SICK JOKE:

The time it took to reach the school from where Celeste had called Alice was around fifteen minutes by bus. On foot, it would take more than twice as long, even if you were running. But if you were like Celeste, taking an excessive number of twists and turns due to an unsettling hunch, it would take at least an hour or more.

Naturally, when Celeste reached the building, she was out of breath, heaving intensely and almost feeling like her heart would give out any second. Since it was a Saturday, the school was closed; only the security guard was still at the gate that led to the school grounds and the abandoned building nearby. Celeste stood at a corner of the wall, out of the guard's line of sight.

After a moment's thought, she shook her head, took off her shoes, and threw them over the wall, the sound muffled by the thick grass growing near it. No one knew when it had happened, but two of the sharp grills on top of the wall had been bent down into a hook shape, probably from something colliding with them during a storm.

Many students sometimes used this place to climb into the school building when it was closed, either because they had left something behind or simply for the thrill. The principal had yet to address this problem. Celeste was currently very relieved that he hadn't dealt with it yet.

She took off her scarf and kept throwing one end of it upwards until it was pierced and hooked onto the bent grills. Before the scarf tore further, she quickly used it to pull herself up in one go and latched onto the grill, then climbed over the wall and jumped to the other side, pulling her scarf along with her. It took some effort from Celeste, but she knew Alice must have climbed over very easily.

Alice's father liked to rock climb and usually took Alice and Celeste along with him in the past. Neither Louis nor Ezra had any interest in it, so they almost always stayed behind. While Celeste was somewhat good at it, Alice was a total prodigy. She had amazing ability, and her father, Mr. Hughes, really appreciated it, telling her more than once that it would be a fun path to pursue. Since Alice seemed to enjoy it, it would be even more beneficial for her.

Alice would always reject the idea outright. To her, professional rock climbing went against the image she wanted to build for herself—an image of an elegant, delicate, and intelligent lady. Regular participation in this sport would cause her to gain some bulk, which she really did not want, so she only allowed herself to partake in this hobby rarely.

When Celeste reached the abandoned building, she texted Alice to ask if she was still on the way. Not even a second later, she received a brief and to-the-point reply.

{On the top.}

A few seconds later, another text came through:

{Be careful. Also, try not to leave much evidence of your presence here.}

Confused, she typed back:

{Did you murder someone? Why so many demands?}

Receiving no reply for a long time, Celeste felt her brow twitch, but she just sighed and looked around the building. She went around the corners and found that the back of the building was all stones and bricks that had fallen, giving the illusion of a landslide. Unattended plants from nearby had grown over the stones, and most of them were large in size or small portions of brick walls, so the place should not be too dangerous to climb over.

When she was running over here, Celeste had bought duct tape in a hurry. She tied her scarf tightly around her waist so that it wouldn't get stuck anywhere. Then, using a sharp metal protrusion among the broken wall, she cut two pieces of duct tape and put them on the underside of her shoes. Up until now, the area had been a pavement path, and it was the rainy season, so evidence of her visit wouldn't remain. However, there was mud and plants over the landslide-like brick wall. If she wasn't careful, either her shoe prints might remain, or even her fingerprints.

Thinking of this, she cut more pieces of tape and, like a true psychopath, stuck them onto her palms. Satisfied with the result, she began climbing the wall. It was extraordinarily hard due to the tape, but she managed somehow. Finally reaching the top, the first thing she saw was Alice, leaning over one of the broken fences and looking into the distance at the sun, which was slowly getting blocked by clouds. It would probably rain soon.

Hearing the sounds, Alice turned back to find Celeste struggling slightly to climb over. With a smile, she came forward and pulled her up.

Without looking up, Celeste first dusted off her clothes before turning to Alice. "Thanks."

Alice stared at Celeste's hands in a daze. "You seriously duct-taped your palms?"

"Yes. And what of it? And what about you? What is all of this? I have so many questions—"

Alice quickly stopped her mid-sentence with a finger to her lips and then took out her phone, saying, "I will talk. But first, delete our recent call history and chat history."

Unimpressed with being interrupted, Celeste sighed and took out her phone to follow Alice's instructions, deleting their call and chat history.

"How is he?" Alice's voice was quiet and cautious, overflowing with worry that was palpable to Celeste.

"Ezra?"

"Yes."

"The doctor said he would wake up soon... She said he had somehow made a miraculous recovery from an otherwise dangerous situation. She even said it was almost fantastical." Celeste's eyes dropped to her palms. After a few seconds, Alice heard her again, "He will live."

Alice could almost hear a hint of doubt and fear in that voice. She tapped Celeste lightly on the cheek, and when Celeste met her eyes, Alice told her with conviction, "He definitely will."

"You talk as if your words have some extraordinary power. Such confidence." Celeste said with a slight edge to her voice as she pulled Alice to sit down with her on the portion of the brick and marble balustrade.

"Wouldn't that be something, though? Imagine if whatever you said came true. How nice that would be." Alice chuckled slightly.

It was only now that Celeste noticed the dark circles under Alice's cognac eyes. Alice's complexion was also unnaturally pale, and her lips had lost a lot of color. Without changing her expression, Celeste held onto Alice's arm and pressed lightly. Her hand then traced slowly over Alice's back before retreating. Her eyes, though, bored into Alice's with unnatural intensity as she inquired with a dark tone of voice, "Have you being starved? Is that part of your treatment? Your bones are sticking out so conspicuously they might just tear through your skin… You look horrible, Alice."

"Gee, thanks. Those are certainly my favorite words to hear."

"I'm not joking with you though… What's wrong? Are you ill?" Celeste voiced her questions in a tone that clearly rejected any attempts at excuses. "You're also acting pretty strange right now, Alice. I have never seen you look so uneasy recently."

Alice smiled apologetically, "I have really been troubling you for a long time now, haven't I, Celeste?"

"Indeed you have. Even now… You do understand that this situation is very, VERY questionable, and you owe me answers."

Scratching her nose in embarrassment and some fear, Alice's eyes carefully traced every detail of Celeste's expression before she said in a light tone, "Don't you worry, Celeste. You won't be bothered by me much longer. You see, I'm dying."

Silence fell between the two. At least for Alice, it did. For Celeste, everything turned unbearably noisy. There was a loud ringing in her ears, an almost screeching sound, and she could somehow hear the loud thudding of her heart, which was so dangerous and pronounced it threatened to shake her entire body.

"What is this sick joke?" Celeste forced a smile, her nose scrunched into a tight frown, creating an oddly humorous yet desperate expression.

"I'm not lying. I—" Alice's body trembled violently, almost convulsing. She took sharp, hitched breaths with great effort. Dizzy and with her vision blurring, she clutched at Celeste for support. Celeste floundered helplessly, her confusion and terror mounting as she watched Alice's alarming behavior.

Celeste's hands hovered around Alice, desperate to help but unsure how. Her attempts were failing miserably as Alice's breaths grew dangerously shallow. In a panic, Celeste tried to pick up her phone to call the hospital. But a trembling hand shot out, knocking the phone from her grasp. It fell to the hard, rugged ground with a loud thud, the screen shattering beyond recognition.

"Alice Hughes! What is wrong with you? You're in this state, and yet you still—" 

She could not continue when Alice pushed her off the balustrade, away from herself. As she bent down over the other side, facing towards the open ground below, she suddenly started vomiting a dangerous amount of blood.