"Are you sure this is her classroom?" Linus asked, peering through the door's window to see if anyone was still inside.
"Why? I'm sure it's here," Ryker answered. "Don't you trust me?"
"How can you be so sure?" Laszlo asked, still skeptical.
Ryker sighed. "If you don't want to believe me, we can check the whole building to look for her."
"Move," Jace ordered Linus, but before Linus could even respond to him, he pushed him. "The lights are off; how could we know if someone was inside?"
"The lights are probably off because it's time to go home," Ryker replied, his tone sarcastic.
"That's the point," Laszlo said, turning to Ryker. "It's already time to go home, but why is Ma'am Itzy still not here?"
"Exactly!" Linus chimed in. "We've been waiting for the van for a while now, but she's nowhere to be found. If we can't find her, we'll have to deal with Sir Gerard."
Jace issued an order to the group of three, "Ask the guard to open this classroom." However, none of them moved to carry out the task. Perplexed by their inaction, Jace asked, "Didn't you hear what I said?"
"Whom are you commanding on us?" Linus asked, looking at Laszlo and Ryker.
Before Jace could respond, Laszlo spoke up. "I will do it," he volunteered. "It appears that these two have no intention of approaching the guard," he pointed out, causing Ryker and Linus to scratch their heads in agreement.
Jace nodded in silence, watching as Laszlo turned his back and left. He couldn't help but worry about Itzy and whether she was safe. If something were to happen to her, not only would they lose their jobs, but their lives would be at risk as well. Itzy's father held their fate in his hands. They could die with just a flick of Itzy's father's finger.
After a few minutes, Laszlo returned with a guard. Initially, the guard was hesitant to open the classroom, but when Laszlo mentioned that they were searching for a missing student, the guard relented and agreed.
As they opened the door to the room, the four of them thanked the guard and gestured for him to leave. At first, the guard hesitated, perhaps worried that the group might cause trouble, but he eventually departed when his walkie-talkie crackled to life.
Ryker flicked on the light switch, and they surveyed their surroundings. To their surprise, they saw a woman sleeping in the room, causing their eyes to widen in astonishment.
"Fuck, is that a ghost?" Linus murmured and hid behind Jace's back.
Jace rolled his eyes and walked towards the sleeping girl. He pulled up a nearby chair and sat down, facing the girl's face. Jace couldn't help but frown as he gently brushed away the hair that was obscuring her features.
"W-What? Is that really a ghost?" Linus asked, his foot firmly planted where he stood. Laszlo and Ryker couldn't move either because Linus was holding onto both of their arms.
"Seriously? How did you get assigned to this job if you're afraid of ghosts?" Ryker asked, his eyebrows meeting. He also wanted to see the girl, but he couldn't because of Linus.
"Battles and ghosts are different," Linus answered meaningfully.
"Ghosts aren't real," Laszlo muttered to himself, but luckily Linus didn't hear him.
"If that isn't Ma'am Itzy, let's move on," Ryker said to Jace, who had been sitting silently for a few minutes.
"Could he have been possessed?" Linus asked, but Ryker simply gave him a light punch and did not respond.
After a moment of silence, Jace replied, "I don't think we should head home."
Laszlo furrowed his brows and said, "What do you mean? We should take Ma'am Itzy home now, or Mr. Gerard will be angry."
Jace shook his head, still not turning to them. "She... was bleeding. We need to treat her first."
"What?!" exclaimed Ryker, pushing Linus so he could go towards Jace. His eyes widened in shock as he saw Itzy's face and took in the full extent of her injuries. Itzy's face was covered in bruises and blood, making her almost unrecognizable. Not only her face, but her body was also covered in wounds and bruises.
"Is it... really Ma'am Itzy?" asked Linus, who was now standing beside Ryker with Laszlo.
"Come on, we need to hurry!" Laszlo exclaimed nervously, gesturing towards the still figure on the desk. "The blood is already dry on her face. If we wait any longer, it might be too late—" He didn't finish his sentence as Ryker swiftly picked up Itzy and carried her out of the room.
Jace stood up, looking uncertain. "What should we tell Mr. Gerard?" he asked, staring at the door through which Ryker had just disappeared.
"I'll speak to Mr. Gerard," said Laszlo firmly, pushing Jace and Linus towards the door. "You two follow Ryker and Itzy."
-----
Itzy woke up in a dimly lit room, covered by a blanket. As she recalled the events of the classroom, she quickly sat upright. Glancing around, she attempted to identify her surroundings. However, when she failed to do so, she tried to stand up, but her legs gave way, causing her to collapse on the ground. Soon after, four individuals rushed into the room.
"Ma'am!" Laszlo shouted, rushing to attend to Itzy. He moved to help her stand up, but the girl suddenly pushed him, causing him to fall.
"Don't touch me!" Itzy shouted, which surprised the four. They can see the anger, depression, and pain in her eyes, and they can't help but feel sorry for the girl.
"Please, calm down, ma'am," said Linus, gesturing for her to relax, but Itzy remained agitated. They moved a little away from her as she pushed Laszlo, concerned that she might go berserk if they attempted to touch her again.
"What am I doing here? Where am I?" Itzy asked, taking a step back as she looked around, trying again to remember if the place was familiar to her.
"You're in a safe place, you have nothing to worry about," Jace answered.
Itzy turned to him. "Where's Dad?"
"Laszlo informed him that we went for an outing," he replied. "I'm sure you don't want to show up in front of your father with that look," he added.
Ryker elbowed Jace for being disrespectful to Itzy, but Jace just shrugged it off.
Itzy's brows furrowed, and she quickly searched for a mirror to examine her appearance. As soon as she saw herself, embarrassment and self-pity consumed her.
Her eyes were swollen, and she even had a black eye on her right eye. Her face and body were covered in bruises and wounds. If she didn't know it was her in the mirror, she wouldn't recognize herself.
"Would you mind telling us how you got those injuries, ma'am?" Ryker asked cautiously, not wanting to upset her.
"I...fell," she whispered, averting her eyes.
Ryker, Jace, and Laszlo exchanged skeptical glances, obviously not convinced. Who would believe that someone could get so battered from a fall? Only someone with a weak mind.
"Is that so, ma'am? We thought you might be getting bullied at school," Linus said, scratching his head.
Ryker sighed and restrained himself from hitting Linus. Despite being smart with technology, he seemed clueless when it came to this matter.
Itzy's eyes widened as she heard Linus' words. It was like her tears were about to fall. She didn't want them to know her secret, but she sensed they already had an idea of what was happening.
She knew she couldn't hide it forever, but she didn't intend to tell them about it either.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" Laszlo asked when he noticed her distress.
She turned away and returned to her bed, wrapping herself in a blanket. "I need to rest. You can leave me; I won't run away."
The four men bowed respectfully before leaving the room, but they couldn't help but feel uneasy. Laszlo sighed. "Why is she lying to us? Why won't she trust us?"
"Perhaps it's just you who she doesn't trust," Ryker teased, but then he adopted a serious tone and continued, "I don't think it's that she doesn't trust us. She might be afraid to tell us the truth."
"What do you mean? Are you doubting her?" Linus said, clueless.
Ryker shook his head in disbelief and put his arm around him. "Do those injuries look like they came from a fall? If we hadn't called Grace to treat her, she might be dead by now."
"H-huh?" Linus said, still confused.
Laszlo interjected into the ongoing conversation, stating, "Only someone with a weak mind would fail to distinguish the difference." He added, "I'm not saying that you have a weak mind, Linus, but it seems like it."
Linus blushed and looked away. "The truth is, I don't believe her either!" He lied.
The three shook their heads at his words.
"If it were just a fall, she wouldn't have been in that room for three days," Jace said, leaving them.
Laszlo let out a deep sigh, his furrowed brow showing his concern as he thought about Itzy's bruised and scarred body. He couldn't help but wonder what could have caused such injuries, and his worry only grew as he thought about the possible explanations.
Ryker, noticing Laszlo's distress, placed a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out together," he said with a confident tone, trying to comfort Laszlo.