Jaden:

Raymie was a good friend, and Judith and I weren't really enemies. Thus, when I passed out invitations to my birthday party, they were the first two I talked to... okay so they were the only good friends I had at school. I was tolerated I suppose, but no one else really struck me as "friends"... yes Judith and I were friends, the shrinking bump was slowly letting me remember that.

Upon receiving her invitation Judith smiled and begged, "Oh please let me bring my best friend Jezreel! We both love cake and well, it is most certainly not a traditional Biafran style dish."

"Is that really all banshees eat?" I asked back.

Raymie spoke up between us, eating from a small bag of hard pretzels. "Actually I've tried their food. That one banshee, James, invited me over to dinner once, it's not that bad. A little bland at times, but apparently chocolate comes from Africa, or started to a couple hundred years ago, so as you can imagine they make some pretty good stuff."

Judith looked him in the eye. "Only traditional Biafran food- yes we have chocolate- thank God. Still, no cake, no ice cream."

Raymie's eyes went big. "Nuts to that," Raymie said, digging back into his bag.

"In fact, have you got one more bag of those?" Judith said.

"What'll ya give me for it?"

"A nickel?"

"They cost a dime."

"Fine then, two nickels."

"You drive a hard bargain." Raymie gave her a bag from his backpack.

"And you, my dear friend, are not exceptional at math are you?" Judith asked.

Raymie shrugged at that. "Maybe not, but I'm probably a better fighter than both of you."

"Care to wager on that?" Judith asked.

"No, I wanna live to see tomorrow, I'm just egging you on," he said with a grin. Judith shoved his shoulder making him stumble a little, him maintaining his grin. He then shoved her back and casually sent her backward into the locker on the other side of the hall.

"Oh thou thinks thou can get away with that get back here!" she shouted as he took off laughing. I sighed, watching them run. I rolled my eyes, grabbed the book for the next class, and took off after them.

(***)

Click, click

A slide fell in place as the title slide appeared on the screen in front of us. "Gargoyles" it read simply.

Click, click

A crude drawing of a human creature with large bat-like wings appeared on the screen. Our teacher came to the front and slapped the hanging white... carpet? Tarp? I didn't know what they were called- that was being projected on. "This is an artist rendition of what a gargoyle looks like in a morphed state." she tapped the screen again. "I understand a number of you think you would ever be sufficient to challenge a creature like this. Perhaps after we go over their history and biology today, you will reconsider the only real option you children would ever have." The banshee continued. "Run to others or hide."

Click, click

Four points appeared on the next slide. "So, super healing, super speed, super strength, the ability to nullify pain- these are the abilities you contend with when fighting a gargoyle in its un-morphed state. Four times the speed and strength of a human, they feel nothing unless they want to, and suffice to say, no one truly knows how fast they can heal. Rumor has it, a gargoyle can regrow a full arm in thirty seconds. In their morphed state, gargoyles increase in size, and their speed and strength increase by a factor of two." Raymie raised his hand. "Yes?"

"So what's the trade-off? I mean, if they get more powerful when they morph, why not just stay that way?"

"I don't know, we suspect there is a limit to how long they can maintain a morphed state, but maybe not. The minimum size of a morphed gargoyle is about seven feet tall and they are about as inconspicuous as the Eiffel tower. They are not easy to fight but it is not impossible to kill one. They don't want humans at large knowing of their existence any more than we do." I raised my hand too. "Yes?"

"Well... I mean... what about good gargoyles? Do we have allies?" I asked.

Click, click

"There are none," she said quickly. She turned back to the slides. "Considering their tragic biology." The slide showed a picture of a large dragon and a human. "As all of you know, hundreds of years ago, the world was populated by a species lost to legend, at least, to most of the human world. Dragons. In the fifteen hundreds, our small planet was visited by a species of aliens we have come to know as the leprechauns." Many of us snickered. "Yes, that is the intended response, due to the legends they gave the humans of themselves. Leprechauns have cloaking technology that makes them entirely invisible to the naked eye and they harvest humans as a delicacy, especially children like yourselves."

"You trying to scare us?" Raymie asked without raising his hand, something Ms. Tine did NOT like. She sighed and looked at him. In the blink of an eye, she pulled an apple off her desk and chucked it straight at Raymie. He dodged right the fruit slamming into his shoulder and knocking him out of his chair. "HEY!" he held his shoulder, in pretty obvious pain.

"You barely dodged an apple child. Imagine if that was a bullet from a gun you could not see. If you EVER get the impression a leprechaun is around, you signal an adult of the societies immediately. If you intend on disrespecting me during this lesson, perhaps I should use the next one to knock you out, at least that way the rest of the class will hear what they so dearly need to. Will that be necessary?"

"Um... no... proceed," Raymie said, getting back into his chair, folding his hands, and looking innocent as possible.

"Leprechauns were advanced and they wanted to conquer the planet, but they did not wish to risk their own kind. So, they kidnapped several human children and mixed their DNA with that of dragons. They amplified the resulting beneficial abilities and used the reptile brain to make their minds more primitive and easier to command. They programmed them to have the ambition and drive to conquer the planet. Unfortunately for them, the obedience programming failed and the gargoyles rose up against them. They still tried to carry out their primary program and conquer the world, but they drove away the leprechauns." I raised my hand. "Yes?"

"But why?" I asked. She raised an eyebrow. "Why drive the leprechauns away?"

"I suppose they wanted the planet to themselves," she answered. "They have a tragic existence really. During life, they ultimately push to conquer and dominate, as is their programming, and because they are part dragon and part human, the two natures compete, eventually driving- Every. Single. One. Insane."

I sighed. I knew the truth. Most of what the teacher was saying was probably factually true enough, at least about history and anatomy. But gargoyles were just as human as the rest of us. The Finders told me of their experience with one who had kidnapped a child. They didn't have to fight him to the finish, instead, they appealed to the memories of his family and he let them and the child go. That gargoyle was around three hundred years old, if he was still waiting to "go insane" seemed they had a rather long wait, to say the least.

Honestly, Kyle and Jessica hadn't been silent about their experience either. "Well... what about the gargoyle the Finders fought? What about Jason? He backed down."

"He kidnapped a boy saying he was the reincarnation of his three hundred years, dead child. I'd say insanity had been doing more than knocking at his door."

I growled, slammed my fists into my desk, and stood up. "His child was murdered!" I shouted. "Anyone could be affected like that. He let them go."

"Hm... I suppose he did. Perhaps that gargoyle still has time before he goes insane, but he will someday. Kyle should have killed him, I understand he had the chance."

"Three. Hundred. Years."

"Maybe he'll be fortunate and four hundred will be his magic number. What are you trying to prove? What in the world makes you think the mind of a man and a dragon can co-exist? The leprechauns wanted soldiers, not a new race. They must all be destroyed."

"You're talking about genocide!" I shook my hand at her.

"I'm talking about mercy." The teacher finally shook her head. "I have had enough of this discussion-"

"Oh no, you haven't!" I yelled.

"I beg your pardon?" She walked over to me. "Do you really want to fight me?" I clenched my fist.

"Jaden sit down!" Judith shouted at me.

"But she-" I started.

"Verily, she is right. Gargoyles are evil Jaden. They just are. Your friends got lucky, tis all there is to it!"

"But it-"

"Jaden sit down. Kyle and Jessie got lucky." Raymie said, himself in a less authoritative and more fearful way.

"He let them go..." I said, looking at my desk, fighting back tears... my own friends... "Three hundred years. What we're talking about... it just..." I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Sit. Down." The teacher said. I sat back down, putting my head in my hands. "We will not be having more outbursts from you, will we?"

"No... I guess not."