During the weekends, students were allowed a period of time to go out to the town, and visit places like the local museum, the park, the town library, the cinema, game stations, commercial stores, and other interesting places.
Oliver was shocked to see Max back so early. He said he was going to the VDR store to play a game, but he had not been out for like 30 minutes, and he was already back.
"Why the hell did you lock the door?" he asked brusquely, as he entered the room.
"Nothing, I uh... I needed some privacy," Oliver replied.
"Privacy?" muttered Max, with a curious expression.
"I never thought you'd be back this early," Oliver said.
Oliver looked at the floor and saw that some of the things that were under Max's bed were showing. He had forgotten to put them back. Max was already looking at them, with suspecting eyes.
"Where you going through my stuff?" he asked Oliver.
"No, why would I do that?" replied Oliver.
Max pushed them back under the bed.
Oliver's eyes reached the drawer where the elf was. He found out that it was a crack open, and it gradually slid open. He went there quickly and pushed it back, then he stood in front of it, preventing it from further opening.
Max glanced around curiously.
"What's that smell?" he asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust.
Oliver sniffed twice.
"What smell?" he asked.
Max picked up his baseball bat from the ground and placed it back on the wall.
"I wonder what happened here when I was out," he said.
Max paused, as he was moving towards his bed.
"That sound..." he muttered, glancing around thoughtfully.
Oliver knew where the sound was coming from. The elf wouldn't stop pounding on the drawer. Oliver was praying seriously, that Max would just leave, at that moment.
"You know you're gonna miss the game, staying here," Oliver said to Max.
"Obviously, since we can't go out anymore," Max replied, in a brusque tone.
Oliver's forehead wrinkled in confusion.
"I don't get it, what do you mean we can't go out anymore?" he asked.
Max scoffed.
"Didn't you hear it? The goddamn headmaster declared a stupid lockdown," answered Max, with a voice that edged with annoyance.
Oliver was surprised to hear this. He had been in the hostel since, and he never knew what was going on.
"But why did they just declare a lockdown, does this happen more often?" Oliver asked.
"How should I know? Stop trying to get along, Oliver. You're not my friend, you're just someone I need to share my room with," Max said.
He began to head towards the bathroom door. A bolt of panic immediately hit Oliver. The elf's footprints were still there.
"Wait!" Oliver suddenly called out.
Max's hand was already on the doorknob.
"What?" he asked curtly.
"Trust me, you do not want to enter that bathroom," Oliver warned.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Max.
"You can't open that door, it's really messed up," Oliver said, meaning it.
At last, he hesitatingly left the door, half-heartedly convinced by what Oliver said.
Oliver exhaled in relief.
"That was close," he mumbled under his breath.
Max was still staring at him, with his arms folded, and one eye raised in curiosity.
"Something's not right about you, Oliver, they don't see it, but I do. I promise you, I will find out what you really are, and when I do, I'm gonna make sure I humiliate you in front of everyone," Max said, with an intense look in his eyes.
Oliver just stared at him with a calm expressionless face, then he shrugged nonchalantly.
"Thanks to you, I'll have to use the general bathroom," Max said, then he left.
Oliver locked the door immediately, then he took out the elf from the drawer and dropped him on top of the reading desk. There were tons of questions popping out of his head at the same time, he didn't know which one to ask with.
"Ugly, I need you to tell me everything," he said, "Who you are, where you're from, who sent you here, and your mission here."
The elf was staring at him with confusion displayed all over it.
"Just start by telling me who you are," Oliver said.
"Ugly is an elf from Elsewhere," it said.
Oliver looked puzzled.
"What is elsewhere?" he curiously asked.
"Elsewhere is Ugly's home, but elsewhere is no more," explained the elf.
Oliver couldn't understand what the elf meant. It sounded so confusing.
"What do you mean, elsewhere is no more?" Oliver asked.
"Elsewhere has been destroyed by the Dominators, Elsewhere is now nowhere," Ugly said.
Oliver somehow understood that the elf was trying to tell how its world got invaded by certain alien species called the Dominators, and possibly destroyed too. Oliver had never heard of a planet called Elsewhere.
"So what you're trying to say is that your world was invaded by these Dominators?"
"Yes. Father sent Ugly through a portal, in order to save Ugly, but instead, Ugly came out in a very dark and gloomy place. Ugly was very scared, Ugly was not safe. Ugly was captured and taken to master. Master forced Ugly to work for the master, if not, Ugly would die a most terrible death," the elf explained.
Oliver was totally lost for words at the moment. He felt for the chair and slowly sat down.
Ugly continued, after taking a deep breath.
"Ugly has been sent on his first assignment, to keep an eye on Oliver Logan of Melrose Academy, because he might be in grave trouble," the elf said.
Oliver looked shocked.
"So you were sent to spy on me? And... who told you I'm in trouble?" Oliver asked.
"Master's words, not Ugly's," the elf said.
"Tell me, Ugly, who is your master?" Oliver asked.
"Ugly cannot tell what master looks like, Ugly cannot see master," the elf said.
"What?" muttered Oliver.
"You're lying to me, aren't you? Tell me who your master is, now?" Oliver demanded.
"Ugly is a truth elf, Ugly would never lie to Oliver Logan," the elf said, with a sincere tone.
Oliver sighed, shaking his head in disagreement.
"Nice try. Too bad, I couldn't fall for that," he said.
"But..." the elf muttered. Oliver quickly cut in.
"Listen, ugly, I'm not playing games. Just tell me the truth, and I won't hurt you," Oliver sounded straight and serious.
Ugly gazed up at him, with its round innocent eyes.
"Ugly wishes that Oliver Logan would believe. Ugly is telling the truth," it said.
"When ugly was brought before master, Ugly could not see master, because master was seated on a throne in the dark dark shadow," Ugly said.
Oliver thought for a while.
"A throne in the dark, huh?" Oliver muttered.
"For some reason, I feel I should believe you. Here's what's gonna happen, I'm gonna let you go, and you're gonna tell that creepy master of yours, that I don't care what his intentions are, it all ends now. I won't send you back in one piece, next time," Oliver said.
"Leave this orphanage, and don't ever come back," he added. He pointed towards the open shutters.
Ugly remained where he was, staring at him, and biting the tips of its fingers. Oliver was puzzled.
"What are you waiting for, dummy, I just spared your life," Oliver said.
Its big round eyes started to get misty.
"Ugly cannot go back, Ugly is in trouble for letting Oliver Logan see him," it said.
"How is that my problem? Just leave," Oliver said.
"If Ugly gets back, master will kill Ugly," the elf said.
Oliver had no clue what to do at this point. He was wondering what else the elf wanted from him. The elf refused to leave. It was sobbing bitterly, and that was making all of these look more serious than Oliver thought.
"I'm so sorry, Ugly. Whatever it is you want, I can't help you. I'm only twelve, and besides, I'm an orphan now. Maybe we're both even. Just find your way," he said.
The elf refused to leave. It remained there on the desk, with its knees trembling furiously. The poor creature was scared to death.
"Okay, what do you want?" Oliver asked.
"Ugly has nowhere else to go, Ugly wants to stay with Oliver..."
"What!?" exclaimed Oliver in disbelief. He was so stunned by what he had just heard. In as much as he found it impossible to grant the request of the elf, it was also very shocking.
"Ugly you can't stay here with me, it isn't even possible," Oliver said.
"Please, Oliver, help Ugly. Ugly has no one else," the elf pleaded, with a cracking voice, as it sobbed continuously.
"I'm so sorry, Ugly. You don't understand how things go on around here. This is an orphanage, I can't just let you live here, I'd be in trouble if someone found out. Humans tend to behave in an awful way when they see things as unusual as you. This place is not safe for you," Oliver said, persuading the elf to leave, but it still wouldn't take a step toward the window.
Oliver was starting to feel sorry for the elf. He knew that keeping a creature like that was a bit risky. With the way it pleaded, he was beginning to feel like he was responsible for the safety of the elf, but he was trying to convince himself that he was not. It was simply just a creature that was sent to spy on him.
"I can't help you, Ugly. I have to go to school, and there are so many other things I must do," Oliver said at last.
He carried the elf from the desk and placed him on the concrete slab behind the window.
Ugly was sobbing silently. Oliver was a bit touched, but he just remained calm.
"I'm sure you can find your way out from here. Goodbye Ugly, I hope you find somewhere safe," Oliver said.
The elf reluctantly went away. Oliver sighed in relief. He went at once to clean up the bathroom floor. As he cleaned, he thought about the elf and its unknown master. The poor little elf was just following orders in order to save its life.
Oliver finally decided to clear his mind of anything regarding the elf and focus on the present. The students had just been restricted from visiting the town, he needed to know why.
After Oliver was done cleaning, he went outside, down to the assembly hall. Already, an announcement was going on. He took a seat and listened attentively.
"As you all can observe, the security agents have been moving around, ensuring your safety. Rumours have it that a certain threat has emerged. A certain alien species was spotted somewhere around the neighboring town. For you to know, these creatures are terribly dangerous and destructive, and that is why we require your cooperation and support, to help track down these horrible monsters. The agents are all over the town, even as we speak, others are at other places too, hunting down the aliens. If you have any resourceful information regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to report it to the authorities. Thank you for your time."
The blonde-haired lady was done with her speech. She walked away afterwards, with two men in black, behind her. They all had similar badges, signifying the HCI
The hall suddenly became noisy. There was tension everywhere. Everyone was talking about the shocking news. Oliver was on his own on the bench. He was the only one who knew what they were searching for. He had all the information in the world about capturing the alien, but he wasn't going to share it with anyone. The announcer had described the creature with a lot of frightening adjectives. He alone knew that all that she said, were lies and big exaggerations, intended to put fear in the minds of everyone. Though it was true that Ugly was an alien, he was also a harmless little creature, searching for a means of survival.
Oliver knew that Ugly was in trouble. If they find him, they would certainly attest him, and take him to the alien penitentiary in Moscow, where he would be converted to a lab rat, for research purposes.
"Oh no, I can't let them have him," Oliver muttered to himself.
His conscience was really troubling him. He knew he would not easily get over it if the elf got captured because it had requested his protection, but he sent it out to its death.
"I need to save him," he said, as he stood for the bench, and went away.