Outsiders

CHAPTER 8 - Settle In

Zoe's excitement fills the room as Mach asks, "Where exactly is this academy? There is nothing but trees and mountains around us."

"Come, I'll show you," Zoe walks up to her room and rolls up a fancy rug, revealing a trapdoor underneath. "You expect me to believe that there is a whole academy under this small house?"

"Mach, come on, with all the crazy shit that happened is this so hard to believe?" Says Tenbris as if he was annoyed by Mach's questions.

"Guys come on, this is no time to be fighting," Says Nasa exhaustingly. Zoe pulls open the door revealing a staircase that doesn't seem to end. "Vox, the light please?"

"Got it." Says Vox in an extremely normal voice that kind of intimidates the group.

"So what's up with Vox, why is he... so quiet." Says Nasa looking at Zoe. "He is actually very expressive sometimes."

"I doubt that," Inserts Mach sarcastically. They kept descending the stairs for a few minutes. "Do these ever end?" Says Tenbris, surprised by how long these stairs are. "Just a little longer gentlemen, we're almost there." They kept moving until they were met with a huge door. "Woah! Ok, what is this, the gates of hell?" Nasa comments.

"The entrance to the academy," says Vox. "Well, head on boys," Says Zoe enthusiastically. "Wait, hold on, where does this door take us exactly?" Tenbris asks. "To our leader, Professor Reyne," Vox answers. "Well, let's go see what this guy is about." Says Mach. "Just please don't do anything stupid," Nasa seems to always worry about Mach's actions. The group enters the room to find that it is a high ceiling room with huge pillars supporting the top. At the end of the room, there seems to be an older-looking man sitting on a leather chair. Vox goes up to the man and says, "I brought the boys that you ordered me to find." The man speaks with a hoarse voice, "Great job Vox, I knew I could depend on you for such a task. You can go and rest now."

"Thanks, master Reyne." Vox takes the door to his left and leaves. "Zoe, you can leave if you want to, you know." Says the professor. "Nah, I'll stay."

"Very well, now boys, if you don't mind, come a little closer." The boys walk forwards towards the professor and introduce themselves. "It's a pleasure to meet you boys, please take a seat." The boys sit down as he continues, "I'm Professor Reyne, I keep this place under watch. Now let's get to know you, mind explaining how each of you ended up here?" The boys explain what happened and how it led them to the forest. "I see, well I give you my condolences Tenbris and I'm sorry to hear that about all of you. You all seem to have been through terrible fates, but do not fret, you're safe here."

Mach gets up and says "Listen, old man, we came here because we want answers. We're not here for idle chit-chat!"

"Mach, don't be rude!" Says Nasa under his breath just so Mach hears him.

"Hahaha, you sure are an interesting group. Well, allow me to say this, the answers you seek will not come easily. You will have a long way to go if you decide to chase the truth. So let me ask you this, are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Asks Tenbris with a curious look. "For the trails that await you. You see this world is being threatened by a group of people and creatures whose goal is to simply cause chaos. This evil might be your answer to all that happened or at least most of it, so let me ask you again. Are you sure you want to do this?" Mach without hesitation says, "You already know the answer for that, I'll beat that bastard down and I'll punch the soul out of him." Nasa comes in and says, "I want to unveil the truth about the lady in the lake and what she entrusted me with, I want to know what she wanted me to do." Tenbris pauses for a moment, but he lifts his head up and says, "I want to find out what the hell was whatever I grabbed at the alleyway and stop all these mindless killings by those wretched beasts." They all went silent for a moment as Tenbris's eyes glowed faintly for a couple of seconds.

"Good answers everyone!" Says Professor Reyne smiling. "Zoe, please show these boys to their rooms, they must be exhausted. Tomorrow we will go to the training grounds and do a test run for our new students and see what they've got!" He gleefully laughs as he seems very pleased with meeting them. Zoe calls to the boys, "Come on guys, let me show you to your rooms and leave this old man alone." The boys walk through a few hallways till they've reached the dorms and they stop at a room. "Well, this room should do for tonight. Have fun!" Zoe takes a few steps "And sleep! It's a big day for you all tomorrow, you don't want to be half asleep during the day." She taps on the door and leaves.

"Wow! That went well," says Mach. "No, it did not! You insulted the professor in his own office!" Says Nasa, seemingly frustrated. "So what? That old man was talking too much. Besides, things could've gone much worse." Mach says, raising his voice. "Settle down guys, it's a big day tomorrow so we should probably get all the rest we can." Says Tenbris.

"Yeah, you're right, let's all head to bed." Says Nasa while yawning. "I could use some sleep right now," Says Mach as he gets comfy on his bed. "Night guys, sleep well," Says Nasa rolling up in his blanket. "Goodnight dorks," Mach says, closing his eyes. "Goodnight," Tenbris said before they all went to their slumber.