Chapter 9 Round & Round 2

June and Elaine were walking around an area far from the dorm building. Elaine wasn't interested in the so-called task, considering there were others on the team who could find it anyway. Apparently, riddles had been hidden somewhere, and the teams had to search for them. There were two riddles and four teams, each with five members, meaning there would be two winning teams and two losing ones.

Elaine and June were on the same team alongside three other members. To increase their chances of finding the riddles, they split up into groups.

They searched for several minutes before June suggested that she and Elaine split up as well.

"What?" Elaine asked uneasily.

"It'll be faster that way," June said confidently.

"We aren't the only ones on the team. Let's just stay together. If we find it, we find it. If we don't, we don't," Elaine reasoned.

"No, splitting up will be faster," June pressed.

"It's really late to walk alone."

"You aren't walking alone. There are still a few others around. Nothing bad could possibly happen, and I really want to win so badly," June pleaded in a tone Elaine couldn't refuse.

Elaine sighed in surrender as she watched a bright smile spread across June's face before she turned and walked in the opposite direction.

Elaine kept staring at June's retreating figure, wondering whether she should even bother searching for the riddle. After surveying the area, she decided to participate a little.

Twigs crunched beneath her feet as she walked through the woods. The trees were thick and nearly identical, their branches forming a canopy overhead. The breeze ruffled her hair, the weather noticeably colder there.

This is nice, she thought.

She wandered aimlessly, staring up at the giant trees above her, completely forgetting about the riddle. She didn't usually like trees, but there was something different about this place. Maybe it was because she was outside.

As she walked, she failed to notice the people around her becoming fewer and fewer until eventually, she was alone.

It wasn't until she stumbled out from beneath the canopy into a more open area, where the trees stood farther apart in a forest-like pattern, that the silence truly settled in.

Elaine looked around frantically, eyes darting left and right as she picked herself up from the ground. She had fallen because the slope there was steep.

"Oh no," she muttered, looking around. There wasn't a soul in sight.

"Where is this?" she whispered to herself.

She wasn't familiar with the school yet, and this definitely wasn't one of the places she knew. She was certain she had never wandered this far before.

"June! June!" she called anxiously, her heart pounding wildly as she hurried back in the direction she had come from.

But even after several minutes of yelling, there was no sign of anyone, not even June.

Her chest tightened as she took in the darkness around her. Not having her flashlight made her feel even more helpless.

"There's no need to be scared," she whispered shakily. "There's no one around… it's just me."

That was exactly the problem.

It was just her.

And the place was terrifying.

The task would end in two hours. If she waited long enough, June would probably come looking for her.

With that thought, Elaine sat beneath one of the trees and closed her eyes, listening to the ominous sounds of the swaying branches she suddenly remembered she hated.

Elaine had begun dozing off when she heard retreating footsteps through the haze of her subconscious. At first, she ignored them, the sound not fully registering in her sleepy mind.

Then she heard the sharp snap of a twig.

Her eyes flew open.

Someone was here.

She quickly stood and looked around. For a moment, relief and disappointment washed over her at the same time when she saw no one.

Then she noticed a figure cloaked in darkness walking away in the opposite direction.

She hesitated.

What if it's someone I can't trust?

But she couldn't keep waiting there forever.

Desperate to return to the dorm, she grabbed the sweater she had been sitting on and ran toward the figure without thinking.

"Wait! Hello! Please wait!" she called, but the person didn't stop.

"Hello!" she shouted louder as she hurried after them.

Still no response.

She caught up easily since the person was walking rather leisurely.

"Wait—" she drawled, grabbing the person's arm.

Grey eyes met hers instantly.

"What?" he asked, glancing down at where she held him before looking back up at her, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"I… I… um…" she stammered, quickly pulling her hand back to her side, suddenly feeling exposed beneath his gaze.

What is wrong with me?

He was already about to turn away when she finally found her voice again.

"I'm lost."

He stood there silently, unmoving.

"I was participating in the task. I was with my friend, and she decided we should split up, th—"

She stopped abruptly when he started walking away without a word.

"Wait—" she said quickly before hurrying after him. They walked in silence before she heard him say.

"Following me blindly?" he asked.

"Uh?" Elaine hesitated. "I don't know the way back," she admitted softly.

"Did I ask?"

Elaine didn't know what else to say. For some reason, she felt nervous, the kind of nervousness that came with standing too close to someone you liked.

"Um…" she began awkwardly, trying to fill the silence. "What are you doing around here?"

"The same thing you were doing that got you here," Allan answered calmly.

"You were at the beach, right?" she asked, only to be met with silence.

Did I say something wrong? she wondered.

"You were with the pretty black cat, right? Phantom, was it?" she continued.

Still no response.

Eventually, she stopped talking.

He answered my first question, she thought, and now he's suddenly gone quiet.

Her gaze drifted to the back of his hoodie, where the words Crowns & Blood were printed. Somehow, she remembered the red splatters she had seen near his jaw earlier in the dining hall.

"Weird," she muttered absentmindedly.

He suddenly turned to look at her.

"Nothing," she said quickly, waving her hand dismissively. She had been sure she said it quietly.

The walk back remained silent.

Soon, distant chatter echoed through the night, signaling they were close to the dorm again.

Elaine felt relieved and was about to thank him when she heard a bird chirping nearby.

She turned toward the sound. It came from a nearby tree.

"You hear that too, right?" she asked cautiously, hoping she wasn't imagining things.

"So?" he replied nonchalantly.

"Can you please wait? Let me check."

Receiving no answer, Elaine walked toward the tree and spotted a small bird perched there, a beautiful blue-and-yellow creature whose vibrant feathers stood out sharply against the darkness.

As she looked closer, she realized one of its feet was trapped inside a hole in the tree.

She slowly reached out, careful not to scare it, and gently freed its leg.

Around its claw was a small folded piece of paper.

Her eyes widened.

The riddle.

She couldn't believe she had found it without even trying.

Well… getting lost was apparently the price for it.

June would be shocked.

Smiling to herself, Elaine carefully removed the paper from the bird's claw and let it fly away.

She was just about to unfold the paper when Allan suddenly spoke.

"Don't."

"Uh?" Elaine blinked, unsure she had heard him correctly.

"Don't read it."

"Why?"

"Give it to someone else. Don't let anyone know you found it."

"Why?" Elaine asked again.

"Who was the friend you were talking about?" he asked casually, ignoring her question.

"Why are you asking?" she questioned, brows furrowing.

His stare lingered on her until she finally sighed.

"June," she admitted.

"Other name."

Elaine narrowed her eyes. "Why do you care?"

He visibly exhaled.

"June Bradford," she finally answered, staring back at him.

"You can find your way back from here," he said before turning away and walking off, leaving her standing there alone with the small folded paper in her hands.