The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 18

18

“Astrid?” I called, venturing further into the grey nothingness. The chain on my wrist tugged, so I knew she was still attached to it, but I didn’t know in what state. “Astrid? Can you hear me?”

The metal rattled, but no reply. Wherever Astrid was, she wasn’t able to answer me.

“Can you hear me?” I asked, trying not to let the panic affect me. My wings were cramping up and if I didn’t direct myself, I’d just end up back where we started.

“Astrid? Shake the chain if you’re there.”

The silence and monotonous of the Veil reminded me of the concrete bunker. Yet, while one was confining, the other was limitless. It had no rules, except for one. There was no return for dead people. And Astrid was hanging on by a thread.

The chain moved slightly, which I took as an answer. I had to. I had to believe everything would turn out alright and that I could safely bring her to the school. If I didn’t…

No, I couldn’t think that way. I had to persevere and get her to Doctor Wagner.

With my eyes closed, I tried to visualise the inside of the Academy. As long as I got us outside of the bunker and somewhere on the campus grounds, she had a chance.

I just needed to think of the right place. The infirmary, with its rows of shelves stacked high to the ceiling and the marble floors. The thin man that seemed rather excited about death and the dingy beds for the patients. I remembered the thin windows along the height of the walls which brought in sunlight and the trays of medical instruments.

The smoke moved around me, swallowing me slowly until it engulfed most of my legs. There was a strange hiss when it touched my skin, but it kept circling until there was nothing but grey and black.

Just when I feared I would be stuck in eternal darkness, the smoke lifted and the first edges and shapes came into vision.

Were those… grey walls? Was I back in the bunker?

More of the fog cleared up and with that, the light painted a different picture. Black and white blobs became tiles of a marble floor. Flecks of colour found their origin in the glass decorations in the walls.

I was in the Academy. But where was Astrid?

Panicked, I looked around to find her lying on the marble floor. I rushed over to her, desperate to make sure she was alright.

With my breath caged in my lungs, I crouched down next to her and pressed my ear on her chest. She looked like she’d been kissed by death. Was she breathing?

I waited for a breath, a groan, a sign of life. Anything to indicate that I brought her here successfully.

Nothing… Not a single peep.

“Astrid?” I shook her by the shoulders, desperate for a reaction. “Astrid!”

When she remained lifeless despite my attempts, darkness fell over me and pure despair filled my heart.

I failed.

We worked so hard to make it happen, but I managed to f**k it all up. I lost her in the Veil and now she was just a body. No longer Astrid, just a shell of—

“Ugh, ugh,” my classmate coughed, her eyes briefly fluttered open.

“Astrid!” Relief rushed through me, crashing on my heart like waves on a shore. She was still alive. There was still a chance to get her the attention she needed. I just needed to figure out where in the school building I was and get her to the infirmary. Before she died.