The Spiritual Version Of Eagle High
The four kids stood frozen, breath caught in their throats.
Enmaji towered before them.
Its body was enormous—easily three stories high—wrapped in hundreds of glowing chains that pulsed like living veins. The yokai's skin was a shifting swirl of deep purples, sickly greens, and burning red markings that crawled across its body like living tattoos. Its face was the worst—too many teeth, too wide a grin, eyes glowing like molten gold as if staring straight through their souls.
Its presence felt wrong, ancient, and powerful.
Amie's legs shook. Cassandra's hands trembled. Matt's fists clenched involuntarily. Josh couldn't even swallow.
Then Josh noticed something.
"…The chains…" he whispered.
Their glowing symbols—once bright and steady—were flickering erratically, dimming and brightening like dying fireflies.
His heartbeat dropped.
"The seal… it's… weakened," he murmured. "The blood moon is draining it…"
Matt snapped out of his trance first. "Okay—NOPE—forget this! We run. Now." He grabbed Cassandra's arm and motioned toward the door. "We're leaving before that thing turns us into dinner!"
As if responding to his words, Enmaji leaned forward, jaws opening wide. A monstrous hand lunged for them, claws slicing through the air—
CLANG!
The chains yanked it back, stopping its reach just inches from them. The ground shook from its roar.
Cassandra screamed and stumbled backward. Amie bit her lip to keep from crying out. Matt swore under his breath.
"Let's GO!" Matt barked, pushing the others toward the exit.
They all scrambled—
Except Josh.
He didn't move.
"Josh!" Amie called, voice cracking. "Come on!"
Josh shook his head, eyes wide with terror… but also understanding.
"Guys… we can't leave."
Matt froze mid‑step. "What? Josh—this is NOT the time to be weird!"
Josh pointed at the chains, voice trembling. "It's going to break loose. Soon. Very soon."
"That's not our problem!" Matt snapped. "We need to survive! That's it! We just have to make it until sunrise!"
Josh's voice strained, cracking at the edges. "If we don't stop it, we're not surviving anything! Once it's free… this world—our world—won't go back to normal. Ever."
The girls inhaled sharply.
Cassandra stepped beside Josh. "If he's right… running won't save us."
Amie followed, quiet but steady. "We… we're the only ones here. No one else even knows this place exists."
Matt stared at the three of them like they'd lost their minds.
"What do you THINK we can do?!" he shouted, pointing at the monstrous yokai. "THAT thing is the KING of yokai! We're just kids!"
Josh swallowed hard. "The blood moon weakened its seal… but it also strips its focus. If we distract it—keep it from pulling the chains—we can hold it back. Just until sunrise."
Matt's jaw clenched. "…How long?"
Amie looked at the sky outside the cracks of the shrine. "An hour."
Silence.
They all turned to Matt.
The pressure fell squarely on him—the athlete, the fighter, the one who everyone instinctively followed… even now.
He dragged a hand down his face, muttering something under his breath. Then he looked up with a tired glare.
"…Fine." He stepped forward, eyes locked on Enmaji. "But if I die… I'm haunting every single one of you."
A shaky laugh escaped Cassandra. Amie smiled weakly. Josh exhaled in visible relief.
Matt squared his shoulders
Josh smiled
Enmaji began to pull through the chains trying to break loose.matt yelled from behind it
"HEY YOU BIG UGLY SHIT HOLE!!, WANT A PIECE OF THIS?!!! He said spanking his butt at it...
It immediately charged towards Matt...
"NOW!!!" Matt yelled signalling the others that he has gotten it's attention.
The four of them darted from chain to chain, zigzagging across the shrine like prey in a nightmare.
"Keep moving! Don't stop!" Matt shouted, muscles burning as he vaulted over a swinging chain, landing hard on the dusty floor.
Enmaji roared, a sound like grinding stone and fire, and swung one massive arm. The force smashed into the floor, sending shards of wood and stone flying.
"Ahhh!" Cassandra screamed, barely ducking under the blow, her hand scraping against a glowing symbol etched into the floor. Sparks erupted where her fingers hit.
Josh's glasses slipped down his nose as he sprinted, heart hammering. "Matt! Over here! We need to… to keep it distracted!"
Matt skidded to a stop, barely dodging a sweeping claw. "Yeah, yeah! Move it, nerd!"
Amie ran, clinging to her book like a shield, her legs shaking. She barely avoided being pinned against a wall as Enmaji slammed a fist into it, cracking stone and sending dust raining down.
"Watch out!" Matt yelled, grabbing her arm and pulling her back just as a chain whipped past her face.
Enmaji's enormous body lunged forward, snapping its jaws wide. Matt tried to bait it away, sprinting across the shrine, but one massive swing of its arm caught him, slamming him into the wall. Pain exploded through his shoulder and back, but he gritted his teeth and pushed himself up.
Cassandra ducked under a falling chain, eyes watering from the dust. "This… is insane!" she yelled, barely keeping her balance.
Josh stumbled on the floor, panic rising as Enmaji's claw swept dangerously close. "Amie! Matt! Do something! I—I can't keep it's attention alone!"
Amie's legs screamed, but she forced herself forward, sliding under a swinging chain and hitting a wall with her shoulder as the yokai's hand slammed where she had just been standing. Pain shot up her arm, but she scrambled to her feet, adrenaline keeping her moving.
The four of them moved like a whirlwind, yelling, dodging, weaving through chains and collapsing beams. Every second felt like an eternity. Dust and debris rained down, and every misstep could be their last.
Matt's voice cracked as he shouted, "Keep it busy! Whatever it takes!"
Cassandra slashed at a loose chain with a fallen beam, trying to redirect its swing. "Go! Move! NOW!"
Enmaji's roar shook the entire shrine. Its massive hand slammed into the ground inches from them, sending shockwaves that threw them off balance. Josh tumbled against the wall, scraping his shoulder on the rough stone.
Amie's knees buckled as she tried to climb onto a raised platform, only to have Enmaji's tail whip across, knocking her flat. Dust filled her lungs. She gasped, then pushed herself up again.
They were bleeding, bruised, and terrified—but they couldn't stop. Every second they delayed the yokai, every movement of themselves as bait, was a moment closer to survival.
Matt barely dodged another swipe and hissed, "We… can… do this… we have to…"
Cassandra's voice rang out, fearless despite her fear. "Move! Don't give it a break! It can't win if we keep it busy!"
Enmaji roared again, snapping chains and swinging its arms, the entire shrine trembling around them. The blood moon's red light bathed the chaos in hellish color.
For a heartbeat, everything slowed—the four of them battered, terrified, and desperate—realizing they were the only thing keeping this ancient terror contained.
And in that moment, with their lives on the line, something deep inside began to stir…
Matt gasped, sweat and dust streaking his face, as he stumbled backward. "How… how much time is left?"
Amie, panting and clutching her book like a lifeline, glanced at the blood-red moonlight filtering through the shattered shrine windows. "… a minute… more…"
Their hearts thundered. Their bodies screamed from running, dodging, and fighting to distract Enmaji.
Then… it happened.
A loud SNAP echoed through the shrine. One of the chains binding Enmaji tore. The metal groaned like it was alive.
The yokai roared in triumph, muscles tensing, claws lashing outward.
The four of them instinctively grabbed each other's hands—forming a human chain, desperate to hold the chains together.
Immediately, a searing pain shot through their arms and shoulders. It felt as though their bones were being ripped apart, their very bodies stretched to the limit.
"Ahhhhhh!!!" Matt screamed, his teeth clenched, knuckles white.
"Don't… don't let go!" Cassandra yelled, tears streaming down her face.
Josh's glasses slid down his nose, sweat mixing with dust, as he gritted his teeth through the pain. "We… we're almost there… hang on!"
Amie's voice cracked, strained and trembling. "I… I can't… it's…!"
Just as their fingers began to slip… just as their bodies reached the edge of unbearable agony…
A blinding light erupted from the center of the chain, spreading faster than their eyes could follow. It was pure, white, warm—and overwhelmingly powerful.
The pain vanished instantly, replaced by a strange weightlessness. The light enveloped them completely, cutting through the darkness of the shrine, through Enmaji's roar, through the blood-red glow.
Then… silence.
The four of them blinked.
Slowly, they opened their eyes. The crimson shrine, the chains, Enmaji… it was all gone.
They were lying on the cold, hard floor of the school cafeteria, the hum of the fluorescent lights above them the only sound.
Matt groaned, sitting up slowly, flexing his arms. "W-what… just happened?"
Amie curled onto her side, gasping, her book clutched to her chest. "I… we… we did it?"
Cassandra pushed herself up, hair mussed, face pale. "We… survived."
Josh sat cross-legged, glasses crooked, staring at his hands as if they were no longer his own. "…I… I don't understand… what just happened."
The blood-red light from the spiritual world was gone. The chains were gone. Enmaji was gone.
But something inside each of them had changed.
They had survived.
The four of them lay on the cold cafeteria floor, chests heaving, hair plastered to their sweaty faces.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Cassandra's lips curled into a shaky giggle. "We… we actually survived…"
Josh's nervous tension broke, and a small laugh escaped him. "I… I can't believe it…"
Matt groaned, shaking his head, then let out a short laugh, half disbelief, half relief. "I thought… I was done for…"
Amie, still clutching her book, giggled softly, a small, relieved smile creeping across her face.
One by one, their laughter grew, bubbling over into uncontrollable giggles and full-blown laughter. Their fear, exhaustion, and adrenaline collided, leaving them laughing until their stomachs hurt.
But then—something snapped.
They glanced out the windows.
Sunlight spilled across the campus. Daybreak.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the hallways. Other students would be arriving any minute.
"Oh no…" Cassandra gasped, eyes widening.
Josh's laughter cut off abruptly. "…We're going to get caught!"
Matt sprang to his feet, still panting. "Run! Run! Move!"
Amie scrambled up, tripping over her own feet but quickly regaining balance.
The four of them sprinted across the cafeteria, slipping through the doors, leaping over benches, and racing toward freedom.
Their laughter from relief had vanished, replaced by the sheer urgency of survival in the normal world.
The blood moon, Enmaji, and the spiritual world were behind them—but they all knew the memory of what they'd faced would never leave.
And right now, the only thing that mattered… was making it to class before anyone realized what they'd been through.