The boy, for none who could be cut down from life in so few years could truly be called a man, slowly opened his eyes at the affections and last rites given to him by the nurse.  Panic blazed through his features, but beyond it all, he just laughed, a helpless, choking sound that at least he wasn't going to die afraid.  "It's...it's funny," he barely managed.  "I thought for sure it was...just stories."<br/><br/>Nikki's eyes open just in time for him to force his arm back up, the sparkling manifesting itself fully into a medieval broadsword of exceptional make, his last defiant push against his fate.  "Guess I earned...that...schol-"<br/><br/>When the wounds of whatever unholy creature did this to him finally forced him to stop, his body didn't so much collapse like a rag doll as disintegrate like sugar figures dropped into water.  It took less than a second for the muscular, tan features to fade into dull gray, and then there was just one more pile of ash on the sand, without even the soulblade remaining to mark his passage.<br/><br/>Flashlights shone upon Lihua as other figures, likely campus police, made their way up towards the beach.  Although the flashlights weren't truly necessary to see just yet, they didn't hurt, and suggested that the police would be here a while.  "Miss?" one of them called.  "What are you doing out here?  Are you alright?"  Beams soon zeroed in on the others as well.