Darkness crowded the corners of my mind, dragging me further into the depths of the void. I was slipping from existence. Again, and again, and again. It happens every night. Every night I'm forced to relive the nightmare of my petty existence. Every night I'm forced to drown in darkness. But tonight was different. Tonight he was there, he shone brightly, leading me out of the dark. His hair flowing as though there was a cool winter's breeze drifting within the usually lonely void. His eyes welcomed me and cradled me to sleep;they hugged me and kept me safe. The darkness slowly melted away as he reached towards me, his hands rough against my pale skin. Maybe I'll no longer have to suffer. Maybe he'll save me.

Day 2

Strife stood downstairs in his dining room talking with his mum about the events at school yesterday.

"You shouldn't take off that glamour ring around your neck, you don't want to scare anyone, hun." His mum said casually as she laid the table, making sure all the plates had an even amount on them.

"Yeah, yeah. I know but Sips was being incredibly rude and insulting. Do you know what he called Rythian?" Strife spoke loudly, hoping to get his point across.

"Yes I know sweetheart, you've said it about twenty times already. But please don't repeat such language in front of your father." The sweetness of white chocolate laced within her voice.

"I thought he was going to America on a business trip, is he not?" Strife pushed himself off the chair he was leaning against and checked the sets of plates and cutlery. Three. Three sets of plates. He was back.

"I'm sorry sugar, just eat quickly and then you can go and meet Xephos outside. Or perhaps Rythian, he's normally up at this time."

Strife gulped back air as he tried to steady his breathing, loud footsteps came from the hollow stairs nearby, his skin felt freezing and he felt tears wet his face. He looked at his mum, turned around and ran. Before he could leave a hand grabbed his shoulder. His breathing stopped and his eyes became a piercing red.Dagger-like teeth shot down from his gums as he gazed over his shoulder at his father.

"Let go." He growled.

"Where do you think you're going?" His father questioned.

"I'm going to school."

"Oh no you're not, you're staying here and eating breakfast."

"Maybe if you let go of me I might, but first get the fuck off me." Strife began to raise his voice.

"You do NOT use language like that with me!" His father yelled.

"LET GO!" Strife lunged.

There was a flash of red and green as Strife tore his father's arm off of him, Strife's breathing was deep. He glanced over at his father once before picking up his bag and storming out the house.

---

Sjin walked around the field and checked the harvest. The wheat was blooming nicely this year, much like last year. I mean, they had to have a good harvest ,otherwise, the village would have a decrease of food available to them. They had already begun to harvest the apples in the orchards, the grapes in the vineyard and the potatoes from the patch. It was hard work but rewarding. His mother, father and himself all had to pitch in and harvest all they could, no matter how much they harvested, people still demanded more. He bent down to inspect the ground to make sure that there was enough water to allow the plant to flourish even more so than it had already. The events from yesterday were still ripe in his mind: the sudden darkness, the flash of teeth and claws, the blood. Everything descended into chaos. He hoped today would be better.

Light drizzle began to fall from the mid-September sky as grey clouds loomed over Sjin's head. He knew he was already going to be late for school. There was water running down the lane as he thought of how the teacher would react, he would be missing art first,then physical education but isn't farming enough physical labour. Sjin sighed at the thought of more strenuous exercise and what they'd be doing, he knew they'd be inside, but the question was where they would be. Perhaps the drama studio, or possibly even the canteen. A sudden cold breeze brought him back into reality as he continued down the road. Maybe it was because he was sleep-deprived. Or perhaps it was because he forgot to have breakfast that morning. But there was something off about the road ahead, it seemed as though it was flickering...almost as if there was a film of some sort playing over the top. He stopped.

---

Tired and extremely bored, Rythian sat in art doodling, that counts as art right? Well, that's what he thought. Whilst other people in the class sat waiting for the teacher, he had no one to talk to.Ridge and Xephos sat in the corner talking and were ,almost almost, sat cuddling each other. On the other hand, no one had seen Strife which was unusual as he was normally early, but today he was late. Why? Rythian's question was answered when the entire class fell into an uncomfortable silence as the door crashed open. People began hiding behind their books and didn't dare look as whatever-it-was stormed in. Rythian jumped as the chair next to him was thrown backwards and dragged back in. He didn't dare ask what happened, but he was curious. Strife was shaking and Rythian swore he saw a tear trail down his cheek.

"Hey, you alright?" Strife shook his head.That was a stupid question as Rythian knew Strife wasn't alright. "Your dad's back isn't he." A simple nod.

"D-do you think I could go to yours after school?" Stuttered Strife weakly, his voice barely audible over the noise of the now hyperactive class.

"Of course Strife, your always welcome at mine, you know that." Strife looked up at Rythian and smiled, genuinely smiled.

Something or someone made the entire class fall into a fit of giggles.

"Parv you moron!" Someone managed to say through their laughter.

Rythian suddenly looked up and smiled as he saw someone sat on the floor with glitter in their hair and pretty much their entire body. Strife's smile got even brighter as he realised who it was. His eyes began to become the bright shade of green they normally were and his ampullae began to glow ever-so-slightly.

"Hello, class!!" Someone suddenly shouted.

"Shit," Parv hissed.

"Alexander, why are you covered in glitter?"

"It's Sparkles' fault, trust me please!"

"Okay, I trust you."

Parv sighed and went to sit back down. He laughed slightly as he began shaking his head to get as much glitter as he could out of his hair. Glittered floated onto the desk as he shook violently. Everyone around him laughed as glitter stuck to his skin and fell down his shirt. He scowled menacingly at Sparkles* as he finally sat down.

"Alright, is everyone here?" Ms. Zyara - one of the maidens - asked as she gazed around the room. There was a vacant space where Sjin should have been but she already knew why. "I guess he'll be here later."

The rest of the lesson continued on normally until it reached the break. Everyone left the classroom covered in paint and various other artistic materials. Everyone went over to where they had p.e. and got changed into suitable clothing. The male teacher swaggered in and smiled at them. It was the kinda smile that you start worrying about what was about to happen. Their answers were answered shortly answered when he waved his hand, separating the class up into two teams - mainly friendship group based. Parv stood on one side - the blue side - and Strife stood on the other - the red side. Three balls were lined up in the centre of the hall, waiting for someone to grasp them. Ridge smirked across the room at Kirin, who was holding onto Lying tightly, unwilling to let go. Most people may have looked at it as being dominance, but in all honesty, Lying knew what he was getting into, and knew that Kirin was a territorial Fae bastard.

A sharp whistle alerted the class that the game had begun. Strife decided it would be best to stay back and let the more athletic people fight it out, it seemed that Parv was doing the same. They smiled at each other from across the room - carefully dodging anything that came flying towards them. There was laughter and just general enjoyment irradiating from the class, everyone secretly hoped that this would be every lesson, and not just occasionally. So far only a few people had gotten out, mainly because they'd been used as meat shields by their close friends - that's how Sparkles* got out anyway. After an hour or so of playing everyone began to tire and didn't have as much enthusiasm as they did at the start.

Sjin stood outside the gym and pondered about whether or not he should just walk in, it was a difficult situation as he suddenly felt exceedingly self-conscious and very anxious. It wasn't like him to be so scared about walking into a class of people he knew well and got on with, but something inside him just made him shake. He wasn't sure if it was the fact that it was his first pe lesson, or if it was the fact that there was something strange on his way to school that made him look a lot more than twice. Once he'd built up enough courage to walk in, he pushed the door open. Just as he looked up, he was greeted with a ball to the face - not the kind he appreciated.

"Fuck!" Sjin exclaimed a little louder than he'd wanted.

"Woah, are you okay?" Rythian shouted as he ran over to Sjin, holding him up since he felt Sjin falling.

"No, I'm not okay. I just got a fucking ball to the face."

Rythian managed a faint chuckle before replying with:"Yeah, that was stupid of me to ask. I don't have the most intelligent questions today." Rythian continued holding Sjin close to his chest until he felt a wet patch appear, he titled Sjin's head upwards and gasped in surprise. "Your bleeding! Come on, let's get you outside."

Rythian practically picked Sjin up as they both rushed outside. Magic weaved across Sjin's face, patching him up and stopping the bleeding that there was. Sjin was glad that Rythian was there as he could control his magic fully, unlike some of the other people on the island. He also felt comfortable in his grasp, as if he was being surrounded in a warm blanket. A complete contrast to his room in the attic, his thin blankets at night, the baths in the river, the cold harvest mornings.Sleep wrapped around his mind as he felt himself drift off into unconsciousness. Darkness soon enclosed him.

Music came quickly after lunch and everyone enjoyed messing around on the instruments, especially when Rythian decided to mess around with the violin. He began softly so that only he could here, before picking up the pace into something that could only be described as tavern music; it was accompanied by the sounds of the piano (courtesy of Strife) and the electric guitar (courtesy of Ridge). Everyone soon stopped and listened to them, they nodded their heads happily, enjoying the sound of the music. After they finished, the members of Area 11 began playing various notes until they fell into a song, it's fascinating really, how comfortable they were with each other. You'd have to be if these were the only other children your age. Seconds melted into minutes, then minutes into hours until darkness began to settle in the room. An orange glow masked each of the teenagers as they played their music and continued to laugh and smile.

Everyone forgot about their troubles. Everyone forgot about going home. Everyone forgot the time.