Mai

She positioned her hand to slash her wrist with a penknife. But a second before the sharp edge of the penknife reached her wrist, she stopped. “No,” she said. “Mum and Dad will be sad. They don’t understand me, but they care.”

She sighed, putting the penknife back into her pocket. She splashed water on her face until she showed no signs of having cried. Walking out of the bathroom, she put a smile on her face and sat at the dinning table. After dinner, she returned to her bedroom and closed the door. She lay on her bed, closing her eyes. Just then, she sensed movement in front of her eyes. She opened her eyes. “AHHH!!!!”

Mai sat up straight in her bed as the screams faded. “The same girl again. Why do I keep dreaming of her? Winia. Who is she? And what did she see?”

Mai glanced at the clock. 12.30a.m. "Weird. Why didn’t my alarm ring? Didn’t I set it at 12.15a.m? Oh well, I’ll get it replaced some time soon. It’s old and cranky.”

She left her house fully equipped, and carried along a spare orb to carry more essence. She hunted non-stop, relying on her senses to seek out Darkins. By the time she was done, both orbs were filled to their maximum, almost bursting the orb. Mai returned to the headquarters just on time. Organising the Protectors, she shared some essence with Allie, who hadn’t much luck that night.

Tila, seemingly satisfied, walked around, casting spells on all their weapons in preparation for the friendly match. Now, their weapons, which would usually cause severe damage, would only draw a red line across their “enemies”, the Spies. Tila, before proceeding into the Spies’ area to cast the same spell on their weapons, told the Protectors about the details of the match. The red markings would disappear as with normal wounds, but if the person had already suffered enough "injuries" to render a person dead, he or she must immediately make his or her way out of the battle area. The spell would notify the person through a gentle electric shock should the person sustain "severe injuries".

2.25a.m.: Mai led the Protectors to the battleground, which was set as the Wodahs Forest. A spell had already been cast to prevent anybody from venturing into the forest while the match was in progress. 2.30a.m. The match had begun. Mai and Cassie formed a team and led half of the other Protectors, while Dark, Vetch and Allie led the rest.

Mai led up the back of the group, just in case there were Spies following them. Suddenly, she felt uneasy. She looked around and her eyes widened. Her screams echoed through the air.....