Elysian House: Edge of the World (3)

Chapter 13: Trouble In Paradise

One thing I was thankful for out of this situation was dropping in the middle of the goddamn school. When we dropped in out of thin air, several Guards shouted their surprise, but when they saw the irate Olivia, and hearing Viola screaming and seeing Jasmin bleeding, they moved to help.

I was shivering, unable to shake this cold around me, and I felt this pain in my body, and it wouldn't let up. I was twisting, aching, yelling, and groaning. But nothing compared to the pain of seeing Viola turning.

Yes, turning.

Viola's short brown hair was rapidly turning white, and her normally olive colored skin was paling by the second. Her eyes were squeezed shut tight and she was screaming as the venom was rushing through her veins. The Shield drops right beside her head and she screams louder.

I crawl over to her as best as I could. "V-Vi..."

Jasmin raises her beaten and battered head off the ground. "Help!"

Olivia was freaking out, holding her head in her hands and seemingly hyperventilating. Her hands held onto her hair, and she was crouching down in the corner, probably trying to keep herself away from Viola as much as possible.

"Oh, fuck!" I recognized that voice and saw Brandon there, eyes wide in shock. He turns down the hall and screams, "Winter! Edge! Help!"

Winter and Red appear a second later, and sees the four of us convulsing on the floor. Immediately, they move to help.

Winter and Red go to Viola first, of course. She was the one who was screaming and crying.

"Oh, no," Winter says, as she notices Viola is undergoing the change. "No, this is not good. We have to take her somewhere safe. We can't let the Counts see." Winter turns to look at me on the floor. "Riley, are you okay--?"

"Go!" I scream at her. "Get her out of here! Save her!"

She doesn't argue with me and picks up Viola off the ground with Red's help and they carry her out of sight, but I can hear her screaming all the way.

A second later, Skylar and Del come around the corner. Skylar drops down beside me, on the ground, as Del moves to take care of Olivia, who was still hypventilating and seems to also be crying.

Del has her hand on Olivia's arm, and she leans down to help Jasmin to her feet. Jasmin is unable to stand on her own two feet, so she leans into Del for support, and she carried them out of the room, with Viola.

"Riley, is... is Snow dead?" Skylar asks me, keeping her voice low as she brushes back my hair.

"No..." I told her honestly. "I couldn't do it... Viola convinced..."

Relief washes over her face and she sighs softly. "Good. What about the Darkness?"

This is where her relief ends. "Snow... Snow..."

Dread fills the air and Skylar visibly stiffens. "Dammit." She reaches down to help me sit up and I slowly rise up off the ground, feeling the world shifting under me. Skylar steadies me and walks me down the hall. I ignore the whispers and the points as we walk past.

"T-take me... take me to..."

"To Viola. I know." We move fast to Skylar's office.

I can hear Viola's screaming when we're on the same floor as her and when we got inside her office, I heard her loud and clear, thrashing on the bed, and freaking out.

My stomach lurches. She can't change. She can't be a Bitten.

We move into Skylar's bedroom and find her laying on the bed, violently thrashing around back and forth.