Samuel finally reached the dormitories, his heart racing. He could have entered through the front door, but a sudden thought hit him. I'm wearing a mask. They'd be suspicious of me. Worse, they might try to fight me! Frustrated, he slammed a fist against his temple. Climbing through a window seemed like a viable option for a moment, but he immediately dismissed it. No, that's even stupider. Gah! Think like Donovan for a second, stop being a dumbass!
He took a deep breath. The front door… just go through it. Why not use my eyes to see through it first? Activating his eyes, he scanned the interior. There was no one inside. I should be fine, he reassured himself. But then, another wave of anxiety. Wait! What about the cameras? They'll see me! The overthinking was driving him insane. Finally, he decided. Just go in!
Samuel gripped the door handle and barged inside. "I can do this! I—shit."
His timing couldn't have been worse. He'd interrupted two students in what appeared to be a moment of tension, standing face to face. One, a boy, looked like he was on the verge of crumbling, clearly a nervous wreck. The girl, on the other hand, seemed calm and sincere. Samuel thought he caught a "yes" from the girl's lips.
"Uh..."
"W-Who are you?" the girl stammered, startled by his sudden appearance.
Samuel's mind raced. Think of something, fast. His hands instinctively reached into his pouches, pulling out two handles. With a flick, he summoned twin sickles, placing them near the students' necks. His voice turned cold. "Don't mention what you saw to anyone." He tightened his grip slightly, unintentionally pressing the blades closer. "We cool?"
The two nodded frantically, too terrified to speak. Fear kept them frozen in place, their throats constricting.
"Good." Samuel tucked his sickles away, but doubt crept in. There's no way they'll keep this quiet... Gah, screw it!
Without warning, he smacked the boy on the head with the handle of his sickle, sending him crumpling to the ground, unconscious. Before the girl could react, Samuel puffed a cloud of powder from his palm. As soon as she inhaled it, her vision blurred, and her limbs became heavy. Within moments, she collapsed onto the boy, both now unconscious.
Samuel stood over them, admiring his work. "Adorable…" he muttered. "Wish I could find you two a better spot." His eyes landed on a bench outside. "Aha! Perfect."
Quickly, he dragged their limp bodies to the bench, arranging them in a cuddly position. He brushed the boy's hair aside, hoping the head injury wouldn't be too noticeable. With a final glance at the scene, Samuel ran back into the dormitory, pulling out the list Donovan had given him earlier. A detailed list of student names, class information, and dorm room numbers. Unorthodox, maybe, but useful.
He scrolled through the names, looking for his target: Jacob Banster. Dorm room 131. Samuel's heart quickened as he approached the door. Locked, of course.
"Good thing I have this," he muttered, pulling out a lock-pick. He started to work on the door. Click, click, click… "Got it!" Samuel exclaimed, but his excitement was short-lived. The door refused to budge. "Oh, you piece of shit—HUP!"
With a forceful slam, Samuel broke through the door. The room was chaos. Clothing scattered across the floor, torn papers strewn everywhere like some animal had ravaged the place. The carpet hung in tatters by the window, and on a small table to the left, a journal lay open.
"Damn... What happened here?" Samuel closed the door softly behind him, tiptoeing past the debris. He picked up the journal, flipping through its pages.
At first, the entries were mundane. Typical student musings. But as he skimmed through them, the tone shifted dramatically.
November 9th: Journal Entry 26:
Today, I received a strange letter. No name, just my dorm address, wrapped in a red bowtie. The envelope was the same color. The message inside… cryptic. Philosophies, symbols, nonsense. I threw it away. Whoever sent it, I hope they stop.
Samuel's heart raced as he turned the page. The following entries had been torn out, but further down, he found one from two days ago.
November 21th:
Shit. Shit. Shit. What have I done? Why are they after me? Why her? This can't be happening… They have her. Oh god, they have her. I can't let this happen…
Samuel's worry grew as he flipped to the final entry.
nVMbEE:
It's true. They have her. They'll kill her. I have to do it. I have to kill three kids. It's the only way. Anything for her… I will kill them when I see them. I swear I will.
"Jesus Christ..." Samuel whispered, tucking the journal into his pouch. He began searching the room, finding strange artifacts of various shapes and sizes beneath a cupboard. How had Jacob gotten these? Activating his eyes, Samuel saw trails of red smoke lingering in the air, remnants of magic.
Under the bed, he found a small golden object, pulsing with a faint blue hue every ten seconds. Its surface was covered in intricate carvings.
Samuel stuffed the object into his pouch, preparing to leave before he suddenly heard it. Two sets of footsteps coming his way. His heart races immediately as he searches for any place to hide or escape. Sweat trickled down his forehead as his body shook in place.
Only when his eyes landed on the open window, he heard the door rattle. rattle rattle rattle
"Damnit! Fucking-!" The door was slammed open again, two people stood by doorway as they observed the empty room and dirty room infront of them, the window was closed, so there was no possibility of someone having intruded this place earlier in their eyes.
"Well, I should've expected this from that slob."
"His sister's under our watch. Of course, his room's a wreck." A second more feminine voice spoke, "Look at this mess. Torn papers, dirt everywhere… and where are the artifacts?"
"Bastard took some." The masculine voice spoke, "There should be nine, but I only count six." he growled, "They wanted us to meet him personally, to make sure he did the job."
"He's off trying to kill those three new kids. The others claimed that they might be more dangerous than we thought. Now that they are here and not in the lower ranks, they ordered Jacob to kill them."
"Better fucking work...ugh, what should we do?"
The feminine voice spoke, "We were sent here to investigate any actions that he had acted upon us. Stolen artifacts check out."
"Right. Go write a letter to the others. Tell them of his actions. And maybe it's time to gather it all up at our horde. Prepare it for extraction."
The feminine figure chuckled "We're far from completion, hope you know that."
"I'm not that stupid sis. We do what we can."
"Alright, then, Let's report back. And take the artifacts with us."
As the two figures picked up the artifacts from the cupboard and stuffed them into a bag, they turned around and walked out the door from where they came. Samuel having heard and seen everything that occurred. he couldn't see their faces. They were dressed in big robes with black masks and armor. And they look to be the size of a second or third-year student.
He was hidden outside the window, holding onto the wood for dear life, his heart pounded in his chest, but he remained unseen. Thank God...got out just in time.
With the danger having passed already, Samuel climbed down the wall and sprinted toward the trees, making sure no one saw him. Now, he had valuable information and the stolen artifacts. Time to regroup.