When the lights go out (Read Description!!!)

The reveal

"What... are you doing here? Am I hallucinating? Actually, this is just a dream, so I can just walk up to you, put my hand on your face and I'll wake up," Tao murmured. He then walked up to Leon and placed his hand on Leon's face. The setting didn't change, he didn't wake up and Tao could feel Leon start to smile against his hand.

"It's not a dream. I'm real and here, I hope you didn't miss me too much," Leon giggled. Tao's eyes went from disbelief into rage. He briefly removed his hand from Leon's face only for him to slap Leon with all his strength. It sounded like it hurt a lot but Tao believed that Leon deserved it.

"You imbecile! 'Hope you didn't miss me too much'. Do you have any idea what I went through during your 'death'? I had nightmares every night referring to you, I had thoughts to join you in death, I listened to that idiotic voicemail you sent me years ago just so I could hear your voice again! What on earth have you been doing all this time?" Tao screamed through tears. Leon only stared in shock. He knew that he should have been prepared for the slap or at least one rude comment, but did Tao care about him that much? Did Tao really grieve over his fake death? Leon sighed then started to explain.

"I had to protect you. The murderers are sore losers it seems. They've doubled. There's four now. They've always gone out in an attire that consists of black clothing and masks. I found an area that they stayed at. I'm guessing that's where they planned everything, they would try and target you or Marley and Zac. That's what I've been doing. Stopping them from killing you. However, it wasn't easy," Leon pulled his sleeve down so Tao could see not only one bandage but two.

"A lot of the time I've fought them, they've given me injuries. Cuts, stabs, bruises, a broken nose sometimes... I've done all this for you. Now you may be wondering why I didn't say anything. Well... that's just because I was a coward. I didn't have the courage to talk to you, Marley or Zac after the lock down. I'm sorry Tao. I deeply apologise for all I have done and what I have put you through,"

Tao stared at Leon. Leon was looking at the ground, reluctantly, waiting for Tao to respond. Tao was speechless. He didn't know what to do. The murderers still tried to attack him? He could have died if it weren't for Leon. Tao coughed to get Leon to look at him. Leon's eye was full of sorrow and guilt. It seemed like Leon was expecting the worst response there could be. Tao smiled at Leon the best he could to try and reassure him.

"As... As angry as I am, I can't stay mad at you forever. I'm sorry for slapping you and yelling at you," he said. Tao then walked up to Leon and hugged him, tightly. Leon stared at the ground in shock. It was so long since had felt someone hug him, it was such a... comforting feeling. Leon hugged Tao back, on the verge of tears. Finally they were reunited. They let go after a minute or two and started to go to the school.

***

"So you mean to tell me the murderers were after us the whole time you were presumably dead? So they must have organised this so they could get a better shot at killing us," Zac said. Leon explained everything to Marley and Zac as they were walking through the school. It was pitch black, but that was expected given the fact it was November and around 8pm. Marley was fiddling with his thumbs as they were walking, anxiety building up. Tao tried to keep calm but he couldn't help but flinch at the slightest of sounds. Leon and Zac kept brushing soot off each other. Tao looked around and spotted something.

"Guys, take a look at this," Tao pointed at what he saw. It was on a wall and since their eyes had adjusted to the dark they could see it was a mixture of dots and dashes.

"Morse code? Why on earth is there morse code on the wall?" Marley asked. Zac shook his head to say that he didn't know and Leon shrugged.

"Most likely a message and it's quite long... Does anyone have a notebook or a piece of paper? Preferably a notebook," Tao spoke. Zac pulled out a notebook from the inside of his jacket and handed it to Tao, reluctantly.