Game of Fates

Chapter X

When lunch and dinner came 'round, nothing particularly useful sprouted from our discussions. Katie still didn't arrive, though Scarlet was kind enough to pass by her room and offer food around those times. It was around 7 in the evening, I still ended up unable to sleep, squirming and wriggling in bed. Ava was still using her phone, also lying down in bed.

"Hey, Ava," I called. "Do you think Katie's gonna be alright?"

She sighed, peeking up. "I hope she's okay, but we really can't be sure. Let's just pray for the best. Although, it does bring up the question that since we've already taken some measures to prevent her fate, would it still happen?"

"Surely not," I answered. "Well, I dunno. It's called 'fate', isn't it?"

"Let's hope for the best, Angel. Don't be so negative!" Ava advised, conveniently wording it with a double negative.

"I guess you're right," I wailed. "I just really hope she'll be okay."

"She'll be okay," replied Ava. "Anyway, Angel, I think you should go to sleep as early as possible tonight. I can tell you've been really sleep deprived these past few weeks."

"Yeah, I always am," I declared. No, really, I always am. The last time I've ever slept earlier than 11 p.m. was probably during math class.

I still kept trying to sleep, and probably ended up in some odd sleeping position I'm glad nobody could see. We weren't doing anything special that night, and I'm pretty sure everyone was just talking to their roommates about Katie.

Then I heard a thump. It wasn't the loudest, but I heard it.

"Did you hear that?" asked Ava.

"It's like something fell," I replied.

"It sounded like it was coming from... There," she said, pointing to the left. "We should check it out."

I climbed off my bunk, then Ava and I briskly scampered out of our room, with me following behind her. Amy and Pip were also coming out. They're both straight.

"You heard it too?" asked Amy.

"Yeah, sure did," Ava answered. "It came from somewhere there," she continued, pointing the area close to the stairs, in front of Katie's room.

"Should we check in Katie's?" I suggested. Amy and Ava nodded, while Pip gave a thumbs up. I twisted the knob to Katie's room. It was locked. "Huh," I exhaled.

"Katie? You good in there?" screamed Pip. Jesus, it was loud. Nobody replied, though. "Pip, be quiet," Amy requested.

"Did something happen?" asked Kiara, closing the door to her room.

"KATIE!" Pip screeched shouting at the door. "WAKE UP, YA DAMN FOOL!" She then grabbed the knob and started kicking the door. Yes, this was normal because it was Pip doing it. No, the door still didn't open.

"I'll go try pick the lock," sighed Kiara. "Just wait here."

Ava kicked her feet. "Fuck this!" she cursed. "I'm sick of this shit!"

"Dude-" I intervened. "Chill." It was only sometimes that she had outbursts like this. Still...

"Alright, step aside," commanded Kiara, holding up two bent-up paperclips. She held an L-shaped one in her right and inserted it through the keyhole, and then inserted the second, straight one through as well. She was raking it through over and over again until it suddenly made a click. The door swung open.

"Katie?" Pip repeated. "Katie!"

"Ssshh," Ava silenced. "She could be sleeping. Let's hope she is," she whispered, stepping in first.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Almost eight, I'd assume," Amy answered. "Why?"

"Isn't Katie the type that stays up at night often? Or at least a bit later than this time?" You know the type of people that spend an hour scrolling through social media for a few hours before hitting the sack? Yeah, that's her.

"Who knows," responded Kiara. "Given the situation she's in, it's a stressful situation. The sort that makes you want to sleep all day. You know that feeling, right?"

"Yeah, true," I replied. While some of us were still hanging by the door, I walked in further into her room until eventually I was next to the bunks. Katie normally slept on the lower bed, but it was empty and the blankets and pillows were all messy and unmade. Her pink cellphone was still charging on the nightstand and the lamp was on. The strangest thing I saw, however, was books scattered around. Not just the regular old textbooks and notebooks we used in school, though. They were Juliet's books, particularly the ones about psychology and making decisions and life, philosophy things. The problem was, Katie wouldn't read that kind of stuff; not even I would, ever. Plus, wouldn't she have cleaned them up by now if Juliet was reading them before? At least put them back on the shelf? Jesus Christ, that mess was an eyesore.

I picked up one of the heavy books on the floor, titled "Discernment Through Life: A Guide for Everyday Living". I was making a few steps toward the bookshelf when Ava suddenly screamed, "ANGEL!"

"What?" I asked, looking back. And as I put my foot down, I heard a squish.