~quick note, everything that is mentioned here, and in coming chapters, has a reason and an explanation. What that is I will not tell because that would be spoilers~
Once it was near midnight, Aiven began his walk to the headmaster's office. The lights had been out an hour or so and the only thing illuminating the insides of the academy was the moonlight, gently shining in through the windows.
Aiven wasn't a hundred percent sure about this and every step he took was hesitant. The letter could've been sent by anyone, literally. His mind was flooded with questions and the strong will to both turn around and go back to his dorm and continue on walking fought over him.
As he made his way through the corridor, he felt a presence coming up behind him and all thoughts he had were gone. Aiven stopped and quickly wiped his head around and stared at what followed after him. Standing a few meters away from him was a familiar smiling face.
"Feíx, what the hell are you doing here?" Aiven questioned, turning his whole body towards his friend. Feíx' closed smile became an open grin and he walked up to Aiven.
"You forgot this" he said and held out the torn black envelope with Aivens name written on it. Aivens face flushed pink and he quickly snatched it from Feíx' hand.
"You...Didn't read it, did you?" He asked and narrowed his eyes slightly, glaring at the other. Feíx shook his head.
"No" he said, reaching for the back pocket of his jeans and pulled something out. "I have my own" he added and held up a black envelope with his name written in silver ink on it, just like the one Aiven had.
"Oh" the pink in Aivens face darkened in slight embarrassment. Feíx chuckled and put his envelope back in his pocket.
"Come on, it's almost midnight!" he said. Aiven gave a slight nod before he too put his envelope in his pocket and walked alongside with Feíx to the office.
The walk became a lot easier with Feíx and Aiven wasn't as hesitant as he was before. Now he was more focused on answering and asking Feíx questions. It didn't take long before the door to the headmaster's office came into their sight. At that point, the hesitation came back, slowly creeping up the spines of the duo.
"Should we knock or something?" Feíx asked once the two came close to the door. Aiven shrugged. Feíx bit his bottom lip as he took a step forward and slowly raised his hand to knock on the door. Just as his hand was about to make contact with the dark, almost black, wood of the door it opened, slowly, getting the attention of ten other students waiting in the room.
Aiven tensed up slightly at the sudden eye contact with the others, different from Feíx who smiled and dragged Aiven with him into the office.
"Hey, Derin!" he said and walked over to the tall teenager, dropping down on the white couch next to her. Derin smiled at him, moving slightly to the side to give Aiven some space to sit down with the two as well. But he stayed standing near the office door.
Aivens eyes moved over the room, taking in the room he was now standing in. It was pretty big with high ceiling supported by ivory pillars. Transparent navy blue curtains hung over the big windows that overlooked the academy's backyard and the Pherline ocean, now a black endless pit that sparkled gently under the moonlight. A candlelit chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating the room along with some candles placed randomly over the room. The room was decorated with giant golden frames, some holding mirrors.
"Hi Aiven" Audra said and smiled at him. Aiven turned to her, simply nodding as a greeting. She was standing right next to Weide, fidgeting with the petals of the potted plant seated on the drawer behind her. Weide stood with his head tilted down slightly, making some of his raven hair fall in front of his vibrant purple eyes.
It was almost complete silence in the office. The only thing that could be heard was the lively conversation between Faíx and Derin, along with some small talk between some of the other students. They were all gathered near the couches in the middle of the room. Everyone except Cassíe. The short girl was standing in a corner of the room, far away from the rest, and kept her eyes locked on her pod. The screen gave her fiery orange skin and the white strands of hair that hung loosely from her ponytail a pale turquoise glow.
"Does anyone know what we're doing here?" Aiven asked, breaking the silence that he found unbearable.
"Nope" came the cheerful voice belonging to Terrie. She along with her brother Tarrio were sitting back-to-back in one of the armchairs, their legs hanging over its armrests. "We just got a letter that told us to come here at midnight, nothing else"
"We all got one, and it appears you two as well" Zam added.
"Yeah no shit Zam! Otherwise they wouldn't be here" Raión said, not bothering to look to the teen he was talking to. Zam didn't bother giving the strawberry blonde any sort of sign that what he said reached him, instead he kept his eyes on Aiven with a small smile on his lips.
"But we're getting close to midnight, so perhaps we'll get our answers soon" Aiven nodded and leaned back against the wall. The silence from before was getting closer and Aiven was not liking it, fortunately a 'thud' was heard coming from around the corner that divided the part they were in and what was the headmaster's own private library.
"Yune I told you not to touch anything!" Liviné called out, on her way to stand up from her seat.
"It was just a book, nothing to be worried about!" Yune assured the tall teen, however it did not work on any of the students listening to him.
"You really shouldn't be back there" Zam said. Yune leaned passed the wall that held the bookshelves, one hand keeping its grip on the ladder, and gave the group a calming smile. "Don't worry guys, it's not like anything horrible will happen"
As if it was waiting for a cue, the clock hit midnight and what sounded like gears grinding softly against each other along with a gentle ticking filled the office. It was extremely low, almost inaudible for the students. Except for one. The pointed ears of Adriam twitched slightly as it picked up the noise.
"What's that?" he questioned to himself, searching with his eyes throughout the room in an attempt to find a possible source of the sound.
"Is something wrong?" Audra asked, being the only one to notice his thoughtful gaze so far. Adriam didn't respond. He stood up from his seat and walked over to the wall, this caught the attention from the rest. Well, except Cassíe. Adriam pressed his ear against the dark wall and could immediately hear the noise a lot louder.
"It's coming from within the walls.." he said quietly to himself.
"What is coming from the walls?" Derin asked.
"The noise..."
"What fucking noise-" Raión cut himself short, as he too was now able to hear the grinding and ticking. He moved his hands from behind his hands to the edge of the couch and stood up.
"What the fuck did you do?"
Comments (0)
See all