Uninvited Guests

Every night is a reminder of death.

The girl's dorm is a maze infested with corners and turns; the several flights of stairs are as seemingly endless as Russian dolls; when out of sight, they appear to teleport, and the dull, blush-painted, walls are each identical to the other.

"Are you lost, my dear?" A young boy emerges with bright fiery hair contrasting his skin which is as pale as the moon. His eyes are deep and blue with a silver coating, despite his age they carry wisdom and experience amplified by his speech.

Delighted for assistance, Harmony replies, "do you know where section G is, room forty-eight?" For a school of high value, not having numbers on the doors is a surprising mishap.

"Go straight down and turn right, keep going until the first flight of stairs you meet, then head up until you come across the third set of double doors, once you do turn left and keep going, when you see a door walk through and turn right after walking down for a while..." at the sight of Harmony's confusion, the boy grins, he instead offers to show her the way.

The doorknob sends a cold tingle but soon warms up as Harmony fiddles with it, twisting and turning the handle along with her room key, her temples soon grow veins in her frustration.

A giggle sends her attention behind her. "Regrettably, I should admit that this isn't your door." The high spirited trickster leads harmony, who is now possessed by hesitation and on high alert, across the grey carpeted hallway.

Why is he even in the girl's dorms? Harmony thought in irritation.

To her surprise, he answers," to meet someone."

"How did you..." her sentence is cut through like paper.

"It's an obvious question, although I expected you to ask sooner." He stops by a door, leaving space for the half-wolf to test her key.

With a successful match, Harmony enters her new room packed with curiosity, the young boy follows inside casually.

The walls are vanilla ice cream, the wooden floor caramel with a cherry carpet by the banana flavoured bed; the plump, pink, pillow rests under the cloudy sky bordered within the single window. The toffee-like desk sticks close to the wall across from the bed as it holds up a cup of pens and pencils. The sweet sight tinged Harmony in bitterness. "Wonderful," she expressed.

"Call me Altan, its a pleasure meeting you," he bows, takes Harmony's hand, and kisses the back with the great tenderness applied when treating a wounded bird.

His silver-blue eyes absorb Harmony in the momentary silence. She feels around her teeth with her tongue before rubbing her face for anything that isn't supposed to be there. "There's nothing weird on my face is there?" The question flows with her awkwardness.

"Not at all, it's just that you're so very stunning," he admires Harmony for a while longer before a tap on the window draws Harmony's attention. "I hope to see you in class soon," Altan leaves her wide-eyed as the glass of youth encasing him shatters at her realisation that they're in fact the same age.

Before she could raise her query another thump hits her window. She draws the glass open allowing in a harsh breeze, her eyes scan the night dyed grass and thick shadows which merged with the trees, but she finds nothing unordinary. Unexpectedly, a hooded figure flies past her, landing with a roll unto her bed.

Harmony's eyes become strained in fury, "Michael, my bedsheets!" Appalled, she drags him off. Smudges of dirt and gravel are left behind.

Mike searches Harmony's left eye, pulling her eyelid slightly wider, he then places his palm on her forehead, "you okay? Do you realise where you are?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she pushes him away without much effort. "Pass on a message to Raymond for me, I think this place is linked to Wila's death."

Michael spreads the layers of cloth on Harmony's bed evenly before sitting. "Yeah, obviously, it's a school that teaches humans how to kill us."

"I don't know if you'll believe me, but If Wila's ghost led me here then maybe her death at least wasn't a normal murder," she explains with a yearning for acceptance.

"Harmony," Mike sings in disappointment, "we all deal with death differently, but what you're doing can get you killed, and Dylan's already acting up without you."

The thought of unearthing Wila's betrayal crossed Harmony's mind, however, she'd rather not awaken disrespect and disloyalty as well.

A Sudden click from the door handle reveals Nina Shaw, a towel wrapped around her body, tucked tightly under her arm, and a towel swirled around her head like icing. "What are you doing in my room?" She keeps the door open with her foot.

"I was told this is my room." Harmony's trail of wonder about whether Altan tricked her again led her to fury. Her thoughts then dwelled on why she didn't notice Nina's arrival much sooner. Harmony looked to Michael for answers but found a beaming, goofball starring mouth open at Nina.

Loud as a megaphone, Nina almost announces to every girl nearby, "Why's there a guy in the girl's dorms!" Alarmed, Harmony hushes her, playing off her claim as a joke.

"You look fire in that towel" Mike grins.

Nina's eyes meet Michael's briefly, "like I didn't know." She pushes him to a corner of nonexistence and addresses Harmony instead, "get him out."

"I'll talk to you from outside if that's what you'd like," he proposes lightheartedly.

"I don't want to talk to you at all," she declares, an arm securely angled by her waist.

Nina's comfortless words are a resilient, flexible, trampoline Michael bounces back from playfully, "I could listen to you all day and not get bored."

Harmony had already excused herself from the conversation. Melting into the background She slips through the door. Standing alone, surrounded by blank sheets of carpets and walls, she contemplated visiting a teacher; but shuddered at the nightmare of never being found in this labyrinth.

Harmony concentrates on Michael and Nina's conversation, strangely its replaced by a constant ringing which is soon followed by a leaping pounding drawing closer. Thumping, banging, and snarling quickly lead to a towering beast tumbling as it charges towards Harmony. Thick veins sprout from its red irises and a foamy white substance oozes down to the ground.

Harmony stands straight, retreating slowly, "wait, I'm one of you, I'm with Raymond's pack." The werewolf continues forward, frequently slamming its body on the wall. "Michael!" Harmony yells, wishing she could transform.

As the great monster draws nearer, Harmony narrows her body like an arrow while sliding under, pushing against the floor for velocity. She arrives behind the werewolf unharmed and slobbered on. It growls painfully before striking at the half-wolf who in return ducks.

Killing another is a taboo amongst werewolves; however, Harmony realises she would have to throw herself into raging hellfire to survive. With her nails strong as titanium, she slashes its arm then disjoins its knee with a powerful kick and dives under all in a smooth motion before it can react. She leaps onto the werewolf's back, locking its head between her elbows and twisting with all her might.

The creature bashes its back against the wall repeatedly. With her leg flat near its spine, she propels her body round, spinning the werewolves' head as she does, her stomach sinking and eyes tearing as she feels its neck snap between her arms.

"What's going on?" Nina along with a few other girls stare amazed at the sight of Harmony sliding off the dying werewolves' back. It's breathing is interrupted by gasps for air and its body trembles on the ground.

Did everyone not hear what happened until now? Vines of curiosity which enveloped the school began to grow around Harmony, thorns of dread sink deeper into her skin as she stares at her packmate; Michael, whose usual cheerfulness is obscured in dismay after witnessing her crime.