The Great War

VIII

I fidget with the locket as I go over what Lilium had found out, "This isn't very helpful." I mumble slouching back on the bed.

Theo looks over at me and shrugs, "We'll figure it out."

I drop the locket in my lap and rub my face, "Will we?"

He grabs one of my hands pulling it from my face and holds it, "I don't care what happens, we're figuring this out. I'm not letting this shit fuck with you anymore."

I look at him for a minute before sighing, "What if I go back?"

He clenched his jaw, "If 'back' is where I think it is, no. Not with that thing after you."

I squeeze Theo's hand and give him a soft smile, "I need to tell them what's going on. They're a part of this too,"

Theo sighs and nods, caving in. "Fine." I watch as his hand flexes, the tension in his whole body evident. I know he hates this, the whole idea of me being away from him. I hate the idea of leaving him alone again with the unsureness of if I can even get back the same way I did unharmed, physically.

I scoot closer to him and wrap my arms around him, "I'll be okay, I'll be back as soon as I can. I love you,"

He nods and hugs me back tightly. His arms around my waist securely as he sets his head on my shoulder. Inhaling deeply as he mumbles a response, "I love you too."

𖤐

"Are you sure you're okay with this?"

I nod for the millionth time as Theo sits across from me staring at me intently. "I'm sure."

He nods and sighs, "Okay." I give him a smile as I lay back.

"Relax your mind little girl. We'll be here waiting for your return."

I nod and internally roll my eyes at the name Smilla calls me, I inhale slowly and exhale softly before opening my eyes to the interior of the castle. A soft warm light illuminating the area.

I sit up slowly, the smell of rotten eggs and smoke reaching my nose. I stand on my feet and look around, I was in the ballroom, where I'd last been when I was first here.

"Mani?" I call out as I peer outside of the hall, I step out and look around, "Cora?" I slowly and cautiously walk towards the grand staircase. "You guys here?"

Where would they even go, they only had the castle as a safe space. I grab the rail and walk up the steps. I stop dead center of the stairs when a loud gurgle comes from the corridor ahead of me. I need to find them. I need to know if they're okay.

"It's okay...everything's fine." I whisper to myself as I slowly and quietly manage to reach the top of the stairs. I go opposite of where the noise was and head down the hallway lined with lockers.

I go up some more stairs towards the dormitories, reading numbers until one feels familiar. I slowly open the door and look inside. It was a normal dorm, the walls a pale blue with pink accents, I walk in and shut the door.

There were two bedrooms, one door was pink which I assumed would be for what this school deemed as girls and the blue for boys. I open the first door, the pink one, and walk in.

The room was decently large, it had a vanity with a chair, I couldn't tell if anything was on top of the desk. There was a large king size bed in the middle of the room pushed against the wall, a princess feeling to it. Everything was either pale pink or white. Very plain and girly. It definitely belonged to one of them if I felt like I knew it.

I leave and go to the other room, this was a little smaller but more room was used up then in the other room. A desk sat to the left with a cushioned chair and a typewriter on it. Loads of papers piled up next to it and already used ones on the floor under the desk. Half the room was made up of bookshelves, seemingly never-ending amounts of books. A ladder sat on one of them in the middle.

I test it and press a foot down; it creaks but seems sturdy enough to climb. I climb up and look around, it was the bed portion of it. It was a normal queen, the sheets and duvet a dark gray and black. A curtain fanning down from the posts above the bed sprawling out beautifully in a light gray.

There was a small table with one chair and a book on top of the table. Opened to a page and one part of it was circled. I lean over and read it, "She...Sat...Atop...A...Bridge." They were individually circled to make a coherent sentence. The ink was recent and fresh, some of it was smeared to the side like someone rushed away.

I flinch as the dorm's door slams open, heavy mangled breathing and scraping of claws as the creature from earlier made its way through the dorm. I slowly crouch down onto the carpeted floor as I watch it through the open bedroom door.

I make my way to the bed and push myself underneath it, I cover my mouth to muffle my breathing, it almost feels like it could sense I was here. It crouches beneath the doorframe and makes its way into the room, crawling up the bookshelf.

It sniffs and huffs, shoving things over or pushing it off. I feel my body start to tremble as I stare at this...thing. It wasn't the one that chased me. It was new. It looked animalistic. It's face is shaped like a dog, its ears sharp and pointed. It had no eyes, just empty sockets of black. Its muzzle was elongated, and teeth poked out from the upper jaw flap.

It stands up and its body is firm and all muscle, skin shiny and pure black, speckles of white here and there. Its arms are long and bony with long knobby sharp claws. Its legs were thick at the thighs and thinned at the knees before jutting backwards into large paws. Talon-like claws at the end of each toe.

It bends down onto its hands and sniffs around until it stops at the foot of the bed. My unblinking eyes release the build-up of tears against my will as I stare at its eyeless face peering below the bed, it snorts and stands back up.

Was this how I died? Pure stupidity to choose the worst spot to hide in? I tuck my head down covering it with my arms as the bed is thrown away from my body. The loud slam pierces my ears as it breaks against the wall.