Chapter 37 Face to Face at Last

It was late at night. Heavy thunder clouds moved past, watching over the entirety of Darkwood. Someone stood in the middle of a dirt plain. Her sleeves were partially burnt around edges, all the way to her elbows. She landed one last punch to the ground. A circular heatwave emerged from under, spreading out to disperse just as quickly into the air. Sweat dripped down her chin as she slumped to the ground with exhaustion. Her eyes rolled up as she surrendered to an inevitable sleep.

Ricky stepped out from behind the tree trunk. He covered the distance with slow, careful steps and crouched down a few feet from her.

"You don't need to go at it alone…" he whispered.

He could hear emerging sounds of the forest creatures clicking about. He placed a hand on the ground. A series of electric lines spread out from under his palm, going up and around Meryl in a dome-like structure. It curved around her like a protective shield, letting out enough light to keep any stray shadows away. Ricky inched back towards the trees without a sound. In the few seconds that followed, he was gone.

.

Shadows had drastically increased in numbers in just a few hours. Cheryl let out sparks, discharging at the creatures that jumped at her. Dan stayed close, his heart lurched everytime a shadow was zapped into the walls. The Catter followed after, its cat-like ears perked up, alert of its surroundings. The three strolled along the corridor with their hairs on end.

There was a shuffle at the end of the turning, followed by an army of disfigured shadows merged together into a giant cluster. Arms and legs protruded from all directions. There was a single slit for a mouth that opened up at the sight of them. Cheryl flinched while Dan backed away, eyes fixated on the creature ahead.

"What now?" he asked, fear evident in his voice.

As the beastly being crept towards them, the foolish Catter sprinted past Cheryl, screeching as it made a lunge for it.

"No!" she screamed at it.

The creature opened its giant mouth. A dark liquid drooled out, sticking to the Catter as it landed in its mouth. The mouth closed, swallowing it whole.

"No, get out!" Cheryl raged, taking steps towards it only to be stopped by Dan. He pulled on her arm, holding her back.

"You can't go after it now," he told her.

The creature screeched back, as if to provoke her, speeding towards them.

"Run!" Dan shouted, pulling her away as they both broke into a run. The creature wobbled after, tearing down doors of classrooms as it squeezed through the thin corridors. Cheryl could feel her breath coming up short as they sprinted down the stairs towards the second floor.

The stairs tore down behind them under the weight of the creature rolling over like a boulder. Cheryl's eyes peered for a place to hide, knowing they could not outrun the monster. Her eyes narrowed down to a thin alley right in front of the auditorium. Without a moment's hesitation, she raced towards it, pulling Dan with her.

"This way!" she yelled.

They squeezed into the darkened alley, feeling the air grow dense. Their breaths came out in an uneven pattern as they struggled to remain still. Dan's hands shivered slightly as the creature approached. He could feel Cheryl shift deeper into the alley, tugging at his sleeve. He slowly lifted his feet to follow after, only to flinch at the sound of another screech.

The monster searched around, crawling on its many feet as it moved past the alley. Dan let out a breath of relief when its footsteps faded into the distance.

"Psst!"

He quickly craned his head at the sudden sound. Cheryl had disappeared somewhere in the darkness.

"Cheryl?" he called out in a whisper.

"Over here," the reply came from a few feet away.

He followed the sound with slow sideways steps. The alley opened up a little, the further he walked, making it a bit more breathable. Cheryl lifted a hand in the air, sparks protruding from it. Her face lit up in the small space, along with a door to her side. She turned the knob and it clicked open with ease. He watched her disappear into the room.

"Wait up," he said, following quickly after.

The door closed behind them with a click. Lights flickered on, revealing a dusty old room with cobwebs large enough to fit a person. The furniture was covered up by large white sheets, hugging the walls all around.

"What is this place?" Dan murmured aloud, confusion etched on his face. "I've been to many places in this school… but this is just plain weird."

Cheryl let her hands graze along the dust filled sheets.

"Why have a room so hidden away in secret? What're they trying to hide?"

He was just saying that when Cheryl tugged a little at one of the sheets. It came loose, slipping to the floor with ease revealing an old dresser with a mirror attached to the top. Cheryl gasped, quickly covering it back up with the sheet. She glanced at Dan who peeked under another sheet, only to jump back in alarm.

"Mirrors!" they both said in unison, staring at each other's frightened faces.

"Do you think she saw us?" Cheryl blurted.

Dan shrugged nervously. There was silence for a few seconds. Neither of them moved, almost expecting something to happen. Seconds ticked past with no further events and the two slowly became at ease.

A cold breeze reverberated the entire room, circling around them. There were sounds of footsteps from the other side of a wall cloaked with white sheets. Cheryl charged up her sparks in one hand while Dan inched closer to her, glancing around in every direction. All of a sudden something clicked open from under the sheets. A familiar face peeked out from behind, olive green eyes glancing from one face to another.

"Kendra!" Dan announced, sounding surprised.

"I thought I heard someone," Kendra spoke, holding the sheets over her head. "Dan…" she whispered, just noticing him standing there. Her eyes wandered over to the girl with a hand full of sparks ready to attack. The cold breeze turned to an icy wind, pinching them in the face.

"Quick, in here," Kendra motioned with her hand, calling them under the sheet before she disappeared. Dan chased after her without a moment's hesitation. Cheryl quickly followed, having her legs already go numb from the cold. She pulled on the sheet to reveal a secret door. She hurried through, closing it behind her.

She stood gaping at a large bedroom with an air cooler attached to the wall above. Purple, flowery drapes hung from above the window, right beside a silver framed cupboard. Everything in the room screamed luxury. Her eyes met Kendra's questioning ones who stood next to her bed, arms folded, ready for interrogation. Her hair was a light blonde, complementing her olive green eyes.

"I'm disappointed. I thought I made it perfectly clear that I can't meet with anyone. Not even you, Dan," she was saying.

"Then why'd you keep tabs on us? Me and Rosa?" Dan was saying in a provocative manner. He pulled out the necklace from his back pocket. The broken mirror shone in her face. She gasped, hastily swiping it from him.

"Where did you get this?" Kendra said, holding the chain away from her face as if it were poison.

"So you know about it then?" Cheryl interrupted, eagerly taking a step towards her.

"That's Rosa's. She wore it right to the point before she disappeared today at lunch," Dan informed.

Kendra held a confounded expression as her gaze shifted from him to Cheryl, all the while shaking her head. She sat down at the edge of her bed, looking down at her feet as if debating something inside her head.

"It's not me you're after…" she finally spoke after a few seconds of silence. "It's Sara."

"Sara?" Cheryl's eyebrows went up.

"Who's Sara?" Dan asked, taking a step towards Kendra.

"She's… the one you were friends with," Kendra replied with a half-hearted smile that only made her eyes look sad. "Not me. She loves you, you know? You and Rosa both. She's the one who gave that to Rosa." Kendra threw the necklace away over the bed.

"I don't understand…" Dan said, taken aback as he shook his head. "How could you not be… you?"

"She's my dead twin… whose soul is still alive, in another realm," Kendra said, rising to her feet. "I was the one who trapped her there by accident, right before she died. Her body is no more but her soul wanders these unknown realms."

"How? How can a soul be able to do that?" Cheryl asked, feeling all the more confused. To which Kendra just smiled politely.

"Her powers allow her to do that. She's more powerful than I ever will be. But even she has her limits to how much she can travel. She can't exist in our world without a host."

"You were the host…" Cheryl gasped out the words with realization. Dan stumbled to a fall, sitting on the clean, white floor, staring at her with shock filled eyes.

"So all this time… I thought it was you but it was really her? Using your body to move around?" he spat with repulsion. "That's just… sick."

"I'm sorry you had to find out like that. I'm also sorry that you're going to have to leave now." Kendra's tone made a drastic change to a serious one. She rushed over to the main door of the room and pulled it open to reveal a pair of guards. Almost immediately, they took action, marching in to grab Dan by the collar.

"Wait, no. Why is it that you locked yourself up? I need to know," Dan burst out in desperation, resisting the guard's hold on him.

"She was getting out of control. Trying to take over my life. I had to put an end to it," Kendra's words were harsh but firm. "It's best if you leave this school, before she turns it into a realm where she's able to walk freely."

Cheryl's ears twitched at those words. She felt the guard pull on her shoulder.

"Is that what's been happening?" she shouted out.

"Haven't you noticed? The school is already drifting in another realm," Kendra said dryly. "Very soon, the whole town will suffer the same."

"Why don't you help us stop her together? Locking yourself up won't do anyone any good. You're just running away from everything instead of facing it," Cheryl cried out, recklessly resisting the guard's grip on her arm as he pulled her away.

"I stopped being the host and she found her way back forcefully. She'll stop at nothing to be able to walk free again."

"At least let me talk to her," Dan insisted, almost out the door. "I'm sure she'll listen if you just let me-"

Kendra closed the doors shut in his face before he could complete his sentence.

Cheryl found herself locked inside an empty classroom. She could hear Dan struggling in the neighboring room, fighting to slip past the guards. There was a loud slam, like a body being propelled onto the floor. It was followed by a door clicking shut with the lock in place.

"Stay there till morning. The principal will know what to do with you," one of the guards announced as he walked away into the corridor.

The thunder flashed in the sky outside. Light entered the room for a split second through the window behind her. She sighed and lay down on the floor, feeling tiredness seep in. It was way past her bedtime according to the chart Ricky had jotted down for her. Early to bed, early to rise, he had said. She pulled out her phone and swiped through the calls list. There were no new messages or calls, to her disappointment.

There, hidden in the shadows under a corner table, the little shadow boy watched silently. His luminous blue eyes glinted at her sleeping figure with recognition. However, he chose to remain hidden as per Dixon's orders, while at the same time, made sure the shadows didn't dare to make a move.

.

"Stay away from me," Rosa cried out, trapped inside the strange world with only one person whom she recognized, only slightly. "You've changed. The Sara I knew wasn't insane."

She was now inside what looked like an abandoned stable. There was hay stacked around neatly in the shape of a bed. The room was small, almost suffocating. Sara sighed, flipping her light blonde, braided hair behind her back. Her red eyes fell on the shivering girl in front of her as she held out a piece of freshly baked bread.

"If you don't eat, you'll die. This world won't accept you for long," she said coldly, throwing the bread loaf at her feet before walking out, locking the wooden door behind her.

Rosa wept alone in the dark, crouching down to hug her knees. It had been several hours since she was brought here, with no explanation as to where she was exactly. There had been that one moment where the strange dark haired boy had appeared out of a black sphere. It may have been her only chance at escaping, yet she failed.

Sara found out about it quickly after. She locked her up inside the stable as a precaution, in case she tried to run away. She hadn't tried to hurt her as of yet. Rosa stared at the loaf of bread next to her feet, dimly visibly under the moonlight that seeped in from the cracks. Her stomach grumbled. She hadn't had food all day. If she didn't eat, she really might die.

With a shaky hand, Rosa reached for the bread.