Ashwock Academy ✓

C H A P T E R - F I V E

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It was pitch black, and there were screams everywhere. Some were easily recognizable like Raven's, but some weren't. Fletcher's sounded more higher pitched than people would've expected, like Rafe's, whose voice is pretty deep for a female.

Trevor, hearing none of them and therefore not distracted, looked around for some light source. He went to where he thought his bed was and tried the lamp, but it didn't work. His first instinct was to reach for his phone but quickly remembered what happened to it.

"Wait!" Marisa called. All the screams stopped for a second, and she remembered how her phone was in her pocket earlier but couldn't find it. "What? I just had it, a few minutes ago!"

"We need some light in here, I hate the dark!" Ella said, pacing. She needed to move when she got nervous.

"Is everybody still here?" Rafe asked. Everybody answered, except for Trevor and Teony.

"Trevor? Are you still there?" Damien asked.

"He's deaf, you idiot. He's not going to understand you."

"Wait, what about Teony?" Raven asked. Everybody started calling out her name, and was shocked when she didn't answer.

"Don't tell me we lost another one!" Fletcher said, and started biting his fingernails. He often chewed them when he was nervous or stressed, and at that moment he was more than ever.

"We're all going to die," said Jackson, straightforward.

"Oh, will you shut up?" Damien snapped. They were all looking around for something to light up the room, and had no luck for another few minutes. 

"Is anybody else concerned about Teony?" Raven asked nervously. "She could be dead right now!" She fidgeted with her hands at the thought of someone else getting killed by the magic.

The next minute was just looking around for something, but they all stopped when something lit up by the doorway. It was a lantern, with bright orange flames streaming from the sides of it, and holder was a girl with dark black hair that was pulled up into a bun.

"Teony! Where were you?" Raven called, relieved that she was okay.

"Oh, I just got this from downstairs," She answered, feeling awkward being the center of attention. "I , um, remembered seeing it near the front."

"You're genius!" Fletcher exclaimed, impressed by how she navigated in the dark.

"Are there more of those downstairs?" Damien replied. Teony pointed down the stairs and he rushed past everybody, looking for another one. He came back holding two more lite lanterns and passed one to Rafe, who was holding her hand out.

"What now?" Ella asked. They all looked at each other, thinking to themselves about what to do.

"We should split up and look around," Damien said. 

Everyone quickly argued, saying that that's how people die the most in horror movies, and how that experience was just like one in real life. Fox quieted everyone, and said, "I think we should find out who or what killed Jessica."

"Yeah! Hopefully no one else will die once we find out," Trevor agreed.

"I'm down," said Rafe. She shook her head in agreement, and started out of the boys' dorms.

Rum suggested they look in the classroom and they started towards there. Fletcher constantly checked corners, now paranoid of the dark forces embedded in Ashwock. Ella stayed at the back with Marisa, and whispered to her.

"You need to tell them. I'm serious. They're all blaming Raven, and I know that's not what happened. Don't play dumb with me."

She shook her head, and said she wasn't ready to tell. 

"I'm sorry, Marisa, but Jessica's been killed. That's something I just can't forget." Ella walked forward next to Fletcher, leaving Marisa at the back. Even she was surprised by her words. Usually she's very forgiving, but after her friend was killed, she just couldn't trust Marisa anymore. Fletcher looked at Ella, and was tempted to ask her something but decided not to. She looked really hurt but he didn't know if she would want to open up to him.

Marisa was crushed. The one person she thought would forgive her didn't, and the burden of her saying that spell was weighing down on her. As they walked together, she saw the trapdoor that she had previously climbed into, and thought of going down there to retrieve it. She knew she would get more suspicion suddenly straying from the group and getting the book, plus last time she had it she caused even more trouble, so she decided to just keep following the rest of the students and hoped for the best.

"Guys, look in here," Rum called out. The students realized that Rum had gone off on his own but quickly hurried over to where he was standing. It was a room behind one of the tapestries, hidden from sight, and they immediately realized why it was hidden. It was Mr. Barla's room, and there was almost nothing in it. There was a bed, a desk and a pile of ash. Rafe ran in and looked through the pile of ash and pulled something out; A half burned copy of "The Effects Of Dark Magic by Alfred Pons."

Marisa gasped as Rafe showed the book to everybody else, and she ran forward and chucked the book out of her hand. "Marisa!" Rafe called, annoyed.

"I helped you, trust me!" She claimed. Ella hid behind the crowd, biting her tongue again from telling anybody what happened with Marisa.

Jackson scoffed. "You're delusional, it wouldn't be in a school if it were dangerous."

"Oh, like murder wouldn't have happened here either?" Trevor asked sarcastically.

"I'm telling you, that book's trouble!" Marisa said, annoyed. "That's why Mr. Barla burned it!"

Rafe almost glared at her, and walked over, with her lantern, to where Marisa chucked the book. She flipped pages and Marisa tried to take it from her but failed. She stepped back, a little frightened of it.

"You alright, Marisa?" Teony asked.

"I'm fine!" She snapped. As she screamed that, Rafe, Teony and Damien dropped their lanterns and it turned completely dark, just like before. It only took a few seconds for Teony to light her fallen lantern, and it was a little light again.

"Is everybody okay?" Raven asked. Everybody nodded. Teony passed her match around and Rafe and Damien lit their lanterns.

"Wait, guys," Fletcher said, looking around. "there are only nine of us here."

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A/N

Hey guys! I'm trying to update as much as possible, especially since I love writing this so much. Hopefully this wasn't too short...

Also, hope I'm not frustrating you too much with the cliffhangers 😏