Things escalated faster than I could even comprehend. One moment, I was on a flight to Maui; the next, I was in the middle of a war zone. The entrance exams at BITE had begun before I even had the chance to brace myself.
After Edward's announcement, the entire plane descended into chaos. Every passenger had been handed a weapon, and almost instantly, the killing started.
The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood. Screams echoed off the walls, some guttural, some high-pitched, each one jarring my senses. It was a sight I couldn't fully process, a vision so gruesome it seemed unreal, and yet, horrifyingly real.
"No way… is this really the entrance exam?" I whispered to myself, my voice barely audible over the screams.
Suddenly, I instinctively glanced at the girl beside me, only to be met with a pistol pointed straight at me.
Bang!
She shot, the sound dissolving into chaos. I jerked my head forward, my instinct saving the day. My heart raced uncontrollably.
"Quite fast, but let's see you dodge…"
Before she could finish, I flipped over to the seat behind me in an attempt to escape. She immediately got up and pointed the gun at me again.
Everything was moving fast; every reaction was either life or death. So a slip-up in my judgment meant death.
Using the chair as leverage, I pivoted upwards to regain my balance and quickly kicked the pistol out of her hand.
She scrambled to pick up the gun. Using that opportunity, I grabbed the kitchen knife and dashed out of there, weaving through ongoing fights and dead bodies.
I then made my way to the other cabin. As I arrived, I saw him.
A dark-haired boy stood at the other end of the cabin, silent as a shadow. Instinctively, I raised my kitchen knife, trying to defend myself. But before I could even brace for impact, I saw it—a blade approaching at high speed.
Every cell in my body said one thing: Duck.
I immediately bent down and jerked backward, narrowly dodging a lethal strike. My mind raced. I glanced over at the kitchen knife since it was unusually hot, only to find it cut cleanly in half.
How did he make it here so fast?
Also, isn't this a metallic kitchen knife?
Before I could process it, the sound of a gunshot rang out.
BANG!
Then a man practically flew in from the previous cabin behind me. The gun was held by a man in a blue tank top, smoke curling lazily from the barrel of the pistol. His expression was chilling: cold, blank, emotionless. It left an impression I couldn't shake.
No words were said. He just assessed the situation and aimed at me next. Without thinking, I dove behind the seat behind me. The bullet whizzed past, close enough that I could feel the rush of air.
Then came the chain reaction.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Gunfire erupted from every angle, each shot adding to the chaos. The screams of the dying grew louder, mingling with the shouts and panicked cries of those still fighting. Blood splattered across the seats and floor, staining every surface.
And above it all, Edward Clare's voice rose:
"AAAHHH, YES!!!"
He burst into the cabin I was in, his grin wide and maniacal, pointing the camera at the carnage.
"This is just the opening action scene for the grand spectacular of a movie!" he yelled, his voice audible across all the cabins, dramatically swinging the camera across the cabin.
"There's no way I'm missing any of this!" he continued, almost bouncing in place as he captured every detail of the chaos.
My heart pounded in my chest. This wasn't acting. This wasn't a film. This was survival.
Then the man in the blue tank top reappeared beside me, pistol aimed squarely at my chest.
Panic surged.
I have fought thugs before. Gang members. Bullies. But this… this was something else. This was a battlefield.
"No hiding now," the man said, pulling the trigger.
I reacted instinctively. My foot shot out, kicking his hand aside. It wasn't enough to remove the gun from his grip entirely, but it was enough to alter the bullet's trajectory.
The shot went flying—straight toward Edward.
With uncanny reflexes, Edward tilted his head to the right and dodged the bullet. He didn't even move the rest of his body. And the most unsettling part? He still had that same smile on his face.
Monsters… I thought, staring at the man beside me. This is what BITE is breeding. Monsters like him, monsters like Edward.
A strange sensation rose inside me—a mix of fear and exhilaration.
Heh… I muttered.
For some reason, I felt… excited.
I stood up fully, assuming a boxer's stance.
"Useless!" the man spat, raising his pistol again.
Before he could fire, I acted on instinct. I kicked—not to hit him, but to fling my untied shoe directly at his gun.
It worked. The shot veered off course, barely missing me entirely. I closed the distance between us in a single, explosive step.
THUD!
My fist connected with his jaw, an uppercut with everything I had. The impact sent him flying backward, dropping the gun.
Even now, I wasn't strong. Not like the monsters on this plane. But I felt the thrill of potential. If I trained in a place like BITE, I could become one of them—a force to be reckoned with.
I stood over Edward's camera, glaring at him with newfound resolve.
As the man beside me staggered to his feet, dazed, I rushed in again, winding up a punch from above.
THUD!
The strike hit with bone-crunching force, sending him sprawling to the floor. Out cold.
Breathing hard, I took a moment to survey the scene. I moved over to a fallen passenger and grabbed a katana lying nearby.
"Just like a bat." Its weight felt natural in my hands. For a second, I hesitated. I didn't want to kill—at least, not yet.
Edward's voice broke through my thoughts.
"Wow! It's already over in this cabin… so fast!" His tone was still dramatic, pointing the camera at me again.
I realized the silence. Only two candidates remained in my cabin. They all looked ready. Hungry. Dangerous.
A voice called out from across the room:
"Tch… such filth."
I turned. The black-haired boy stood there, wearing a black sweater, military green cargo pants, and a sanitary face mask. I could feel his intensity, as he stood above a lot of dead candidates, but for some odd reason, he was clean.
I was locked on him before a massive, dark-skinned man burst out of the next cabin. He grabbed the boy by the shoulder.
"You shouldn't be letting your guard down, brat! Now you're—"
THUD!
Before the man could finish, the boy slammed his head into the floor with such force that blood erupted from the man's nose, ears, and eyes. It happened in a flash.
The boy stood calmly on the man's back, cleaning the blood off his boot with a napkin as though it were nothing more than dust.
"I can't believe such filth actually stained me," he muttered, flicking the napkin aside.
I froze.
This is… someone I cannot underestimate, I thought, gripping the katana tighter.
Edward's voice rang out again, full of glee:
"Oh, do we have a member of the main cast in our midst!" He raised the camera to record, capturing every horrifying second.
The boy's aura shifted. Subtle, almost imperceptible—but undeniable. He wasn't a normal fighter. Not by a long shot.
Time seemed to slow. He bent slightly, reaching into the heel of his combat boots. A small pin emerged, glinting in the cabin lights, similar to a grenade pin. And then, from the back of both his boots, long blades unfolded.
"So… who's dying first?" he asked.
Even the air around him felt heavy, dangerous. I knew instinctively: this wasn't a beginner. This wasn't someone I could fight casually.
And yet… I felt alive. Electric.
For the first time, the truth hit me: BITE wasn't just a school. It was a crucible. Every student here had a weapon. Every candidate was being forged into a killer. And right now, I was in the fire.
This is it, I thought, raising the katana. This is where I begin… where I fight, where I survive… where I start becoming someone who can protect those I care about.
The plane had become a battlefield. Monsters like him, monsters like Edward… and soon, me.
And for some reason, I couldn't wait to see what I was capable of.