Episode 11: Aftermath

Everyone stood close to the computer immediately, Master Louis whispered those words. He was impressed, the same as Mr. Daniel. Jake moved over to the screen and fixed his eyes on it while holding a blank expression.

Bella tried to guess what he was thinking with his facial expression, but she got no clue. There and then, Samara popped out of the woods, her body looking mucky, same with her black hair.

"Bella!" Master Louis called and she moved towards him swiftly. "Go help her, she looks like someone about to drop dead." He added and Bella rushed towards Samara who was walking slowly while dragging her tired legs.

After using her powers on the water, she felt exhausted and drained, like she had used all her energy. She sighted Bella coming towards her with a smile on her face, and she arched her brows.

"Why are you smiling?" She questioned curiously before Bella could say a word.

"You won, Samara. You will be the next student leader after Jake." She mumbled and placed around her shoulder, and that was the moment Samara realized she was the only person out of the woods.

"What…what about the rest, huh?" She stuttered and blinked her lashes.

"Still struggling with their illusion, I guess. You did great, and your timing was something we have never seen for the past two years." Bella added and help Samara as they move towards Master Louis and the rest of the students.

A chair was kept for Samara and Master Louis made her sit on it, though he didn't utter a word to her. I thought Bella said I did well, huh? Is he not impressed? Samara thought within herself and took a deep breath.

She had a bruise on her left leg, and Miss Owens bent to treat it and other wounded area on her body. She whined when she began to clean the wounds, and her eyes landed on Jake.

It seems like he was contemplating whether he should move closer to her or not. Their gaze met before he took his eyes to a different direction and acted like she wasn't there at all.

After thirty minutes, most of the students who went into the woods began to pop out. Samara had thought Emily will be the next person after her, but to her greatest surprise, she sighted Vlad coming out of the woods while running and panting heavily.

"Help him out!" Mr. Daniel yelled and Jake moved to him. He carried Vlad on his back before then, they saw Emily coming out.

Samara resisted the urge to burst into laughter, Emily looked like a clown. Her hair was messy, and her face was covered in mud. Jeez! What kind of illusion did she see? Samara mumbled under her breath and bit her bottom lip.

Most of the students were out already, and it was just one person left who was still in the woods. Master Louis went in himself to fetch the person, and he came out shortly while carrying the boy on his shoulder.

He had a deep wound on his leg, and Miss Owens moved to attend to the boy. They all went into the hall and Master Louis dismissed them.

"Is that all? He hasn't said a word to any of us." Samara uttered in surprise and curiosity.

"He will, by morning, of course. All you need now is to take your medicine and a nap." Bella voiced out and looked at the medicine in her hand, which was for Samara.

They got to the room and Bella helped Samara into the bathroom before moving out of the room. Then she met Jake along the way and Bella became curious. Her head filled with so many questions. Was he going to see Samara? Is he liking her roommate already?

She shrugged her shoulders and walked swiftly to the kitchen to get some food. After some minutes, she came back and found Samara all seated on the bed while covering her legs with a duvet.

"Did Jake come here?" Bella inquired immediately, and closed the door.

"Huh? Jake?" Samara asked with her mouth slightly open.

"Yes, Jake. I saw him along the way, he was heading to the ladies floor." She added and dropped the uncovered plate on the table, and Samara shook her head while blinking her lashes.

"No one came here, I was just alone." She whispered and Bella sighed.

Bella moved the little table closer to Samara and placed the food on it. "Eat some before you take your drugs. How did you do it, huh? You were so fast inside the woods, what was your illusion like?" Bella bombarded Samara with questions.

"Well, at first, I had no idea what was happening. It seems like I was in a different world and I kept hearing crying voices inside the woods. I was freaking out, to be honest." Samara whispered and dish her spoon into the porridge.

"That must be so tough for you." Bella said and relaxed her back on the bed.

"What was yours like, huh? You said you never did anything about illusion during the test." Samara anxiously stated.

"Yeah, we had to fight each other while being paired with our seniors who were in the school before us. They were the first set of students Master Louis had and the most trained set. It wasn't funny that year." Bella voiced out in a low cadence while recalling on the day.

"How did you survive, if you were a newbie then, how did you fight your opponent?" Samara asked and dropped the spoon on the table.

"How did I survive? Huh… I used my power and played smart. I knew what my gift was at that moment, so I had to use it in order not to get defeated." Bella stated with a smirk, obviously proud of herself.

"That must be so cool, I hope we don't get to fight because I don't think I can throw a punch." Samara added, slightly embarrassed, and Bella chuckled.

"You will be trained for that, more like a way to defend yourself."

"So where did the first set of students go to? I haven't seen anyone older than you guys around the school." Samara asked the one question flowing inside her head.

Bella moved closer to her and roamed her eyes around while acting all creepy. "I heard they were killed." She whispered into her ears and Samara fluttered her lashes and a gasp escaped her lips.

"By Master Louis?" She inquired, if the first set of students were strong and trained like how Bella described them, what would have killed them if not Master Louis who is way stronger and unimaginably powerful than everyone.

"No! He would never do that, though he makes us go through hell during training, but he has never killed someone. I haven't heard a rumor relating to that." Bella chipped in, and Samara released a breath she had no idea she was holding for long.

"Then what happened to them?" Samara inquired and fixed her intense gaze on Bella, who stared at the floor before raising her head to look at her.

"Master Louis was deceived by the government leaders. A file which contains corrupt record of every powerful leader was stolen in the government office, but the force couldn't do anything to get it and the president didn't want the anonymous person to use it against them, so they called upon Master Louis. They were never in good terms because the president had denied him the right to build his school in the city, and that's why we are far from it. Stuck here in an isolated place." Bella voiced out and adjusted herself.

"Everything is beginning to make sense, now I know why we are far from the city." Samara whispered softly.

"Yeah, the president pleaded with master Louis to help him, and he did by sending the best seven students he had. But…but after they got the file, they were ambushed and killed." Bella said with a woebegone expression.

Samara gasped and joined her hands together. She felt her body go cold with the information she just received, and she tried to process everything.

"No wonder, he was trying to save us by getting us out of the orphanage." Samara added and huddled her legs, but she whined and brought it down. She had forgotten she has a wound on her legs.

"Well, everything happened so fast." Bella spoke and ruffled her smooth hair.

"What did Master Louis do about their death?" She questioned and scanned Bella's face for an answer.

"Nothing, Father Richard had to stop him, he was willing to bring down the whole city until he feels satisfy, but the priest stopped him from making a decision he would regret later." Bella said and stood up from the bed.

"I see, but I hope we are safe now." Samara muttered, with a bit of fear washing through her voice.

"Don't worry, they can't get to us while we are here. They won't want to face Master Louis wrath by stepping into his territory after all they had done." Bella added and hopped on her bed while dragging the duvet close to her.

"Finish your food and take your drugs. You have a big day tomorrow, future student leader." Bella stated, and Samara felt her cheeks warming up as a smile displayed at the corners of her lips.