I didn't stop running though chest felt like it was collapsing inward.
You could guess that I am not the athletic type but the image of the accident just wont leave my head.
The stretcher.
The cupcake clutched to the person's hand.
Although, I could not see the victim's face but the cupcake wrapper that I saw drop from the victim's hand gave a clue.
It could be Nafisat.
I gave Nafisat in the morning a cupcake also, for now, it is just Nafisat that we know as the next target.
My mind kept trying to force Nafisat into that image but it didn't fit.
Still, fear doesn't care about logic.
By the time I reached the Senate Building, my steps were uneven and my breathing loud.
Then I saw her.
Vivian.
Leaning against the wall like she'd been waiting for me specifically.
"I saw it too" she said before I even asked.
I stopped instantly. "What happened?"
Her usual teasing and playful tone was gone.
"Someone collapsed near the east corridor. Staff rushed in immediately. Covered it up fast. No information on who she is yet. Not even my girls know."
My throat tightened. "Was it Nafisat?"
She paused.
"I don't know," she replied. "But I know where they took her."
Vivian pushed herself off the wall. "We shouldn't tell Jane yet. Not until we understand what's goin on. It will put her in a rough spot and then the antenna's in her head to misbehave starts to connect"
The way Vivian said it made it a bit funny,
I hesitated
Jane hated not knowing the truth even more but this didn't feel like something you just… explain.
"…Fine," I said.
Vivian nodded once. "Good. Let's go."
We looked around for a while, but Jane was not anywhere close. Vivian and I then divided ourselves in search for her.
At the storage room attached to the Senate Building which smelled like detergent and damp cloth.
Jane was inside already.
She was working like she always did when something was wrong,
cleaning harder, faster, like order could fix chaos if she forced it enough.
Buckets. Cloths. Everything arranged too neatly.
I stepped in quietly and started helping without saying anything.
"You're late," she said.
"I had something to check," I replied.
She didn't ask what.
She bent, lifted a mop bucket that was heavier than it looked.
I reached for it to assist her but she replied with. "I've got it."
"I can do it," she insisted immediately.
I sighed. "And as you know, the short ones are always stubborn."
She shot me a look. "That was unnecessary."
She pushed the bucket upward herself,
hard.
The shelf made a sound,
"Jane—wait—"
"I have got it" She said still pushing the bucket inside but this time, standing on a small stool.
It shifted backward.
Not slowly.
"Jane!" I called out.
Following was a loud THUD that echoed through the room.
She lost her balance.
I moved before I thought.
My arms caught her as she fell, like a reflex.
I dragged her hand….
Her weight hit me.
Her breath froze against my chest. My arms locked around her like they'd chosen to protect her before I did.
Everything went completely still, while our breathing echoed….Mine from the force and hers from fear.
Then a slow clap echoed from the doorway breaking the silence.
Vivian.
She walked in holding popcorn like she'd walked into a theatre instead of a collapsing moment in my life.
"Wow," she said, grinning. "That was… intense."
I immediately let go of Jane.
Jane did the same.
We separated too fast, it was a bit awkwardly.
Vivian stepped fully inside. "Don't mind me at all." She said sarcastically. "Continue saving each other's lives. I'm just here for snacks."
Jane frowned. "You enjoy chaos too much."
"I enjoy information," Vivian corrected, chewing.
Against my better judgement, the tension in the room started to loosen.
Neither of us bothered to arrange the storage, instead we sat on the floor at the exit of the room that was just destroyed.
All three of us.
With the popcorn in the middle like it belonged there.
For a few seconds, it almost felt normal.
Then Vivian stopped smiling.
"This school," she said, "didn't start as a school."
That got my attention immediately, not just the rhythm but the look on her face and the vibe that comes from someone who is usually on serious being very serious.
"It started like a project by some missionaries." she continued.
"As controlled environment. For students with unusual mental abilities."
Jane blinked. "That cant be true that was not what they told us during the orientation."
Vivian leaned against the wall behind her, folding her arms loosely.
"The founder of the school was a man named Saint John. Though honestly…" she let out a dry laugh, "Satan John suits him better. The man was worse than evil."
Jane and I exchanged glances but remained silent.
"At first, the school was nothing more than a small institution owned by two brothers—John and Caleb. Caleb was the kind one. The visionary. He wanted to build a place where abandoned children, troubled students, and children rejected by society could have a second chance."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"But John…" she paused. "John saw those children differently He saw them as a way to make money."
She pointed vaguely toward the Founder's Building standing far beyond the walls.
"Inside that building, there was a hidden room. Small. Locked. Unknown to most people. That was where John gathered certain students."
"What kind of students?" Jane asked softly.
"The ones people feared," Vivian replied immediately. "Children called possessed. Violent. Strange. Children whose parents got tired of them. Students rumoured to see things they shouldn't."
Andrew frowned slightly.
"At first, people thought John was helping them," Vivian continued. "Studying behaviour. Rehabilitation. Research. But that wasn't what he was doing."
A faint creak echoed somewhere above them.
Nobody moved.
Vivian continued anyway.
"The school grew quickly. Too quickly. Money came in. Influence followed. Parents trusted Caleb, students admired him… and eventually John became jealous."
Her eyes darkened.
"And jealousy became betrayal."
The room fell completely silent.
"Then he called him out one day"
"Jane." A familiar voice called out.
Jane froze, staring, without moving.
"Jane!" He called out again.
I looked up and then saw it was the Principal. Jane looked up slowly, a little sigh escaped her lips when she saw it was Principal Thompson.
'Is she expecting someone' I thought.
"Meet me in my office." The Principal said and then started walking.
The three of us looked at each other surprisingly. Although, Vivian and I had a clue to what was going on.
The accident.
Jane stood, still confused, she walked over to the Principal's office.
We followed but stood at a distant while we trailed her.
Standing outside we tried to eaves drop but...
nothing,we got nothing.
Soon the door swings opened after like 10 minutes, Jane came out,
She looked so sad, her eyes a bit swollen with tears.
She didn't say a word she just walked towards the door.
"Is it about Nafisat?" Vivian asked but Jane replied shaking her head sideways
'If it was not Nafi, then who was it.' I though trying to trace everything.
She said nothing as we walked her back to her dorm. She was walking ahead, while Vivian and I walked behind.
She stopped, then turned suddenly.
"Emma claimed I poisoned her." Jane said sadly.
"Emma?" I asked as if I did not hear her call the first time.
Well, it explains the cupcake.
"I saw her before coming to see you. How is that even possible?" I said trying to make meaning out of everything because at that point, nothing did.
"Well, for now, I am not to talk to anyone."
"Like on quarantine?" Vivian asked.
"Yeah." She turned then walked in.
Vivian and I stood for a while without saying a word.
"Emma?" She said breaking the silence.
" I saw her, I know I did. Do you think she framed Jane?" Vivian asked.
I can see see another problem arising.