ForestLands Institution

Chapter | 28√

Nadia walked through the woods, dressed in a blue winter coat, T-shirt, and jeans. A glow of fire hovered over her palm, lighting up her way. Before coming out of the school, she had touched Freya's hand, copying her ability to give her enough heat to go out.

She looked behind her for the umpteenth time, expecting to see someone following but she saw no one. Since she stepped into the woods, she had the feeling that someone was following but when she looked back she saw nothing. She was probably being paranoid, she concluded.

She finally stopped at the area, where she and Lloyd had seen the stranger last time. She looked around her, expecting him to come out.

"Hello?" she called into the night. "You can come out, I'm alone."

Nadia

Nadia heard the familiar voice. she looked around, trying to find the owner. "Where are you?" she asked when she saw no one.

Nadia Came the voice, followed by some shuffling behind the bushes.

Nadia hurriedly walked over to the rose bushes. With the sling long gone, she use both her hands to part the bush. She gasped when she saw the stranger, lying behind the bush with blood coming out of his mouth.

"Oh my God," she rushed over to kneel beside him. "What happened?"

He only coughed more blood.

Nadia forced herself not to look away. the sight of blood made her sick and she had to force back the bile that threatened to come up.

"I need to go get help," she said in a rush as she panicked. She attempted to stand up, but he held her hand standing up.

No, I don't have much time left

"What happened?" she asked.

They poisoned me

"Who?"

Them

"Who is 'them'?"

Instead of answering them, he shoved his hand into his pocket and brought out a key. He opened her palm and placed it inside. Nadia stared at the key, then back at him questionably.

Diary

"Diary," Nadia repeated, perplexed before saying to herself. "I think is about time I told the principal."

No, trust no one

Nadia stared at him with wide frightened eyes, as he started to cough terribly before he went limp, his arm slipping from hers. She shifted away from him and quickly got up. She stood staring at him, this was the third person she had seen die before her and she hoped he was the last.

"I didn't even know your name," she whispered, into the chilly night air. She formed her fire glow again before quickly leaving for the school.

When she left, Lloyd stepped out from a tree close to where the stranger had died. He stared at the corpse and scoffed.

"Didn't even think to get rid of him," he said, then stretched his hand towards the stranger. Lightening shot out of his palm and engulfed the stranger in fire, he watched it dissipate into ashes.

He formed a lightning ball, passing it from one palm to the other, deep in thought then he smirked.

"So she isn't some weak Elementalist after all," he said to himself.

Nadia sat alone at their usual table in the cafeteria, the place wasn't noisy as usual as only some of the tables were occupied. She fiddled with the keys in her palm, thinking about the last length. He had told her that it was a key to a diary, a diary that she didn't know where it was.