Gemstone Academy

Chapter 11

The girl who collapsed in the entrance way was Rita Claire. Zoey told me that she was a fourth year. It was the exact same thing as what happened with Eva. She screamed, she passed out, and she hasn't woken up since. And Doctor Stuart still has no idea what happened to either of them.

Then the same thing happened again. This time it was a third-year boy named Marcus Glid. Three days before Christmas break he screamed and collapsed in the courtyard. What he was doing outside in below freezing weather I'll never know, but the point was it was the exact same thing that happened to Eva and Rita. So, my question is this, what is happening to the students at Gemstone Academy?

"Are you okay?" Lazarus asked me. We were sitting on a couch in one of his sitting rooms at his castle. We had gotten here last night at around dinner time. So, today was the first full day of Christmas break. I was so happy that it was finally break because I couldn't tolerate another second of school. I seriously did not want to look at another class assignment. Lazarus, however, had a book in his lap, already doing his homework. He was such a responsible human being that he sometimes irked me.

"I was just thinking about Eva, and the other people that had screamed and passed out," I said.

"Oh," Lazarus said without looking up from his book. "What about them?"

"Are they okay?" I asked.

Lazarus looked at me. He could probably tell how worried I was, so he closed his book and faced me. "I'm sure they'll be back to normal in no time."

"But no one just passes out, Lazarus," I said still freaking out. "Unless they have a medical problem, and if that were the case, than Doctor Stuart would have figured out what was wrong with them by now."

Lazarus cocked his head at me and narrowed his eyes slightly. "What exactly are you suggesting, Elizabeth?"

"I don't know, that something else happened to them."

"Like what? Like someone knocked them out?"

"Yeah, maybe, but then they would've woken up by now."

"You're thinking about this too much," Lazarus said tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear. "Just relax, they'll be fine. Doctor Stuart will figure it out."

"You're right," I said. My mind flashed to Dario. Now that I thought about it, he seemed to always be around when someone passed out, which was kind of odd.

"Do you know someone named Dario?" I asked.

Lazarus' expression darkened. "Why?"

"Because I met him in the library. No one else seems to know who he is, but you know him?"

"Yes. And I suggest you stay away from him."

"What? Why?" I asked.

"Because..." Lazarus paused. He stared at me and apparently thought better of what he was going to say. "Just because."

"That's a terrible reason." I said crossing my arms. "I'm not a two-year-old, and you're not my father, so I'm going to need a better reason than that."

"He's just dangerous."

"Why? Is he a murderer?"

"No but-"

"But nothing! He doesn't seem dangerous to me. You're just jealous that I found another guy to talk to."

"Don't flatter yourself, Elizabeth," Lazarus snapped. "Unless you want me to be jealous for some reason."