Prisoners of Prophecy

Chapter 30

Calypso - Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019; 7:27pm

For a few minutes that dragged on like hours, me and Cato stood in silence, watching Xantara and Melany make their way to the dorms, hand in hand. I still felt shaken and guilty of whatever had come over me after I had seen Melany's exhausted and horrified expression. I had worried she was feeling the way I had the night before, going into the house that now loomed behind me. I had had the sudden fear that she was going insane, that she was losing her mind under the weight of all of this and she would soon cave to that madness, and that the whole world might end because of it...
The thought of it alone made me feel crazy myself.
Cato's voice brought me out of my thoughts. "I wonder why they're all being so vague."
I turned and trudged to the porch, sitting on one of the rotting steps. It creaked under my weight. I buried my face in my hands for a moment, taking a few deep, steady breaths. Melany had said the God she had met - Llanthu - hadn't offered her anything more than concern for whatever malicious person, or thing, that I was sure was after us. When she had said his name I had flinched as if she had swung at me, my entire body trying to reject the daunting power that it had. But that had been it; that had been all he had time for, until next week. That's what the rest of them had said. It left us all as clueless as we had been for months.
I sighed, looking up when I felt Cato sit down beside me. The step bent a little more, but held. He was studying me curiously. I could see how desperately he wanted to know what I was thinking, but knowing not to go into my mind himself in fear of angering me.
"I don't know," I finally said. "But I wish they'd be a little more clear. I mean, how do we help if we have no clue what to do?"
Cato nodded, his brows furrowed. "And he asked about this... this danger you've mentioned. Why would they think we knew more than they do?"
"Melany said he told her the school is basically invisible to them, outside of what goes on around the house, I guess - maybe if they come here and peek out of the windows, or something." I chuckled, the image of it sort of amusing. Until it became terrifying. How could some old house be the only place in the world a God could be?
"Yeah, that's true. But... Who knows us that wants us not to save some old forgotten Gods? It's got to be something... not human. By the way you describe it, it seems like it. I thought we would be the only people who know about them, because they allowed us to." He paused, rubbed at the large scar that ran through his blind eye thoughtfully. "So wouldn't they know what this thing is? They'd have to."
     The truth of Cato's words stunned me into silence. He was right - what was after us did not come from this world. It was no mortal, that I was sure of. If there's something otherworldly in ShadowWood now, how was it strong enough to be here, when not even the Gods were? Wouldn't they know if something like that was on Earth?
     A terrible question came to me then, one that sent a chill deep into my very bones. What if they did know what it was? What if they just weren't telling us?
     Before I could ask it aloud, another voice - sounding far away - had stopped me. I did not recognize the man's raspy, shrill voice - but Cato tensed next to me and inhaled sharply. "Hey!" The stranger yelled. "Hey, do you have a second?"
     I turned away from Cato's horrified expression to search for whoever had been speaking. I spotted him instantly, coming from the direction Melany and Xantara had headed for. He was coming towards us fast. I realized that I was not surprised to see he was calling for us, even though it was rare for anyone in the school to confront any of us unless they had to.
     "That's him!" Cato hissed, elbowing me in the side. The fear in his tone was alarming. "That's him, Calypso! Gregory, the new student. What's he want with us?"
"I don't know," I whispered. He was getting close now, perhaps close enough to hear us. "Relax, Cato. We'll figure it out. Just be cool. He won't hurt us."
"He could," Cato scoffed under his breath.
We had no time to discuss it further, for the man Cato claimed to be Gregory Allen, ShadowWood's newest killer, had now halted a few feet from the porch. He somehow looked too young to be here and old enough to be my father at the same time. His gaunt face was covered in acne scars and his long brown hair was tangled and greasy.
My curiosity was placed suddenly with unease, for a reason I could not place. Maybe it's because he's a murderer, I tried to convince myself. But... So were the five people I had gotten close to at this reform school, so was that really it?
He regarded us with dull hazel eyes for a moment before speaking. There was something in his gaze - some odd emotion that I could not comprehend - that made me anxious. "I'm sorry for bothering you guys," he said, without much sincerity. "It's just... I'm new here, and no one else seems like they want to talk to me." His voice was shrill and grating, a sound that was similar to nails on a chalkboard.
I tried to swallow the uncomfortable uncertainty that had crept up on me without warning. "Do you need help with something?"
"I just... I have tons of questions. Like, how can I get out of here? How long does that take?"
He ran a hand through his tousled hair, and that's when I noticed the tracking bracelet on his arm. Though I had no reason to doubt Cato's claims, a part of me had hoped he had somehow misinterpreted what he had seen and heard. There was no way to deny it now, or wish that maybe he had understood it wrong. It was true - there was a new student at the school, and here he was now. But why did that bother me so much?
I was thankful that Cato spoke then, for I couldn't think of any words to say. "Didn't the staff in the office explain all of that to you?" He asked. His voice was trembling slightly.
He glanced at the ground and then back up at us again. I caught myself watching him carefully, as if my subconscious expected him to lunge at us or something. "Yeah, they probably did. I... I was just so scared when I got here. I must not have paid enough attention."
Was he scared? I thought. Or was he still worked up after attacking that officer? I felt a chill run through me. My unease was growing into something more like real fear. I despised the feeling, and even more when I had no idea why it was so persistent.
"You can go back to the office and they'll help you," Cato offered, though he sounded like he felt sick. "They're always open."
Gregory nodded. "Thank you. All the other students just looked at me like I was crazy, or something."
Cato and I shared a knowing glance, but neither of us said anything.
"Hey," he started, his gaze flickering to the abandoned building behind us and back again. I felt my heart sink like a cold, heavy stone. "What's with this place, anyhow? From far away, I couldn't tell it wasn't like, fenced off or anything. I see it's not."
Cato and I looked at each other again. I could see the sobering combination of terror and realization on his expression, and knew my own face mirrored the same emotion. The small second that passed between us momentarily considered becoming an eternity. As if the knowledge had been drilled into my head my whole life, I was positive that this strangers interest in the house was wrong, and that it needed to be stopped instantly. And despite the resentment I felt for its very existence, I also felt the deep desire to protect it. With my life, if I needed to - even if the thought was horrifying.
I stood up. Cato followed suit. We were shoulder to shoulder, guarding the front door of the house that had changed the lives of six people; the house that would possibly change the lives of countless more. I could feel our combined defiance in the air, and it was startlingly powerful. Either Gregory could see it in our faces, or he could sense it - for he took a step back, his eyes wide and now truly frightened.
"There's nothing for you in there," I snarled. My voice had a rough anger in it that I had not expected. It was a tone I had learned made it impossible for anyone to ignore or deny me. Gregory studied me unblinkingly as I spoke, mouth agape. "Stay away from it. The guards don't like people hanging around here."
For a moment, he didn't answer. Perhaps he couldn't. I had seen what my presence did to people, what my unwavering attention did. I tried to avoid contact with anyone in ShadowWood other than the ones who shared that cold basements secret because of the power my divine magnetism had over anyone I focused too hard on. I had wondered many times if the effect I had was stronger on people who didn't have a little bit of ancient God running through their veins. Does it hurt? I thought. Does he even know how to think right now? Am I putting him in danger?
The concern I had briefly felt for Gregory disappeared once his dazed expression cleared and turned into one of confusion. "What do you mean?" He asked. "How come you guys are here, then?"
I was beginning to hate the curious glint in his eye. To anyone else, he would have seemed innocent - maybe a little strange and lacking in much concern for personal hygiene - but innocent all the same. But I knew what he had done, what he was capable of doing. I knew it better than anyone else here. For I had not just killed one, as the others had done. I had killed many. I knew that evil satisfaction, that feeling of being strong and grand and even godly, all too well. I knew the temptation of it, how sometimes it was much easier to cave than it was to resist. I feared he may still have that bloodlust in him, like it seemed he did. He attacked the officer; he could attack us, too.