Zein's Point of View
Of all the things my friends and I have survived, this is the most life-changing. We've always been the type to play with fire; we were the "badass" group you'd see walking the streets with smirks, looking for the next dangerous adventure.
But Hell University isn't an adventure. It's a cage. I had almost lost hope, but every time I look at my friends, I feel a spark of courage. They are my source of strength—and my greatest weakness. I promised myself I would protect them as long as I can draw breath.
"Hey! You're staring into space again..."
Mia sat next to me in the Wide Space, offering me a juice. The sun was shining, but the towering trees cast long, jagged shadows across the benches.
"Where are the others?" I asked.
She pointed toward Dave, Vanessa, Jerome, and Matt as they approached. Since Bloody Week began, we've tried to stay together, but I still have my duties.
"I need to go," I said, standing up.
"Leaving so soon?" Mia grinned.
"Duty calls. You know? 'Sexytary' things." I tried to joke to hide the knot in my stomach. Leaving them, even for a few hours, felt like a risk. Every time I walk away, I wonder if it's the last time I'll see their faces.
At the SSG Office, the Supremo greeted me with his signature cold stare.
"Always late. Get those papers and follow me."
I grabbed the logbook—a manual record of every student and their "sins." Manual logs, Ace? Really? We walked through the halls, and the crowd parted like the Red Sea. No one wanted to be in our path.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Somewhere."
Great answer, Supremo. Very enlightening.
We stopped when we saw a guard dragging a body. The student was foaming at the mouth, his limbs twitching. Alex Mendoza. Poisoned.
"Find the name, Miss Shion. Mark it with an 'X'."
I froze. "He's still alive, for Pete's sake! We can save him!"
The Supremo looked at me with a bored, poker face. "We are wasting time, Miss Shion. Do it."
With trembling hands, I found the name and marked the 'X'. The guard continued dragging the dying man away. I felt sick. In this place, life is cheaper than the paper I was holding.
"If you were me, what would you do?" Ace asked suddenly.
"I'd help him! He's a human being!"
Ace shook his head. "And then what? He survives, finds out who poisoned him, and the cycle starts again. Why waste time saving someone destined to die? You can't save everyone, Zein. Everything has a limit."
I hated that he was right. He thinks with a cold, brutal logic that I can't yet match.
Later, we ran into Sir Alvarez. He looked at me with a plea in his eyes, but I looked away. I haven't found the laboratory yet. Supremo is too smart, too quiet.
"Unprofessional," Ace muttered to Sir Alvarez as we passed. The words were like a physical blow.
Suddenly, a woman—fair-skinned, gentle-looking—approached us. Ace stepped away to talk to her in private.
"Angelica and I will finish this," Ace said, turning back to me. "You can leave now."
He called her by her first name. He's only ever called me Miss Shion. A pang of something—jealousy? Anger?—hit me. "Fine! Stick it in your lungs, you flirt!" I whispered as I walked away.
I went to the cafeteria alone, fuming. I was halfway through my meal when I saw them enter together. The Devil and his Angel. They actually looked like they suited each other. I couldn't stomach it. I got up to leave, but I didn't even make it to the door.
A man lunged from the crowd, grabbing me and slamming a knife against my throat.
"Don't come closer! I'll kill her!" he screamed. "Get me out of this hell!"
I searched the crowd for Ace. I needed him. Then, I saw him. He saw me—and he walked right past. He ignored me.
A bitter smile touched my lips. I was just a secretary. A tool. I meant nothing.
The anger that had been dormant for months finally boiled over. My vision turned red. If the Supremo was a monster, then I would be one too.
"Let me go," I said. My voice was so cold I didn't recognize it.
"Shut up!" The man pressed the blade harder, drawing blood.
I didn't feel fear. I felt alive. The old Zein Shion was back. I slammed my elbow into his stomach, spun around, and delivered a kick that sent him to the floor. I didn't stop. I lunged at him, snatched the knife from his hand, and pinned him down.
I pressed the blade against his jugular. "You should have killed me when you had the chance," I hissed. "You're too slow."
I watched the terror in his eyes. I wanted to sink the blade in. I wanted to watch him bleed.
"Shit! Zein, stop!"
Jerome pulled me off him. My friends were there, staring at me with horror.
"You almost killed him!" Mia shouted.
"Almost," I muttered, looking at my bloody hands.
Matt grabbed my arm, his face more serious than I'd ever seen it. "You're bleeding. Come on."
In the clinic, Matt cleaned the wound on my neck. The silence in the room was deafening.
"What was that, Zein?" Dave asked. "The way you looked at him... it was scary."
"You lost control," Mia added. "You looked like a monster."
"No, Matt, you're wrong!" I snapped, but deep down, I knew they were right.
I couldn't stand their judgment. I walked out of the clinic and leaned against the wall. Nicky was already there, twirling a nail—a Black Blood Gang nail.
"The little devil is showing her face," Nicky smirked. "But it's not enough. You have to let the demon out completely."
I looked at her, and this time, I didn't flinch. I moved closer until we were inches apart. "If I were you, Nicky, I wouldn't be so eager to see the demon. Even I can't control her."
"Control it, Zein, or it will eat you alive."
"Let it," I said, walking away.
If being a monster is the only way to keep my friends alive, then I'll be the worst demon this school has ever seen.