The Shadow of Eudaimonia

Chapter 12: Rendezvous of Four

Calvin was trying to listen to his most hated teacher, Mrs. Rodriguez's discussion on antimatter and its destructive effect when it interacts with regular matter but the rain outside made him fidgety. Two hours from now they will be dismissed. And the bad thing was that he did not bring any umbrella. Even if he did bring one, how will he be able to hold it while walking with crutches? He sighed silently as he wished the rain would stop by now so that he can go home dry and safe.

"Ma'am?" one of his classmates, the one next to him, suddenly blurted out making the teacher stop. However, Mrs. Rodriguez did not look at Calvin's seatmate but instead she stared at Calvin with terrified eyes. His other classmates, curious, took a peek and they gave Calvin the same response: fear and bewilderment.

Calvin wasn't sure what was going on until someone shouted "His eyes are glowing! What the fuck!" In panic, some of them stood up and went to the other corner of the room, while others were stuck to their seats, phones at hand, perhaps waiting for what was about to happen next. It was dead silent. Too silent that Calvin realized that the pitter-patter of the rain had disappeared and what was left was silver clouds looming over the horizon as if painted with watercolor.

Calvin was as confused as them. He doesn't know what the fuck was happening either.

"Calvin, you've awakened your Obelisk. Finally."

Calvin looked at the familiar peachy voice. Cleo was slowly walking up to him, her hands up in front like she's telling a wild animal that she's no threat.

Calvin's heart sank to the ground. "What-what did you say?"

"What the fuck is going on?" Tony screamed.

"Hey you two, what is—is this a prank?" Mrs. Rodriguez stammered.

Cleo was now at arm's length from Calvin when they heard a commotion outside. Suddenly, a tall boy drenched from the recent rain flung Calvin's classroom door open and bolted inside. They met eyes and Calvin knew from the ferocity of the glare of the boy's teal blue eyes that he was after him.

In a blink, the boy magically appeared in front of him and pressed on his chest where his weird scar was imprinted. Cleo yanked the boy away and kicked him in the chest with ease despite wearing a skirt. The impact made the boy fall back at the other end of the room. Calvin's classmates now began to scream. Within the commotion, Cleo turned to Calvin, held his arm, and patted his chest exactly where the boy had touched him.

"You're..." the boy muttered, coughing in between as he recovered from Cleo's attack. "Ortus, aren't you?"

Calvin's eyes widened in disbelief. He heard that name before. "Zombie lady?" he asked meekly.

"Let go of Veross now or I'll break your arm."

"You can try young Shijian." Cleo challenged.

"What the fuck are you two talking about? I'm not Veross you dumb idiots!" Calvin shouted. He tried to pull his hand away from Cleo's grip but her long sharp nails had already dug on his skin; his blood painted her fingertips red. Calvin winced from the stinging pain.

Cleo glared at the remaining students in the classroom. Then her eyes glowed red and she jerked her head, pointing at the mysterious boy she called Shijian. Quickly, the students, including Mrs. Rodriguez, the old and corpulent lady that Calvin hated so much, spasmed violently, their fingers curling inwards at uncomfortable angles. Calvin likened them to worms salted into their death. They continued twitching until their eyes turned completely black, their wide-open mouths creating a guttural sound as if they're drowning from their own saliva. And then they turned silent. Unmoving like a statue for a second before they rampaged towards Shijian like creatures of the dark.