Christmas was coming but it still felt like Halloween.
As if a ghost was out to trick the quartet. Everywhere Magenta went, she felt someone watching her. Every night she could not sleep and the nightmares got worse with Spider and Reese's faces taking alternating turns to torture her dreams. It got so bad that Magenta was dizzy during the day and almost in a passing-out state. Blue worried so much that he told Magenta to sleep in his bed so he could watch over her.
"That's against the co-ed rules," Magenta said, yawning.
"Not against the Blue rules," Blue said.
"I'm serious. If you can't sleep, at least be near me so I can know you're safe too. It's driving me crazy and I can't sleep much either." Blue complained.
"They talk like a married couple," Shelby said to Jasper, they were munching on carrot sticks.
"We do too," Jasper said.
"Hm, we do, don't we," Shelby said.
The four of them decided to have a meeting at the woodfort. Shelby sat cross-legged, while Jasper was having a hard time trying to settle on the planks.
"Guys, why do we have to meet here?" Jasper asked. Being a pillow king, used to comfort most of his life, Jasper didn't like the woodfort now at seventeen as much as he did at nine. He was the one out of the four who was most used to a lavish lifestyle at home. His home was more like a mini palace. With glass chandeliers and long hallways with portrait paintings.
"It's one of the only places not bugged by cameras," Blue said.
"Oh! Cameras! Could we check the CCTV? Maybe that would show us who put the note in Magenta's locker!" Shelby said.
"Yeah, but if we tell the principal Magenta's getting death threats she'll probably put the school in lockdown or something and it might get even worse," Jasper said.
"I think it's worth a shot. Telling the teachers or Mrs. Gouges and finding out who the person was using those security cameras. If we can get that, we can find the source and maybe it'll all be over soon. I bet Mrs. Gouges will freak out if she knows about this, and she'll at least want to keep the school's reputation, if not our safety," Magenta said.
Mrs. Gouges was not the same as Reese's father, but that didn't mean she would do what the students expected her to do.
"Fine, let's try it," Blue said.
"Do you guys smell that?" Shelby said, sniffing the air.
Everyone tried to smell, and they all smelled the same thing. It smelled like ash and smoke, and it was coming from outside. Magenta rushed to see what was happening below and realized what the smell and slow compression of the air was.
Fire.
Someone set the foundations of the treehouse alight, and now the bottom was on fire. The fire was already spreading upwards and outwards.
Magenta screamed, "You guys! It's a fire!"
The four quickly went down the ladder and jumped over the fire spreading. They were able to avoid the fire from singing them but the dryness of the wood affected all the trees nearby and they were all catching alight. They stumbled out onto the driveway, the only place where there wasn't any fire since it was a gravel driveway with no wood.
In the distance, a fire alarm already rang and everyone was being evacuated in droves on school buses and taxis. Teachers were running to and fro trying to make sure all the students got on buses. Those who couldn't fit on the buses and taxis were running down the driveway, some had sparks of fire on the bottoms of their trousers. One person rolled around trying to get flames off their body.
The firefighters arrived as everyone left, spraying water over the entire area. The students and staff waited at the bottom of the driveway, shivering, and were provided with blankets from the emergency services.
"First flooding and now a fire? Oakstone is not having it these days," An emergency services personnel said to another.
"I heard the kid from this school in juvenile detention escaped too," the other man said to the first.
The firefighters worked quickly, clearing the campus of fire in less than six hours. It was nighttime when the students could go back to campus but the campus looked like it had been through a battle and ravaged by the war. It already looked like the ruins of what once was.
Most things and belongings were all ruined and damaged. The acting principal was having to answer many furious students and staff over the state of their belongings and home.
"What are we supposed to do? All we had was here!" One dorm parent shouted.
"Where are we supposed to go?"
"Why did it take so long for the fire services to come?"
Mrs. Gouges remained impassive through the firing lines and people's fury.
"Oakstone will duly compensate all families and students affected by recent events."
"We don't just want compensation! Do you expect us to come back after this? You won't even apologize?" The same dorm parent was livid now.
"Why should I apologize? Did I start the fire? Did you see me start a fire?" Mrs. Gouges' eyes blazed as she challenged the questions. She asked her secretary to confirm where she was at the time.
"Acting principal Gouges was in her office." The secretary confirmed.
"I assure you, my priority is the safety of our students and faculty, and if I find out who did this, I will punish the parties involved and report them. As for you, you are scaring the younger students. Come to my office if you would like to speak further on this."
"This means all the security camera evidence must be destroyed by now," Blue whispered.
"Oh no! I didn't think of that," Magenta said.
Jasper nodded and he said, "I have a feeling whoever did this knew about the cameras too."
They felt dumb for not looking for the security cameras earlier. If only they had access to the cameras, perhaps they could avoid any further bloodshed and rubles.
The school eventually organized temporary stays at hostels and hotels for the students and staff while the campus was being sorted out and rebuilt, and compensation for damages and building insurance were sought.
Miss Burgundy supervised the four of them in a student hostel as well as some other students from school. She allowed the four of them to share one room since there were limited spaces, but she warned them about funny business and that she would call their parents to take them home if anything happened.
Just as they were lounging and hanging out in the room, a note slid across the floor from under the main door. Blue closest to the door got up and opened the door to run after whoever was outside. Shelby picked up the note, opened it, and reading out loud.
"Row, row your boat down the stream, is this all a fever dream? Come find out, run, run it's your turn!"
Bursting out of the room, Magenta, Shelby, and Jasper ran to follow where Blue went. Blue ran after the person in a black hood who had started running the minute he opened the door. This person was fast, and good at running too.
Being on the soccer team, Blue and Jasper were fast runners, as were Shelby and Magenta since they did athletics, but this person was a different breed. They sped so fast like charged joules of energy traveling here and there.
They ran out of the hostel, past the concierge, Miss Burgundy, and the hostess who were writing notes and counting money. Miss Burgundy shouted at the quartet to return.
"Come back or else I'll be calling your parents!"
Blue's focus was on this one person and this one person only at the moment. If he could finally catch this person and put a stop to everything, then everything would get better for Magenta and maybe she could sleep better again. Maybe they could all move on in life without dwelling too much on possible danger.
The person in front was far ahead, and finally stopped but at a closed shop entrance. Looking back in the dark, the person jumped smoothly over the fence next to the shop, just as the garage door opened. The person rolled into the garage.
Blue was the first to get to the fence, he jumped and stopped as the garage was closed again.
"Come on! Face us! What are you waiting for," Blue shouted, pushing his hands against the garage door.
He kept pushing until his knuckles were bruised. The door rattled, with some paint falling off. There was no response on the other side. With one last push, Blue faced his friends and his girlfriend, waiting for them. Tears pushed into his eyes, as much as he tried to control himself.
Magenta, Shelby, and Jasper caught up with Blue, all panting for breath. Then they looked at Blue, who was close to a meltdown in his anger and frustration. Magenta wrapped her arms around Blue.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Magenta said softly, as Blue stood there, releasing a few tears. His fists clenched and his whole body looked on edge as if he was either ready to collapse or go into a fistfight.
"I'm done with the creeps and crazy people trying to get you down. I don't want to sit and watch you get hurt," Blue said to Magenta.
"I know," Magenta tried to be soothing the way Blue was with her, it seemed to work as Blue buried his face in Magenta's neck.
The garage door rolled up as Magenta tried to comfort Blue.
A series of claps resounded through the night, and the culprit finally revealed themselves.
Blond hair, blue eyes.
A girl was there behind the garage door staring at them.