Pearl Academy I The Emergence

Chapter 17

The Novice and the Angel have passed through the gate successfully. They will find vital answers for the next few stages. By the next full moon, a loss will occur. All the Novices before this one has lost the same thing over and over again. If the Novice does manage to bypass this event then the path will be broken. If the Novice does not, then we must still move forward. So far everything has gone smoothly. The plasma dose that has been given to the students have gone into effect. Group A has had some minor problems within their system but it is to Be expected. There has been no change with Group B as of yet but it most likely means that their system have accepted the Plasma and will not be affected by the Emergence. As for the Novice, we will continue to observe the choices she makes.

*****

Radiation? I read the coroner's report thoroughly for the third time in the five minutes we've been standing here. None of it is making any sense to me. Sadie takes the report from my hands and I let her.

"How did she die of radiation poisoning? What could've given enough radiation for her to die of it?" The dates on the form is what has my mind reeling. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense. I sit on the couch in a haze. There are heavy clouds in my head that prevent me from remembering that time. God, why can't I remember? It feels like...I'm so close. "Wait, I don't understand," Sadie says, "This says that she had tumors. Shouldn't the report say cancer?"

"They were benign," I shake my head, absentmindedly. "They weren't cancerous. The tumors were a reaction to the radiation. She died from an overload of radiation. The cancer didn't kill her."

"Okay, but why is this important?" Sadie eyes scan my face. "You look as if you've been told the worst news of your life."

She hands me back the report. The page in my hand might as well be the weight that's on my mind. "There was a night, when I lived here, where this other girl that lived here and I somehow left the house. We wandered into the woods. She was never found but I was. And...I wasn't exactly okay. I don't remember my time here or anything before that. I barely remember what happened after." I set down the report on the table. "On the file that Karen had, it said that I was in the hospital for four days and then I was transferred to a children's hospital. I was in psych for months before I was cleared to move to another foster home."

The more the story develops the worst it gets! What the hell happened that night? A thought flits across my mind that makes me stand up in a hurry. I begin searching vehemently for them. "What?" Sadie steps back, watching me go insane. "What is it?"

That file has to be somewhere around here. There are endless amounts of paper on this table. I remember that Dr. Cale asked me about it a long time ago. None of these papers are what I'm looking for. It's an alarming amount of overdue bills. "Where is it?" I whisper to myself. The selective amnesia isn't making this easier. Somewhere outside, I hear the crunch of gravel. It was faint but it was there. I stand up and quickly move towards the closest window. Weird, I thought...

Thump!

Sadie and I both jump at the sound. She comes closer to me, lightly grabbing my arm. "What was that?" She whispers quietly in my ear. I didn't know but I want to find out. I slowly detangle myself from her grasp and leave the living room. "Kelly?" Sadie follows me. "Is it just me or did it get a bit darker in here?" We stop at the base of the stairs we came from. "I don't think that's it, Sadie." I peer over the railing, searching for something that is-hopefully-not there. Unfortunately, I do see something. A shadow. I run towards it before the fear could hit me right in the chest. Sadie calls after to me but I don't let the shadow leave my line of sight. It's all the way in the back of the house. I turn into a dark room. An office, I think. There's something eerily familiar about being in here. As in, being here...in this moment.