Celia Thorpe

Not yet out of the woods

Hello again- it's me! I hope you like this. I have spent a long time planning the plot of this story but I have a question that I have been puzzling over- do I or do I not kill off Celia? You don't know her very well yet but she's very loyal, close to her brother and more mysterious than you think. However I kinda want her to die! I also want her to survive so I can maybe make a second book. What do you think? Anywho, on with the story!

The last thing Celia remembered was closing her eyes to the soft sound of a pop song playing through headphones and the clacking of a typewriter.

Now, she was being jarred awake. Someone was shaking her rather aggressively. Sleepily, Celia opened her eyes.

"Enid?"

She sat up.

"Xavier? You're not supposed to be here!"

Xavier replied,
"We have something to show you."

"Is it really so important that you needed to wake me up in the middle of the night?"

Enid grinned.

"I don't think you'll regret it."

*Snap snap.*

The statue began to grind against the stone; slowly, it slid out of sight.

"So you're part of a secret society and didn't tell me?" Celia accused Xavier.

Xavier looked at her.
"But it's secret!"

"You're my brother! You're supposed to tell me!"

"Ajax didn't tell me either." Enid said sympathetically.

Xavier looked stunned.
"It's a secret society! What did you expect?"

"Nothing, because someone didn't tell me about its existence!"

Xavier rolled his eyes and they descended the steps. Waiting in the nightshades library were Ajax, Yoko and a few others Celia hadn't met. All were dressed in cloaks. Silently, Yoko passed Celia one and she put it on.

It was far too long for her.

Xavier surveyed the room.

"Uhh, guys? Where's Bianca? Divina, Kent?"

Ajax said,
"We're not sure. We were gonna wait for you guys to get here to ask if you'd seen them, but you obviously haven't."

Enid looked worried.
"Bianca is never late for anything. Ever."

"We shouldn't worry just yet. Maybe that swim took them longer than expected?" Yoko added.

"That must've been a hell of a long swim." Celia replied. "Something's wrong."

Silence fell.

Xavier was pacing, Ajax and Enid whispering quietly and the others waited by the steps. Celia silently observed the room. It was beautifully mysterious, with books everywhere and polished photos adorning the walls.

Minutes passed in agitated silence. Xavier burst.

"That's it, we need to check the lake. For all we know someone is seriously hurt."

Celia ran after her brother as he ascended the steps, the nightshades following. As they reached the edge of the quad, they stopped.

From the shadows of the other side, three figures were emerging.

Bianca came first, and Kent. Dragging behind them was a limp body.

Divina.

She was covered in blood from her shoulder down to her waist.

And she wasn't breathing.