Ashwock Academy ✓

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

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Rafe? Trevor signed, nudging the girl next to him. They were almost at their classroom, and even if they didn't want to admit it, they were both terrified.

Yeah?

Do you know where we're going after this?

No.

And you didn't think about that?

Rafe sighed. We'll figure it out. But first we had better find the first candle. She held her breath as she contained her fear.

Are you sure?

Rafe shook her head. No.

Trevor grabbed the door handle, letting out a deep breath before turning it. They looked around the room and weren't surprised when they saw that nothing had changed since they had last been there. Their textbooks were still laid out on the table where they left them, Mr. Barla's writing on the chalkboard saying "Welcome New Students!", even if the only people that truly felt welcome were Ella and Jessica.

Rafe's eyes scanned the room, excited when she saw what she was looking for. She pointed to it, running over and grabbing it faster than Trevor could comprehend. For some reason, she felt really proud to have remembered where one of the candles were.

Let's look around some more, just in case, Trevor signed, and Rafe nodded in agreement. They each took opposite sides of the room, checking in every possible spot.

It took a few minutes before they found anything. Trevor opened another cabinet, ecstatic when he found a white candle, completely new. Trevor cleared his throat so that Rafe would look over his way. She did, and saw him pull one of the candles from one of the cabinets. Why was it hidden?

He probably just didn't need it then, Rafe told him. He already had one out.

Trevor nodded, not really buying it. They both stood up after looking for a while, sure that there weren't any more in the room.

Now what? Trevor asked. We can't just look all around the academy, hoping to find something.

We still need to check the room we got locked in earlier, remember?

Are you insane? No way!

Look, I'm not jumpimg for joy either but it's the only way to get out of here.

He sighed, not wanting to give in but doing so anyways. But right as they started walking out of the door, they noticed a note on the closest table to them. It caught Rafe's eye and she nudged Trevor, trying to show him. It took a moment for him to see, so Rafe walked over to the table and picked it up, holding it up for him to see. They both read it in their heads.

"If you are looking for candles, I keep a collection of them in each one of the dorm rooms inside the walls, behind the bricks. Two in each dorm.

-Mr. Barla."

Another Barla note, Rafe signed. Hadn't got one of those in awhile, not since Fox died.