes and leaving him.
"Thank you!" Archer called to her.
"He was right. It begins now. Time for the dark gods to understand." The student called Kaiden murmured to himself as Archer passed him.
"Hmm." Archer said as he walked over to Luna who was with Emmra.
"Oh Archer." Luna said surprised to see him approach.
"Hello all, Emmra are you doing okay?" Archer asked, she had looked shaken at seeing all those dead animals.
"Oh, hi Archer. No I'm fine. Heh, I probably look a bit pathetic, crying like that isn't appropriate for a hero." Emmra said giving a small sniffle.
"Oh no it's perfectly fine. It shows that you're kind. Which I think is the most important aspect a hero should have. So I think you are already well on your way to becoming one." Archer said with a smile.
"Wow Archer, you really have a way with words. Thank you." Emmra said with a tentative smile.
"Just saying what comes to my mind, by the way Luna, you're here purely thanks to scholarship right?" Archer asked.
"Yeah, they gave me a room, food, everything, as long as I keep my grades up." Luna said.
"Wait a full ride? Are you a genius? Most who get in on scholarships still have to pay for their stuff." Selena asked impressed.
"Oh, it's nothing." Luna said blushing.
"So they also give you shampoo and conditioner?" Archer asked.
"Yes?" Luna answered, "Why?"
"Would it be in your hair already?" Archer asked.
"Yeah?"
"This sounds weird but can I smell it really quickly?"
"Huh?" Luna said turning another shade of crimson.
"I didn't realize you were into that." Emmra said.
"What? Oh no, it's just a specific brand of conditioner I need to confirm." Archer said quickly which garnered a laugh from the other three girls.
"I think she's teasing you." The blonde girl said.
"Ah, right, or I don't know your name." Archer said extending out a hand.
"I'm Joyce, I need to thank you." Joyce said extending a delicate hand out and shaking Archer's hand.
"Oh, for what?"
"I was able to join this group because of you."
"Oh right. The dungeon." Archer recalled.
"I didn't think I was going to make any friends. But everyone was so nice." Joyce said with a bright smile.
"You would've made friends either way." Selena assured her.
"It's good to hear that." Archer said nodding her head, "Anyways, could I take a smell."
"Oh… alright." Luna said allowing him to take a whiff.
"Thank you." Archer said quickly leaning in and taking a whiff while Luna struggled to make eye contact.
"Why are you interested in shampoo brands anyway?" Selena asked eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"I just remember hearing that Trinity Academy makes their own brand of care products. Just wondering if I could get myself some." Archer said shrugging, "Has to be better than the cheap stuff I get at the convenience store."
Archer then looked around, "Hey, where is Ran? I don't see him anywhere."
"He said he wanted to try and figure out who did this." Joyce said.
"Oh okay, so what happens now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well this was supposed to take most of the morning, so now what?"
"I think we go back to class and Professor Blackowl is going to continue the math lessons." Luna said.
"Ah, and here I was hoping for an early lunch." Archer said looking disappointed. I hope I'm ahead enough to make up for it.