Pearl Academy I The Emergence

Chapter 15

The fog in the woods cover even the tallest trees in the woods. The silence in them hovers over my head as the sword did with Damocles. I take cautious steps as I pass the treeline. I am alone in this pursuit as are the others. It was the only way to get out of the labyrinth. We all knew that they would be awaiting us...Our nightmares lying in wait.
The moment I do, I hear the whispers that haunt my dreams and my waking. They all sound far away. I know that I am yet to be in immediate danger. If they sound close, the danger is nearby.
*****

"How're ya feeling, Kels?"

Sadie has had an arm around my shoulders since the moment I got up from my nap. Ms. Goudman, I'm sure, had told her to escort me down to the mess hall for some dinner. It might've been in my best interest since I truly hadn't eaten anything all day. And after my escapade to the Undercroft, I had really lost all appetite. "I'm feeling just fine, Sadie." I laugh half heartedly. "What did I miss?"

It seems that I asked the right question. She went on and on about the classes and the unfair assignments and some drama about some couple that got caught by some faculty member. I didn't ask too many questions. I am still consumed by my diary entry. Sadie has noticed but hasn't said anything about it.
Aubrey and Tati join us in the middle of Sadie's rant, completely interrupting her and pulling us in to another topic of discussion.

"...and the local department has no idea what caused it!"

"Caused what?" Sadie drops her last thought entirely. Tati and Aubrey smile at each other and lean forward in their seats. We do the same.

"Something happened in town last night. Really weird and extremely strange if you ask me. Almost unbelievable!" Tati groans in annoyance, rubbing her head with the palms of her hands. "She told me the story the exact same way. Jesus Aubrey, can't you tell a coherent thought without the dramatics?" Aubrey shoots her a look. "I'll tell them then!"

Tati turns to us and starts over. "There was a disturbance in town. The local police department was sent to investigate and everything! Apparently someone saw a stranger drop from the sky and walk through town in some kind of dark hood."

"Drop from the sky?" Sadie asks incredulously.

"Yes!" Tati excitedly throws her hands in the air. "The whole thing caused outages in different parts of the town. Super weird!" I can feel the blood leech from my face as I sit still hearing about this stranger in a dark hood. It's impossible, isn't it? How can my dream be made real? "Did the police find this person?" I finally find my voice. "Were they able to figure out what happened?"Aubrey shakes her head enthusiastically, making her short hair graze her the top of her shoulders. "That's the thing! It was so outlandish that the police thought it was a prank call." The images of my dream flash in my mind.

"But then more calls came in about this same person in different parts of town causing outages. And that's not even the weirdest part!"

I grip my hands underneath the table, tighter and tighter as an even stranger feeling slowly begins to rise from my chest. I feel my eyes move past Aubrey and Tati. Past the cafetaria and the woods and the houses. The images unfold right infront of me as if I was there. "This person went just randomly entered a store front at the heart of town. The owner saw this person walk through the glass door as if it wasn't even there!"

I see her walking down the street and slowly turning towards a jewerly store. The store was dark, closed, but that didn't deter her. I watch as she carefully touches the glass and it immediately liquidizes. She steps through without a problem. The girl takes her time looking around the store. It's not unfamiliar to her. In fact, she seems to have been there before. But why look around?