TWENTY-TWO: WELCOME BACK.

On Monday, we were so happy to see Clary back at school. We had missed her so much. We even threw a mini welcome-back party for her at the cafeteria during recess.

"A toast, ladies!" Pink said, catching our attention as she raised her glass. "For friendship!"

We all raised our glasses in response to her toast.

"For friendship!"

Then we drank, ate, and caught her up on the latest happenings. It was indeed good to have her back at school again.

Meanwhile, in the clinic, Raymond was sorting some files on his desk when a junior student walked in.

"Hello, Mr. Ray," she said, sounding so innocent as she walked in and sat at the front of the desk.

He smiled upon seeing her and put away what he was doing.

"Hello, dear. How may I help you?"

"Well..."

She began to explain what was bothering her, but Raymond's attention was caught by the high-pitched swelling, which made it difficult to hear what she was saying.

At some point, he had to close his ears but did it in a way that did not raise suspicion from the girl.

After a while, he cleaned his ears. In his left ear, he noticed blood was dripping out.

Layla, the girl, spotted it and asked with concern,

"Are you okay, sir?"

He nodded in reply, then grabbed the roll of tissue nearby to clean his ears with it.

When he was done, he tossed it in a trash can near his desk.

"Okay, Layla, let's continue, shall we?" he said, taking a pen and a mini notebook to take down what she said. When he looked up, he saw Resa standing a few meters behind her, smiling.

He got lost in his thoughts as she stared at him with cold eyes that spoke of death, raising a finger and pointing at him.

He was scared. She smiled, still pointing at him. That's when he felt a sudden chill in the air, the temperature dropping inexplicably, as if a shadow had passed over him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and there was an eerie sensation that something was just beyond his sight.

The atmosphere felt dense and heavy at that moment. A faint whisper brushed his ear, and he began to turn his head slowly.

When he looked back, he saw Alexa, wearied, her appearance still bearing the marks of the violent accident that claimed her life. Her hair was disheveled and matted, hanging in tangled, wet strands over her face, as if it had been drenched in something darker than water.

Her skin was pale, almost ashen, with a sickly, bluish tint around her neck and limbs, where bruises from the accident were still visible, though they seemed to have a strange, unnatural glow.

Her eyes were wide open but glassy, devoid of life. The whites were clouded, and her pupils were unnervingly dilated, making them look like dark voids that seemed to draw in the light around her.

Her mouth was slightly ajar, her expression frozen in a mixture of sadness and pain, as though the terror of her final moments was eternally etched on her face.

Upon seeing her, Raymond stood up, alerting Layla. She looked scared and jerked up too.

"Mr. Ray, are you okay?"

He looked at her, not wanting to seem off, so he smiled and said,

"How about you come back tomorrow? I'll look into the details you told me."

"Okay, sir," she said, then left.

Once she was gone, he rushed to the center of the clinic, now between Resa and Alexa.

"You again," he sneered. "I know Annie is behind this. What does she want?"

Resa smiled, appearing in front of Raymond. She glanced at him and disappeared, reappearing by the window side.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Annie's voice was heard,

"It has been quiet these past few weeks,"

"Annie," Raymond frowned. "You don't know when to give up."

Then she let out an ear-splitting laugh.

"I like your sense of humor."

With Resa's body, she walked with her hands behind her back around the clinic.

"I remember it all. I begged you not to fail me."

Raymond sneered.

"Begged? You threatened me."

"What's the difference?"

"So where are you now? In hiding? Wanting to make me suffer for the accident that you caused?"

Hearing this, her face darkened, but Raymond ignored it and continued.

"None of this would have happened if you had just done what was expected of you."

"So it's my fault?" she shrieked. "You deserve to feel the pain they felt! Why are you even here? You're supposed to be in jail!"

"A lot of things changed, Annie. Turns out, Charles isn't dead, and you've proven impossible to find, so once again, I'm just the innocent victim."

"But I'm the victim!" Annie yelled, already panting with anger. Then a violent wind blew across the classroom, destroying and disarranging everything. "You'll suffer like they did!" And then they disappeared.

When they were gone, Raymond stood up and began to put things in order.

...

The celebration for Annie's return grew so large that Mrs. Adams was compelled to make it a lecture-free day.

The school was decorated as a way of showing their love and sympathy for Clary.

Jennie, at her locker, sighed as she took out her bag.

"Can't believe they're really throwing a party for that bitch."

"Well, she did lose her two sisters and had the courage to come back," Sofie, who was next to her, said as Jennie sighed.

"Well, I'm glad today is a lecture-free day. Now we have time to plot our attack strategies for the harvest moon."

She closed her locker, and she and Sofie exited the school.

Later that day, as the party was getting hot, I excused myself to the basketball court, which was quiet, empty, and peaceful.

I stood for a minute to take in the peaceful atmosphere before the door opened.

I turned and saw Jesse. I swallowed hard, what is he doing here?

"Hey," he waved at me, coming close. "What are you doing here? Thought you'd be happy Clary's back."

"I am... erm, I just needed some space," I replied, then faced him. "What about you? What are you doing here?"

He smiled without replying, then went to sit on the bleacher. He tapped a space beside him, inviting me to sit.

"You sure about that?"

He nodded, and I came to sit with him, keeping at least one meter away.

As we sat together, silence swept through, then I turned to him and said, breaking the silence,

"You're surprisingly nice to me these days. Why the change of heart?"

He scoffed without replying, but I kept insisting,

"Should I be worried or..."

"Sorry if I was a bit harsh. I was so engrossed in the games, and Pink was giving me a hard time already."

I chuckled then he said,

"We got off on the wrong foot. I'd like to start all over."

He smiled. I could see his sparkling blue eyes beneath his curly brown hair, and I smiled back at him before quickly taking my gaze away.

Looking forward, I spotted a shadowy figure at a corner, which made my heart skip a bit.

Who is over there?

Soon after, the person fled into the dark. Could that be Nemus or his agents—or that woman I keep seeing?

I tried to act natural so Jesse wouldn't sense my distress, but I couldn't help but think: What is Nemus up to? It has been awfully quiet on his side after the games. Could it be that he's planning something big?

...

A few hours before sunset, there was a hard knock on a large wooden door at the edge of Caveroop Forest.

The huge door slid opened as Nemus and Regina walked in.

From the dark, a masculine British accent was heard.

"Hmm, what have we here?"

Slowly, he came into the light, wearing a thick, ancient vampiric robe that covered his whole body.

Nemus smirked, walking in slowly.

"Tarrus, it's been ages. How nice to see you again."

"It has been ages indeed. How nice of you both to drop by," he said, with no trace of emotion on his face as he shook hands with Nemus. Standing together, he was slightly taller and had a good body stature.

He led them in and offered them a place to sit. Inside was dark, with only a candle that was heavily guarded by ancient relics.

"So tell me, what's the aim of this visit?" Tarrus asked, pouring three glasses of wine and handing them over as he took his seat.

Regina glanced at the wine and pushed it aside.

"What is this?"

"Well, wine of course."

"What type?"

He scoffed.

"Oh, Gina, always that cautious one. It's blood wine, made from actual blood." His bright blue eyes locked with hers as he smiled widely.

"I'm not thirsty," she said, handing the wine over to Nemus, who had a gulp of it.

"Now, about why you two decided to visit. Something tells me it's not for a reunion," Tarrus said, sipping his drink.

"Why are you here? What happened to White Hills?" Nemus slammed.

Tarrus chuckled.

"Should've guessed that'd be the reason." He sipped his wine, licking the blood off his lips.

"Well, White Hills proved to be an unsuitable abode, and my people are getting hungry."

"Why not just go somewhere else?" Regina chimed in.

"Oh, I plan to," he smirked. "So tell me, any luck with the witch?"

"We're on it," Nemus quickly snapped. "Why do you care anyway?"

"Just curiosity," Tarrus replied. Then he turned to Regina. "The beauty."

She frowned.

"Just wondering, has Nemus fulfilled his promise?"

Hearing this, she looked away. Then he smiled.

"I don't mind giving it to you, but look, I'm a blue blood."

Annoyed, Nemus yelled,

"Because you chose to!"

His voice echoed, which made Tarrus stand up. Trying to contain himself, he pointed at the big old wooden door.

"Leave, before you become dinner."

They both stood up and walked towards the door. Nemus opened it and walked out with Regina. Before the door closed, Regina turned back and stared at the cold white face of Tarrus before the door shut.