Chapter 17. Training Camp.

The girl groaned heavily while Izumo and Suguro argued. Why couldn't they ever get along, she questioned to herself, watching the two hot heads go back and forth.

It had been a couple weeks since her training with Yukio had started, and since then, they had started a training camp to prepare for the ExWire test – something she was very concerned about passing. She was roomed with Shiemi and Izumo for the duration of their stay, since Paku had quit the Cram school classes. The Okumura dormitory building had fallen prey to a ghoul attack on their first evening, inflicting a rather nasty wound on Paku, which, ultimately lead to her final decision in dropping out. It was probably for the best, she thought; an exorcist's life isn't one for the faint of heart. It was thanks to Shiemi's fast thinking that Paku would be fine, but since whatever had happened in that bath Izumo had been extremely off, and was picking fights more so than the usual. The girl couldn't count how many times she told Shiemi not to worry about trying to be Izumo's friend, but the sweet-hearted girl was in a world where no one would ever mindfully do anyone harm; and so she didn't listen.

It was Izumo's attitude and insensitivity that caused the fight with Suguro earlier that day, and the girl watched in agony as the young teacher placed a baryon upon each of the students' laps while giving them a lecture about working as a team. Yukio then informed everyone that he would be leaving to respond to an exorcist call, and instead of placing a baryon on the girl's lap, he told her that she needed to come with him. The class scoffed as she stood and collected her things; Izumo stared at her with a boorish expression as she exited the class behind Yukio.

"Where are we going?" she asked, trying to keep up with the unenthusiastic teacher.

"I have orders to escort you elsewhere on my way out."

She furrowed her brow, unfulfilled with his response. They walked through the halls and down the stair-well in silence, their footfalls echoing throughout the abandoned building. The air was thin with a chill, and once again she felt the sense of eyes upon her, however she shrugged it off the best that she could while trudging along behind a noiseless Yukio. As they entered the cafeteria, she was becoming more aware of the perceptions around her; the feeling of eyes and presences around was almost suffocating within the cold, open room.

Before she could question anything, Yukio stopped and began messing with his pistols. She watched intently before he looked over his shoulder.

"Wait here. I'm going to get something from the other room," he said sharply. Then, quietly: "Watch your back." He stepped through a heavy metal door, which closed with a loud clack.

The room fell silent once more; she briskly rubbed her upper arms with her hands to try to warm herself up as the air became increasingly colder. Unsure of how much time had passed, she looked at the clock above the cafeteria counter, only to realize that it had stopped working – she had no idea how long Yukio had been gone. Her heart began to race. Something was wrong.

Then, suddenly, the lights went off.

Backup generator lights flickered on unwillingly within the large common space, barely giving her enough light to see the outlines of the large tables and chairs. Her heartbeat grew heavier as the air became more still, and she could feel the adrenaline begin to pump within her veins.

Screams from upstairs sent her body into fight or flight mode. She dropped her bags and headed for the door that the teacher had exited from, pushing on it with all her might; but the door wouldn't budge. It was then that her body was hit with something foul; it was mostly a debilitating presence, but there was a slight odor to it. Something barely enough for her to make out, though it continued to grow stronger and stronger until one of the large industrial vents in the ceiling caved in and fell, spreading a lewd smell throughout the cafeteria.

A ghoul must be here, she thought, scanning the dimly lit area. She couldn't see anything. Tables slowly began to skid across the concrete floor as the creature regained its composure and was on the move. In a panic, she attempted once more to push the door in front of her open to no avail. The tables flew across the floor and into the walls like a shockwave headed straight towards her. Turning to run away, back into the labyrinth of hallways, she saw something shiny lying on the table next to the door – a pistol.

Her hand instantaneously grabbed the gun as her feet began flying, and down the halls she sprinted.

She had no way of knowing where the ghoul was in the dark except for the slight presence she felt behind her, and the thuds of the demon smacking into walls as she turned her corners sharply. She entered a hall with large windows – there was some outside light peeking into the corridor.

"The power is on out there?!" she cried, glancing behind her, only to see large black stain marks flooding across the floor, and claw marks making their way to her all across the floor and walls. This ghoul had to have been huge, she thought; it appeared to be taking up the whole hall.

Heart pounding out of her chest as she turned a corner and felt something move her hair behind her, she began chanting whatever verses and spells she knew by heart that could offer her any sort of protection, in hopes it might put up a barrier strong enough to protect her from a physical blow and allow her to keep her life even just a bit longer. She hoped someone would come to her aide soon, as she was beginning to lose her breath from running so hard; she could feel the malicious presence gaining on her, hungry for flesh.

Desperate and nearing exhaustion, she turned, running backwards as best as she could, and began unloading her clip into the demon in pursuit. The sounds of a high pitched howl and shrieking came after each shot must have landed. The dark, rotting carpet and claw marks ceased as the wails grew quieter and quieter. Slowing her stride, the girl investigated the scene to see if the demon might have been defeated, by trying her best to sense the presence. A large, seeping black mark slowly spread upon the floor in the spot where the demon stopped. The presence before her shank until it was barely anything, and her muscles relaxed along with it.

Suddenly, the black stains burst from the large spot and all over onto the floor, ceiling, and walls, spreading out over the large area and almost reaching her shoes. Gasping, the girl fell backwards, and a massive claw mark dug into the floor just inches away from her. Scrambling to her feet, she resumed sprinting as fast as she could, swiftly turning through whatever door was open, trying to throw the demon behind her off of her trail; but it hunted her with a vengeance, more powerful and aggressive than ever before.

She was out of verses and chants to rehearse, out of ammunition, and just about out of options. Tears began to well up in her eyes, blurring her vision as she darted through shadowy passageways and rooms and on to the next. "Oh god, don't let me die here…!" she shrieked. Fishing for the strips of summoning paper in her pocket, she screamed for help as loud as she could, only to muster up the minuscule squeak of a hoarse voice. Pulling out the papers, a few strips blew out of her hand and were consumed by the transparent mass behind her – the paper turned black midair, shriveled up, and fell to the ground.

And then, the beast bore down on her so firmly that she was flown into the next room, slamming up against the wall. The faint protective barrier around her faltered, and disappeared into the night as the demon slowed itself and rose above her, lights from the windows getting lost in the translucent body before her. She pulled her knees to her chest, tears spilling down her cheeks as she clutched onto her one and only summoning strip, and cracked for help once more at the top of her lungs.

And as if she were seeing it in slow motion, a windstorm began to ravage the room around her and the black spread out across the walls in the corner farthest away from where she sat. Her head pounded, her ears rang, and she gradually placed her hand upon the back of her head as the bushy black figure of Fenrir came into sight.

Growing limp, she fell to the floor, and gazed at the image of Fenrir in slow motion as he lunged and tore at something in the corner, his massive body barely fitting within the large commons room. Everything fell silent as she lay upon the cold ground, her heartbeat the only sound audible, and even it was falling quiet to her ears. As Fenrir's great jaws bore down repeatedly, weakening the demon, it began to show itself first as a hazy figure, until it was there, as clear as the summoned demon himself.

The large wolf sunk its mighty fangs into the third ghoul head and held on firmly; it thrashed against the walls repeatedly, spraying black wherever it touched, until it quieted into a slump as the girls vision began to go out.

Right before she lost consciousness, her eyes rolled and caught the glimpse of a pair of dark burgundy boots noiselessly walking along the concrete floors towards her.

And then nothing.