DarkStrive Border

"Gosh, it's hot", Ashley, Jane's friend complained as she wiped away the sweat gathering on her brows.

"It's not really hot Ashley. Maybe you'll feel better if you take off that hoodie", Jane rolled her eyes at her friend; she kept complaining about the heat but didn't want to take off her ridiculous hoodie.

"But it's really comfy!. Here, feel the texture", Ashley said as she rubbed the sleeve of the hoodie on Jane's face.

Chuckling, Jane escaped from her friend's attack of the comfy hoodie.

"By the way, it's just a little field trip, why did you pack two bags??, are you planning to run away??", Ashley mocked, pointing at Jane's bags.

"(Sigh), Mom packed the bags. It's really funny how she could remember I have a field trip, but forgot about my birthday".

"Awww, come here you!", Ashley said as she rubbed Jane's face with the hoodie again, not letting go till she cried out.

" By the way, do you think we'll meet some pretty guys during the field trip, or at the hotel??",Ashley asked, stars apparent in her eyes.

"No young lady, there won't be any "Pretty boy" to be seen", a matured voice replied, as Jane and Ashley flinched. Looking back, they saw a dark skinned slightly obese woman with a cautioning look on her face, her eyes on Ashley.

"Hehe, Mrs May, I was only joking", Ashley said, laughing awkwardly.

"Hmmm hmmm, of course you are. The bus is ready, let's go", Mrs May, their homeroom teacher said, it was obvious she did not believe Ashley's lies.

"Mrs May, how long is the Field trip going to last for??", Jane asked.

"It really depends, although the school has the whole trip planned out, things like this mainly depend on circumstantial conditions, like weather. But my estimation is two days, three days maximum".

HONK HONK, a loud horn drowned out the thanks Jane was about to say, as the School bus driver got impatient.

"Alright ladies, let's get a move on!", Mrs May said, clapping her hands and ushering the girls towards the bus.

"Sassy", Ashley commented when she was sure Mrs May was out of earshot.

"She wasn't sassy before, she only became sassy when you decided to become rebellious", Jane rolled her eyes at Ashley as she wondered whether she would actually go blind from the number of times she rolled her eyes already.

Entering the bus, Jane took a deep breath as she suddenly had a thought; maybe it was time to have a heart to heart talk with her mum, when she gets back from the field trip. After all, what could possibly go wrong??.

There were 32 girls in Jane's class, including her and Ashley, the beauty of 32 girls in a single place aesthetically appealing to the eyes.

"Alright, seat belts on. There will be no shouting, no singing and definitely no screaming at some so called cute passer-bys, okay", the bus driver announced, the only male in Young Age Royal Academy. He must have experienced something for him to set up those ground rules.

"There definitely won't be any of those Mr Clegg, not on my watch", Mrs May assured the driver as she took her seat, making eye contact with the rebellious students in her class.

The car jerked to a slow start as it rumbled down the asphalt, exiting the school gate and joining the busy highway, before it finally picked up speed.

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In an unorganized office, a man was massaging his temple when the door was harshly opened, the rudeness of his secretary's actions bringing a frown to his already annoyed face.

"You better have a good explanation"

"Yes, as a matter of fact sir, I do. The V....Vampires are on the move sir, our radar picked up movement near the DarkStrive border sir", the secretary said, his voice getting lower, it became a whisper at the end.

"What??, didn't they just take their new batch of.....subjects a few days ago??, what are they doing again??", the man whispered, the displeasure apparent in his voice.

"I know sir. What should we do now??", the secretary asked, as his boss looked at him like he just heard the most ridiculous words of the century.

"Do??, what do you want us to do??. Those demons are bloodthirsty, hideous b*stards. They might not be able to move during the day, but DarkStrive border stays true to it's name, the dense population of thick and tall trees a perfect cover against the sun. Besides, we are at a crucial juncture in our negotiations with them, the slight mention of this might set them off, bringing an end to our already fragile stance in the food chain. As for whoever is in the DarkStrive border, God bless their soul".

*

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In DarkStrive border, a bus sped through the dense population of trees, the darkness so heavy the headlights of the bus had to be switched on.

"This is so beautiful!. It's like we went from day to night in just a matter of seconds", the girls in the bus muttered in awe.

Hearing this, Jane shifted uncomfortably in her seat; she was having a bad feeling about something, like something terrible was going to happen.

"What??, you don't look well, do you want to pee??", Ashley asked, as she wondered why Jane was squirming.

"No. I...I just suddenly had a bad feeling. I can't really explain it either"

"It must be these damn trees. They look so dark and creepy, even though it's daylight", Ashley said, nodding in agreement with Jane's words.

Jane was about to say something again when she saw something at the corner of her eyes.

"Ashley, did you see that?!", she gasped, tapping Ashley in panic.

"See what??", Ashley asked as she looked outside the window. She could only faintly make out the outline of the trees as they blurred by.

"I saw a figure in between the trees Ashley, it seemed to be running too", Jane said, her eyes glued to the window.

"Damn, don't tell me these trees are making you hallucinate too??", Ashley asked as she continued; "Besides, it's dark, it might just be the shadow of a tree".

Staring through the window for a while and not seeing anything again, Jane was about to agree with Ashley when the bus suddenly swerved, the suddenness of the driver's actions bringing chills down everyone's spine. The next moment, the driver's horrified scream could be heard amid the breaking of glasses, as the bus slammed into a ditch and everything went dark.