I was dozing off in math class when it happened. Don't know why I suddenly got the urge to look out of the window, but I did. The third story math class had a beautiful view of the harbor, and sometimes I stayed after class just to see it. My eyes weren't focused on the water right now though. Now, they were focused on the grinning mask attached to a guy wrapped in shadows. "Huh?" I said to myself, rubbing my eyes.

"Mr. Strider," my teacher called, breaking my focus. I turned to look at her, momentarily forgetting the masked boy. "There is a limit to how much disrespect I will accept, and you are already past that limit. Now, could you come up here and solve the problem on page 42?" I nodded absently, eyes turning back to the window... but there was nothing there. I gave my eyes another rub, just to be sure. Could it really have just been a daydream? I hadn't seen things like that before, but I had to admit, a guy just casually floating outside the window was too weird to be true. My teacher gives a muffled cough, and I focus back on the front of the room, moving from my desk to the board to answer the problem. As I picked up the chalk, a crash resounded behind me, the sounds of screams and glass shattering deafening me. Instinctively, I fell into a crouch, my hands covering my head in an attempt to keep myself from getting too hurt. What I was worried about hurting me, I didn't know, but that wasn't really what was important at the moment.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and jumped. "Don't hurt me!" I said with fear in my voice. I wasn't in the mood to die at the crisp young age of seventeen. There was a lot left on my to-do list. "Please, I won't cause any trouble!" I frantically turned to see who it was grabbing me, when I was greeted once again by a grinning mask. Within its eyes, I could see a dark delight. The mask itself seemed to be styled after some kind of Mardi Gras mask. Its curves and accents were flashy, as if to draw attention, yet the rest of the boy's body seemed to repel it. After giving me a quick look over (at least that's what I assumed was going on; adrenaline was still coursing through me, and I wasn't in the best mindset), he pointed me towards the rest of the room. The scene was shocking to say the least.

The entire class had been reduced to nothing but a bloodbath. Desks lay splintered on and in the ground, chairs twisted out of recognition. The windows, which had given such a lovely view now gave an even better one, as they were completely gone, along with the entire wall. Blood was slowly pouring out and down the building. As I looked closer at the bloody floor, I noticed that... there were pieces of flesh and bone... floating around. I'd like to say I was alright, and that I decided to figure out how this happened. In honesty, though, my lunch made a comeback and starting mixing into the blood. The sight of it made me vomit some more, and I fell into darkness, my last thoughts before I passed out being that I couldn't help but wonder why the masked seemed to have saved my life.

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When I woke up, I was resting in the gymnasium, which was filled to the brink with students and faculty. The nurse looked at me with relief in her eyes. "Good, you're alright." she said. "I was worried the entire class would be gone. You're very lucky you know." It took a bit for my mind to catch up to what she was saying, and when it did, I began to heave again, though my stomach was long since emptied of its contents.

"What... what's going on? What happened?" I needed to know what had happened, and why my whole class had just died around me. Another thought hit me as well. "Wait, was there anybody else there in the classroom?"

"No... you were the only one. I'm sorry. There's not even anything left to identify the other students, or your teacher." The nurse seemed visibly shaken, and I couldn't help but feel cold inside as well. Who was that boy, and where was he? Why hadn't the nurse found him? Clearly he was there, there was no denying. But, maybe it really was just my mind playing games with me. I couldn't tell. This was too much to handle.

"I can't... I just... Why? Why is this happening?"

The nurse just shakes her head, having no answer for my question. The gym rumbles, and everybody cowers in fear. It seemed that whatever had hit my class wasn't the only one, only the first. The nurse turns to look at me. "Sorry, but I have to get going now. Stay strong." As she leaves, the masked boy appears, his false grin filling my heart with dread and contempt. He was the key to this, the initial event. I didn't know why he was messing with me, or causing all this trouble, but I was going to find out.

"Who are you? What did you do?!" I slowly get up from the cot, keeping my eyes on him so he can't slip away again. When my feet touch the floor, I collapse, suddenly really, really weak. The linoleum floor came up to greet me, and a blinding white light filled my eyes as my skull collided with it. I gave a gasp of shock, and rubbed the knot forming on my head as I looked up to see the masked boy again. Surprise, surprise, he was gone again. I didn't know who he was, why he appeared to me, or what the connection to this event was, but if I wanted to have any peace of mind, I'd have to figure this stuff out.