"Go to your room and lock the door. Try to push your drawers or anything heavy in front of your door," I instructed. "Me and Eli are coming."

"O o okay, I'm moving m my dresser," she stuttered. "Please hurry!"

"We're on our way, stay on the-"

The call suddenly ended. I grabbed my keys and wallet and burst out the door. Eli was standing right in front of the door with two plates in his hands.

"We gotta go," I told him. "Isa's in trouble."

Eli immediately dropped the plates.

"Hold on," he said as he ran to his room.

Seconds later, he popped out with a jacket and baseball bat I've never seen before. I didn't even bother asking where it came from, and we flew out the door.

When we stepped out, sirens and cries for help could be heard in all directions. We ran and hopped into my car and sped out the lot. Outside of our apartment complex, police cars were spread out on every single street. Officers had their guns out and mounted on their vehicles, aiming towards houses.

We didn't stay to watch. I weaved in and out of traffic, trying to get to Isa as fast as I could. Every time I glanced around, more and more police cars were showing up. G.o.d, I hope we get there in time.

After ten minutes or so, we finally arrived at Isa's neighborhood. We jumped out of the car and sprinted to her house with Eli leading the way. As we approached the door, Eli suddenly stopped and blocked my view. He held me back as he put a finger up to his lips.

He slowly moved out the way, and I saw Isa's door splintered into tiny pieces. In the past, I would've been scared. But right now, what would have been fear turned into rage.

I walked past Eli as he looked at me in surprise. All the lights were off, but the moonlight was bright enough to illuminate most of the room. Oddly enough, it felt bright enough to see everything inside.

Cus.h.i.+on stuffing and broken gla.s.s were littered all over the wooden floor. We quietly entered the room and stayed alert. I walked through the living room, making sure I didn't step on any gla.s.s. Eli crept forward and made his way to the kitchen.

I heard a sharp gasp, and my head shot up from the direction it came from. Eli stood in the kitchen and pointed at something on the ground. Large splotches of dark liquids stained the floor by the stairs behind the kitchen. I gently made my way to Eli and took a closer look.

Kneeling, I ran a finger over the wet smudge on the floor. When I inspected my finger, I noticed that it was too watery to be blood. I looked around the floor and spotted a broken wine bottle. Poking Eli, I pointed at the bottle and saw him relax a little.

Pant...Pant...

Eli and I both looked at each other with wide eyes. Something was down the hall. I picked up the broken bottle with the jagged end and carried it by the neck. We shuffled out the kitchen and made our way to the top of the stairs, to Isa and, her never present roommate, Mira's rooms. Mira's door came up first on the right, but it was untouched.

Rustling noises were coming from the left side where Isa was right now.

We looked ahead and saw a hole on her door where her doork.n.o.b was supposed to be. Eli got into a low stance and placed a hand on the door. At the slightest touch, it barely nudged open. He looked back at me and nodded his head, asking if I was ready to go in. I nodded back. He tightened his grip on the bat with one hand and held up three fingers on the other.

He lowered one. I fixed my grip on the broken bottle.

He lowered another one. I mentally prepared myself.

As he lowered the last finger, I felt my adrenaline pulsing within me.

Eli slammed the door open with his shoulder and rushed into the room with me at his heels. Bursting into the room, the door smashed into a dresser that had been moved earlier. Isa's usually tidy room was a mess with random objects scattered all over the floor. In front of the bathroom door, a giant hulking blob twitched at the sound.

It's bulky body twisted around and a pair of orange-red eyes looked back at us. That is, without a doubt, a bear. It tilted its head to the side and yawned, showing off its razor-sharp canines. My eyes darted back and forth from its body. It's a bear, but it was unlike anything I had ever seen in pictures. Its muscles were bulging so tightly that its skin and fur were tearing apart like stretch marks. The bear was almost the same size as my car. I don't know how it managed to fit in here.

Not knowing what to do, I brandished my makes.h.i.+ft weapon. At the sight of my sudden movement, the bear began huffing aggressively and stood up on its hind legs. It had to be ten feet tall. We watched as it towered above us with its head touching the ceiling.

Its eyes stared into mine, practically daring me to look back. Unafraid, I stared right back at it while Eli stood next to me, ready to swing his bat. Enraged, it dropped onto all fours and charged at us. I jumped to the right while Eli jumped the other way, making the bear miss in between us.

Eli immediately struck the base of its head, and I stabbed the side of the bear with the jagged gla.s.s. The rest of the bottle shattered instantly after, leaving me defenseless. The bear let out a roar in pain as it swiped at its sides, hitting me in the ribs with its palm. I felt like I got hit by a wrecking ball as I flew across the room and got the wind knocked out of me.

I heard Eli shouting to grab its attention as I tried to step back up. Facing Eli, the bear charged once more. He jumped to the side once more, but this time, the bear swung its claws and tore into his arm.

"ELI! NO!' I shouted.

He crumpled to the ground and clutched his b.l.o.o.d.y arm tightly against his body. The bear readied its arm to make the killing blow.

"HEY," I yelled. "GET AWAY FROM HIM."

I grabbed a broken lamp off the ground and hurled it at its head. The bear let out a deep guttural roar and charged at me once more. Weaponless, I stood in front of the charging ma.s.s of pure muscle.

"Say my name," a voice whispered in my head.

What? The bear was only a couple of feet away.

"Say My Name," it whispered louder.

I remembered Bel's final words, "When you are in a time of need, never forget to call for-"

"SINTRA," I shouted at the top of my lungs.

The blade that had been fused within me materialized in my hand. Time felt like it was coming to a halt. The room instantly became cold, and the bear skidded to a stop before it took a few steps back and whimpered in fear.

Feeling stronger than I ever had before, I walked towards the bear. Although I had never wielded a blade before, I brandished the sword as Bel did before. Each stroke felt oddly natural, and I watched as rage filled the bear's eyes.

As it realized its life was about to come to an end, I felt the bear mustering up all of its strength for one last act of desperation. Head down; it shot forward like a freight train towards me. As it approached me, I gripped the sword in front of me with both hands. Its jaws opened wide, revealing its incredibly sharp teeth again as it lunged.

I lowered my body and dodged the attack and swung my blade diagonally, feeling the blade cut through flesh and bone. The bear crumpled at my feet, and blood began to pool on the floor. I dropped the sword and ran over to Eli to check on him.

"Eli, are you okay?"

"Wha wh what the h.e.l.l was that?" Eli sputtered in shock.

"I'll tell you later. We gotta get you to a hospi-"

"EZ BEHIND YOU," a girl shouted.

I whipped my head around, and my jaw dropped as I saw the bear lunging through the air towards me. Behind the bear, I spotted the bathroom door open, with Isa screaming with outstretched arms.

"NOOOO," she screamed.

A stream of flames shot forth from Isa's hand like a flamethrower and pierced a hole in the bear in its lower torso. It fell to the ground, and the smell of burnt flesh and hair filled the room.

"Pick me up," the voice in my head whispered again.

I ran to Sintra and picked up the blade as instructed.

"Stab the heart."

I followed Sintra's instruction and swiftly plunged the blade into its chest. The bear's corpse was quickly absorbed by the sword. Before I knew it, the entire body had disappeared, leaving behind an object in its place.

"What is that?" Isa asked as I picked it up.

"Eden," Sintra whispered.