Prisoners of Prophecy

Chapter 27

Xantara - Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019; 5:17pm

     I looked around after Calypso's hushed warning, stifling a gasp. She was right - everyone in our vicinity was eyeing us with open suspicion. There were students everywhere; a line of them at the desk, people crowding around the few computers, more browsing the books in the aisles and sitting at tables. Even the librarians and the few guards were staring at us. Each one of their piercing gazes felt as if they were burning holes in my skin. Libraries were known for being quiet places, but it had never seemed so silent in here before.
     Calypso turned without another word and headed for the exit. We all followed. I was sure it was the discomfort of drawing so much attention, but I also knew it was Calypso, too. She was, I had learned - especially in the throes of some sort of passionate emotion - almost like a magnet. You couldn't help but to follow her if she commanded you too. And right now, even if someone were afraid of the very strength of her attractiveness - I knew they would follow her right off a cliff anyways.
     I reached out blindly for Melany's hand. She took it and squeezed. Her skin was unusually cold - Was it always that way? The thought slipped by, almost unnoticed - but it was still soothing, like a glass of iced water in the heat of a Summer's day.
     Then we were outside, heading for the tall tree that sat between the gym and the main school building. I took a deep breath, relieved to be out of there, where the air had been heavy with the smell of old paper and the feeling of fearful judgement.
     "What the hell was so important that you guys felt the need to go shout about it in the library for everyone to hear?" Calypso questioned sharply, not turning to look at us as she spoke.
     "Look, I'm sorry," Cato apologized as he trailed after her like some lost stray puppy. "But this was urgent. I knew I would find you guys here."
     "Where are we going?" Melany asked. She was walking beside me to my right, and as I turned to look at her I saw she was glancing over her shoulder. I knew she was eyeing the house. "I've got to be going soon."
     "Let's just... Let's go to my room. Just for a second," Cato said breathlessly.
     "We've got to go to Kai's," said Calypso.
     We gathered around her like we were stuck in some perpetual darkness and she was the only light in view, keeping up with her quick pace. My mouth was dry and tasted of metal; the sound of my heartbeat was terribly loud, in tune with each step; my breath came in gasps. This can not be happening. The voice in my head was small, frightened. Not tonight, not when Melany has to meet some ancient God. Don't let anything else go wrong. I had found that learning she was the one who would be next filled me with a deep worry. I wanted everything to be alright, and it was proving fast that it might not go as smoothly as I wanted.
     "This is crazy, this is wrong," Cato rambled. "What are we gonna-"
     "Cato." Calypso stopped abruptly and spun around, glaring at him. We all halted and stumbled back under the ferocity in her eyes. "Just calm yourself. You can tell me in a second. We're almost there. You start to lose it, we all just might."
     "Isn't Kai sick?" Illisha asked.
     "He is," she answered, starting to turn around and continue to make her way towards the tall building, which wasn't far away now. "But that doesn't matter. He's still a part of this."
     "Wait!" Cato yelled, stopping Calypso. She faced him again, studying him impatiently. "You don't understand. He might be in there." He looked terrified, and his thin chest heaved with his rapid breathing.
     "Who's he?" She asked.
     "He's the new student I saw coming in today. If they're done processing him, he could be in there now."
     "With us?" Calypso questioned softly, the irritation slipping from her tone.
     Cato nodded once.
     We all fell into a thoughtful silence. We studied each other apprehensively. For a moment it was only us and the calm breeze ruffling our hair. I could feel horror like my own coming from all of them. What had Cato seen? I wondered. There were many things I wanted to ask, but I knew nothing would be answered. Not until we were all together. All six of us.
     It seemed we had not yet learned all there was to learn in the universe. And, perhaps we never would know everything. But I was sure of one thing, the realization came down on me suddenly, almost with physical force - no fight came without an adversary; no battle would be left unscathed. There was always something that wanted your plans to crumble and fall.
None of us spoke. It was like we had shared a thought, or had just simply known. We all started walking at the same time, heading towards the dorms again in a pace that was almost a jog. Cato and Calypso were at the front, scanning our surroundings raptly; as if they were prepared for something to come after us at any moment.
Melany squeezed my hand once again. I turned to see her staring at me intensely, her ocean eyes full of a maelstrom of emotions - fear, curiosity, excitement, doubt, others I could not name. Sudden and unwarranted, a deep care for her I had not yet realized settled heavily into my heart and lingered there. The epiphany that came along with it was frightening but instantly accepted, as if I had always known it - I had come to love everyone in this group, but Melany... I'd die for her.
The thought came and was gone again, driven away by Melany's hushed questions. "What's he talking about? What's going on?"
"I don't really know," I admitted. "Sounds to me, though, that Cato thinks that the new student belongs in one of the rooms downstairs."
"Which means he probably did something bad?" Melany asked, scowling.
"Something bad alright," Cato scoffed, seeming to have overheard our conversation.
We had made it to the building. Calypso was the one who slung the door open. We all peered into the dim hall for a second, like we were expecting something. Then, she stepped inside, and we found our bravery in that, filing behind her. There was a sense of foreboding in the air.
The heavy door shut loudly behind us, the sound bouncing off of the walls. Then the silence claimed the building once more. There was no one in the hallway - no new crazy student waiting for us, no monsters, no enemies. So why did that sense of oncoming disaster persist? Why did it feel like soon everything would start going wrong all at once, in this moment of unpreparedness, this moment of fear?
We crowded together outside of Kai's room. Calypso knocked. For a few scary seconds that seemed to last for an eternity, there was no answer. Calypso knocked again, louder this time. "Kai?" She called.
This time, he answered. His voice was rough and groggy, as if he had just woken up. "Huh? Who is it?"
"It's Calypso." She juggled the doorknob and found it was locked. "Get up and let us in."
"Us?" He groaned, but it sounded as if his voice may have gotten a little closer. "Who's us? Can't a man rest?"
The door opened a few moments after that. Kai regarded us with weary surprise before stepping back to let us inside. He looked horrible, his skin pale, dark circles under his eyes - which were dull and clouded. His face was gaunt; he appeared to have lost a few pounds. Even his messy hair seemed to have lost some of its vibrant color.
"Oh, Kai, you look rough," I remarked as I walked into his room. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Better than ever," he croaked mockingly. "It's good to see you guys, too."
We all gathered in the living room. It looked like Kai had taken all of the blankets off of his bed and brought them to the couch. He now grabbed them, balled them up, and threw them carelessly to the floor. His movements were slow, and he was wincing as if the action had caused him pain. Everyone but Melany and I sat down; we stood side by side, close to the door.
After we had all settled, the tension in the room palpable, Calypso spoke. "Alright, Cato. Tell us what happened."
Cato, who couldn't keep still and kept looking over his shoulder like he felt something watching him, sighed in relief. "Finally. I'm scared something bad is going on here."
"Aw, man," Kai grumbled. "What now?"
Cato ignored him. "I was hanging out by the river after my last class when I saw the new student show up. He came in a police van."
"That's why you think he'll get a room down here with us?" Calypso asked.
"Yeah, I had thought that. But, now, I'm pretty damn sure of it." A shiver ran through him; I could visibly see his body tremble. "The cops had guns, but the guards that came out of the office had rifles. Like the damn dude was Saddam Hussein or something."
"Well, I sure didn't get so grand of an entrance," Illisha offered in her quiet voice.
"So? What's that matter?" Kai retorted. He looked as if he had been to the grave and back, but his attitude was one thing that hadn't dimmed. "I don't get the point. You all look like you've been chased here, on the edge of death, or something."
"You don't get it," Cato sighed. He looked around at us - the six of us; the chosen ones - desperately, like he was trying to find some solace within our company. "I heard a little about this guy, and he's not good. His name's Gregory. Apparently he killed eight people in the span of a few years. One of those religious psychopaths.
"When the officers tried to get him out of the van, he attacked one of them. I guess he had somehow managed to get out of his handcuffs. He beat the guy up pretty bad. I mean, it was horrible.
"I left after that, and went to the library to wait on you guys." He shivered again, as if reliving the memory had disturbed him deeply. "I couldn't stand looking at the man."
"Cato," Kai said, chuckling. The laugh ended in a series of phlegmy coughs. He grabbed a tissue from the box on the coffee table and spit into it before balling it up and throwing it into the small trash can by his feet, adding to the pile of other crumbled pieces of tissue. "I get it. That's crazy. Would have loved to see it. And I love to see all of you, actually. Every day I'm stuck in this room lasts forever. But, I'm finally getting some sleep, and you get everyone together to tell me a new student's come in? I mean, big whoop. You could have at least waited until tomorrow."
"I know, Kai. I'm sorry." Cato looked almost as tired as Kai did. He was scratching the scar that ran through his eye. "But, think about it for a second. I may be panicking, but Gregory's arrival doesn't sit well with me. I mean, he's going to get a bracelet like us, if he doesn't have it already. He's gonna be put down here, in one of these rooms with us. Right?" He took a glance at him, saw Kai's speculative expression, and continued. "I know, look at me - a murderer speaking to a group of the same. And it's not mind blowing that a new one is here, but..." He trailed off into uncertain silence.
Melany's hand found mine again before she spoke for him. I took it gratefully, her touch like ice, yet comforting all the same. "But it's weird, right?" She addressed all of us, but she was looking at me. I registered the conglomeration of emotions in her eyes, wondered exactly what they all meant. "It just doesn't make sense. You guys said I was the last one, right? So I didn't think anybody else was going to show up."
"But that doesn't matter," Kai retorted. "He did show up. And who cares? It's not going to stop us from-"
"But what if it does?" Calypso snapped, silencing him. "What if he's a danger to what we're supposed to do?"
Kai regarded her, his thick eyebrows narrowed. "What are you talking about? Please tell me you guys haven't gone crazy on me. It's just some new guy."
Calypso's eyes, alive with the pale fire of her anger, were on Kai - but I think all of us flinched a little. The expression on her face was dauntingly beautiful; the rough edge to her voice alarmingly attractive. "It looks like being sick didn't affect your ignorance at all," she growled. "What do you not get? It's like, for some stupid reason, you can't wrap your stubborn head around the fact that nothing makes sense any more! Absolutely nothing. How come you always assume that it can't get any worse? We're in over our heads, here, Kai - we don't know what the fuck is next! So would you chill out a little? How about that? Just... Just think about things."
None of us spoke for a while. Her words lingered in the air. Kai was looking at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. I couldn't tell if he was frightened or falling in love - and then realized that it was surely both. She was as captivating as she was intimidating, and we had all been silenced by the magnitude of it.
"Do you think that guy really is gonna be dangerous?" Cato finally asked, his voice low. "To us, I mean?"
"Do you?" She retorted. "He seemed to have alarmed you enough to gather us all together."
"Well... I don't really know what to think. I just felt, I don't know, like it wasn't right. Like it shouldn't be happening."
"It's best we just play it safe and keep our eye on him, then." She took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. "Whether or not the guy is dangerous to us I'm not sure, but I do know there's something."
"Something...?" I asked, finally finding my voice.
"Something dangerous. To us. I talked to the Goddess, Kallpa - " She paused for an instant, a tremble running through her from head to toe. She hugged herself tight before dropping her hands back into her lap and continuing. "I talked to her about it. And I've mentioned it to a few of you, a little bit. But there's something else at this school. I don't know what it is, or how long it's been here. But I know it's following us."
"Are you talking about the guy that was yelling at us the other night?" Illisha asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
     "And the footsteps outside of Kai's door?" I asked quietly, my heart starting to pound rapidly in my chest.
     "Outside of my door?" Kai exclaimed. "What are you talking about? And why am I just now hearing about it? I still don't get why this has got you guys thinking something is after us."
     "What did Kallpa say about it?" Cato asked, ignoring Kai's questions.
     "She didn't say much about it other than for us to be careful. She was in a rush to leave and talk about it with the other Gods. It looked for a second that she might have an idea of who or what it might be, but she didn't explain. Hopefully she'll have a better answer next week, when she wants me to come back."
     "Oh, and how was she?" Kai queried. He was the only one who didn't seem concerned at all about the possible enemy we may have. "If she's anything like you, I'm sure she was absolutely stunning." He dropped her a playful wink. She regarded him with growing annoyance. "Actually, could I just come with you next time and introduce myself?"
     "Kai," Calypso growled. "You couldn't handle a woman like that. You wouldn't even know how to talk to her." He flinched away from her words, his playful smile fading. "And that doesn't matter. We don't have time to be joking around. We need -"
     Three loud knocks on the door drowned out the rest of her sentence. As if we were not six but one, we all shot to our feet at once. In the silence that fell after that deafening noise, I could hear my racing heart much too loud in my head. We watched the door, waiting for someone on the other side to knock again or maybe to speak, to tell us why they were there. A minute passed, and then two, but there was nothing more.
     "Who the hell could that be?" Kai whispered.
     "Do you think it could be a guard?" Illisha asked in a low voice.
     "Or the new guy? Questioned Cato, his hushed tone full of fear. "Or... Or that other thing you were talking about, Calypso. What if it's that?"
     "I don't think so," Melany responded. Her grip on my hand had tightened to the point where it was almost painful. "I don't think that it's something to worry about. At least, I hope not." I looked at her to see she was studying the floor with an expression of horrified interest on her face. "I think it's just here for me."
     I followed her gaze and gasped. We all did, except for Kai, who uttered a weak, "What the fuck? Why'd you bring that here?", while he jumped off the couch and took a few stumbling steps backwards, away from it. I had never seen him so afraid.
     Shadows of the inkiest, darkest black I had ever seen, were slipping in through the crack at the bottom of the door, and slithering across the floor. Towards Melany. They gathered around her feet and caressed her ankles, the sight an impossible anomaly  in the illuminated living room. Is this the evil powers Kai had mentioned the night we met Achiq? I wondered, the thought miffed beneath my panic. Or is it something else? They weren't just shadows; not just the object of shape and light. They appeared alive. They swarmed around Melany, now looking like a rippling black ocean of unknown depths. And they seemed to be excited. I could almost sense it coming from the amorphous, constantly changing thing circling Melany. Protecting her, maybe?
     I had let go of her and stepped back in my shock, but I now came closer again. Not too close, though. And I eyed the shadows warily before looking up at Melany. There was no longer much fear in her deep blue eyes, only acceptance. "Is it hurting you, Melany?" My voice shook. I wondered briefly how she could be so calm.
     She shook her head. "They wouldn't do that."
     I relaxed a little, but the sight of those shadows still unnerved me. Their existence was an offense to my already disturbed reality. It was wrong; its darkness was abysmal and infinite and terribly wrong.
     "They?" Kai exclaimed dubiously. "You name it already, too?" He was cowering in the hallway now, glancing back and forth between Melany and the shadows surrounding her. "You don't know what it can do. Get it out of my room!"
     "Don't know what it could do?" Calypso repeated, glaring at him. She didn't seem too bothered by them. "Kai, what did I just say? She knows about this like you know about fire. Give me a break. And what are you so scared for?"
     Kai's face flushed with both anger and embarrassment. "Don't talk to me like -"
     "Hey, guys?" Melany interrupted. Though she spoke softly, it silenced their argument and got everyone's attention. "I'd love to stay and bicker about this," She gestured at the tenebrous mass on the floor. It had swallowed her shoes entirely. "I've got to get going, though. I guess I'm late. They must be my escort."
At once, I knew I couldn't stand the idea of seeing her leave alone, these shadows trailing her all the way to the house. I couldn't go inside; I couldn't get close to the place. But I could get close enough. I could make sure she came out okay, and I could get her back to her room safe. I was sure that I would not be able to relax, or even think, until I knew that she was okay. The sudden and fierce concern for Melany was alarming - it had come to me as quickly and intense as some great epiphany, and would now not leave. It was daunting; it almost felt dangerous. But if there was something here that wanted to do us harm, I could not see her go. Not yet.
"Would you care for some extra company?" I asked her.