3 days after current events
[Say Carlos, what exactly is this unique 'ability' that my eyes have, and why do I have it?]
[No]
Carlos said right off the bat, shooting down any moment for questions, but that didn't stop Cale
7 days later
[Then could you preeeettyyy pleassseeee tell me what an 'Echo' is?]
Cale asked with puppy eyes in the corridors
[No]
The response as indifferent as the brick wall a young kid tried to punch and break, only for their knuckles to break
14 days later
[Why can't you tell me?]
[Because you're too dumb to comprehend the information even if I tell you]
Cale shuddered and drooped
[Ouch...]
Was the last thing he wrote on that day
27 days later
[Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!]
Cale's body was dragged across the floor trying to pry a suitable answer from Carlos
1 month and 11 days later
[What if I give you a cookie?]
[..Bribing a teacher is a seri-]
Poof
[Ah. He's gone?]
The spot where Cale was became absent the instant Carlos was predicted to say that he broke a rule or something of that sorts
[I should've done this way earlier...]
Carlos made a mental note about it
----
2 Months passed like water flowing In a river.
Nothing had happened during that time Cale only increased the intensity of his training while pestering Carlos, his routine hadn't changed whatsoever.
Cale had learned how to vault, mantle and climb even faster than before, but that was it, it was far from mastered, there were still unwanted delays.
He even started Calisthenics now that his body became more fit than before.
"Well the results are a tad bit disappointing though..."
The results left more to be desired. He wasn't satisfied with this, there was essentially no difference In his body and even if there was It wouldn't be enough of a difference to handle those monsters.
Creakkk~
The creaking door opened and Cale breezed out of his house.
These days he had been unable to sleep soundly, the reason?
'I keep having the same nightmare over and over'
It wasn't to the point that it was inconvenient, in fact Cale had even built a slight resistance to it due to the repetition
For context, the nightmare was about Cale getting the chiropractor and donut treatment, with the creepy living armor being the one inflicting it all
The days all in all have been tranquil, nothing too serious happened.
Part of Cale thought it was slightly disappointing but he also knew It was the calm before the storm.
"...The practical exam"
The practical exam would be an unrelenting storm aiming and sniping for his life constantly. This was believed to be completely true.
"They still haven't told us what it's about yet"
'I am more afraid of the fact that the contents are still unknown despite two months passing'
"The unknown is more scary than the known" He brought a hand to his lips, posture being one of deep thought.
Soon. Cale had reached the bus stop.
'It's taking longer than usual...'
He fiddled with his phone while waiting for the bus, but the movement that his peripheral vision detected tore his attention away from his doom-scrolling
"...?"
'Is that?'
Two unexpected people were spotted on the other side of the road
"Raven and Gravel?"
'This is my first time seeing a classmate using the same road as me to reach school'
Most people use buses, like Cale. But it wasn't like other people didn't just walk to school even if it were a little inconvenient.
'A pleasant surprise I guess?'
Cale didn't think much of it and just waited for the bus to arrive, and arrived it did
"Finally, what took it so long?"
The bus he had been waiting for appeared in the distance.
And with the sliding doors opening like they were receiving a noble, he took a seat close to the window In the bus, waiting for its departure.
"Now that I think about it...Has my ability evolved?"
'I didn't really notice it before but, Isn't it different?'
They looked the same as ever, but Cale felt as if the pitch black lines became different than before.
'They feel more sensitive?'
He couldn't find the right words to explain it, but they just felt different.
"Well whatever..."
He looked out the window.
It was drizzling.
'The weather is terrible'
Before long he reached the school and hopped off the bus like a bunny walking up to its executioner.
He looked at the time on his phone.
'Still 12 minutes left'
Today was a special day, because today.
"We're hunting a monster"
A grotesque grin tugged at his lips.
"Keke"
An involuntary laugh came out of his mouth.
'That bastard is going to know my suffering'
Ever since that bastard shoved Its hand into Cale's stomach, he had received a package bundle of nightmares, but along with those nightmares came fantasies.
Fantasies of him completely destroying and breaking that humanoid monster apart and making it feel what he felt when it utterly crushed him.
'Well that opportunity won't come for a very long time, I'll still need to be the bait to pull this off'
Those reasons were only motivation, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing but he knew that thing couldn't be killed even In the current state he sat at.
He had already reached the school building and sat on the staircase, waiting until the time for him to return to Gardenia inevitably came.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
An anxious foot tapped against the marble floor as time passed. Cale heard his heart beat louder and louder at the action he resolved himself to do. It wasn't easy to do something like this on a whim after all
'While I do have a grudge against the monster that almost killed me, It isn't nearly enough to make me of all people want to go up against it'
The primary reason was simple, getting rid of an annoying obstacle.
'If the practical exams were walls I had to overcome and climb to survive the crumbling floor beneath my feet, The humanoid monsters would be debris and minor obstacles slowing my movements and ultimately costing my life'
"I can't just have a random monster roam around and restrict my movements"
He muttered quietly, stretching his arms and legs
'Throughout the duration of the two months, I had never gone out in the courtyard, with that monster roaming how could I?'
It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but having your movements and freedom restricted was not anything good
"Hey Cale, you came early~"
A head was raised to where a voice was heard coming from.
"Catrina?"
A petite girl with a long French braid that reached her waist down, her bangs flowed across her slender shoulders, her pearl-dark eyes looked at Cale sheepishly from the floor above.
"You're switching hairstyles quickly, so what happened to the massive black bow?"
"Well I don't want to stick to one hairstyle" She fiddled with her black hair.
"What~ did you like my previous hairstyle~"
She said playfully.
"Want me to give you an honest answer as a friend?"
"No, you'll say something I don't like for sure If I tell you to rate it"
"You know me so well Catrina~"
Cale beamed a mischievous like smile at her.
She turned away from him in disgust.
"You seem to be in a better mood today?"
She asked, looking out the window behind her.
"It's because I'm getting an intense urge to tease you"
"I'm not your personal stress ball..."
"The same goes for me~"
"I don't tease you"
'And she lied as naturally as she breathed'
"History says otherwise"
"No it doesn't"
Catrina changed the subject
"Well anyway, where is Gabriel? that guy is always late"
"I looked around but he was nowhere?"
She propped her chin on the railing
"That guy can't manage his time at all, just what did you expect?"
Gabriel's incapability to manage his time efficiently made both of them wonder how he came on time on the first day of school.
Catrina turned her back to Cale and furrowed her brows neatly together at familiar figure spotted at the distance
"Ah I see him!"
She pointed to a direction Cale couldn't see
"Yeah I can't see where you're pointing at Catrina"
"Then stop sitting on the staircase which is dirty and get up here"
"..."
Cale got up from the staircase hurt by sharp words, and walked up the stairs.
"Hey Catrina, am I dirty anywhere?" He spun his body for her to look and see If he was dirty anywhere.
"No, you're fine"
She replied back, inching closer to the window.
Soon after. Cale also spotted Gabriel in the courtyard, standing next to Catrina who waved her hands erratically until Gabriel spotted us.
"Did he see us?"
"I think he did?" She replied playfully, both still looking outside the window.
Not long after, Gabriel went up the same stairs he came from.
"What are you two doing?"
Gabriel asked us, his head tilting In curiosity.
""Nothing""
They both said in unison.
"Your hair is a mess, did you use a leaf blower to do your hair?"
Gabriel staggered back slightly then glared at the rude Cale.
"Oh yeah? what about your hair? It's not In a much better state than mine?" Finger pointed at Cale's bed hair.
"Do you prefer a disaster or a mess?"
"..."
Catrina slowly walked away from the window and sat on a bench, intently watching with sparkling eyes at the sight of Gabriel and Cale arguing, she lamented at the fact that she didn't have any 3D glasses to wear or popcorn to eat.
'Am I the only one who cares for their hair In this group?'
She thought to herself while playing with her hair.
Trrr~
Trrr~
Trrr~
The bell rang, and Cale felt his eyelids get heavier, he couldn't keep them open any longer and closed them. Every limb in his body felt static for a few moments.
Gabriel stares at him for a few moments
"Cale? what's up?"
He asked him, but he remained unresponsive
Cale(?) opened his eyes, a cold gaze was directed at the both, his eyes felt tranquil, devoid of life and...devoid of all vibrant color.
His face softened, but his eyes didn't, they still didn't soften like how butter would when spreading it on a slice of bread.
"No its just hard not laugh"
""?""
"When did you get a pet cockroach?"
"Huh"
Cale pointed at his feet
"!?!?"
A cockroach had been climbing his leg like a monkey all this time
"What the heck!"
Gabriel flailed his body around, doing his best to get rid of the climbing cockroach
"Class is starting, so we should go"
Cale said In a calm and slow voice.
"Alright~ I'm following. Have fun Gabriel!"
"Take that! and that!
Both of them left the stomping maniac killing the innocent bug
***
"Is there even a point In doing this?"
The real Cale laid sprawled on the floor, staring at the ceiling.
Usually he only get teleported to Gardenia when recess starts, but he would also get transported when the bell rang for the first class of the day to start
Of course the moment "Cale" steps In class, he gets transported back.
"...?"
Suddenly hearing a strange sound- no it resembled more of a sensation.
He shot up to his feet and started walking towards the window.
"?!"
He saw it, a humanoid monster and-
'It's fast!'
It was moving through the courtyard with incredible speed, covering an insane distance almost as if it had teleported.
He stepped back and hid behind a wall, making sure it didn't see him.
An eye peeked, trying to see where it went
'It disappeared?'
Cale felt a knot forming in my stomach.
'How the hell is it that fast?'
It wasn't as if that living armor couldn't be seen at all. Cale did see it with his own eyes, and he saw it stop a few times
'Is it not simply speed?'
'If it were all speed, then I wouldn't have been able to track its movements at all since it would just move instantly without stop'
"A speed boost..."
That was the conclusion he came to, It gains a sudden boost In speed for a few moments.
'Can it not use it for long because of stamina or is there something else at play?'
He couldn't know at the moment, but the most Important thing to note was that It had limits to its speed.
"..?"
His surroundings began to be consumed by darkness, before long his vision had also been consumed by this eerie darkness.
'I guess the doppelganger reached the class?'
Cale closed his eyes and waited until his eventual return back to class.