Eleven's Ghost

Chapter 29: Noiseless Crime

“No!” Shams ran after him. “DON’T GO!”

Janne whined in pain and collapsed backwards as a bullet punctured his forehead. Shams gasped and jumped on top of him to find no wounds on his head.

“A tranquilizer. All wounds disappear as soon as the bullet enters his brain.” A woman stood behind him on top of the gate with a wide smile. “I came here after I felt unusual activities. I’m one of the night guards, but I was slacking off. I’m sorry, little one. You must have gone through terrible things on your first night here.” She moved her gaze to Janne. “My name is Maine.”

She locked the door and stood on the street, resting her rifle on her shoulder. “Have a great night.”

She started walking away and humming.

Shams paid no attention to her and kept calling for Janne, but the yellow-haired gave him no response. Shams looked up to see the doctor. She sat down and checked on his vitals. “She just put him to sleep. Don’t worry about him. He will be fine tomorrow morning.”

She patted Shams’s hair. “But… Maybe you need to be nicer to him in the future.”

She lowered her gaze to the floor. “Or maybe you want to be transferred to another room? It’s all right. Maybe putting you in that room wasn’t a good choice.”

She stood up, easily carrying Janne in her arms. She looked at Yayis. “Are you two good friends? Feel free to stay together from now on. I will fill in the paperwork for you.”

Yayis glanced at Shams. “I have one spare bed in my room. My roommates will love you… Do you want to come over?”

Shams lowered his head and nodded. “Yes. It’s better if I avoid him.”

Yayis hugged him and kissed his hand. “Okay. Come on. Let’s go. We can sleep together if you like. You must be scared.”

They walked to Yayis’s room and found his two other roommates. They smiled brightly, seeing Shams. “He’s so small and cute!”

One of them picked Shams up and hugged him. He was made of rocks and marble, cold as ice. He laughed and threw Shams up before catching him again. “What an adorable creature. He’s like a pet!”

“Meow?” A male with cat ears stared at Shams curiously, peeking from his bed above. “Truly! He’s very cute!”

The first one placed Shams down. “My name is Hajar. The cat’s name is Nihiru. We’re third grade students, so you can rely on us if you have any questions.”

Shams smiled weakly, appreciating how welcoming they were. His world turned around suddenly as he fell to his knees, panting. Yayis took his face in his hands and shared his own energy with him. “Let’s go to sleep.”

He pushed his hair back and smiled. “You look tired too. You had a long day. Come on.”

He helped Shams walk to Yayis’s bed, and they both shared the same bed, their backs facing one another. Yayis shut his eyelids, and he seemed in obvious discomfort. Hajar laid down on his bed and sighed. Nihiru shut the light then jumped to his upper bed, and silence fell upon the room.

“How dare you make me lose face in front of the new students?!”

The white-haired jinn gasped as a hot iron blade sank into his side. Lava was pouring into his privates simultaneously. His blood and sweat dripped to the floor.

“Attack me? You? A lowlife like you?”

He threw the jinn on the floor and sat on top of him. “Nobody will save you now. Not Malik. Not those newbies. Nobody. Don’t ever hope to see the light of day again. You will stay here and wish for death without getting it. I won’t let you rest. Never.”

Iblis laid down on the floor, gasping and coughing blood. His head was bleeding heavily and colouring the whiteness of his hair. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t. He gasped as the man shot his belly with a bullet that left a hole in his belly. The jinn coughed blood and clung to the man’s pants. “Don’t… hurt… h… him…”

He yelped as the man kicked his face into the wall and shot him several times until the jinn stopped moving. He threw his empty gun away and cleaned his pants. “Don’t touch me so casually. You’re dirty.”

He smiled widely. “Or maybe I should change my plans for you…”

A white light danced on Iblis’s corpse.

Yayis’s eyes flashed wide. He gazed in front of him, hyperventilating. He stared at the brown hair in front of him and hugged Shams for comfort, trembling. Shams moaned softly, opening his eyes. “Umm… What?” He glanced behind and saw a trembling Yayis. He felt the jinn’s heart hammering. He turned to him and caressed his hair. “What’s wrong? Another nightmare?”

Yayis nodded several times and buried his face in Shams’s chest. “Someone was… torturing dad… and… he killed him in the end…”

Shams’s gaze saddened, remembering what happened in the arena tunnel. “I’m so sorry. He hugged the jinn tightly. “I promise we will look for your dad today. It’s okay. He’s here. We will find him.”

“Whatever plans you have, leave them for later.” Hajar spoke, wearing his uniform. “For now, classes.”

They both nodded and joined them after wearing their uniforms. They took the train. The station was crowded. Shams searched for Janne with his eyes. His gaze saddened as he couldn’t find him. He rode the train and stood in front of the school. He stared at the castle-like building, his jaw dropping. “What is that? It’s huge!”

Hajar chuckled. “Show me your schedule. I will take you to your class.”

He walked them to their class, and it was an amphitheatre that fit one thousand people. By the time the teacher walked inside, all of the seats were packed except for one. Shams blinked, seeing who the teacher was.

The woman he saw yesterday grinned at them. “Hello, young ones! You’re part of this year’s promotion, I see? Ah, yes!” She sat on her desk and folded her legs. “We had so many classes this year! So many!” She laughed. “It doesn’t matter. My name is Maine. I will be teaching you general theories of magic and calculus. Prepare yourself! This subject is a key to everything you will learn in the other subjects! Do not take it lightly!”

“YES, MISS!” Everyone screamed.

She clapped, impressed. “So disciplined! I’m in love!”

She laughed more and jumped to her feet. “Now then, I have already memorized your names before coming here. However, feel free to make brief introductions. Let’s start from the first row. Go ahead!”

Introductions carried on until someone knocked on the door. Maine glanced at it and saw Janne standing there, his head lowered. “Sorry, I’m late.”

She nodded and walked towards him. “Go inside. It’s all right! This is only the first session.”

He took a step forward and leaned on the wall to stand. He clenched his jaw, remaining in his spot for a few seconds. He then climbed the stairs to reach the only empty spot. He sat down in the last row, not paying attention to his neighbours. He took his backpack and searched for pills to drink. His hands were shaking. He closed his eyes and rested his hands over his ears. His eyes flashed wide as someone injected his neck with something.  Before he could scream, two more injections followed, and he fell forward, motionless. His pills scattered across the desk.