STRANGULATE | Markicest

39 | UNEXPECTED VISITOR

That same night, Antinstine walked up the stairs into the dorm floors.

He'd ordered Prada to room with another Evolved for the night, leaving Mark the only one in the room.

While he walked down those cramped, tight hallways, Prada caught sight of Cibil returning from the front doors. When she saw him, her brows furrowed beneath her blindfold.

"Prada? Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" she asked. She walked forward, then noticed the pallor of his dark skin. Even the red markings on his face looked paler.

"Prada," said Cibil, face falling. "What's wrong?"

He led her down the middle hallway where it was quieter.

"Antinstine, he... he told me to sleep somewhere else tonight," he muttered, gazing down at Cibil. "I think he's going to—"

"He's not touching Viper unless it's for those disgusting experiments," Cibil spat. She whirled around, running up the stairs to the dorms.

"Cibil! Stop!" Prada cursed, chasing after her. They ran down the halls, and though Prada could have stopped Cibil by bending her blood, he didn't. He grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her back.

"You've already stopped Druid from reading his mind," said Prada, lowering his voice. He glanced at the countless doors around them, the possibility of Evolveds sleeping or eavesdropping in them very likely.

Cibil tore her wrist away. "If he hurts Viper—"

"We can't do anything," spat Prada. "If we keep protecting him—"

"He'll be suspicious," breathed Cibil. She stamped her foot on the floor and ran a hand through her hair, sighing hard. "You're right..." She shook her head. "You're right."

Prada took a deep breath, the markings on his face flickering weakly. "We can talk more about this at the library."

"Conservatory," said Cibil. "I'm always there, it'll look less suspicious."

Prada nodded. He gazed down the hallway in the direction of his room, swallowing hard. He hoped that, whatever Antinstine planned, it wouldn't hurt Viper too much. But deep down, he knew, it couldn't be something good.

And while Prada and Cibil left the sleeping quarters, Antinstine steadily neared the hallway where Mark's room was.

———

Inside the room, unaware of Antinstine's near arrival, Mark was connecting the device to speak with Dark. His hands fumbled, and he constantly listened for any suspicious noise, hoping Prada wouldn't come anytime soon. After a few more tries, he succeeded. The device clicked, the static hissed, and the signal beeped once it was set.

Dark was in the middle of dinner when the device went off in his pocket, and the other Evolveds jumped with shock. Dark's eyes widened, and he glanced at the others before hastily picking it up, putting it on speakerphone and setting it in the middle of the table.

Even though it had only been a few days, Dark's heart couldn't help but pour with relief at the sound of Mark's voice.

"Dark?" came his soft voice, and though it crackled from the poor signal, it was enough to know he was alive, he was well, he was alright—

"Yes—Mark—" breathed Dark, leaning forward in his seat. As much as he tried to hide his emotions in front of the others, they still showed. The others smiled with amusement at his reaction; Xilef was the only one who continued to stare with cold, dead eyes.