Dr. Thornton's lecture had ended. By this time, Nora had dozed off, her head resting on her arms, while Lina was scrolling through her phone. Rob, on the other hand, had paid attention through the whole thing and was sitting there processing all that was said during the lecture.
"The class is over." Edmond's friend announced, but none of them paid attention to him. Rob continued staring into space, Nora let out a soft snore, and Lina remained glued to her screen.
All of a sudden, Rob stood up. "Lets go." He said as he walked toward the exit without another word.
Lina, noticing his movement, quickly tapped Nora awake. "Huh? What's happening?" Nora mumbled, rubbing her eyes.
"Common Nora, let's go." Lina urged, and the two hurried after Rob, leaving Edmond's friend sitting there alone.
He watched them disappear through the door and shook his head with a smirk. "Edmond has some weird friends."
Rob is walking fast through the corridor leading out of the building. Lina picked up the pace and quickly caught up to him, but Nora lagged behind once again, unable to squeeze into the conversation.
"Aren't you going to fill us in on what exactly it is you're working on?" Lina asked.
"Nope," Rob replied flatly.
"Ugh, why not?" She pressed
"It's classified," Rob said.
Lina groaned dramatically. "Ughhhh!"
From behind, Nora spoke up in frustration. "If he didn't tell me, what makes you think he'd tell you?" She called out, still trying to join the conversation. "
Just as they stepped outside, Rob came to an abrupt halt. Lina, caught off guard, nearly bumped into him, while Nora, still trailing behind, barely had time to react.
Without a word, Rob turned toward Nora, closing the distance between them. He placed a firm hand on her shoulders and met her gaze. "Nora, we have to split up now. I need to keep working on my case."
Nora let out an exaggerated sigh, tilting her head to the side. "Fine, I have a class soon anyway," she relented, though her tone made it clear she wasn't thrilled about it.
"Great." Rob nodded.
"Come on, Lina," Nora said, turning on her heel and starting off. Rob gave a casual wave before heading in the opposite direction.
Lina hesitated, glancing back at him more than once.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she turned to Nora. "Hey, I have to go somewhere too!" she announced quickly before darting off.
Nora blinked, watching her disappear. "Okay…" she muttered to herself with a small sigh before continuing on her way alone.
Lina turned a corner and slipped into another path leading in the same direction Rob had taken. The moment she spotted him again, she hid behind a building, peeking out carefully. That's when she noticed—Rob was tailing Dr. Thornton.
A smirk appeared on her lips. "So, it's a tailing game, huh? I will not be underestimated." Without hesitation, she started trailing Rob while he was following Thornton.
As Dr. Thornton approached the staff lodge area, Lina spotted a sign: Blackveil Male Staff Quarters. Rob seemed to get the memo because he suddenly veered off into a nearby public restroom. A few seconds later, the door opened again, but no one came out.
'He went invisible,' Lina realized. She shifted focus back to Thornton and decided to tail him instead since she couldn't see Rob anymore.
The staff quarters were quiet; most of the staff were still in their classrooms. That worked in Lina's favor because this meant she could move freely without attracting attention.
Eventually, Dr. Thornton reached his apartment, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.
Where the heck is Rob? She wondered, stepping out from her hiding place, only to crash into something that wasn't there.
Or rather, someone who wasn't there.
A second later, Rob made himself visible again.
"Stop tailing me, Lina. This doesn't concern you," he said, his voice firm but not unkind.
"But I want to help! This is my school; I'm the hero of this school," she declared, maintaining eye contact.
"No." Rob's tone hardened, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Believe me, Lina. What's going on here is beyond you. Just... let it go."
Lina pouted but eventually sighed. "Fine."
With nothing left to argue, they turned and walked side by side, heading out of the staff quarters. There was a silence between them, an unusual tension. It was as if neither of them knew what to say.
Then, as they neared the staff quarters gate, Lina abruptly broke the silence.
"You know Nora likes you, right?" she said casually.
Rob didn't even hesitate. "Of course she likes me. We're childhood friends."
Lina rolled her eyes. "Let me rephrase that. You do realize Nora has a crush on you, right?"
Rob blinked. "What? That's absurd. If anything, we're like siblings."
Lina chuckled softly. "Some detective you are." She stopped in her tracks and walked into his path, looking him in the eyes. "Guys are so oblivious."
She stepped past him, walking through the gate without another word.
Rob stood there, perplexed as he contemplated over her words.
Rob thought about it for a second. "Nah, there's no way." He said to himself before continuing on his way.
Knowing his next destination, Rob made his way there.
The Student Affairs and Counseling office sat within an aged section of the school—a building that was once part of the original campus design. It's dark stone exterior was marked by centries of wind and rain.
He stepped inside, approaching the front desk. He asked for directions to the guidance counselor's office. The staff member there gave him brief instructions, and he moved quietly through the halls.
At last, he reached the door.
He approached it and raised his fist, knocking heavily on it.
"Come in," the voice inside calls.
Rob steps in. The office looks exactly how one would imagine—a worn-out desk covered in files, a dying potted plant on the windowsill, and motivational posters curling at the edges. The room smells of stale coffee, old paper, and lavender air freshener struggling to mask years of stress. The aging clock on the wall ticks too loudly, filling the silence in the room.
He glanced at the nameplate: Dr. Evelyn Hart, Student Guidance & Welfare.
Sitting behind the desk is Dr. Hart, an old but surprisingly good-looking woman with sharp eyes. The years were merciful on her; she had aged well. Her hands rest atop a closed file, as if expecting him.
"You're here about the missing students, aren't you?" She says before he can speak.
Rob nods, taking a seat in the chair across from her desk. "Not only that; I get the feeling you know about the other reason I'm here. It's closely related to the missing students." He said.
"Let me take a wild guess. You want to know about Vincent Ramirez." She said.
Rob nods. "He dropped out in 2009. I need to know everything you remember about him."
Dr. Hart exhales, running a hand over her face. "Vincent... yes. I knew him well. He came here often. Too often."
"How often?" Rob asked.
"Every week. Sometimes twice a week. At first, it was just stress—academic pressure, research burnout. But then..." She hesitates, choosing her words. "Then it became about something else."
"The Supernatural," Rob supplies.
Hart's gaze sharpens. "Yes. He believed he was onto something, something bigger than academia. He spoke about his dreams—visions of another world, where monster---no, demons, he said—existed beyond our understanding."
"And you just... listened?"
"I tried to help. Tried to ground him in reality." She sighs. "But Vincent was brilliant. Too brilliant. He contributed to more research papers than some professors. He knew how to make his ideas sound rational, even when they weren't."
Rob taps his fingers on the armrest. "Tell me about ShadowSeekers."
Dr. Hart exhales sharply. "That club. That was the turning point." She shifts her chair uneasy. "It started small. Just a handful of students discussing paranormal theories, mostly harmless. But Vincent... he changed. The more he delved into it, the more obsessed he became. He stopped caring about grades, about sleep, about anything that wasn't his research."
She looks past Rob as if seeing the past unfold. "I tried to intervene. I really did. But he was already too deep."
Rob watches her carefully. "And then he dropped out."
Dr. Hart nods. "Not because he failed. Not because he was struggling. He left because he wanted to. Because, in his mind, he had outgrown the university. He thought he had found something greater."
Rob leans in. "Do you have any of his old records? Notes? Anything he left behind?"
She hesitates, then slowly opens the drawer to her right. After a moment, she pulls out a worn-out file and places it on the desk. Vincent's name was scribbled across the front.
"This is all I have; it was his last research paper about dimensional travel," she murmurs.
Rob picks up the file, feeling the weight of it. Not just paper, but a trail leading into madness. "How did you get it?" He asked.
"It was given to me by a student recently; he claims to be having the same dreams as Vincent. How he got a hold of Vincent's research paper is beyond me."
"Really? What is this student's name? Where can I find him?"
"He's actually one of the missing students you're looking for. His name is Jeffery Hogan."
Rob's eyes widened. 'The A-class math student.' He thought.
"Thank you." He said before he got up to exit the room.
He stopped in front of the door. "Tell me, Dr. Hart," he asks, watching her reaction. "Did Vincent ever mention what was on the other side?"
Dr. Hart was gripped with fear.
"Yes," she whispered. "And I prayed he was wrong."