Full Moon Sky - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: In the Afternoon

   “Something exists beyond this city.” The five of them heard Leon say.
   The group immediately fell silent. What was supposed to be a relaxing mood quickly changed into unease.
   “Huh, what’s that supposed to mean?” Katie asked. She placed her hands on the table and leaned closer to the tablet.
   “Whoever or whatever these people are, they are not a part of this community, nor are they planning to be any time soon.” Leon immediately answered. “In fact, the data we collected shows that they intend to kidnap the citizens and take them to where they come from.”
   “How did you find that out?” Theodore asked.
   “The information Luna and Wakahisa brought back from the antique store was the key. We also looked through the Sanctum Census and consulted with our contact at the Museum based on that info.”
   "Hmm... What info?" Katie asked.
   "The contact said that these coins are supposed to be old. Well turns out he was right. These coins are supposed to be old. We are talking medieval old." Leon paused. "But then, the problem lies with the fact it's not."
   "But, I thought the Tech Council didn't have that coin presser catalogued?" Theodore asked.
   "Exactly the point," Leon immediately answered "If they don't have it catalogued, it simply means this coin presser has not been seen before. The only way this can be explained is that an entirely different community owns it. A community that not even Sanctum knows about."
   "And what about the possibility that someone here just happened to have made one in secret?” Theodore asserted.
   “We’ve already proven that wrong.” Leon said. “I told you we have contacts and members stationed all over the place. I believe a book once said that once you’ve exhausted every other option the only choice left would be the correct one, no matter how wrong it sounds.”
   “Okay, how abou-” Theodore tried to reason again, but was immediately interruped.
   “The government does not hide any secrets except for the fact that the reason for Sanctum’s infinite blood supply was the result of a deal with Archdemon Mammon himself.” Leon said.
   Theodore couldn’t think of any other possible explanation at this point.
   “I’m now out of options.” He sighed and continued to drink his coffee.
   “Anything other questions?” Leon asked
   No one spoke for some time, but Leon didn’t drop the call. Eventually, it was Luna spoke up.
   “Um, can I ask something?” Luna asked.
   “...Go ahead.” Leon replied.
   There was another moment of silence as Luna gathered up the courage to ask her next question “Did their entrance route... no. Does this have any relation with the recital incident years ago?”
   Theodore noticed that at that very instant, Percy, Yuki and Katie had shifted their attention to Luna for a split second.
   “Ah that?” There was a short pause. “I can’t really say.” Leon’s voice sounded melancholic. “I was wondering about that too. It could be a possibility but we just don’t have any information beyond what we already have.”
   “I see... never mind.” Luna sounded dejected. She looked at her mug of coffee and reached for it slowly as to not wake the cat on her lap.
   Theodore put down his cup before asking a question. “Okay, so I get how they are keeping themselves secret, but how come the witnesses never report anything.”
   “They wouldn’t have any evidence of the attack.” Leon responded with a grave tone. “This is because these outsiders are not running unopposed. That is to say, people from this city are secretly fighting them back. Always cleaning up the place when they are done.”
   “You think so?” Theodore asked.
   “Again, this is all we can say with the info we got.” Percy answered for Leon this time before eating a strawberry. “Having eyes all over the place can only do so much.”
   “Ah Comrade, before I forget, I managed to sort out the new data from the investigation.” Leon said in his usual tone.
   “Oooh, what is it then?” Percy asked.
   “Based on their infiltration patterns there will be a large scale operation coming up.”
   “Well that can’t be good.” Percy picked up another strawberry from the bowl. “When?”
   “It will happen sometime during the All Hallows Week Festival. So I suggest you four keep your eyes open, and keep yourselves safe.” Leon was referring to everyone except for Percy. “They will not attack large crowds, and so far they’ve only attacked groups of three to seven. Unsuccessfully of course but who knows what could happen this time.”
   “That’s going to ruin my plans.” Yuki ate the strawberry off of Percy’s hand.
   “So, that all?” Katie asked.
   "Yes, that is all. We've finished the investigation for now, and we will do all we can to minimize any potential loss during the Festival Week. Until then, it's back to our school duties. Dasvidanya" Leon dropped the call.
   "'Kay then." Percy responded then proceeded to eat the strawberry in his hand, only to find out that he was only holding the stalk. He laughed it off and picked up another strawberry from the bowl, making sure to eat it this time.

   "So what do we do now?" Theodore asked Percy.
   "I don't know. Kick back, relax, study at Yuki’s house, play some games? It's a free community, I'm sure we'll find something to do."
   "No, I mean about the current situation." Theodore specified.
   "Nothing!" Percy just casually declared. "None of you are members of the club so you don't have to do anything. I, on the other hand, have a big job coming up so I’m getting as much fun time as possible." He stood up and said his next sentence in a rushed tone. “So let’s finish up quickly so we can do something fun now, please?.” He quickly ate the remaining strawberries.
   “Paying your bill already?” Katie stood up also and went back to work mode. “That would be a total of three Luxury Tokens. One from each of you except Yuki. That was my treat.”
   Theodore, Percy, and Luna each placed a gold coin bearing the insignia of Sanctum on the table.
   “My poor budget...” Percy said in false sadness as Katie picked up the coins. “Money is a bit on the tight side for this month too.”
   “Ah, so even things like this can happen in Sanctum.” Theodore quipped as he picked up the sleeping cat from Luna’s lap, placing it down on the floor without waking it up.
   “Th-thanks.” Luna said, though she was not sure if Theodore heard it.
   “Hey! Even this type of economy has it’s problems too.” Percy retorted. “Now come on, we’re wasting time here.” He walked ahead of the group.
   Theodore and Luna downed the last few drops their coffee and stood up to follow Percy, followed by Yuki who stood up last.
   “Thanks for the meal.” Yuki said to Katie before following the others.
   “See you guys later.” Katie said.
   In his rush on the way out of the cafe, Percy almost collided into his teacher Bartholomew, who happened to taking a leisurely stroll on the area. Thankfully he managed to catch Percy before he bumped him.
   “Whoa, where are you kids off  to in such a hurry?” Bartholomew asked.
   “We’re off to do er... fun things!” Percy said. “Come on guys.” He said to Theodore, Yuki, and Luna who were just walking out of the cafe.
   “Alright, take care not to get yourselves sick before the next school day.” Bartholomew said to them as they left. “It’s going to be a fun All Hallows Week.” He said to himself.
   Looking back at the direction he was going, he noticed a shadow slip out of his field of view and shook his head. “Right, of course.” He groaned. “Better get to it.”
   Percy led everyone to the center of town plaza.
   “What are we doing here?” Theodore asked.
   “This is where the all the main events of the All Hallows Week festival will take place. Just wanted you to know” Percy told him. “Now, let’s go play some Laser War.” He pointed to a nearby building.
   “Eh, you sure? What about your budget?” Theodore replied.
   “Screw that for a minute. I want to see how your dad trained you in using guns.” Percy replied. “Don’t you want to see it too, Yuki-chan?”
   Yuki nodded.
   “Er, but these aren’t... you know... real guns.” Theodore said. “That’ll prove nothing.”
   “Then you have not played Sanctum’s version of it.” Percy’s gave a wide grin. “At least give it a try, my treat.”
   Yuki tapped him on the shoulder. Percy looked at her.
   “Hm, You’ll pay for all of us?” He asked her.
   Yuki nodded.
   “Well, there you go. This round is on her, what do you say?”
   “Oh alright, I’ll give it a try then.” Theodore reluctantly agreed.
   “Um, I’ve never played Laser War before.” Luna said.
   “Oh, okay. Then I’m not going to use that joke.” Percy said. “Let’s go, I’ll explain the rules on the way.”

   When they entered the building, Yuki went ahead to the counter to register them for a game.
   “And don’t worry, we won’t be shooting each other. We’ll be facing against another team that doesn’t have an opponent yet.” Percy finished explaining. “So, did you get everything.”
   “No.” Theodore replied. “You were talking too fast.”
    Luna nodded twice in agreement.
   Percy groaned. “T.L.D.R. We are allies. Shoot enemy. Don’t get shot.” He shortened the explanation.
   Theodore held up a finger and thought about it for a second.
   “Oh, I get it now. Just like my house rules!” He concluded. “Well then, this should be fun.”
   “I still don’t understand.” Luna said.
   Yuki walked towards them.
   “Our opponents have been decided.” Yuki said in a monotonous voice. “Let’s go.”
   “Well then, shall we?” Percy gestured ahead, then walked beside Yuki. Theodore and Luna followed behind.
   “It’s Arena 4, Ja?” He asked Yuki, then immediately responded as though his question was answered. “Okay then.”
   The group entered the weapon selection room where the opposing team was already there waiting for them. The first was none other than their maths teacher, Ms. Melody. She already picked the Machine Gun model. The second was their languages teacher Drake. The third person was a female human with an athletic build, the kind that you would see from a professional triathletes. The fourth one was a male vampire with silver combed back hair whos aged appearance resembled classical portrayals of vampires.
   “Fancy seeing you guys here.” Ms. Melody said to them as they entered.
   “Yay it’s Ms. Melody.” Percy rushed to her and the two exchanged a high five. “What are you doing here though? I thought you weren’t a gun person.”
   “Well... Things happened then I was invited to come along.” Ms. Melody replied with a smile. “Besides, Lasers don’t make sound right?”
   “Students of yours, Arabella?” The female next to her asked.
   “Yup!” Ms. Melody replied.
   “And brilliant ones at that.” Drake added with a firece tone.
   “Well, then looks like I’ll be seeing you three next year.” She said to Theodore, Percy, and Luna. “Andrea Cervantes, Sophomores P.E. teacher for humans.” She quickly introduced herself. “I’m the one who invited them over. I thought they could use the excersise.”
   “The Head Principal too?” Percy asked, pointing at the other vampire.
   “Wait, Head Principal?” Theodore asked.
   “Oh right, you haven’t seen him yet either.” Percy then quickly introduced the elder vampire. “He’s the renowned head principal of our school, Dylan Lancaster.”
   “Charmed.” Dylan said. “I take that this means you’re one of the Fridolfs, The latest family to move into Sanctum?”
   “Yes sir.” Theodore politely replied. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
   “Likewise.” Dylan then faced Percy. “Mr. Evans, I would like to commend your Club for continuing to do its best to maintain the peace within the school. Send my regards to Mr. Taneyev and Ms. Claire when you see them.”
   “You got it!” Percy replied enthusiastically.
   “So, shall we get started or what?” Ms. Cervantes said, picking up the Shotgun type weapon.
   “Alright, you heard her.” Drake said. “Everyone arm yourselves.”
   Theodore looked at the weapon choices and immediately knew what he wanted.
   “I’ll take this one.” Theodore chose the pistol model and practiced aiming with it.
   Dylan picked up the pistol model as well, saying to Theodore. “Back in my day, you could kill hundreds with this kind of weapon. Today... nothing much has changed.”
   Yuki picked up a Shotgun model for herself, then chose a Sniper model and handed it to Luna.
   “Since this is your first time, you will stay close to me.” Yuki said to her.
   “A-alright.” Luna replied. “I’ll try my best to keep up.”
   Drake chose the Sniper Model. “Ahh Precision, useful when speaking, and also for shooting.”
   Ms. Melody and Percy both picked up the Machine gun model.
   “Just because you’re our club advisor doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you.” Percy confidently declared.
   “I’m not expecting you to, because I’m going all out as well.” Ms. Melody replied with the same cheerful vigor.
   Both teams then equipped their respective targeting armor. Percy’s team wore armor with red lights, Andrea’s team wore armor with blue lights. Theodore noted how the armor wasn’t bulky like the ones back at the mainland, but rather quite thin and flexible to allow mobility for the players.
   “May the best team win...” The game announcer said as the second door in the room opened.
   Both teams were greeted with darkness when they stepped in the arena. The only lights that could be seen were those that gave slight visibility to the shape of the arena, and those from the weapons and armor that they had. The arena was also fairly large for something that is indoors.
   “All players, move to your respective bases so the round may begin.” The announcer said.
   “Alright, positions everyone! Let’s get this game started!” Andrea said to her team as they moved to their base.
   “Come on guys let’s move too.” Percy said before breaking off into a run. The others followed quickly.
   Percy stopped at a large circle in the middle of their designated base.
   “Alright. Theodore, Luna, this is where you go to if you get shot by the opponent. Otherwise, your armor won’t relight and you can’t score points like that. Got it?”
   “Got it.” Theodore replied.
   “Let the games begin.” The announcer said. Everyone’s armor lit up, signalling the start of the game.
   “The map is symmetrical right?” Theodore quickly asked Percy. His tone and facial expression was now serious.
   Percy was thrown off by Theodore’s sudden change in demeanor. “Yes it is?” He replied.
   “Split up.” Theodore whispered before moving ahead, keeping his head low. He chose to move down the left side of the arena.
   “Alright, but I’ll move on my own eventually.” Percy replied before running down the other side of the arena, firing wildly as he moved.
   Luna and Yuki were left at the base.
   “Um...” Luna was going to ask Yuki something but was quickly interrupted by her.
   “Move to the higher level.” Yuki said calmly. “Shoot from there. I will guard the perimeter.” She walked outside the base and started scanning the area for her targets.
   “R-right.” Luna responded and looked for a path to the upper level of the base.
   Theodore silently crouched behind a low wall and used his smartphone camera to look over it. On one end he saw Percy running across the arena, ready to shoot at anything that moved. On the other end he saw Andrea hiding behind a tall but narrow barricade, expecting Percy to pass her.
   “Why?!” Theodore thought as he moved across the field, carefully maintaining a low profile.
   Percy stopped right in front of the barricade. “Heh!” he said shortly before turning around and saw a really fast blur, which no doubt belonged to Ms. Melody, moving towards their base. “Feuer!” He held the trigger, firing rapidly.
   “Got you!” Andrea thought as she stepped out of the barrier, ready to shoot Percy when suddenly she heard another firing noise, followed by the unmistakable noise that told her that she was shot.
   “What? I didn’t see that.” She looked to where the other noise came from, and saw Theodore slip behind another barrier.
   Percy’s armor was then shot shortly afterwards, forcing him to make a retreat. Andrea looked behind her and saw Dylan.
   “You didn’t keep your guard up.” he said to her. “I’ll move ahead.” He dashed across the arena, past Percy.
   Theodore felt something quickly pass by him. “Ms. Melody must have gotton shot.” He thought. Realizing the implications of that, he quickly changed position. After doing that, he used his phone camera again and saw Drake taking aim at the home base. Looking at the home base, he could see Luna retreating inside, no doubt having gotten shot by someone.
   When Drake stood up to move, Theodore got out of cover and immediately shot him, following it up by shooting Ms. Melody as she dashed out of the base for the second time. Both shots hit and the two had to return to the neon circle in their base.
    Now he thought it was a good time for him to fall back. Sadly for him, while he was running back to the home base, Dylan burst out of a corner with an ungodly speed and shot him before he could even process the situation. He flinched as his armor was deactivated.
    “This is way more intense than using Air guns.” Theodore thought before running again.
    The battle continued for thirty minutes. After which they heard the broadcast telling them that the match has ended. Happy but worn out from their game, both teams walked to the scoreboard in the lobby.
   “Mein Gott, Theodore!” Percy exclaimed. “That score...” He pointed at the top of the board.
   “What is it?” Theodore looked at where he pointed and saw that the score was his. He placed the highest out of everyone. “What the... that’s my score!”
   Yuki grabbed his hands and started spinning him around, all the while keeping the same flat expression on her face.
   “We won, we won!” Percy cheered. “Heil, us!”
   Yuki let go of Theodore, then proceeded to pull Percy into a hug. Percy cheerfully returned her hug while Theodore stumbled backwards from the force of the spin, regaining his balance before he could collide with Luna.
   “I don’t like it that Ms. Melody scored more than me though.” Percy added as an afterthought.
   Ms. Melody walked up to Percy with a triumphant expression on her face. “Told you I wouldn’t hold back!”
   “I’ll score higher next time. Just you wait!” Percy competitively declared to her.
   “I didn’t hit you, did I?” Theodore said to Luna.
   “No, I’m fine.” Luna meekly replied. “Congrats um... on the score.”
   “Thanks. You know, you did well back there too.” Theodore scratched the back of his neck. “We wou-”
   “You know for a student, you are quite skilled in handling that gun, even if it was fake.” Dylan unintentionally interrupted him. “Is this a trend in your generation?”
   “Well... in a sense, I guess you can say that.” Theodore replied as he put away his armor.
   Andrea finished stowing away her weapon at the shelf. “Well, that was fun. I have a feeling they would do well in my class next year.” She smirked then looked at Dylan, Theodore, and Luna having a conversation. Dylan and Theodore were speaking naturally with each other, while Luna just silently listened in. “I’m just not sure about the girl.”
   “Oh you don’t have to worry about her,” Drake reassured. “She’s a bit timid but she’s just as good as the rest of them. One of the ways you can judge a person is to see how they work in a team.”
   “I get what you mean. So how was she then?” She asked.
   “Well, did you notice that her score was the lowest?” Drake said as both of them walked towards the scoreboard.
   “Oh wow, you’re right. But she was a sniper wasn’t she? Like you. She should have scored higher than that.”
   “She was providing cover fire.” Drake pointed out.
   “Cover fire?”
   “I learned about it yesterday when I was in the library with Bartholomew.” Drake explained. “To put it simply, she was shooting at us  not to hit us, but to stop us from moving. This allowed the others to hit us perfectly, even if the Principal and Ms. Melody were dashing around the arena at high speed.”
   “Hmm. I see...” Andrea said. “By the was, how is Bartholomew doing?”
   “Him?” Drake thought for a few seconds. “Let’s see... He’s quite scared of Dr. Victor and talks to himself at times, but otherwise he’s doing fine. He still gets along well with the students, that’s for sure.”
   “Heh, I always hear from my students that their underclassmen are scared of him too. What is he like?” Andrea asked.
   “He’s more heavy handed than I am in teaching. He doesn’t smile either.” Drake replied objectively. “But the students are learning well from him. That’s what matters in the end.”
   The two groups said their goodbyes to each other when they left the building. Percy led his friends around town some more, finding more fun things to do along the way. While the group composed of school teachers and their Principal went to find some place to eat.
   
   With both groups unaware of the shadowy figures that watched them the entire time.

   During the next week, a mild breeze swept through the entire city as preparations for the All Hallows Week festival was underway. Most of Sanctum’s citizens were busy decorating the entire town plaza, along side other locations for the upcoming event. Orange lights being hanged on the trees, carved pumpkins being placed on select spots, booths being built by people wanting to make a profit, and even the local government was planning the route for the haunted parade.
   Theodore, having some time to himself again, decided to return to the plaza on his own to observe the citizens dilligently contributing to make the upcoming festivities exciting for everyone. To keep himself warm on this cold day, he wore a jacket decorated with an Yggdrasil motif.
   But all that would have to wait for a minute. He walked over to the nearby bench and sat down in order to rest his feet since the walk from the nearest bus stop to the plaza was long enough to be tiring for him.
   Looking towards the booths he immediately noticed Leon since he stood out from the crowd because of his tall height. Theodore could not hear him but he appeared to be giving orders to the other people, no doubt  his fellow club members, nearby. A few moments later, he saw Percy walk out of a nearby tent dragging a wooden beam, appearing to ask Leon a question. Leon nodded.
   After Percy set up the beam, making sure it would stand still, he wiped his face and looked at Theodore’s direction, noticing him immediately. Percy waved enthusiatically at him. Theodore waved back.
   In response, he saw Percy talk to Leon for a few seconds before putting down the other things he was carrying and running towards him.
   “Oy Theodore, enjoying the scenery? Nice jacket by the way. I like the tree.” Percy said when he reached hearing range.
   “Yggdrasil,” Theodore corrected him “and thanks. Isn’t all this a bit ironic though?” Theodore asked.
   “Depends on what you mean by ironic.” Percy replied.
   “Well, Halloween was originally a time to hide from the supernaturals by dressing up as one of them, wasn’t it? Why are the Vampires celebrating it too?”
   “That’s how the humans saw it.” Percy replied. “For Vampires, All Hallows Eve was a time they could perfectly blend in with humans so they can get close enough to drink their blood.”
   Theodore tried hard not to think of the unfortunate implications of what Percy said and changed the topic. “Anyway, what are you guys doing?”
   “That?” Percy pointed to the booth they were all setting up. “This is the big job I was talking about. We’re going to set up a booth for the All Hallows Week festival in order to raise our club budget. Ms. Melody took care of the paperwork for us.”
   “Oh, okay.” Was all Theodore could reply with, then Leon’s call a few days back came to his mind. “Wait, about the thing with the attackers?”
   “We’ll deal with that too, but while we’re doing that we have to raise funds for our club somehow. It’s the Fair!” Percy replied. “Not going to ask what we’re selling?” He changed the topic.
   “You already said it was a booth. That’s all I wanted to know.” Theodore replied. “I already know you’re going to sell mixed drinks.”
   “Oh dang. Leon, we got an intelligence leak!” Percy yelled.
   Moving at the speed of a Vampire, it took Leon less than a fraction of a second to move from the unfinished booth to in front of Theodore. Theodore jumped out of the seat on reflex.
   “And just how did you recieve this information?” Leon sternly asked. “Who. Told. You?”
   Theodore regained his composure before replying. “Look, it’s pretty obvious from what your group members are doing.” He pointed at one of the club members, who was taking out bottles from a box and another one, who was playing with a cocktail shaker.
   Leon had no words to respond with. He turned to Percy. “Comrade, back to work.” He said before he walked back to the booth and scolded his club members.
   “Well, you heard him, I better get back.” Percy stretched before following Leon. “Catch you later I guess? Oh well. We’ll see each other again anyway.”
   Theodore continued to walk around the plaza until something caught his eye again. It was a finished booth with a single large but empty pedestal. Surrounding the pedestal were four posts supporting an eastern themed roof, giving it the appearance of a small shrine. Sitting on the pedestal was a Vampire dressed in a vampire coat that resembled a men’s kimono, drawing on a sketchbook.
   Interested, Theodore walked towards it. Upon closer inspection he noticed that two of the posts had hooks to hang something on.
   “Like the design, Human?” The Vampire asked without looking away from the sketchbook, continuing his task.
   “Yes sir.” Theodore politely replied. “I think it’s pretty well made.”
   The vampire stopped what he was doing and looked at him. “Hm. You seem new to the fair so I’ll tell you this: You won’t find anything interesting in this booth once the fair begins.” He said.
   “What?” Theodore did not understand what the vampire said.
   “Your expression reminds me of a child who has just seen an ocean for the first time in his life.” Replied the Vampire. “This booth is for advertising our coffins.”
   “Coffins?” Theodore asked.
   “Artisan coffins, Human.” The Vampire replied, handing his sketchbook to Theodore. “For a pleasant vampiric sleeping experience.”
   Flipping through the pages, Theodore saw sketches of really well drawn coffins. He was imagining different vampires sleeping peacefully in each drawing he saw.
   “Of course if you want it for funeral use, that’s on your discretion. I also run the funerary services here in Sanctum.” Continued the Vampire.
   “If you’re designing, then who makes the coffins?” Theodore asked.
   “Our family designs and makes our own coffins. Each member has their own design line.” The vampire replied. “This means I build the designs I draw.”
   Theodore closed the sketchbook and examined the cover. It was lined in fine black velvet and embroided with symbols he cannot read.
   “Wow. That’s pretty impressive.” Theodore said, returning the sketchbock to the vampire. “So, you built this booth by yourself too?”
   The vampire seemed to have noticed something, looking behind himself for a few seconds before recieving his sketchbook. “My daughters helped me earlier. I assume they’ve already returned home, or are managing the shop in my stead. Now would you please leave me be, I just got a new design idea and I want to draw it before I forget.” The vampire said nothing else and resumed drawing in his sketchbook.
   “What an interesting fellow.” Theodore thought as he left the vampire alone to his task.
   After spending enough time walking around the town plaza, Theodore decided it was finally a good time to go back home.
   “I have to make dinner tonight.” thought Theodore. “Better get back early. Oh?” he noticed Luna sitting down at the bench he was sitting down on earlier in the day, doing nothing in particular. Thinking about it, he hasn’t really talked much with Luna in a while because of her taciturn nature.
   “Hey!” Theodore greeted her.
   Luna flinched at the greeting, then looked at him. “Oh, hi...” She said softly.
   “What brings you here?” Theodore asked. “I was curious to see how the town prepared for the festival.”
   “I just... didn’t want to be at home right now. I... needed some time to think.” Luna replied.
   “Hm. ’bout what?”
   Luna looked to the side without responding. She really didn’t want to respond to that.
   “Sorry. Didn’t mean to pry or anything.” Theodore hastily apologized, following that up with a different question. “Mind if I sit down for a bit?”
   “If you want to.” Luna replied.
   Theodore sat down right beside her. He knew he couldn’t stay for too long so he said the first thing that popped into his mind at the time.
   “The days just seem to fly by, doesn’t it?”
   “Mm.” Luna replied while nodding. She continued after a moment of silence. “It’s still a bit too fast for me, actually.” Luna managed a small laugh.
    “Well for me, it’s actually a lot slower than my days back at the mainland.” Theodore leaned back on the bench.
    There was another long pause. After which, It was Luna who asked her question. “What was it like out there?... Outside the island.”
    “The Mainland?” Theodore looked at her. “Was a land of neverending war. No one had allies. Every country in the world are enemies with each other. It hasn’t shown signs of stopping too.”
    “Was it difficult?” Luna did not take her eyes off of the ground.
    “Nah,” Theodore dismissively waved his hand. “My family travelled around a lot so we were never caught in a battlefield.”
    “For how long?”
    Theodore thought for a few seconds. “Since I was born, I guess? I’ve always lived life on the road until I came here.”
    “Oh...” was all Luna managed to reply with.
    “Well, that’s... certainly interesting.” The two heard a voice coming from their back.
    Theodore looked behind him and saw Claire holding her tablet.
    “Hello.” The vampire greeted them. “That’s going on your records by the way.” She started typing something down.
    “Records? No, wait... how long were you standing there?” Theodore asked.
   “Since ‘What was it like out there?’ So just recently.” She replied casually. “I was going to check on the club booth before going home, but then I overheard your little conversation. I just couldn’t help but listen in.”
   “I’ll leave now.” Luna said before standing up. “My mom wants me at home before dark.” She didn’t give Theodore or Claire a chance to reply before walking away.
   “Are you the only one she talks to like that?” Claire asked as soon as Luna was out of hearing range. “That’s going on her record too until we find an alternative.” When she said that, she interrupted Theodore’s response.
   Theodore sighed. “I’m not sure really, she’s pretty quiet when with the others. At the same level Yuki is.”
   Claire sat down right next to Theodore, but she kept a one person distance from him. “No wait, I’m supposed to be going home.” She stood up immediately. “Sorry, can’t chat right now. You should probably go home too.” She ran from the plaza as fast as she could.
   With no more people to talk to, Theodore stood up and walked towards the bus station he came from, where the bus he needed to ride had arrived just in time.
   He sat down at the upper deck of the bus just to observe the passing vehicles, amongst the interesting ones he saw were vampires on bicycles, a horse-drawn carriage, and, oddly enough, an ATV, which he swore was not road-legal back at the mainland.
   “I learned that Sanctum’s road laws were loose, but that’s just ridicuous.” Theodore quietly said to himself.    
   When he arrived home, there was still plenty of time to cook dinner. He already prepared for the event he would be home later than usual by preparing the ingredients he needed before leaving the house in the first place.
   “I’m home!” He called out as he stepped inside.

   When dinner was finished, Theodore spent the rest of the night doing free reasearch on Mythology while chatting with Ring_of_Nightmares on.
   [You should really watch your back.] was the next message Theodore received from her.
   [Why?] Theodore typed as his response.
   [The shadows were everywhere today.] was the reply he recieved.
   Theodore contemplated about what that meant.
   [Shadows?] he sent.
   [Yeah. The doctor told me that there were many creepy shadows today. Shadows without people.]
   Theodore didn’t have enough time to write his response before she sent her next message.
   [If you’re not careful, you might disappear.]
   He was reminded of the words he read in the Incanta he owned. Naturally, that came off as bad news to him.
   [Alright, I’ll be careful.] He sent to her, following it up with a second message. [Are you going to the All Hallows Week festival?].
   [Yup, I wouldn’t miss that even for a recital!] She replied.
   [Can I meet you there?] Theodore sent, eager for a chance to meet his online friend in person.
   A few minutes passed before he recieved a reply from her. [No. I don’t think I’m ready to see you just yet.]
   [Alright then.] Theodore was disappointed, but he had to respect her wishes.
   The next reply from her arrived quickly.
   [I’m so sorry. I can at least give you my UCN phone number, Here. Don’t call me though, just text...] After that, the next message Theodore recieved was a string of thirteen digits. He had it registered in his phone, then sent her a text using his username as the message.
   [Silver_Keychains]
   After a few seconds he got a reply. [Ring_of_Nightmares] was what the message said. It was proof that the number she had sent him was real.
   Theodore looked back at the computer screen, where he recieved another message from her.
   [I have your number now. Thanks.]
   [You’re welcome.] He sent as his reply.
   [I have to practice now. Talk to you some other time.] Was the last message she sent before logging off.
   Taking his friend’s words he closed his window curtains, and took a small peak outside. The streets outside were empty again, no moving vehicle or person in sight, just like every night since since the day he’s moved in. Something was definitely wrong.
   “But what is it?” Theodore asked no one out loud in frustration. He looked at his bookshelf full of Mythology books, picked out books that had something to do with hiding or stealth, and started scanning through them to find his answer.
   Eventually he was scanning the Incanta again, and this time he found something interesting.
   “Perception Barrier: Night Version.” He quietly read the title of the page. “A spell that casts a shapable field around an area, decieving bystanders into thinking that there are no signs of life in the affected area. Usable only at night, or in dark places. In addition, all sound coming from inside the barrier is contained so it does not arouse suspicion. Note: Does not affect tectonic movement. Required runes can be found in the last chapter of the book.”
   Theodore looked back at his window, remembering that he once heard gun shots coming from outside his house. Facing his wall clock, the position of the arms told him that it was already 11:00 at night.
   “Guess I’ll just have to put if off for now. I’m sure Percy will do something about it eventually.”
   Laying on his bed and pulling his blanket over him, Theodore quickly fell asleep.