Zein's Point of View
I sat up in bed, my spirit wide awake even as my body begged for rest. I stared at the locked window. It was Bloody Night—the hours when the shadows become predators and killing is a protected right. Most people fear the dark here, but I used to love it. It was the only time the school felt normal, like a place where I was just a girl trying to make her family proud.
Now, the night is just a blindfold. We are blind to what our friends are doing while we sleep.
I left my room, leaving Mia and Vanessa behind, only to find the boys' door hanging open. Empty. My heart turned to ice. The front door was unlocked.
Where are they? Are they going out to kill? Or are they the ones being hunted?
Vanessa was awake when I went back. She didn't look at me; she just stared at the window with a bitter, trembling smile. "They left again?" she whispered.
My brain felt like it was exploding. Again? How long has this been happening? I pulled her into the boys' room and knelt before her. "Tell me everything, Van. What is going on?"
She broke down. "For the past few days, I've been waking up and they're gone. Sometimes it's Matt, sometimes Dave, sometimes Jerome. I don't know where they go, Zein! I'm so scared!"
The disappointment tasted like ash in my mouth. We were supposed to be a team. Why the secrets? Why the lies? I promised to fix it, even as Vanessa knelt and begged me not to go out into the night. I had to violently pull away from her grip on my leg just to open the front door. I saw her sobbing on the floor and it nearly broke me, but I closed the door and stayed. I couldn't leave her like that. We stayed together, hiding from the truth, until morning light peeked through the glass.
"Happy Birthday!"
Confetti exploded in my face. I stood there, speechless, as Matt held out a cake and the group wore ridiculous party hats. I had completely forgotten it was my birthday. The heaviness of the night before vanished for a moment, replaced by the warmth of friends who remembered when I didn't.
"Happy birthday, Secretary!" Jerome shouted, blowing a noisemaker.
"Thank you, you guys!" I kissed Mia and Vanessa on the cheeks.
"Eww! Brush your teeth first!" Vanessa joked, making us all laugh.
Then Matt stepped forward, his smile wider than I'd ever seen it. "Happy Birthday, Zein. Can I have a kiss?"
I felt my cheeks flush. "I haven't brushed yet!"
"It would still be a pleasure, Zein," he whispered. Before I could respond, I felt his soft lips graze my cheek. My heart did a somersault.
"Make a wish," Matt said.
I closed my eyes. I didn't need a wish for myself. I hope we always stay like this.
The happiness lasted until we ran into the Supremo. He blocked our path with a frown, his presence like a dark cloud over my parade.
"Bad weather is here to ruin the day," Matt muttered.
I gave Ace a cold stare. "What do you want, Supremo?"
"I need my secretary."
"Oh? I thought you had a new one," I spat, thinking of the "Angel" from yesterday. I told my friends to go ahead, ignoring their glares at Ace.
"Why are you so damn happy?" Ace asked once we were alone.
"None of your business."
I followed him to the office, where Onel was reporting that 30 students had died in the last three days. I felt numb. I wasn't a hero anymore. I couldn't save them.
Supremo was acting strangely all morning. He kept asking Onel what "occasion" it was, acting restless and anxious, flipping through student files like he was hunting for a ghost.
"Leave me alone!" he finally snapped at me.
"Fine! Pest!" I yelled back, storming out to the restroom to fix my hair.
As I was leaving, the "Angel," Angelica, approached me. She smiled with a gentleness that felt out of place. "He's right, you are weird," she said softly. "But you amazed me yesterday. He believes in you, Zein. Even though he wanted to help you during that attack, he stopped himself because he knew you could handle it. I doubted you, but I was wrong."
She left before I could process it. He wanted to help? He chose not to because he trusted me? I shook my head. I didn't want to believe it.
I spent the afternoon in the library, trying to find peace, but Celine—the weird girl—sat next to me.
"Something is ruining your world," she said, her voice like a riddle. "You look strong, but you're fragile. You must release the beast first, Zein. Release the monster so you don't break yourself trying to be 'good'."
Her words haunted me. The beast? The demon? Is that what I have to become to survive this?
As the day ended and the sun began to set, signaling the approach of another Bloody Night, we ran into Ace again. He looked exhausted, the anxiety finally gone but replaced by a deep fatigue.
"Can I talk to you?" he asked.
"No," Matt snapped.
I held Matt back. "Go ahead, guys. I'll catch up."
Ace and I stood in the cooling wind as the sky turned purple.
"What do you need?" I asked coldly.
"You're really not going to tell me?" he asked, ruffling his hair. He looked so frustrated. "I knew there was something behind that smile of yours today."
"What are you talking about?!"
He looked me straight in the eyes, his voice dropping to a low, quiet tone.
"Happy birthday, Zein."
I froze. My breath caught in my throat. My friends remembering was one thing, but the heartless Supremo? The man who spent all morning stressing out and digging through files just to figure out why I was smiling?
Damn you, Ace. Just when I decided to hate you, you make it impossible.