The Encounter at the Lockers
Catherine-Monday's Point of View
The day before I officially met Jin Ae and Jasmine, they were in deep trouble. I was at my locker—the school's resident "weirdo"—when they came sprinting toward me, breathless and terrified.
"Monday, help us! Margarette's friends... they're trying to kill us!" Jin Ae gasped, her chest heaving as she doubled over.
"What did you do to them?" I asked calmly.
Jasmine, despite the chaos, managed a frantic wave. "Hey, I'm Jasmine," she chirped, though her eyes were wide with fear.
"Oh my god, they're here! Help us, please!" Jin Ae cried as Margarette and her clique rounded the corner. They looked beyond angry—they looked predatory.
"Stay out of this, Monday," Margarette hissed, her voice dropping an octave. "Unless you want to ruin your life."
As she spoke, her body began to contort. Her eyes bled into a deep, glowing red, and her fingernails elongated into jagged points.
"What... what are they?" Jasmine stammered.
"Werewolves," I replied, my voice steady.
"Get out of here, Monday! This is your last warning!" Margarette snarled.
"Seriously? Werewolves? They actually exist?" Jin Ae asked, staring in disbelief.
"Yes, dear!" Margarette smirked. The transformation completed in a sickening crack of bone and a sprout of coarse fur. They were no longer teenage girls; they were hairy creatures with bared fangs and razor-sharp claws.
As they lunged at Jin Ae and Jasmine, I simply waved my hand. A concussive blast of energy slammed into Margarette and her friends, throwing them backward. All three hit the lockers with a heavy metallic thud.
The impact forced them back into their human forms. Margarette groaned, clutching her side as she glared at me. "You... you just destroyed the peace treaty our ancestors protected."
"Last I checked," I said, stepping forward, "the treaty states: No witch or werewolf shall initiate a fight with humans. It also says we must leave the area if our identities are revealed. You broke the rules first."
"Whatever! My ancestors will hear about this. Let's go, girls!" Margarette snapped, gesturing for her bruised companions to follow.
"Only if I allow you to leave," I whispered. I flicked my wrist again, and a localized gale swept through the hallway.
"Is she a weather forecaster?" Jasmine asked, shielding her eyes. "Why is it so windy inside the school?"
Akihiko's Point of View
On the other side of town, Akihiko followed the shimmering red thread of fate. It pulsed with a faint glow, leading him through the brush until it stopped abruptly in front of a small, humble nipa house.
"Ethan? What are you doing in a place like this?" he muttered to himself.
An elderly woman stepped out from the shade of the hut. "Good morning," she greeted him with a knowing smile. "What brings a brave police officer so far from his own town? Am I correct, young man?"
"Good morning, Lola," Akihiko replied, tilting his head politely. "I'm Officer Akihiko Sato. I'm looking for my friend. Have you seen him?" He pulled out his phone and showed her a photo of Ethan.
The old woman studied the picture, then looked back at Akihiko, her eyes twinkling. "Hmm. An extraordinary love between a Sigbinan and a Kitsune."
Akihiko froze, his pulse quickening. He played it cool, pretending he didn't understand the ancient terms, even though he knew exactly what Ethan—the "Shadow"—really was. "What do you mean, Lola?"
"My name is Ester—no 'H' in the name, please. Just call me Lola E," she said, ignoring his deflection.
"Lola E... did you see my friend?"
"Yes, he is inside my hut," Lola E replied, settling herself into a weathered wooden chair.
"Can I see him? What is he doing in there?" Akihiko stepped toward the door, but Lola E only smiled mysteriously.
"Why don't you see for yourself?" Lola E suggested. But as Aki moved to step inside, she held up a gnarled hand to stop him.
"A pure heart isn't enough to enter my home, Kitsune," she warned. "You must leave something behind—something deeply important to both you and the person you seek. This is no ordinary hut; it is a portal to worlds you can't imagine. If you want to pass, pay the price. Don't worry, you'll get it back... eventually. Now hurry, I'm a busy woman!"
Aki rummaged through his bag, his fingers brushing against a glossy piece of paper. He pulled it out: a photograph of him and Ethan celebrating Christmas. They were both laughing, the world around them seemingly bright and safe.
"This is precious to me," Aki murmured, looking at the image one last time. "I'm not sure if Ethan feels the same, but..." He handed the photo to Lola E.
"Is his name Ethan? Does he have an 'H' in his name?" she asked suddenly.
Aki smiled. "Yes, Lola E. There's an 'H'."
"Good for him. I never got one," she sighed dramatically, though her eyes twinkled. "I don't want you to be sad, lover boy. You may go in now."
"Thank you, Lola E. But before I do..." Aki pulled a pen and a scrap of paper from his pocket. He scribbled something quickly, peeled off a piece of double-sided tape, and pressed it firmly onto the wooden door of the hut.
"Akihiko-san, nani o kaite iru no?" Lola E asked, peering at the paper.
"ESTHER," she read aloud.
Aki grinned. "There. Now you have your 'H'."
Lola E went quiet for a moment, her expression softening. "You're a sentimental one, aren't you? You remind me of my grandchild, Catherine-Monday."
"Details matter, Lola E," Aki replied with a wink. "I am a private investigator, after all."
"An investigator who can't even tell his friend how he truly feels," she teased, shooing him toward the door. "Go on then. Good luck with your journey."
As Aki stepped into the darkness of the hut, Lola E looked down at the photo of the two men. "They are a perfect match," she whispered to the wind. "I only hope their story ends better than the ones in the past."
The Erasure
Catherine-Monday's Point of View
As Margarette and her lackeys turned to flee, I didn't let them. I flicked my wrists, and a howling wind erupted in the hallway, lifting the three werewolves off their feet. They hovered in the air, kicking uselessly like puppies held by their scruffs.
"What are you doing?" Jin Ae whispered, her voice trembling.
I didn't answer. I was too focused on the spell. I reached deep into my power, calling upon the goddess of the crossroads—the one who governs the moon and the hidden paths.
"The three of you will remember nothing of this night," I commanded. My voice felt heavier, echoing with an ancient weight. "By the power of the moon and in the name of Hekate, you will leave this building. Your minds will be blank; your secrets will remain kept."
As I spoke, the silver light of the moon seemed to shimmer in the air around us. Hekate, the queen of witches, was watching. Margarette's eyes went dull, the red fire fading into a vacant stare.
I lowered my hands, and they drifted back to the floor, stumbling like sleepwalkers toward the exit.
"Let's go, Jin Ae!" Jasmine urged, her voice trembling. It was written all over their faces—the sheer, paralyzing terror of what they had just witnessed.
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you two remember this either," I whispered.
Before they could run, I flicked my fingers. Just like Margarette's pack, Jin Ae and Jasmine were lifted into the air, suspended in a shimmering magical haze as I gently eased the memories of the transformation and the magic from their minds.
When I lowered them back to the floor, they blinked, looking around at the trashed hallway in dazed confusion. I quickly dropped to the floor, leaning against a locker to look like just another victim of the chaos.
"What... what happened?" Margarette muttered, rubbing her head.
"I'm not sure," I said, my voice sounding shaky. "I think a sudden storm just hit the campus." To sell the lie, I gave a small, secret flick of my wrist. Outside the windows, the sky darkened instantly, and a heavy rain began to lash against the glass.
"Gosh! My mom is calling me," Jin Ae said, checking her phone.
"Wait, follow me guys. I know where there's a phone you can use for free," I offered. They followed me without question, and in that moment of shared confusion, our friendship was born.
"Thank you," Jin Ae said once we were safe. "I'm Jin Ae, by the way. And you are...?"
"Monday Catherine," I replied.
"No last name? That's so cute," Jasmine added with a small smile.
The Secret of the Bellator
Present Day
Watching Jin Ae and Baekhyun now, standing in the center of their clan's ceremony, Jasmine leaned in close to me. "Are you sure they aren't in a cult?"
"They aren't a cult, Jasmine. I'm sure of that," I replied.
"So, what are they then?"
"They are hunters," I said, the word feeling heavy on my tongue. "They are called the Bellator."
The name brought back the memory of my grandmother, Lola Ester, standing in her kitchen years ago. I could still hear the rhythmic thud-thud of her knife against the wooden cutting board as she prepped dinner.
"The Bellator are hunters, Monday," she had told me, not looking up from her vegetables. "But they are divided."
"Divided? Is this real, Lola, or are you just trying to scare me again?" I had asked, leaning against the counter.
"It is very real. One side is led by Inspector Christine. They are the protectors—the ones who believe there is good in every creature. She was one of the leaders who signed the Great Treaty between the wolves and the witches."
"And the other side, Lola?"
Her knife stopped moving. She looked at me then, her eyes dark and serious. "The other side is driven by pure greed. They seek only to destroy the balance of our world."
Now, as I watched the ceremony unfold, a cold knot formed in my stomach. I didn't know which side these hunters belonged to—the protectors under Inspector Christine, or the corrupted "White Doves" who wanted us all gone.
To be continued...