Chapter Two

"Don't mind her," a voice sounded from her right. Lucianne turned to it, and saw a bald man approaching her from behind a counter with a pillow in his hand. He dropped to his knees beside the lady and put the pillow under her head as she continued to rock back and forth, her head now slamming against the cushion. "She's always having these epileptic seizures."

"Is she going to be okay?" Lucianne asked the man.

"She'll be fine," he said. "Is there any book you're looking for?"

Lucianne shook her head. "No, I was looking for directions to Ravenspire Academy. She said to walk straight along this row of shophouses and I'd find it."

"Yes, you will," he said, nodding. "You don't look like you're from around here."

"I'm not. I travelled here to enrol in Ravenspire."

"The townspeople mostly keep to themselves. They might come off as hostile because of that and the fact that they're so steeped in superstition doesn't help it. I apologise for any bad experiences you may have on their behalf."

Apparently she had found the first normal person. "It's alright." The lady on the floor slowly stilled and the man pulled her up to a seating position. She sighed in exhaustion as he patted her back.

"This is my wife, Gertrude. I'm Benny. I hope she wasn't going on about her tales again when she was talking to you earlier. She thinks it's funny to scare our customers."

"The fact that you think we even have customers is what's scary," Gertrude said, rolling her eyes.

"I'm Lucianne."

"Joyful to meet you - " Gertrude started.

"Jeez, Ger, stop it already," Benny said to her, pushing her arm lightly. Gertrude burst out laughing.

Lucianne sighed in relief. "You really got me there."

"You should've seen the look on your face," Gertrude said. "I wish I could've snapped a picture."

"Do you want a cup of coffee or something, Lucianne?" Benny asked. "It's free for every customer."

"It's alright," she said, looking at her watch. "I should be going now. They're expecting me in 15."

"Alright then," Benny said. "Bye."

"I hope the Hex Beast doesn't catch you on the way there!" Gertrude said.

"What's that? The Hex Beast?" Lucianne asked.

"Some stupid Halloween story the town is crazy about," Gertrude replied.

"Oh," Lucianne said, laughing. "I'm sure it won't."

"It has a taste for beautiful, young women like yourself."

Lucianne grabbed onto her luggage handle. "I will look out," she said. "I'll be sure to visit again."

"Bye," Gertrude waved, smiling.

Lucianne left the bookstore and walked down that row of shophouses. As she plodded down the street, it narrowed and darkened, and she had to follow its meandering path. A dark rat scuttled from one alleyway into the facing pavement, and a black cat pounced after it, but missed the catch. She halted for a moment as they ran in circles before they disappeared into another alleyway.

She continued her journey down the street and it gradually opened up to a wide field with a pebbled pathway leading to a grand mansion with several towers reaching up towards the sky. A wrought iron gate stood before the buildings, its spikes sharp and menacing.

When she finally reached the gate, a security guard was strolling to and fro beside it. She reached into her pocket and removed some paperwork with proof that she was a student. He looked at it, nodded and signalled to his friend behind the gate. It opened for her with a moaning sound, and she stepped into Ravenspire Academy.

Fortunately, the boarding school was well marked with signs everywhere directing people to the various locations. There were many large patches of grass, but they were all dried and the colour of wheat. She crossed the field in her heels, and made her way to the general office.

When she was there, a woman in her thirties was seated behind the counter. She had pale skin, and when Lucianne passed her the enrolment papers, she could see that her nails were purplish grey. A cold breeze then touched her skin and she saw an oversized air conditioner hanging in the corner, directly before the woman and herself.

"Please provide me with proof of identity," the woman said to her.

"A moment," Lucianne said as she dug around in her purse. She fished her wallet out and flipped through the cards, talking her identity card out and passing it to the woman.

The woman pursed her lips. They were cracked and a greyish pink. She tugged onto her cardigan, pulling it inwards.

"You look cold," Lucianne said to her. "Are you alright?"

"The school is full, there are no rooms for you."

Lucianne's eyes widened. "What? But it says on the paper that I'm successfully enrolled. There should be a room for me."

The woman exhaled and returned her attention to her computer, clicking away at her mouse. The CPU whirred loudly as she clicked multiple times and she pulled her sleeves past her wrists, but it only rode up her forearms again.

"Do you want my coat? It's much thicker than your cardigan," Lucianne offered.

The woman only gave her a side glance before she clicked again. A printer roared to life and spat a sheet of paper out. She took it, marked it with a pen a few times.

"Miss Lucianne," the woman said. "Since there are no rooms left, we'll assign the guest room for travelling faculty members to you. It's at the top of Tower Sphinx. Please wait a while as I prepare your keys."

"Oh, thank you."

Lucianne waited for a while, and the woman disappeared behind another door. When she reemerged, she walked up to the counter and sat down in her seat. She passed a piece of folded paper to her instead of the keys Lucianne was expecting, and she raised a brow at her. How could a piece of paper unlock a door? She stared at it, and unfolded the paper as she looked at the woman, who appeared more and more haggard as time went on. She held the paper in her hand. There were two words on it:

Save Me.