The flesh glob came charging towards Cehedia, its bloody flesh flaps jiggling unnaturally as it sludged its way over the corpse paste that was sprawled all across the floor. Meanwhile, the invisible force grabbed onto his legs once again, having located him due to his movement. However unlike before, the tug felt weaker, he could just barely stop himself from being completely rag-dolled towards the beast.

{Have you noticed?} echoed the voice within his head as he tried his best to fight against the mysterious force that pulled at his legs. Time was running out as the flesh-glob was only a few steps away from him, its oversized maw already agape, blood dripping from the abyssal pit of its throat.

{There’s a time gap between the movements of the beast and the force. I’m saying that the beasts aren’t the ones pulling people in, it's someone else,} continued the voice. However, it was a little too late for that realization. The beast was already in front of him, its maw surrounding him from every which direction.

{You’ve failed. It’s my turn now,} said the voice right as the beast snapped its maw shut. Cehedia’s vision went dark for a split second, before an incoherent series of events flashed into vision. One moment he was in the flesh glob's mouth, the next he was standing atop its body, his body completely drenched in blood. In the next scene, he was running after some girl, her face twisted in horror, a flash later and she was lying on the ground beneath him, her clothes soaked in her blood.

This went on, the visions would come in sudden flashes and it seemed as if he was teleporting from one place to another. And though he was no longer in control of his body, the thoughts driving him were clear. “Person using the mist. Must kill. Kill before they recover. Kill before they kill me.” The mantra kept his body moving, and with every incorrect kill he got, he could feel himself slowly slipping into insanity. Whatever was controlling him fed on his bloodlust, it used the mantra as an excuse to kill people and to take even more control over his mind.

Cehedia couldn't tell how many hours had passed by of him watching the slaughter, at this point, his mind was just barely holding on, his sanity on its final threads. Another scene. In front of him was a raggedly dressed girl, the same one who had run through the portal first. Her nose was bloody, and her bare skin was showing through the rips in her clothing. Though she was in bad shape, Cehedia’s body wasn’t doing much better either. He had a bone in his right hand, its entirety coated in a black glow. His arms were riddled with cuts and bruises, and the blood on his body had begun to dry, making his skin feel even more irritated than usual. Cehedia raised his hand to bludgeon the girl using the bone as a club.

The last thing he saw was a cat staring at him from afar, it felt like a dream, what was a cat doing there.

*Meow*

***

[O-ow.] Every fiber of Cehedia’s being hurt. It felt as if he had been hit by a bus, melted, frozen, and reassembled all wrongly. In fact, though he had gained consciousness several minutes ago, it took him some time to actually muster the strength to open his eyes.

“Where am I?” he tried asking, though his words came out as hoarse whispers.

“The infirmary. To be honest, I thought you’d never wake,” replied a voice that came from behind him. Cehedia tried his best to turn around but found that his body was in so much pain, that he couldn’t even do that much.

“Don’t bother turnin. You’re in worse shape than me. I heard the doctors talk about you, they said it was a miracle you survived. No such thing as miracles, I mean they should know that much at least,” the boy mumbled on.

“Must’ve had it pretty rough in the entrance exams. Lucky you survived though, what with that mist going around leading people to their deaths. I was doing pretty well meself, until a flesh glob blindsided me. The mist was no good, couldn’t even see past me hands. Not that it matters much anymore anyway, we made it.”

“Made it?” whispered Cehedia, fighting the pain that radiated from his throat as he spoke.

“Yeah, the entrance exams, we passed. Didn’t you know? Or was you already passed out when the agents arrived?”

“Passed out,” Cehedia mumbled to himself, remembering that he had lost control of his body just under an hour after the entrance exams started.

“Well, your lucky you woke up when you did. Opening ceremony is in two days, heal up quickly or you’re gonna miss it. This isn’t no normal academy, being late to your first day isn’t going to cut it mate,” said the boy as his voice seemed to come closer.

“I’m Jerod, from the Ulster Hive. Nice to meet you,” said the boy as he came into Cehedia’s view, holding out his left hand for a handshake. He was a redhead with pale skin and freckles all over his face. His right arm rested on a bandage sling, and he walked around with a crutch. His ocean blue eyes seemed to look down on Cehedia in pity, though Cehedia had been used to such glances, this one was a tad different. It wasn’t the sort of pity that held indifference behind it, rather this one was genuine, as if the boy really sympathized with his current state.

“I guess talking is painful for you. Thought I’d make me a new friend while I was here. The others probably already formed their little cliches, can’t be left behind now can we?” the boy said before turning around to go back to his bed.

“Cehedia, Geneviv Hive,” whispered Cehedia, using all his strength, and fighting through the gut-wrenching pains that ran through his body as he lifted up his hand to shake Jerod’s.

“Calm down mate, you didn’t have to go through all that fuss. It was just a handshake,” replied Jerod, though the look in his eyes instantly changed. Right now he wasn’t looking at some sick chap who he had to feel pity for, but an equal, even though the other was completely wrapped in bandages and was on multiple machines.