Blade and Claw

Chapter Three

When I got back in the dorms, I immediately pulled my laptop from my bag. I send a message to Deena, it was not delivered. I called her and nothing, "surprising".

Something must have happened and my dumb brain is playing tricks on me because of that. I take my phone, finally calling her mother, something I avoided until now. I was surprised when she actually picked up.

"Yes?" She said on the other side. How come she picked up, but not Deena? Is she avoiding me or something? I mean, I'm one of her closest friends.

"Hey, I wanted to ask if Deena is okay?" I said, hoping that now I will have an answer. The other side got quiet. "Hello?" I said.

"Who?" She said and I froze. I'm sure I called the right number. "I think you have the wrong number" she said.

"Deena, your daughter. I'm talking to mrs. Howard right?" When I said that, she sigh on the other side.

"I don't have a daughter" she finally said.

"I'm sorry. I have to go" I hang up. I stared at the wall . If Deena's is missing, does that mean I talked to someone else on the phone? Is she actually okay? For now I can't do anything.

My attention went on my roommate's night stand. I stood up and walked to it. Picking up the key. It looked old for sure, for some reason I find it interesting, I've never been the kind of person to collect random things.

When I heard Tyler coming back, I put it back on its place. He entered the room, when he saw me he awkwardly smiled. "Hey, I just wanted to tell you that I'm staying at Seb's tonight" I nod, he took his bag and left. He was probably going to drink, Seb was probably throwing a party, not that I know who he is.

I decided to try to get some sleep tonight, without the pills. I laid down. Looking at the ceiling, I tried to sleep. When i wake up, it will turn out that the Deena thing was just some kind of a misunderstanding. I eventually did.

***

I was walking in the garden in my old house. It looked terrible, the flowers were all dead. The ground under my bear feet felt soft and wet. The sky was dark, it was going to rain. The threes have grown, the loneliness was obvious.

The air smelled like dirt and something like ash. I didn't feel like I was walking, but I was. I looked at the dark threes. A woman with blue dress was standing near the fence.

Suddenly I appeared closer to her. It was my mother, but her ocean blue eyes were now black. I tried to speak but nothing came out. "Wake up" said the woman, it didn't sound like my mother, and it couldn't be her, since she is dead.

I woke up in my bed, facing the ceiling. "What the hell?" I said quietly, annoyed. I blinked a few times to fully wake up, when a voice startled me.

"Tough night?" I jumped from my bed. Looking at the same guy from earlier, sitting on my roommate's bed. It's dark, but I could tell it was him.

"Are you some kind of psycho?" I said, I wasn't as scared, as I was irritated. Some creep came in my room in the middle of the night, while I was alone.

"You shouldn't ask psychos this." He said dryly. He stood up. "Do you have weird dreams as of lately?" He asked, like he already knew the answer.

I didn't say anything, and he probably took that as a yes. I could see him only through the shallow light coming from the window.

He sigh "Malachai, I'm not a bad person, neither is Luna. It might sound cliché, but we want to help." He said. How did he know my name and who the hell is Luna. I glared at him. This is getting annoying and unrealistic.

"Help me with what?" I asked and he looked at me with skeptical expression. Maybe that was a dumb question since he seem to know about me.

"With your hallucinations. You are going to have to come with me." He said, he pulled out something from his pocket. It was something small, it took me a few seconds to realize it was the old key from Tyler's night stand.
***
I did the dumbest thing known to humanity, and that is to follow a stranger in the middle of the night, who claims he can help me.

I followed him. We left the dorms, I was confused because we were now walking in the hallways of the university. "So, how do you know me? Who are you?" I asked, trying to be nice, which was unlike me. He didn't look at me once.

"My name is Rowan. When we get there you will learn more" he said, whatever that meant. I don't even know him and I already find him unnaturally annoying.

He unlocks the library, I won't ask from where he has the keys. We walked around the darker parts of the big room, the darker it got. We stopped infront of a door, it looked like a closet or something. The door was wooden, it looked old, it had gold around the frame.

He opens it with the key from Tyler's night stand. Inside was pitch black. "You are joking" i said and he pushed me inside, he was stronger than he looked. When I entered it was as if I entered completely different building. The walls were silver covered. There were big stairs in the end of the room. There were bookshelves with a lot of books, the whole place had a historical vibe. The floor was black, there were no windows.

The same girl from yesterday was standing on the stairs. I looked back at Rowan who nods at her. She walked to us. "You probably have a lot of questions, but first, I'm Luna" she said. I looked at Rowan then back at her.

"What's this place? Is this even legal?" I said, not trusting them. They were complete strangers.

"Kai, all the scary bedtime stories that grown-ups have told you when you were a kid, are true. Well sort of" she said, she had a suspicious smile on her face. I don't understand anything.

I glared at her. "What's that even suppose to mean? I asked. She chuckled. "You are gonna have to sit for this one" she said.