Xavier narrows his eyes. “What’s going on?” He questions Jake, who rolls his eyes in response.

“No time to talk. Just run,” he speaks in a clipped tone, and immediately starts off again. He’s heading north, supposedly in the direction of the castle. I can hear him loudly shouting expletives as he approaches the outskirts.

“What the crap is going on?” I ask angrily, trying to survey the forest with a more perceiving eye. To my alarm, I can make out some humanlike bodies, making their way out onto the beach.

Xavier, still carrying Wes, starts to make his way towards Jake. “Come on, we all fight together,” he says in a commanding voice, and then turns away. His bare feet stomp through the sand, and even though his voice is calm, his shoulders are shaking in either fear or exhaustion.

Now having gained clarity of the situation, I start running with all my might. The space beside my arm glitters as a large, silver spear forms within my fingertips.

I can see them, a multitude of Shifters in either physical or spirit form converging upon the coastline, and these are nothing like the others I’ve seen. Red eyes glitter in dark, pulsating bodies. Each one of them looks thirsty, tinged with the insanity that comes with emotions such as hate or envy. Some have delved into the surrounding foliage, with glowing tree trunks for torsos and blood red veins running down the heads to the roots. They have human like shapes in that they don’t look as sturdy or as thick as a normal tree would, and the arms are made of branches gathered together, while possessing intimidating elasticity.

Jake pulls out a small dagger, his face twisted with some of the same madness that the Shifters possessed. “Get ready,” he growls as the first Shifter in physical form rips from the underbrush and runs faster than any normal human being should.

Without a second thought I raise my arm and throw the spear with all of my strength. Exhilaration fills my chest as it hits a Shifter square in the face, wedged deep into the wood, and it sinks to the sand in temporary anguish. But that doesn’t last for long, and it soon pushes itself up by the roots and edges closer to our group. “What’s going on?” I yell, astounded at its resilience, “I just hit it!”

“You have to literally destroy it,” Jake says grimly, cracking his knuckles, “I can’t tell you how many times that’s happened to me since yesterday when they found us.”

A bow starts to form next, probably more suited to my needs as countless voids cross into the sand. “Cover me! I’m going to go for the Shifters in their spirit form!” I yell, the first arrow already in my hand and fastened to the string. Jake casts a glance at me, obviously confused, but I don’t try to clear it up for him. I let the first one fly, feeling grateful to myself for all those training practices I’ve taken in the past week or two. As it passes through a Shifter, the creature just evaporates, but strangely I feel none of the pain that I had grown accustomed to when attacking them. There is no guilt, but liberation. These twisted creatures are way past the point of no return, and it’s time for judgment.

As Griffin tries to block a tall Shifter from pouncing on me, I let out a swarm of arrows that mostly hit their targets. After several fall, Griffin turns and looks at me. “That never gets old.” He laughs energetically.

“What?”

“Seeing u throw an invisible spear and actually knock down stuff with it.” He smiles at me, and then turns to the next enemy. He pulls a small pocket knife out of his pants and jumps the Shifter that’s the closest.

Jake throws his dagger to Yi, who’s flickering in and out of human vision, and immediately long, glistening talons protrude from his fingertips. Although I don’t have enough time to really watch him fight, it is amazing to see him slash at the trees and almost rip them in half. I’ve never seen him fight before, nor most of the others.

Xavier has set Wes down and started smashing everything with his crazy Earthquake punch, a look in his eyes that is both feral and bloodthirsty. Griffin doesn’t really have a special talent, but he is incredibly agile with his small knife, amazing me with his strength as he repeatedly stabs a Shifter in the sides and head. Danae is just carefully watching Wes, measuring his temperature and warming his body from the chill of the wind and water. It is amazing to see everyone using their talents and just in general working together towards survival.

The most impressive fighter, however, is definitely Ray. I had never seen his talent before, and it amazes me to witness it now. Surrounded by probably the largest number of Shifters, his body has grown about twice as big in the wake of the oncoming threat, covered in hair and rippling with muscles. His hands look almost like paws, with sharp claws, and his face is covered in hair so it is nigh impossible to see. So this is the Beast talent.

It is funny because the pack had mentioned their powers several times before, but absolutely nothing beats seeing them in their culmination. As I continuously fire off arrows with mediocre accuracy, they continuously fend off attacks with the Shifters running after me. And these creatures are not normal in the least. They are fighting machines, able to continue through near anything. And even now they are flooding onto the beach in countless numbers.

I swing a tall mace to the monsters in front of me as Griffin tries to hit them with the knife. “Take them now!” I call as they fall to the ground. Griffin casts me an amazed look and then leans forward to stab them one at a time. I can hear him groaning as one of them lashes out and hits him in the side. I feel pressure closing in on me from all sides, my conscience blurred with red.

There’s way too many. We are putting up a good fight, but for every one we kill, five take its place. Anger courses through me as two of them make it through the others to Wes and Danae, both of whom don’t notice anything.

“Watch out!” I scream as I throw a glistening spear directly towards them. It heads straight through the two Shifters and vanishes when it reaches Danae’s body. I cry out when the Shifters collapse on the sand, running towards them and stabbing them with my newly constructed sword, actually splitting them in half this time. At this point weapons are just magically appearing left and right, and most of the time I don’t even know what they are when I throw them. The appearances seem to be fueled by my emotions, in desperation the sword, in hope the spear, and in sadness the arrows.

“Mona!” I hear Griffin’s voice to the side and immediately turn to see three Shifters bashing at his body without mercy. His face is bleeding, dark blood running down his nose and neck.

There is just too much. My attention is constantly diverted, diluting my chance for action by introducing so many possibilities. I am losing myself, losing the rationality of free thought in the face of so many enemies.

I call his name and shoot several arrows into the faces of the attackers. Casting a glance at the rest of the beach, it looks to be covered in bodies and blood, most of which is ours. I grab Griffin’s arm and tug him over to Danae and Wes. “Help him,” I tell Danae firmly, and then turn back towards the battle.

My vision is suddenly, without any warning, knocked out as I am hit in the stomach. I double over, coughing violently. I feel dizzy, and fall over completely as my consciousness starts to fade away. All I can think is that it’s over. This pain now corrupting my body will inevitably take over.

I look upwards to see a huge Shifter leaning over me, swinging a huge branch directly in front of my body. I snap my head back, but I can tell it is going to hit me anyways. Fear like nothing I have ever felt before seizes my heart.

There is a loud growl as a flash of color races across my vision. “Don’t you dare touch her!” Xavier yells as he jumps at the Shifter with his arm outstretched and his hands clenched into fists. As soon as he is close enough he punches it with such strength that it literally bursts into pieces. Right after he does so, he races back towards me and cradles me in his arms. “Are you alright?” he asks, staring into my eyes.

“P-put me down. You need to fight,” I protest, and then he sighs in response.

“I can fight and carry you at the same time.” He smiles, and then slings me over his shoulder. I grab his neck while battling the temptation to give up my consciousness. Surveying the area, I can see now that the attack has abated slightly, with Yi having dropped his invisibility, and Jake not wearing that same look of desperation. But my eyes widen as I turn my head to Ray’s side of the beach.

“Xavier, Ray!” I call, and he turns his head. Literally covered by ten or more Shifters, he seems to have been knocked down and halfway morphed back to his regular self. Xavier starts running, barreling through some lone Shifters on the way.

“Ray!” He calls, while punching a few of the Shifters surrounding him. On Xavier’s back I still manage to produce a small spear, throwing it weakly into another that was beating on Ray’s head. As we get a clear view, I gasp as I see several terrible injuries cover his neck and body. One of the Shifters must have been striking him repeatedly with the scourge-like branches, because the same puncture marks I saw on Jake are abundant on Ray’s chest.

Xavier bends down to check his pulse. “I don’t feel anything,” he whispers weakly, causing me to gasp. What… this just… can’t…

“Ray, you just can’t do this!” I scream pointlessly into the distance. Xavier stands up, and turns slightly to survey the rest of the battlefield. He seems surprisingly calm, but tears are pouring down his face in a betrayal of his real emotions.

I just can’t help but think that there is something wrong with the picture before me. That Ray is breathing, that he will open his eyes, and nothing will be amiss. That he would say something like “were you fooled?!” in his low, flippant voice, and immediately jump back into the battle. I try to push forward this proposed reality while wondering, if I wish it enough, that it could become the actuality.

“They seem to be… backing off. But Griffin…” He narrows his eyes and immediately starts running. Griffin was standing up when he clearly shouldn’t, the only one who could fend off the ones attacking the wounded, and pushing two monsters to the side.

“What are you doing! Ray-”

“I can’t think about him right now, Mona,” Xavier says through gritted teeth, “or I’ll fall apart before the battle is over.”

I realize he is right, but at the same time I don’t want to believe it. I don’t want to believe any of it—that any of this is real, that there are monsters such as these who are so merciless, emotionless, and cruel.

He helps Griffin for a few minutes while I lie on his back, images swirling before me. A wave of nausea almost overcomes my body, and the entire battle starts to blend together after a little while. I have no clue what’s going on anymore, struck blind by the intensity of my emotions. There was something about Ray’s bloodied face that makes me feel so guilty, and defeated.

I jerk up as Xavier jumps backwards to swing his fist at another Shifter. “I think they are leaving for some reason,” He comments wryly, “luckily for us.”

The Shifters do seem to be retreating, the sea of monsters abruptly turning as if they had suddenly received a direct order. As if spellbound, I watch them turn away and march backwards. They step over their dead without a second glance, having no emotion whatsoever. These are not representative of the many Shifters I saw dotted within the forest, full of desperation, hope, and longing. These are beasts, mere monsters that cannot be salvaged.

Immediately my gaze shifts to the side where Ray had been fighting. My eyes widen, and I start shouting in alarm. “Xavier! Look!”

There is no body over to the side of the beach, only hundreds of tree trunks and scraps of bark. In such a horrific scene of destruction, the only thing missing is the only thing that I wanted to be there.

“Where’s Ray?” I ask with tears streaming down my face, knowing that I won’t receive an answer. Xavier starts running, but I know no amount of speed will change anything.

“They took him,” I murmur chokingly as Xavier frenziedly checks the area, “they… took him. How could they be so cruel?!” I burst into sobs as I grip as Xavier’s back.

I never thought of Ray as my best friend, or even liked him half the time I knew him. But I had grown more attached to him over this short while than I could even acknowledge, and now a piece has been ripped out of my heart, and only a gaping hole remains.

Splatters of blood are scattered along the coastline where they must have dragged him. I try to follow the trail, but soon give up as the tears blur my vision. I drop to my feet, sliding off Xavier’s back, and soon find that I don’t have the energy to even stand. Xavier wraps his arms around my body, sensing what I could never say, and leans forward until our bodies are just barely touching.

“Xavier… you saved my life,” I start, acknowledging him in a halting voice, “thank you. I owe you.”

He nods, his blue hair blowing in the fierce wind, looking not at my eyes but past me entirely, casting his gaze into the furtive unknown. I realize that even though he is here, he is not, and at this moment—what he is, he isn’t. There’s a questioning of identity that comes with every horrible situation, whether it is realized or not.

I can hear the others coming closer, but their approach is about the last thing I recognize. Caught in the pain of the indefinite moment, I lift my face up towards his and let my lips rest against his cheek.

Xavier’s arms tighten around me, almost to the point where I can barely breathe, and his face tilts so that he can brush his lips against my eyelid, and then my temple. Once again, his hand rubs up and down my back, as if confirming my existence.

“I’m here,” I whisper, knowing that for the first time since I met him, he is the farthest away of all of us.