Fletcher took a breath as he crouched behind the bush, barely peeking over the leaves as he scanned for danger. The late afternoon sun blared down on him as he looked around the field. It was dangerous to be out here, far away from the safety of the walls. Out in the open like this, he could run into a patch of Hexing radiation at any given moment.

  But that wasn’t what worried him.

  He had his eyes peeled for movement from any Unhumans, his enemy. If they caught him, everything would be lost. He closed his fist tighter around the package. All he had to do was make it back to base with this in hand, and he would be safe.

  Finding the coast clear, Fletcher stood up and sprinted to the next place of cover, a small grouping of trees. As he approached the checkpoint, a [Shade] jumped out, a girl with pitch black skin, hair, and eyes, making her seem like a shadow come to life.

  “There you are,” she said as she reached to pull the package from Fletcher’s hand.

  Spinning to keep it safe, Fletcher dashed in the opposite direction before starting into a wide turn back towards his goal.

  “You’ll have to be faster than that,” he replied.

  She didn’t follow him but rather ran to the side, cutting him off from a direct route to his base.

  While a good strategy, the [Shade] wasn’t taking into account that Fletcher was far faster than her, and he pushed himself harder to escape the poor trap set up.

  He realized too late that she hadn’t been trying to prevent him from going towards the base, but rather she was shepherding him closer to a large grove of trees and bushes. As he passed the greenery, two more Unhumans popped out, a [Vampire] and a [Fairy].

  The [Vampire] had pure white skin and red eyes, and she was dressed in long sleeves, pants, and a wide hat despite the heat to keep the sun from damaging her. She stepped in Fletcher’s way first with a grin that showed off her inch long fangs.

  He flipped around only to discover the [Fairy] in his path, a tall boy with delicate wings—they had the appearance of glass—fluttering behind him. His skin was a shade of pink, and his hair silver was in color.

  “Caught you, Anders,” he said triumphantly. “I’ll take that.” He held his hand out expectantly, but Fletcher clutched his prize to his chest as the [Shade] came to join them, boxing him in entirely.

  “No, thanks,” he said, his eyes darting between the trio as he prayed for a way out.

  Someone out there was listening because in that instant, a small [Goblin]—one of the Unhumans on his team—appeared in view, only a few feet behind the [Shade].

  She was short, only three feet tall, with pink, oval eyes that took up the majority of her head. Her ears were huge in comparison to the rest of her, covered in a multitude of piercings that represented the great amount of prestige her people awarded her.

  “Li’lic! Catch!” Fletcher shouted, tossing the bundle over the head of the [Shade] who was unable to jump in time to reach it.

  The [Goblin] dove forward to catch the package before scurrying to her feet and dashing away.

  “Get her,” the [Vampire] yelled as the three took off after the other Unhuman, leaving Fletcher on his own. He jogged after them, mostly to see how this would play out now that his part was done.

  Li’lic ran as fast as her little legs could take her, and just as the other three were about to converge on her position, another player joined the fray.

  Javier, a broad Human man, came out of his hiding place to stand between the [Vampire], [Fairy], and [Shade] and their prey. That small distraction was just enough time for Li’lic to reach their base, a large rock where the other members of their team waited. In an instant, she scrambled up the craggily side to stand at the top, grinning from ear to ear as she waved the black bandana which represented the opposite team’s flag.

  Fletcher’s entire team cheered as someone placed Li’lic on their shoulders, all of them lauding in their victory over the others. Javier came to stand by Fletcher and slapped his shoulder.

  “You always did suck at this game,” the man joked.

  “Last I checked, you didn’t even touch the flag,” Fletcher said.

  “Only because I wanted it to be a fair game.” Javier took the whistle that hung around his neck and blew it. “Alright, kids. Circle up. Class is almost over. Everyone thank Mr. Anders for assisting us today and then go clean up.”

  The students waved and muttered their gratitude as they passed by the pair of teachers on their way back to the school and the locker rooms.

  “Thanks again for playing with us. Sorry to eat into your prep time,” Javier said as they started after the students.

  “I enjoyed it,” Fletcher assured him, then added, in a softer voice, “you know, Javier, for someone who claims to hate Unhumans, you do a pretty good job teaching them.”

  His friend shook his head with a laugh. “Don’t go there, Fletcher. I heard about the motion to take the school full time, but I’m not going to join up. I can handle them for one summer every couple of years, but I won’t force myself to live among them full time, several hours away from the colony and my family. That’s only for freak-lovers like you”

  Fletcher rolled his eyes. Despite being friends since they were ten years old, he and Javier had never seen eye to eye on Unhuman issues, but that could be said of Fletcher in regards to any other Human. He was among the minority in viewing them as equals to Humans, a trait that came partly from the fact he wasn’t entirely Human himself.

  His dad always said he was crazy to leave the walls every summer to teach at Alcett’s Academy for Unhuman Education, given the dangers of further Hexing or running into someone with the right [Skill] that could [Sniff] him out for what he was, but Fletcher loved teaching, especially for kids who didn’t get as many opportunities as the students he taught back in Alcett.

  “Catch you later,” Fletcher said as they reached the school building.

  The kids noticed him leaving, and the majority held up two fingers in peace signs to signal goodbye, one of those weird Unhuman habits that got created from culture mixing after the Merger.

  Javier split off to follow the students to the locker rooms while Fletcher returned to his classroom to finish his grading for the day and work on his presentation for the upcoming board meeting that would decide if the school would open full time or not.

  It was scheduled for Friday, after the award ceremony to close out the summer, but before all of that, there was going to be a party out in the courtyard with games for the students to celebrate. That was yet another thing he was in charge of given the other teachers wanted to do as little work as possible for the summer program.

  A couple hours later, he finished his work for the day and returned to the hallways to head to the faculty apartments for the evening, his mind still tossing around the same weight that’d been there for weeks, ever since he found out about the proposition to open the school year round.

  Even though he was a major proponent of taking the program full time, he was still trying to convince himself that joining the faculty would be a good idea. As much as he wanted to accept the position as full-time math teacher for these kids, he did feel obligated to his father to stay close, especially after everything his dad had done for him over the past fifteen years.

  Sebastian Anders had given up his lucrative, rewarding career as an assistant administrator to the Colony Trade Office in Loketa to work as a warehouse manager in Alcett, all to give Fletcher a genuine chance at life without being haunted by what happened at Loketa all those years ago.

  As difficult of a transition as it’d been for Fletcher, Alcett was a lot safer since they were much farther from any of the Breaches and thus very rarely dealt with Clouds. Fletcher was lucky enough that his species percentage was so low it didn’t even show up on blood tests, and as long as he avoided any further radiation, he’d be able to live a mostly normal life within the colony.

  Outside the walls of Alcett, where the Unhuman school was located, there was always a higher chance of some kind of radiation incident, which was another reason he was hesitant to accept the position.

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  But he did really care about these kids, maybe even more than his Human students back in the colony since they had a lot more support systems in place comparatively.

  He sighed as he walked through the empty hallways, the students all in their dorms for the evening. One of the nice things about an Unhuman school was that the lights were always on regardless of time of day to inhibit any kind of [Invisibility] the students might try to use.

  For Fletcher, where darkness might as well be a death sentence if anyone saw him, it was a great convenience compared to his usual school where he had to be careful wandering the halls after hours.

  The faculty apartments were actually connected to the school building since the facility was only open for a few months of the year when Human school was off, making it a quick journey. Fletcher walked into a bustling common room as the other teachers mingled together, offering their usual complaints about their students and wasting their summers on such activities.

  “Fletcher,” a woman only a few years older than himself called out as he entered, waving him over to where she stood with a small group. Heather Dawson, a science teacher. She had platinum blonde hair and softly tanned skin, and she represented the only other teacher he knew of who had volunteered to come out and teach over the summer. Well, technically Javier did too, but that was only because Fletcher coerced him into it so that didn’t count the same.

  “Hey, Heather,” he greeted her. He nodded to the other two, an older woman and middle aged man. “Hi, Rosa. Hi, Dean. How are you guys doing?” His upcoming presentation remained on his mind, so he planned to keep this conversation short.

  “Oh, you know. Another day in paradise,” Rosa, one of the history teachers, said as she took a sip of her wine. “How have classes been for you?”

  “Great. The kids have picked things up faster than ever this year. I think I might be able to convince Principal Caston to offer calculus next cycle.”

  “Blimey, what do a bunch of monsters need calculus for?” Dean said in a strange accent Fletcher’s father called “British,” originating from a country that existed back when the Human world was whole. He was one of the English teachers, trying to help the kids learn the Human language properly instead of relying on the translation magic which had accompanied the Merger six decades ago.

  “Calculus is foundational to most sciences and all forms of engineering,” Fletcher argued. “The whole point of the education program is to bring Unhumans up to the same level of technology as us, and they’ll never get there without advanced math.”

  “Well, I still don’t believe we should be teaching them at all. Let the little buggers figure it out for themselves, just like we did.” Dean scowled.

  “Friendly reminder that we actually lost the last war. If we hadn’t agreed to share our knowledge, there would have been no Second Treaty, and they would have wiped out all Humans,” Heather told the group.

  “We didn’t lose.” Rosa’s face was angry. “Everything came to a standstill once we threatened nukes. If we’d busted those out, it would have been over in a heartbeat.”

  “And Humans would still be dead,” Fletcher said. He hadn’t even been born when the Second Treaty was signed, so he mostly regurgitated his father’s opinions. The Treaty was overall worse off for Humans since it took away many of their freedoms and forced them to share the one advantage they had over the Unhumans—technology—but it also protected them from the full wrath of the Unhumans, guaranteeing space and resources to live and grow without being annihilated by the powerful, magical people.

  “How are preparations for the party this Friday?” Heather changed the subject before a full argument could break out.

  “Good. I think the students are pretty excited about the dunk tank, and Javier is almost done with the cornhole ensemble so it’s shaping up nicely,” Fletcher answered.

  “Has anyone told you that you care too much, Fletcher?” Dean’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you try so hard for these students? Some of them would kill you if they thought they could get away with it.”

  “I’ve been accused of worse than caring for my students. And I think you’re grossly misjudging them. Every kid here just wants to learn, or else they wouldn’t be here at all.”

  “I take it you’re going to take one of the full-time positions then?” Rosa said with a knowing look.

  “I haven’t decided yet. I’m not sure I want to be away from my dad that much.” Fletcher confessed.

  “Standard hypocrite,” Dean sneered.

  Someone interrupted them before the discussion could turn more sour, and they were informed that the cookies everyone had apparently been waiting on were finally ready. Fletcher grabbed one on his way to his room, happy for an excuse to get some time to himself.

  ***

  Three days later, Fletcher stood out on the green lawn, surrounded by Humans and Unhumans alike. The metallic school enclosed the courtyard on all sides, creating a place of relative safety from the dangers of the world outside. It wasn’t unheard of for terrorists—the Hexed Humans who escaped from the Unhumans—to attack gathering places of Humans and Unhumans in some vain attempt of payback to both sides.

  There was no need for a tie today, but Fletcher still wore a baby blue button up shirt and slacks to keep some semblance of professionalism in his attire. With the oppressive heat, he’d relaxed even further and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. He was watching over the dunk tank since no other teacher wanted the job and it’d been his idea in the first place.

  “Is it your turn yet, Mr. Anders?” the front student called out from the line to throw the balls, his voice naturally whistly as he spoke.

  “I’ll go at the end if there’s time left over, Geori,” he assured the [Undine].

  Geori was tall and slender, covered in blue-green scales with shoulder length red hair. His hands and feet were both webbed, and Fletcher knew better than to be in the water when the boy’s turn to throw came. Technically using [Skills] was forbidden on school grounds, but the kids were known to get away with small tricks when there was less supervision around.

  A chorus of boos rose up from his statement.

  “You can take my turn, Mr. Anders,” the [Elf] next in line for the tank offered, taking a step to the side. She was nearly as tall as Fletcher despite being only fifteen, and her dark skin was covered in metallic symbols while her pointed ears stretched high above her head, poking through hair that might as well have been strands of gold.

  “No, that wouldn’t be fair,” Fletcher said. “Besides, I can’t go yet. There has to be one adult watching the dunk tank at all times. If I’m in it, who’s supervising?”

  “I’ll handle that,” Heather chimed in from behind.

  Fletcher turned to her with a smile, at a loss for words. He was out of excuses now.

  “Okay. Yeah. That works,” he admitted at last. The students cheered him on as he pulled his shoes off under Heather’s grin. Next thing Fletcher knew, he was sitting only a few feet above suspiciously murky water as Geori tossed a ball back and forth with a malicious smile.

  The [Undine] was accurate, and one throw later, Fletcher was falling into the pool below him. The tank was shallow enough that if he stood, his head would be above the water, but before his feet could touch down, he found himself whirling in some kind of vortex. It ended only a few seconds later. Fletcher stood up, taking a deep breath of air as he shook the water from his eyes.

  “Nice one, Geori.” He raised eyebrows.

  “Mr. Andeeeers!” the [Dwarf] girl behind the [Undine] cried. “He used a [Skill]. I heard him whisper something as soon as you went in the water. That’s against the rules.”

  “Geori?” Heather asked, her hands on her hips.

  “I did not. I don’t know what she’s talking about,” the boy replied with fake innocence.

  Fletcher tilted his head, wanting the [Undine] to fess up without his interference.

  “Did too,” the [Dwarf] said. Her name was Verni if Fletcher recalled correctly. “I heard you.”

  “What do you know, [Dwarf]?” Geori growled

  “[Detect Lies]," Verni said, clearly activating one of her [Skills]. “Ha. Knew it. He’s lying.”

  “Verni—” Fletcher started to speak, but he was cut off by Geori.

  “[Douse],” the [Undine] yelled, and the water Fletcher stood in rushed upwards. For half a second, he was stuck in a reverse waterfall, unable to find air, and then it was gone, and the water was instead raining on the Verni who shrieked as she covered her head.

  “Geori!” Fletcher leapt from the dunk tank. Heather was ahead of him, reaching out for the [Undine] as someone else came to Verni’s defense—the [Nix] in line behind her. He was about average sized for a teenage boy, but his hair and skin rippled with ever changing colors.

  “[Reverse],” the [Nix] boy shouted, and the water which had just soaked Verni rose up from the ground and hovered above Geori before crashing down on him, splashing those nearby as well.

  More students were gathering nearby, and the circle appeared to be forming into two distinct groups. The other teachers in the yard either didn’t notice or didn’t care about the school-wide fight breaking out leaving Fletcher and Heather to handle it on their own.

  “That’s enough!” Heather yelled, but the students didn’t care.

  The [Elf] from earlier raised her hands and said, “[Blast Wave],” sending a powerful force outwards that rattled the other side.

  Fletcher grabbed her hands and shoved them down, but the others were already gearing up their own retaliation. The problem with having a bunch of Human adults as supervisors was that they had no way to stop these kinds of outbreaks, and even if they managed to de-escalate this fight, the fact that it happened might be enough to keep the full-time program from ever seeing the light of day. Normally they had the Unhuman education liaison around for big incidents, but she was busy that day preparing for the upcoming board meeting about taking the school full-time.

  “[Motion Freeze],” someone said, her voice clear and distinct from the shouting of the others.

  Suddenly everything went quiet. Fletcher turned to see Li’lic standing at the center of the group with all the other students completely still.

  “This is enough. We know better than this, and I will not accept this kind of behavior.” The [Goblin’s] voice was loud, but not angry. “I will release you all, but I expect that this pitiful argument is over.”

  Just as with the game of capture-the-flag earlier in the week, her obvious leadership skills shone through. He glanced around the field to see that the majority of the other faculty were engrossed in other things which meant there was a chance they could keep word of this from getting out until after the board meeting. Fletcher would deal with this problem once the program was officially going full-time.

  Fletcher stepped forward to address the crowd. “Everyone, I’m disappointed. I expected better of you, especially you, Geori. You’ve been here four summers so you know the rules well. But it’s the final day, so I’d rather this not ruin our year. You guys can continue to enjoy the party if you all agree no more [Skills], alright?”

  Blank stares met him, but he recognized that they weren’t going to be able to agree to anything with Li’lic’s hold on them.

  “Let them go, Li’lic. And Geori, fill the dunk tank back up, but properly,” Heather said. She had a few water marks on her shirt, but overall she came out mostly dry from the whole thing, opposite of the drenched Fletcher.

  The [Goblin] did as she was asked, and the mass gave one collective heave as they regained control of their bodies.

  “Thanks,” Fletcher said quietly to Li’lic.

  She beamed up at him with a smile. “Happy to help.” Her lips twitched downwards. “This isn’t going to affect the chances of the program going full-time is it?”

  He smiled and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”

  With that, he set off to find their illustrious principal in hopes of keeping the man from finding out about the incident for at least a couple more hours, a task that might well prove impossible.