The Hunters (Alexander’s story)

The morning bell woke me up. After our morning duties we had our baths. The bell for breakfast was rung and we went for breakfast.

Today was Saturday. We don have classes today. After breakfast, we went to the gym for dodgeball practice. Coach Jonathan—the sports master—said the boys in Grade 8 could have a dodgeball game since we don have class today.

In the gym, Coach Jonathan divided us in two teams and assigned captains. There were ten people in each team. Luke—a friend of mine—was the captain of the first team, which I was in. Dylan was the captain of the other team.

Coach Jonathan blew his whistle. ”Ok young athletes. I want a clean match. If a ball hits you, you are out. If anyone catches the ball you threw, you are out. No forceful throwing, please. Now lets begin. ”

The game was good and fun. I had eliminated three boys from the other team. It was good until Mr Clark came and whispered something in coach Jonathans ear, and they left the gymnasium. Mr old kill joy.

”Come on guys lets show this losers what dodgeball is really like. ” Dylan told his teammates, who were all bad boys. I wonder why Coach Jonathan put all the bad boys in one team. They started throwing balls really hard.

After they knocked out three boys, others ran and hid anywhere they can. Only I, Darrin and Luke were remaining.

Dylan threw a ball and it hit Lukes abdomen. He fell and held his abdomen.

”Ok, thats it. ” I said and we started throwing forcefully too, while avoiding being hit by a ball. We had hit four boys each, so it remained Dylan and Ricky—Dylans best friend.

Dylan threw a ball at me. I caught it and threw it back. The ball hit him really hard on his forehead and he fell. Ricky wanted to throw a ball at me, but Darrin quickly threw a ball on his abdomen. Coach Jonathan came in at the moment.

”Whats going on here? I just left for five minutes and you have turned this to dodgeball battle. ” He yelled.

”Sir it was Dylans team that started it. ” Luke said and we nodded in agreement.

Coach Jonathan faced Dylan. ”Dylan, I should have known better than to make you the captain of the team. Youve turned this to something else. Ok, dodgeball is over. Everybody out. ”

Darrin and I took Luke to the dormitory and made sure he was okay, then we went to our bunk bed. After some minutes, we decided to play soccer with the boys that were already playing. Saturday in school was terribly boring, though it is kinda like a free day for us.

We took our jerseys and changed in the bathroom. Then we made our way to the soccer pitch. As we were just coming out from the hostel, I accidentally bumped into two girls who happened to be number two and three on my Not my favorite people list.

”Hey watch it dumpster boy. ” Mabel said in her usual rudeness. She was one of the rude girls in school. She acts like some kind of celebrity just because her parents were wealthy. Boys, also, are always boosting her ego as they are always around her, though they are not with her now. She was beautiful though (can believe I just said that) with her long black hair and ice-blue eyes.

”Yeah, we don wanna get infected with the bacteria you get from dumpster. ” Her friend, Veronica, added. She was just like Mabel, though she was not so rich. She acts bitchy because she had the best voice in the choir and she was always the lead singer in any performance. If not for that, I don think students would even know she exists.

Both of them were wearing white T-shirt and leggings—Mabels was black while Veronicas was grey—with pink sneakers and they were eating a snow cone.

”Look, we don have time for idiots like both of you. ” Darrin said.

”Oh please. Like we have time to talk to you two. I should give you guys some fashion tips cause you look ridiculous in that jerseys. ” Mabel said.

”Who cares if we look ridiculous? Uh, lets go Darrin. ” I said frustratingly. This girls knows how to ruin someones happy day, like Dylan.

”Awn, are you scared dumpster boy? ” Mabel said and laughed.

”You two should better shut up or I will… ” Darrin started to say and I pulled him. ”Lets go. ” I pulled him away before he does something he would regret later.

”Those girls are so…ah. ” He muttered as we walked.

”Lets just ignore them. ”

”Well the next time they insult us, Ill make sure they get a scar on their faces. ”

By the time we finished playing soccer, it was thirty minutes past two. Lunch is in thirty. We took a shower and solved some math equations before the lunch bell was rung.

After lunch, we took our clothes to the laundry house and washed them. Then we had prep from four to six. Then we had dinner.

All this while, for some reasons, Dylan hadn disturbed me today, except in the gym. Even in dinner he sat on the other bench. My lucky day.

After dinner, we had our night routine and drifted to sleep.

*****************

I opened my eyes. I was standing on the middle of our dormitory. Ok, how did I get here? Was I sleepwalking? That gotta be it.

I went to my bed and found someone sleeping on it. What? Who had the guts to sleep on my bed? The first person that came to my mind was Dylan. But as I looked closer, I was shocked. The person was me. I was standing right beside my bed looking at me sleeping.

The logical explanation I can think of now is that I sleepwalked in other dormitory where someone looks exactly like me. Nah, thats stupid. Then, those it mean Im dead, and Im looking at my body? Wait, how did I die and whos responsible? Dylan. He must have done something. Maybe that was why he hasn caused any trouble today. I should have known he is planning something. Now my carelessness has gotten me killed.

I discarded that idea when I saw my chest rising and falling, indicating I was breathing. Phew! I was alive. Then whats going on?

I was about to tap the other me, when I saw a fire-like light from the corner of my eyes, coming from the last bunk on the right where my bunk bed happened to be in. The bunk bed, no. 20 belonged to Dylan and Ricky. Mine was 15.

What was Dylan doing now? I started walking to his bed to check. Then, Dylan started coming towards I froze. The face was Dylans, but was this really him?

His skin was like the colour of fire, orange, and it seemed to be emitting light the way fire does. His red hair was emitting black smoke and as he exhaled, smoke came out of his nostrils. He was on his red pyjamas. And he was coming right towards me.

So this is how Dylan chose to kill me. In this monstrous form. His face showed no expression. Maybe I should apologize for all the troubles I caused him. He might spare me. Uh, no he won . It would only make him seem superior. And I couldn get a word from my mouth. Maybe I should run.

Whats the point? He is a monster. Before Ill be able to reach the door, he would have killed me. Meanwhile, Dylan was getting closer to me. I should just embrace my fate. Dear God, save me.

But Dylan walked through me, like I was a hologram. He didn see me, thank goodness. Wait, he walked through me? Was I a spirit? No, my body is alive. Whats going on?

Maybe I shouldn have, but I shouted. ”Dylan. Dylan. ” He didn even stop. He couldn hear me either.

I decided to follow him to see what he was up to. I followed him to the hostel door which was locked. I wondered how he would open it.

He brought out a key from his pyjamas pocket and opened the door. Don ask me where he got the key, cause I really don know. He walked out and continued. It looks like he was going to the library. Did he wants to destroy the books there? I hope not. Its probably not good. But I was sure he wasn going there to read. If he ever read to pass an exam, Id have a heart attack.

He used the same key he used to open the hostel door to open the library. Maybe the key can open any door. He entered the library and stood at the librarian table.

”Sir, when do we get rid of Hunters in this school? ” He asked. I looked around. There was no one in sight. I was about to conclude that Dylan had gone mad when I heard a voice.

”Relax Dylan. We don even know who is a Hunter in this school. ”

It made me scream and jump. Good thing no one could hear me. The voice belonged to Mr Clark. Was he invisible? It was coming from the librarian chair.

”Ricky said he can smell the hunter spirit in dumpster boy and his friend. ” Dylan said.

”Faintly. He said he smelt it faintly.

”Maybe its because they haven been initiated. Let me just burn them. ”

”Lets be sure they are Hunters before anything else. You know what I have a better idea. ”

”What? ”

A little plastic bottle containing a strange blue liquid appeared on the librarian table. ”This is a potion that locates Hunters nearby. You are gonna cause a fire and mix it with this potion. The fire would only kill anyone thats a Hunter. ”

”Perfect. ”

”Now go and prepare for the attack. Start it by three in the morning. ”

”Yes sir. ”

Ok I understood nothing about what they were talking about. Hunters? Spirit? Potion? Makes no sense to me. But I was sure Dylan meant me and Darrin when he said dumpster boy and his friends.

Suddenly I was at the front of my hostel.

The hostel was on fire. All the hostels were on fire. Students were rushing out of the hostels for their dear lives. I looked at my hostel and saw some of my friends coming out. Luke, Diego, Gerald, Anthony…Dylan? From the conversation between him and Mr Clark, he caused the fire. How was he able to cause fire in all the hostels?

I looked out for the other me and Darrin. I spotted us way at the back, far away from the door. As the last student before us came out, the fire engulfed the door and blocked the doorway. I couldn see anything inside, so I walked in, through the fire. The fire must be really hot. Good thing I can feel it.

Darrin and the other me were sprawled on the floor. The fire had surrounded us. I heard a voice, Dylans voice. ”Ah, so I was right. You two are hunters. Sadly, you two won be able to hunt. ” Then the fire enclosed on us and I heard us screaming.

*******************

I spranged up from my bed. I was on my bed in my dormitory. Everything was the way it was when I went to bed. There was no fire. I brought out my head and looked up at Darrins bed. He was sleeping like a baby. What just happened? Was all of that a dream?