first mission

Our post-graduating training goes on without a hitch. We ended up going to a secluded forest about a day away from my village. It was a forest full of weak Spirits, but it was great practice and a lot of fun. Before I know it, the post-graduate training is ending. There's only one thing left to do, and that is September 9th's Day of Darkness. This time, we don't only get to watch. No…this time, we're going to be fighting.

 Our teams are randomly assigned, and I find myself partnered up with Marc and Lance. Kael is off at another hotspot, and he has Mira, as well as some other person that we don't really know. Kavella and Natalia are together at a third hotspot, and they are joined by Ms. Borden. The new trainees this year are going to be watching Kavella's group. My group doesn't have an audience.

 "I'm Gerald," says a man who is standing before us. We are at the hotspot closest to the village, which notoriously has high Imp activity.

 "I'm your Squad Leader for today."

 Marc, Lance, and I nod in unison. "You listen to what I say," he cautions. "Or you'll have a hell of a lot more to worry about than Spirits."

 That doesn't seem too hard, especially because the act of killing Spirits is thoughtless. We've been through so much training, it will be like nothing.

 I guess Imps are a different story, though. Besides that Gremlin Kavella and I fought in the Arcon's Nest, I haven't actually fought against anything as tough as an Imp. Supposedly their touch is hot enough to scorch your skin, and they have been known to use an Animus technique that can set a person on fire. As such, they need to be killed immediately before they can pose a threat. They are also known to have a dark red skin, but they are covered in ashes and dust, which often gives them the appearance of being gray.

 I notice Marc is quivering a little bit. "It's no big deal," I whisper to him. I don't want Lance or Squad Leader Gerald to know that he is terrified. "We've been through this, Marc, we got this."

 He stabilizes himself. "I know. Thanks, Sigmund."

 All of us are wearing our official Spiritguard uniforms now. Those consist of white pants and a white and blue padded top. The blue is the color of the morning sky, and it looks really great. Our boots are white, as well, to go with the rest of the outfit. The whole outfit comes with a light blue cloak that we can wear over it. Lance and Marc are wearing their cloaks, and so is the Squad Leader, but I am not. You'd think wearing white was bad, but we have an Animus technique that removes the dirt from the specially-designed outfit, so it is always sparklingly clean.

 I pull out my sword as the red moon begins to rise. I am still using the sword that is provided by the Spiritguards. I decided not to use Crossed Heart until after my first mission. If I can prove myself here, I'll consider myself worthy of that sword.

 "Hey, you remember that competition we had?" Lance calls out to me. I look over at him curiously. "We said on our first Day of Darkness, whoever kills more Spirits with their sword wins!"

 "Wins what?" I smirk.

 "Who knows!"

 I sense a portal opening up near us, and our first mission has officially begun.

 Not just one, but two portals have opened, one on each side of the group. I rush out and slash across an Imp Spirit before it has even fully appeared. As I turn around, I see Lance has gotten to the other one.

 "One to one!" I shout. Squad Leader Gerald rolls his eyes. He's obviously not one for games. As the day goes on, Marc gets involved too. We're at seven kills each for Lance and I, and Marc is trailing behind with three. Squad Leader Gerald hasn't killed any, he said he'd leave them to us since we seemed to be having a lot of fun. He's not just being lazy, though. He watches every Imp as it appears and he still has his sword drawn, just in case.

 The Squad Leader braces his sword, however, when a large portal opens up right in front of him. We are all standing a bit of a distance away from him, and we watch curiously. There hasn't been any portals in the past twenty minutes, and this one seems a little bit different from the others.

 There is a flash of red, and suddenly there is a woman standing before the Squad Leader. Well…no. It's not really a woman, but rather a humanoid Spirit. That's incredibly rare. I look to Lance. Getting a kill on a Spirit like that would be worth ten Imps! That could settle this. Whoever kills her will be the winner for sure.

 Of course, the Squad Leader is the first to strike. He swings at her in a panic, and completely misses. He then falls to the ground. I'm about to go run to his rescue when I see that Lance is already on it. He has his sword ready, and he's about to reach the Squad Leader to protect him.

 The female Spirit looks down at the Squad Leader and a vicious smile curls around her lips. She snaps the pale fingers on her right hand and suddenly I see the Squad Leader burst into flames. I hear a horrible scream and in mere moments he is nothing but ash. Just like we do to the Spirits. She killed him in mere moments.

 Her head jerks in the direction Lance is standing in, and I see her retract her claws. I know I should do something and intervene, but I feel my legs lock. All I can do is look, and I am terrified. The Spirit is wearing a deep purple gown, her hair long and black. It reaches down to the ground, and is trailing behind her. I grip my sword and I am about to charge her when I see her long hair rise from the ground and speed toward Lance.

 My jaw drops. Her hair has turned into spikes and has pierced through Lance's body not once, not twice, but seven times. I suddenly feel a deep wave of hopelessness as I see Lance's body drop down onto the ground. Marc is curled up into a ball and terrified out of his mind, and who wouldn't be?

 I just saw two people die right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything to save them. The Spirit is starting to walk up to me, now, and I feel my sword slip out of my hand. It's useless, I think. What the hell am I supposed to do!? I feel like I have sleep paralysis. Is this a dream?

 This happens to me a lot when I wake up. I am unable to move my body, even though I am completely aware of what is going on. That same thing is happening right now. I can't move anything. Why can't I move!?

 She reaches out and grabs my chin, lifting me up so that I can see her face. She looks just like a normal person, but I know she isn't. This bitch is a monster.

 I'm too scared to speak. I have never felt so powerless in my life. Is this really what two years of training has done for me? I've just let two of my comrades die, and now I'm next. This really can't be how it ends. How can this be so cruel? Why is this even happening? Nothing like this has ever happened before. We're supposed to be fighting Imps! Why the hell is this woman standing here in front of me, looking into my eyes!?

 "I can see you are too afraid to speak, human," the Spirit's voice echoes and sounds so harsh on my ears I feel like they should be bleeding. "I must make a pact with one human, if I am to stay in this world. Otherwise, I'll be gone within minutes. It will be you," she says. "You are the one. You are a soldier, but you are too weak to stand against me. I will have no fears giving you the power to kill me."

 She says this and then removes a pendant from around her neck. It is sparkling with an iridescent shine. She drops the pendant into my hand and then knees me in the stomach. After that, she starts to walk away.

 She's walking right by Marc, and I look back at her. She hit me so hard I think I might have broken a rib. I still can't bring myself to move, but all I can think about is how much I want Marc to be safe.

 Please don't notice him. Please don't!

 She's almost passed him when her head turns to the side. "Oh. There is another one of you," she says dispassionately. She snaps her fingers and I see Marc Olsen ignite. I tried to shout out. To do something. I am completely motionless. I can't…I can't do anything.

The last thing I hear from him is a cry of despair. My friend. Charred. Lifeless.

 The Spirit starts to run, after she kills him, in the direction of town. I can't move, or speak, or do anything to stop her. Why is my body choosing a time like this to shut down on me!?

 Why am I…useless…?

 I feel myself starting to lose consciousness. Then suddenly, I'm out. My last bitter thoughts as I hit the ground are that I hope this is all just a terrible dream.