Hell Upside Down

Chapter 2

Point of view Alena

As I followed Dysnomia outside, I finally discovered the charming campus of Hellia. The campus was disclosed at a secret location that one could never visit. Although this place is historic, it is kept hidden to protect the students. We are the next generations of the most powerful group that the world will ever know. 

Hellia offered either success or dishonor and nothing in between.  Being kicked out of this place is worse than embarrassing. It shows that you weren't strong enough to handle your capabilities. 

Dysnomia took us on a short tour of campus. The buildings are beautiful and follows the same architectural style with white stone and black roofs. The dining hall is made of marble and is the most common place where different cast members meet. Noah, Thomas, and I continue to follow Dysnomia throughout campus and suddenly, she takes a turn towards the woods. We follow a small path illuminated by ancient lanterns hung on the branches of the trees.

- "Thomas and Noah, you will be roommates." "Room 208," She indicates once we have arrived at the entrance of the Shadow Dorm. "Alena, I was hoping you would have been roommates with Emily, but that dumb girl couldn't even make it past round 1." She pauses before looking at her list.

I silently hope that I will have a whole room to myself. I would really enjoy the privacy and calm. Dysnomia frowns as she looks more deeply into her list.

- "The only person that does not have a roommate is Sierra... Room 209." She hands me a key before turning away and going down a hallway.

As soon as Dysnomia disappeared, I felt a bit lost. I turn towards the stairs and attempt to try to find my room. This shouldn't be that hard, right?

As I walked up the stairs, I heard murmurs and talks, but they slowly disappeared as I got to the second floor. I walked down the hallway, looking for the number 209 carved into the wooden doors.

I read numbers on the doors until I found mine. 207...208...209!  Finally.

I was so excited to get into my room that I swung the door open. I immediately regret my decision as I distinguish two people half-naked on top of one another.

"What the fuck?" I hear a scream before I slam the door.

I hear another voice throughout the door. "Shit, Sierra, they must have got you a new roommate."

I hear a deep growl before I hear movement into the room. I have no idea what to do. I feel embarrassed and worried that I might have ruined this relationship with my new roommate. I wanted to turn back and run away, or start this whole encounter all over again. 

A few seconds later, the door swung open again, opening to a guy with dark chocolate skin and dreads in his hair. He smiles at me, unbothered that I had caught him in an embarrassing situation. He held a hand towards me that I obviously decided not to take. He shrugs it off by putting his hand back down.

- "Hi, my name is Nero. I am Sierra's friend." He says with a big smile on his face.

I've never met someone so warm before, and it throws me off guard a bit. He doesn't look like an Outcast to me. He waits for a response, but as I am a bit thrown off, he continues: "I am from Nallia, and what is your name?" He asks while walking away from the door.

- "Alena," I whisper. I am a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation and try to stay as polite as I can. 

He takes a last look at my new roommate before looking back at me. "Alright, I'm heading out; it was nice meeting you, Alena." He says while leaving. As he is passing by me, he whispers into my ear, "She's taken a bit too warm to people, but I'm sure you will get along." Then, he leaves without another look.

I timidly walk into Sierra's room or my new room while she has a lot less warm look on her face. She seems a bit angry at me and doesn't try to hide it. My suitcase is placed near my bed. The rooms are split in half right through the middle. One side is blank, the other is filled with... "stuff."

Sierra glances at me before putting headphones in and ignoring me while I observe the room. I own a bed, a desk, a dresser, and a closet in a corner. Sierra's part of the room is decorated with a unique style. It has posters and pictures all over the place. I read one of the tapestries on the wall:

"WELCOME TO THE SHITSHOW"

I scoff. Finally, I think I'm going to like Sierra. Her side of the room is very dark. Her bedsheets are black as well as her clothes which contrasts with her hair that is white as the clouds.

As I finally open my suitcase, I hear her finally speak:

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." She says while my suitcase was still in my hand. 

It caught me off guard a bit. I didn't expect her to speak to me again after what had happened earlier. Sierra seemed a bit calmer than earlier. I turn around happy that she decided to finally acknowledge my existence. Nice.

- "Why? Did someone stick a dead person in my suitcase?" I ask while she laughs at my joke before nodding her head.

She points towards my desk. "Newbies have duties around the dorm. I'm sorry, you got the worst job you can get. You should report to the lounge in a few minutes."

I try to process the information. I had this strange feeling in my stomach. Things are only going to get worse.

I question her: "The worst job?"

She nods before announcing: "You're in charge of the confinement district. The Shadow holding cells for the students who have broken the rules or exploded."

Exploded. A word often used in our world to mean someone had lost control of their powers. This only really matters to students who are powerful enough to hurt someone, or themselves. I didn't realize that explosions were common enough to have a confinement district and I was the one that was going to be in charge of them.