Ashwock Academy ✓

C H A P T E R - T W E N T Y - O N E

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For a few moments, everybody was in plain shock. The skeleton obviously looked old, for there were no pieces of skin found anywhere on the bones, neither any blood or bugs circling it. Some looked away from it, like Teony and Fletcher, but some stared, like Trevor and Rafe.

"Where did you find it?" Rafe asked, her tone obviously disturbed. Ella pointed to the closet, still avoiding the skeleton with her eyes.

"There. Teony opened it, and screamed. Then it fell right here, and I screamed." She was still shaking a little bit from fright. Rafe, stepping over the skeleton, walked to the closet and searched through it. Much to her dismay, it was almost completely empty besides some cleaned-out shoe boxes and hangers. No key.

"Ugh! Nothing!" Rafe exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration. "I don't get it!"

"Are you sure a key isn't hidden somewhere in this room?" Fletcher asked, still looking away to avoid puking. Dead bodies made him very sick very easily, especially when they were as old as that one was. "It's where Theodore died, there must be some clue."

"Where else would we look?" Ella asked, acknowledging the room. She was right, there really wasn't any other place to look. The room was almost empty besides a suitcase in the corner, which was already opened, all of its contents scattered across the floor. Fletcher nodded.

"Fair point," He mumbled, holding his stomach. Ella patted him on the back, doing the same as he was and trying not to get sick.

"Wait," Teony said out of nowhere. Everybody turned to her, looking at her worried face and wondering what she could possibly be pointing out. "where are Jackson and Damien?"

Then, all of the light was drained out of the room for a second. As it was completely dark, they all heard a crash of glass hitting the floor, and the light came right back after that. Everybody looked at each other, and ran to the source without thinking twice.

***

TWO MINUTES AGO

Damien and Jackson entered their room, neither of them looking or speaking to each other. Damien, who was still hurt by Jackson's comment, wished he chose a different room with a different person and Jackson wished that the group had stayed together instead so that he could figure out who killed Fox and Jessica a little easier, so he had to know how to improvise.

The room they walked into surprised both of them. It wasn't a classroom like most of the other rooms they had been in, nor an unfinished one. Actually, it was quite nice. It was a laboratory, not just filled up with chemicals like the one where Rum had found. Gas masks were stuffed in the corner, as well as oxygen tanks and other gas containers. The room was completely purple on all of the walls, cabinets on them was well. 

Another difference from the other lab was the layout. That room didn't have tables in the center like the other one, and looked quite professional. Diagrams were pinned up on the walls, most of them showing failed experiments or dark magic users.

"We need to go," Damien said right out of the gate. He started to walk away, but Jackson grabbed him.

"No way. There's something off about this room, I can feel it. And I am not looking around alone." Damien sighed, reluctantly staying with him. As he looked around the room, he couldn't get his and Jackson's conversation that they had earlier out of his mind. Anger started building up inside him, fury that he couldn't control.

"What is up with you lately?" Damien asked, anger growing in his voice. "One minute we're laughing and the next you're calling me a liar!"

"I never said that," Jackson snapped, not taking his eyes off of the gas tanks he was inspecting. He was used to bottling up his emotions. He had been doing it ever since he got out of that bloody basement for the second time.

"Well, you implied it! Do you really hate everyone here besides Marisa, because it sure seems like it! Newsflash: she's dead! Get over it!"

But Jackson did nothing but stare into space, not feeling any anger nor any emotion at all. He didn't know what to do anymore. He had already seen so much death, and he just had to deal with it.

Damien was right.

He needed to accept that she was gone.

Jackson sighed, putting his head down on the counter away from Damien. "I'm an idiot," He whispered. Damien, realizing what he said, smacked his head. What was he doing? He knew Jackson liked Marisa, and just throwing it in his face that she was dead wasn't going to do any good.

"Jackson-" He started, but Jackson shook his head, nor wanting him to continue.

"I'm such an a**hole." And he banged his head on the surface of the counter a few times.

"Jackson, stop it, I didn't have any right to-" But Jackson cut him off again. He turned around, shaking his head once again.

And, to Damien's surprise, he was crying.

"This isn't me," Jackson said weakly, a few more tears falling down his face. Damien bit his tongue to keep from reacting any more. "I don't know what is. I've been so busy accusing people, I didn't even stop to think what that made me." He sighed, catching some of his tears on his lip.

"I'm the monster."

And just as he said that, a black cloud came bursting into the room, and Jackson opened his arms up, letting it swallow it whole.

***

"Damien! Jackson!" Fletcher cried as he ran towards the room, the others trailing even further behind. His heart was beating against his chest, trying to pound its way out. It took a while for him to find the room, but when he did, he gasped in horror.

"Holy shit," Rafe whispered as everybody else started piling up at the doorway, and they were all staring at the same thing, completely shocked. They found them, alright.

Because on the ground were both Damien and Jackson lying on the ground, motionless, eyes still opened.

And in Jackson's hand was a slim bronze key, blood coating it all around.

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A/N

Don't scream at me. Pleaseeeee.

At least Marisa and Jackson are together now...