A/N: Hope you guys like the chapter!
I peered at the clock on my bedside table. "Seven... six... five... four... three... two... one!" Ella, who was standing on her bed, dropped an engraved sphere that Tessa had made in art class onto the cushion on the floor next to the bed.
"Happy New Year!" we cheered halfheartedly.
"Any resolutions?" Ella asked.
Kiara rolled her eyes. "Ella, I'm going to bed."
"Ugh, fine, party pooper," Ella replied.
"Wait, aren't you the party pooper?" asked Tessa, feigning confusion.
Ella poked her tongue out at Tessa. "Good night."
I plopped onto my comfortable bed and burrowed under the covers. "Happy New Year," I said drowsily. Almost instantly, I slipped into a deep sleep that was punctuated by strange dreams of rivulets of blood painting white roses and chains with iron daisies growing out of them.
Ten the next morning brought way more than twenty-nine students to our dorm. They all bobbed around aimlessly, trying not to step on each others' toes. I felt like something was wrong, but before I could tell any of my friends about it, Ella stood on her bed. "All right. We're here to try and stop the Order of Chaos, and even though the chances of doing so are highly unlikely, we have to try. I've created a subweb, which basically means we have interweb access but the Order of Chaos can't track it." Ella then explained the security precautions in place. "I'm going to create a message group that everyone in this room has to join. It'll serve as a way to track who's involved."
Some kids scowled, but they all got connected to the interweb and joined the message group. "Please don't try to share this information with the Order of Chaos," Kiara asked. Everyone in the room noticed that she said "try to."
As everybody was leaving, I saw a flash of platinum-blonde hair and a thin purple sheath heading towards the closet. "Seriously?" I muttered under my breath. I shot Kiara a look and jerked my head in the direction of the person that had set my nerves on edge. At first, Kiara looked confused, then recognition dawned on her face. We walked over to the silvery-haired girl and grabbed her arms. I clamped my hand over her mouth. Since we were all in the closet, the rest of the students shuffled out of our dorm without noticing a thing. When all the people had left, I asked Ella to lock the door, then Kiara and I dragged the girl over to a desk chair and seated her in it. "Talk, Victoria," I said.
Victoria shot me and Kiara a look of pure loathing and kept her mouth shut.
"I'll go get the truth serum," sighed Tessa as she got out of her chair.
"No! I'll talk!" Victoria cried. I didn't blame her. Truth serum was illegal without a permit because of the excruciating pain it caused. Tessa's ability to procure illegal materials really came in handy at times like these. "Me and a few of my friends joined the Order of Chaos." Tessa narrowed her eyes and walked into the closet. A moment later, she came back with a bottle of clear liquid. "And I may have gotten forty other kids to join with me," Victoria mumbled. Tessa unscrewed the lid. "Through mind control," she continued. "It's my Exarae."
"You've got to make a blood oath not to tell anyone about this," Tessa told her sternly. I raised my eyebrows. Breaking a blood oath meant losing as much blood as the vow was worth.
"Too bad. I already made a blood oath to the Order of Chaos to tell them everything I know," Victoria countered smugly.
"Then make yourself forget," Tessa suggested.
"What?" Victoria scowled.
"Use your mind control to make yourself forget," explained Tessa.
"But that could do serious damage!" the rest of us protested.
"But she didn't care about that when she tried to kill!" Tessa exclaimed.
"Yeah, but-"
"Do it."
Victoria paled as Tessa glared at her. Eventually, Victoria closed her eyes and placed her fingers on her temples. She looked up a few moments later and her gaze was cloudy. "Why am I here?"
"Good enough," I whispered to Tessa. "But that wasn't exactly called for."
"It was necessary," Tessa hissed back.
"Go back to your dorm," I told Victoria. Once she left, I flopped down on my bed. "I feel like a monster for not stopping you, Tessa," I admitted.
"Why did you make her do it? That could've seriously damaged her brain," Ella asked.
"If this really is a war," Tessa said slowly, "then we have to be tough. We're not going to get far on forgiveness."
Kiara sighed. "We're not going to get far on a lot of harm, either, Tessa. It's moderation."
"All right, I get it. But we couldn't have just let her go and tell," Tessa said.
"You're right," we told her. I opened my mouth to apologize.
The intercom crackled and Mistress's voice rang through. "ALL STUDENTS, REPORT TO THE DINING HALL. WE HAVE PREPARED A LITTLE SURPRISE FOR YOU!" Mistress cackled through the PA system- a cold, evil laugh that made my spine tingle.
"What is it this time?" Ella moaned.
We soon found out. When all the students and staff were seated, Mistress shuffled to the podium, which had a computer on it and a white screen behind it. An overhead projector hung from the ceiling. "YOU ALL HAVE PEOPLE DEAR TO YOU IN YOUR LIVES, STAFF AND STUDENTS OF VIVENTI ACADEMY," she began. I didn't like the direction that this was going in. "PEOPLE THAT YOU WOULD DO ANYTHING TO PROTECT." I started to get an idea of what she had called us for and prayed that I was wrong. "SO QUIT YOUR INCESSANT LITTLE ACTS OF REBELLION OR THE PEOPLE THAT YOU LOVE SO MUCH WILL DIE."
Mutters swept through the hall and Mistress cackled again. "IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS, I AM ABOUT TO PROVE THAT WE ARE NOT LYING. PROFESSOR SILORIO, COME HERE FOR A FEW MOMENTS, WILL YOU?" Professor Silorio, a tall, balding man who taught Technology, walked up to the front of the room, bewilderment and fear on his face. "PLEASE PULL UP THE DUNGEON CAMERAS, PROFESSOR SILORIO. QUADRANT FOUR." Professor Silorio, still a little confused, did as he was told. Gray static filled the screen and turned into distinct shapes. The parents of the students.
A shocked silence filled the cafeteria as Mistress sent Professor Silorio back to his seat and panned the cameras up and down the rows of cells. I caught a glimpse of my parents and my aunt and uncle, stuffed into two small cells. Tears welled up in my eyes, both tears of sorrow and tears of fury. Suddenly, a wave of self-hatred washed over me. My stupid stunts got my parents into this mess. Why couldn't I just have let the Order of Chaos win? And even if I did fight back, why couldn't I win? The tears flowed down my cheeks freely now, and I hated myself even more. My relatives were imprisoned in the school's dungeon and I was just sitting and crying like a baby. I willed the tears to stop, and once they did, I felt incredibly washed out. I wanted to put my head in my hands and sob. To distract myself from the tears resurfacing and Mistress's cackles, I focused on revenge. I wanted to burn the members of the Order of Chaos one by one.
A/N: *gasp* What will happen next? I honestly don't know. Like, I have a general idea, but I dint know the specifics yet. So anyway, how was your weekend? Mine was great. I can't wait until the third quarter ends! Then I can stop worrying so much for a while. There is a weird noise in my living room that I am genuinely afraid of. I'm gonna go check it out. Cross your fingers and hope that I don't die.
-Deepio the Slytherclaw
