How to Survive Your 19th Life [BL]

Chapter 4: The First

Sheridan Lofts was a beautiful dormitory, and one of the oldest buildings at Javernick College. They called it lofts, but it was just student apartments. The whole school started as a Catholic boarding school for girls. Only the outside remained untouched. Inside was fully upgraded about ten years ago. At night, it was rather spooky.

I was so excited to see Emiel again, that I completely forgot to ask Jason what room or floor they were on. I took my phone back out to call Jason again, but my battery was dead.

"Goddamnit," I grumbled as I stood in front of Sheridan Lofts in the dark at seven o'clock at night during a particularly cold March.

I went up to the main door of the building and tried to open it. Locked. A small placard on the wall stated "Doors Lock after 7:00 PM. Use Keycard for Entry. Call Campus Security for Assistance." It was probably just a few minutes after 7 PM.

"Hey, if you lost your keycard," someone said behind me. I spun around and found a girl with blue hair standing a few feet away, "you can try the service door by the dumpsters in the back. It's usually not locked."

"Thank you," I murmured. I thought to explain that I was just waiting for someone, but a particularly chilly wind hit us. She hurried off in the direction of the Campus Center.

It was worth a shot.

I walked around towards the back of the building and almost instantly turned around. The forest closed in closer on this edge of the campus. There weren't any lights behind the main road, except for the lights shining through the apartment windows. As a guy, I never really had much fear of attackers or predators in the night.

And I wasn't scared out here... at first.

Once I was almost to the rear of the building, guided by the dim lights of the apartments, everything went dark. It took me a moment to realize I was still standing upright, still fully conscious. I wasn't knocked out or anything. The building's power went out, which meant I was left standing in the dark with the blunt of the wilderness to my left and civilization to my right.

I heard about the campus blackouts. Almost everyone that mentioned it called this year, the school's best power year. From the day I started, there wasn't a single blackout until now. And it couldn't have come at a worse time.

I stood there frozen for a few minutes. I took out my phone again, but of course it wouldn't turn on. Terror loomed from the creaking of the forest nearby. I felt so suddenly as though I were standing on the lip of a monster's mouth. It took everything in me not to completely panic.

I started walking back towards the main road. If I were smart, I would have called out for help. My stubbornness wouldn't allow it. I wasn't far off from the main road, so there's no way I'd need any help getting there. I just decided to walk back in a straight line—a very fast straight line. In the dark, however, there is no such thing as straight.

After a while of walking, I realized I had gone right into the forest. I moved around in a circle, now realizing I should have let the building guide me, but I couldn't find the exterior brick wall. Just one tree and then another.

"Hello?" I called, a bit too quiet at first. Then again, louder, "Hello! Is anyone there?"

I blindly continued forward into the dark. Then I went crashing into the snowy cold ground, tripping over a tree root. Pain shot through my knee as I rolled onto my back. The pant leg was torn and warmth shocked my frosty fingers. Was I bleeding? I hobbled up to my feet.

"Hello!" I shouted.

"Solomon?" someone called out from the darkness.

"Yes?" I called back. The shimmer of a flashlight cut through the trees about fifty feet away. "Here! I'm over here!"

I hobbled towards the light.

I fell again, harder than before. My shoulder clipped a tree trunk, and I ended up doing a weird half-spin on my way down. The shock drew a sharp yelp from my lips as the ground blew all the air from my chest.

Looking up, I didn't see the light anymore. I shouted, "Hey! Are you still there?" I scrambled to my feet once again. A harsh wind bore icy kisses into my skin from where my pants and jacket were torn. I folded my arms into my stomach and hunched over to bear the cold. My gaze searched the darkness for the person from before.

I wanted to run again, to find them. I couldn't risk going the wrong direction or falling again. That shit hurt.

"Hello?" I shouted. "Jason?"

Nothing.

I called out to Jason again, but there was no response. That's when I heard it, the footsteps. It was a bit far away at first but steadily they grew closer. I grabbed the tree I had fallen on and dunked by it. Though it was dark and I couldn't see anything anyway, I closed my eyes tight and braced myself. I didn't do well in scary situations. Never a fan of haunted houses after I wet myself in the third grade at one.

Just when the footsteps seemed to be right on me, they stopped. The silence weighed down once more. Even the wind seemed to grow mute. All I could hear was my own jagged breathing.

"There you are," someone said in barely a whisper.

"Jason?" I asked.

A blaring light crashed into my vision. I opened my eyes to the glare of a flashlight. It lowered and Emiel Hugo stood on the other side of it.

"Emiel," I breathed.

He was so unfairly good-looking. He wasn't wearing any eyeliner this time and only had on an T-shirt and silky pajama pants. His face was so stern and focused.

He came over to me and grabbed my arms, helping me fully stand. "You're cold," he said. In two quick movements, he handed me the flashlight and ducked his hands under my jacket and shirt. I wasn't sure how, but he was summer-time warm. I gasped.

His hands slid up my ribs and snaked over my back. His fingers were long and firm like the hands of a goliath, and his arms were rigid with muscles. The scent of basil loomed from his clothing. One moment I was standing apart from him and the next, I was pressed hard against his body. My chest flattened into his chest. He leaned down to press his cheek against mine. His breath tickled my neck.

I stood there limply, not sure what to do. The soft curls of his thick hair tickled my nose. His hair smelled of expensive sandalwood shampoo.

Emiel's hands roamed around my back and sides, rubbing his heat into me. It didn't take long for me to be sweltering. A sweat broke out on my forehead.

Never in my life had I been so aroused. Every muscle from my stomach to my thighs were throbbing. The excitement pulsed through my entire body. Emiel's thigh brushed against my erection, and I nearly came in my pants.

I shoved him away, so hard that he almost fell backwards.

His thick, soft lips curled into a sweet smile. He reached over and took the flashlight back from me. "Come on, Solomon. Let's go." With that, he started walking back to campus.

He didn't wait for me to join or even look back to make sure I was following. Of course I followed him. It was either that or remain lost in the forest forever.