《Chained Fates》


 Chapter 1: The Assembly

    A monstrous shadow stood in the spotlight of a dark stage. Sparks danced around it, twisting and unfolding until it revealed a feminine figure that could allure any male she so desired, from her thin, shapely frame to her wavy raven hair and purple glowing eyes. A smile curved up her lips.


    "Welcome one and all to this great hall. We wish you a grand jester of fun, wonder, and fright. We have returned to our old school to see the progress our educators have left behind in these hallowed halls. But I must confess that we are distressed, perplexed, and annoyed.


    We feel that the educators here have failed. Your selection of peers is a failure. Those learning here have gone astray. Thus, it must be torn down and built anew. We will now bind the fates of all here by two and one to build, to grow, and have your fun. We shall guide, we shall teach, but our stern hand it will reach. The contract is made, and the work is to be done. This sister completes the spell my voice has spun. Sister take up the task and raise a glass.


    For now, our fun has already begun." Said the beauty in the spotlight.


    Her audience began to murmur to one another. The lights slowly filled the room. All entrances have been blocked by deformed trees growing from the ground. Other attractive female figures all laughed and chucked from the branches. They chanted and spun rhymes of power rimes the trees. Dark shadows danced from under the trees along with the rhyme rhythm.


    The students backed away, causing them to be huddled together as lambs in a pen facing a pack of wolves. Beads of sweat fell along with their hope.


    The shadows rose to link, weave, and transform into golden chains, wrapping and piercing the students together in groups of two from soul to soul. The panic blossomed, but the chains restrained them there in place.


    The female figure on stage ginned and stood even more straight and tall. Raising her hands, she said, "Dear sisters, we witches few have our work cut out for us, that we do."


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    The human mass ebbed and flowed but didn''t leave the circle. They raised cries, screams, and shrieks for air but were only heard by fellow students to raise them from off the ground.


    The witch on the stage gave a clap, and the lights went out. All went quiet. No cries or sobs could be heard; only an uneasy breath echoed from the walls. The spotlight shows again. The witch was in now in more traditional garb. Her smile was gone and a man is tied up at her feet, struggling like a bag worm.


    "Now, students, we have acted in a grand and drastic measure cause the leaders and staff have broken our contract from many years ago and have come to fulfill what was and is now owed. For their deceit, their leader will be stoned, and the teachers put to sleep until we are done here." Said the mysterious witch.


    She raised a hand, took a green vial from a pocket, and poured the contents onto the tired man. He wiggled and made muffled screams. His skin reddened until thick white steam covered his body as if he were a hunk of dry ice. When the steam faded all was there was a cold grey statue of the man who was their principal with a face filled with anguish and pain.


    In this moment of disbelief and horror, one girl stood out from the crowd and voiced her call. "What do you gain from subjecting us to all of this?"


    "A wonderful question and thought, but now is not the time, my sweet. But don''t worry too much as we will be explaining everything in our classes tomorrow. Now that about wraps up the opening presentation for the new semester." Said the witch.


    With her soft smile spreading, the light around her expanded from her till it reached the walls. Next, the shadows beneath their feet grew and lifted up like a fountain of water, encasing them and pulling them down its dark current.


    When the darkness subsided, the students found themselves within a dorm room and the echoes of a witch''s last few words between laughter. "Dear students, I once again welcome you to your new semester of the school year. Those of you finding each other in a room are partners for this semester. Man, woman, rock, or dog. Those chained will be partners and will not be separated till the end of this term. Okay. Good luck and good night."


    Many of the students screamed at who was in the room with them until a heaviness and drowsiness overcame them, until they were dragged into dreamland. Until morning.

 Chapter 2: Shackled Couple

    She jolted awake from her sheets in a daze. A young woman in her wrinkled school uniform looked around, trying to understand what was happening. The room was clean; the only other person was tucked within his covers. Memories of last night filled her mind with dread and embarrassment. Of all the people she had to be locked together with, it had to be this boy, a friend she made liked during the summer break.


    He had a calm face without a care in the world. The young woman wondered if she was that peaceful a moment ago dreaming. If only this was a dream, then she could understand it then. Golden chains wrapped around her waist shined, fading in and out of existence, gaining solid form one second and becoming nothing the next.


    She was contemplating if she should wake him up now by pulling the chain or let him have what might be his last peaceful dream. She sat down with her back against the bed, her hands pressed against her reddening face from last night''s flashbacks dancing in her mind.


    Last night was not the best reunion for them to find each other screaming in each other''s embrace. They let go and backed away in a hurry, only to be stopped and fall to the ground by a shining golden chain that pulled them closer together even as the boy clawed at the ground in surprise.


    They were brought back to back and couldn''t move as the golden chain weaved around and through them until they fell to the side. After 5 minutes of pointless struggle, they both calmed down. The golden chain slackened, changed to grey irons and faded away as if it was never there.


    The both of them calmly got up and walked slowly in the opposite direction until they sat down on different beds facing each other. Looking at each other''s haggard expression and sigh. The boy was the first to act. He slapped his cheeks and smiled back at the young woman.


    "Well, it''s great to see you again so soon, Gloria. I didn''t know you went to this school too." Said the young man. His smile and confidence seemed genuine but the rest of his body was still trembling. He continued to let out a nervous laugh and rub the back of his head while closing his fearing lifeless eyes.


    "Same, it was really a shock that we ended up together the way we did. Sorry about screaming in your face a moment ago, Aidan." Said Gloria sheepishly. She could feel her face burning red. She was embarrassed from both of their shock and fear from when they were dragged into the shadows by the chains. She was hoping it was less of a turn off for him than it was for her. She was a little revealed that she got to see a moment of weakness that they got to share together. The only problem was how to make sure nothing happened like this to her again.


    "I wasn''t inspiring or a manly figure either a moment ago. Gripping and clawing the ground when we were pulled together. I might as well have been an old cat that didn''t want to move." Said Aidan in a self-deprecating voice. He stopped rubbing the back of his head and held the front with it instead. Letting his hand block his eyes and calming him down in a relaxed hunched pose. He doesn''t want to look weak in front of Gloria but the stress and anxiety from a feeling of death was still too fresh for him.


    "Well, I guess it wasn''t too shocking of behavior after what happened with those women moments ago." Gloria reached out and held on his shoulder in a reassuring manner, slowing rocking him back and forth. She let a slight sadistic smile slip from his cute pose that made him look like a little animal that would depend on her. She thought that maybe this isn''t so bad, but shook her head and decide that wasn''t the time for this.


    "Hey, how do you think those monstrous women did all that reality warping things?" Questioned Aidan, shaking the golden chain that turned solid within his grasp before it darkened once again and faded. He finally calmed down enough to look Gloria in the eyes for the first time since they said their good byes at the station after those fireworks they shared together. He almost slipped out of the current reality before gaining his focus again.


    "No real clue, seemed like some kind of magic, maybe." Gloria was wondering if such a thing was still possible or even worth the effort. Would what they shown tonight have taken tens of years to prepare for if that was their mode of attack.


    "Magic? Do you mean with people as the conduit? Wasn''t that practice deemed unnecessary and backward?" Aidan didn''t understand how magic was able to do something like this. In the history books he studied they were grand feats that could be done to the landscape and the elements but messing with life in the manner that they showed moments ago went against his common knowledge. It told him how little he really knew and was slowly changing his world view. How could they do those feats when the human figure was the processing conduit for the formula of actualization? Wouldn''t it fail or fry their brains, but they only laughed while looking down on him and his meager understanding.


    "Maybe from the kingdom''s scholars did, but look at what those women did to us. It seems versatile enough." Gloria didn''t know what more to say to explain what she herself. She didn''t know and could only offer a smile back in frustration.


    "But wasn''t that why the king had runes, magic circuits, and so on implemented for engineering and versatility to not harm the user and lack of manpower needed?" Aidan thought of the technological revelation that happened within the last 50 odd years, but he could only see progress that was made and not regression, but if so why was tonight so different.


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    "I think you really mean take power away from other powers and raising standards of civilian living." Gloria was frustrated that this conversation was leaning into political debate of powers and rights but she felt it was an important to make the distinction.


    "I don''t want this to become a debate." Aidan was about to through his arms in the air if they were going to have another debate like every other lunch they had together and ruin the momentum of their conversation.


    "Sure, what are we going to discuss next?" Said Gloria, she looked around the room and out the window in the dark night. "How beautiful the blood moon is?" Its haunting glow made all the world died in its blood colored light only to make the night seem more than cursed with evil.


    "Look, that might be a clue. I mean, they are a group of women that use magic, right?" Aidan said, while jumping to his feet. He was pacing back and forth. He knew that this had to be something. It was on the tip of his tong but the thought didn''t come to mind.


    "And what groups would that break them into then, huh?" Gloria questioned in frustration as she watched Aidan''s pacing speed up.


    "Well, if I remember from history class, that would be sorceresses, spiritualists, en-trances, or witches if they were all human." Said Aidan stopping in place and looking down at Gloria. He was confident that the attackers were only human. Their mocking face were still fresh in his mind.


    "The leader called them sisters, and they didn''t look like vampires, so maybe a coven of witches." Said Gloria in a less ambitious guess. She thought how bad their luck truly was if they really are witches. It would be better to deal with vampires instead she thought.


    "Vampires? Wouldn''t we already be dead if... Well, witches are not much better from a historical standpoint."


    "I wouldn''t know much about that. History put me to sleep."


    "But history is.." Aidan said cutting himself short as he saw the light in Gloria''s eyes slowly dim from a lack of interest.


    "I know, but I can''t stand the teachers that teach it. Not even you can make it interesting enough for me." Gloria''s eyes were getting heavy from only mentioning the subject.


    "Fine, but what subject do you prefer then, Gloria?" Questioned Aidan in slight frustration in thinking of a better way to wake Gloria up. His thoughts were still racing and he didn''t what to be left alone yet.


    "Magical engineering. Seeking out treasure and the new horizons that wait there. Is there anything better to learn from this institution in all of the Kingdom?" Said Gloria, her mind and body reinvigorated at the mention of the topic.


    "Ugh, I wonder how that will change with the supposed witches having us by this literal leash?" Aidan said with thoughts of the foreboding future that lies ahead.


    "You don''t think they will not teach magical engineering this semester, then?" Gloria said, with a hint of panic. She was really looking forward to those classes that she finally qualified for this year.


    "Didn''t they say something about that for class tomorrow?"


    "True." sighed Gloria. Her thoughts starting to wonder if she might have a chance to study in the library even with the witches wondering around like would be tyrants.


    The two grew quiet and looked around the room. The golden and grey chains only wrapped around their waists, not restricting their general movement around the room anymore. They didn''t know what to make of it, but they thought that they could potentially have some peace of mind when having to use the restroom to water some flowers.


    "Hey, do you think we will be able to get our things back tomorrow? I mean, we are in new rooms now?" Said Aidan while scratching his head, looking aimlessly.


    "If they let us live past breakfast. Sure, why not?" Said Gloria. Her sarcasm only further showing her retreat from the reality of the moment.


    "That kind of can-don''t attitude will not get us anywhere right now."


    "Maybe petrified at best."


    "You know what? You have a point. Let''s sleep on it." Said Aidan as he kicked off his shoes and climbed into his bed, facing away from Gloria''s mopping figure. He lifted his sheet over his head and closed his head.


    Gloria sat down, rocking back and forth for a minute while her thoughts raced.


    How can he sleep like that? Why did he have to leave me alone and dream now? Can I even do anything about my situation?


    She sat down on her bed and turned her head to the window to see the red moon glow ominously off in the distance. She sits up and slips out of her shoes. She claps her hands, and the lights go out. Her mind continue to run laps with questions until the voice of Aidan came across the room.


    "Hey Gloria, let me tell you about how the Kingdom was founded in the 437th year of the calendar. At the time distrust and confusion was plaguing the land as the resurgence of ghouls," said Aidan in a monotone monologue. From the thought of learning history Gloria''s thoughts slowed down and her mind began to slowly drift. Only the stars'' brilliance faintly lights the room from the window.


    Aidan goes back under his sheets and lets his mind fade into the darkness.


    If only she could sleep, but these were nothing but memories in her waking nightmare of reality.


    She removed her hands from her face and got. Gloria gently turns around and shakes Aidan awake. "Time to seize the day. Wake up. We have to get ready. You don''t want to be late for a witches class, do you?" Questioned Gloria.


    "I''m up!" Aidan said. He was fighting a losing battle with his bedding. He fell to the floor but somehow emerged from the cloth like a mystical being born into world from a flower.


    "How do you pull that off?" Gloria questioned at the weirdly talented showmanship she just witnessed.


    "I don''t know what you mean. Didn''t you say something about being late?"  Said Aidan dodging her snide remark out of a complex.


    "Fine, let''s go. If any of the girls are dolled up today, I will give them applause."


    "That will be a riot. Mind if I join you?"


    "Go ahead, but they might hate you for it."


    "It''s all in good fun."


    "Suite yourself."


    They both walked out the door and into the long hallway. They found themselves amongst the sea of students that flowed all in one direction down the hall and out of the dorm. They all marched in rhythm, with the swaying of a golden chain pulling them along.