Beyond the Veil

SIX : She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain

     Ruby's day began ordinarily enough. Or, at least, as ordinary as a day could begin after what she'd witnessed in the forest the night before.

She woke from a surprisingly dreamless sleep at the blaring of her alarm, slid out of bed, and got ready for the day as the sounds of muffled morning chaos filled the dorm house. It was oddly comforting, hearing her dorm-mates argue over who should make the coffee (Abbot) and which of them needed to stop taking such long showers in the morning (Nori).

As Ruby made her way into the kitchen, a knock sounded on the door. Abbot rolled his eyes, downed the rest of his morning coffee, and went to answer it as Owen and Nori ambled downstairs.

Ruby smiled at them in greeting as Headmaster Park glided effortlessly into their foyer.

Ruby's heart skipped a beat, and her panicked gaze caught Abbot's across the room. He shrugged, but she could detect the nervousness in his body language-- spine ramrod straight, foot tapping almost imperceptibly on the tiled floor.

"So." Park's gaze swept the room, and she cleared her throat. This was it. They were getting expelled. It was over; Ruby would be carted off back to Elmwood within the hour. She forced herself to breathe. She was a negotiator, she could get them out of this.

Owen's hand found hers as Headmaster Park fixed her steady gaze on them.

"It is with the deepest regret that I must inform you all that..." She trailed off, brushed a stray hair from
her face, swallowed-- nervously? Something wasn't right. Ruby's heart pounded against her chest like an off beat kick-drum.

"A student was found in the forest this morning. She... she wasn't breathing. We suspect foul play, sometime around midnight the night before. We have the matter under control; authorities are patrolling every inch of the campus until we find the person who did this. If any of you feel unsafe and want to make calls home to your parents, we completely understand."

A heavy, thick silence had descended on them that seemed to suck all the air from the room. As Ruby grew older, she had begun to understand the expression "silence is deafening" more and more-- everything went so unnaturally quiet that the tiniest things could be overwhelming. She could hear the taptaptap of Abbot's shoe on the floor, the steady drip of the kitchen faucet, the birds chirping their morning song outside, oblivious to the tragedy that had occurred hours earlier.

The kitchen suddenly felt way too small, and Ruby let out a shaking breath. After several moments, Nori spoke.

"Who... who was it?"

Headmaster Park averted her eyes, and Ruby's chest tightened. Was she sweeping every building like this? It seemed a bit extreme, but then again, this was Brookewell. Rory still hadn't come down from her room, and Ruby moved towards the stairs to call for her.

"The counseling office will be open all day to anyone who--"

"Who was it?" Abbot ground out, and Ruby pretended not to notice the shaking of his hands.

Something was very, very wrong.

Headmaster Park locked eyes with Ruby.

"Rory Stevens."

Owen's grip tightened on Ruby's hand, and her mind stuttered. What?

A panicked, disbelieving laugh bubbled up her throat as Abbot sunk into the nearest chair and drew in a shuddering breath, and Nori moved to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. She was trembling. They were in shock, Ruby realized. She had experienced extreme panic before, anxiety attack after anxiety attack, and yet she still wasn't prepared for what this felt like.