Evolution: Harbinger of Chaos

The sky stretched endlessly above Schulerin Academy, its deep blue punctuated by fluffy white clouds. Students buzzed with excitement as they gathered outside the gates, ready to board the buses for the trip to Altinca Forest. Field trips were rare, and for most, they offered a reprieve from routine.

Mr. Rowen, tenth grade, A-class geography teacher was making an announcement as the class boarded the bus designated for them.

Standing beside him was Ms. Dahlia, their biology teacher.

Daniel, wearing a white raglan t-shirt and grey jeans trousers rather than the Academy's uniform, lingered at the back of the crowd, clutching his bag tightly. Excitement was the last thing he felt. Being trapped on a bus with classmates who thrived on mocking him was hardly a reprieve.

"Daniel!"

Ethan's voice cut through the chatter, drawing Daniel's gaze. Ethan leaned out of a window on their assigned bus, waving eagerly. "Saved you a seat!"

With a resigned sigh, Daniel climbed aboard and slid into the seat beside Ethan.

The grey-white-haired teenager was wearing a blue and black striped shirt over black chinos trousers.

"You alright?" Ethan asked, studying him with a frown.

Daniel nodded, though his grip on his bag tightened.

"Yesterday was rough," Ethan said, lowering his voice. "But maybe this trip will be a good distraction. Nature and all that."

Daniel managed a weak smile, but his mind was far from the forest. He doubted that anything could take his mind off the whirlwind of emotions that had consumed him since Angela's rejection, but it wasn't just the rejection or the relentless bullying that gnawed at him—it was the nightmare.

The new one, as vivid as the first and somehow more traumatizing.

A sharp chill ran down his spine. What if it wasn't just a nightmare?

"Alright, everyone!" Mr. Rowen clapped his hands at the front of the bus. His wiry frame seemed energized, as if he were more excited than the students. "We've got a long drive ahead of us, so let's make it interesting! Who can tell me what they learned about Baron Thomas and his castle in the mountains?"

Daniel stiffened.

I didn't study at all!

Ethan saw the panic on his countenance and grinned, nudging him. "Get this. The Baron who built the castle did it because he believed he died somewhere in the mountain range in a previous life."

Daniel frowned. "Previous life? You mean like… reincarnation?"

"Yeah," Ethan said, scrolling on his phone. "But that's not the craziest part. Listen to this: 'The surrounding forest is infamous for strange occurrences. The first builders who laid the castle's foundation vanished without a trace. It is said that they were spirited away.'"

"Spirited away?" Daniel asked, a knot forming in his stomach.

Ethan shrugged. "No one knows what it really means. They just… disappeared."

Daniel's thoughts spiraled. He couldn't explain why the words unsettled him so deeply, but something about them felt too close to his nightmares, too related to him.

He turned to look out the window, hoping to clear his head. His gaze wandered to the sky—and froze.

There, hanging just to the right of the familiar golden sun, was a second sun. It glowed red, its fiery aura casting an unnatural hue over the horizon.

Daniel blinked, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. It was still there.

"Hey, Ethan," he said hesitantly. "Do you see that?"

"See what? Where?" Ethan asked, craning his neck. "What should I be seeing?"

Daniel pointed at the sky. "The second sun."

Ethan squinted, then shook his head. "What second sun?"

Daniel's heart raced. Ethan can't see it?

"It's right there," He insisted, his voice trembling. "Bright red, same size as the normal one…"

Ethan frowned, concern flickering in his eyes. "Uh... no. I've got nothing. Maybe you're just tired. Or, I don't know, seeing colors?"

Daniel turned back to the window. The red sun still loomed, unwavering.

What the hell is going on?

~~~

After going back and forth about the empirically impossible sight only he could see, Daniel chose to give up, trying to convince himself that what Ethan had said about the mountains was messing with his mind.

Yet, try as he did, he couldn't shake the unease building in his chest. His friend was chatting and laughing with another of their classmates, oblivious to the storm brewing in his mind.

The drive dragged on, with Daniel retreating into silence.

Daniel was listening to Mr. Rowen read aloud from a textbook, making sure to keep his eyes away from the window and the sky when the bus suddenly swerved violently.

"Wha—?!" He lurched forward, the seatbelt biting into his chest.

The bus screeched to a halt, tires skidding against the asphalt. Students screamed, some tumbling from their seats.

"W–what in tarnation?!" the driver bellowed, his hands gripping the steering wheel.

Mr. Rowen and Miss Dahlia rushed to the front, their faces pale. "What's going on?" Rowen demanded.

"Look... for yourselves," the driver said, his voice trembling.

Daniel craned his neck to see through the windshield.

There, in the middle of the road, stood a massive beast.

It resembled a reindeer, but its size was monstrous—easily twice the height of a man. Its antlers branched out like jagged trees, casting eerie shadows. Its fur was matted and dark, almost black, and its eyes glowed a deep, unnatural red.

"A... Black reindeer?" Mr Rowen voiced in shock.

"That's not a reindeer," the driver muttered, his voice shaky. "I've driven this road for years, and I'm telling you, that ain't natural."

"It's huge…" Miss Dahlia murmured, raising her phone to snap a picture.

As the camera clicked, the beast's head snapped toward the bus, its glowing eyes locking onto the vehicle.

Within the bus, everybody froze.

The beast let out a deep, guttural growl that seemed to shake the air itself. It pawed the ground, muscles rippling beneath its dark fur.

"Driver," Rowen said urgently. "Get us out of here."

The driver reached for the gear shift, but the beast charged before he could move.

The bus shuddered as the beast rammed into it, its massive antlers scraping along the side. Students screamed, clutching at their seats.

"Everyone stay calm!" Rowen shouted, though his own voice wavered.

Daniel's eyes were glued to the beast as it began circling the bus, its movements predatory and deliberate.

"It's testing us," Ethan whispered, his voice barely audible.

"What?"

"It's not just an animal," Ethan said. "Look at it. It knows exactly what it's doing."

The beast stopped near the ninth row, its glowing eyes peering through the window.

Daniel felt his blood run cold as those eyes locked onto his.

"It's... looking at you," Ethan said, his voice trembling.

The beast let out a deafening bellow, its breath fogging the glass. Then it reared up, its hooves striking the side of the bus with a sickening thud.

"Drive— Drive the bus!" Miss Dahlia screamed.

The driver slammed on the accelerator, but the beast rammed the bus again, sending it skidding dangerously close to the edge of the road.

The bus came to a jerking halt, teetering precariously on the edge of the forest road.

"Everyone out!" Rowen shouted. "Now!"

Students scrambled to unbuckle their seatbelts, panic spreading like wildfire.

"W–wait!" The Driver yelled, "That thing is out there!"

Rowen grabbed him by the collar, pulling him off his seat. "The bus is going to fall!"

As Daniel hurried to follow the other fleeing students, the beast slammed into the bus one final time. The impact threw him and a few others off balance, sending them crashing to the floor

"Crap!" Ethan yelled, scrambling to his feet, "Hurry!"

The bus tipped, its wheels slipping off the edge.

"Oh no..." The words left Daniel's lips, then his voice was drowned out by the screams of the other students.

The last thing Daniel saw before the world turned upside down was the beast's glowing eyes, burning like twin suns.