Chapter 33 Detention

"Why am I here?" Cheryl blurted out in annoyance the first chance she got.

Rosa quickly elbowed her to stay shut. The principal narrowed his eyes.

"Are you or are you not aware of the rules?" he asked in a strict tone. "You realize that wandering the halls after hours is simply not allowed in this school."

Cheryl glanced up at him, as if caught red handed.

"I went out to get a drink," she replied, eyeing him suspiciously. 'How did he know?'

"Mr. Kurtis, she's new so she doesn't really understand the curfew yet," Rosa interrupted but was shut down by Kurtis's anger-filled gaze which he then directed towards Cheryl. He opened up the desk drawer and pulled out a yellow piece of paper. He quickly scribbled something on it and then held it up in front of her. She took it, wondering what it was.

"Detention?" she said, raising her voice.

Kurtis eyed her steadily, almost expecting an objection.

"What's a detention?" Cheryl asked, cluelessly.

He just sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as if already tired of this conversation. He then waved a hand at Rosa to take her out of his sight. Rosa, very obediently, took Cheryl's hand and marched towards the door. She reached for the knob when suddenly, the door sprang open in her face, startling her. She jumped back to let the person in. Cheryl watched as Dan stomped into the office with disheveled hair and eyes that reeked of fury. He didn't notice her standing there. He just glared at Kurtis with all the anger he could muster.

"He was found loitering near that place again." A guard followed behind, looking equally annoyed. He was a tall man with heavy looking arms that could lift Dan with ease in case he tried to run away.

Kurtis leaned forward, placing both hands on his desk, eyeing the boy with concern.

"How many times, Daniel? How many times must you do this?" he said in a tired voice.

"It would be nice if you just left me alone for once," Dan retorted.

Kurtis glanced at Rosa as if just realizing she was still there. She hurriedly pulled Cheryl by the hand as they exited the office. She closed the door behind her with a long sigh, breathy sigh. Once outside, she relaxed her shoulders a bit. Color finally returned to her previously pale face.

"You've got your work cut out for you," Cheryl commented.

"He isn't usually like that. Something must've upset him," she replied in an anxious tone. Then, straightened herself, composing a calm and confident look once more. "Follow me."

Cheryl just followed without another word, dragging her feet behind her, feeling sleepy all of a sudden. They exited the floor down a flight of stairs, all the way towards the lounge. Around the back was another set of stairs, smaller in size. It had cobwebs along the walls.

"Where exactly are you taking me?" Cheryl asked warily.

"This is the detention room. All the troublemakers eventually get sent here, not that you caused any trouble," Rosa replied. "Not something worth a detention anyway…" she murmured, reaching for the light switch. Her fingers traced the wall beside her blindly as she moved forward, missing the last step. She stumbled ahead, tripping on her own foot. Cheryl grabbed her arm to keep her from falling. She let out a short breath and the lights flickered on around the room.

Rosa glanced around in surprise, steadying herself. Her eyes went over to the switchboard a couple of feet away to the side. She then looked at Cheryl who casually went over to take a seat in the middle of the room. The desks were arranged in rows similar to a classroom, except smaller. There was a teacher's desk in one corner. On the black board, the words 'Detention' were scribbled in a neat handwriting.

"Basically, students are sent here to take the time to think about what they did," Rosa continued her conversation from before she almost fell. She took her place behind the teacher's desk. "You're lucky I'm filling in for the teacher who monitors detention since it's only the start of the semester. There aren't many students causing trouble this early on."

Cheryl looked away out of guilt. "What I don't understand is how he found out I was out at night."

Rosa just shrugged. "He usually just has his eyes out for Dan. I'm just as shocked as you are."

Silence followed after that. Neither of them spoke for a while. Rosa busied herself with cleaning up the teacher's desk. There were scribbled papers scattered around everywhere, along with some confiscated food still in its packing. Cheryl felt a chill up her legs. She craned her neck around to take in the full view of the room. Most of the desks looked damaged or scribbled on. She glanced back at an old cupboard whose door seemed to be loose from the hinges. It hung outwards a little, letting in a slit of an opening.

As she peered inside, she could make out a tiny burned out candle glued to the shelf with the wax melted around it.

She suddenly heard footsteps from outside. A few seconds later, someone stomped into the room, slumping down the desk next to Cheryl's. Rosa almost jumped up from her seat.

"Could you be any louder?" she told him, shaking her head.

Dan just ignored her and put his head down. More chills ran up Cheryl's arms as she rubbed them slightly. She turned in her seat to stare at the cupboard door. She could've sworn it had opened up an inch further.

"That's actually just a storage for confiscated stuff over the years. It's also a lost and found," Rosa said, following her gaze. "It's not very organized…"

Cheryl was already on her feet, feeling a heavy wave of cold wash over her. Dan looked up from his desk. The lights suddenly began to flicker. She turned around to face the cupboard. Its door suddenly flipped open, revealing an endless darkness one could fall into.

The cold breeze turned to heavy winds she was very familiar with.

"Why… why is this here?" she wondered aloud, remembering the last time she'd fallen into one of these things. She heard Rosa shout out her name in the background. From the corner of her eye, she caught Dan slipping away from beside her. A moment later, there was a tug at her sleeve. She turned to see him pulling on a petrified Rosa's shaky arm, getting her to move out.

"We need to leave, now!" he shouted over the roaring wind, rushing towards the stairs with Rosa staggering behind.

One moment they stood there under the flickering bulbs. By the next flash of light, they were gone. The room inevitably turned dark. Broken and dismantled furniture hugged the walls all around. A single candle burned in the corner, giving off enough light for Cheryl to deduce that she was trapped.

"You… I know you from somewhere," a girl spoke from behind her. Cheryl whirled around to see the familiar face from last night. Her eyes glowed an ominous red. She had long blonde hair braided towards her back.

"Why did someone like you have to set foot in this school?"

The wind had ceased, leaving an empty yet chilly atmosphere in the room.

"What do you mean someone like me? Are you the one manipulating the shadows?" Cheryl asked straight up.

To which the girl let out a half hearted smile.

"Exactly that. Someone like you who knows too much. Can't have you around."

She took out a round hand mirror from out of the back pocket of her jeans.

"Took me forever to finally get to you without that annoying creature guarding you all the time."

The mirror gave off a brilliant light as she held it by the handle. Thin, shadowy limbs crawled out through the edges. A cluster of shadows fell onto the floor, unable to retain form. They changed shape constantly, growing out limbs while shifting in size. Some melted into the floor as a thick, bubbling liquid.

"You have no control over them," Cheryl whispered with realisation, gathering sparks around her fist. She blasted the incoming shadows that leaped at her, sending them crashing into the walls.

"That power… I've seen it before," the girl murmured to herself.

More jumped out of the mirror. They blended together to form a thick, poisonous gas. Bolts of lightning shot out of Cheryl's hands, only to have them pass through the gas unaffected.

The girl flashed a winning smile as the miasma sped towards Cheryl. She gasped, panic driven as she staggered back, falling onto the stacks of chairs behind her. They came crashing to the ground, toppling over her. She used her arms to shield herself, seconds before the miasma hit.

Someone blocked its path, standing tall in front of her to guard against the attack.

.

A minute later, and I would have been too late. My hand spread out beside me, sucking in the odd smelling miasma. It automatically seeped into my skin, leaving a bad itch wherever it touched.

"Shadow king. You look… different." The girl eyed me from head to toe with her blazing red eyes.

"I'm not who you're thinking of," I responded. I was aware of Cheryl peeking from under the stack of chairs behind me.

"Dixon!" she almost screamed out my name.

"What happened to the previous king?" the girl said, slightly tilting her head to one side in a creepy manner.

"I killed him," I lied. The stack of chairs rumbled behind me as Cheryl struggled to get out.

"Impossible!" she hissed out the words, taking hasty steps backwards.

I placed a hand over the shaky stack of chairs. Cheryl paused to look up at me from underneath. 'Stay down,' was what I was trying to tell her. She didn't move after that.

"Care to test out my strength? I won't hold back," I said in a calm yet threatening manner to hide my uneasiness.

A thin blade curved out from under my palm, glinting in the candle light. The furniture trembled under its presence as it extended into my scythe, sharp enough to cut metal. It felt heavier than usual, more powerful, possibly the result of the newly absorbed miasma. I swung it around, releasing a razor sharp wind that severed the shadows in half. The room shook under my pressure.

The girl gasped as she quickly pounced on the nearby candle, blowing it out. A dark pulse escaped into my face, pushing me back with force. Within seconds, I found myself squinting into the bright light of the classroom. The words 'Detention' read on the black board in front of me. The girl had vanished.

I turned to see Cheryl standing there behind me. My arms went around her in a strong embrace. She hugged back, teary eyed.

"How did…?" she fumbled with the words. "When did…" she trailed off burying her face in my shirt.

"I didn't. I'm still asleep back at the hospital," I told her.

"Then how?" Cheryl pulled away to look me in the eye. Her dark eyes searched for answers. I just shrugged.

"I'm not entirely sure but I'm guessing this is one of the perks of being king," I told her, feeling a tug at the back of my head. I quickly grabbed onto her shoulders, giving them a slight shake. "I can't stay for long. I need you to leave this place as soon as you can. That girl is more dangerous than anyone we've ever faced."

"But you scared her off," Cheryl said, wearing a confused expression.

"All I did was provoke her. She was just testing us. She'll be back…"

I watched the frown appear on her forehead as my body distanced itself, pulling me away with a jerk. I reached out to grab her but my arms felt disconnected from me. I landed in a crouch back inside the white room, balling my hands to fists.

"At least I was able to warn her…" I whispered to myself as I looked back up at the canvas. For a second I froze, watching the paint drip down on the white floor. The canvas was drenched in black. My shadows were calling me back.

.

Dan and Rosa stood there watching her reach out for a disappearing shadow. Cheryl stared off into space for the few minutes that followed.

"Cheryl," Rosa interrupted, snapping her out of her thoughts. She blinked, finally noticing the two standing there wearing concerned looks. They looked more shaken than she did.

"Are you guys okay?" Cheryl covered the distance in quick strides.

"One second you were there and then you just disappeared," Rosa said with disbelief.

"Since you saw it for yourself," Dan said, sounding a lot less surprised, "It happened to me once before. Did you see her?"

Cheryl nodded.

"Who are you guys talking about?" Rosa chimed in nervously.

"No one of your concern," Dan snapped back in a hard voice all of a sudden.

Rosa glanced at Cheryl with hope filled eyes.

"I don't know who it was," she said shaking her head, "Just this girl with scary red eyes. I couldn't get a name." Then to Dan, "Wait, if you know about her and she knows that… how come she hasn't tried to take your life?"

Dan pursed his lips as he looked away.

"I really need to be somewhere right now," he said without meeting her eyes and quickly exited the room.

"Forget him. He's always like that. Probably out causing more trouble," Rosa murmured, staring off at the empty stairway. "By the way, who was that guy you were hugging just now? Is he also… dangerous… like that girl you were talking about?"

Cheryl noticed Rosa was still trembling from the fright. She shook her head and took her shaky hands, guiding her out of the room.

.

Ricky rushed into the hospital, having received the news over the phone. He barely even had the chance to tell anyone else. Plus it wasn't like she would pick up if he called her.

He ran up to the reception in the waiting room. The man handed him a pass which he swiped into the door of the patient ward. He could hear commotion outside the room as he approached. His ears picked up a familiar voice, making him stop in the middle of the corridor.

"I shouldn't have come out here. What if things get out of control?" Meryl was saying. She wore a full sleeved top with bits of bandages peeking out.

"Well then just don't touch anything," Jon answered with a shrug. She flicked his forehead and he jerked his head back in dodge. "Not the hair. Not the hair. I do not want to go bald at this age."

Her eyes fell on the approaching man with short red curls that were trimmed neatly. Their eyes met for just a second before he looked away. Ricky came to stand next to them. He noticed a nurse anxiously pacing around while another one was on the phone, calling for backup. He tried the door to Iris's room but it didn't budge.

"She's locked the nurses out. She won't let anyone enter," Meryl informed in a low voice, feeling tense all of sudden.

"Iris, open up," Ricky called out, ignoring her presence.

To everyone's surprise, the door clicked open. Iris sat on the bed, hugging her knees with her face buried in. She looked up just enough to see Ricky, followed by Meryl and Jonathan walking in. The door slammed shut behind them before the nurse could make a move.

"Cheryl's in danger." It was the first thing that came to her mind upon seeing them again after waking up. She held her head as she lay back down on the bed, feeling tired from sitting up for so long.

"Are you okay? Does your head hurt?" Ricky asked. She just nodded slightly. "The only person you should be thinking about right now is yourself. You realize you were asleep for two whole months," he told her, sitting down on a chair beside the bed.

"On purpose…" Iris mumbled to herself.

"Also, you should let the nurses in. They're only trying to help," Meryl added, standing awkwardly at a distance.

Iris's eyes wandered over to her and then back at Ricky. The tension could cut shards.

"They won't let me leave… also I can't stand without falling over," she said looking down at her feet.

"You need to give it time. Your body is stiff from lying there for so long," Meryl explained, crossing the distance to stand closer to the bed next to Ricky. He glanced sideways at the bandaged arms without her noticing.

"I know that…"

All of a sudden, something buzzed lightly in his pocket. Ricky pulled out his phone, quickly getting to his feet. He turned towards Meryl. Her gentle gaze studied his face for a few seconds.

"Look after her. I'll be right back," he said before rushing out of the room.