There was a rarely used shortcut between the gymnasium and the cafeteria, and the rarity of its use was entirely due to the fact it cut through a stand of trees. Trees were a Bad Thing at Shokushu, capable of concealing monsters beyond reckoning, and already-captured schoolgirls being entertained by their captors.

Enfiladed by a pair of hedges atop a nearby slope, Manos eyed the pass hungrily. The heat of the spring sun beat down on his dark skin and shone on the sweat-slick surface as he leaned forward to get a better peek at his chosen hunting spot. He'd not had a bite yet this day, and it was near afternoon; if a few more hours passed without a worthy target, he'd pack it up and return to his den. But he had faith in the foolishness of the students - soon enough, a straggler or a loner would pass by, and he would take his fill.

I had a lot on my mind. It was the end of my first year and so much had happened. I had made a handful of friends although by my nature i'm still very much a loner.

The problem is that I still felt, deep down inside that there was something profoundly wrong with this school. I knew it but I had absolutely no proof, just a feeling. So far my attempts at finding out anything more had been failures.

That said, it hadn't been a complete loss. My grades had been excellent. They were in fact the best I had ever recieved! And despite the fact of that nagging problem I was actually happy here. Far away from my parents (Who I hadn't heard a thing from - suprise suprise!), on a beautiful island and no-one seemed to mind my exploration of it.

So it was that I was casually walking from the cafeteria, munching on a pastry (The food here was EXCELLENT, especially the sweets! It was simply the amount of walking I did that kept me with my figure!) while I walked. The path I was using was a little known shortcut that led from the cafeteria, past the gym and from there if you knew the turning it took you straight to the Dorms. I had come across it in my endless explorations and it really made getting from place to place easy.

In fact, that was another thing that had been bothering me. I had a pretty damned good sense of direction and I had discovered a LOT of these shortcuts, yet even I got turned around here sometimes, even after the amount of time I had spent trying to find my bearings. It was like the entire school was built like a maze... But who would make a school a maze?

Taking another bite of my pastry, crumbs flecking my chin I walked, lost in thoughts.

Manos spotted it. His prey. His target. A young girl, crossing the path ahead of him. His breath paused and he rose to his feet, the hand-shroud at his back parting leaves and branches quietly to aid his approach.

As quick and silent as a mountain lion, the monster bounded out of cover and lunged down the hillside at the young girl, a dark-skinned, blurring shape trailed by a mane of black hair that whipped in the tailbreeze.

The pastry truely was excellent. As I walked I savoured the taste, eyes half lidded, enjoying the textures and the taste.

Suddenly I froze. I couldn't say exactly why but you know how you feel when someone walks across your grave? It was like that, but far worse. I had a nameless feeling of dread like something terrible was about to happen and it sent shivers up my spine. I looked around, slowly and saw it...

It resembled a Mediterranean man with some sort of cloak which whipped in the air as he ran. It was running with a oddly hunched over gait but it was fast... and it was headed directly at me!

My mouth dropped open, pastry dropping from my fingers as I gaped. However, I gaped only for a moment. There was no way I was going to stand still and find out what this thing wanted with me! I ran.

Manos laughed, wild and free, as his chosen prey turned and ran. Now it was a proper contest. But the girl had only two legs - she wasn't going to escape him by running. Head lowered, he followed the girl, homing in relentlessly, until he managed to reach out and snag a shoulder mid-step. "Got you!" he very nearly sang, blood thrilling through his veins, and the shroud behind him lifted and lashed out, trying to lift the girl off her feet.

She certainly was athletic, though, so if she managed to dodge him . . . so what? It was about the chase, now.

I couldn't believe it! This thing closed such a distance unbelievably fast, before I could vanish into the labyrinthian corridors of the school. I felt its hand on my shoulder and I threw myself to one side to avoid it, my foot skidding as I turned. Something brushed against it almost trying to grab me but it skittered past. Its voice thrummed through my bones, sending ripples of fear as it passed. There was something.. primeval about the feeling it gave off.

As my turn completed I caught my first close look at my attacker, and my blood froze. For me, time stood still for that second. I had thought that it was a hunched over human but this close I realised I was completely wrong. It was a torso! A torso that was running on its hands like a centaur would! The shock only intesified as I looked into its purely iridescent eyes framed by its dark skin and almost felt its malevolence.

Whatever this was it wasn't human, wasn't friendly and most definately wasn't just passing through. Before I even thought about it I found myself running again, my reflexes taking over as I sprinted back towards the cafeteria, hoping to find another student, or teacher, or anyone.

(Note: think of a centaur. Stands on four legs, has two arms. Right? Manos has the same general body structure, but with thick, heavy arms in place of the legs.)

"You forgot your pastry!" Manos laughed, and shot off like a rocket after the fleeing girl. He passed her again with terrible ease, rebounding off an overhead branch with such force that it snapped and fell, blocking her path. "Retrieve it. Why not?"

The monster leaps clear over the obstruction, swinging through the tree it had fallen from with unearthly grace - six agile, strong arms let it weave through the canopy even quicker than a squirrel. "Fast. I approve."

I froze, looking upwards at the creature. I couldn't believe my eyes! How could something like that move like that! However, that was the least of my worries. It was pretty bloody obvious that what was causing my disquiet about this school was staring me straight in my face.

However, I didn't know what to do about it. I knew I couldn't run and quite honestly I was more in shock than anything else! I had never imagined anything so inhuman. I couldn't place exctly what and I had the distinct impression I really didn't want too, but tt was almost like it was a terrible parody of humanity and it instinctively made the hackles of my back raise.

I stood there, still, watching it move around the trees like it weighed nothing, almost hypnotised by its graceful motions. As it capered it also somehow exuded pure menace but, I stood, unwilling to turn my back on it even for an instant. It was the strangest thing and while I knew I should be running in terror I somehow was rooted to the spot.