ForestLands Institution

Chapter | 23√

Nadia took a shaky step into the room. Five wooden shelves lined the walls - two on each side and one in front of her - containing jars that were filled with hairs, fingernails, and other weird stuff, she didn't even want to think about.

She walked to a fridge in the room and with a quivering hand, pulled it open. She gasped in shock and stumbled back in shock, using one of the shelves for support.

Nadia immediately noticed the drawer between the two shelves. She released the shelf and knelt before the drawer. She pulled one of the compartments open to see files neatly arranged on top of each other.

Nadia brought out a file, that had the word ' A665H' written on it, below that was a symbol; there was a circle and inside that circle, there was a drawing of a glowing blade resting on a bloodied rock, below the rock was a tiny fairy cuddling with a girl with glowing blue eyes. Above the blade was a full moon, which was almost hidden by a black mist.

Sitting back on her ankles, she flipped the file open. There was a picture of a girl with weird information below it

Experiment 05

Name: Angela Rouge

Age: 16

Nationality: American

Blood type: AB

Ability: Mind manipulation

Currently under experimentation

There was then a picture of a girl who was asleep, strapped to a white bed with different people surrounding her with weird objects. Just on the wall behind them, she could see the word that was written on the file.

Nadia went to the next page, this time it was a boy with the same kind of weird information below his picture. She hastily flipped through the other pages. The same thing.

She needed to tell the principal. She quickly placed the file back in the drawer and closed it. She ran out of the room, not bothering to close the door. The other girl has left.

On her way out of the library she bumped into Elijah causing him to swear uncharacteristically, she quickly apologized before continuing to the principal office.

Nadia barged into the principal's office without warning, causing the principal to look away from the student she was attending to. She looked at Nadia irritated but that quickly turned to worry when she saw the frantic and fearful look in her eyes.

Moon-eyed, Nadia addressed the principal, "You need to come, now."

"...and you said you saw a folder of weird information that you think belongs to the missing students," the principal queried as they entered the last section.

Nadia nodded and went to the bookshelf. It was back in place. She frowned, she didn't remember shifting it back. She pushed the bookshelf to the side and to her utmost surprise, the door was gone.

She turned to the principal - who looked like she was questioning her sanity - then back to where the door was supposed to be.

"B-but" Nadia stammered.

"Is the door invisible or what?"

Nadia placed her hands on the wall, fruitlessly searching for a wall that wasn't there.

"It was here, I swear it!" She claimed.

The principal walked over and placed an arm around her shoulder, guiding her away from the wall. Immediately after they were out of the section, a figure stepped out from where they were behind a bookshelf and smirked.

The principal spoke when they stepped outside the library, "I think you should get some rest, Nadia."

Nadia mumbled, "It was there," or was it?

That night, Nadia lay on her bed thinking about what she saw while her roommates were sleeping.

She sighed What is wrong with me? am I going crazy?

She was interrupted by a loud sound and she quickly sat upright. She glanced at her roommates but they were still asleep. The sound came again and she looked over at the window.

A pebble collided with her window again and she reluctantly went over to it. She looked outside to see Jace with a hand full of pebbles, about to throw another one.

Come out he whisper-yelled.

Why? She whisper-yelled back but he didn't reply.

Her eye twitched with annoyance, it just had to be now. She climbed back into her bed and decided to ignore him. He threw another pebble at her window and she groaned.

She angrily got out of bed and strode to the window. She whisper yelled to him that she was coming and walked out of the room but not before making sure her roommates were asleep.

The guards were sleeping on duty, so she quickly walked past them and over to the tree line where Jace had gone to wait for her.

She folded her arms. With an annoyed tone, she demanded, "What is it?"

He grabbed her arm and Nadia realized it was calloused, which was unusual.
"I have to show you something, it's important."

"Can't it wait till tomorrow? I mean it's late."

"We have to go, now," he impatiently said and started dragging her into the forest.

Nadia pulled her hand away from his. "I can walk by myself, thank you."

He stared at her for a while before starting for his destination again. Nadia felt her temper rising and she took a deep breath to keep calm.

"Where are we going, Jace? It's been like forever," Nadia complained.

"Just a little more," he said, swatting a branch out of his way.

"let go back, it's late now," she insisted.

"Quit whining Nadia," he harshly reprimanded.

Nadia stopped in her tracks, regarding him suspiciously. Jace never calls her Nadia. She didn't know what compelled her to look at his left hand but when she did, she saw one of the fingers glitching.

It kept changing back and forth from a bony one to Jace's own. She gasped and 'Jace' immediately became rigid.

Nadia gulped in fear. "I think I will head back for the dorm now."

She quickly swiveled around and made to walk away but a calloused hand wrapped around her own.

"Stay," a hoarse voice commanded.

Nadia slowly turned around and what she saw made her scream.