Chapter 3: Chapter 3: The courtyard
"I like this energy, so? What should we do ?" Toutou says, enthusiast.
- First, I have to call my mother.
"Ah", the angel who floated above Electra appeared to be disappointed by the events direction.
She looked at her phone, she was in airplane mode so she didn't notice but she had nine miss calls, from her mother, father and some friends. She composed her mother number but didn't manage to reach her. Then she tried her father, and after three ring bells, she finally heard his voice.
- Hello sweatheart, how are you? I was so worried for you.
- I'm fine dad, what about you ?
- Listen I'm at home with Lisa, we are fine, but we are going to stay here until things calm down. Where are you Electra?
- I am at the school currently… but I think it's gonna hard for me to come back at mum apartment for now. I'm afraid things are complicated outside, I know it should be more calm by your side but you should really stay at home.
Her father and mother had divorced four years ago, before he leaved Paris to live in the countryside in America, not far from Hartford. He had always wanted to have a ranch, since he was just a child, and he made his dream come true. Although he had to left woman and daughter, he took with his own hands what he desired. But Electra knew very well he has not left only by caprice, things were bad with his wife, and Electra wasn't a child anymore. It's only for these reasons he decided to fly halfway around the world.
There he met a new girl, Lisa, she was simple and beautiful, everything her father loved. He was happy, so Electra was happy for him too. They lived in a little village, it's why she thought it was more secure for them. Because everyone knew the worst places to be in case of great disasters were big cities. Like in the one where she was trapped, from supplies accessibilities, to criminality potential. Paris was probably the worst location to be in the entire country.
- Of course we will, but be careful sweetheart, and try to meet your mother as soon as possible.
- Yes dad, but please, I have not so much battery anymore. So If you could call mum, to let her know I'm fine, I'de be grateful.
She put her phone away, seeming decided.
"Ok, I am ready, we can move."
"Where are we going ? I hope it will be fun."
"To hunt these monsters"
"Oh, so we go out for a meal," says the angel, mischievous.
Electra set off again, down the stairs to the second floor, passing some students who were also going down, but they continued to the first floor. They didn't look the least bit panicked.
She ventured into the second floor hallway, but there was no one there.
Afterall, it was a Saturday, it's why there weren't many people this morning.
From her position she had no visual access to the outside courtyard, and the classrooms overlooking it, all seemed locked. She decided to return to the amphitheater before to go down to the courtyard, hoping that people had gathered there. The room was empty, but her tote-bag was still here on the floor. She picked it up and ran toward the exit.
She hurried, motivated by the incredible vigor she was gaining each minute.
When she finally arrived outside, she smiled. There were more than a hundred students and a few professors gathered in the courtyard and outside the faculty doors. They seemed to be engaged in discussions about the rules of the game, the existence of angels, or what they should do in this situation. Some of them were looking at their phones, looking for information.
Electra was sure of one thing, given their behavior, none of them had seen monsters yet. But she guessed from the number of people gathered here that it wouldn't be long. It was too much easy preys for one place, Electra would have been willing to bet at least one monster would show up soon.
She had actively sought out a group of humans, figuring that was what any monsters that appeared would be hunting. If her imagination wasn't deceiving her, and if she had guessed well their food preferences, then she was in the right place.
Electra unconsciously let her gaze wander over the ground, as if she expected demons to come out of it. They were supposed to come from the underworld, a place of punishment, buried deep in the earth.
One minute, five minutes, ten minutes have passed and still nothing. She saw some people flew away, probably came back at home, but the majority choose to stay here. The truth was they were very excited by the situation, they were looking at the news, exchanging their impressions. This world had turned in a crazy game, and everyone had his theory about the purpose or the entity behind.
She saw people she knew in the crowd but don't went to see them, she was focus on the events flows. Waiting for something to happen, for the appearance of a problem. Everyone stopped their discussions when a professor gets on a bench to talk to everyone.
"Please, listen to me," he had to do it twice to get everyone to listen to him. "Please, can you listen to me ? Thank you. I have just hung up the phone with the dean, as you know, we don't have much information for now. But based on what we know, we decided to close the faculty for now, until things calmed down. So please, join calmly the exit, and come back home."
As everyone started to leave, Electra thought monsters weren't so many, or so easy to find. But suddenly, the crowd became agitated, people were taking out their phones. She spotted a group of three girls and went to ask them what all this confusion was about.
"Excuse me, what happened ?"
One of the girls showed her phone to Electra, "didn't see you that ? They say it's what happen if you break the fifth rule."
On the screen she could see a short YouTube video, where a middle age lady, abruptly transformed into a monster. We could see the terror deformed her face and her body. The transformation took about twenty seconds, before the change was over. The monstrosity she saw then, was different from what she had fought with, but it was definitely from the same kind.
- What was the fifth rule already ?
- Don't let your emotions devour you…
"So the monster I killed previously was human." thought Electra. She was so destabilized she almost tripped. "It's totally insane, how could all of this happen ?"
As she desperately tried to pull herself together and while the people kept leaving, cries resonated in the courtyard. She watched helplessly the crowd panic, as a new monster taken shape. Everyone was trying to flee the creature that had appeared not far from the gate, but only a few of them succeed to get out. The rest of the crowd turned back, to run into the building. But not everyone managed to escape from the monster jaws.
While the madness seized the frightened people, Electra who didn't start to move, waiting for the people to separate, heard another horror scream. It was a transformation, again.
"Fuck, how did I miss that ?"
"It was obvious," thought Electra, "If a monster appears, other transformations will occur in reaction. Some people will be chocked enough to lose their mind, and things will be settled."
But the evacuation continued without the manifestation of a third monster, with screams and violence, because the crowd was merciless. The level of emotional distress necessary to turn itself in a monster wasn't probably so high, because in an entire courtyard of panicked people, only two persons had lost their humanity.
"Perhaps everything could be settled with a generalization of yoga or mediation practice", she thought for relax herself. Soon she was the only one left outside, apart from the two things she had to fight.
One of the students behind a half-opened door of the building, screamed to her to come back with them.
"Don't worry, just close the door and go to hide in the classrooms."
The boy nervously laughed; without to know if it was because of her attitude, or because he was persuaded, she was about to die.
Now she was alone against the two things, but she was reassured they were only two. People must have panicked of course, but also kept in head to not let their emotions devour them. They somehow avoided a monster eruption in the courtyard, but now, she had to deal with these two.
If the majority had successfully escaped the monsters hunger, some others failed to escape. Their bodies lay at the feet of the two abominations, who had almost completed their first meal. But they didn't seem only motivated by hunger, because without ending to swallow their ex-fellows, they set out their glare to Electra. A lot of blood was flowing from the few dismembered bodies, but they needed more.
Toutou, who had not said a word since the beginning, warned her.
- Be careful, these ones just fed, they won't be the same as the first one.
- Do you mean that they also gain strength by eating hearts?
- Yes, but they take as long as I do to assimilate them. So don't let them too much time.
She looked at her watch, 10:52 pm, "a little more than thirty minutes since you swallowed the four hearts, and as you need 1h to assimilate. I already won two hearts. Does that mean I have three lives now ?"
"No," smiled the angel, "if you die, you die."
- So it's not as merciful as a videogame. Anyway, let's feed you with these bastards spheres, so I can grow more powerful.
The fact that she was here alone definitely achieved to draw their attention to her. Fortunately, like the first monster she had slain, their mobility was limited. The first one, closest to the exit, was a plant-based monster. His roots appeared to have infiltrate the soil, and at the top of a flexible trunk, there was a gigantic head who looked like a sunflower with a mouth full of claws and black deep eyes. The problem was his length, the good thing was it couldn't move an inch.
The other one, was by a lot littler, the height and the shape of a tiger. After having seen three specimens, she had noticed a common point. All of them hadn't any skin, we could see their raw flesh. Electra thought how much they should suffer.
"I have to end their miserable existence."
But the quadruped monster was heading toward her, with difficulty, as move a newborn who use his paws for the first time. However, if he did manage in this state to rip in pieces two people, she had to take him out as soon as possible. Before this thing learns how to control its body and become a walking disaster.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Leonard_Mohammed
Leonard_Mohammed Thank you for reading, I really hope you start to enjoy the novel even if it's short at the moment. In any case, It's a pleasure to write for you.
Don't hesistate to share your thoughts and comments, it allows me to improve myself.
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