Zein's Point of View
I was sure about what I heard. Someone whistled from deep inside the woods. I broke out in a cold sweat. Before I knew it, my feet were already moving, leading me right into the trees. The fading light was clashing with the growing shadows, making everything feel way creepier.
I let out a scream when someone suddenly grabbed my arm. It was Celine, standing there with a smirk on her face. I yanked my arm back from her grip. "You again?" A moment after, she burst out laughing, then in one blink, all the emotion vanished from her face. Celine is really weird.
"Do you know who owns that cat?" she asked. I could only shake my head since I hadn't recovered from her jumping out at me like that. "That cat was owned by Lux, the former Supreme Student Government president."
Hearing that gave me the chills. "Where's the former Supremo now?" I asked. Celine tapped her chin, looking up like she was deep in thought before suddenly snapping her fingers. "He's dead," she answered with a chuckle.
I took a step back, stunned by her answer, before looking back toward where Hoy had gone. If his owner was dead, who exactly was calling out to him? I turned my attention back to Celine. "How did the former Supremo die?"
She shook her head at me. "He was murdered... by Violet and Francisco. They even killed his girlfriend, Samantha. Even the late Headmaster Valdez, Lux's father. They killed him without an ounce of mercy."
My throat immediately went dry. It wasn't just one or two people. Just how many have they killed? When is this madness ever going to stop?
"You want to know everything?" she asked, and I nodded quickly. Celine looked up at the sky. "Only a few minutes left until Bloody Night," she muttered before looking back at me. "Please."
"Fine. Meet me tomorrow at one in the afternoon in the library. I'll tell you everything I know."
I didn't get much sleep because of what Celine told me. No wonder Madame Violet reacted that way when she saw Hoy. She knew exactly who that cat belonged to. He was a ghost from their past. But if Lux was dead, who was whistling in the forest? Did someone else take the cat in?
I started walking toward the SSG office, unable to wipe the smile from my face because of the colorful booths the classes were setting up. Today was Booth Day, where every class had to present one. This was one of my suggestions for Foundation Day. Life inside this hellish cage was brutal, so I wanted to see at least a tiny bit of a smile on their faces. It looked like I didn't fail.
As I reached the SSG office and was about to push the door, I heard voices arguing inside. The door was slightly ajar, so I could hear them clearly. "Don't do this, Supremo. You're just going to put yourself in danger," I heard Vice Ty say.
"I know," Supremo replied, sounding totally indifferent. What were they even talking about?
"You know the rules, Supremo!" Teacher Kath shouted. "She didn't just break any freaking rule in this school. She pointed a knife at you. Imagine the uproar when the students find out!"
For some reason, my chest tightened. I had an idea what they were discussing. My death.
"You will lose your power," Onel Ty added.
"I can live without this position."
His words caught me off guard. He sounded calm, but they affected me deeply. "Why, Supremo? What exactly is Secretary Shion to you?" Teacher Kath asked seriously.
"She is my secretary," Supremo replied with disinterest in his voice, even though they were talking about his status at school.
"Headmistress and Mr. Francisco already know about this!"
"I don't care!"
"You're going to sink if you keep protecting her. When they decide to act, you'll go down with her."
"I am not going to lose her... not now... not tomorrow... not in my plan."
Next thing I knew, I was running away from the SSG office. I ended up leaning over the bathroom sink, completely out of breath. Then I looked in the mirror and saw my face was bright red. My heart was pounding so loud, it was deafening. Then a smile slowly crept onto my face. Maybe I was starting to catch Celine's weirdness. And speaking of Celine...
My next stop was the library to meet up with her. As soon as I walked in, the librarian met me and pointed toward the back. I followed her gaze and saw Celine sitting at the far table, obviously waiting. I gave a quick nod to the librarian before sitting across from Celine. She was just leaning back in her chair, her eyes closed.
"You really want to know, huh?" she asked as she opened her eyes. I met her gaze to show her I was ready to learn more. Why did Celine know so much anyway? Maybe because she had been here for a long time. But the range of her knowledge felt different. Deeper. More significant. She was the one who told me the information that trapped me in this hellhole: the secret of Hell University.
"Dominique, Violet, and Francisco were part of the administration under Dr. Quizon. He revealed his plan to them—to finish a formula and use it as a weapon to take over the world."
"That's insane. Did he really think he could take over the world just by making a medicine that could bring back the dead?"
"You're wrong about that." A smirk played on Celine's lips. "Anyone would pay any price just to attain that formula. They would kneel before him without hesitation just to get it. They would praise Dr. Quizon for such a brilliant experiment and treat him like a god—a god who could bring life back from death."
A chill ran straight down my spine. There were really people who would kill for that, huh? I suddenly wondered what would happen if all the ingredients were collected and ended up in the hands of those demons. They were right—the whole world would fall into chaos.
"Because of the inherent power of this drug, many people got interested, including Mr. Valdez, Violet, and Francisco. Dr. Quizon was smart, though. He knew they'd betray him, so he stopped the experiment. The three of them caught wind of it and found a way to get the formula. That's when things took a turn. Mr. Valdez, Violet, and Francisco killed their own headmaster just to get their hands on it... on a formula that was clearly unfinished."
I wasn't surprised, though. Madame Violet and Francisco were indeed capable of killing, but why did even Mr. Valdez get blinded by it?
"As the second-highest in rank, Mr. Valdez succeeded Dr. Quizon. Together with Violet and Francisco, they continued the research on the missing formula while trying to find the one person who knew the secret ingredient to finish it."
"I thought Mr. Valdez was a good person. Why would he be interested in that drug? For power?"
"No. Because he wanted to revive his wife, whose body is currently preserved." My eyes widened. I thought I was used to the horror stories of this school, but this new information still gave me the shivers.
"Mr. Valdez had a son, Luxury Valdez, who was the SSG president at the time. Then three people arrived who were also lost in this hell, but the name that stuck with everyone was Samantha."
Samantha...
"She was just like you. A demon." She laughed softly. "She had a huge influence on Supremo Lux. The gloomy Supremo suddenly came to life. She convinced Lux to talk to his father and put an end to all of this because they were only making themselves suffer."
Samantha... Samantha... I haven't met you, but I have to admit, I admire you already.
"Lux convinced his father, who finally seemed to snap out of his misguided choices. They planned to reopen HU. Little did they know, two people were planning to stop them. The devil couple, Violet and Francisco." Psh.
"Just when the walls that kept us trapped here were about to come down, Madame Violet and Francisco made their move, and it led to the deaths of Mr. Valdez, Luxury, and Samantha."
We heard a rustling sound from the window nearby. Whoever was there started running, so Celine and I bolted outside to chase them. We were completely out of breath when we realized we had ended up in a thick, overgrown part of HU.
"Who was that?" I asked, gasping for air.
"I know him," Celine replied, staring intensely in the direction the figure had run. "I don't know his name, but I see him all the time... following you." I swallowed hard. Someone's been tailing me without me even realizing it? Shit.
"Whenever I see you, he's there too. You don't notice him, but he's just around," Celine said, giving me a meaningful look. "The question is... what does he want from you?"
"I don't know."
I glanced at the object Celine was holding, and she quickly hid it behind her back. "What's that?" I asked, meeting her eyes. For the first time, I saw fear in her. "Are you okay, Celine?"
Instead of answering, she grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the area. I let her, but the fear and worry lingered. Someone else seemed to be out there besides me and Celine. Not just one or two. There were many, watching us. Once we were out, Celine let go of my hand, panting. My heart was still racing from fear.
"Wh-who are they?"
"I'm not sure either. But it's terrifying, Zein." She grabbed my hand, while the other remained hidden behind her back. She was shaking violently. "If anything happens to me, please tell Supremo... I'm sorry."
"H-huh? What are you talking about?!"
"I need to confirm my suspicion. Something is wrong. Very wrong. Don't follow me!" Then she suddenly bolted back into the woods.
"Celine!"
I stood there, completely still and confused, watching Celine vanish into the trees. I waited, but even after two hours, she was nowhere in sight. Fear overwhelmed me as I struggled with the urge to follow her. It probably was dangerous to go in. Where did she go? Did something happen?
Raindrops started to fall, which eventually turned into a heavy downpour. A cold wind blew, and I began to shiver. I didn't want to leave. I should wait for Celine to return. "C-Celine," I whispered, my lips trembling. Shit. I couldn't do this anymore.
I squeezed my eyes shut before running into the forest, every step feeling like a drum beating in my chest. My heartbeat and labored breathing slowly drowned out the sound of the rain. Then in an instant, everything went black. I felt my body slowly collapsing.
What's happening?