"Could anyone please tell me as to your whereabouts 40 minutes ago?" Professor Ton, while standing and leaning on the desk reading his book, interrogates soon as we came back.
"Did you guys have lunch on a mountain?" He closes his book and points us to come in as we remain tongue-tied, since after the encounter.
The fear and horror stayed entirely upon us as we sit on our designated seats, still far away from one another. All I remember was myself being dragged then forced run to get back to the room after. I don't recall talking with each other or even make eye contact on the way.
"Your faces tell me that you had just gone through something terrible." Professor Ton lets out which we all agreed as a fact.
"Tell me or I'll report all of you."
This time, I sneak into Tris and assure myself to come in her peripheral to recognize me and have a look, but I got nothing. She ignores it, and even if I know that she saw me, she begins to speak with Professor Ton.
"Your story is real." She began. "I was able to locate it and we went there to ex—"
"What do you think you were doing?" Professor Ton snaps that stun us. It was not a shout but conviction and disapproval were on his voice.
"But we didn't do anything. We were just wandering around that place and decided to play." Tris lies. "Hide and seek. We played that game and Era suddenly, somehow disappears."
Lying is recognized as dark in Aire. As much as we practice light morals, human beings like us were unconsciously doing its opposites; that sometimes we yearn for the dark to come into the light. But lying gets worse when it is seconded.
Professor Ton now waits for my answer.
"A spirit came out of the well," I confess.
He then walks to my seat and kneels down in front of me, making his eyes on point with mine, before asking, "Then?"
"It goes back," I calmly reply to him, not blinking or twitching any features of my face to avoid getting caught.
He then stands up and begins to spill out lectures on the centre. Again, not an ordinary lecture that can be found in the Manifesto.
"Spirits from the underworld are known for their practice of void magicks during their living days. They were suppressed, yes. But once they lure a living or possess it, their attempt to darken the world will commence." He talks. "Your disappearance means you encountered a spirit and maybe travelled the underworld."
He walks to my side then onto my back. "It is more likely than not… that you are not my student Era."
Unexpectedly, Professor Ton holds the back of my neck as he said my name. His grip shoots pain on it, swiftly darkens my vision and forbids me from inhaling air. He then recites incantations that I hardly recognize but I know that they are prayers for the other side.
"I- "
"I'm not possessed." I stammer, hardly want to create a word, but it does not stop him.
"In the name of our God Aether." He recites and I restrain myself from breathing.
Soon, I feel the tightness of his hold fades. He stops and gradually removes his hand off me. I, then furiously gasp for air while holding my neck as the black marble floor fills up my sight before his decent dark brown shoes that steps and stands in front of me.
I peep at him staring at me before him saying, "Class dismiss." He looks confused.
As soon as Professor Ton walks out, all of my companions walk to me.
"I'm sorry, Era. I shouldn't have involved you. You okay?" Tris kneels while Philip massages the back of my neck.
"What was that?" Ash exclaims.
"You're good now." Philip taps me.
"Thanks," I say. "Let's rest now."
"I'll walk you to your dorm." Tris offers not letting go of my hands.
"No, it's okay," I reply.
"No, I will." Tris insists. "Please."
"Okay."
Every six in the evening, our dinner is served by delivery and that's when my best friend shows up to give by herself mine. But today, as everyone felt the earth shaken and the council knew where it came from, all initiates including us non-potentials were suspended and grounded to our respective rooms for the meantime. The food will be served by magicks. I just hope that Professor Ton didn't report us.
I lit up lamps, candles and my fireplace to escape the darkness of my room, also to shove off my gradual anxiety. I'm shaking and I know that I need Dia right now.
A bell ring and a knock stop me from moving, even my heart skips and while approaching the door, I tell myself to breathe. I grab the knob and slowly opens it.
A tray of food is floating in the air levelled my eyesight but it is accompanied by someone hiding on its black hooded cloak. At first, its head is down and its hood covers any faces I could recognize with. But as soon as it lifts up, I couldn't think of anything to do but scream.
I was pushed inside my room until a wall hits my back and plunges me to the ground. I hear my door locks quickly by then. A part of my back hurts and a cry for help for sure escapes my tongue but apparently, I couldn't make a sound. My first scream also was useless.
"You."
His face, down to his neck was severely scarred and scorched. He got dark hollow eyes that surrounded a small red pupil on the middle. His nose and lips were chopped in half that you could see his gross tongue inside. He's a spirit and his voice cracks.
"You."
I know that he's slowly approaching me as the sound of footsteps haunts my sense of hearing. Horror shivers the entirety of my body and he does not want me to move. There, I started crying and almost scratch the wooded ground out of frustration.
"You always see me." He says then I found myself foolingly desperate to reach the floor. He hovers me in the air.
Ah, this is how it feels like to be air, fire, water and earth. To be of control by someone.
"Who are you?" he asks and I feel choked.
I touch my neck only to discern nothing on it. Why is he asking if he didn't want me to speak?
A loud and rough laugh pervades my senses. I could also hear continuous whispers of the word die but all of it stop when an emergency drill echoes through the school. It shocks the spirit that he immediately acquits his control of me and vanishes instantly. I fell down on my bed, inhales some air and clings onto the sheets. In a minute I have to get up and run outside as if nothing happened. Maiden Ora shuts up anyone that obeys dark morals, of which the indication is when you see or contact any of them in this realm.
As much as I can recall, I am seeing it every week in the morning before the happenings at the well. I'd never contacted them. So, why?