The Alpha's Seeress

Chapter 6

Olivia Isla

"Did you hear the news?" Myrtle uttered, earning the attention of all my blockmates. "Coach Eric of the Badminton department was bitten by a dog last night. He's in the hospital, comatose."

I wasn't supposed to listen, but the mention of Coach Eric's name caught my attention. Bitten by a dog? If it was just a dog, why would he be comatose? That's odd.

I grabbed my cellphone and checked our group chat just in case there was an update, but for some reason, there wasn't. Usually, if there's an accident, the assistant coach would inform us. How come he didn't?

"And mind you, he was bitten just within the campus," Myrtle added. "So, we should be careful. It must be a stray dog that went crazy."

I heard some of my classmates gasp in shock. I've been at Sky High for four years, and nothing like this has happened before. Out of the blue, Riley's face flashed in my mind. I internally groaned at the thought of seeing him today. I actually woke up early just to avoid him. I hope we don't cross paths today.

"But how can a dog enter the university? We can't even go through the gate without our IDs, yet dogs can easily enter. That's unfair," Sandro complained.

"Maybe the dog brought an ID," another joked.

But they were all hushed by the class mayor. This wasn't a time for jokes; someone had been bitten, and if the dog had rabies, it would be dangerous. I knew there were vaccines and medicine for that, but for Coach Eric to be in a coma, it must be more than just a bite. There might be something else going on.

"The upcoming tournament will be affected without Coach Eric," Joanna commented, glancing at me.

They knew I was the representative for the solo competition. Coach Eric was the one who personally picked me, and now that he's in a coma, I'd probably be mentored by someone else. Worst case, I'd be replaced.

"Will the badminton practice still go on?" Joanna asked me.

I couldn't give her an answer. There was no new update in the group chat. But I assumed it would continue regardless of Coach Eric's situation. The practice couldn't be stopped, especially since the tournament was only two weeks away. We didn't have enough time.

True enough, Coach Eric has been replaced for the meantime. The assistant coach informed us during practice, but the person who will mentor us was not present for the day. It must be someone from afar.

"Were the guards able to catch the dog?" I asked Crista during our break time.

She had a band-aid on her forehead, probably because of what happened yesterday. I had already apologized, and she had accepted it, fortunately. Well, accidents do happen on the court; she knows that.

"I'm not sure. Some say nobody saw the dog. There was no dog. But Coach Eric said it was a dog before he lost consciousness," she explained.

"They checked the CCTVs and couldn't find any footage, which is weird. Do you think it was a dog?" Silka, Crista's badminton partner for the doubles category, wondered.

Coach Eric's case has been the talk of the school the entire day. Different people had different versions, different theories, and nobody knew the whole truth. All we knew was that Coach was bitten by a dog. That's what he told the guard before he fainted. But there was no dog when the guard rescued him, which I found strange.

Oddly, I also haven't seen Riley the entire day. I should be happy because that's what I hoped for, but I felt a little worried. Did he go back to his pack? Or did he decide to give me some peace?

"Practice is done. Go home early. If you see a rabid dog, better run or climb. Be careful on your way home," Salik, our assistant coach, informed us.

Our practice usually ends at 7 or 8 in the evening, especially with the competition getting closer. But with the ongoing situation, we were dismissed early. I'm not even sure if the Senior Ball will go ahead as planned, but I heard it might be delayed.

It was just a dog, but everyone seemed to be taking the case very seriously. There had been criminal cases like thieves or snatchers on campus before, but everyone wasn't as alarmed as they were now. I just wondered, is the administration hiding something from us?

"Nana, have you seen Riley?" I asked Nana Sienna after arriving home.

She glanced at me while molding the yeast. "I forgot to tell you. He went home last night because there's an emergency in his home."

I pulled a chair and sat, watching Nana Sienna work. Riley went home? What emergency could it be? Could it be related to the Walkers?

I remembered him asking about his chances of winning against the Walkers. I had told him there weren't any, but I had lied. I lied just so he would release me.

My hand instinctively went to caress the bite mark on my neck that I had been trying to hide for days. There was no hope for the life I wanted; my future was already decided. I was going to be Riley's other half, and there was no way I could escape it.

"Have you heard the news, Nana? Coach Eric was bitten by a dog last night," I began.

"Oh, really? I hadn't heard that," she said while rolling the dough, still managing to answer my question while preparing my favorite binangkal.

"He was comatose because of it. But what's weird is that there's no CCTV footage of the incident," I sighed.

I'd been quite occupied these past few days, and the visions I was seeing were just snippets of what might happen in the days to follow. I wanted to know what really happened to Coach Eric, but I didn't have the power to do that. Earlier, I even tried to see when he'd wake up, but there was no vision of it. I wondered if my ability was fading or if it was because I had too many thoughts to ponder.

"He'll be fine. Luckily, it's not one of the students who was bitten," she said calmly, as if it wasn't a big deal.

This issue shouldn't really affect me, but I feel like there's more to it than just the facade of being bitten. Coach Eric is strong and fearsome. He wouldn't faint from just a bite. I've been bitten by a dog before, but I didn't faint. But I did faint when Riley... never mind.

"What if it's not a dog that bit Coach, Nana? What if it's something else?" I pushed the topic.

She glanced at me and shook her head. "Then the administration should deal with it. Solve the issue before it gets out of hand. All you need to do is be careful," she said.

My mind was preoccupied with the case all throughout the night. There was a faint voice inside me telling me to dig and research, but then Nana Sienna had told me not to be nosy and to leave it all to the administration.

"Sky High is getting creepy now. Another guard was almost bitten by a dog."

As I passed a group of students gossiping in the corridor, their talk was all about the dog. I shouldn't have minded it or been curious about it, just like Nana told me, but I couldn't help it.

I want to see the dog. I want to confirm if it's really a dog. This issue has already troubled a lot of people, and the longer it goes on, the more it will affect us, the students.

"The administration should ask for help from the police. Why aren't they doing anything?"

Even inside our classroom, the issue was the topic of debate. There was no action taken by the administration aside from the warnings to go home earlier than usual. There was no police visibility at night except for the school guards.

"What if the next victim is a student? Goodness... I'm in my last year, but if this continues, I'll transfer to a different university," Myrtle exclaimed.

The class mayor tried to reason and suggest solutions, but many already had their own strong opinions. Even when our professors entered the class, the discussions didn't stop; heated arguments were brought up. Instead of having a lesson, we discussed the issue, which only strengthened my resolve.

"Your new coach won't be able to come here due to an emergency. He'll probably be here tomorrow. Now, let's wrap up," Salik announced.

Instead of going home, I snuck upstairs straight to the rooftop. I retrieved my telescope from my bag and adjusted the lens. Being on a higher building, I had a clear view of what lay below.

Sky High isn't a very big university. There are only five buildings, and the ground below isn't wide, so I could see everything clearly. I waited for something interesting to happen, but there was complete silence, aside from the guards roaming below.

I rolled the lens and adjusted my telescope to get a clearer view. My attention was so focused when suddenly someone tapped my back, causing me to jump in my position. The telescope almost flew from my grasp, but luckily, I had it secured with a strap, so it didn't fly away.

Slowly, I turned my head to see who was with me, but before I could do that, a heavy blow landed on my head, and darkness immediately consumed me.

As I slipped into complete unconsciousness, I heard a familiar voice whisper, "You should have left this alone, Olivia."