Welcome To The School

25

There was a silence. "Which country next?" Romeo finally asked, breaking the silence. Everyone shrugged and muttered "I don't know, don't look at me," until Eijeh had an idea. Listening to Adira's soft accent, he had an idea. "Adira, where are you from?"
She frowned. "I think...Maybe...Sorry, I don't know..." She sighed. Marco raised his hand.
"J-Judging from her a-accent, I w-would say she's f-from t-the..." He swallowed. "The K-Kingdom Of D-Departed S-Souls..." The reaction was electric. Romeo gasped, Zia gave a small scream, Vesper raised an eyebrow, Hayden breathed, "Cool...", Alodia scowled and made a disbelieving sound, Eijeh's eyes widened, Riley looked mildly intrigued, and Adira froze and made a little choking noise. Marco stared back at them all, impassive.
"The Kingdom Of Departed Souls is a myth, Marco. A false story to frighten little kids. It doesn't exist." Vesper rolled her eyes. "And even if it does exist, which it most definitely doesn't, then there's no way Addi is from there."
Marco smiled apologetically. "A-Actually, Vesper, s-studies p-prove the c-contrary. Not only d-does The K-Kingdom exist, it is s-said to be t-the home of several g-groups of d-demons, ghosts, and y-yes, v-vampires."
Alodia scoffed. "I'm with The Budget Pokédex on this one. It doesn't exist. And demons don't exist, neither do ghosts or vampires, for that matter."
Vesper glared. "Are you calling me a Pokédex? Also, my girlfriend?"
"Yes I am. I got the idea from Hayden, actually." Hayden waved. "And fine, maybe vampires exist, but the other two definitely don't."
Marco coughed. "T-There was a d-demon who graduated l-last year, and as f-for ghosts...I'm not s-sure. Adira?"
Adira nodded, slowly. "Yes...I think he's right. I...I think I might be from The Kingdom, but I can't be sure yet."
Romeo rolled his eyes. "Can we stop bickering and just GET TO THE POINT ALREADY?! Riley, Haylie, play the newsfeed."
Riley typed in a command again and a different voice echoed through the speakers. This voice was speaking their language, but it was pronounced differently. Eijeh thought it sort of reminded him of those people from the place with the big statue holding a lantern — or was it a torch? The big country/continent thingy? Eijeh shrugged and tuned into the news reporter. They seemed to be running somewhere, considering how out of breath they sounded.
"—Now, this state is supposedly home to all sorts of monsters, but I have to say I haven't seen many of them around. We received a tip-off that the children who went missing all over the world a little over seven weeks ago might be being held captive in this state, nicknamed 'The Kingdom Of Departed Souls' by many people. However, we haven't seen anything so far, and we are sorry to say that the missing children do not seem to be here, neither do any of these supposed 'monste—" Their voice cut off with a shriek, and a different voice spoke.
"It seems your dearest reporter is...out of commission." The new voice had the same accent as the reporter had, but the voice was more...refined, more like royalty. The teasing tone sent a cold spider of fear scuttling down Eijeh's spine, and he shuddered. He turned to Adira, and saw her frozen, eyes wide. He snapped his attention back to the computer as the new voice began to speak again, teasing tone gone. "I am the Leader of Supernatural Regiment 215 — Vampire Wolf Regiment. Three years ago, my 'Alpha' was taken from me. From us." There was snarling and yelling of agreement in the background. He waited for it to die down before continuing. "I am feeling generous today, so I shall give you ten months to return her to me. If she is not returned in that time, my Regiment will wage war on this planet and leave no stone unturned in our search. You have been warned, humans. And in the case that she, ah, deserted us, then perhaps, when we find her, we shall need to remind her of the punishment for disloyalty in our, ahem, pack. This is not only a warning to the pathetic mortals who inhabit this world. It is a warning to you, my changeling. Remember what happened last time you tried to flee~." He laughed, a cold, cruel laugh. "Find her, mortals. Find my precious Alpha. For if you have not returned my little demon in the time I am giving you, then you shall all be punished. We shall take the ones you love most and rip them apart. Isn't that right?" Riley frowned at Romeo, who was again playing translator, but looking absolutely petrified while translating the Regiment Leader's chilling words. They leaned forward and pressed a few keys, summoning an image onto the screen. A young man — presumably the Regiment Leader — leered at the camera, gripping someone blonde — maybe the reporter? — by the neck. Upon seeing him, Adira let out a petrified squeak and Vesper automatically wrapped an arm around her, glaring at Riley. "Turn it off!" She hissed. "You're scaring her!" On-screen, the dark haired guy threw the blonde person out of sight, turning for a moment. "Ambrosia. Is there anything you would like to say?" He asked, blood-red eyes darkening for a moment. It was obvious it wasn't really a question. A caramel coloured head, looking so much like Zia that half the room turned to the silent girl, making sure she was still there, stepped forward nervously.
"Come home, Ra-Ra. Come home. I miss you. We are facing so many challenges without you. We can't—"
"Enough. Amdis, D'Arcy, get rid of her." Adira looked as though she'd been shot. Vesper glared harder.
"Turn. It. Off." She hissed again. "Now." Riley nodded and pressed a few more keys. The video disappeared, and everyone relaxed slightly. Eijeh let out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. The room was silent, apart from Adira's shaky sobs — she'd finally given into her fear — and Vesper's whispered reassurance.

Riley shut down the laptop with a nod and a few signs that Eijeh figured probably meant Thank you, goodbye before resting their head in their hands. Eijeh gazed around the rest of the room, taking in Zia on the verge of tears, Hayden muttering, Romeo scribbling something down, Marco trying to help comfort Adira, and Alodia frowning deeply.

Everyone was reeling from what they'd just heard. It seemed as though Adira was from The Kingdom Of Departed Souls. And furthermore, she knew the Regiment Leader.