The Afterlife Academy Saga

Chapter 32

32

The four of us stood around the unconscious teacher. He hadn’t moved in a good while, but his chest was heaving and his eyelids quivering.

“I say, we leave him here,” Astrid said. “He’s Shinigami, so, not my problem. Besides, I have class.”

“Oh, no. You’re not just getting out of it,” I warned. “This is all of our problem.”

“Ummm, I got nothing to do with this. I was just a bystander.” She turned around to leave, but Flavia interfered.

“You’re staying.”

My classmate sighed. “Why?”

“I don’t like Ylva right now, but she’s right. We were here, we saw it. We are responsible.”

I scratched the back of my neck. “But what do we do now?”

“We should alert a teacher,” Ryoko suggested. She was still visibly shaken, but she was holding her own.

Astrid sighed. “Fine. I can go get Professor Brynhild. She’s—”

“No,” Flavia cut her off. “We’re not involving Brynhild.”

“Why not?”

The third-year glared at her junior. “Because I said so.”

Ryoko straightened out her shirt and fidgeted with her buttons. “What about a Shinigami teacher?”

“Who knows if we can trust them?” I reasoned. “I’d rather not take the chance.”

“Then who?” Astrid whined. “Come on, can we just get this over with. Besides, I really need to pee.”

“Who else can we trust?” Flavia asked, tapping her chin.

It was a good question. Besides Brynhild, I didn’t know any of the teachers well enough to trust them with this. But we needed the help of an adult, but… who?

Ah!

“We can go to the headmistress,” I suggested. She knew about my condition and if she had wanted to steal it, she would’ve done so the moment I stepped into her quarters. Instead, she helped me hide it. If there was anyone around that could help, it was her.

“Really? The Banshee? I hardly see her around,” Astrid protested.

Flavia shot me a pensive look. “Do you trust the headmistress?”

“I wouldn’t say trust… But it’s our best option.”

“Nobody even knows where her office is,” Astrid whined again.

“I do,” I countered. I directed myself back to Flavia. “What do you think?”

She studied me for a moment, weighing our options. Just as I thought she was going to reject my idea, she nodded. “Very well. Ylva, lead the way. Astrid and... Ryoko? Yes, you both grab one of his legs. We’ll carry him.”

A little bit of the old Flavia shone through as she commanded the group. It wasn’t much, but she seemed a bit brighter than earlier this morning or the past weeks. It was nice to see that.

“I’m technically not supposed to tell you guys about the entrance,” I noted, earning a glare from Flavia. “But, keeping things secret hasn’t been working out in my favour. So, we’re going to the ice lake.”

“The ice lake?” Ryoko echoed.

“The entrance to the headmistress’ quarters is in one of the sheds.”

“Alright.” Flavia straightened her back, immediately looking more powerful. “Let’s go before he wakes up.”

The four of us carried the slender teacher across the school grounds. Every now and then, his belly grazed the grass or his head bumped into the ground, but he didn’t react to any of it. He was well and truly out.

We took the long route to the ice lake to avoid the Angel-Guardian-Banshee dormitory and risk being seen. Four students carrying an unconscious teacher was a little hard to explain.

“How much further?” Astrid strained, her face red and her braids unravelling. “He’s heavy for someone so thin.”

“Just a bit further.”

She groaned. “Can’t we take a break?”

“No. We’re in the middle of Reaper territory. I’m not dealing with more Elves,” Flavia grunted.

Her words weren’t even cold when another student appeared on the path. With his dark cape and his scythe, there was no mistaking him for anything else but a Reaper.

I growled. “Too late. Act normal.”

“How?” Ryoko hissed. “It looks like we’re smuggling a body.”

“Just be silent and let me do the talking.” Flavia dropped the arm she was carrying and stepped in front of us, blocking as much of our situation as possible.

The Reaper guy adjusted his hood, his face familiar. “Flavia.”

“Sim.”

“Fancy seeing you here.” He thudded his scythe into the ground. “You know this is Reaper territory, right?”

The blonde clacked her tongue. “I’m aware.”

“Alright then.” Sim puffed up his chest and shot her a pearly smile. “Did you come to surrender?”

“Never.”

The Elf frowned. “Then what brings you here?”

“None of your business, Sim.” Flavia waved him away. “Keep moving.”

He spluttered. “Ehh, but, but—”

“Bye bye.”

“Fine.” He swung his scythe over his shoulder and pulled the hood back up over his head.

Just as I breathed a sigh of relief that we weren’t discovered, he thudded his Reaper blade back down.

“Hold on. What are you guys hiding?”

I pulled Astrid and Ryoko close to me, trying to make a wall with our bodies.

“Nothing,” I chirped, hoping my fake-innocent voice wasn’t too suspicious.

“Ah come on. Don’t take me for a fool. What—” He gasped out loud and his eyes widened. “What the f**k?!”

Flavia charged towards him and squashed her hand on his mouth. “Dude, don’t be so loud.”

He gestured broadly, screaming without a sound. Reduced to a whisper, he kicked the air. “What are you doing? Are you kidnapping a teacher? You’ll get expelled!”

“If you must know, he attacked us,” I hissed.

“Umm, he attacked Ylva,” Astrid corrected. “I had nothing to do with it.”

Sim growled, his silent frustration almost comical. “Are you guys out of your mind?”

“Calm down. We’re taking him to the principal,” Flavia said.

I tapped her on the shoulder. “Ummm, is it wise to tell him all this? He’s a bully.”

The Elf frowned. “If you haven’t noticed, I’ve got nothing to do with that anymore.”

“Okay, fine. It’s mostly the female Reapers, but you used to. And not just me. I’ve seen you bully Flavia.”

He snorted. “It’s mutual. Do you really think someone could bully Flavia?”

“I… Whatever.”

“It’s okay, Ylva.” Flavia put her hands on her hips and shot the Reaper a look. “What are you waiting for? Are you going to help or what?”

“Ah, I don’t think so. I’m not getting roped into your shenanigans again.”

“Sim!”

He growled and kicked more air in frustration. “Ahh, why do I always do this?”

Flavia snorted. “You know why. Grab an arm and start carrying.”

“Fine. You carry my scythe then. But if you get even a scratch on it, I swear—”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “I know, I know.”

To my surprise, Sim actually grabbed the arm she dropped and he heaved Ryuga’s body back in the air. He groaned in annoyance. “So, where are we going?”

I used my chin to nudge ahead. “To the ice lake.”

“Why?”

“Are you going to keep asking questions?” I groaned. My arms were getting seemingly longer from dragging the teacher around and I needed to save my energy. Not waste it on endless questions.

“Fine.”

I studied the Elf and Flavia. That was an interesting exchange earlier. I hadn’t realised they were more than just enemies. There was some history there, but nobody had ever mentioned that. It made no sense either. What would a Reaper and a Valkyrie have in common?

“Almost there,” Astrid panted. She was sweating like a pig and it made me feel better about the layer of sweat on my forehead. At least I wasn’t the only one suffering.

After more silent walking, the ice lake came in sight. Just as frozen as ever, it invited us in with the promise of a refreshing breeze, but it was all a lie. There was no temperature change, just like last time.

Sim let the teacher flop on the ground. “Now what?”

“We go to that fishing shed. That should bring us into a tunnel that leads to the headmistress’ quarters. Let’s hurry.”

The four of them nodded in unison and we shuffled along the edge of the lake, making sure not to slip, which was a lot harder when we were all holding the same swaying body. Despite the comical struggle, we reached the shed that concealed the entrance to the underground part of the school.

I released Ryuga’s arm and studied the wooden planks to find the lever to the hatch. Not this one, not this one… Ah, got it.

The lock clicked and I swung the trapdoor open to reveal the steep staircase. The lights flicked on and illuminated the narrow hallway.

Flavia leaned in to look down at the gaping hole. “Hmmm…”

“That’s a long staircase,” Ryoko said.

“How are we going to get him down there?” Sim remarked, asking the questions we were all thinking.

Astrid crossed her arms. “I’m not going first.”

“Coward,” I coughed.

“What did you just call me?”

I shot her a look. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Yes, you did. I heard you.”

Flavia clapped her hands. “Guys. Stop arguing. Sim and I will go down first and you can just swing him to us.”

The Elf pouted. “But— Ugh, why do I even bother. Let’s just get it over with. I’ve got an important lecture to go to. Just give me my scythe.”

The two descended, the staircase shrieking and groaning from their weight. It clearly wasn’t used much, but that was probably the point of such a well-hidden entrance.

I shared a look with Ryoko, who seemed to be eaten up by nerves.

“Are you okay?” I asked, refraining from reaching out. Too many noisy eyes.

“I’m fine.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“Ugh.” Astrid groaned and hopped from one foot on the other. “Hurry, dudes. I really need to pee.”

If I wasn’t so worried about Ryuga and all the tension between the five of us, I’d have found the entire situation hilarious. Astrid doing the pee dance, now that was one of the highlights of the year.

“We’re at the bottom!” Flavia shouted from down the hatch. “Lower him, on three.”

“Okay!” I called back. I grabbed the man by his arm and used his shoulders to heave him up.

“One!”

Ryuga’s legs scraped the wood as Astrid and I tried to position him so he could be lowered vertically.

“Two!”

We swung his feet into the hole and used the steps to support his body.

“Three!”

Slowly, we let gravity do its part and maneuvered the unconscious man down the stairs as best as we could. The tunnel wasn’t well lit and the dim light cast annoying shadows, but it was better than nothing. At least we weren’t going down into the dark.

“Can you close the trapdoor?” I called over my shoulder to Ryoko.

She nodded and with a loud slam, the hatch fell shut. Even if the exit was right there, the tunnel was immediately more suffocating and claustrophobic without the natural day light.

“Here, grab his foot,” Flavia commanded.

After some shuffling, we all got a limb we were responsible for, except for Sim. He had his scythe. Flavia and Astrid each grabbed a leg and I stayed at the back with Ryoko to carry his torso. We heaved Ryuga back up and carried him further into the tunnel. The light traveled with us, never illuminating further than a couple of meters.

It was such a weird system. Why couldn’t the entire corridor just stay illuminated?

“So… This is fun,” Sim remarked dryly. “Why is a teacher attacking students in broad daylight anyway?”

Flavia scoffed sarcastically. “Yeah, Ylva. I wonder why?”

Ouch. That was a low blow. And here I thought things had gotten a little better. Maybe not then.

“How long is this tunnel?” Astrid complained, huffing and puffing like she was the only one struggling.

“We should almost be there…”

“Are you sure?” Her voice sneered through the air and echoed against the walls. “Like, how do we know this is really the way to the headmistress? Maybe Ylva is just messing with us.”

“Nobody asked you to come.”

“Flavia said I had to,” she moaned. “Ouch! Did you just kick me?”

I rolled my eyes, which she couldn’t see from behind me. “No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did. You must’ve kicked me.”

“No, I didn’t!”

Flavia growled. “Just shut up! Both of you.”

In silence, we ventured further into the tunnel. I didn’t remember it being this long, but then, last time I wasn’t carrying a body or travelling with a group of people that disliked me.

“Umm, guys?” Sim’s voice sounded worried.

“What is it now?” Flavia asked, exhaustion colour her voice.

The Reaper tapped his scythe against the wall. “This is a dead end.”