solomon's lament | completed | final product under editing

| three | the truth

The town hall was only reserved for those attending; that's all Margot really knew. Truth be told, she never really had a reason to come here in the past, but now that changed.

It changed as soon as she lied to her parents about where she really was.

It changed as soon as she wore this pink dress.

It changed as soon as she realized how important this was.

There were two guards at the front of the entrance, who only permitted those who had their invites. They had small handheld devices that resembled scanners from... grocery stores?

Wait.

Margot didn't have time to think on it as one of the excited girls pushes her to the front of the line just as an anxious boy enters after having been given his invitation back. The man to her right holds out his hand, and Margot's lips press into a thin line as she places the sparkly letter in his palm. He holds the grocery store-esque scanner over the flyer, and she stares in awe as a thin pink veil of light brushes over the surface.

It stops abruptly before she's able to process it, and he hands it back. "Go inside," he instructs gruffly. Margot's movement suddenly feel laborious as she takes steps inside.

She blinks a few times, heart suddenly pausing as she takes in the the view. There's primarily kids her age, most she recognizes from her school; even her pale science partner, Jeannie, who's dancing a little awkwardly with a boy her age. The rooms that lead to upstairs are closed off, leaving everyone on the bottom floor with sparkly mall dresses and snacks.

Oh. The snacks.

Isla Mills is standing beside a glittery punch bowl, holding in her hands a white plastic cup which her bright, earthy brown eyes gaze into. Her tanned skin glimmers under the lights, and her long, chocolatey tresses flow past her bare shoulders. Her lips faintly tainted a pale pink twists into a puckered grimace as her deltoids lift to meet the tips of her pierced ears, and her slender arm rises the cup to reach her mouth-

Margot blinks back into reality as a girl accidentally brushes past her in a spur of excitement. She shakes her head, a hand attempting to smoothen out her curls but they recoil back into place immediately. "Get it together, Solomon," she murmurs to herself, hands balling into fists as she forces herself to approach the female. No stopping now.

And then she stopped, just as an announcement boomed above their heads. "Attention, everyone who is here in attendance of the Autumn Umbrae event. Firstly, welcome! It is an honour for all of you to be here."

Margot's distracted for the most part as the male voice continues until she faintly hears the sound of a door opening and shutting, and Isla is no longer in the same place she was before. Margot inwardly groans as she slips past the now silent crowd, muttering small 'excuse me's' and 'i'm sorry's' as she did, until she finally reaches the back exit door, which was also closed off but Isla had clearly disregarded the belt that was in front of the door.

And so did Margot as she bent down under the black stanchion and letting herself outside. Her face was hit with a blast of cool air just as she closed the door behind her, cricket chirps filling up her ears as she glances around. Nothing but endless slender trees beyond this point.

"You seem bored, too, huh?" Isla calls out, causing Margot to nearly jump ten feet in the air. Her head whips around to see her. Isla-frickin'-Mills, whose face is devoid of any emotion and yet her eyelids nearly conceal her iris. She's thoughtful-looking, almost contemplating, it seems. It's a nice look on her-

"Uh, sort of." God, that was terrible. Margot had a game plan on getting here but not one when she actually met her objective. Very stupid, dude.

"I'm Isla Mills," the girl greets, a corner of her mouth lifting up into a half-smile.

"Margot, uh, Solomon," Margot replies, extending her hand out for a handshake, which in return Isla reciprocates as she shakes it firmly.

"Don't think I've seen you around before." Isla takes a small step back to give the two some comfortable distance. Margot almost kicks at the dirt with the toe of her shoes but remembers last-second that these shoes weren't really good for that insecure purpose.

"You might know my sister, Niah? She, uh, volunteers at the school a lot." No, dummy, you're supposed to say 'I'm in your grade. We have Mrs. Reese's fourth hour advanced math.' Stop sabotaging yourself!

"Oh, the girl with a lot of freckles, right?" Margot nods. "Huh. I had no idea she was your sister."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," she chuckles dryly in reply, and soon after the conversation dies as soon as it had existed. God, this didn't at all work out. Margot took a deep breath, readying herself for what was about to come soaring from her impulsive tongue. "Hey, so, uh... I-"

Then she's cut off.

And, this usually happens. A lot, actually. From the bell that rings during lunch or friends taking away Isla's attention and leaving Margot in the dust. But this was different.

Because what interrupted her was the shrill shrieks coming from inside the town hall.

Both girls whip their heads in the direction of the sound, and Margot senses the girl's muscles tense up beside her. The agonized screaming doesn't stop.

A bit impulsively, Margot rushes towards the door, and Isla falls soon after. The doorknob refuses to budge from its spot, and no aid comes as both slam their fists on the door and demanding to be let in. Whatever was in there and deriving those horrible noises from those innocent kids wasn't going to stop.

"Oh, god..." The realization then dawns on Margot. What was in there could've killed both of them if they hadn't stepped out when they did. The screeches get louder. The begging continues. The horrible crying interlaced with the dawning hopelessness resonates heavily with Margot, whose hands are bloody from straining and clawing at the door in a feeble attempt to make it all stop.

And then they stop.

All seems quiet, the only noise resonating within the girls' was the crickets chirping and their own heartbeats hammering tattoos against their chests.

"This... has to be a prank, right?" Isla chuckles forcefully, her shoulders faintly quiver as her eyes enlargen.

"We'll have to find out later," Margot shakes her head, grabbing Isla's wrist and dragging them away from the door.

"Wait, wait, we can't just leave them there like that! What if there are survivors? What if there's something we can do?"

"We can't do much in this condition. Two teenage girls up against whatever's in there?" Margot's lips tighten into a thin line. This wasn't right. Not who she was. "We're going to get someplace safe and decide what to do from there. But we can't do this in the state we're in." Isla doesn't reply. Either she agrees or doesn't have the emotional strength to argue her claim any further.

Margot's eyes glisten and sting, but she doesn't pay attention as she navigates through the trees. They seem much taller now.

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isla :