36A teenage girl rested her back against a gray wall. She gazed by the window and watched the blue sky. The yellow sun shined on her.
She was an Asian teenager of petite stature with long curly black hair, pale green eyes and a small scar on her left hand. She wore a blue shirt with a green scarf and a long black skirt.
She turned around and looked at someone. She put her hands on her back and lightly dropped her body. She spoke:
"Alice. It's been a while since we saw each other's, right?" the teenage girl let out a small smile, "I do sure miss you," she put her hand on her chest, "I'm sure you are wondering 'why I did it and where did I go?' I can explain everything to you. First, you'll have to find me," she stretched her legs a little and put her hand on her hip, "Alice. I'm waiting for you at our old High School."
The Asian turned around and walked away. The gray wall turned into a large school. The school was devoured by flames as it slowly turned the building into dust. The teenager went inside without a care in the world.
Prologue: Echoes Of Five Years Ago
Alice drive towards her destination. She thought of her strange dream she had an hour ago about that teenage girl, "Minako," she whispered.
Alice Boncoeur was a Caucasian woman with long blond hair attached with a blue ribbon, pale blue eyes. She wore a red jean jacket and a short blue skirt.
Her dream was the one where the teenage girl gave her little speech about waiting for her at the old High School. Her dream contained the same message from a mysterious letter she got yesterday. A letter from Minako, "How?" she asked, gazing at the letter when she stopped at a red light.
Once the light was green, she proceeded towards her destination. The High School she attended when she was a teenage girl.
She reached her destination and stopped. The old school was old and damaged. Windows were broken, Walls were a bit black and the door leading to the entrance was broken. There was nothing and no one who went to the school. It was old, abandoned and left to crumble in pieces. Not even the homeless wished to live in there.
Somehow, it still stood after five years, despite the ravage of the fire and time.
She gazed at it, "How come they didn't bring it down after all those years?"
She went to the parking lot. Even if she could just stop at the entrance, she preferred to park where she would look first. The old abandoned school gave her a bit of uneasiness. She had no reason to be that uneasy. She ignored that feeling. She had to find some answers.
She climbed off her car. She adjusted her jacket and grabbed the letter.
Alice went to the school, wondering, "Are you really in here? After all those years… you just give this letter," she shook her head. None of this made sense.
She went to the side entrance and stopped. She noticed a car near it. It was a clean one. It didn't fit with the atmosphere left by the abandoned school, "Someone else is here," she realised.
She put her hand on her back, where a pistol lied hidden under her jacket. Just looking at the remaining of the school, it made her feel unsafe.
She grasped her courage and walked inside the school. She passed the door and looked around.
The corridors were devoid of life. The lockers melted by the fire long ago and formed a solid pool of metal on the floor. She went inside.
"Are you really in here?" Alice whispered.
She began to explore the ruins of the school. She traversed the corridor and went to the first location where Minako liked to go during her free time.
She reached the library. She stopped at the entrance. The remaining of the door was on the floor, black color by the damage long ago. She went inside.
There was barely anything that remained. The books that survived the arson were taken away long ago. Rumors said it was two or three books at the best. She heard something and gulped, "Someone's here," she whispered very quietly. She grabbed her gun and raised it.
She saw someone who kneeled on the ground as if that person tried to pick something, "Hey!"
"Ah!" The person quickly turned around and faced her nervously. He was a black man with short black hair and chocolate eyes. He wore a blue jean vest over a black shirt and black pants. He also wore a bag on his back. He raised his hands, "D-Don't shoot. I'm-" he glanced at the side.
Alice frowned for a few seconds and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Just… looking around," he nervously said.
The two made eye contact and they paused for a few seconds.
Alice dropped her gun, "Augustin?"
"Alice. It's been like… five years," he still recognised her, "You didn't change that much."
"You cut your hair," she replied as she put her gun back at the back of her skirt. She sighed in relief, "I thought it was a creep or someone weird waiting for me here. What are you doing here?"
"I can ask you the same," Augustin replied. He searched in his bag and took out a letter, "I got a letter from her. Minako, I mean. Somehow. I know it's weird. She is dead when the school burned out," he glanced at the side, not noticing Alice showing her own letter, "We let those bullies get to her and-" he saw the letter.
"I got one too. She said that she is waiting for me here…"
"Telling us why she did it," he scratched his neck, "Why wait five years? It doesn't make sense," he then checked something on the ground before she scared him. He let out a small smile, "I really hope she's okay. Maybe she hides for a long time and she decided to come out," he let out a small smile as he looked at the object he picked. He turned around and showed it, "I just found that pin," it was a pink rose, but it was partially burned, "It was hers," he sighed as his mood shifted again, "Maybe we should have done more for her."
Alice decided to end his train of thought, "Minako never told me what was going on. I knew about it and tried to help her, but she said she didn't need help," she put his hands on her hips, "And are you searching for her?"
"Yeah. It's the second room I checked. Taichi checked elsewhere," he said.
"Her brother is here?"
"He came with me when I showed him the letter. He got one too."
"I remember he said that she was alive somewhere else or something like that," she thought back. That memory was a bit blurry after all those years, "I'll look around. I'll talk to him when I see him."
"If the three of us got a letter, maybe more got it too. I mean, Asuka also said that she would investigate the school on her news site," Augustin commented.
"She said that?"
He nodded.
"I'll see you later. C- Yell if you find her. I'll do the same," she nervously chuckled. She had her cellphone, but she had no idea if he had it too. She left the room.
"Be careful."
"I will."
A bit of relief came in her. She wasn't alone and more were investigating the school. It was people she knew and not weird strange. Maybe Asuka was there. That girl was an independent journalist with her website.
She continued her exploration. She checked on the remaining of the classes. She found burned chairs, burned table, broken glasses, burned books and a few old bags and electronic stuff broken in pieces of burned. Alice sighed as she made no progress. Maybe that letter was a prank. Still, she couldn't just ignore it and continued her search.
"It's your fault she did that!" a man furiously yelled.
"It's-"
"Don't try to deny it! You caused all of this and it's a miracle she called me!" someone else said loudly and furiously.
She knew it was Taichi, "Hey!" she rushed ahead. She knew she had to defuse whatever was going on.
Alice quickly looked at them.
The boy grabbed another woman by her shirt.
The boy was an Asian man with long black hair, dark green eyes and a scar on his left cheek. He wore a red shirt with a human skull on the back and black jeans.
Alice recognised Taichi at first sight and the other one, she couldn't forget. Isabelle. Not even after five years.
She was a black woman with long brown hair and pale blue eyes. She wore a blue shirt with golden stars on it and long black pants.
Still, she couldn't let those two get violent, "Let her go," she told him.
"B- Fine," the Asian listened to her and released her, "Can't believe you said that…" he looked at her for a few seconds, "Alice," he walked away.
The Caucasian woman sighed, now that she prevented a fight from happening. She turned towards Isabelle, "What are you doing here?"
The black woman took out a letter, "M-Minako sent me this letter," she showed it.
She replied in disbelief, "You too? You tormented her. Why would she do that?"
"I-I don't know. I just… I had to come," she put the letter in her shirt. She looked in the eyes of Alice for a few seconds. All she saw was the glare of someone who was very angry at her. She turned her gaze away and left.
Alice stood alone for a few seconds. She hoped Taichi wouldn't believe she sided with that black woman. She took a deep breath and went on.
She searched the school for an hour. She didn't cross path with anyone else. She took a glimpse of Taichi again, but he didn't look at her, still in a bad mood.
She reached the teacher's room. She stood at the entrance and hesitated a bit. A long habit that still remained in her after all those years, "I'm not a student anymore and this school is abandoned anyway," she told herself.
A flash of light came in the room.
Alice didn't stall any longer and entered in the room.
An Asian with a well-developed chest. She had long red hair with pale scarlet eyes. She wore a white shirt with a black vest and a short pink skirt. She held a small camera in her hands and took another picture, "This is a strange file here. I never thought there was a cult in our school," she grumbled. She turned around and jumped back, "What do you want?"
"Are you also here because of the letter from Minako?"
The woman quickly calmed down, "You're the second one I met with a letter like that," she showed it, "You can call me Asuka."
"Alice," she replied. It was the woman Augustin said she would come at the school.
The Asian grumbled as she tried to find out where she heard the name before, "I don't remember you, but… were you a student here five years ago, like me?"
"Yes. I was a friend of Minako before… You know."
"The school burned up with Minako in it. Yeah. I got this letter and my journalist sense is tingling. I'm going to find out what happened all those years ago. This little piece of paper might have nothing to do with Minako, but there is a secret in this school," she showed it to Alice.
She read it with little interest. She never noticed anything cultish in her school. The only thing that was like a cult where the vegans, "I don't really get what it says."
"It's just a little page, but I had a few previous investigations about a cult that offer human flesh to some kind of god," Asuka began to explain. She raised her chest a little and her breast bounced a bit under her vest, "A cult that practice human sacrifice. I have no idea why, but it seems such cult existed in this school, or some teachers were members of it. I mean, it burned out and maybe it felt out of a desk after all those years," she raised her shoulders.
"We have a cult like that in our town?" Alice asked nervously.
"It seems so. Anyway, I don't think there is anything else interesting here. I got to find Minako. I'll yell when I find her. We are three here… right?" she asked a bit uncertain.
"With you, I think we are five now."
"Maybe they are more who got the letter. Anyway, I got to keep going," she left the room.
Alice decided to check if there was anything else interesting, but there was nothing else. In the end, she decided to visit her old classroom. She remembered she was classmate with Minako.
"Five years and I forgot that," after everything, she had a feeling she wouldn't find Minako. Still, she had to find her friend or why she got that letter.
She quickly reached for her classroom and looked inside. Just like everything else, the place burned up and there was little bit of desks or chairs scattering around.
One thing stood up, there was a flower on the ground. She approached it and stood near the window. She checked at her phone and saw it was 11 am. She was there for more than an hour and found no sign of Minako. Maybe she should just give up. It might be a trap or a cruel prank. It might be best to return home. She glanced out of the window and watched the sky. She noticed the full moon in the sky somehow. She closed his eyes and blinked a few times.
I should keep searching.
She changed her mind. Too many people from her school got the letter already and with that strange dream. She should follow her instinct. She had to keep searching.
She turned around and stopped when two people entered in the classroom.
One was a Caucasian man with short brown hair, chocolate eyes and a few scars on his face and his left hand. He wore a blue shirt with brown pants. He also had a knife on him.
The other one was an Asian woman who long white hair with a few that were gray and pale gray eyes. She wore a white shirt with a long black skirt.
"Sanako. Richard," she recognised them. She kept in contact with her friend Richard, even after they changed to a different school five years ago. Sanako was her teacher before the school burned up. Her few gray hairs were the only thing different after those years.
"You got a letter too? Like Isabelle?" Richard asked.
"Richard. After all those years, you should say hello first," Sanako scolded him.
The man grunted, "It's been a while. Hi. You got a letter too? Like Isabelle?"
"Yes. I also met Taichi, Asuka and Augustin. They are also searching for Minako. I found nothing yet. I don't think anyone found anything yet."
Their ex-teacher glanced at the side. She looked at them, "I've been a teacher here for a few years. I know a few rooms I don't think any of you thought to look. Maybe she is there. Come with me," she left the classroom.
The two younger adults followed her.
Sanako yelled, "Everyone! Come to the entrance!" She repeated that phrases a few times.
As they approached the entrance, the other people Alice met followed Sanako with curiosity. They also greet each other's. Not everyone met in the school during their personal investigation.
It wasn't long before everyone reunited at the entrance. They looked at the older woman curiously and waited for the reason why she called them back at the entrance.
Sanako looked at them and began to speak, "I'm sure we all got a letter from Minako," she showed her own, "And you all came here to search for her right?"
They all agreed and nodded at each other's. A few angry glances went to Isabelle.
"No one found her yet, right?"
"No. I didn't see her anywhere I could think of," Alice replied.
The others agreed.
"Did any of you went in one of the underground rooms?" the ex-teacher asked them.
"There is an underground section in this school?" Augustin asked.
Asuka eyes shined a bit, "This might have some kind of conspiracy or controversy. The school doesn't have anything in their maps or the blueprints about anything underground."
"Minako might wait for us down there," Sanako suggested.
The group agreed and followed the older woman.
Taichi grunted, "Why is that bitch with us?" he pointed at the black woman.
"I got the letter to and I won't leave until I speak with Minako."
"Like I'm going to let you tell her anything else? What are you going to tell her anyway hum? Finish what you started and tell her: 'go kill yourself?'" the Asian man yelled.
"No!" Isabelle categorically replied as she slapped his face. She accelerated her pacing and was by the side of the elder woman.
Asuka sighed, "It's been five years already," she looked at the man and recognised him, "Taichi. Calm down. Isabelle isn't alone."
"Dammit," Taichi whined.
"It's stupid to say something like that Taichi," Richard suddenly said, "Five years passed. You really think she would tell Minako that shit with us around?"
"Shut-" the Asian stopped when he saw the calm gaze of the Caucasian man. Nothing stood out on his face, but it made Taichi a little bit afraid, "Fine. I'll shut up," he grumbled quietly, "Can believe everyone is protecting Isabelle."
Sanako stopped in front of a wall and looked at it, "This is it. There is a door behind this wall," it was located between two classes.
"A secret passage?" Asuka asked.
"Why would there be a secret passage like that? The school isn't that old and it's not like in the movies," Alice commented. She was a bit nervous.
"How do you know about this passage?" Augustin asked.
Tension was a bit in the air. They trusted Sanako to tell the true, but the simple existence of something like that just felt a bit wrong.
Alice asked, "Asuka. Think it's about the cult that offer human flesh to their god?"
"I don't know. I just one piece of paper. Maybe one of them is a member, but if this thing is real, maybe more."
The ex-teacher moved a plate on the side and revealed a switch, "I never went down there, but I saw the director used it once. I asked him and told me that this was used long ago in an emergency. Never specified anything and I didn't really believe him. I also didn't want to lose my job, so I acted like I never saw this," she pressed on it.
A loud sound echoed behind the wall and a door revealed itself. Behind it, stairs went down in the darkness. There was no light, just like the rest of the school.
Asuka took out her cellphone and the light shined a bit in there. The walls were mostly black and smelt a bit like ashes.
The group watched in awe and uneasiness.
Alice just felt the air seemed to get cold somehow.
Richard took the lead and walked in the passage. He took out his own cellphone and made light to guide him down. The others followed him with Sanako being last.
Asuka carefully looked around, "It looks like this place burned up too."
The older woman agreed, "Yes. It seems even worse down here. No idea why."
"Did Minako found this place before…" Taichi didn't dare to finish his sentence. He took a deep breath and sighed.
They reached the lower floor. It took a bit too long to reach the underground passage. It looked like it was deeper than it should have been.
They walked through a short corridor before the frame of a door appeared. Inside, there was a room. The moment the light shined on the floor and everyone realised what was there, despite the room clearly burned by the fire five years ago, was something undamaged or repaired.
On the floor, there was a silver and red sigil with many symbols' insides of it. It looked like sorcery or something that came from the occult happened in that room.
Sanako paled a bit, "What the-" she stopped. It was worse than she thought.
Richard looked around and saw many remaining or bit of canisters used to bring fuel and other things like that, "I feel like the fire started there," he guessed from all the canisters around. It made no sense for those to remained there.
Asuka approached the large sigil and observed it more carefully. She took out her cellphone and checked a few pictures she took. They looked familiar. She looked at some of the pictures she took and compared it, "It's the sigil of the cult," she realised.
Alice wondered what she meant, to the confusion of the others, "The cult. You mean like the that gives human sacrifice to some kind of god?"
"Yes. For this sigil to be here, the cult has an influence in this school. It is the same god, but I have no idea what kind of god it is."
Augustin spoke above them, "What do you mean the fire started here? That thing should have burned too," he pointed at the sigil on the ground.
Richard crossed his arms, "Because of all the canisters here. No idea who caused it, but it's surely not the cult."
Taichi was a bit nervous as he wondered out loud, "Who decided to burn this place? Surely not that cult… Could it be-" he didn't dare to say more.
Sanako was about to reply, when she noticed something, "Everyone! Back away!"
The sigil began to shine. The light became strong.
I won't run away. I will find Minako, where she asked me to go.
No one backed away after that thought came into their mind. They waited for the light to do, whatever it was supposed to do.
The light became stronger and they were blind. They had no time to say anything before everything went wrong.
AC: This is the end of the prologue.
Next: The End Of The Dream.
Alice heard the voice of the strange being, before she woke up in a post apocalyptic town she never knew existed.