Raven

Chapter 18

Raven's POV

"Blyneia's right. We should enjoy today's event. It's your first time attending to a school festival, right?" Adelaide asked me. "The Oeuvre's booth already won consecutively for the last three years. Let's check the other booths to know if The Oeuvre still had the chance to grab the grand prize."

"Aren't you suppose to be on the morning shift at the café?" I asked her.

"Meh, the investigatory team could handle it. Fan-servicing is their expertise after all." Adelaide said before pulling me to the booth beside the café and purchased a ticket.

It was a horror house booth. They occupied a makeshift room twice as big as the café's. It's nicely done.

"Which club is responsible for this one?" I asked Adelaide as we enter the mini house of horror, constantly looking around, inspecting the details.

Adelaide went ahead of me, feeling the walls of this narrow corridor with her hands. "The Science Club."

They designed the walls to look dilapidated, adorned with blotches of blood. The background music was very eerie, matched with the blinking green colored light, it brought out the anxiety I always felt whenever I'm inside my dream.

"Adelaide?" I called out to her as she turned to the right. I fasten my pace to catch up to her, but when I turned, no one was there. It was a dead end.

"Adelaide?"

There were hissing sounds along the walls, getting in my head like an annoying white noise. I continued walking forward while calling Adelaide's name.

"Adelaide!"

A curtain suddenly obstructed my sight and something fell, hitting me on the head. I fell over and rubbed the spot where it hurts the most. I looked up and saw a hanging mannequin dressed up as a ghost.

I stood up and continued walking. A sense of dread suddenly spread throughout my body. The walls looked different. It changed into metal, like I'm inside an underground facility.

"Adelaide?" My voice echoed through the corridor. The lights were blinking and damp air was blown to my face.

"Did I fell unconscious? Am I in a dream again?" I asked myself in disbelief.

I was just walking on this endless corridor when I heard a loud thump, followed by a series of whispers.

I freaked out and silently cursed at myself. "s**t, I have to hide!"

If this is a dream, I need to stay hidden. I searched for a hiding place and saw the intersection at the end of this corridor. There was a bunch of open crates and drum. I quickly ran to it and hid inside a crate with a broken lid. "I'm small, the crate's big. This will do."

I don't know what's happening but I felt that if they find me, I'll be in trouble.

"Brother, are you sure about this? If the Empress finds out that we're in this facility, she'll break our legs." A voice of a girl said.

Empress? What year am I on?

I tried to peek at the small hole of the crate and saw two people standing directly infront of the crate I am in. One was a little girl, the one who talked, while the other one was a teenage guy.

"Break our legs? More like break our necks." He mumbled. "And besides, nobody's gonna know if you just keep your mouth shut." The teenage guy said while taking something out from his bag.

"How did you come across this place anyway?" The little girl sat on the crate I was in. Luckily it's dark. She didn't saw the portion of my hair sticking out from the crate. I slowly pulled it away from her sight.

"I was researching about abandoned establishments here in Vermillion City and I saw this place. This was once a research facility. Nobody knew what this place was researching about. When I went yesterday to scout, I saw this room where it was still completely sealed. And I need you," he paused. "To open that lock for me."

"Doesn't mean I can hack into somebody's vault meant I would give in to your whims." The little girl hissed.

"C'mon, sis. We're in this together. If you bail out, I'll definitely be in trouble for trespassing on private property." He said, desperation on his voice.

The little girl kicked her heel on the crate, startling me. I covered my mouth and froze. I heard them pause too.

"You're lucky I'm your sister." She continued while jumping off the crate. They left while still bickering at each other. I stayed in my position until I couldn't hear their footsteps.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well well, who is this?"

My soul almost left my body as I slowly raised my head. I met a glowing violet eyes staring at me.

"You're not supposed to be here." She whispered as she raised her hand and aimed it at me.

The next thing I knew, I fainted.

When I woke up, I was in another place. I am inside a luxurious suite, specifically in the living room. I don't know if it's a high class hotel or a condominium, but I think I'm on the penthouse floor. The interior design was filled with gold, even the chandelier looked like a sea of golden coins.

The whole floor was quiet, not until I heard movements inside the bathroom. I went near it quietly, leaned on the wall and tried peeking. I almost puked when I saw what's inside the bathroom. Nothing gory was there, only a blood-stained man strapped on a chair using chains, he's probably unconscious based on his face full of bruises. Water from the faucet was flowing into the bathtub, while a plugged electric razor was dangling on the side.

There was a girl sitting on the sink. She must have gotten impatient and decided to force the man to wake up. I almost let out a scream when the girl suddenly stabbed the guy's thighs with a big nail, each on both side.

The man let out a piercing scream. "Aaaaaahhhh!!!!"

"Hi." The girl said, smiling. "How's life, eh, Rellion?"

Rellion? Wasn't he the owner of Prism Tower in V City? I'm in Vermillion?

"W-Who are you‽"

The girl didn't answered him but instead threw him also a question. "Who ordered you to assassinate the Empress??? Answer me!"

"Release me this instance, bit°ch! You better watch out! You—Ahhhhh!!!!!"

The girl pushed the nails deeper into his thigh. "Let me repeat my question. Who ordered you to assassinate the Empress‽ And you even had the audacity to open the portal‽ Without my permission‽ How brazen!" She scoffed.

Suddenly, the man looked at my direction. I fell over when he yelled. "Her!"

࿈

I sprang up and almost fell from the bed. I looked around and realized that I'm all alone inside the infirmary. I calmed down the erratic beat of my heart.

I didn't wait for the nurse to get back and immediately left like nothing happened.

I felt my pocket and found my phone. The date was still the same, Friday, unlike the last time I fell asleep. It was for two days.

I sighed in relief. It's already 5:30 pm. I dialed Adelaide's number she must be worried.

"Miss Black!" She yelled the moment the call got connected. "I'm glad you're already awake. Let me pick you up."

"No need. I'm heading home now. I'll be seeing you on Monday."

The driver was already at the parking area when I arrived there, waiting for me.

I smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry for being late, Mr. Jin. How long have you been waiting?"

"Not to long, miss." Mr. Jin answered. He's Miss Harlequin's personal driver and he's the one who drives for me back and forth every weekends.

"Alright. Let's go."

When I got home, Lilibeth greeted me with a hug. "Are you alright, Raven? Adelaide called. She told me about your accident at the booth. Just tell me if you feel something different."

I smiled at her. Sometimes, I felt Lilibeth was more like a mom than a sister to me. She worries too much that it overwhelms me sometimes. "I'm fine. Just a slight headache but I'm fine."