It was dark.
Ronald was worried. He wasn't comfortable here, wherever he is, in the dark. As a matter of fact, it was scary. Especially when he saw that maddened look in Spear's eyes after Ronald caught him doing... that... When Ronald saw that smile, he had ran away like his life depended on it.
Actually, it did. He knew for a fact his life depended on him running.
A gag forced its way up Ronald's throat. As he held his hand tight over his mouth, a sob wracked his chest. Surely he was going to die tonight. He was positive. Shinigami-fledglings who knew of The Academy, the Shinigami themselves, or anything about "The Afterlife" before they even became fledglings tended to... disappear if they said anything about their previous knowledge to anyone.
Ronald knew this, already though.
His brother, Oliver, had ran away from home when Ronald was seventeen, stating he was ready for the world and wanted to see what it had in store for him. Three years later, Oliver had sent him a message tied to a large envelope saying he "graduated his schooling." Ronald was happy for his brother but when he opened the envelope his eyes were fixated on the twenty, well worn papers that lay inside behind the letter. Within those pages, Oliver had wrote about the Shinigami, stating they were more than an old legend their mother had told them the night of Halloween. Oliver had documented everything about the bedtime stories both he and Ronald used to hear. Their eyes, their scythes, their work, the fledglings, the Cinematic Record, the enemies of the Shinigami... There were sketches, labels, even a map of The Academy and lists of instructor names, infamous Demons, even humans that were important enough to "cheat death." He had given every single detail to Ronald enthusiastically, as though he were in the mortal realm, in mortal college, enjoying the simplicity of human life. But he told Ronald he was a changed person. He said that he didn't age, gain or lose weight, was able to jump at incredible heights and run as fast as lightning. He even said he was strong enough to take on any man, mortal or not. To Ronald, this was an extremely confusing world but he wanted to be in it. To see his brother, to see this new, strange world for himself but something was holding him back.
It was the final page of the document. It held only two lines:
"Keep this safe and hidden away from everyone but you.
This is our little secret, Ronnie. Don't tell a single soul. They can and will find you if that happens."
Now Ronald understood.
He had slipped up and told Alan, his roommate, his friend, about his secret. And now, while he was in the dark with the memory of Spears, the go-to Shinigami, the hard worker, the gorgeous, charming and bad-boy Council President, looming over Alan's beaten body with a madman's smile, Ronald knew his time was up. He was going to end up like Alan; beaten, broken and lifeless.
And the last thing he'll see is William T. Spears leaning down to watch the life fade from Ronald's eyes with a smile that made even the worst of Demons cower in fear.