His dad was coming soon. It wouldn’t be long before he was free from this place. This prison. He’d have the whole world to roam.

He waited for a few more minutes listening for signs of life. Nothing. He pulled himself out from under the bed, pausing to make sure no one had heard him, that whomever was looking for him was not coming back.

He pressed his back to the wall and peered out the open door, seeing no one. If he made it to administration building he could take a train to Clearwater. No. They’d look for him there. He swiped the intricate tattoo graphed to his wrist against the closet panel. His inherited religion didn’t allow for implants, aiming for a pure human race. The Enhanced were an abomination as far as the Red Order was concerned, the results of man playing at being god. He was taught that it was human arrogance unleashed the demon plague onto the world.

He heard the closet mechanism shift as it aligned to the right wardrobe, matching the registered user. The door slid open, revealing an empty closet. Where did his stuff go? Had they sent it back home already? He wanted his winter coat. He had no choice, he’d have to brave the cold to reach the administration building and train station. He’d be warm on the train, but if he reached any of the towns too late, he’d be subjected to curfew laws or worse, have to spend the night outside. He’d have to go the Clearwater. From there he would catch the earliest train to head as far south as the line would take him with the credits that he had. Townies were dumb, he might be able to pass as twenty five and skip the whole war tour thing entirely. What were they going to do? Turn him in? Those people were bound to be desperate for a hard worker. They’d look the other way.

He peered down the hall for signs of life. Nothing. It was now or never.

He crept down the hall, peeking into rooms as he past them by. There was usually a student or two lingering in their rooms catching up on studies, but not today. The convenience of the emptiness of the hall was more than a little odd; it felt wrong. Where had everybody gone? It was getting to be late in the day. Given how early the sun set in the winter, curfew was enforced much earlier, sometimes as early as three in the afternoon, leaving students housebound until lights-out at nine in the evening. Students should be coming in from their day out. This was all wrong.

He strained his hearing as he reached the stairs. On a floor above him, the steady foot fall wandered the halls, making its way to the main stairs. He’d have to move fast if he didn’t want to be caught.

William took to the stairs two, sometimes three at a time, cringing against the loudness of his escape. He had made mad dashes to class so often, that his feet struck the familiar pattern without much thought. He couldn’t slow down now. The shift in the steady thump of heavy boots against the floor made William’s heart race.

By the time he had reached the main floor, William knew that he was being watched. He knew that if he’d turn around he’d see his fears manifested. Despite himself, he chanced a look up the stairs.

Staring back at him was a man in a black and white uniform William had never seen before. His dark coat hung open to adjust to the warmth of being indoors. Just a regular man whose left side of his face was so marred with scars that his missing left eye was barely noticed. His left coat arm was hallow, while his right reached of something on his hip.

“Mr. William Mathers, I am Agent Rosendale of the E.M.I. We need to ask you a few questions,” the man said as his coat transformed into massive leathery wings. His remaining eye burned yellow and William was sure the creature was about to leap from the stairs to chase after him.

E.M.I.? He hadn’t heard of them before. Every fiber of his being told him that this guy was bad news. William trusted his instincts and bolted into the cold. “Mr. Mather’s wait!” the man called as he ran after him.

William crossed the threshold of his dorm into the flooded street. His steps splashed in less than an inch of water, announcing his escape. The winter air had lost its bite, warmed even. He tucked down an alley, sucking in his chest as he squeezed through the narrow space between two residential buildings. The water pushed against his ankles.

The monster-man slid to a stop at the gap. It reached in with a massive claw but William was too far away to get hold of. Steam billowed from the monster’s scarred face, as though the scars were hundreds of small mouths exhaling in frustration. His yellow eye burned at William. “We just need to ask you a few questions. We know you’ve been through a lot but you might be able to help us save lives. We can’t afford to waste any time!”

Lies! They’re going to kill you and eat your body.

William pulled himself to freedom for second time that day. He looked down the alley and saw that the monster-man had moved on. Dark water pushed against the back of his knees as though insisting that he should go back. As he peered down the street, he wondered if a water main had burst somewhere nearby.

A chime rang across the campus intermingled with the distant beat of a drum. He stared up at the sky as he often did when announcements were made, as though searching for the source of the automated message. He knew that there were speakers on the buildings, but he could never point them out. He had taken to the stupid first year game, knowing he’d have two chances to spot a speaker as the message repeated itself. Not knowing what to look for, he had yet to win a round. He was sure, no one had ever seen the speaker. As though it was a rite of passage, the fourth years would pass on the game to the first years by pointing and saying: “It’s right there, can’t you see it?”

Lazy clouds swam across the late afternoon sky. Beneath them a second set of dark clouds rumbled into world. They were the oddest clouds he had seen in his life. The clouds revealed a twilight sky that was seen through them, as through the grey sky didn’t exist at all. ‘Is this a demon gate?’ he wondered. He had overheard Hunters at the monastery talking about them, with a sense of awe and dread. If ever one opened, a legion of demons could enter their world. At the time, it sounded to William like they were looking for gates, which made sense if the Red Order happened to have a legion of Hunters to fight the demons that came through. A pre-emptive strike could change the tides of war, especially if the Red Order could control where the gate opened.

In the background the automated voice called in a dull crackling tone, like a voice lost in static. “All students, please attend festivities at the central courtyard. Festive food and drink shall be served. All students, please attend festivities at the central courtyard. Festive food and drink shall be served.”

He waded through the dark water toward the main avenue as the subtle tide pushed against his hips. His escape was slow. It wouldn’t be long before he’d have to swim into deeper waters. He laughed at himself for such a stupid thought, but he felt his resolve to escape dampen. There had to be a way around this mess.

He gave up when the water had risen to his chest. The push back of the tide wasn’t a suggestion anymore. He stared down the main road, searching for signs of the administration building in the dying light. Waves washed toward him in firm strokes. He got the sense that he was swimming in a living thing. The thought made him uncomfortable. If he made it angry, would it drown him?

It looked like the whole campus was flooded in dark water. There was no escape. Not for him. Not for anyone. Every step he took with the tide, the water level dropped a little at a time. The water was pushing him toward something. He laughed at himself for such a stupid thought. Exhaustion was making him imagine the impossible. He saw the educational towers ahead of him. Where it had all started….

The strange clouds filled the sky with their twilight fog, drowning out the real world. The scent of flowers opening after fresh rain mingled in the air as the twilight chimed an ancient song. The vastness of it all forced his breath to his stomach where it fretted. He felt insignificant under the eyes of a countless stars, like they were living beings capable of judgement.