Chapter 5: The Secret is Out

Chapter 5: The Secret is Out

"Abyssal Step," Chrites said softly to his team.

The dark shadows rose up from the floor and swallowed them whole. The destroyed subway station vanished in a quick flash of black light. A single second later, they reappeared in the middle of their secret underground bunker. The bright white lights of the base blinked on around them.

Chrites reached up and pulled the heavy demon mask off his face. He let out a long, slow breath. The fighting was very easy for him, but keeping his powers hidden all day took a lot of mental energy.

Silas, his right-hand man, walked over quickly. "Sir, the mission was a total success. Our scanners show that all the gang members are completely dead. Should we send a cleanup crew to hide the bodies and take the stolen money?"

"No," Chrites said, shaking his head. "Leave the bodies exactly where they are right now. Leave the money too. When the military police find them, it will send a very clear message to every other criminal gang in the city. Nobody attacks this city while I am around."

"Understood, sir," Silas nodded. "Do you need any medical attention for your hand now?"

"No, the hospital stitches are holding up fine," Chrites replied. He rolled his shoulders, feeling the deep tiredness set into his muscles. "Today was a very long day. I think it is enough for tonight. I am so tired. I am going to leave now and go home."

"Yes, sir. Have a safe night," Silas said, bowing respectfully as Chrites walked away.

Chrites walked to the hidden elevator and rode it up to the surface. When the heavy metal doors opened, he stepped out onto the empty street. The city was very quiet now. Most people were sleeping safely in their beds. The cold night wind blew against his face, which felt very nice after standing in the hot, smoky subway tunnel.

He looked up at the sky above him. The thick smoke from the afternoon gang attack had completely cleared away. The sky was dark and clear, and he could see hundreds of bright stars shining down on the tall city buildings.

"What a great night," Chrites said to himself.

He smiled a little bit. After dealing with the loud alarms, the crying students, and the bloody fights, looking at the silent, bright stars made him feel very peaceful. He put his hands deep into his coat pockets and started the long walk back to his family home.

When he finally reached his house and opened the front door, the living room lights were still fully on. His mother and father were sitting together on the couch. They looked incredibly worried and stressed. The television was playing the local news channel. A news reporter was standing outside the academy, talking about the wild gang attack.

As soon as the door clicked shut, his mom jumped up from the couch.

"Chrites!" she yelled loudly. She ran across the room and hugged him so tightly he could barely breathe. "Oh my god, you are safe!"

"Mom, I am okay. Please, you are crushing my ribs," Chrites said with a small laugh.

His dad walked over quickly. He looked right at the thick white bandage wrapped around Chrites's right hand. "We saw the news on the TV! We heard that the gang attacked the gym during the tests. We were so scared! Then the hospital called and told us you got injured. How are you feeling right now? Does your hand hurt very badly?"

"It really does not hurt that much," Chrites said, trying to calm them down with a warm smile. "When the gym wall exploded, there was a lot of flying glass and rocks everywhere. I just got a small cut on my hand from a piece of glass. The doctors at the hospital cleaned it and put this bandage on. I am totally fine, I promise you."

"Are you really sure?" his mom asked, touching his face gently. "You look so very tired and pale."

"I am just very sleepy," Chrites said. "It was a crazy day. My friend Chrono got hurt much worse than me. They had to keep him at the hospital for a long time today."

"That is terrible," his dad said, shaking his head sadly. "I am just glad you are home safely. Go upstairs and go to sleep. You need to rest your body after a day like this."

Chrites nodded. "Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Dad." He walked upstairs, went into his bedroom, and fell asleep as soon as his head touched the soft pillow.

The next morning came very quickly. The sun was shining brightly through his bedroom window. Chrites woke up feeling much better. He took a fast shower, brushed his teeth, and put on his standard school uniform. He walked downstairs, ate a quick breakfast of toast and juice, and left the house to meet his friends.

He walked down the busy street and found his friends waiting near the bus stop. Rivb was leaning against a pole, talking to Shevy. Chrono was standing next to them. Chrono had his right arm resting in a white medical sling, and his shoulder was wrapped in heavy bandages under his shirt.

"Hey guys," Chrites said, walking up to the group. "Chrono, you are out of the hospital already? I thought they would keep you for a few days."

"Yeah, they discharged me this morning," Chrono smiled. "The healers used some strong magic potions on me. It still hurts a lot when I move my arm, but I am okay. I did not want to stay in that boring hospital bed all day."

"You are an idiot," Rivb laughed loudly. "You got shot by a sniper! You should be resting at home and watching movies."

"Actually, today is going to be very easy," Shevy said as they started walking toward the school campus. "I got an email from the principal this morning. The main exams are delayed for two or three days. A lot of the teachers and test examiners got hurt by those thugs yesterday. So, they cannot run the physical tests yet."

"So what are we doing today?" Chrites asked.

"We are just going to tour the school building and sit in some basic classroom lectures," Shevy explained. "Nothing physical or dangerous."

"That sounds perfect to me," Chrono said, holding his sore shoulder gently.

They arrived at the school. The main gym area was blocked off with yellow caution tape, but the rest of the academy was open and full of students.

As they were walking down the main hallway, Chrites suddenly stopped moving. His heart skipped a single beat.

Standing near the student lockers, talking to another girl, was someone he recognized immediately. It was the exact same girl he saw in the subway terminal last night. She was wearing the normal school uniform and holding some notebooks.

Chrites stared at her. He thought to himself, "Why the hell is she here? Is she a student in this school too? This makes no sense at all."

He was very confused. He wore a mask last night. He had entirely different clothes on. There was no way she could know who he was.

Suddenly, the girl turned her head. She looked straight across the hallway, right into Chrites's eyes. She looked at his face, and then her eyes moved down to look at the white bandage on his right hand.

She started walking toward him. She passed right by his shoulder, walking very closely to him.

"Meet me at the back of the school, behind the old history building in twenty minutes. Do not be late," she whispered quietly, so only he could hear her.

Then, she kept walking away down the hall.

Chrites stood frozen in place for a second.

"Hey, Chrites, are you coming?" Rivb yelled from down the hall.

"Yeah, I am coming. Go ahead without me, I need to use the bathroom first," Chrites lied.

Chrites went to his first class and sat down in the back row. For the next thirty minutes, the teacher talked about school rules, but Chrites did not hear a single word. He tapped his pen against his desk over and over again. He looked at the chalkboard, but the words made no sense to him. He was too worried about the girl.

"What the hell does she want?" he thought, staring at the clock on the wall. "Why did she call me out there? This feels exactly like one of those novel scenes where a girl confesses her love to the main character. But this is real life, and she was at a bloody crime scene last night. This cannot be a love confession. Does she know my secret?"

If she told the military police about his dark magic, his entire life would be over. His family would be in massive danger. He had to figure out a way to keep her quiet.

When the class finally ended, Chrites walked quickly to the back of the school campus. He went behind the old history building. It was an empty, quiet place with no windows looking out.

The girl was standing there, waiting for him with her arms crossed.

Chrites walked up to her, acting totally relaxed and normal.

"Who are you?" Chrites asked in a friendly voice. "And why the hell did you call me out here?"

"My name is Linease," the girl said firmly. She looked him right in the eyes. "And I called you here because I know exactly who you are. I saw you last night in the subway. You are the masked man who killed all those gang members."

Chrites laughed a little bit, acting completely confused. "What the hell are you saying? You are crazy. That is not true at all. I am not that guy. I was in the hospital last night getting my hand fixed."

"Do not lie to me," Linease said sharply. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. "I have proof."

She played a video clip and held the screen up for him to see. It was a dark video of the subway fight. The video was a little bit shaky, but it was very clear. He watched himself stand in the middle of the ruined room. He saw the black and white glowing swords fall from the ceiling.

"I recorded this while I was hiding on the stairs," Linease said.

"That is a guy wearing a mask," Chrites said, shrugging his shoulders. "That could be literally anybody in the city."

"No, it could not," Linease smiled. "I zoomed in on the video. Your eye color matches his exactly. But that is not all. Look at his right hand in the video."

She paused the video on the screen. "He has a thick white bandage wrapped around his right hand. It is wrapped in the exact same pattern as the bandage on your hand right now. You both have the same eyes and the same injury from yesterday. The details are too perfect. I know it is you."

Chrites stopped smiling. He dropped the friendly, average guy act completely. His voice turned very cold and dangerous. The air around them suddenly felt very heavy.

"Yeah," Chrites said quietly. "You found me. That is a very big problem."

Linease stopped smiling too. She took a step back. She finally realized how dangerous this boy really was.

"So, what can I do now?" Chrites asked, taking one slow step toward her. "Can I kill you right here and hide your body?"

Linease's eyes went wide with pure panic. She held both of her hands up quickly. "Wait! Do not dare to kill me! I swear I am not going to reveal your secret! I will not tell anyone in the school or the military!"

Chrites stared at her for a long moment, thinking about his choices. He could end her life in one second, but she was just a normal student. Killing her at school would cause too many problems.

"Okay, okay," Chrites finally said, relaxing his shoulders. "I will not hurt you."

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