Calman High Massacre

The Calman High Massacre was a final confrontation between Hector Goffe and Geoffrey Rofal, taking place at Calman High School.

## Preceding Events

Geoffrey learned where Hector lived by pretending to be Colt through using the latter’s cellphone (which he took after killing Colt) and arranging a meeting, to which he never showed up and instead secretly followed Hector returning to his home. Fearing that Damian will kill Hector before him, Geoffrey initially just wanted to lure Hector away from the house so that he could take Colt’s kids and make Hector watch them die alongside Garovel, and sabotaged the power plant to achieve that.

However, he was unable to do so due to Hector taking the children with him, and instead body jumped into Samuel Goffe, as well as killing and mutilating visiting Nathan and his own old body. He left both bodies in Hector’s room and scrawled messages in blood near them, declaring that he took Samuel’s body and will see Hector at school.

Meanwhile, Hector was able to rescue everyone at the power station except one person who died before he arrived. Garovel ferried the man's soul, which left Hector without access to enhancements and the reaper’s advice during the fight later. Following that, newly resurrected Colt was able to meet up with Hector, get his kids back and figure out that he had been impersonated. Colt offered his help, but Hector refused and rushed home.

Upon arriving, Hector was fooled by Geoffrey acting as his father and went to check his room after Geoffrey said that Hector’s friend was there. Out of sight, Geoffrey had left and headed for Calman High School, with Hector following shortly after he saw bodies and messages in his room.

## The Massacre

After arriving at the school Geoffrey made at least ten new puppets from students, including Micah Chamberlain and Jenny Friedman, and had them attack both each other and still living students. His old puppets were presumably all left behind, though some of them might have been sent after Gregory and Janine, with unclear results. Meanwhile, Geoffrey himself headed to teacher’s lounge and took Ms. Trent hostage, awaiting Hector’s arrival.

## The Battle

When Hector arrived, he immediately began searching for Geoffrey and his puppets. After hearing shrieks, he saw three puppets eating Micah’s body. Geoffrey told Hector to meet him through one of the puppets, but was interrupted by Hector encasing all three puppets in iron.

Hector then immediately ran for teacher’s lounge, but was interrupted by seeing Sheryl stalked by four more puppets, one of which tried to attack her. Hector stabbed one puppet in the brain through eye socket with a materialized knife and encased other three in iron. Frightened by it, Sheryl ran away from him, not listening to Hector trying to explain he was there to help, until another puppet attacked her and Hector encased it. After that he managed to get through to Sheryl by uncovering his face and learned that Gregory and Janine didn’t come to school.

Puppet made from Jenny Friedman interrupted their conversation and told Hector to meet in teacher’s lounge again. Hector demanded that Geoffrey would stop attacking people in exchange, and the aberration agreed, but demanded that Hector brings Sheryl to the lounge in turn, getting Hector to reluctantly agree to that by revealing that he had taken Ms. Trent hostage.

After arrival and listening to Geoffrey talk about what he learned from Samuel’s memories, Hector got Sheryl to move into a corner and sealed her with a thick iron wall, to protect her from Geoffrey. In response, Geoffrey enveloped Hector in his shadow entirely, completely overpowering him due to lack of undead strength, but decided it would be too much hassle to break down the wall after initial cut failed to penetrate. Instead he demanded that Garovel shows himself in exchange for Ms. Trent’s life.

Hector tried to free himself with soul-empowered iron spike but that also failed, and with no other choice he explained that he couldn’t contact Garovel right now. After hearing that, Geoffrey declared that he will kill Ms. Trent, everyone in the school and then Hector’s mother unless Hector stops him or at least gives him a real fight. Under immense stress and with no other options, Hector achieved emergence and freed himself with dozens of soul-empowered iron spikes.

Geoffrey said that he will kill Ms. Trent now, but Hector protected her with spiked iron coating and then cut off the part of his shadow that held her. After hearing the sirens, Geoffrey (carrying Jenny-puppet with him) fled towards them to make more puppets. Hector walled him off from the police, forcing Geoffrey to come through him to attack. Temporarily blinding Geoffrey by encasing his head, Hector managed to wound him and then encased Jenny-puppet. After unsuccessfully trying to attack Hector, Geoffrey turned to flee again. However, Hector walled off all other paths of retreat as well, and they exchanged several more attacks, this time with only Hector being wounded.

Realizing that he couldn't match Geoffrey's enhanced mobility without undead vigor, Hector instead focused on building a maze to make Geoffrey's progress more difficult. Geoffrey tried to simply navigate and break through the maze to stay away and wear Hector down, but Hector set a trap that allowed him to knock Geoffrey towards him and land a mortal wound. However, Hector had difficulty forcing himself to land a finishing blow on his own father's body, until Geoffrey asked for forgiveness and offered his word that he would never hurt anyone ever again. This enraged Hector so much that he was able to finally kill Geoffrey.

## Aftermath

Following the fight, a number of students said to the police that they saw Hector kill people, not realizing that the ones he killed were puppets who were already dead in every meaningful sense of the word. Ms. Trent tried to convince the police that he was innocent and tried to protect him, but the police insisted on trying to arrest him anyway. Realizing that he would not be able to explain that the puppets were not the people they were after Geoffrey claimed them, Hector fled on his motorcycle.

He ultimately escaped but earned the reputation of mass murderer, and for a long time afterwards was pursued by police and military at every turn. Hector eventually turned this to his advantage preventing Attack on Harold. After the defeat of Atreya task force Hector's name was cleared when Helen publicly declared that he had been working for her the entire time and that he had been framed in all connection to the events at Calman High. She released a convoluted and entirely fictitious story to explain all of his actions, which was never described in detail.

## References

1. ↑ Hector checked the messages. The conversation read:
> *unknown\_sender: delroy. 8133 sampson st. life/death. keep them safe*
>
> *user: r u ok?*
>
> *user: what happened?*
>
> *unknown\_sender: im fine do u have the kids?*
>
>

“He actually answered,” said Hector.

‘*That’s a relief. Ask him what happened again.*’

Hector did so. They didn’t have to wait long for the reply.
> *a lot. easier to explain in person. let’s meet up asap*
>
>

“Hmm.” He showed the message to Garovel.

‘*There’s no reason to tell him where you live. Pick somewhere else.*’

“The cemetery?”

‘*Eh, that’s too close. You know that park west of here? About two kilometers or so?*’

“Uh... Nelson Park, right?”

‘*Yeah.*’

“Okay...” He sent the message.
> *ok heading there now*
>
>

Hector’s brow receded. “In the middle of the night...? Geez. I guess he’s eager to get his kids back. I suppose I would be, too, if I were him...”

He wasn’t sure if he should sneak out through the window. It seemed like a bad idea with two babies in his arms. He knew his parents both had early starts in the morning, especially his mother, so he checked downstairs and was relieved to find that they had both gone to bed already.

He slipped out through the front door with the children, bringing the baby supplies just in case. As he approached the motorcycle, he made a fresh iron carriage for them.

Hector soon arrived at Nelson Park. He saw no one immediately around, save a young couple walking by the entrance and an occasional passing car.

“It’s pretty dark,” said Hector. “You mind helping me find him from the sky?”

‘*Sure thing*.’ Garovel flew above the trees, which were dense enough that Hector had trouble following where the reaper had gone.

‘*But, uh... stay in my line of sight, please...*’

‘*Yes, Mother.*’

Hector moved toward the center of the park, where there was a manmade pond with a small fountain. He stopped under a tall lamp along the main footpath, but he decided not to sit on the bench there.

‘*Hmm*,’ Garovel said after a few minutes. ‘*I don’t see him. Do you?*’

‘*No. Guess we’re waiting...*’ - Excerpt from pages 249 and 250
2. ↑ Nestled behind a tall air vent on the roof of an apartment complex, Geoffrey found his spot. It was rather far, but he could see practically the whole park from here. He pointed his binoculars at the moving glimmer in the sky, and he saw the reaper. Hector’s reaper.

Geoffrey grinned. “Aha. I thought it might be you two who helped Mr. Colt.” He panned down across the park. “Now where is Hector...?”

He saw the dark figure below a streetlamp. Geoffrey touched the sore lump on his chest. It was no more than an occasional nuisance, so he had never bothered to get it looked at by a doctor, contrary to Desmond’s wishes. Rather, Geoffrey enjoyed the feeling, enjoyed how it reminded him of Hector--his very special friend.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to kill Hector. Thinking about all the potential hostilities that they could have, the violent clashes and innocent casualties and long sessions of torture, Geoffrey couldn’t help but smile. Hector seemed like someone who could amuse him for a very long time.

But at the same time, Geoffrey knew that he could not let things draw out too much. There was one insurmountable obstacle that would surely end all the fun sooner or later. His grandfather.

Damian was rebuilding the family business. Hector was an active hindrance to that effort. Their clash seemed inevitable. And obviously, stopping Damian was no kind of option. So the more he thought about it, the more Geoffrey realized that even if he didn’t exactly want Hector dead, he *certainly* didn’t want someone else to get the kill. That was, after all, why he had told Feromas and Damian nothing before coming here. If Hector had to die, then Geoffrey had to be the one responsible for it. Simple as that.

He saw Hector pull out a cellphone and begin texting. Colt’s phone started beeping soon after. The message read:
> *where r u?*
>
>

Geoffrey thought a moment and then wrote back:
> *sry. cant make it. reschedule for tmrw?*
>
>

There was a long pause. He returned to watching the reaper as his patience began to wear thin, and then Hector’s next message read:
> *fine. but tell me what happened*
>
>

Geoffrey pursed his lips as he considered what to write next. “Ah, here we go...” He wrote:
> *geoffrey attacked me but i got away. hiding from cops now*
>
>

He laughed to himself. “And people think I’m not smart.”

Hector sent one more text, suggesting they meet back up in the afternoon, to which Geoffrey agreed, and then Geoffrey watched them leave the park. Hector was too difficult to follow in the darkness, but the reaper was clear as day.

Geoffrey kept his distance, bounding between rooftops, splashes of red carrying him along as he maintained his view. And it wasn’t long before he saw the reaper slow. He looked through his binoculars again and watched the reaper disappear into a two-story house.

“So that is where you live,” said Geoffrey. “Interesting.” - Excerpt from pages 250 and 251
3. ↑ For a while, Geoffrey merely sat and watched the house.

“What should I do?” he mused. “Hmm. I do not want to just rush right to the good part. It has to be something special. Obviously, I need to make him watch his reaper die, but what else? Umm... oh! The children! Of course the children! I couldn’t make Mr. Colt watch them die, so I can make Hector watch, instead!”

Geoffrey furrowed his brow and folded his arms. “But wait. He is much stronger than Mr. Colt. Removing the children from his possession *without* killing him first could prove difficult... Maybe if I lure him away from the house...? Well, let me think. It is the middle of the night... and he is rather protective... How can I get him to leave without taking the children with him? Hmm...”

-+-+-+-+-

Back in his room, Hector sat practicing with metal, trying to improve his speed in the creation of gauntlets again. He’d found an old stopwatch and decided to time himself. After a few attempts, he discovered that he had managed to shave a whole second off the process.

“Only another fourteen and a half minutes to go,” he mumbled.

He was about to give it another try when a distant *pop* interrupted him. A small tremor passed through the room, and the light from his desk lamp flickered and died.

“What was that?”

‘*An explosion, if I’m not mistaken.*’ Garovel flew up through the ceiling.

Hector waited in the dark. ‘*The power isn’t coming back on...*’

‘*It’s not just your house. Several blocks just went completely dark. I think we can assume the blast came from the power plant*.’ - Excerpt from page 252
4. ↑ Hector looked at the twins in the darkness, still asleep in their makeshift beds. ‘*But... what about the children?*’

‘*Do you think you should stay?*’

His expression strained. ‘*I don’t know... people could be hurt out there, right? Trapped under rubble or something?*’

‘*That they could.*’

He stood and ran a hand across his face as he started pacing across the room. ‘*What do I do? If someone’s dying over there, and I could--agh--but I just--!*’

‘*Take the kids with you*.’

He watched Garovel float back down through the ceiling. ‘*What?!*’

‘*You could be gone for hours, depending on how things go. Shouldn’t leave babies unattended for that long.*’

‘*But it’s fucking dangerous!*’

‘*You’ll keep them safe.*’

He was incredulous. ‘*You can’t know that! What if I fuck things up again?!*’

‘*Hector*,’ said Garovel. ‘*I know you still lack confidence, but there is no doubt in my mind that you will protect them. Need I remind you of all the people you’ve already saved?*’

He looked at the floor and frowned.

‘*I do need to? Okay, well, let’s see. There’s Bohwanox, me, Colt, these same children, me again, those people from the apartment complex the other day, Lynn, Roman, Mehlsanz, the fucking Queen of Atreya, me a third time--oh, and that girl from your first night as my servant, remember her? Come on, there are so many that I can’t even remember them all. And guess what? You’re stronger now than you’ve ever been.*’

‘*I... ah... but if they get hurt...*’

‘*They’ll always be in danger of getting hurt. But right now, one of the safest places they can be is by your side. Just don’t use them to reflect bullets, and I think they’ll be fine.*’

Hector was silent.

Garovel waited, and then said, ‘*How about I go scout out the situation first, then?*’

He looked up. ‘*N-no. I don’t want you going anywhere without me, either.*’

‘*I’ll be careful.*’ The reaper moved toward the wall.

‘*No, you’re right. I’ll... I’ll keep the kids safe... and I’ll keep you safe, too.*’ - Excerpt from page 253
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 And there was the door to his room. It was closed. He had not left it that way. He opened it.

The first thing he noticed was the stench. And then he saw the body. It was human, limp and mounted on the wall. It had been eviscerated. Blood and entrails spilled onto Hector’s bed.

And perhaps it was because he was too appalled and disgusted, but at first, he didn’t realize who it was. It just looked like a mutilated corpse. But then the face registered.

It was Geoffrey.

He didn’t understand. Geoffrey was already dead? Hector’s head spun, trying to figure out how. Or why. Or anything at all. What the hell had happened here?

And then he noticed the message scrawled next to the body in blood. It read:
> ~For Hector~
> I finally got myself a new body. You can have my old one. ~Love, *Dad*
>
>

Hector was in shock.

He wanted to run from the room, but his legs refused to work. For a time, he could only stare at the red words in disbelief. It didn’t feel real. It couldn’t be.

But there was more. Horrifically, he saw another bloody message, this time on the sliding doors to his closet. Simply:
> open -->
>
>

He didn’t want to. He dreaded what he would see in there. But he had to look. He had to know what Geoffrey had done. And when he slid the door back, he saw a second dead body.

This one was Nathan. The young man had surely come to offer Hector a ride to school. And Geoffrey had torn him to pieces.

And still another message was scrawled onto the rear wall of the closet:
> See you at school, son.
>
>

Hector could hardly breathe. He wanted to cry. He wanted to vomit. He wanted to scream. But more than anything else--he wanted to kill Geoffrey. As the seconds passed, as he regained his mind, his breath, Hector soon decided that the only thing that mattered now was ensuring Geoffrey never hurt anyone ever again. All other concerns came second. His grief and disgust and shock, it would all have to wait.

Tears in his eyes, he bolted back downstairs. Geoffrey had already left, of course, but Hector checked the rest of the house to be sure. He still saw no sign of his mother.

Back on the motorcycle, he pressed the machine for all the speed it could give him. He tried to think. What would Garovel do? Probably try to assess the situation calmly. Hector didn’t know if he could do that right now. He’d never felt this kind of mind-numbing anger before, this unfiltered hatred. But Garovel wasn’t here to talk sense into him. And he could not afford to be stupid about this, or even more people would end up dead. - Excerpt from pages 262 and 263
6. ↑ Under cover of darkness, he listened for Garovel’s next orders. When none came, he asked the obvious. ‘*See anyone else trapped?*’

‘*I’m double-checking, but I think that’s everyone.*’

‘*Really? I thought there’d be more...*’

‘*I imagine the power station doesn’t have a large night crew. And I bet a lot of the place is automated.*’

‘*So... all the people made it out safely?*’

‘*Well. No, unfortunately not. There’s a fire near the far end of the building. Looks like some poor guy burned to death*.’

Hector frowned and sighed. ‘*I could’ve... if I’d...*’

‘*I don’t think it was possible to save everyone here, shitty as that sounds. You’d need to have been ridiculously powerful, and you’re already stronger than normal, given your age as a servant.*’

Hector had no response. He waited for Garovel to finish up searching. The reaper made a third pass to ensure no one had been missed.

‘*Looks like there was only one casualty*,’ said Garovel. ‘*Firefighters got a couple people out, too.*’

‘*I guess that’s... something...*’

‘*I need a couple hours to take care of this soul*,’ said Garovel. ‘*You should head back home. The sun will be up soon, and you’ve got school.*’

‘*Alright...*’ Before starting the motorcycle, however, he stopped himself. ‘*Actually, I think I’ll see if Colt shows up first.*’

The reaper did not answer.

‘*...Garovel? Okay. See you later, I guess.*’ - Excerpt from pages 259 and 260
7. ↑ After a few minutes, he decided to circle the block a couple times. After an hour, he was about to text Colt again when a familiar voice caught his attention.

‘*Found him.*’

Hector turned and blinked at the long-faced reaper there. “Bohwanox! What are you doing here?”

‘*Helping someone find you.*’

“Wha?”

Colt rounded the corner. “There you are.”

Hector looked between them, struggling to ask the necessary question.

Bohwanox got there first. ‘*Yes, Colt can see me. I resurrected him after Geoffrey killed him.*’

Colt cocked an eyebrow at Hector. “What the hell kind of baby carriage is that?”

“Ah--uh--” Hector released the iron around the children, taking them both into his arms. He immediately handed them over to their father.

Colt looked even more confused as he took them. “Where’d the metal go?”

“It’s, uh...” Hector scratched his helm as if it were his head. He looked to the reaper for help.

‘*I’ll explain later*,’ said Bohwanox.

Hector gave a grateful nod and eyed Colt again. “Why’d you reschedule the meet again, anyway?” he asked. “I thought you were hiding from the police.”

“Reschedule? What are you talking about?”

“Your text. We agreed to meet at noon tomorrow, but then, uh... you, uh...”

Colt’s brow lowered. “I don’t follow.”

Hector exhaled a curt breath and pulled out his phone. He showed the conversation to both of them.

“...I didn’t send any of those first texts there,” said Colt. “I’m not sure what--” And the realization hit him. It left his mouth hanging open, and for a moment, he merely stared at Hector, speechless.

“What’s the matter?” said Hector.

“When Geoffrey killed me, I lost my phone,” said Colt. “And I think he must have taken it and sent you those text messages.”

Hector squinted, still confused and looking between Colt and Bohwanox. “What’re you...? But then...”

Colt reread the messages. “Did Geoffrey not attack you?”

“N-no, I...” And then he, too, understood. The sudden horror was a lightning bolt through his chest. He could only whisper his next words. “He followed me home...!”

Hector ran for the bike.

“I’ll go with you,” said Colt.

“No!” Hector yelled as the engine roared to life. “Geoffrey would kill all of you!”

“I can help--”

“No, you can’t!” Hector had no patience for the man. “Just! Get out of the city! I’ll call you when it’s safe!” He punched the throttle, and the bike tore down the street with screeching tires. - Excerpt from pages 260 and 261
8. ↑ The sun had already risen. Traffic was growing, but he still had enough room to weave between cars without much trouble.

‘*Garovel, if you can hear me... I think Geoffrey knows where I live. I think he might be there right now.*’

He reached the house. He let the bike fall on its side and ran through the front door.

His father was in the kitchen, washing his hands in the sink. The man stood facing the small window, whistling calmly, as if nothing were wrong at all.

Hector looked around. Everything seemed normal. He’d expected the worst--blood, destruction, hostages or even dead bodies--but there was none of that. No sign of violence that he could see. No sign of Geoffrey, either.

Hesitant, uncertain, he slowly approached his father. “...Dad?”

The man turned and saw him. “Whoa there. Um. Hector? You’re...” He dried his hands with a towel. “Hmm. What’s that on your head?”

He decided to ignore that question for now. “Dad, is... is everything okay?”

“What do you mean?”

He stared at his father’s face. It wasn’t vacant and lifeless like one of Geoffrey’s puppets, and Hector was silently relieved. “Did, uh... did anyone come to the house?”

“Just your friend.”

He stiffened. “*Which* friend?”

“Oh, you know the one,” said his father. “The kid who’s been taking you to school in the morning.”

“...Did he tell you his name?”

“I don’t know.”

“Dad, this is important. Was it Nathan? Or Geoffrey?”

The man smirked. “Son, I honestly couldn’t tell you.”

Hector’s jaw clenched.

“I think he went up to your room.”

He eyed the staircase just beyond the kitchen door.

His father walked around him. “I have to go to work now, but I will be stopping by your school today.”

“What?”

“You have been skipping class, haven’t you? Your school has called several times, already, and I think I should follow up.”

“Uh, that’s not, ah... I mean--”

“Anyway, I will see you later.”

“Dad, wait--uh.”

The man stopped and turned.

“Please, just. Stay there for a minute.” He moved toward the staircase. “I gotta check on something in my room first, but... just... give me one minute, okay? D-don’t go anywhere.”

He folded his arms. “Fine. Just don’t keep me waiting.”

Hector scaled the steps in a hurry, making iron around his forearms as soon as his father was out of sight. - Excerpt from pages 261 and 262
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 He arrived at the school, taking the side entrance into the building. His helm drew strange looks as he rushed through the halls. There were not as many students as usual, but searching was still a chore. He tried to be both quick and thorough, eyeing people carefully, searching for the vacant expression of a puppet.

Then he heard a series of shrieks and ran toward them. A group of students were fleeing from a long streak of blood that snaked into the boy’s bathroom.

He walked in on a scene of three people crouching over another. Crimson stains were everywhere. Hector recognized the dead body on the floor. Micah Chamberlain. The three people on top of him looked up in unison. All obviously puppets. Bloodied, ripped flesh hung from their lips.

“There you are,” one of them said for Geoffrey, spitting out a red gob. “I’m in the teacher’s lounge. Come meet me, and then we can--”

And they were completely encased in iron, all three at once, thick enough to render them entirely immobilized.

Hector left them there to suffocate. - Excerpt from page 264
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 He paused as he came out of the bathroom. A crowd of students was staring at him, and he briefly lost concentration again. And Micah’s face flashed in his mind. ‘*No*,’ he told himself, squinting inside his helm. ‘*Not yet...! Don’t think about it yet!*’

He took a wavering breath and stepped forward. The crowd shied away from him, and he saw their terrified faces. They were scared of *him*, he suddenly realized. Of course they were.

But there was no time. Hector ran for the teacher’s lounge, as fast as his unenhanced legs would allow. He soon grew winded, but that wasn’t enough to slow him down. The sight of Sheryl, however, made him stop.

She was still alive. Geoffrey hadn’t gotten to her yet. Hector ran toward her. She seemed frightened of him, too--or of the helm at least--but she couldn’t see the puppets stalking her from behind.

Four of them. The closest one leapt at her. Hector tackled it to the ground.

He tried to encase the other three in iron, but he was only able to seal their legs. The one below bit him above the elbow and tore out a chunk of flesh. Hector grit his teeth and made a metal knife. The puppet flailed, trying to throw him off, and he buried the blade into its eye socket. Blood spurted onto Hector’s helm and gloves as he held it there until the puppet stopped thrashing.

The other three had all fallen over without the use of their legs, but they still crawled toward the fleeing Sheryl. Hector finished encasing them and then ran after her.

“Wait!” he yelled. “Sheryl! It’s not safe!”

“Stay the fuck away from me!”

“It’s me! Hector! Please stop running!”

She did not seem interested in listening.

Another puppet sprung out at Sheryl as she passed an intersection. It grabbed her and dragged her to the ground as she shrieked and tried to pull herself away.

Hector coated the attacker’s face. The groove for its mouth bumped harmlessly against Sheryl’s neck, but the puppet still thrashed. Hector completed the coating and then shoved the iron statue off of her.

She tried to get up and flee again, but he grabbed her hand.

“Don’t touch me!” she screamed.

“It’s okay!” He pulled up the jaw of his helm, revealing his face. “Sheryl, look at me!”

Her glance turned to a stare. “H-Hector!”

“That’s right.”

“But you! Y-you killed that other guy! And--and--”

“He would have killed you,” Hector said. “Or someone else.”

“Why?! Who was he?! What the fuck is going on here?!”

“It’s--agh--it’s really hard to explain,” he said. “Please, you have to stay close to me. I have to--” And he realized that he wasn’t sure what to do with her. Just getting her out of the building didn’t seem like it would be enough. As long as Geoffrey was alive, she would be in danger. And so would the others. “Where are Gregory and Janine?” he asked.

“W-why? Are they in danger, too?”

“Yes.” He tried to keep his voice calm, for her sake as much as his own. “Do you know where they are?”

“Well, I--ah--” Trembling, she took a moment, squinting as she thought. “We usually come to school together, but uh--today it was just me and Micah. I, uh--I figured it was because of the power outage last night. A lot of people d-didn’t come to school today, because, b-because of that. Or I th-thought that was why, but m-maybe--”

“That’s good,” said Hector. “They’re safer at home.” - Excerpt from pages 265 and 266
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Hector placed Sheryl behind him and pulled the helm’s jaw back down. He tried not to acknowledge the face of Geoffrey’s puppet, but he had known Jenny Friedman for years. He had never been friends with her, scarcely even acquaintances, but still. Seeing her like this, blank-faced and mindless, was enough to make his stomach turn.

“I already know where Gregory and Janine live,” she said for Geoffrey. “And you will not be able to reach them before my fetchers do.”

“You’re lying,” said Hector.

“How do you think I know who your friends are? Everything Nathan knew, I know. And Micah. And Samuel. Everyone I have taken has provided me with a wealth of knowledge.”

Sheryl flinched. “Nathan and Micah? What’s he talking about?”

Geoffrey ignored her. “I have learned some delightful things about you, Hector. And I would quite like to share. So please. Let us not drag this out any further. Come to the teacher’s lounge.”

“Stop attacking people, and I will.”

“Oh, very well. But bring Sheryl with you.”

“No. Let her go.”

“Honestly, Hector. Even if I agreed to do that, would you actually trust me to follow through? I would like to see her reactions, as well, so just make this easy and bring her with you. Refuse, and Ms. Trent will be dead before you get here.”

Hector scowled. “Fine.”

“Excellent. Follow me.”

They started walking, Jenny’s lifeless body leading the way. - Excerpt from page 267
12. ↑ Feromas floated over the body. ‘*Hmm. Did we ever learn what Geoffrey’s power was?*’

“It was Domination,” said Damian, thoughtless of the other person in the room. “Don’t you remember all the puppets he left behind?” - Excerpt from page 296
13. ↑ Hector turned his head toward Sheryl, just enough so that he could still keep an eye on Geoffrey. “Please,” he whispered to her, “move to the corner there...”

“W-why?”

“I don’t want anyone sneaking up behind you while I’m... distracted...”

Sheryl nodded, and Hector stayed in front of her while they repositioned themselves away from the open door.

“Still refusing to answer me, I see,” said Geoffrey. “I will take that to mean you really did love your father, after all. Honestly, though, I cannot understand why. You know what the funniest thing is? *I*actually care more about you than *he* did.” He grinned with Samuel’s face. “And of course, I will be a much more attentive father.”

Hector clapped his hands together, and a wall of iron sprung up between him and Sheryl, as thick as he could make it from floor to ceiling. He took a step forward and then added a second layer, just as broad as the first.

“Ha. She will suffocate in there, you know.”

“You’d slip through any air holes.”

“I will just have to break it down, then.” The red shade shot toward him.

Hector made a shield--a crude slab of metal over his arm--and the shadow splashed against it, spraying outward before swirling around to Hector’s backside. He slashed with a focused dagger, but more red was already on the way. Within seconds, it had him entirely enveloped.

The shadow faltered against the iron wall, however, cutting into it but not nearly deep enough. “Eh. Too much hassle. I am not interested in Sheryl, anyway.”

Hector struggled, but without his undead strength, he couldn’t even move.

Ms. Trent popped off the wall, suspended in midair. “How about a bargain?” said Geoffrey. “Tell your reaper to show himself, and I will allow this woman to live.” - Excerpt from page 270
14. ↑ Hector coated his own body, focusing the iron with his soul. From his chest, a metal spike tore through the red shade, but a moment later, the shadow cut it off and filled the hole back in. He could feel it tightening around his body, digging through metal and scratching his flesh.

“How dull,” said Geoffrey. “I am so much stronger than you now. But we both know that killing you alone is useless. So come on. Bring your reaper here.”

“I can’t,” he said through clenched teeth.

“You would let this poor woman die to protect someone who is already dead?”

“No... I mean I can’t contact him right now.”

Geoffrey frowned. “Oh. Well, that is unfortunate. Perhaps we will try again later, then.”

Hector tensed, knowing that wasn’t all.

“I have had quite enough of waiting, however, so this teacher of yours will have to die in the meantime.”

“No!” He thrashed, creating metal frantically, fighting vainly with the red again. “Don’t you dare hurt her!”

“Then stop me,” said Geoffrey. “Give me a real fight, at least. *Amuse*me. Fail, and this will not end with Ms. Trent. When we are done here, we will go visit your mother at work and try again. Hopefully, your reaper will be ready by then.”

He needed more. Burdened under panic, he could barely keep focus. This feeling, this desperation, he knew it well. He just had to make that same mental leap again. So why was it taking him so long? Why wouldn’t it just fucking work already? So many people had died. This stupid metal power. It had to evolve again. There was no other option. With every ounce of pressure in his mind, he demanded more. A growling scream exploded out of his mouth. His throat shredded itself.

And finally. He felt it there. The response.

A metal coat enveloped Hector in a flash. Massive spikes shot out all over his body, ripping dozens of holes into the shadow. - Excerpt from page 271
15. ↑ The lacerated crimson sunk back to Geoffrey, and he recoiled away from Hector. The shadow retained its grip on Ms. Trent, however, pulling her closer to his body. He started laughing as he looked at Hector. “Well done! But now I have to kill your teacher, of course.”

Ms. Trent let out a muffled scream as the red tightened around her. And then the metal coat was there for her as well. Unlike Hector’s, the spikes around Ms. Trent could not tear the shadow. Instead, they merely pushed it out, like taffy stretched across a bed of needles.

Geoffrey’s brow lowered. “Now that is just unfair.”

Hector had to annihilate his own coating in order to move again, but he kept iron around his chest, shins, and forearms. He put a gloved fist out to his side, and it shook as he concentrated on what he wanted. Around the fist grew fresh metal, but it did not stop with mere coating. It extended out, half a meter, until it reached a sharpened tip, and suddenly, instead of a right hand, he had a thick blade--a full sword with crude, jagged edges. It was heavy, weighing his arm down at first, but adrenaline helped him lift it.

He ran forward, sword held wide, and met the next wave of red with a spiked shield. He tore a path toward Geoffrey, who backed away; and instead of pursuing, Hector diverted toward Ms. Trent and slashed clean through the shadow. Her spiked cage clattered heavily to the floor as the shade retreated to Geoffrey. He freed the teacher from her metal bindings. She rolled over on the floor, gasping for breath.

“Aha, wow! How scary!” And a brief silence fell as the sound of nearby sirens filled the room. Geoffrey’s grin only broadened. “I think we need some more playmates.” He fled into the hallway with Jenny. - Excerpt from page 272
16. ↑ Hector had to destroy his metal. It only weighed him down, and Geoffrey was already faster, able to ride the red shadow like a wave through the corridors while carrying Jenny at his side.

They reached the school’s front entrance, and Geoffrey did not hesitate to rush through the sliding doors to meet the police force there.

Still inside, Hector could see the officers scrambling for their firearms at the sight of Geoffrey’s red mass. Their bullets would do nothing, of course. He had to protect them.

Hector slapped the tiled floor with his hand, and an iron wall shot up in front of Geoffrey, curving over his head like an immobile tidal wave. Cut off from the policemen, Geoffrey tried to circumvent the wall, but Hector kept adding to it until the metal met the school’s pale brick. And abruptly, there was nowhere for the aberration left to go, except through Hector.

Geoffrey returned to the entryway, Jenny at the shadow’s heels.

Hector reforged his sword and shield.

“Always trying to spoil other people’s fun,” said Geoffrey. “I thought I raised you better than that.” Metal promptly clapped around his face, which the shade immediately burst through; but when Geoffrey could see again, Hector was nearly on top of him. The sword barreled toward Geoffrey’s chest. He dodged but not completely.

Hector’s blade caught the side of Geoffrey’s ribcage, taking flesh with it. The reds mixed, blood and shadow confused.

Geoffrey slinked back and sicced Jenny on him, but Hector encased her in iron before she even took three steps. The red shadow lunged again, breaking upon Hector’s shield before being slashed apart by the sword.

“This is not very fun,” Geoffrey complained. “I don’t think you are being very--” He had to stop and flee when he saw that Hector was not going to wait for him to finish talking. - Excerpt from page 273
17. ↑ Before Geoffrey could reach the west hall, a metal wall appeared in his path. He leapt away from Hector’s sword, bounding over the reception desk and rushing for the east hall, but another sudden barrier cut him off. Even the chamber’s windows clapped shut with iron.

“I see you are determined to end this now.” Geoffrey swerved out of Hector’s reach. “Then I might as well oblige.” Metal blocked his vision again, but Geoffrey was prepared. The shadow tore it off while two other streaks shot toward Hector from separate directions.

Hector rolled to the side and took one streak with his shield. The other swirled back around, and he slashed horizontally but missed. The shade caught him under the arm. He had a thin coat of metal there, but the impact still knocked him off his feet, and he felt a rib snap. The shadow coiled around his torso, making him groan as it tightened, and he could see several more red snakes gunning for him.

He again resorted to full defense. Spikes jutted out all across his body, reaching even farther than before and shredding every shadow that got too close. He could hear Geoffrey snickering as they shrunk back to him.

“Good! Don’t make it too easy for me!” The shadow spread out around him, gathering into a swirling cluster like some sort of hydra. He sent them all at once.

Hector made a wall in front of himself. The shadows slammed into it, leaving dents and pushing the whole mass of iron backward. Scowling against the wall, Hector slapped his hand on the largest dent. A pillar shot out from the other side and tore a path straight through the red.

Geoffrey avoided it easily enough and then circled around to Hector’s side. - Excerpt from page 274
18. ↑ The problem was Geoffrey’s mobility, Hector knew. A mere iron coating had proved useless, but thick barriers had not, so that was what he went for when he saw more red snakes reaching for him. And with another wall in the way, he couldn’t see Geoffrey, but he didn’t need to. He only wanted to limit the aberration’s options. He steadily placed more barriers around the room, soon creating a small maze, and each time the shadows managed to find him again, he hacked them down.

“I see what you are trying to do!” Geoffrey said from beyond a wall. “It will not work!” An iron pillar shot out at him, and he narrowly slid out of the way, going right. Another pillar appeared, this time blocking the path rather than attacking, and Geoffrey ducked under it, only to find still another metal beam there. He turned around, and abruptly, Hector was at his side, replacing the wall that stood there a moment ago.

Geoffrey reeled back and barely avoided the sword. “You will trap yourself before you trap me,” he said, bringing his shadows to bear. A red cluster whirled at his side, forming a spinning drill. It dug into the wall next to him, expanding the hole quickly.

Hector had a different set of shadows to contend with. While ripping through them, he merely tried to keep Geoffrey in sight, eliminating walls as he ran and making new ones for Geoffrey to tunnel through.

“You will grow tired before I do, you know!”

Hector slipped an extra wall in--not in Geoffrey’s path, but rather just beside it, seemingly unworthy of attention. And when their chase made a complete circle, Hector was ready. He pulled his fist to his shoulder, and an iron block popped out of the wall as Geoffrey passed. It shoved him straight toward Hector.

Geoffrey’s eyes widened as he watched the sword close in, as he realized that he didn’t have his balance, that he couldn’t dodge this one. Shadows rushed to his defense. They might as well have been paper.

Hector gored him through the stomach.

Geoffrey was not smiling. Dumbstruck, he tried to speak and only coughed up blood. His shadows all shuddered as Hector ripped the sword back out, taking flesh with it. Geoffrey staggered back.

Hector stared at his work, still tensed to the point of trembling. He almost couldn’t believe his eyes.

“How careless...” Geoffrey’s shadow caught him stumbling and propped him up. “This body is already done for...”

Hector raised three walls around the aberration, boxing him in. Only the space between the two of them was left open.

Geoffrey spared a glance at the walls. “Ha... you wouldn’t be willing to let me find a new body, would you?” A red cloud poured out of Geoffrey’s face.

Hector cleaved it in two.

The red shriveled and shrunk back to him, making Geoffrey spasm violently. And even now, he still managed a bloody grin. “Damn... I wanted to see my power grow more. Desmond--” He stopped to hack up more blood. “Desmond told me--he said... that one day, I would be able to turn my slaves into monsters. I was really looking forward to that, you know...”

It was nearly done, Hector knew. Geoffrey was down. The shadow was contained. He wasn’t sure if aberrations could die from blood loss like normal humans, but didn’t intend to wait that long. And yet, the sight of his father’s body, his father’s face--it made him hesitant. And even though he knew it had to be done, a small part of him didn’t want to deal the finishing blow. - Excerpt from pages 275 and 276
19. ↑ “You bastard,” said Geoffrey. “Are you not even going to say anything? After everything we have been through together?”

He had no desire to respond. It seemed too respectful.

Geoffrey gave a hoarse laugh. “What if I told you... that I wouldn’t hurt anyone anymore? In fact, what if I even agreed to help you? I would... I would listen to you--do anything you say.”

Hector’s eyes bulged, and his mouth twisted beneath the helm. He could hardly believe how much those words angered him. He’d tried to remain calm throughout the fight, to not let anything Geoffrey said get to him, but this--this was ridiculous. An appeal to his better nature? As if there was *anything* which could convince him. After all the murders. All the lives destroyed. All the families.

The motherfucking arrogance.

Rage came rushing back to him, blindingly strong. He almost couldn’t even hear Geoffrey’s next words.

“If you just--kagh--just spared my life... I would do that. Yeah? What do you say?”

“*Fuck no*.” Hector raised the wall between them, completing the box. He touched the metal with both hands. He could hear Geoffrey shouting from inside.

Hector skewered the box with a dozen metal pillars, all focused with his soul. Geoffrey’s agonized cries still rang out. He added a dozen more. The noise stopped.

He opened the wall. There lay Geoffrey. A crumpled heap with metal bars stuck through it, piercing the chest, neck, skull, stomach, every limb multiple times. The last bit of red shadow shriveled up and evaporated into nothingness.

He stared at the body, waiting, half-expecting it to spring back to life and attack him again. He kept waiting.

Geoffrey was dead. Finally. - Excerpt from page 277
20. ↑ He escorted Ms. Trent out to the side parking lot, where he’d left his motorcycle, and found a large crowd of students and police officers. He was quietly relieved to see that so many people had made it out safely.

A sudden shriek drew his attention, and he saw a group of students pointing at him from behind the line of police officers.

“That’s him!” one girl shouted. “I saw him kill someone!”

“Just look at him! He’s covered in blood!”

“He killed that boy in the bathroom!”

The police pulled out tasers and started toward him, all seven of them at once.

“No!” yelled Ms. Trent. “He’s not the murderer! He protected us!”

The officers exchanged uncertain glances but still persisted. “Please come with us,” said the closest one. “We just need to sort all this out.”

Hector looked over the crowd another time, across a myriad of angry and terrified faces. He could also see the motorcycle laying on the sidewalk, no more than five meters away from him. Suddenly, he had a decision to make.

Now more than ever, he wished Garovel were here.

Hector took a long, tired breath. Fleeing from the police right now seemed exhausting. He almost let them arrest him on that impulse alone. But he had not forgotten. He’d killed several “people” today. And explaining that to the police seemed not only tiresome but downright impossible.

He would have liked more time to deliberate, but the cops didn’t look prepared to oblige. So he turned their tasers into metal bricks and ran for the bike during the confusion. Ms. Trent yelled something after him, but he couldn’t hear what it was.

One of the officers ran toward him with a nightstick as he started the bike. Hector raised a wall before the man reached him, and then peeled off the sidewalk. He circled wide around the crowd, hugging the edge of the parking lot until he found the road. - Excerpt from pages 280 and 281
21. ↑ The police had been making it increasingly difficult to protect people--and for that matter, so had the people themselves. All the media coverage about the identity of the Darksteel Soldier and why the police were having so much trouble catching him had of course revealed Hector’s usage of metal to the general public; and once details of the Calman High massacre began to circulate, connections were soon made. Geoffrey’s puppets had suffocated because of freakish metal encasing, after all, and there wasn’t much hope of explaining that they were already dead and being used to kill even more people.

As such, the Darksteel Soldier had been labeled as no longer just a criminal, nor even just a killer. Now, he was a *mass murderer*. And that was enough attention so that almost anyone who saw him would immediately call the police. Even people he had just saved were quick to lose it and scream for help. Hector wasn’t looking for their praise, but it was still frustrating and tiresome all the same. - Excerpt from page 324
22. ↑ “Very well,” said the Queen. “I understand. Regardless, it will require time. I can order the police and the military to stop hunting you easily enough, but I would ask that you take a well-deserved respite while we attempt to win the public over.” - Excerpt from page 589
23. ↑ Over the course of the week, the Queen held a large press conference every single day, inviting a different batch of reporters each time. Lynnette attended all of them, as Her Highness wanted her to be a constant presence in the background. A few times, the media directed questions at Lynnette, but she decided to remain quiet and let Her Highness do all the talking.

The topic of Hector Goffe proved to be one of the most difficult. The Queen explained, repeatedly, that he was no longer a fugitive, that she considered him a national hero. Instead of trying to explain how the people Hector was accused of killing had been dead already, the Queen chose a simplified version of the truth: that their deaths were not his doing. Furthermore, she went on to flat out lie, saying that the people who falsely accused Hector were trying to prevent him from aiding her. And as the conferences continued and more detailed questions were asked, the Queen’s tale grew rather elaborate. By the end, Lynnette wasn’t sure she understood it all anymore, but apparently, Hector had been working under the Queen the whole time. The public never knew, of course, because it was a state secret, a matter of internal security.

“I gave him a mission,” Helen was saying, “to discover who the architect of the plot against me was. He was unfortunately a bit too successful. They attempted to frame, imprison, and subsequently silence him. But obviously, they underestimated young Mr. Goffe. In spite of his age, he is not only strong--as you all well know--but also, intelligent and courageous, which is of course why I hired him in the first place. And after all that he has done for his countrymen, all that he has sacrificed, I want his true nature to now be made clear to all. I hope every single one of you--” - Excerpt from page 602