Winter Swan

She had to get out of here, and she had to hurry.

Her cold, sharp instincts warned her, so Silje ran.

Both of the classroom doors opened, and all the kids ran out to chase after her. The students in the hallway looked surprised and entertained at the same time.

As she ran, Silje wanted to scream to everyone to get out of her way. She knew no one would help her, so they should at least not get in her way.

She was bleeding and she clearly looked like she needed help, but as expected, no one tried to help her. They all just watched from far away. Everyone either watched with amusement or looked the other way.

A large mob was after her and Silje continued to sprint. Her first priority was to get away from this situation. She would think of what to do next after she found safety.

Just then, one of the boys managed to grab her hair.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Silje refused to scream. The others caught up to them quickly and they were ready to start all over again.

"Silje Kim Pettersen, you will die today!"

The boys started to drag her towards the classroom again, and Silje knew she couldn't let them. With the last bit of strength, she took her shoes off and hit them as hard as she could. If she was caught again, it was going to be the end of her.

She somehow managed to get away again and ran down the hallway like the wind.

"Get her!"

"Bring her back!"

The kids screamed from behind. As she ran barefoot, Silje closed her eyes tight. The cold wind whipped her ears hard and her heart was pounding fast. She couldn't breathe at all and every hair on her body stood up.

Silje ran and ran.

Just then…

Someone grabbed her from behind and she lost her balance.

Slam!

She fell forward and hit her nose on the floor.

As the pain hit her sharply, Silje prayed.

For the first time in her life, she prayed for someone to help her. If God existed, she begged for someone to please save her.

Warm sticky liquid covered her lips. Silje realized that it was her own blood from her nose. She wiped it and when she saw the unusually bright color of it, she became dizzy.

"You. What are you doing here?"

A cold voice.

Could it be…

Silje looked up, and miraculously, it was Kail.

Why was he here?

He was leaning against the wall in his black boots. Dark hair, bright green eyes, and his suffocating stare… Kail looked down at her coldly.

"What are you doing?"

He frowned for a second before chuckling.

"Your hair is a mess, and you have a nosebleed. Are you barefoot too? Where are your shoes? You…"

He continued to murmur until he noticed Felicien and the other bullies running after her. His expression changed suddenly.

"…"

Kail raised an eyebrow and glared at Felicien without a word. His look was deadly and even though it wasn't directed at her, Silje shivered in fear.

He suddenly smiled and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Shockingly, Felicien didn't back down. He pointed at Silje on the floor and said to Kail as if he were issuing a challenge, "As you can see, I am hunting this bitch."

Felicien snickered.

"If it's ok with you, Kail, I want to teach her a lesson. What do you think? I can't wait."

Looking straight into Kail's eyes, Felicien repeated, "What do you think, Kail?"

A tense silence fell. The kids watched anxiously with their wide eyes. Kail glanced at Silje briefly and she couldn't tell what he was thinking. After a few seconds, he frowned and announced, "I don't care what you do."

He then looked around and raised an eyebrow, making everyone nervous. Some even gasped in fear. Felicien seemed not to believe Kail as he asked again, "Are you sure? I can do whatever I want to that bitch? Kail, are you sure it's okay with you?"

"Do whatever you want. It has nothing to do with me."

Silje gasped. It felt like her heart had been stabbed by something sharp.

Why? Why did she feel this way? She didn't know, but it hurt. She couldn't breathe and when she turned to look at Kail, he added menacingly, "Why do you keep asking me? It's annoying. Is it because you're bored? Do you want me to do something to you?"

Kail's eyes darkened while his lips formed a chilling smile.

Some kids backed away as Kail turned to Felicien and sneered, "By the way, you look good, Felicien. Are you having fun?"

Kail said it casually, but it was clearly a threat. Everyone could tell, especially Felicien. Looking nervous, Felicien's eyes wavered but he replied, "I will see you later in the storage, Kail. I'll be there as soon as I am done with this girl."

"Whatever."

Kail gave him another look before walking away. He left without looking at Silje.

Silje's eyes widened as she watched him. She looked pathetic with her crazy hair and bloody face.

At first, she tried to forget about him. Kail was a bastard. He sliced her wrist and pushed her beyond her limit to test his twisted feelings for her.

She just had to let this go. She didn't expect him to help her, so she just had to ignore him. This was the logical thing to do.

But!

She trembled hysterically as she watched him walk away. It was so strange. In her head, she knew what he was doing made sense and that it was fine, but in her heart, this was all wrong.

No matter how many times she tried to tell herself that this was okay, she couldn't be convinced. Every time Kail took a step away from her, her heart fell.

She couldn't explain it and it was almost like she was hallucinating. She couldn't breathe and she even started to cough.

What was happening? It felt like there was a hole in her heart. Her eyes blurred and the darkness enveloped her mind.

He was leaving.

He was walking away from her.

She was never going to see Kail again.

And with that thought, her lips started to move.

"…K-Kail…"

She said his name and suddenly, Silje realized the truth.

Her head couldn't control her heart. When she realized she was abandoned by Kail, she felt overwhelming darkness and loneliness. She couldn't breathe and her heart started to die slowly.

Silje stood up, still shaking. Felicien grabbed her hair and another boy pushed her down to the floor again. As she tasted her own blood, something exploded inside of her.

Silje screamed.

"…KAIL!"

She couldn't stop shaking. Her scream sounded like that of a dying animal. It was frightening and haunting.

"KAIL!"

Her face was red and bloody as she continued yelling, "…KAIL, KAIL!"

She sounded like a madwoman.

Kail, who was on his way out of the hallway, suddenly flinched and slowly turned around.

"KAIL!"