No.

Her name was Luca Agnelli. She was sixteen years old. Her senior year at Northwood Academy had just started – and already it was a mess, but that was beside the point. She was not, in any way, shape or form, special. She liked magic tricks, sunsets, and Amy Snow–

No. She stuck her hands to her head, one on each side where pain was shooting up like throwing knives lodged in a target board. Bone shifted and changed in ways it never had, in ways she never wanted it to do again, and all of a sudden her fingers were gripping two points. Brittle ram horns protruded from her head, curved and twisted and freckled. They were bone white, she knew, because she could see their edges in her peripheral vision.

Burning bile rose up in her throat. Her name was Luca Agnelli. She was sixteen years old. Her senior year at Northwood Academy had just started – and already it was a mess, but that was beside the point. She was not, in any way, shape or form, special. She liked magic tricks, sunsets, and Amy Snow–

Stop it! You're going to make yourself sick!

–was dead. Extra dead. As in, as dead as a doornail. There was no way to come back from there, not in this world: there were spirits, according to her various aunts who all possessed a talent for tarots and crystal balls; there were poltergeists and seances, Ouija boards and mediums; but there were no get out of jail free cards when it came to the afterlife – whether it be Heaven, or Hell, or something in between.

Information was pushed into her mind, regardless of how much she raged against it. She didn’t want to know of Northwood’s secret. Learning of it had been the reason for Amy’s death, her murder, Luca was sure. And yet she had access to all of her roommate/best friend’s notes; she knew where they kept them. She’d tagged along on adventures like a loyal hound – a blind one, who’d no idea what they were getting into.

Her feet took her to the parking lot, trailing behind the other students and she looked blankly up at the bus. Would it really be that easy, to leave them all behind?

There’s something you need to do first, isn’t there?

And there was. She couldn’t let anyone – maybe the Headmistress, maybe Miss Standiford – take everything Amy had learned about the school and burn the notes. Even if the staff had nothing to do with it, whoever or whatever was killing the girls might, and Luca couldn’t allow it. She looked around at the students gathering in the parking lot for ones who might come with her, because she really didn’t want to be the next statistic.

“Luca.” There was a lull before the person spoke again. “You have horns growing out of your head.” Katalina said, walking over to Luca and shrugged. “But given how today has gone, that is not even topping the weird list,” she said. Katalina’s face was rather tear stained, but the rest of her was dry, which was odd given the shower they had all received in the gym. “I’m not going to give you some stupid crap about how it’s going to be okay, because it’s not.”

Luca found herself staring blankly, unsure of what to say. She knew that Katalina was a friend of Amy’s, but she wasn’t as important to her as she was to Luca. Strangely, though, she didn’t have any tears.

She wasn’t sure if she could shed them yet. Everything, including how her thoughts were buzzing through her mind, felt weird. Inhuman. One moment later, she’d processed the first part. “They’re made of bone.” Luca rubbed at her forehead. “Amy left you with something, right? Something in here.”

“Yes, she did. There’s something about the lake that isn’t right. It’s where they found Nat. There is a connection there, and yet, I won’t be able to find out, because we’re leaving. Just like that. No answers, nothing. Just shoved on the fucking bus and... “ Katalina trailed off as tears started rolling down her cheeks again. “I’m sorry. I’m not all here. I just… its not right.”

Luca nodded, a little awkwardly. She wasn’t sure what Katalina was so upset about. Surely everyone should be happy to escape the school that was running out of students to kill? “Amy knew things,” she ended up saying, carefully. “We went walks around the lake, sometimes, and she’d take notes…

She looked back up, towards the dorm building. “I sort of need to get those notes, whatever they are.”

“I’ll come with you. I want to help, even if I can’t fully check out things,” Katalina said and looked at Luca. “Do you know where they are?”

Luca simply nodded, before frowning and reluctantly elaborating, “Diary. In Amy’s diary.” She peered at Katalina curiously, chewing on her lip. “I know somebody who can make you feel a bit calmer, if that helps? Keep it all together?” Intellectually she knew this was a place where a hug or a pat on the back would be required, but woah, that was so far out of her comfort zone it may as well have been on the moon. The number of hugs she’d shared with Amy was probably in single digits, few and far between, and– She was making herself a bit antsy with all such thoughts.

“You do?That might help, I think. Also, the more the merrier, I guess?” Katalina said, being a bit indecisive as it would seem.

Luca took that for a yes, flashing over to the lurid orange car in a movement that was not quite normal enough to be human, too fast and too few steps. Once on the driver’s side, she opened it – much to an annoyed (and shaky) note of surprise, and tugged out Jamie Drummond by the arm, forcefully for a girl of her apparent strength.

“The hell, Agnelli? I was busy!”

“Right. You were busy. But I need your help with something.”

“Drummond?” Katalina asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Hargraves?” Jamie mocked in almost the same tone, eyes quickly darting back to Luca, who stared back.

“I’m guessing your power has something to do with emotions then,” Katalina said. “Also don’t mock me right now please.”

“Sorry,” he said quickly, but he was still looking at Luca as if there was something wrong with her on a spiritual level.

Luca was well aware (at least in her mind) that Jamie Drummond owed her a favour, a big one, because she didn’t like being lied to. He’d committed the worst sin of all and promised her that it would all be okay, and that Amy Snow would be found safe and well, which pinned him as almost as bad as Miss Standiford. Still, she knew a little of his power even before the revelation. At breakfast, her despair was being siphoned off and each time her heart felt a little lighter, Jamie had stared more despondently into his museli as if wanting to drown himself in the milk.

“You owe me one, Jamie,” Luca said. “Fix Katalina. And come with us to the dorms before the bus leaves, make yourself useful.”

After a moment, he seemed to get it, even if his furrowed brow indicated he wasn’t quite happy with it. “Fine, let’s add more emotional trauma to the empath, who cares about them, right?”

“Jamie, if it is too much of a burden you don’t have to,” Katalina said. “I mean yeah, it sucks, but I’ll suck it up. What matters right now is finding Amy’s diary, right?” She said, looking between Jamie and Luca.

Drummond pinched the bridge of his nose. Luca kept staring. “The diary. Yeah, let’s do that first. I don’t mind stopping all that hurt, Hargraves, providing you’re not halfway to jumping off a cliff out of grief.”

Luca sighed and took a few steps towards the dorm building, looking backwards towards the two. “C’mon, they won’t notice us.” A thin film of something, the same substance that mirages were made out of, covered the air between them and the students gathered in the parking lot. “And, Jamie? Fix me if not Katalina, please.” Luca had realise quite some time ago that there was something new, something wrong with her feelings ever since she’d grown horns.

---

If Katalina had to pick what today felt like to her, it was a hurricane. They had been warned, the signs were all there, but when it hit, no one was ready for it. The emotional onslaught was still raging through her, from anger, sadness and grief. Her best friend was dead, and now she was going to be forced to leave the one place she felt she belonged. She did not want to go home, and she’d rather deal with a death trap than her parents.

However, as they headed towards the dorms, she felt her emotions lessen, like someone was cleaning up the debris from the storm. The anger went first, then the grief. There was still the lingering feeling of sadness, but that was a bit harder to get rid of. She turned and looked at Jamie. “You... “ She paused. “Thank you,” she said, settling on that. She was about to be angry that he was manipulating her, but she knew that she needed a calmer mind for this.

Jamie gave a jaunty salute and continued pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Luca, you and Amy were on the third floor, correct?” She asked, looking at Luca. It was still a bit unsettling to see the set of horns that had apparently just grown out of Luca’s forehead, but there wasn’t too much she could do about that. She did momentarily wonder if it was a bit painful for the other girl, but she shrugged it off.

“Right.” The dorm hall was eerily quiet, enough so to hear a pin drop, but so was Luca.

”Well, this isn’t awkward at all. Nope. Just walking through the school with Luca and Jamie, like it’s a normal day… oh who am I kidding? Katalina sighed and headed up the stairs towards the third floor. She wanted to ask why there was this air of antagonism around Luca and Drummond, but she didn’t dare speak. The silence was overwhelming and it felt like it was taboo to break it.

After two flights of stairs they were on the third floor of the dorms. “Which one was yours?” Katalina asked, turning to look at Luca.

“The first one,” Luca said, pulling out her key and unlocking it. The room was in a state of disarray – bedclothes sprawled across the floor, suitcases open and kicked into a corner with their contents hanging out, a pack of cards fanned out in a circle on the bedside table. Luca didn’t look at all disturbed by the scene. “Where do girls usually keep diaries?”

Katalina walked over to the bed that looked more organized and made, and lifted up the mattress with ease and looked. “Usually here. Or at least I do,” she said and sighed.

“I never kept one. Amy could see what’s in it without even opening it,” Luca said, before leaning back against the wall and observing the room. She opened up the wardrobe – half of it empty – before turning to the drawers. “Feels like we’re robbing a grave.”

Katalina blinked and then chuckled. “Of course… it’s Amy! Where else would she put her diary!” She said, walking over to the bookshelf and looked through it and soon pulled out a well worn diary. “Hide a tree in a forest, right?” She said, holding it out to Luca. The girl took it tentatively, almost as if scared of it, and clutched it to her chest.

A short silence followed. “Here I was going to suggest the underwear drawer. That’s where I keep mine,” Drummond piped up.

Katalina bit her cheek to keep from saying something, and looked at Luca. “So, are you going to see what it says?” She asked softly.

Luca didn’t say anything, but she did hastily unfasten the cover of it, flipping through pages and pages, all written on. She paused on one, froze for a second, and shen slammed it shut, clipping the outside back together again to keep its contents safe. “We should get out of here,” she said rather quickly.

“Agreed… hey Drummond, how many people does your car fit?” Katalina asked, looking over at the Scot.

“Four. A bit cramped in the back, though.”

“Sounds good to me. I just rather not be on the bus right now,” Katalina said and sighed, turning to leave the dorm. ”I’ll miss you Amy.” She ran her hand along the doorframe and went to leave, hopefully what would be for the last time.

"You are right Miss. Devonshire. Today is my greatest fear, and not because I have to tell you students what is happening, but because you are all in grave danger. We do not have time to go over the details of that danger at this moment. It is more imperative we get as far away from here as possible." The old woman took a deep breath and looked up at the main hall. It seemed to have grown larger, though there were no more windows or floors than usual. She shivered. "Please everyone leave now." For the first time in anyone's memory Mrs. Standiford's voice shook. The implacable woman seemed scared. She glanced at her daughter for a fleeting second, and then the doors to the school's bus opened.

Stella asked Tobias to save her a seat on the bus, to which he nodded and went off. Before she got on the bus, Stella had something she wanted to do. Well, it was more someone she wanted to talk to. Zaylin had said some things that had piqued Stella’s curiosity, as well as she wanted to know what her… was Zaylin a friend? Stella considered her one, even though they had talked a few times, but, she was trustworthy. And given how things were going, having trustworthy people around seemed to be a good idea.

She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, causing a small spark to run through her fingers from Tobias’s earlier ruffling of it and giggled. She shook her head and walked over to Zaylin as the girl stormed away from the headmistress and looked at her. “Zaylin? Ar… no, that’s a stupid question. Wanna tell me what she told you?” Stella looked up at the slightly older girl. Again, as it was earlier, now was not the time to be shy or coy. Secrets had already torn this school apart and was now driving the students from it, but, it was confusing. Why would Amy give out all this information if they were simply going to be allowed to leave? There was a sinking feeling in Stella’s guts as she thought.

Something was wrong. The plants were still screaming in torment, like someone was ripping them up from the ground and then trampling them into nothing. Amy’s death had shaken up more than just the humans. All the elements were churning in reaction to the students powers, but they knew something more. The plants still had something they could not say. Stella wished she could actually talk to the plants, as opposed to just feeling their emotions. It was going to drive her insane. Luckily, it seemed that they were going to be leaving this accursed place, and soon. That thought made Stella’s heart sink a bit. But that moment for that would be later, once they had left the grounds.

She looked at Zaylin, and blinked. “Ah, sorry, trailed off in thought there… if you said something I missed it, my apologies.” She blushed a bit. One of her ‘cloud in the head’ moments, as her father would call them.

Zaylin sighed, and took a deep breath. “I said, ‘she told me the headmistress and her daughter seem too calm.’ If you’re talking about Amy, anyway.” She took another deep breath, and her features seemed to relax a bit. “I left my bag in the gym.” She glanced around, her gaze pausing on the bus before she looked back to Stella. “Want to come with me to get it?”

Stella nodded. “Sure. I’ll come with you.” Stella turned to look at the main building of Northwood. “So, too calm huh? I kinda noticed that earlier with the headmistress.” She sighed they started walking to the gym. She noticed they were moving rather against the tide, since everyone was trying to either fill up the bus or find a spot in one of the upper classmen’s cars. “She does give off this,” Stella paused trying to find the right word, “Air of indifference at times.”

Zaylin snorted. “That’s putting it lightly.” She eyed the crowd of students, then moved toward the side of the doors, pushing her way to the building. She paused just outside the doors, watching for a break in the students that would allow both girls entrance. “What about you? Did she tell you anything?”

“Yes, she did. She informed me that there are books here a normal American school, as she put it, ‘should logically not have,’ in the library. I don’t know what it means. I guess I never will get to know what it means,” she said and looked at Zaylin. “So… what are your powers? It… it doesn’t make sense to keep them secret anymore, y’know?” She noticed a break in the crowd and walked into the building with Zaylin. It was so quiet, since the rest of the students were (mostly) all outside.

Zaylin grinned at Stella’s question. “I’m the dragon you probably saw,” she answered, a hint of smugness in her voice. “What part of that catastrophe did you play?” Her voice joined the faint, ghostly echoes of those outside filtering into the building.

“Woah… that’s pretty cool. As for me well, I was responsible for the giant plants. Never made them that big before, so that was a new experience. Though, I was mostly worried about Tobias at that moment. I’m sure I’ll sleep like a log tonight. I feel drained.” Stella chuckled a bit at her bad joke. She looked around and shivered. Something about the school was different now. Maybe the lack of people? The faint sound of active teenagers hid the fact that the school was hiding its own secrets, but now, the silence was almost deafening. “So what do you think will happen when we get out of here? I mean, they have to send us home, I guess?” She turned to look at Zaylin.

“Yeah, I’d imagine.” Zaylin shrugged. “Get into town, contact parents, find a way back… All that good ol’ stuff. At least they’re finally doing something.” Zaylin took a couple quick steps ahead as they reached the gym doors, and held one open for Stella. “So,” a grin spread across her face as she looked to Stella, “was it Tobias I saw you coming in with earlier? You two looked cute together.” Her face fell, concern flashing through her eyes. “But, you looked rather… down. Was everything okay?”

Stella blushed for a moment and nodded in answer to Zaylin’s first question. However, the second… “So you know why we had the assembly to announce the poor dead girl, before Amy died? Well, I was one of the two students that first found her. Her body… so much blood… I’m going to have to live with that for the rest of my life. But, that is why I looked down. That is also why I know that the headmistress was acting calm earlier. When we told her that we found a body she rather brushed us off. Like she knew. Glen said it was due to practice, and he might be right. She is too calm for what is going on right now. I thought he was joking a bit at the time. However, I guess we’re not going to get answers out of her while we’re still here.” She walked through the gym doors with Zaylin and then looked around for a moment. “So, where is your bag, in the bleachers still?”

Zaylin stood in the doorway for a moment, looking after Stella with a shocked expression. “You found… I’m so sorry you had to see that.” She followed after Stella. She jumped and spun around as the door slammed shut behind them, a bobble of flame bursting to life around her fingers. With a quick glare at the door, the flames extinguished. She turned to face the dilapidated bleachers. “It should be…”

A few jackets and other bags littered the structure, and papers laid strewn about the gym floor.

“There.” Zaylin nodded toward her messenger bag, which sat a bit closer to the middle of the bleachers. She stepped onto the first tier of the stand, the metal groaning slightly with her added weight. She quickly, but carefully stepped to the next, wincing with each metallic complaint. “I feel sorry for the janitors.” She quickly grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and turned to return to the floor. She paused, eyeing the distance between her and her destination, before she jumped from the bleachers and landed on the floor in a flurry of wind that whipped at her hair for a moment before dying down.

“I’m pretty sure that all the janitors just all quit, along with most of the teachers.” Stella looked at the poor bleachers. Scorch marks, dents, crushed seats, and that was only for starters. “Or at least that’s what I am assuming happened. It all got fuzzy about the time I saw Mrs. Wellington punch Miss Standiford.” She looked at Zaylin and blinked. “Woah, that was pretty cool. Part of your gift I’m guessing?” She gave the gym one last look over. She sure hoped not to end back up in here any time soon.

“Oh, yeah.” Zaylin smiled and readjusted the strap of her bag. “Dragons are commonly creatures of air and fire. Those elements just decided to spill over into my everyday self.” She stepped beside Stella. She shifted her weight slightly. “If there’s anything you need, anything I can do, let me know.” She placed a hand on Stella’s shoulder. “Ready to get outta here?” She nodded to the doors.

“Same for you Zaylin.” Stella set her own hand on the other girl’s shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.” She turned, going head back out to the bus with Zaylin. She twisted her head a bit to give the gym one last look as they left and then looked back outside. However, the screams were still there, reminding her it was not quite over yet.

The principle offered what Tobias considered to be a paltry hand wave in response to Zaylin's demands. He didn't believe for a moment that she intended to tell them the whole truth; from the sounds of it this had all been a well-kept secret for who knew how long, and only the late Amy Snow's actions had led to the secrecy being cracked.

Nobody goes from that to willingly spilling all of the beans without a great of coercion, he thought, and given that she was willing to hold away over a school full of like individuals Staniford was unlikely to bend so easily. Even in the face of a bloody dragon. That, however, made it all the more bewildering when the headmistress lost nearly all of her composure and urged them to leave with what seemed to be verifiable terror. At the same time, Tobias felt jolts of electrical current run up and down his back- something that only happened when his fight or flight reaction kicked in. Something was definitely wrong, but he couldn't place it for the life of him.

As Stella trotted off, asking him to save her a seat on the bus, he nodded and looked after her as she and Zaylin walked back into the gym. He briefly ducked his head into the bus, tossed his bag onto one of the seats toward the front as a reservation, then stood back outside. He waited there, his eyes watching the gym doors until the two girls came out of them again, and with an overhead wave of his hand he beckoned both of them over. It couldn't hurt to be in the older girl's good graces, he reasoned, if for no other reason than he didn't know how well lightning would work on a dragon and had no intention of finding out.

It was strange, he thought to himself as they veered toward him. Wasn't the school a bit more... diminutive?

Samantha was disgusted with her now former employer. A student had just outright demanded an explanation and Mrs. Standiford was giving her the brush off. However she did have to agree that leaving right then was a good idea. “Alright kids, I can take three of you in my car, if you don’t want to be on the bus.” Three kids walked over, including one who introduced himself as Sindri. He took the passenger seat of the car.

Samantha took one last look at the school and shrugged. There wasn’t too much else she could do at the moment but get these three kids out and far away from the school. She got in the car, and closed the door.

Samantha then pushed the key into the ignition and turned it, starting the car. Once the engine turned over, she pulled on her seatbelt and frowned. “Fasten up kids, we’re headed to town,” she said and put the car in drive. She started heading for the road, and sighed.

“Doing okay back there kids?” Samantha focused on the road, waiting for a response.

“As good as one can expect after that news.” Sindri replied.

“That is fair.” Samantha sighed and continuing to drive. Something seemed off however. This didn’t seem like the normal route home. Then they passed the school again.

“Huh, must have taken a wrong turn.” Samantha started back down the road she knew was the way back to Belleville.

“Mrs…. Wellington? You did go down the right road.” Sindri replied, with a note of nervousness. “We’re back at the school… ‘cause we just got… pushed through time.” He said. “Back to here.”

“That’s cr…” Samantha trailed off as they drove by the school. Again. For the second time. She stepped on the brake, and stopped the car. “What the…”

“As I said. Time loop. I can feel these things.” Sindri said. “We’re not going to be able to leave that way.”

“Let me guess, you have time powers Sindri? Well, I guess there is no point in driving in literal circles,” Samantha said and pulled the car back into her parking spot. She got out and paused. “Wait, does that mean we’re stuck here!?”

Sindri got out of the car after she did. “Yeah. Probably. Something’s got the whole school in a loop. I felt something weird yesterday, too. Someone’s messing with time around here besides me.”

Samantha frowned. She knew it wouldn’t be too long before the other students and teachers realized that they were going in circles as well. “I suggest the three of you go to the gym and wait. I’m going to head to the headmistress’s office and see if I can phone someone. There is nothing more we can do here for the moment.”

“I have a feeling the phones aren’t going to help much if someone can mess with time and space itself.” Sindri replied, but he shrugged.

“Then, never mind. I’ll head to the gym with you three then.” Samantha walked with the students into the gym. Internally, she was secretly hoping that Sindri was wrong, but she also knew he was right. They were trapped at Northwood.

Whilst Jamie waited for the cramped back seats of his two-door car to fill up (which was a shame, really, because it otherwise would’ve been just Ash and him) he stared over the parking lot at the school bus as the students filed on. Miss Standiford and her mother were over there, somewhere, and a faint buzz of distant emotions filled his head as whatever power surge he’d had dissipated slightly with distance and overuse.

Agnelli flicked his ear as she climbed in, one horn scratching the lurid orange paint that Jamie had diligently kept clean and unscathed over the summer. Unable to bring himself to scowl, he pushed the front seat back and started the car.

“Seat belts on, et cetera – I wanna get out of here before we get stuck behind the bus,” he said as the engine roared to life. Jamie ignored his, just in case he had to make a quick and heroic escape if they crashed.

“Can’t blame you,” Katalina’s voice said from the backseat. There was the click of a seatbelt buckling.

Once Ash could climb into the front seat she buckled up as well. “I want to put as much distance between myself and this school as possible.”

“The school or the teachers?” Jamie asked almost rhetorically as they peeled out of the parking lot. “And by teachers I mean Standiford. Junior or senior, both are suspicious as. Won’t be surprised if, when we get to the police station, both of them are arrested.”

“I hope so,” came Katalina’s voice from the back again.

“I’d pay money to see that.” Ash said, she was leaned over her bag looking for something. It seemed she didn’t find it because she sat back up with a frown on her face. Jamie half-turned to see what she was doing, paying little attention to the winding road away from the boarding school.

”Did we just pass the school?” Ash asked, (panic spike), as a flash of the bright orange school bus, full of students, swept into view.

“We did,” Katalina said.

“Wait, wait, what?” Jamie asked, stretching up to peer through the rear-view mirror. “Hold on, let me just–” Accelerate, as they continued down the same road that they had just driven down. But that surely wasn’t the case, right?

“We just passed it again. We’re going in a loop,” Katalina said, leaning in between the seats.

“No, no, no.” Ash started to repeat. She took a shaky breath. ”There’s got to be something... There has to be a logical explanation. We can’t be just driving in circles around the school.”

“Well then how do you explain the fact… Oh look third time!”

“It’s not even slightly subtle,” Luca piped up from the back from where her face was practically glued to the window, sharp protrusions of bone clattering against the glass with every corner. Jamie, meanwhile, scowled, and drove faster around for a fourth loop.

“What do I do?” he asked the car as a whole, more than slightly panicked. “Do we have to hike out of here?”

”If that’s what it takes I’ll walk the whole ten miles to town.” Ash said, she was trying to wipe away tears from her face without being noticed. At about the same time, Jamie frowned, but otherwise said nothing.

“I don’t think it’s just us. I think a few of the teachers have parked again.” Katalina pointed as they passed the school again.

”Well, what do I do?” Jamie repeated, falling further and further into a flap. He sped around the bend again, holding on to the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip.

“Stop the car.”

Obediently, Jamie stopped it. Abruptly. They were stationary in the middle of the road, the school just barely out of sight behind a small copse of trees. Another few seconds, and it would come back into view again.

Ash jumped out of the car, taking her bag with her, and started walking down the road. “I am getting out of this damn place.”

“Don’t you get it! We can’t fucking leave! There’s no point! We’re going to die here! Doesn’t matter how far we walk or drive, we’re stuck.” Katalina’s voice cracked.

Jamie followed her at a much slower pace in the car, the windows rolled down just like in those old romance movies, the ones he snuck out to watch back at home.

When the school came back into view Ash dropped to her knees. “No.” Ash’s voice was drained, there wasn’t anything to it but the word itself. Tears fell unstopped as she sat there on her knees staring up at the school.

There was a click of the seatbelt, and then Katalina climbed over the center console, with not much grace as she bumped into Jamie, and muttered an apology. She got out of the car and walked over to Ash and dropped to the ground and then wrapped her arms around the other girl. Ash leaned into the hug.

Not two seconds later, Jamie turned the engine off and pulled the keys out and threw them to Agnelli, with a quick warning – “Don’t scratch it,” – and rushed out to flutter awkwardly around the two, as if not quite sure if he was allowed to hug his girlfriend and her worst enemy turned best friend.

Ash was taking shaking breaths. ”I refuse to be killed here.” She looked up between the two people that were her only friends. “Amy gave us clues. It’s time to use them and fix this place.”

“Agreed. We should head back. I know we’re not the only ones to notice that we are stuck here.” Katalina stood up, seeming to give Ash and Jamie some space.

From somewhere behind them, the engine returned to life as Luca guided it in through the gates and back into the parking lot. Jamie found himself not at all interested in the fate of his car for once, instead turning to haul up Ash with a sympathetic, “C’mon, now, up you get. None of us are going to die.” The corners of his lips turned up, and well-aware of it, he turned his face elsewhere to the sky.

Ash stood, staying as close to Jamie as she could. “I doubt we’ll all survive, but I’m not going down without a fight. Let’s find out what everyone knows, what they all learned from Amy. If we all put our information together we can find out what she was trying to do.”

”Now that’s more optimistic.” Jamie smiled, even if his heart wasn’t in it. It was everything he could do to stop his power from stealing away all that sadness of hers in one sweeping move. Nobody liked getting their emotions played with, even when he couldn’t exactly help it (and didn’t exactly want to). Ash slipped her hand into Jamie’s. ”Alright, we ask around. See who got what. But we don’t do it in front of the teachers, alright? They’ve been utter – pardon my French – wank since Coleman’s death.” Ash nodded.

“What do we know? What did she tell us?”

“Y’know, Mrs. Wellington did punch Miss Standiford in the face. We sure we don’t wanna at least trust her? I doubt all of them were in on it.” Katalina looked like she was trying her hardest not to cry still, and crossed her arms across her chest.

“Maybe, but not at first. We’ll see what happens next.” Ash put her hand on Katalina’s shoulder. “What did Amy tell you?”

“The lake. Nat... “ Katalina’s facade cracked as a few tears rolled down her face, “Nat was found there. There’s something about the lake that I… we need to check out.”

”Don’t go down in it alone. Take, uh…” As much as Jamie didn’t want to say Ash, because the risk of death seemed to be very, very high in the lake, she was the best. ”Someone else,” he finished limply. ”Damn. Who knows who’s next?”

“It has to be me.” Ash’s still blue skin paled a bit. “It’s why Amy told me I had to get along with Katalina, we’re the only ones who can do it.”

”And here I am, feeling upset I wasn’t special enough to get anything useful from Amy,” Jamie griped. [color=f28500]”’Don’t trust Miss Standiford, Jamie’ – like I didn’t already get that.”

“Maybe there is more to it than that.” Ash frowned. “What about Luca? Do we know what she was told?”

”You really want to ask her about what Amy Snow said to her?” Jamie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Probably a confession of her love.”

“Guys… don’t make fun of her.”

“For once in my life I’m not. We need to know if it was important to solving this though.”

Jamie held up his hands too in a gesture of innocence. ”I don’t make fun of love. Worked it out years ago, anyway. It was cute,” he informed them, carefully leaving out everything else he gleaned about the horned girl’s little problem through her emotions, especially recently. ”But, yeah. I think she’ll tell us if it’s useful, what she got.”

“All right that means we need to start asking other students. Do you think Amy told everyone something? Or only those she knew?”

“Knowing Amy, she gave everyone something.”

“Fun that means we only have to ask what 95 students what she told them.” Ash sighed. Jamie squeezed her hand as they rejoined the group of students and teachers stranded in a bubble.

"Come on Al, we don't want to get left in this madhouse!" Franky looked back toward his pest of a sister, clutching at her frigid hand, practically dragging her toward the bus. Her face was blank, as if she were in some sort of shock. If he'd had time, he'd be huffing in annoyance with her. She was always holding him back, either with her failures or inability to do anything worthwhile. Maybe he shouldn't have convinced the headmistress to let her in as well. At least that way if she were to pester him with letters and the like, he could easily ignore them.

When they finally reached the bus, Franky dropped her hand, shaking the cold out of his stiff hand. She'd always been a bit colder since her powers developed, but it was so much worse since the the gym. A quiet whisper from behind him, "Thanks Franky." He looked back at her yet again, knowing others might be watching. He stepped forward and pulled her into an awkward embrace. He hated every moment of it, even more so that he could tell that the way she hugged him was genuine. "Anything for you Al." He snorted in his mind, as if.

They climbed aboard, walking slowly past those that had gotten there first. He didn't doubt they could feel the chilly air from her as she walked past, he was a few feet behind her and was getting goosebumps. She picked a seat that wasn't around others, seemingly mindful of her effect on others. He sat across the aisle from her, as she leaned against the window silently, frost creeping up the glass as she tapped it with her finger.

He tried to process what had happened in the gym. It was all so fast. Some girl he didn't know had... died? Or something. It wasn't important. The dead were rarely useful. But she had invaded his mind, and everyone else's it seemed. They weren't the only ones with powers it seemed, a comforting thought for him. That meant he could use his later to impress and win over allies with their own abilities. But then, all the powers went nuts. The notebook that he carried, filled with his pen doodles and such, had dropped out of his pack, and forced itself open, his creatures coming to life as they normally did. This time, however, he wasn't in control of them, and hadn't urged them to life. They did it of their own accord. Most of his drawings lately had been of plants and animals, nothing to crazy. He'd been practicing textures, fur, plant skin, scales, etc. They were three-dimensional and physical, wondering about in the gym amongst the water, dragons, and other insanities. The thought of an inky alligator swimming about in the gym made him chuckle though.

His sister on the other hand... She'd completely shut down. She'd never had a good control over her power, further establishing her role as the failure of the two siblings. But when the amplification happened, he remembered her face. She felt... something, her mouth forming a small o. Then her entire body turned to ice where she sat, and continued to grow upward and outward, a massive pillar of ice forming in the gym, freezing the water, and anything else, around it. But she wasn't solid with in it. The pillar was perfectly solid, anyone could see that, but she could move within it as easily as if it were air. Or most of it at least, for her hands were pressed against the inner surface of it, as if she couldn't get out. Her palms were slapping against it, unheard screams coming from her mouth, tears forming in her eyes, only to freeze and join the ice. When she couldn't figure out how to get out, she slumped down to her knees, a single palm against the ice, defeated.

He'd walked over to her icy prison, pressing his palm against the ice, opposite her own. It would do no good if someone knew they were siblings and saw that he didn't help her. He pulled his paint kit from his pack, thinking this... upgrade in powers could be used here. On the outside of the ice, he painted a rough semblance of a fire, a strong one. The moment he was done, it came forth, and the ice began to melt, slowly, he could see it thinning toward Alcina. So just for the impressive show, he broke the ice with his fist, grabbed her hand, and she slid right on through, leaving behind the huge chunk of ice, the fire being extinguished by the melting water.

But now they were on the bus, being evacuated to... somewhere. He didn't really remember, nor care. Now was the time to make alliances with useful people, people he could count on later when he might need them. The question was, however, who?

Stella walked over to Tobias as he waved her and Zaylin over and offered a small smile. “You got us some seats I presume?” She looked up at him. She noticed a few other students had started filling onto the bus, filling up the seats.

”Of course,” he replied as he gestured toward the door, ”Just there in the front, where my bag is.”

“Thank you Tobias.” Stella got onto the bus and sat on the seat where Tobias had thrown his bag. She gently picked up the bag and put it in her own lap to let Tobias sit down. She noticed the seats across the aisle from them were open and waved over Zaylin. “Why don’t you sit near us?” She smiled over at the older girl and looked around at the bus. She did notice that there were a few people behind where Tobias had put his bag, including a pair of… siblings? Maybe? She shrugged and looked forward, waiting for the bus to leave the school far, far behind.

Zaylin quickly glanced at the mostly crowded bus, and nodded a thanks before taking a seat opposite Stella and Tobias. Her attention turned to Tobias.

“I’m Zaylin, by the way.” She offered him a hand to shake. “Friends call me Zay,” she added, glancing to Stella with a smile.

”Tobias,” he replied as he shook hands with her, ”Some people call me Tobi, I don’t mind either way.”

”So…” he continued as the bus started to roll away, ”Guess we’re leaving that place behind, finally.”

The blond girl behind Stella was drawing small doodles of the school in the frost she created on the window, paying no mind to the newcomers seated in front of her. But the bespectacled boy across the aisle from her sure was.

From behind them, “It’s a shame really, leaving behind something that beautiful, even under the unfortunate circumstances.”His face had a slightly apologetic smile upon it.

Stella turned to look at the unnamed male behind her and raised an eyebrow. “Why is it a shame? Other students are dying here. Who knows who could be next?” She scooted a bit closer to Tobias and frowned. Yes, Northwood could be considered ‘beautiful’ but all the bodies that seemed to be piling up around them was not.

“The architecture is beautiful,” Zaylin added, looking to the boy as she placed her bag on the seat beside her, “but she’s,” she nodded to Stella, “got a point, you know.”

The boy nodded, “Just running isn’t so much solving a problem, whatever it may be. Just leaving behind a waste. But maybe I just don’t know what I’m talking about.” He then stuck his hand over the seat, a nervous smile on his face, “Franky by the way, and that’s my sister Alcina,” nodding at the blonde girl across the way.

Stella held out her hand. ”I’m Stella. This is…” She paused for a moment. Was it presumptuous to call Tobias her boyfriend? Probably was. “Tobias. And sitting across from us is my friend Zaylin. Nice to meet you, even if we are leaving today.” She looked over at Alcina, and offered a small wave.

Alcina turned at the mention of her name, smiling very briefly at the wave, before turning back. Franky continued, “Where are we off to? I seem to have missed that in the chaos.”

”Into town from the sounds of it,” Tobias said, ”Though it seems the sentiment is that anywhere is fine, so long as it’s away from the school and someplace we can get an explanation. ‘Specially with how it seemed to get all dark and creepy there a bit ago. Sends me the shivers thinkin’ about it.”

Zaylin snorted as she reached into her bag. “If we get an explanation at all,” she grumbled.

“I’m just glad to be leaving. The plants aren’t happy and honestly it’s making me worried. Like what just happened today is the tip of the iceberg. The further we get away, the happier I’ll be.” Stella said. She did realize something though. The bus was moving for sure, but the screaming of the plants didn’t seem to be getting any further away at that moment. ”Um… is it just me or is something not right?” She turned to look out the window.

“What part of today doesn’t fit under that description?” Zaylin looked to Stella as she pulled a notebook from the bag. Worry crossed her face for a moment as she glanced to the damp cover.

”What is wrong Zay?” Stella asked, quickly picking up on the worry on her friends face.

”Wait… what the hell?” Tobias asked as he sat bolt upright.

“What is it?” Stella asked, turning back to Tobias.

”My ability… one of the side-effects of it is I get these tingles that run up and down my spine. Nothing dangerous, but the thing is, they’re never the same. Ever. Except they have been. They’ve repeated three or four times in the past 10 minutes. Repeating exactly.”

”That is weird. Wait, are we, passing the school again?” Stella turned to look out the window, noticing Northwood pass them by again. ”He must have taken a wrong turn or something.” Stella shrugged and looked back over at Zaylin. ”So, what’s wrong Zay?”

“Just... “ Zaylin put the notebook back in her bag. “A bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.”

Alcina spoke lightly, not really looking at them, “We keep passing the same trees.”

Franky looked over at her, “What do you mean, Al? We’ve been driving too long to keep passing the same things.”

The girl shrugged, “They’re just the same.”

Franky looked to the others, pushing his glasses up his nose a bit, “Anyone else notice that?”

As Stella looked out the window, they passed the school again. ”Okay, that is the second time now! We are going in a loop!”

“Maybe the driver’s lost,” Zaylin offered doubtfully as she stood, placing a hand on the seat in front of her. “I’ll check.”

”Thank you, Zay.”

Zaylin nodded and hurried to the driver’s seat. After a moment, she returned, a frown on her face and concern in her eyes as she sat hard.

“The guy’s as confused as we are,” she scowled. “And went on a rant about driving these roads for ten years.”

”Is he going to turn around and take us back to the school? I mean, it is the only option that makes sense given that we’re passing it, again!” Stella looked out the window and them go by the school for a third time.

Zaylin nodded. “Sounded like that was the plan.”

Stella nodded, noticing that the bus was slowing as it started to turn back on the road back to the school. It was soon parked back in the bus spot where they had started about ten minutes ago. Some of the other students muttered to themselves as the bus doors opened, and Dr. Mann stood up from his seat.

“Students, go back to the gym. No questions at this time.” Of course there was a deluge of questions, and Dr. Mann sighed. “NO QUESTIONS! Back to the GYM!” Suddenly the questions stopped and the students started filing out of the bus. Stella grabbed Tobias’ hand a looked at him.

”Stay with me, please?” She looked up at him, her eyes a bit wide in fright. They were still at the school, they had not gone anywhere. The thought was terrifying.

He nodded, squeezed her hand gently, and let her lean on him. ”As long as you need.”

Franky started to get up, looking over at his sister, who was visibly shaking. A small sigh escaped his lips, as he extended a hand toward her, “We won’t go back there, I promise Al.” She nodded, taking his hand, and following out, staying closer to her brother. Franky looked toward Stella, “You’re not really going back there, are you? I can’t take Al there.”

Stella leaned up against Tobias and looked at Franky. ”Where else are we supposed to go? It is obvious that we can’t leave. We’re stuck here. I’d rather be with my friends right now than alone, and if that means going back to that place, then that’s where we’re going to have to go.” She went to head off the bus with Tobias and Zaylin, keeping her hand in Tobias’.

Franky led Alcina off the bus, mulling over what Stella had told him. She seemed to think going back to where the chaos started was the best decision. Franky was mixed on his thoughts for that though. There was a certain validity to it, the administration would likely be there, and they could likely provide some insight. The main problem with that would be Al though, she was terribly shaken up. It wouldn’t be easy convincing her to return there.

And then there was that nagging thought, the message Amy had left for him personally. Something about a book of names that the Headmistress had, and apparently the dead girl wanted him to retrieve it. He still wasn’t sure if wanted to or not, it didn’t really serve him to help someone who’d died. Not yet at least. Maybe others had been told personal things as well. After all, he never even met the dead girl, and she’d given him that information. He inwardly grinned, this was his way in.

Turning to Al, “I think it’s best if we go to the gym as well. The administration will help us figure out what to do next.”

Alcina sort of shrank at the thought, whispering, “I can’t control my powers there. You saw what happened. I don’t want to be locked up again Franky…”

Franky smiled his practiced fake smile, “I think you’ll do just fine Al, and I think whatever made our powers… stronger, stopped toward the end. You should have the same control as you did before. And I’ll be with you the whole time, just in case.”

Al nodded, smiling lightly at her brother. Franky saw a few others scrambling out of a car, assuming they’d had the same difficulty leaving as they had. At least that seemed to confirm that whatever kept them there was attached to the grounds and not the bus specifically. He wondered if anyone had tried on foot yet. He waited until someone was looking his way, before he stepped forward and pulled Al into a familial embrace, “Don’t worry, I’m always here for you,” just loud enough that anyone close by would be able to hear him.

“Excuse me,” a voice came from behind them, “Um… could I possibly talk to you both?” Franky turned to see who spoke, not instantly recognizing the voice. A rather pretty looking redhead had walked over to the two of them. She was surprisingly dry considering the shower they had all gotten in the gym. He greeted the redhead with a charming smile, extricating himself from Al’s arms, but intentionally keeping close to her, seemingly protective of his little sister.

He glanced around, seeing if anyone else was in earshot, his voice a bit hushed, but still above a whisper, “Yeah, what’s on your mind? Oh and I’m Franky by the way, and this is Al.”

”Oh, my apologies. I’m Katalina, nice to meet you, even if this isn’t under the best of circumstances. As for what is on my mind, may I ask you both what secret Amy passed on to you? We’re trying to figure out what everyone knows and see how it will help us with our current dilemma.” Her blue eyes looked over both Franky and Al and then back to Franky.

If he weren’t in present company, he would’ve smiled wide. It seemed opportunity had fallen into his lap. But before he could speak, Al piped in quietly, “There’s old records in the basement, she wanted to know how far back they go…”

He looked over at his sister with mild surprise, he hadn’t even thought about her having been given a secret. Had everyone been given one? Looking back to the redhead, “She…” here he tried to sound a bit more empathetic and compassionate, “Amy, told me that the Headmistress has a book of names, and that I should try to retrieve it. I think we can definitely help you if you’d like. What else do you know, Katalina?”

Katalina looked pensive for a moment. She put her hand under her chin and looked at Franky. ”You weren’t here last year, were you?”

“No, me and my sister are new here. This is our first term, quite the welcoming party I’d say,” smiling brightly at the cute redhead.“Ah, sorry. Don’t mean to make light of what happened, still trying to wrap my head around it all. It really is a shame about all of this, about Amy. We never got a chance to meet her.”

Katalina looked sad at the mention of Amy. Tears started to well up in her eyes. ”Shame really… she was amazing… so smart… But that’s not the point right now. Last year I lost another dear friend, Natalie Coleman. She was found in the lake, dead. Amy told me there was a connection there. She was found there for a reason.”

A death each year eh? If he were in appropriate company, he might make a joke about sacrificing people to the school. But in the presence of a pretty girl crying, there was literally only one acceptable thing to do, and one that served his own… interests. He stepped toward her, calmly, arms spread invitingly, not pushing his presence onto her as he took another step forward, “I’m so sorry Katalina, I can’t imagine the pain you’re going through.” He waited to see if she’d accept his sympathetic embrace, hoping she would, but prepared if she didn’t.

She seemed to accept it, wrapping her arms around him and started crying. He squeezed her a bit tighter, pulling her into his firm chest. Whispering into her ear, “I promise we’ll do everything we can to find out what happened to them.” He gave her one last squeeze before pulling away, keeping his personal space close to her own, smiling lightly as he looked into her tear filled eyes. “But I think we need time to do some research and planning. And the first step is the gym, and hearing what the powers that be have to say.”

Franky looked over at Al, who just seemed to be spacing out, looking around the school grounds. “Al, you think you’re up to going to the gym with us?” He said ‘us’ to make it so he was taking charge, being the leader, being the dependable one, to include Katalina, who he suspected was feeling alone and vulnerable. Perfect. His sister nodded, stepping forward to hug the girl in a much more genuine embrace, forgetting about the air of chill that came off her body, coupled with how damp her clothes were.

Katalina shivered a bit and stepped back. ”Here, let me help with that.” She flicked her wrist a bit and both Franky and Al were suddenly very dry, and the water splashed in a puddle on the ground. ”Sorry about that. The shower in the gym was kinda my fault. I feel a bit better now, thank you both.” Katalina offered them both a small smile.

Franky was a bit surprised to see such an obvious display of her powers. He wondered if it was telekinesis or something to do with water itself. Clearly it wasn’t heat as the water was still here, just moved. But either way, he was thankful to be dry. Nothing says discomfort like soaked socks and boxer briefs. Taking Al’s nod and Katalina’s silence as consent to move forward, he took Al’s hand, began heading toward the gym, making sure to keep close to Katalina, to make her feel as though he cared about her and was providing comfort and protection. He considered asking more about Amy, but found he didn’t care enough, and didn’t want to bring on more tears and other girly things. So instead, he avoided the topic like a tar pit and decided to focus on the girl herself. “I appreciate the dryness, though not all of it was yours. Some of it came from Al and myself. Do you control water then? That’s quite a useful skill, very different from my own.”

”Yes, I can control and manipulate water. That is my gift, so to say. What about yours?” She seemed to address the question to both siblings. She did also seem to stick close to Franky, as if he comforted her by being there.

“I’m an artist, and my drawings and paintings can sort of, come to life, off the paper.” He looked over at Alcina, seeing that she was yet again, completely zoned out, “And my sister here can create and control ice. That’s why I insisted she joined me when the Headmistress interviewed me.” He knew it wouldn’t take them long to get to the gym, but he wanted just a bit longer to endear himself to the girl, make him seem more personable. He just needed an excuse. And he knew exactly how to achieve it.

As they entered the main building, taking a corridor that would lead them to the gym, “Al’s still learning to control her gift. Whatever happened in the gym… It scared her, us.” He felt Al stiffen at his mentioning what had happened, and knew she was invoking the memory of being trapped in her ice prison. Exactly as planned. He stopped, turning to her, “Al, Al, it’s okay, I’m still here, you’re safe. You’re not in the ice anymore.” He stayed close to her, feeling her shake, doubting he could’ve given a better performance. He looked over his shoulder at Katalina, “I’m sorry, she’s still a bit shaken up by it.” He was holding both of Al’s hands in his own, looking back into her fearful eyes, “I’m here for you Al, like always.”

”I can’t blame her. A lot went on in the gym, and losing control of your powers like that? It is terrifying for anyone. I realize I almost got a lot of kids possibly killed because of the shower I gave them. Luckily the guy with the lightning powers got off the bleachers before there was too much damage. But you two are lucky. You have one another…” She trailed off at the end as they walked towards the gym.

Once he’d gotten Al calmed down a bit, he turned back to the gym, first casting a look at Katalina, “That’s all any of us,” he said, again, putting extra emphasis on the ‘us,’”Have. We only have each other, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He pushed forward to the gym doors, pushing on them, to see what hells remained on the other side.

The gym was slowly filling up with other students, as the realization had come about they could not leave Northwood. Katalina looked over at Franky and offered a small smile. ”I’m gonna go sit with my roommate, but I’m sure I’ll see you later.” She walked over to the partially destroyed bleachers, joining up with a blue tinted skinned girl.

Franky nodded with a smile, “I look forward to it, Katalina.” He then led Alcina by the hand to the bleachers, choosing a seat at the very top in the back, to watch for everyone else, observing everyone, pleased with how this had gone. This was going to go quite well for him.

Stella kept close to Tobias as they walked back to the gym. She, like many of the other students, was not happy with this turn of events. It seemed like they were never going to leave Northwood at this rate. At least she had Tobias to comfort her a little. The thought of never seeing her home or family again did sadden her. She really did not want to die here at this awful school. She was much too young.

It seemed that fate had other plans for them. They were stuck in this school that students kept turning up dead in. Stella’s face paled as she thought about the body she had found earlier. That poor girl. She had probably been like Stella, with bright happy thoughts for the future before they were slammed down upon by the cruel hand of fate.

She shook her head and continued to walk to the gym, keeping rather quiet for the moment, not really having much to say.

“Hey sorry to bother, you’re ah a Freshman right?” A voice from just behind Stella said. Stella turned to look at the source of the voice behind her and paused.

“Uh… I am. You know you’re blue, right?” Stella looked at the older girl, a bit startled by the shade of color her skin was. The girl looked at her hands and then raised an eyebrow.

“No I didn’t notice.” She said sarcastically.

“Sorry, just hard to miss. How can I help you?”

“Right, it’s okay. So myself and a couple of the other seniors realized that Amy left us all with a message and we’re trying to collect them all know and see if we can figure out what’s going on. I’ll tell you ours if you tell me yours.”

Stella paused for a moment, and looked at Tobias who nodded. “Well, as for my message, I was informed that there are books in the library that, as Amy put it, ‘Should logically not be in an American school library.’ As for Tobias here, his message was that the architecture of the school is older than it claims to be. Or something like that.”

“Cool thank you. I’m Ash by the way.” She then explained what their messages had been. “If you need help or need to talk you can find us. But remember don’t trust Miss Standiford okay. I expect some of the other teachers are cool, like the theatre teacher, I mean she did punch Miss Standiford.”

Stella smirked at that memory. ”I’ll remember that. One of my friends secrets was that Mrs. Standiford was way too calm during all this. I don’t trust either of them. I hope they’ll give us some answers soon.” Stella crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at Ash and then paused. ”My name is Stella by the way. Sorry about that.”

”No worries. I’m gonna go meet up with the others. I’ll see you guys around. Stay safe, and probably best to stay in groups. I don’t know if it’ll help, but it might.”

”Alright. Wasn’t planning on straying too far from my friends, but thank you. I’ll see you around.” Stella watched as Ash walked off and slipped her own hand back to into Tobias’s and headed to the gym with him. At least there was the comfort that they were no longer alone in the search to figure out what Amy’s messages meant. Maybe there was hope to escape after all.

The twisting, gnawing feeling frolicking around in her gut followed Zaylin off the bus, making her feel nauseous. She tried to follow Stella and Tobias, but once they got off, she quickly lost the budding couple in the crowd of boisterous, panicked teenagers as more and more students and teachers realized they were not going to be leaving the school anytime soon.
A couple teachers called continuously above the panicked roar, trying to direct the students to the gym and regain some sense of calm. Another bus pulled back onto the curb, shock and fear visible on the driver’s face behind the windshield.
Zaylin pushed her way through the students heading to the gymnasium. Her gaze shifted to the floor and many pairs of feet as she entered the ominous main building. She broke free from the flow of people and strode a couple yards down a relatively deserted hallway. She took a deep breath and leaned her head against the wall, willing the nausea to go away and wishing she had something to drink to help settle her stomach.
There’s some bad juju going on here, she thought, closing her eyes for a moment and trying to block out the loud drone of the student voices. That’s gotta be it. She took another deep breath, the nausea finally beginning to subside. [i]Or nerves...[/i} She exhaled slowly through her mouth.
Students getting murdered. A school filled with powerful students. An untrustworthy headmistress and her daughter. And now a time-warp or something to keep us here. She gave a dark, snorted chuckle. And I thought boarding school was going to be boring.
With a last deep breath, Zaylin ran her hand through her hair and opened her eyes.
Everything’s going to be fine, she tried to reassure herself. We’ve got a whole school filled with talented people. There’s no way we won’t figure this out. Besides, Tobias can electrocute anything that goes near him, and I can get some Bar-B-Q started. Nothing like roasted bad-guy for dinner. Mmm, mmm good.
She looked to the main hall. The flood of students had died down, a few teachers mixed in with the students.
Time to see if we’ll actually get any answers. Her nose pulled up in a silent snarl at the thought of the headmistress and how easily she had brushed Zaylin off earlier. Maybe she’ll be the one to get punched in the nose this time.
With a smirk on her face from the thought, as unlikely as it may be, she followed the last of the students to the gym.
With the bleachers out of commission, students stood around in various groups. Most avoided the bleachers entirely, as if they expected them to come crashing down with so much as a misplaced breath… which Zaylin suspected was not too far from being possible.
She scanned the crowd of students, looking for any friendly, familiar faces and listening to snippets of conversations to see if she could hear any of Amy’s other secrets as she waited for the headmistress to arrive and hopefully answer a few of the thousands of questions rising to the ceiling of the gym.

Kiddo got Amy's message. This time he was determined to find the body. The last body that he sensed was untraceable, but this time he know exactly where the body was. Kiddo spend the day avoiding everybody. He locked his door and didn't come out. Not even for evacuation. Nothing was going to get between him and the body this time. The only problem was that he had no idea what he'd do with the body once he'd found it. Of course the inner voices were going to try and say something, but if he was going to listen or not wasn't decided.

Luckily Kiddo's power was small. He wasn't blue, or made of fire. All the boy could do was resurrect dead animals for a small period of time. His power was still hidden from his classmates. He could use this to his advantage if the time came. He knew that the powers of the other students had been activated whenever he saw a kid while trying to find the best route to take to get to Amy's body. Kiddo also discovered that the evacuation didn't go as planned; considering the students went back to the gym. Some even managed to sneak off back to their dorms.

Because the evacuation didn't go as planned Kiddo was going to have some extra problems. He realized this. The time of day when he sets out to find the body, the route he chooses to take, and what he decides to do with the body are all very crucial to the his plan. Kiddo couldn't be caught, or else people would suspect he was the one doing the killing. If they knew about his obsession with death, and about his power they might suspect him even more. Kiddo waited though. He sat in his room. Only opening his door to check the status of the hall ways.

Elizabeth - The Gymnasium

Maddened whisperings and rumor had overrun the school for the past few days, filled with panicked speculation whenever the Alchemist could ever bear to listen to it. Yet she paid very little heed, confident in her ability to defend herself against whatever may come. Noone knew the art of Alchemy like her family line had for so many generations, and she was the most accomplished in recent years.

So instead of needlessly worrying on the things she could not possibly control as so many others would, she remained steadfast in her alchemical studies. Having found the fourth book after deciphering the last remnants of the third, it began to unravel in its encoded messages even more that she didn't know.

Holding the next piece of Flamel's famous work tightly in her hand, the followed along within the masses of the herd warily until they poured into the gymnasium.

Spotting a scattering of familiar faces, Ellie's expression rapidly changed to that of a brilliant smile. Ash was talking with a girl she didn't quite know, of whom was also holding the hand of the other British boy she had met.

If only she could find the King, the two of them would've been able to get to the roots of this little disaster if she could ever just a stranglehold on him.

"Hello once again, albeit under a bit of unhappy circumstance!" The alchemist began as finally she had released her nose from the crease of her ancient relative's book. Glancing over to Ash first, sky blue eyes met the older student's gaze almost whimsically; as if the younger still had not a care in the world despite the dire situation.

"Now, as I understand it we've more than ample reason to be a touch cross with those in charge." The little fox quipped humorously, "How abouts we round abouts the methods they have us in and do some spelunking about in the lower regions? Seems like a bloody slaughterhouse just waiting to happen here."

"Either that, or we just sit here like...how do Americans say it? Sitting geese? Yes, that's the ticket!" You know, to be fair all this nonsense and drivel is quite offensive if you consider it. All push and no answers is absolute codswallop. I however, have a bit of a specialty that can get us out of here."

She flashed a dangerously mischievous smile, her fingers flexed and just for a moment, a mere whisper of a second, her fingertips at her side arced with alchemical light so only they could see it.

"Care to make this imprisonment a little more....adventurous?"

Ash Marino

Ash grinned at Elizabeth. "That was the plan, among my group. After we listen to what the headmistress has to say."

Ash walked into the gym once again. The groups had gathered more tightly than usual. Everyone was nervous, and Ash completely understood why.

"Everyone I am sorry to report that for some reason we are unable to leave campus." Ash snorted what an understatement. "With this new development I understand that you are not going to want to stay in the gym, but I ask that all students do not go wandering off alone. Please stay in groups of at least two. I'd appreciate it if it were more though. This is for you own safety."

"Mind explaining what is going on?" An unidentified person said from the crowd. The headmistress looked a little dismayed, which considering how stone cold her face normally was probably meant she was about to faint.

"It is a long story I am afraid, but this school is no longer safe, for anyone."

"You've said that." Another unidentified voice said. "Mind elaborating?"

"I cannot explain it very well I am afraid. The easiest way to explain it is," She paused and took a breath, her eyes looking at the students briefly before she spoke again. "The school feeds on your abilities. Normally just the presence of the power is enough to keep the school in check, unfortunately that no longer seems to be the case."

There was a cacophonous reaction. Sure the school wasn't safe, they had all figured that out, but here the headmistress was telling them the school was literally eating them. Ash looked over at Jamie, fear pounding through her. They had to stop this, but how?

Zaylin maneuvered expertly through the bodies crowding the gym, trying to stay further away from most of them while remaining within earshot. She tried to find others familiar to her, someone else to perhaps ask about what Amy had told them--if she told them anything at all. Her roommate, Athena, maybe. With the mission to find Athena on her mind, she rescanned the crowds. Worry settled in her stomach when she could not find the older girl.
She’s probably still on a bus or something. She took a deep breath, trying to banish the thought that her roommate had truly gone missing. Or maybe back in our room.
The urge to use her powers to lift her up enough to see over the many heads became overwhelming. Among all the unfamiliar people, she finally caught a glimpse of Stella and Tobias talking with a brunet girl. Glad to have spotted some friendly faces, Zaylin hurried toward them. Her pace slowed as a freckle-faced redhead joined the others.
“…a specialty that can get us out of here,” the redhead was saying as Zaylin neared enough to hear her above the other conversations, a thick British accent in her voice.
Curiosity fought against her worry, and she stole near them as the girl finished speaking. She caught a quick glimpse of a magical light around the red-head’s fingers as she stepped beside the group, the brunet answering the other girl’s question.
“I’m in.” Zaylin cocked her head and blew an extra-long strand of her bangs from her eyes. “What is it you--”
Before she could finish her inquiry, the headmistress’ voice rose above the others, calling a relative silence to fall as students eagerly listened to what the woman had to say. The mere sight of the woman made Zaylin growl, the sound low and guttural.
She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at Miss Staniford's ‘report.’
“Because we haven’t figured that out already?” Zaylin grumbled, shifting her weight to one foot.
Her gaze darkened further when the headmistress answered the question someone else asked, the question, she was sure, was at the top of everyone’s minds, with a short, vague statement. Zaylin leaned forward slightly, as if trying to hear better as the woman obliged the second student from somewhere in the crowd.
“The school feeds on your abilities.”
“It does WHAT?” Zaylin shouted, her slack-jawed expression changing to crinkled anger. Her hands moved to her sides and balled into fists. Licks of flame danced over her knuckles. However, her voice only joined the many others whom Miss Staniford had lost with that statement, losing the rest as she finished.
At least they knew now, to some small extent, why they were there, stuck in a loop that brought them right back to the school. But that single answer only spawned more questions, as answers so often do, especially when told by the mouths of unwilling adults:
Was the school itself some sort of sentient being, or was it actually something deeper, something lurking and living within the very stones themselves? How long had the headmistress known about this? How much did she really know, but was not telling them? Most importantly, how in the world were they supposed to combat something they knew nothing about?
Others tried to shout their own questions up at Miss Staniford, but their voices merged with each other, forming a giant mesh of noise with an occasional partial sentence more audible above the others.
Zaylin had the feeling the headmistress would offer little help besides the advice to ‘stay in groups.’ Not willingly, at least. Surely she had some sort of documentation of the place hidden somewhere. She had to have found out about the building somehow, after all. But where would she keep something like that?
Stella’s message was about the library, she thought, but I doubt she’d keep something like that somewhere anyone could find it… Her office would be a good place to start. Her jaw set in determination and fists clenched slightly harder. Looks like I’ll get to try my hand at breaking and entering.
Zaylin looked to the others in the group, the noise of the students getting on her nerves. “If she’s,” she nodded toward the headmistress, her voice a low growl and gruffer than she intended, “finished being unhelpful, what do you say we get out of here? Find somewhere quieter to talk.”

Location: The Gym
Time: After the Headmistress’ New Speech

Samantha could not believe what she was hearing out of Emma Standiford’s mouth. The school, a place she had called home for many many years, where she had gotten her own education, fed off of the students abilities. Her hormones, already in flux due to her pregnancy, and also being muddled with earlier, were in overdrive.

“You’ve always known, and yet have kept this school open? And full of people for it to eat!? What kind of monster are you Emma!”

“It’s not as easy as all of that Samantha.” The Headmistress looked tired. This morning she had looked her normal hardy self, but the last few hours had drained years from her. “I wish I could explain it in a way that would make everything better, but I can’t. This place...” She shook her head and trailed off. Her voice was quiet and didn’t carry like it would normally, as such only those closest to her could hear her, especially her next words. “Is the monster.”

“So, has everyone that has died here in an ‘accident’ or ‘mysterious circumstance’ been this school’s snack? And you are just okay with it? Why let students in if you’re just going to toss them to the school, or do you just not care? Is this some sick joke to you?” Samantha was well aware that most of the students were watching her yell at the headmistress at this point, but didn’t care. She had lost someone, and now she knew why. This damn fucking school.

“I’ve never been okay with it. I would love to have never been here. To never know that someone would die next. That could be the best life, but it isn’t that simple Samantha. I can’t just turn the school off if there’s no one here.” The woman was starting to look flustered, that was a first.

Samantha narrowed her eyes at Emma and then let out a frustrated growl. “You will explain everything to me later, but right now, it seems we need to implement some new damn rules around here to make sure we don’t lose anymore students.” She turned towards the bleachers and let out a cough to get their attention.

“I know many of you are most likely distressed and upset to being stranded here, but for now, we need to all work together to figure a way out of here. I know for many of you Miss Snow left you a clue of sorts, to help us figure out a way out. However, do not go pursue these clues on your own. From now on, I want everyone to be in groups of two or more, preferably of three. Curfew is redacted, and classes are most likely cancelled. Emma, don’t you even dare try to argue with me on this. However, don’t do anything stupid, and please, keep yourselves safe, in every meaning of the word.” She looked up at some of the older students as she said this. “We teachers will still be here, but not in the teaching capacity. If you don’t feel safe, come to us, and we will help you. We want to get the hell out of here as much as you do.”

Samantha could just hear Emma’s voice behind her, “A splendid plan.” It carried no notes of sarcasm. Samantha let out a small sigh. Sure, it wasn’t much of a plan, but it would do, for now.

Tobias Rivenridge was not the type of person to be easily astounded or scared. He’d lived most of his life with the understanding that there was a rational explanation behind everything, and when something unexpected occurred he had always reacted by trying to find that explanation to it. He’d never faced a situation where logic and reason had failed him… until now. That the school was primarily made up of gifted individuals like himself wasn’t much of a hurdle. Their abilities made it very easy for them to be outcasts or worse, so it made sense that somebody would establish a sanctuary for them. But now they were being told that the school was alive? And actively trying to devour them? The very idea defied any and all attempts he made to come to terms with it. Not only that, but if the staff knew about this… why on earth would they keep the students there?! And especially knowing that it was probably what was killing students this year and the last! It was maddening to think about, and it showed in Tobias’s face. His brow furrowed as he tried in vain to think through it and find an answer.

The younger redhead next to him had jumped to her feet and was about to say something it seemed when one of the other teachers spoke up. She sat back down, but when she looked to Tobias, there was fear written across her face.

His response was to smile, as best he could manage to anyway, and rub Stella’s shoulder. “Hey,” he said, “We’ll figure it out. I don’t know how, but there’s got to be an answer somewhere. There’s no such thing as a problem without a solution.” Hardly words of comfort, and they rang just a bit hollow, but it was all he could manage to do just that.

Stella nodded and seemed to lean into the hand rubbing her shoulder. “Well, we have those clues that were given to us by Amy… we could start with those?” She sounded quieter than usual, sounding a bit hollow as well.

“I was actually just thinking about that,” he replied. “Not sure how to work mine. Yours was… something about the library, right?” he asked, the workings of an idea turning about with the wheels in his head.

Stella nodded. ”There are books in the library that apparently should not be in there, logically. Yours was looking at the architecture of the school yes? How it doesn’t suite the supposed age of the building?”

“Precisely. That by itself doesn’t lend itself to anything concrete, except…” Tobias began to wave his other hand back and forth in front of him, as if he was looking at a puzzle on a chalkboard. “There should be some records of the school, forged or no… if I can find those and the books in question, there might be some pieces to get us started… Looks like I need to go visit the library.” He started to get up from his seat and stretched.

”Looks like we need to go visit the library, you mean.” Stella stood up and brushed off her skirt and looked at Tobias. She then tugged a well worn map piece of paper out of her pocket.

Tobias opened his mouth to say something. “No, that was not what I meant,” or “You’re staying here where it’s safe,”, anything along those lines. But the more he thought about it, the less ground he had to stand on. Going out alone was dangerous, which was the entire reason Wellington had dictated against it. Not to mention, Stella had already been through enough dead bodies that day- if something happened and his was added to the list because he’d been stubborn… besides, she’d follow him out anyway. There was no winning this one.

“Alright,” he said finally, “Come on then, let’s go check out a few books.”

Stella nodded and stood up and pointed to a spot on the paper. ”That’s the library. Looks like our best way to head there, is this way.” She traced her finger on the map along a path. ”Let us go then.”

After some discussion with Kata, some tense discussion, because years of Ash being an ass weren’t wiped away because of everything that happened, they headed toward the lake.

On the walk there Ash was quite, thinking to herself about what had happened, and everything they had learned in the last couple of hours. God so much had changed in just a few hours. Lunch seemed like a million years ago. It was getting late now, which made it easier to get away from the teachers who were still trying to calm some kids down.

“Miss Marino, where are you and your friend going?” Ash would recognize the voice addressing her as Mrs. Wellington’s voice, as the teacher was walking over to the two of them.

“Uh, hi Mrs. Wellington.” Ash looked at Kata and then to her choir teacher again. “So this is Katalina, my roommate, we’re both... good with water, and were headed to the lake to investigate some things that Amy sent us.”

“As long as you both keep an eye on one another then. Remember, stay in pairs or trios… and don’t lose sight of one another. Goodness knows we don’t need anyone else vanishing. Two more students, a pair of siblings, just vanished between the bus and here.”

Katalina seemed to frown at that for a moment before speaking up. ”We’ll keep an eye on one another Mrs. Wellington.”

“Good. Well then, go investigate.” Ash nodded, then glanced at Katalina again with a grim smile. Her heart was twisting, with each disappearance she feared that those close to her would disappear, or she would. She started toward the lake, more determined than ever to find what lay in its murky depths that Amy wanted her to discover so badly.

“We should have like a sign, for when we need to surface. I can only give myself air for so long.”

”In scuba diving we use a thumbs up, for going down a thumbs down. A flat palm like this,” Ash held out her hand, so Kata would know what she meant. “Is for stop. The OK sign to ask if you’re okay or to respond with okay, and if something is wrong this.” Ash splayed out her fingers, palm down and waved it right to left. “Anything else?”

"No, those all work for me. I’ve never gone this deep before, so let’s hope this works.” Katalina was working on removing her shoes before she stepped into the lake.

“I like free diving, done a ton at the lake at my house, and some scuba diving with my family. I’ll take you if we survive this.” Ash grinned, and pulled of her shoes and clothes, underneath was a swim suit. She rarely went without it.

Ash looked over at Katalina as she closed her eyes and waved her hands around for a few seconds. Ash held in her laugh, Kata looked ridiculous, but if it helped whatever. Ash waited for Kata to dive. Instead of diving, Katalina was forming what looked like a water bubble around herself. Then she started walking into the lake.

“Okay that was kind of cool.” Ash said to herself and then followed Katalina into the lake. Normally water was easy to move through, easier than air, but today the lake seemed to push back against Ash, like it knew why she was there and wanted to stop her.

Stella was looking over the map, her nose scrunched up a bit as she was trying to figure out where the library was from the gym. What a day this was turning into, but at least she had Tobias with her. ”So, it looks like the best way to the library is if we head out the doors and go to the right, then a left and another left.” She gently tucked the map back in her pocket for the moment and looked up at the older boy.

“I am the wrong person to ask,” he replied, “Hell, it’s a wonder I could find the gym on my own today.”

From over Tobias’ shoulder, Stella could see Zaylin pushing her way through the noisy crowd, a disgruntled, yet determined look on her face. Apparently noticing the two, she headed toward them.

“Hey,” she said, her voice filled with the same emotions as her expression.

Tobias craned his head around and waved at Zaylin as she approached. “Miss Devonshire,” he said, “Come to join our little excursion?”

Zaylin cocked her head at him as she stopped in front of them, the trio now forming a small triangle. “What excursion is that?”

”We’re going to the library to check out the clues we were left by Amy. I told you mine was about some of the books. If I remember, yours was about how calm the headmistress and her daughter were. I guess we know why now. They knew the entire time about our school.” Stella frowned a bit as she spoke. Nothing like leaving your family all behind to go to a school that ate students and the Headmistress was well aware of it.

Oh god, her family. Would she ever see her parents again? With everything else that had been happening that day she hadn’t even thought about them.

Zaylin snorted at Stella’s last comment. “Count me in.” She paused, and looked between the two for a moment. “And maybe, if we can’t find any answers there, you guys could help me. But for now, the library, yes?”

”That’s the plan,” Tobias chimed in again, ”Stella’s clue was about the books, mine was about the buildings. I’m hoping that if nothing else I might find something like some construction records while we’re poking around in there.”

“Or maybe some books on architecture?”

”Possibly that as well.”

”I guess we’ll see what we find when we get there. “

As the two spoke, Zaylin leaned over the map, her head at an odd angle. “Looks like a right then two lefts.”

”Yup, that’s I figured… though we’re all new students, so let’s hope we don’t get lost.” She folded up the map and sighed a bit. ”Well, let’s go then.” Even as she said that, her legs refused to move for a moment. Who knew what was waiting for them in the library, but Amy seemed like she had been smart, so she wasn’t about to send people to their doom, right?

She finally took the first step to the library, and looked back at her friends and offered a small smile.

“Don’t worry.” Zaylin gave her a reassuring smile. “Even if we do get lost, if anything happens, Tobias can zap anything that tries to get us, and I can barbecue them.” In emphasis, a strand of flames wrapped around one of her hands, then extinguished itself as she came to stand beside Stella.

”She’s got a point,” Tobias said as he fell into step behind the ladies, ”Between the three of us I imagine we’d have ourselves some nicely grilled veggies.”

”I’d prefer given the current fluxes in my power that we not grill any vegetables, thank you very much. The screaming would do a number on me.” Stella did have to laugh a bit, as she felt a bit better knowing that she wasn’t alone.

“So, we gonna stand around here looking like a trio of ninnies, or are we going to get going?” Zaylin took a few backward steps toward the exit.

”Yes, we’ll get going.” Stella followed Zaylin, while still making sure that Tobias was next to her as they headed towards the library. The school felt a bit more sinister than it did earlier as they walked to the library, but given the new information they knew, it made sense.

After the one right and two lefts, and some double checking, the trio had reached the library, and in one piece. No school boogeyman had jumped out and attacked them on the way, so that was one good thing.

Inside the library, Zaylin paused and looked at the books with a hungry gleam in her eye. “Right, we should probably split up. Keep close, though, and if you find anything or something happens, shout.” She looked to Stella and Tobias for a moment, then headed toward one corner of the library.

”With me you’re more likely to hear the thunder first,” Tobias said nonchalantly, ”But I’ll try and remember to shout too. Now then…” he finished as he walked toward the closest directory.

”I’ll keep an ear out and shout if I hear anything.” Stella let out a breath, and figured the card catalog would be the best place to start. She just hoped it would prove useful, in the end.

The scent of books was one that could always calm Zaylin’s nerves, no matter the circumstances. Here, surrounded by the knowledge of ages and basking in the sweet redolence of vanillin, it felt almost like nothing of ill consequence could possibly happen. The mere sight of paper, glue, and the various bindings pushed the rage at the headmistress that had been bubbling inside her to a gentle simmer. The dragon side of her, the side from which stemmed her borderline-obsession with antique books, was all but drooling over the impressive collection. And yet, even among the glorious smell of mysteries waiting to be discovered, there was an aura about the deserted place that made the hairs on the back of Zaylin’s neck stand on end.

She had wandered beyond one of the arched openings to the side of the entrance with its row of tables and lamps. Despite her own instructions to her friends, she paid little attention to how far she walked, a mental map of her steps forming as she went. She kept her gaze on the books as she sauntered through the aisles of packed bookshelves. Her eyes were the only part of her that still bore evidence that Amy’s energy burst had had an effect on her powers, the irises still various glittering shades of gold as they swept over title after title.

Zaylin paused. Despite the life-threatening situation, there was one good thing about the whole ordeal: here, she no longer had to hide what she was or could do. Here, now, there was no fear of anyone finding out her secret. Here, she was among others of species deemed myths, and people with powers thought only to exist in children’s dreams. Though caution was always necessary to keep her powers in check, here, in this cursed school, she could let them play.

A smile spread over her face. At the thought, a light breeze struck up and flicked the curled, feathery tips of the girl’s black hair as a spark flickered near her fingertips, the gold of her eyes impossibly intensifying.

Gripping the strap of her messenger bag with one hand and placing the other lazily in the single pocket sewn onto her lengthy plaid skirt, she continued her walk through the maze of shelves. Every so often, she stopped at a section of shelving with subjects that could potentially offer a subtopic into the unusual and magical. Instead of going after a step stool or trying to find a ladder to get a better, closer look at the books above her reach, she called upon the static air around her, creating a wind that lifted her to her desired height. A couple times, she sat suspended there on a pocket of condensed air, her hair billowing about her face in the element’s effort to maintain the position as she flipped through books she hoped could provide proof of the clue Amy had given Stella. Alas, she had no such luck.

Realizing she had gone further into the maze than she had initially intended, she made her way back toward the center of the library where she had last seen Tobias and Stella. Taking a slightly different route in the hope of actually finding something of use in their situation, she nearly tripped over a book cart as she rounded a corner. Only by her quick reflexes did she avoid toppling over it.

Zaylin took a step back and glared at it. It was only partially full, as if the librarian or one of her helpers had been in the middle of returning the pieces of literature to their homes when the announcement to gather in the gym was made. Giving the cart a snort as if to tell it who was boss, she turned to continue on her way, when the gilded title on the spine of a red, leather-bound book caught her eye.

She did a double take to be sure she had read the spine right: The Golden Bough: The Magic Art Vol. I.

Now that’s what I’m talking about! Zaylin thought, snatching the book from where it leaned against the cart. She searched the cart for any other promising titles, but found none.

“Thank you, cart,” she said softly, her voice shattering the reverent silence as she gave the cart’s handle a pat. “You’ve been most helpful.”

She began her sluggish walk back to the library’s center, her attention now on the book in her hand. She flipped it over and paused as she ran the fingers of her free hand over the pattern of leaves embossed on the cover’s back, the red leather smooth beneath her fingertips.

Hoping the others had found something of even greater interest, Zaylin pulled her attention from the book and continued onward, her pace slow as she scoured every shelf on the way between her and her destination.