Aurelie and Drea led the group to Aerian's school, or atleast, what was left of it.
The dilapidated building crouched on the ground, old posters and signs being the only indicators that this was once a school.
"Dámn", said Duke. "These bricks won't tell us nothin'."
"Let's just search as much of the rubble as we can", said Aurelie.
"What happened to this place?", questioned Noah.
"According to our notes, this school had the highest underachieving rate. Funding was cut and... they had to close down. There were only a handful of teachers, and the students barely filled the classrooms", replied Drea.
"How unfortunate", frowned Aurelie.
"And I thought my school was rubbish", said Gigi.
-
Maaria consulted the map, her eyebrows furrowing to indicate she was concentrating. "This map is complicated."
"It's that way", said SJ, pointing to her right.
"How do you know?", asked a surprised Maaria.
SJ crouched down, carefully touching a blue plant. "This is a Caeruleum plant. They only grow on the outlying area of Akermill Forest. The forest is to our right."
SJ looked up and saw Maaria staring at her, her mouth open slightly. SJ blushed a deep red. She stood up and approached Maaria, a mischievous look on her face. She closed Maaria's mouth. "Don't want you catching flies."
Maaria nudged her, a smile on her face. "Oi!"
Maaria and SJ arrived at the Forest and immediately started their search. "Let's just look for anything that looks like an ancient stone that can bring back the dead", said Maaria.
"Easy peasy", replied SJ, sarcastically.
Maaria started digging rapidly, her eyebrows once again furrowed to show her concentration.
SJ noticed this, and slowed down a little. "We'll find it, ok? I know you're worried-"
"-You don't get it", said Maaria. "I haven't seen my Dad in years. I blamed him for not being there when I needed him. But now I find out he's been living like this? I feel guilty."
SJ frowned. Her mind instantly went to her older sisters, most of which were missing. Despite Maaria opening up, SJ couldn't bring herself to do the same. "You didn't know. You can't blame yourself for this."
"I need to find this stone, SJ. It's the only way I can make my Dad proud again", said Maaria.
SJ frowned, a sympathetic expression appearing on her face. "Let's keep searching."
-
"Oh. My. God."
Holly, Noah and Audrey turned to see Naomi clutching a pale yellow and asparagus green tie.
Audrey gagged. "That tie is revolting."
"It's got... bits of dried food on it!", exclaimed a disgusted Holly.
Lyndi looked at it. "I don't know. Take away the food crust and it's not a bad tie."
Audrey gasped. "You need your artist card revoked!"
Holly grabbed Lyndi. "NEVER."
Lyndi laughed and gently rubbed Holly's arm. "Thanks, Holls."
"Judas", joked Audrey. She smiled as Holly laughed.
Maybe things were different between herself and Luna, but she had Holly now, which she was grateful for.
-
The search had proven unsuccessful, which only further frustrated Maaria. "How hard can it be to find a dámn stone?"
"We don't know how big it is", said SJ. "We're expecting it to be massive, but it could be something really small."
Maaria nodded, slowly calming down. Though she was intelligent, her strengths lay mainly with athletics so it was good that SJ could be logical.
"We should take a break", she said, holding her hands out when Maaria's eyes widened. "Wait, listen. We'll tire ourselves out if we carry on like this. We won't be any use to anyone."
Maaria sighed. She reluctantly sat down beside SJ. "Fine."
SJ clutched her stomach. "I knew I should've eaten more porridge."
"I carry some snacks with me", said Maaria, rummaging through her bag. "What kind of chocolate do you like?"
"Oh, I've never had chocolate."
Maaria's eyes widened. She turned to face SJ. "What? How have you existed this long without trying chocolate? Don't you feel like you're missing that joy in your life?"
SJ chuckled. "You what? How could chocolate bring me joy?"
Maaria grabbed her bag and got a bar of chocolate from it. She handed it to SJ. "Taste the joy, SJ."
SJ rolled her eyes playfully and opened the chocolate. She noticed Maaria staring at her, so she stared right back as she bit into the chocolate.
Maaria waited expectantly. Her face lit up when she saw SJ's eyes widen and her eyes light up. "It's good, isn't it?"
"I can't believe I missed out on this!", exclaimed SJ. "It tastes amazing!"
Maaria grinned. "I know right? I'm still in shock that you haven't tried it before."
"Growing up, chocolate and sweets were a luxury that we just couldn't afford", admitted SJ. "It was either we treat ourselves or starve for a month."
Maaria frowned. After a long pause, she placed a chocolate bar in SJ's lap. "You can put yourself first now."
SJ smiled sweetly at her and giggled, making Maaria feel an unusual sensation in her stomach. "I'm glad we're doing this together."
"Really?"
Maaria nodded. "Yeah. It's weird, I don't think I've ever met someone like you."
SJ frowned, lowering her head in an attempt to hide the hurt expression on her face. "Oh really?"
Maaria nodded. "Yeah. Gigi and even Naomi, to some extent, are great. But we're such... big characters, I suppose. But you... you're so quiet. But you jump into action when someone needs help. I just don't get how you can be so... caring."
SJ smiled at this. "I grew up with 3 older sisters and a younger one. I learned what it meant to care for others, from them. If people just cared about each other more... things wouldn't be so bad."
Maaria studied SJ's face as she spoke. How she smiled when talking about her family, how a hopeful glint appeared in her eyes when she spoke about caring for others. How her eyes lost their light when she spoke about the bad things in this world.
She could stare at her face all day. A never-ending painting of thoughts.
"H-Have I got something on my face?", asked SJ, her face turning a deep red.
Maaria shook her head. "N-No, uh, sorry. You're f... you're fine."
SJ was about to reply, but something else caught her eye. Beside Maaria, there was a hollowed out piece of a tree trunk. SJ crawled towards it, her eyes widening when she saw a book.
She grabbed the book, her vision going foggy for a few seconds, before clearing up. "This is a book of Akermill. Its history, the creatures that live here... it's all here."
"And look!", exclaimed Maaria, pointing to the carvings on the tree trunk. "It's the mark Audrey saw."
Before SJ could speak, a pack of humongous Termes swooped down, almost grabbed the pair.
A second one surged towards SJ, but Maaria quickly grabbed her and ran as fast as she could. SJ struggled to keep up at first, but the adrenaline kicked in and she found herself running faster than she ever had before.
A snake like creature with puffy glands that seemed to secrete an odious green liquid, slithered towards the pair, taking them by surprise.
"SJ, look out!",yelled Maaria.
SJ's eyes widened when she saw the creature, but she dodged too late, screaming in pain as the creature sunk its teeth into her leg.
Maaria caught her as she collapsed in her arms. She stomped on the creature, frowning as it hissed and then folded in on itself.
Maaria sank to the ground and rested SJ's head on her lap. "SJ? SJ, come on..."
SJ's eyes remained closed and her breathing became irregular, as if she were gasping for air.
-
Drea looked through a newly formed pile of paper that had been scattered around previously. "There's loads here."
"I'll help you", said Noah, standing up and walking over to her. "Ah, sh*t", he mumbled as his foot hit a piece of rock. He glanced at it, stopping in his tracks when he saw something engraved on it.
"What is it?", asked Drea.
Noah waved everyone over. "Come look at this!"
Engraved onto the large rock, was something none of the others could've predicted.
AERIAN,
GO K*LL
YOURSELF
Drea rushed back to her papers, finding one that was in a plastic wallet. "This is a test paper that he did. He failed."
Scrawled across the page, in a black biro, were the words 'HA HA' and 'STUPID.'
"He was bullied?", questioned Holly.
Lyndi frowned. "That's awful! I actually feel sorry for him."
Duke scowled. "The guy's a jerk!"
"I'm sure people see you in that light as well", said Lyndi.
"Do you?", asked Duke. His stomach twisted in knots when he asked that. He suddenly found himself desperate to know Lyndi's thoughts on this.
After a brief moment, Lyndi shook her head. "No. I don't."
Duke sighed in relief, his eyes never leaving Lyndi's gaze. Lyndi stared into his eyes and for a small moment, it felt like everyone else had disappeared.
"Ok love birds, can we get back to Aerian?", asked Audrey.
"I'll take pictures", said Drea. "And I'll keep the papers so we don't have to come back here."
Holly stared at the engraved rock. "I can't believe people are so mean."
Gigi glanced at Naomi, before looking at Holly again. "Some people just have it in their blood."
Audrey frowned. "Yeah..."
Holly noticed the change in Audrey's demeanour. "Are you ok?"
Audrey shrugged. "Just close to home."
"How do you mean?"
Audrey shrugged. "I like being 'the weird girl'. But I don't always like the way others see me. Like I'm a freak."
-
Maaria gently tapped SJ's face, trying to get her to open her eyes. "Come on, SJ!"
"Mhm...I-I'm fine...", she mumbled.
Her eyes flew open, and Maaria fought the urge to hug her. She was so glad to see her pretty brown eyes. Wait. Pretty?
"It r-really hurts..."
Maaria grabbed the book she had taken and flicked through the pages. "Maybe there's something in here that can help us."
"I'm going to die", said SJ.
Maaria shook her head. "No, you're not!"
"We're not so different, you know?"
"SJ, you need to save your b-"
"-No, please. I... I need to tell you. T-Two of my older sisters w-went missing. Years ago. So I know what it's like to s-spend every day waiting for them to come home. To n-need them."
Maaria stared at SJ, unable to find the right words to say to her. She never would've guessed that they'd have this in common. She always assumed SJ had a perfect life. She wasn't against the law, seemed to really love her tapestry family, and never seemed to be angry about anything.
But, isn't it true that we only show what we want people to see?
Maaria's attention turned back to the book. "Yes!", she exclaimed, her hand slamming down on a certain page. "Poison from this creature can only be countered by anti-venom still in someone's system, via a- oh."
"Wh-what is it?"
"Someone with anti-venom in them has to kiss you for the anti-venom to be transferred", said Maaria. "Where are we going to find someone with anti-venom?"
"Y-You have the anti-venom from the B-Blue Malumeq", replied a shivering SJ. Her lips had turned a dark blue and green veins appeared around her eyes.
"But that was a few days ago", said Maaria.
"Blue Malumeq's anti-venom stays in the system for 4 days", said SJ.
And there it was. A purpose. Finally, Maaria could stop feeling so helpless. But if this was supposed to be a good thing... why did she feel so hesitant?
"I-I don't know. Are... are you ok with that?", she asked.
SJ nodded. "It's... it's the only way. We haven't got a choice."
Maaria nodded. She stared at SJ's face, trying to determine the best way to do this. SJ struggled to keep her eyes opened, but ultimately gave in and allowed her eyes to close. Maaria knew she couldn't wait any longer.
She leaned in, connecting their lips. Unsure of how long to do this for, she decided to count to five. She pulled away and opened her eyes, just in time to see blue swirls appear on SJ's lips.
Maaria smiled, but froze for a moment when she recognised the strange stomach in her feeling. Glancing down at SJ, she noticed just how beautiful she was. Not in the way a model is beautiful, but there was something so, loving about her. It's as if she didn't have to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. Yet, Maaria knew that she did.
SJ's a quiet sufferer. And today made Maaria aware of that.
Perhaps it was curiosity, or something Maaria couldn't quite describe, but she found herself leaning in once more. Their lips connected, but this time Maaria deepened the kiss. Although hesitant at first, SJ kissed back, slowly easing into it.
A tingling sensation rushed through their bodies as they kissed, both girls not used to this. Perhaps Maaria had been kissed before, but SJ? Not at all.
The pair pulled away when air was needed. They stared into each other's eyes, both too stunned to say a word.
-
Hi! This chapter was so long so I'm making a part 3 because there's still more I haven't covered.
Aerian was bullied? Could there be more to this ruthless lawmaker than they first thought?
Please form an orderly line to hug Audrey, so we don't overwhelm her.
Duke and Lyndi... are you sensing the chemistry? On that note, if anyone had any tips for writing romance/chemistry, I'd love to hear it because I'm not very good at writing it.
Can all these creatures PLEASE stop attacking the group please and thank you? I love how I'm saying this even though I wrote all the horror and stress they're going through.
Maaria and SJ? What are your thoughts on them? Did you expect it to happen?
I'd also like to apologise to Noah for making him stub his toe/whack his foot against that giant rock. All in the name of plot progression.
What are your thoughts on this chapter?
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: Truyen2U.Pro