God’s Cube

"This is going to be tricky, swimming is right out, the current's too hard."

Thesi muttered, when suddenly they heard Lyra shout.

"There!" 

She pointed upstream to where a big fallen tree had spanned part of the river, forming a natural bridge. It wasn't ideal-half of the tree had been worn underwater by the river, and the branches looked precariously slick-but it would have to do.

"We'll cross one at a time, I go first to check stability."

Thesi decided. The tree groaned ominously when he stepped onto it, but it held firm. He moved slowly, testing each step before laying his full weight down. Halfway across the tree shifted slightly beneath his feet, but he managed to catch his balance. He reached the other side unscathed and waved the others forward.

Amina crossed over next, deliberate and sure in her movements. Lyra followed, now plainly showing the weariness in the shaking of her steps, but still making it across without falling. Lastly, Eira stepped onto the tree, balancing with precision and ease as she crossed over. Thesi found himself staring in amazement at how easily she made difficult scenarios appear effortless.

They continued onward, the river behind their backs now, the last leg in view. Before them lay open plains, a stretch back to the main campus. The ground was level here but deceptively tricky. Long dry grass lashed against their legs, while concealed rocks and holes pockmarked the route.

"We need to quicken up our pace, we are falling behind the leading teams."

Amina said, scanning the horizon and Thesi nodded.

As they sprinted across the plains, they tried to focus on the rhythm of their strides. The heavy sound of their breathing was loud in his ears, the pounding of their feet the only thing that kept him there. Every step, he felt the sting of grass against his shins, the dry earth cracking beneath his feet. They were close to the midway mark and would have an opportunity for recovery before the real challenge started.

Amina suddenly tripped over some hidden rock, a gasp escaped her lips. 

"Whoa!”

Thesi surged forward, catching her arm just in time to stop her from falling. 

"Careful! Watch your step!"

Amina took a deep breath and nodded, regaining composure. 

“Thanks, Thesi."

As they pushed on, the group started to break down into smaller teams, some hurrying on ahead, while others lagged behind. Thesi could feel his heart racing with adrenaline. They were so close to the other teams now.

Lyra looked back, her face showed real determination. 

"If we continue this, then we can close the gap to the front teams!

Thesi's breathing was ragged, but fire danced in her eyes. It fed into him, and he surged forward as they neared the last stretch of the plains, striking off with a new burst of energy.

At last, what felt like an eternity later, they crossed onto the last stretch where they could view the Academy looming ahead. That would mark the halfway point of the course, and their first rest area.

But as they closed in on the Academy, Thesi's mind began to wander. He thought of the semester. He thought of Vasko and Augusto, both of whom were somewhere behind them on the course. And he thought of Eira, running quietly beside him, a strange source of comfort amidst the chaos.

But the closer they got to what they thought was just a midway point, a feeling of trepidation began to settle in. The campus was in front of them, but there was no noise. Usually crowds of second and third year students would be present to encourage them, but this was not the case. There were no cheers, no congratulations. The Headmaster Orion stood there impassive, his eyes cold and unreadable, as he watched the teams trickle in. He was only meant to be present at the very end of the race.

"Return to your halls, the race is over."

Orion ordered, cutting through the air colder than a knife. Puzzled, the students looked at one another. That event at the end of the semester was to be a time of joy-to kick back and bask in their success. Today, however, only an uncomfortable silence settled among them. Not only was the event cut short, but the mood around them was way too serious.

"What's going on?" 

Amina asked, furrowing her brow.

“I don't know, but let's just get back. Later we can figure it out."

Thesi said, having a gut feeling that something was very wrong, reluctance was written on their faces as they finally began to disperse toward their dormitories, uncertainty hanging in the air like thick fog.

The moment Thesi walked away from that scene, he couldn't help but feel deep down inside of him that something was seriously wrong. For a race like that, where the usual warmth of comradeship would be felt, his chest held the oppressive weight. His instincts screamed that this was far from being just any end-of-the-semester event.

Later that evening, the main hall of the Academy was abuzz with a murmur of confusion. Students in small clusters spoke among themselves in whispers, awaiting, hopefully, someone to know something. Thesi stood by the door, his eyes darting from one face to another, but none of them seemed to have answers.

"Something's not quite right, the headmaster was too cold. Even for him."

Eira whispered, sidling suddenly up next to him. She was quiet as a ghost-he hadn't heard her coming. Thesi nodded to her comment. 

"Yeah, I noticed that too. It's like he's hiding something."

They sat in silence for a moment, the sound of the room fading out. Thesi's mind whirled as she tried to put together what had happened that day: why the race had ended so abruptly, why Orion had seemed so standoffish.

"I need to get out of here, I need air."

Thesi said suddenly, tugged by some unseen connection from the crammed hall. Eira only raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. 

"I'll come with you."

As they stepped out into the night, the air struck cold and sharply bit into their skin where it wasn't covered. The campus was creepily still; the hustle and bustle that usually filled the grounds with students was replaced by silent unease. Thesi took the lead to the wing serving as the hospital, guided by his instincts.

As they drew closer, Thesi's heart began to pound furiously in his chest. He fixed his gaze on the doorway. Two stretchers were heading toward the hospital wing, weighed down with thick blankets cast over them. The shapes below were unmistakable.

Behind them, a third stretcher bore an unconscious student-pale-skinned and bloodied. The vision of the wounds sent a cold shiver down his spine.

"What happened?" 

Eira breathed, a tone of confusion. Thesi’s look lingered a bit on her as he noticed that she had his same void expression when looking at the corpses. Then he shook his head coming back to reality. 

"I don't know…"

Mutedly for a time they watched as the stretchers disappeared into the wing of the hospital, heavy doors closing behind them. The two bodies were quite still beneath their coverings, but the third-that unconscious student-had a little pulse.

"One's still alive." 

Thesi muttered to himself more than anything, and a little to Eira. Her face had tensed up, the silver veins becoming more pronounced, and an expression of grim realization crossed it. 

"But there were supposed to be four."

Thesi turned to her, the cold realization settling over them both. 

"Where is the fourth member?" 

The class was one student short.