Two is Company (House of Anubis)

Chapter 105: Nothing Good Starts in a Getaway Car

Immediately after Frobisher apparently condemned their souls for eternity, visibility in the room decreased tenfold, and as the smog swirled through the air, the gasps of surprise her peers sucked in were exhaled as sighs of enlightenment. Willow's hand loosened in her grasp, eventually falling limply to her side, eyelids fluttering spastically. Kira waited for something to happen to her, too, holding her breath as the smoke swirled around her. It was cool to the touch and damp, like stepping out into morning mist in late spring; it whistled as it whizzed by her ear. Was she... supposed to feel different by now? Everyone else seemed to. Did she feel particularly evil? Not really. She certainly didn't want to devotedly serve Ammut for the rest of her life or harm her friends on behalf of a Victorian imperialist gone apeshit.

What the hell is going on? she wondered, the unspeakable terror she'd felt previously fading into pure confusion. She twisted around in her seat anxiously while the fog receded. All around her, people's eyes reopened, bright with determination and zealous excitement, and it seemed evident that whatever had affected everyone else had for some reason decided to skip her over.

"You know in your hearts that you have made Ammut stronger," said Frobisher, an undeniably evil expression on his face. "Now, go forth, my Sinners, and bring chaos!"

Like a switch had been flipped, the room erupted into exactly that, with the students and teachers who'd been sitting, now launching to their feet with war cries. Beside her, Willow screeched loudly and removed her jacket, twirling it above her head like a lasso, while others started ripping posters off the wall and kicking over chairs. It wasn't exactly what Kira had been expecting for the aftermath of this mass possession— not that she'd even expected to be around to have an opinion— but she realized after a second that maybe she'd ought to play along instead of sitting there stunned, lest her random stroke of good fortune turn out to be a fluke.

With that in mind, Kira pocketed the key and leapt to her feet, too, letting out a warbling hoot in an attempt to blend in. She moved too fast though, and fell backwards into her seat in a sudden wave of nausea. "Fucking hell," she grunted, scrambling to her feet again. No one seemed to notice her heart wasn't in it, too busy reveling in chaos to pay her much heed.

Both Frobisher and Mr. Sweet had come down from the stage by that point, jointing the throngs of newly minted Sinners as they streamed into the corridors outside the lounge, and Kira took the opportunity to beeline to the stage. She ducked behind the prop trunk, flattening herself to the ground as though she could make herself disappear if she became one with the floor.

She had to focus. What the hell was she going to do now? Who knew where her friends were at that point or if they were even still themselves. That was a chilling thought: what if by some cruel, insane twist of fate, the others had been captured and she was the last one standing? They'd been in the room when Frobisher opened the book, hadn't they? Or had they left? She had no way to contact them, and even if she did, they probably wouldn't answer.

"Oh, god," she whispered to the grainy wood by her cheek. "What am I gonna do?"

The scuffling of footsteps on the stage, made her freeze, and she screwed her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable discovery. Maybe she could pretend like she had been taken, and then they'd leave her alone. Kira was a horrible actor, though, so that would probably buy her about thirty seconds.

She was so wrapped up in her own head, it took her a moment to actually comprehend the fact that words were being said by whoever had joined her on the stage.

"Your grandfather had a really good reason for wanting to stop this," said Fabian sardonically.

"I can't believe we fell right into their hands," came KT's mournful lament. "How much more are we gonna let them take? This is all our fault..."