World Key

World Key Chapter 8

Claire and I go to Casper and help him up. He scratches his head and tells us a lame excuse as to why he fell out of his chair. A few minutes later Claire admits she's tired and goes to the girl's dorm. She invites me to go with her since I didn't get any sleep myself, but I politely refuse. I would feel bad leaving Casper all alone in the place he despises. I think Casper realizes that I'm tired. He makes me go get something from a classroom, and when I come back he had set up a little place for me to sleep. He told me he would go make some food while I rest for a bit. I almost argue, but I decide not to because I'm worn out. I lay down in the spot he set for me, it's surprisingly cozy. I close my eyes and fall asleep quickly. 

"It's good to see you here, but by coming here you have put yourself in danger. Watch your back, and your friends too." They laugh and the voice drifts off.

I wake up really hot and shaky. I guess it was just a dream, but what a weird one. It was..concerning. Casper walks in the room and see that I am awake, he greets me and says he made some lunch since we kinda missed breakfast. I stand up and he laughs, he points out my hair is messy and I pick up a near rubber band and flick it at him. He stops laughing and leads me to the cafeteria of the academy. As we are going there I fix my hair. When we get there we sit down and begin eating, I thank him for the food. He can be a great cook sometimes. We finish eating then make our way to the girl's dorm to say bye to Claire, we had gotten all the information we needed at the library. We get to her room and tell her goodbye. I hug her and tell her that I will keep my promise. Claire hugs Casper and tells him not to be stupid. We wave to her as we leave the dorm. We head to the front gate, but the gates say that we can't leave yet. Casper grabs my hand and pulls me behind him. I see a man walking towards us, he looks very suspicious. I see Mr. Ray walking sadly behind him. The two adults stop in front of us.

"Hello Casper. I had heard that you came back to the academy, but I had to see for myself." He says in a low tone.

"Yeah I came back just for the day, but my friend and I are about to take our leave." Casper says standing in front of me.

"I'm afraid I cannot let you do that. Besides, who doesn't love a new student?" The man says with a grin.

"GO!" Casper says as he draws his sword.

He throws a teleport stone to me and I catch it. I teleport into the woods of the school. The teleport kinda fails though, because I fall on my butt from a tree. The stone disperses in my hand because it has been used. I stand up and clean the dirt off me, then look in front of me to see the school wall. I guess I didn't get out of the school, I'm still in here. I hear a few voices, I look up at the tree I fell from and quickly climb it. I use the branches to cover me, but just enough so I can still see.

"The academy is made so people can't use magic to get out, right?" Some guy says.

"Yeah, so that girl must not be too far. They already got the sword kid, but we gotta find her, principals orders."

"Why is the principal so obsessed with those kids anyway?"

"I don't know, it's classified, now lets cut the chit-chat and get moving."

I see them go away, but I wait a minute or two before I jump down. I land on my feet this time, and I look around. Poor Casper, always getting caught or hurt to protect me. I won't cry this time though, I know I will save him from this place. Besides, he got out before, I bet he can do it again. I walk through the woods so I have some cover, it seems safer than being in plain sight. My guess is he is being held somewhere secluded from the school, but also close so the principal can keep and eye on him. The only problem is...I have no idea where anything is at the school. Maybe I should find a map so I don't end up somewhere random. I make my way towards the school, well at least I think this is the right direction. I walk in the green grass, through the trees. I hear birds chirping and it smells sweet. I avoid the tree roots, and the paths. I finally see the school, before I go in I look around. The perimeter looks clear enough, I walk towards the school. I then realize that I can't go in the front doors, everyone would see me if I did that. I guess I will look for a back entrance. I go around to the back of the building and look for some sort of entrance. I see a single door, it doesn't look very safe though. I slowly approach the door, and hear voices on the inside. I quickly hide behind a bush as people walk out. I manage to hear them talk about how they were told to stand guard at all the doors. Just my luck. I glance at the school and see an open window, yes! I sneak over to the side where the window is, but there is a slight problem. The window is on what looks like the third floor. How am I supposed to get up there without getting myself killed? Just as I am about to ATTEMPT to climb the wall I see someone close the window. You've got to be kidding. The last place I can think of to get in is the roof, there is a ladder going to the roof, and on the roof there is a door that goes into the school. I go to the ladder and begin climbing. I take my time, because I really don't feel like falling today. 

I finally get to the roof, I don't see any guards around, thank goodness. I go to the door that leads to the staircase and open it. Luckily, I don't hear or see anyone. I go down the staircase, I try to run, but I don't want to make a loud stomping noise. So I move swiftly and silently. On my way down, I see a map of the school on the wall, in case there is a fire. I use my ring to remove the glass from the wall, the map falls. I put the glass back on the wall, and look at the map. By the way the map looks it seems the principal has an office on the second floor. I decide to start there. I make my way through the hallways, trying not to be seen. By the looks of it, classes are in session. I actually hope they get out soon so I will be among the students in a crowd. I find the principal's office on the second floor, and I don't see anyone standing guard. I open the door and walk in.

"Melody?" Casper says with his sword drawn.

"Yeah...what happened? Weren't you taken by that principal guy?" I ask confused.

"I was, but that doesn't matter right now. We have to go!" He says.

I tell Casper I know a way to get out of here, and we start running. I show him to the roof of the school and I tell him we are going to jump from the ladder to the top of the wall. It's the fastest way out, and you don't need magic to do it. The only problem is, if you miss the wall you are in for a world of hurt. 

"Are you crazy?! Do you know how high up we are from the ground?" Casper says freaking out a little.

"I know it's crazy, but it's the only way! We can't get caught either. Just let me go first." I say going to the ladder.

"No I will go first, how could I call myself a man if I let a lady fall?" He says with a laugh. I can tell he's scared though.

Casper climbs down the ladder and jumps. He made it! He lands on his feet thankfully. He gives me a thumbs up and I begin climbing down. There's a minor issue, the guards seem to have spotted me. They all begin shooting magic at me and climbing the ladder to get me. Casper waves to me and tells me to jump. I jump to him just as one guy is about to get me. I nearly miss the wall, but Casper catches me. He tells me to hang on and holds me in his arms like a child. He then jumps to the ground and sets me down. We start running, and I can't help but smile. The two of us run a long time. When we finally stop we collapse onto the ground. I start laughing and he laughs with me. 

"That was fun." I say breathing heavily.

"Yeah! Let's rest for a bit, then how about we go to another world for the next key." He suggests.

"Good idea." I respond.

We rest for an hour, then make our way to the forest. I remember how to get to the plains area from here. Thankfully I took a couple maps of the worlds from some books at the library. We finally move on to the forest, to the next world. I wonder what lies for us ahead.