Black Moon

11. Sleepwalking trip to the Dean's office

The silence that even graveyards could be jealous of had descended upon us. He stood so still that even crickets that were happily chirping had somehow felt the fear that I was oblivious about.

Was there something out there more dangerous than us that the forest had all of a sudden gone silent?

As if answering my question, Levon cursed under his breath, "damn... this fool delayed me enough to get caught."

I was still making sense of his words when I felt another presence behind me making me turn over my shoulder and find Zereck standing there with a touch that he lit on my face. My eyes burned upon the impact of the strong making me squint them and raise my hand to shield them. On the other side, Levon had already hopped on the bike and ignited it in a single powerful strike and raced off the forest, leaving me standing all alone before the head boy. 

Way to go, comrade. With you by my side, I might as well be the first one to die in the war...

"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Zereck asked with a stern voice that I turned to look in the direction where Levon had disappeared longingly, contemplating if I ran after him, would I be able to make it out of this hellhole?

"Don't even think about it..." Zereck's warning from behind, as if reading my mind, had me turn around to face him clearly asking, "what are you doing here outside your bed, way past your bedtime?"

Zereck's eyes narrowed at me as he replied, "I am not answerable to you but you are answerable to me. I will ask you one last time before I decide the severity of your punishment. So, answer wisely, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

Damn, this guy was brutal to say the least. Paul's and Isaiah's words came back haunting again.

I took in a deep breath to calm my raging heart and looked at the handsome yet asshole of a head boy and said, "would you believe me if I told you that I was sleepwalking?"

********

I sure had a talent to screw myself over the things that nobody else would. Or should I say 'get screwed'?

My right knee shook up and down like a basketball dribbling, shaking the entire chair and perhaps even the table before me.

Dean Augustine stared at me while Zereck completed his side of the story. Well, the jerk ended up wanting me to get severely punished for my very first offense by bringing me to the Dean's office in the middle of the night.

And as surprising as it seemed, the workaholic man was deep in his stacks of papers when we came knocking on his peaceful time.

Sitting back straight in his chair, the elder man looked at me with sharp eyes as he asked in a stern voice, "how did you get into the forest, Ms. Davis?"

"I told you already, I don't remember. I guess I was sleepwalking again." I stuck to the same lame excuse that I had been telling Zereck the entire way till we reached the Dean's office.

"Your records have no mention of your sleepwalking history," Augustine pointed out opening my file once again as he looked at the bullshit records of my instable medical history.

"Oh, it used to happen when my parents were still alive." I deadpanned without any emotion. 

The two stared at me speechlessly for a while before Augustine exhaled loudly, "Ms. Davis, I am not sure whether your claim is credible or not. It all sounds like the 'dog ate my homework' excuse. How do you expect me to believe you to be able to get out of a tightly secured perimeter in the middle of the night, especially sleepwalking?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, " I don't know. Perhaps the way he did?"

I pointed at Zereck who stood with his arms behind his back. He was still in his uniform. Well, so was I. So, shouldn't I be able to get away with this?

"I have been appointed the night shift for patrolling, on behalf of the student council tonight. I have the access to all the door that lead in and out of the school," Zereck finally supplied the answer I had been seeking for. So, that was how he was outside.

"Perhaps you forgot to close some door properly," I smiled sarcastically earning an inhuman growl from him. Startled, I jumped a bit back, caught completely off guard. Was I imagining it? Did the Dean not hear it?

As if to cloud me with more doubts, Dean replied, "Zereck, guide Ms. Davis back to her wing. This will be the first and the last warning to you Ms. Davis. You will not sneak out of your room after the curfew. No matter if it's sleepwalking or not. Get it treated at the earliest, our campus houses a neurologist, so make a stop at her cabin sometime tomorrow."

I just nodded at his words though I was quite sure that I wouldn't be going anywhere near the neurologist to get the diagnosis as negative for sleepwalking.

"You both may leave now," Augustine finally dismissed us, letting us get out of the room that I was starting to get comfortable in.

Honestly, the room was more homely than most of the foster houses I had been living in my entire life. The warm wood, with a crackling fireplace and the cream decors was welcoming, even though the bulky huge man sitting in there felt out of place.

The walk back to the red wing was quiet and awkward. None of us tried to break it.

My random escape attempt had failed and Levon was somewhere out there having the time of his life. How come Zereck not notice his presence? And how did Levon sense Zereck's presence even before he appeared?

And then there was something more to both Zereck and Levon that I could sense but not see. But was I ready to face it?