Stunned

'Weird is associated with words such as strange, odd, bizarre, peculiar, uncanny, eerie and even creepy. I was feeling a little mix of all the words mentioned.'

Yvann took a deep breath and convinced himself that what he was about to do was necessary. He was going to do it to find Szeina and repair the little sanity left in him.

Crossing his fingers, Yvann silently hoped that Officer Von wouldn't learn of what he was doing.

Parking his car in a conspicuous space somewhere around the block where Szeina's house used to stand, he jogged the rest of the way.

He could briefly recall the times when he had dropped her off. He would watch her walk inside the gate and gradually into the house.

A soft breeze blew by.

It being a Saturday; he had a good excuse to come out to have some fresh air.

At least that was what he had told the people back in his house.

He hardly slept the other night. Szeina flooded his mind, and he felt desperate to find her.

She needed to know the truth, his part of the truth.

Yvann could almost hear Szeina stating something about her best friend dying.

The real reason why she had to move from Shantel Academy and join Alwreck High.

She had needed a fresh start and forget about the tragic part of her past where she was accused of being involved in her best friend's death.

And now, because of his mysterious appearance in the scene, Szeina could mark him as the killer.

He had nothing to do with it.

But how could she know that? The necklace she found in his possession was a proof that he must know something.

However, he didn't.

Yvann has as many questions about that night as Szeina has.

The rest of his memory before landing in that place was hazy.

It didn't even occur to him that he was at Shantel Academy itself until last night.

When this hit him, that was the only time he understood what Szeina must have felt when she unknowingly confessed about this part.

He was supposed to be her friend.

Unfortunately, he already failed her.

Yvann wasn't hoping to have her forgiveness or anything. All he wanted was to have the chance to clear his name.

--

Szeina coughed. Her throat felt like several claws were trying to come at her all at once. She frowned at the thought. 

The idea elicited unwanted images inside her head, which eventually led to her thinking about the tiny details of the Rebel creature.

She also lost her phone that day. Not that it mattered. But she did have some photos she wished she had stored somewhere safely before losing access to it.

Queedor led them into a narrow alleyway which Szeina could hardly tell where it was hidden when the house was still standing. It was a bit more than dusty.

"Are we there yet?" Szeina asked, trying not to choke on her own saliva.

"Patient, love." Queedor replied, his back to her. Szeina wanted to demand and tell him her patience was thinning out. Yet. she held her tongue.

Lashing out at Queedor would only make her seem childish. Not only that, Neyandro would surely tease her about it when things finally come back to normalcy among them.

Knowing what they do know now was something she and Neyandro needed some time to adjust to. 

It wasn't easy to accept.

'Oh, hey. You're immortal. Congratulations. Welcome to the club.' Szeina brushed off the thought.

She couldn't help but wish it was how it happened. 

Would she have an easier time accepting the truth? Maybe.

Maybe not.

Blowing out a sigh, Queedor finally skidded to a halt. Szeina followed suit and had a look around.

The walls around the area where they were standing were barely ruined. But there was nothing special about it. It looked like their basement except for the glowing vault box on one of its walls.

The silver lining of the box made it stand out against the cement wall. Szeina could see a blue screen blinking and a dial pad was below it.

"Uh, did you somehow drag us all the way here to retrieve a hidden treasure?" Neyandro sounded in awe. But at the same time, he didn't sound convinced of what he was trying to say.

"You could say that." Queedor replied, going towards the vault box. He pressed the code, and it immediately opened, revealing a scanner, its red light briefly running over Queedor's face.

"Two more biometrics needed." The machine called out. Queedor turned towards Neyandro and Szeina.

"Do the honors, please?" He said, encouraging for the two of them to join him.

Glancing at each other for a brief second, Szeina and Neyandro made their way towards Queedor.

"Just let the scanner do its job."

Neyandro stepped in front of the scanner and waited. When he was done, the mechanical voice then prompted for another command.

"One more biometric needed." Szeina eyed Queedor, stepping into the scanner herself after Neyandro cleared the space.

She took a deep breath and waited for the scanner.

When it was done, the red glow slowly disappeared.

Click.

The vault was now open. Queedor tugged on the door and opened it wider.

Inside, Szeina saw two fancy boxes. Both of which bore an insignia on top of its cover. Intricate patterns surrounded the box, and Szeina could almost compare it to that of a necklace box.

"What's this?"

Queedor reached out for the boxes, handing each of it towards the two. Szeina gingerly touched the box and repeated her question.

"What's this?"

"Those," Queedor stared at her, his face serious. "Are your amulets. They will come in handy when the time comes."

Szeina furrowed her eyebrows, visibly confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Each individual creature of our kind possesses an amulet. It serves them in times of great need and can come when it is summoned by its master."

"I still don't get how it works. Does it become a weapon? A shield? How do we summon it?" Szeina held Queedor's gaze, waiting for him to respond.

"Yes. It can act as a weapon or a shield. The summoning will take some time to practice, but with you two I can guarantee that it won't take long for you to master." Queedor replied.

He looked at Neyandro and Szeina, smiling as he pulled out an almost similar box from his pocket and took the content out. A thin golden chain appeared, and the pendant was of a crescent moon.

He let them watch him wear it. Once it was around his neck, Queedor closed his eyes. A hum of energy had the hairs on Szeina's and Neyandro's skin stand.

"Whoa," Neyandro expressed.

"Watch closely," Queedor encouraged, opening his eyes and concentrated, his fingers moving.

Incoming, a medium size rock came sailing towards them. Szeina had her eyes close but the rock never came. Instead, bright lights cracked on what appeared to be an invisible veil surrounding them, letting the rock bounce back, leaving them unscathed.

"Whoa," Szeina muttered, mimicking Neyandro.