(Outdated) The King of Elements (part 2)

Chapter 23

Class seemed to end sooner than usual, and the Apprentices all exited the class room. Katherine briskly walked towards the elevator, still bearing her grin. "Dude, did you win the lottery or something? You've been in a good mood ever since I've seen you today."

"I have? What makes you say that?" Katherine asked, beaming at him as she pressed the floor one button.

"Well, I just called you dude and you didn't try to rip my head off like usual. Did I miss something?"

"Besides me winning a bet against Megumi, not much. Now, what I plan to do with the wager is beyond me."

"Huh. What was the bet?"

"I bet that I could tell her anything about her just by looking in her eyes." She snickered as she said, "Lucky for me, she didn't know that I was a Spirit elemental." She squinted in confusion as she said, "Isn't your next class in this tower?"

The elevator toned as it slowed to a stop on the first floor. "You're just now telling me this?"

"I'm not your personal assistant. That's your job to remember where your classes are." Katherine said, annoyed as she left the elevator.

Pressing the third floor button, Dre said, "Whatever. Just try not to probe my head or whatever Spirit elementals do."

"Spirit elementals don't simply 'probe minds'," Katherine said with a scowl. "Try to actually listen when you're in your history classes."

Dre gave a sour look as the doors closed. "Now that's just unfair. I do actually pay attention to history, you know? Just my own version."

After taking the elevator in the opposite direction of his class, Dre arrived to an empty room. A note was taped to the door. Class will take place at the outdoor training ground. Dre sighed angrily before he walked back on the elevator.

~~~~~

Kim rushed to the Tower of Flames elevator, breathless as she pressed the "up" arrow. After a few moments, the door slid opened. Kim's ears twitched with surprise to see Ke'Undre standing alone in the elevator. Alone. She felt her cheeks redden as she began to board the elevator.

"Don't even bother," Dre said with a sigh as he walked towards the tower's lobby. "Our 'brilliant' teacher decided to let us know that class is in the training ground."

Tilting her head, Kim asked, "Is everything okay, Ke'Undre?"

"Oh, yeah. Everything is just peachy," Dre began as he and Kim walked out of the classroom to the courtyard. "During my sword training class, Katherine's been looking like she's been sitting on a recently discovered goldmine, and with me being the curious, impulsive guy that I am, I decided to ask her what's got her spirits so high... during Mrs. Gladestone's class. I was answered with a booklet to the head."

Kim giggled in her hand. "It didn't hurt, did it?"

"Hurt? Oh, no. The only thing that was hurt, no, killed was my pride." Kim laughed even harder. "Oh, yeah. Yuck it up," Dre sighed. "So after class, I went to Katherine and asked her about her good mood. She told me about some bet that she made with Megumi after we boarded the elevator."

"But isn't your class in the same building?" Kim asked, fighting the urge to laugh.

"Yeah, but I was having one of those moments where thinking seems more like a liability. So anyway, after getting made fun of for the umpteenth time, I made my way back the tower to the class, and what do you know, there was a note on the door. Oh, the note," he concluded with a sigh.

"Hey, guys!" Keiko called from the center of the courtyard. She, Megumi, and Michael made their way towards them. "Are you guys going to the haunted house, too?"

"Eh, I'd rather not," Kim said, adverting her eyes from the group. "Dre and I have class later on, and it would probably be a good idea not to skip."

"Aw, come on, Kim," Keiko began with a groan. "This is the only time that we'll be able to go to an Amian haunted house. Besides, Halloween is a holiday, right?"

"Well, yes I suppose, but-"

"Then it's settled," Megumi said with a grin. But, I couldn't even get my point across. "The haunted house is supposed to be in front of the Edge Walker's forest."

"Edge Walker's forest, huh? Interesting." Dre stroked his beardless chin, as if he was contemplating what to do. Kim's heart skipped a beat as he grabbed her hand. "Class sounds better than death," he said as he gently pulled her towards the main building.

"Come on, dude," Megumi groaned. "You're probably missing out on one of the most laughably bad haunted houses to date."

"All the more reason to-"

Dre was silenced as Michael roughly grabbed Dre's shoulder. "If I'm forced to come and endure this torture, then so do you."

Dre put on a feigned sad face as he said, "But, the suckitude..."

"Don't care," Michael simply said as he pushed Dre towards the Edge Walker's forest entrance.

~~~~~~~~

They arrived at the Edge Walker forest. Before the Peacekeeper was a shabby house made of clay. The windows were all dark and broken. A sheet was draped over a structure on the roof; Michael assumed that it was a very lame excuse of a "ghost." Loyalty sat on a stool in front of the house, grinning brightly as his brothers' team appeared. "Hey, you guys made it. What do you think? Makes you want to piss your pants, huh?" he asked, looking back at the house that he constructed with his Nature power.

"Hardly," Michael said with a dry tone. "How long will this take? I've got things to do."

Loyalty grinned as he said, "That all depends on how long it'll take for you to run out crying. Go ahead and make your way in. You've got a bag of candy waiting for you when you leave."

"Candy!" Keiko called giddily as she rushed to the house. The group followed in; Michael had to carry Dre inside, kicking and screaming. Once inside, a door slammed shut behind them. Kim, Megumi, and Keiko all screamed at the sudden slam. Dre almost had a heart attack.

The inside was just as Michael had expected: dark, boring, and not the least bit frightening. Every now and then there was some poorly imitated ghostly wails, but other than that it was more frightening going into a public restroom. Light flashed inside, revealing what was apparently Joel and Sakura in ragged clothing and unkempt hair, emulating a zombie walk. The girls, including Dre, all ran for the door, pounding away at it. Sighing, Michael turned to them. "What are you all afraid of? It's just Joel and Sakura pretending to be zombies."

"Is it really, Michael boy?" The voice boomed through the small house, shaking Michael's core. He slowly turned around towards the voice, his crest rapidly rising and falling. No. It couldn't be him. And yet, it was. He could hardly breathe as he looked at the man's dark, soulless eyes. It was as if he was looking in the eyes of Satan himself.

Worse, he was lookingin the eyes of his father.