Fog of Shadows

Chapter 3

The jolly principal walked through his office, picking up random pieces of paper, books, and maps that have were strewn around the room because of an open window when there came a knock on his office door. "Who's there?" asked the principal, a few random pages falling from his hand.

"It is I" was the quick reply. The principal quickly recognized his little sister's call and allowed her to enter, since she was used to seeing his workplace in shambles.

"Ah, my dear sister, how are you today; I hope the storm hasn't caused you and the students too much stress."

Jacklyn simply smiled at her brother's jolliness despite the circumstance. "I have been doing alright with the outcome of the storm, just the common injuries like a broken bone and some bad cuts to those who were to slow to get to shelter or to those who didn't barricade their doors and windows or acted foolishly or clumsily..." her smile faded, "but two of your top students, those two captains who graduated early last year..."

"You mean Alisea and Flinn?" asked the principal while a few more pages slipped from his hands.

"Yes, I meant those two; they brought me someone this morning, an unconscious girl they found at the beach." This caught the principal's full attention; he placed the books and papers he had so far gathered on his desk and leaned on his heavily.

"I hope the girl is alright...is she a student and does her family need to be notified?" asked the principal with worry.

"I don't think she is a student and as far as I could gather she isn't badly hurt, just a concussion brought by a blow to the back of the skull, but that is not why I am here. I have the fear that the girl has some sort of sickness."

"What makes you think that?" asked the principal with a questioning expression.

"I have checked her bodily functions; her mouth is incapable of producing saliva, there is no form of perspiration on her skin, and I have also checked her pulse and discovered that I couldn't find any; if it weren't for the rustling sound coming from her lungs when she inhaled, I would have thought of her to be deceased." The principal looked at his beloved sister in disbelieve as her heard her claims.

"Surely you must be mistaken, such a thing is impossible."

"This is why I am here; I looked over all my medical books and could find no illness that fit the symptoms. I wanted to know if I can't find anything within medical books in the local library, if I may travel to the mainland and look in the university library there." Her brother took a moment to consider the possibilities of what could happen if he let the only doctor leave the island, but he knew that if he did not let her go and research what the illness could be and if it were contagious, then he could face a potential epidemic.

"Alright, I grant you the journey to the mainland, but only if there aren't any book at our library that could help you in solving this problem. Are there currently any chances of an outbreak?" the doctor rubbed her chin in deep thought.

"Well, she isn't giving off any fluids and hasn't coughed or sneezed, so I believe that for the moment it is safe for people to be around her when at a safe distance, but I would still advise anyone to be cautious then around her."

The principal thought for a moment, "Is someone currently looking over her?"

"Currently, I believe that your former students Myri, Donnie, and Alisea are looking after her, but I am not sure since I told them to stay a safe distance from her, but knowing the girls, they probably went against my orders." Said Jacklyn in a joking manner.

"Alright I grant you the journey, but I think you should return to the patient for now." Jacklyn nodded and turned to leave before stopping by the door. "Let's hope I am mistaking with my observations." Her brother only nodded in return as he continued with his task of cleaning his office.

XXXXX

Meanwhile, the three girls have gathered around the bed of the unconscious stranger. The room was stuffy and dimly light, despite the sun shining through the windows. The stranger was a young woman about the age of the girls; her hair was a fiery shade of red and her skin was an alabaster white and tightly stretched over she bones. Her features were soft and her body was petite despite being unusually thin for her estimated age; she appeared more bone than flesh. She even seemed to be so thin that she did not possess any organs and except for the slight lifting and falling of her chest and the soft rattling sound of the lungs she appeared to be deceased. Out of pure confusion and fascination, Alisea leaned closer to the stranger despite the doctor's warning not to get too close to her.

"Don't!" said Donnie, grabbed Alisea's arm, and pulled her away from the stranger as if she were a poisonous snake.

"Don't forget the doctor warned us not to get too close to her." Added Myri with an angry and worried expression on her face while Alisea only gave both of them an annoyed look.

"She is not moving and she isn't coughing or sneezing or even appears to give off any bodily fluids so there is no way for me to get sick from what I know of sicknesses." Replied Alisea in a cocky voice and once again got close to the stranger with fake fascination across her face knowing, that it would worry her friends and continued just for fun.

Just as she was, about to lose her faked interest the eyes of the unconscious girl open wide and she sat up, almost knocking heads with Alisea, who jumped back and almost knocks her friends to the ground. The strange girl grabs Alisea and pulls her close despite Alisea trying to pull away, "where am I?" asked she panting heavily and looking around frantically.

"You are at the Black Beard Academy for Pirates...where are you from?" asked Alisea genuinely frightened and wanting nothing more than to get away from the apparently crazed stranger. The girl loosened her grip and fell back onto the bed with closed eyes and a gentle smile on her thin and dry lips, "I did it, and I got away."

"Away from what?" Asked Myri