We want to go home

I'm sorry _

__No need. I understand. Just don't worry a lot. They'd be safe.

He tries to calm his wife down.

__Call me if you need anything. Ok?

Ok.

__Victoria

In Elmont

"Was he behaving strange?" Mr. Michael questions a student about the missing child.

The girl's face lit up "Yes he-kept singing one and the same song. And I walk up to him, he stopped and stared at me with dark eyes"

Mr. Michael freezes. He remembers that he left Evelyn in the corridor. He runs away leaving the children wondering. He arrives there but she is gone. He comes back breathing heavily.

"Sir? Is everything ok?" Nice asks looking at her teacher anxiously.

"Ms. Evelyn, she's gone. I think she has the same issue as your mate. I need to find her. While I assign someone to look for the lost boy. No one should leave the house."

Nice looks at Evan then back to their guardian who leaves in a hurry. Evan faces Nice "Stay with the others. I'd be back"

She frowns but he doesn't give her space to talk, as he goes after his teacher, "Sir, I'm coming with you?"

He halts to face Evan but Evan is already in front of him "You can't come with me. You need to stick with your classmates. They need you"

"We all need each other. I overheard your discussion with the other supervisors. I won't let you go alone. She might be dangerous, possessed with a dark spirit"

Mr. Michael doesn't know what to say. He just nods and let Evan come with him. They walk out and start calling her name to the top of their voices.

"She must have gone ahead. Let's walk to the road" Mr. Michael suggest and they take off towards the high way.

...

Nice sees the cook with a phone in her hands as she concentrate and types something out. She walks towards her and the woman lifts her neck at the teen's presence.

"Please, can I have your phone for a minute. I want to contact my mom."

"It's impossible. There's no network"

Nice scratches her eyebrow, "But your browsing."

"That's because I'm using WIFI. But you can have it. Maybe your mom will be online" she holding out her phone for the young girl to use and she receives gracefully.

"Thanks" Nice appreciates, going through her phone rapidly. She connects Messenger at once and logs in. She finds her mom offline.

She curses under her breath gaining a glare from the smart phone owner, "Is everything alright?"

"Umm...yeah, just that my mom is not online"

The older lady cranes an eyebrow "Oh! You can still leave her a message. When she'd be online, she'd respond"

Nice grins, her teeth glittering "Yeah, good idea"

She types out: Mom, hope you're doing great. As for me, I'm ok. For now. We're in the woods right now; explaining why I'm using a phone. If Mrs. Jana already talked to you about Evan sleeping in my room, then I assume she explained to you why he did that. I almost died. But he saved me. And...that's why he had to stay with me that night: to calm me down. There's a lot I need to ask you. But since you're not online, I'd propone for next time. I should go now. Take care and greet dad for me.

She's about logging out when her status shows 'seen'. Her heart loops in excitement.

Her mom starts typing. She waits eagerly until the message appears

Oh my god baby I'm so happy to hear from you. I'm in BHSC right now. I was informed by your principal about your tour. I needed to rush her ASAP. I need all of you to leave that place. Come back. It's dangerous. Please, tell your teachers to do that now. I'd explain to you later.

Nice responds: What are you talking about mom? What exactly do you know about this place?

__Baby I can't explain everything to you now. Just do what I asked of you.

Mom, who is Emma? And what happened to her? Why did you sign a contract with Mrs. Jana concerning her dead?

Her mom is stiff. How did her daughter know about this? Her heart is pumping abnormally. She feels a slight pain in her brain. Nerves have reason. She won't want her daughter knowing her past. And more to that, she knows Nice must've fallen for Evan. Evan! The son to the man she once loved. But he never loved her in return. He loved Emma.

Baby, listen to me. You'd know all these the hard way if you don't return here with friends. Please, sweet heart. I'm sick worried for you. Plus, you have to stay away from Evan. Don't ask me why. I won't answer you. Bye.

She goes offline. If she doesn't, Nice won't stop asking her questions.

Nice is scared. She has no one left but Evan by her side. And now her mom wants him away from her. Why? That's the same thing her principal kept telling her; still giving out no reasonable excuse.

With a fallen face, she hands her cook's phone without locking out "Thanks."

The lady takes it with solemnity, having empathy for the girl. Nice walks away, her thought floating on her mom's words.

Abigale notices her lost from a distance and matches towards her direction.

She taps on her friend and her friend blinks her eyes "Oh Abi"

"Your lost" she acknowledges and her friend gives up on the weight over her shoulder.

"I just talked with my mom. She told me to stay away from Evan. I had no time to ask her why though-"

Nice's eyes grow wide as she cuts her words. Her friend just spoke. Abigale has recovered her vocal. Abigale is with her hands over her mouth as she stares at Nice knowingly.

They meet Johns and tell the other student, who rejoice. But Evan and Mr. Michael come back from their research, their faces in a pool of sweat.

Their expression makes the atmosphere cold. The folks assigned to look for the missing boy, walk in after, breathing hard. None of them returned with their findings.

"We couldn't find her" Mr. Michael and Evan mouthed in unison.

"And we didn't find the boy either" the other group confess.

Students grumbling to themselves, protracts the walls of the room.

"Listen up kids! We'd keep searching for them. Ok?"

"We want to go home!" A student screams through unfamiliar voices.

"Yes, we do!" another yells.

It was time they went back to school. No one in his right senses will spent another night a place such as Elmont.

"Ok. If that's what all of you want, then so be it. We will go back to school as soon as we find your friend and Ms. Evelyn" Another instructor says

The kids are aware of the fact that they can't leave without their friend or female teacher. But life and dead is knocking on their door. How sure are they that if they stay here one more night, something worse won't manifest.

"We have to stick together this time around. No more groups. We'd be leaving all in one house. So those who got their stuff the other way should bring it unto this side" Mr. Michael instructs and they pace out of the room and come back with their necessities.

The night dawns quicker than expected. Everyone is filled with remorse for the lost. It's almost like a moan for their once members. Where could they be? Are they fine?

The joy to visit a vegetation zone has turned into a nightmare. Normally, everyone should be conversing, reciting stories or playing games. But now the people are moody and sadist.

Nice has not mention a single word to Evan since his arrival. She's clinching to Abigale and forcing herself not to stare at Evan's direction.

Evan is looking at her steadily. His half-brother Johns comes and sits next to him. He doesn't notice as his eyes are still drown towards Nice.

To be continued...