I wake up in the morning.
What a pain to have to go to school.
I get out of bed and head to the bathroom. After washing up, I stare at myself in the mirror for a few seconds. I still haven't fully gotten used to this body… or this life.
"Another shitty day…" I mutter.
I get ready and head straight to school.
On the street, I look in every direction, alert for anything out of the ordinary. Some kind of supernatural entity. Something interesting.
Nothing.
"I guess it'll be tonight," I think resignedly.
When I arrive at school, the atmosphere is lively. Too lively. The bullies are already hanging around, as usual. Then I see a car arrive that immediately draws attention.
A very beautiful girl is driving.
Madison.
The rich girl, from a good family. Her face is beautiful, her body… objectively perfect. Long legs, black hair, blue eyes. Everything about her screams unreachable.
The car itself is also a beauty, though for someone like me—who comes from the future and has seen cars in magazines and promotional videos—this model already feels old.
Still, it's not bad.
Although, to be honest, I'd much rather have a Porsche, a Lamborghini, or a Ferrari.
Yeah… that will take time.
I sigh, silently mourning my modern-era self.
I keep walking toward the classroom.
"Well, well, look who it is," a voice says. "Ryan. How are you, buddy? I heard you lost your parents in an accident."
I stop and look at who's talking.
Victor Langley.
The school bully. Good-looking, rich, and with nothing better to do with his life. Now that I think about it, Victor and Tairon were natural competitors.
One: the bad boy. Gang, motorcycle, knife, attractive face.
The other: quarterback of the school football team. Tall, muscular, money and fame.
They competed over one thing: how many girls they could sleep with.
Victor smiles mockingly. The typical grin of someone who thinks he's superior.
"Hey," he says, "can you give me some money? I heard you're about to get a nice payout. You could share a little."
He and his group of Neanderthals laugh.
Some people around us stop to watch. They're probably expecting me to lower my head and say yes, like always.
But then the bell rings.
"Hm…" Victor clicks his tongue. "Saved by the bell, idiot. But this isn't over."
Everyone disperses toward their classes.
I do the same.
Madison watches the scene without the slightest interest and keeps walking with her group of friends.
I enter the classroom and sit down.
What a drag. I should skip classes. Come every other day. Isn't that what problem kids do?
Tairon was the perfect example: a troubled teenager… though he's not alive to keep skipping school.
I make a mental note of the idea.
Class begins. Professor Robert, the math teacher, walks in.
As he explains, sleep starts to take over. So I do the logical thing.
I use magic to hide my presence.
I close my eyes.
And then I see it.
A dense, humid forest. The smell of wet earth and fresh blood hits me all at once, as if the entire classroom had been soaked in that metallic, rotten stench.
A girl runs between the trees. Bright red hair. A cheerleader uniform torn by low branches—the one from my school, blue and white, with the team logo. At first I can't see her face; only her back hunched in panic, every step clumsy and desperate.
I hear laughter.
Not normal laughter. It's cheerful, almost childlike, like kids playing… but with a sick, gurgling edge that crawls under the skin.
The girl stumbles, crying between gasps. She stops for a second, leaning against a tree, trying to catch her breath.
An arrow whistles through the air and embeds itself in the ground, right next to her thigh.
Her scream is short. Broken.
She starts running again.
Then he appears.
A tall man, a dark silhouette among the trees. He's holding a blood-stained axe, dripping something thick and red. At his feet lies the motionless body of another girl… a cheerleader from the rival school in the neighboring county. Her red-and-black uniform is torn to shreds, as if she had been dragged there after everything started.
The red-haired cheerleader speeds up, but the forest seems to close in around her, as if the trees themselves are breathing.
Then she turns her head.
Just for an instant.
Her eyes meet mine.
They're Vivian's.
Vivian, the captain of the cheerleading team.
It's not just that I recognize her. She's looking directly at me. As if she knows I'm watching her from this side. As if, somewhere between the forest and the classroom, our gazes truly crossed.
The terror on her face isn't only because of the hunter.
It's because of me.
The vision shatters instantly.
I open my eyes, my heart pounding in my throat.
Professor Robert keeps writing equations on the board as if nothing happened.
The magic is still hiding my presence. Perfect.
"So the disappearances…" I whisper. "For them, it's not a crime. It's a game."
And now, with that last glance from Vivian, I feel something worse than fear:
The certainty that this isn't just a vision of the future.
It's an invitation.
Class continues until the lunch bell rings.
I go to the cafeteria, stand in line, and buy lunch.
I look for an empty seat to eat in peace, but the calm doesn't last long.
"Hey, Ryan," a voice says. "You've got my money, right?"
Victor again.
I sigh internally. This idiot really craves attention.
"I don't have any money," I reply.
"Hehehe…" he laughs. "But if you're buying food, how can you say you don't have money?"
"That's why I don't have money anymore."
Some people stare at me, surprised by the answer.
"You have to collect your parents' life insurance," he continues. "Why don't you give us a hundred grand for protection?"
"No, thanks. I don't need it."
Who the hell needs protection when you have superpowers… you're the one who'll need it.
"Hey, asshole," Victor says, annoyed. "We're protecting you. That amount is nothing for a loser like you."
"Leave me alone," I reply. "If something happens to me, that's my problem. Besides, you're a rich kid. Why mess with other people?"
The stares intensify. The school heartthrob versus the loser. The spectacle draws attention.
Murmurs. I can hear them all. Unfortunately.
I stand up to leave. I've already finished eating.
But Victor isn't done.
He grabs a soda can and throws it at me.
Before it hits me, I make it explode.
The soda drenches him completely.
"What…?" someone mutters.
Victor freezes.
I keep walking as if nothing happened.
That's how the rest of the day ends.
When the final bell rings, I head home.
"Shit…" I think. "I have to repeat this crap all year."
I turn on the TV to watch the news.
They're talking about an eliminated gang. Looks like someone noticed what I did yesterday.
It doesn't matter.
What matters is the vision.
The forest.
The red-haired girl.
Vivian.
"I'll have to keep an eye on her," I murmur.
It won't be difficult.
In the vision, there seemed to be only one hunter… but I'm not sure.
Tomorrow I'll look for information about the missing girls from the neighboring county.
Something is moving in the shadows.
And this time… I won't look the other way.
If that hunter comes for Vivian…
maybe it's time for the clown to come out and play.