The Supernatural Defense Corp

It’s crazy how much can change in just a year. As I prepared for my last first day of school, it struck me that Harvey wasn’t by my side. He had always been by my side, ever since the first day of kindergarten. He was the only boy who didn’t have mean thoughts about my red hair and freckles, and who didn’t see me as an easy target because of my size or poor physical health.

I hated this school and everything associated with it. I couldn’t wait for graduation, to leave this academy—nicknamed “Hellschool”—behind and become an official Guardian. The relentless training had been a part of my life since I could walk, consuming both my days and nights. From kindergarten through to my last year of college, I had endured it all, and soon, I would graduate and become an official member of the Supernatural Defense Corp. I never thought I would graduate without my best friend, the man I loved. Life was cruel and determined to fuck me up time and time again. I was used to it. Maybe it was my mistake for making him my entire world.

My twin brother, Lux, had an entirely different experience with life. He thrived in this environment, relishing every moment. Naturally, he was adored by everyone; he was the life of the party and consistently at the top of his class each year. His name suited him well—he was certainly fortunate. He was strong and brave, everything I was not. It was hard to believe we came from the same womb, even if we were identical.

As for me, luck had never been on my side. Perhaps my parents foresaw this when they named me Jinx. They hadn’t expected twins, and I arrived just moments after my brother. I entered the world unable to breathe, and my parents thought I wouldn’t survive. When I finally cried, the midwife warned them that I might suffer brain damage due to the lack of oxygen during those critical minutes. Maybe that’s why I can read minds and nobody else can. My brain had to be broken, right? Or maybe it was because of all the health problems I have spent my life struggling with.

My mother cared more about me than my father, but she passed away when I was seven, burned alive by a dragon she was meant to slay for the SDC. My father, devastated by her loss, had to carry on with his responsibilities, training hundreds of children and young adults to combat supernatural threats. Who else would run this place if he was gone? Lux would not be ready for years. He was hard working and dedicated but we are still young, only twenty-two years of age.

I finished securing all the daggers and swords attached to my snug black leather attire, which everyone here wore. It wasn’t just ordinary leather; it was made from kangaroo hide, nearly impossible to penetrate. This was fortunate for me, as, despite my brother and father being recognized warriors in the arena, I was far from skilled. Since childhood, I had been smaller and weaker than the other children, making me an easy target. Everything was harder for me, not just in the arena but in the classrooms as well.

I secured my pin-straight cherry-red hair into a braid, ensuring it wouldn’t obscure my vision during training. Although I disliked training with the other Dragon Slayers, my ability to read their minds provided me with a significant advantage, allowing me to anticipate their moves. This skill had been my lifeline throughout school. Unlike my twin brother Lux, who excelled in Rare Creatures Specialization, I struggled to keep up. Only three people were aware of my mind-reading ability, and two of them were dead. If my father discovered this secret, it would certainly mean execution for me.

Our destinies were etched into our birthmarks. Dragon Slayers, like me, bore a large golden dragon spiraling down our spines, while those specializing in Rare Creatures like Lux had intricate black swirls adorning their hands, fingers, and wrists. Some birthmarks were more pronounced than others but one thing was certain, if you were born with the mark of the SDC, you would be taken to the academy. Guardian Academy was a gothic Victorian castle hidden in the green mountains of Washington State. They also trained vampire, werewolf, and witch hunters. This was the only home I had ever known and even if the human world didn’t know we existed, our lives were dedicated to protecting them.

“Jinx, we’re going to be late for our first day of class!” Karina exclaimed, startling me as she entered our shared dorm room. We had been roommates since third grade and she was my best friend, aside from Harvey.

“I thought you already left,” I replied, turning to face her. Karina was my physical opposite—tall, with thick curves, dark skin, and beautiful black curls that cascaded to her hips. She was also an exceptional warrior.

“Not without you!” she said with a smile, grabbing my wrist and pulling me toward the door. I could hear her thoughts, filled with concern about me facing the day without Harvey. It had only been two months since his death, and the reality of it still felt unreal; I barely left the dorm all summer. As we walked down the long, dimly lit hallways toward the courtyard where most of our exercises occurred, it became clear we were late—everyone was already jogging on the track and glaring at us.

“You’re both five minutes late. You’ll serve detention in the boxing room for an hour after school and run four extra laps right now,” Instructor Davison snapped at us. We knew better than to argue with the tall, grumpy old man, who held a reputation for being a hardass. Instead, we fell in line, jogging alongside our classmates. We had been with the same group of Dragon Slayers since kindergarten. Aside from holidays and family days, we rarely interacted with anyone else, and I hated most of these people.

“You’d think you’d get expelled after killing your boyfriend, Simmons,” Roland Hanford sneered as he jogged past us. Nobody ever gets expelled from Hellschool, instead, they are executed so they cannot betray the secrets of the SDC. I felt the urge to retort, but Karina gently restrained me.

“He’s not worth it; he’s just being an asshole, as always. You didn’t kill Harvey; it was a tragic accident. People have died in worse ways here,” she reassured me. I knew she was right. A girl named Gwyen Fitz had died just last year during training when she fell off a fifty-foot-high balance beam. While most kids typically suffered broken arms or legs from falls, Gwyen was unfortunate enough to break her neck.

She wasn’t the only casualty of our dangerous training methods. We understood the necessity of these dangers—after all, the real world was far more hazardous, filled with the monsters that haunted our nightmares. It was our duty, as members of the Supernatural Defense Corp, to confront these threats and protect humanity. At least that’s what I have always believed.