Warning: There are some serious events you may see in this story. Take a deep breath and let's enter Hell School together.
Zein's POV
I CANNOT stand scratching my legs. I'm wearing short shorts so I can feel the grass sticking on me. My rubber shoes are also muddy.
"Are you sure this is the way? Just tell me if we're lost, so I won't be surprised." I said annoyed.
"Can you shut up, Zein? You've been whining for a while now. You're not even helping."
I just rolled my eyes at Mia who's busy pointing in the direction as she holds the map that she picked up somewhere.
"Too dangerous. Just be careful there might be snakes around." Dave said.
"Thanks for the scare, Dave," Vanessa said with a stick in her hand.
"Sshh... You'll only get more tired if you keep talking," Jerome scolded as he walked ahead of us.
"We're almost there. Just be patient." Matt muttered to calm us down.
I almost cursed when mud splashed down my thigh. I glared at Vanessa because of the stick she was holding.
She hid beside Mia, laughing. Not even bothering to apologize.
We're going to Hell University in the middle of the forest. The gang loves adventure so here we are, trying again. Isn't it amazing?
"Ouch!" My face hit Matt's back when he suddenly stopped. That's when I noticed that they had all stopped.
My jaw almost dropped when I saw what they were looking at. A massive old rusty gate. In the middle of the gate, the word Hell University was written on it and looks like it was done by blood. How creepy!
"Is this it?" Jerome asked.
My eyes almost rolled as I looked around. Isn't it obvious, Jerome? I thought to myself.
"I think it is," Mia said.
"What are you doing here?!"
I grabbed hold of Matt's clothes. Scared by the sudden appearance of a man carrying a machete.
"Is this Hell University? We want to enroll here," Mia said.
A smirk spread across the man's dry lips.
Shit! I don't want to do this anymore.
"Follow me." The man walked ahead.
I grabbed Vanessa's arm. The excitement on her face is evident while I'm scared.
"I think it's a bad idea, Van," I whispered.
"I don't think so."
I couldn't believe what I saw inside the university when we entered. The students are either talking, or crying, others are staring at us with a sharp gaze and some are smirking!
This is creepy!
"All of you need to register first," the man said.
"This is exciting," Jerome whispered, winking at the girls.
I felt like the place is cramped but it's very spacious. Hell University... I covered my mouth when the students suddenly started running.
"What's wrong?" Vanessa asked.
"Riot. Just ignore it," the man said.
"Riot? Well, why doesn't anyone seem to be stopping them? And you? Why are you still here?" Dave asked.
The man shrugged and continued walking. Soon, we stopped at a door. The man, who had been smiling the whole time, faced us.
"All your questions will be answered. Come on."
We entered the room. It was muddy inside and the floor got even more muddy because of our shoes.
A woman sitting on a swivel chair greeted us and motioned for us to sit down.
We sat down. Tsk! It's dirty here. Don't they know how to clean?
"Good morning, newbies. I am Madam Violet, HU's headmistress. Please, fill out these forms." The man handed us the forms.
I glanced at Madam Violet and the man who are smiling while I filled out the form. My throat suddenly went dry so I just turned my attention back to the form.
"Welcome to Hell University!" Madam Violet and the man burst out laughing at the same time.
"Thanks. Uhmm... How much is the tuition fee?" Mia asked.
"I'm a Governor's Scholar, and I have all my documents with me," Vanessa said.
Madam Violet and the man stared at each other and started laughing again.
Gosh! Why are they so weird?
"It's free. Everything is free."
Vanessa and Mia were happy and even more excited while Matt, Jerome, and Dave smiled.
"But..." We fell silent.
"You should know our one and only rule here," Madam Violet said with a smile.
"You only have one rule? Whoa!" Dave said in amazement.
Why don't they seem to notice how weird this is? No tuition fees? Is there a school like that? Or if there is, it probably accepts scholars, but this university? HU? Nevermind.
"7:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. is our 'Freedom Night', also known as 'Bloody Night'."
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Everything is free. You have the freedom to do whatever you want. Bloody Night is the time when killing is legal. So lock all the doors, don't go out during that time frame because you're sure to die," she said with a grin.
I felt all my blood rush to my head because of what Madam Violet said.
"Are you serious?! That's crazy but it's cool!" Matt said.
Gosh! Don't they know how to be afraid? This adventure is not what I want. This one is scary.
"You're just new here. It's better if you're careful. Not all friends treat you like friends. Never let your guard down, or else... You know what I mean?"
Murder is LEGAL? My God! This is crazy!
We entered the dorm where we were assigned to stay. Six of us will be divided there.
"Guys, I'm going to get some air," I said before going out. I needed to get some air and calm myself down. Because I have so many negative thoughts like, are we going to die here and many more.
My feet took me to the park near our dorm. I hugged myself as the cold wind blew. There was no one there.
I sat on the rusty swing and swung it with my feet planted on the ground. I looked around. Just a moment ago, there were a lot of students there but they suddenly disappeared when the riot broke out. Are they really that scared? Do I have anything to be afraid of?
"You will die."
I looked at the tree where the voice came from. It's a guy wearing a black mask and smoking a cigarette. "Who are you?" I was scared when his knife fell, covered in blood. I stood up from the swing, trembling.
"Newbie. What's your name?"
"Z-Zein."
He laughed. I felt insulted by his laughter because there was nothing funny in what I said.
"Your name sounds angelic, but I'm sure in the end, you will also hold a knife to survive."
He picked up the knife and threw it at me. I flinched back. Feeling my throat dry up.
"Scared? You shouldn't be here."
"Who are you?"
He took a step closer to me, making me flinch back in fear. Gosh! This guy is so creepy!
"I am not a friend. No one is your friend."
I frowned. What does he mean? It's confusing.
"It's already 6:30 p.m. You still have 30 minutes to leave. Lock all the doors. Their eyes are on you. Be careful." He turned and walked away.
I watched his back until he was out of my sight. Who was he and who was he referring to?
The strong and cold wind blew again, scaring me. I looked at my watch and then ran back to the dormitory. I caught my friends laughing. They looked at me as I slammed the door shut.
"We went to the wrong school, guys! This is no longer for fun!"
They laughed at what I said and that irritate me. Why don't they believe it? It's not a joke! Our lives are in danger.
"You know, Zein? You'll die first because of fear. Just calm down," said Mia. I looked at her pissed.
We were startled by the sound of the bell ringing all around. I hurriedly locked all the doors and windows. I glanced at the wall clock–7 o'clock.
We fell silent. My chest is pounding so hard.
"What's that?" Jerome asked.
"It's already Blood Night," Vanessa said as she was about to open the door but I quickly blocked it.
"Hey! Do you want to die?!" I asked annoyed but she just laughed at me.
"Easy, Zein. Just kidding."
They laughed again.
Are they crazy to laugh at something this serious?
"Guys, please, I don't want anything bad to happen to any of us. Please take this seriously!" I sat down on the sofa with my arms folded.
"Sorry, Zein." Vanessa hugged me.
Mia sat next to me, "Are you that scared, Zein?" she asked worriedly.
I felt like I'm about to cry. I'm scared something bad would happen to us. I don't want that to happen.
"Mia, I'm serious. There's something in this university more than this Bloody Night. They are hiding lots of secrets."
Madam Violet and the man looked at us strangely earlier. It seemed like they were planning something or maybe I'm just being paranoid.
"Sshh... Okay. Let's sleep for now, tomorrow, we're leaving." Mia hugged me too.
I smiled. "Thank you," I whispered.
"Sshh..."
We looked at Dave as he motioned for us to be quiet. He was peeking through the crack in the window. We approached him and slightly opened the window to see what Dave was looking at.
I held on to Mia's arm tightly. There's a lot of people outside and they're wearing black masks.
"Who are they?" Matt asked in a whisper.
They're scary. Who are they and what are they doing outside when it's Bloody Night? Why are they wearing masks?
We quickly closed the window when one of them looked at us. We quickly huddled together on one side of the room. My chest continues to pound hard.
"Did they see us?" Vanessa asked tremblingly.
"I think-" Dave couldn't finish what he was saying because someone knocked loudly on our door.
My chest pounded even harder.
"Stop it, Luke!" someone shouted from outside.
"Okay, okay."
The knocking stopped but we still huddled together until I fell asleep.