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7 : The Bad Omen

"I'm sure it was that LADY from the department store. Who else could it be? And the man ? That weird symbol ? What does all this mean?" Zayn asked.

Niall took out a pen, and started to draw the symbol on the back of his book. Two Vs almost close to each other, a vertical line below it, and another V and a horizontal line just below it. After drawing it, he showed it to us and said "This makes no sense at all. Absolutely stupid. Are you sure this is what you saw Zayn?" He showed it to him and asked.

"Yes. The same thing. But, it was written in red ink." He replied.

"Was it BLOOD?" Harry asked.

"WHAT? No! I mean, I don't know...maybe." He replied.

"We should check that out right now." Liam said. Just then, the door of the room opened. It was Mrs. Joanne. She ran towards us and asked "What happened to him?"

"Nothing, I just kinda-..." Zayn started to speak, but then she interrupted saying "Come with me to the staff room. The rest of you, go back to your class."

Zayn didn't wait. He just followed her.

"What is she gonna do with him?" Elsa asked.

"Don't know." I said. "Let's just wait until he comes back."

We went back to class and found the entire class talking about Zayn. On seeing us, they gathered around us, and literally mobbed us like as if we were VIPs.

"What happened to him?" A girl asked.

"Nothing...he just passed out." Elsa said.

"Then why did he scream like he was getting attacked, or saw SOMETHING? Why did he say DON'T KILL ME?" She asked again.

"Please leave us alone." Louis protested. The anxious mob dispersed, and we were back to our seats.

"Elsa, is he always like this?" I asked.

"Like what?"

" Weak?"

"Huh?"

"Like...if a person sees such things, one of the two happens. They either become strong enough to face such incidents, or they just keep wondering about this...and it keeps bothering them...leading to both physical and mental illness." I explained.

"You're right Audrey. He is a LITTLE sensitive. Like, he gets scared pretty easily." Liam said.

"But, he has never been like THIS before." Louis said.

"That's human nature Louis. We tend to react to a situation depending on how serious the issue is." Harry added.

Everyone was talking, but Niall was just drawing that symbol over and over again at the back of his book.

"Niall. Stop it." I said.

"Why?"

"I feel it's a BAD omen."

"Don't worry. There's nothing bad about thi-.." I didn't wait for him to complete. I grabbed his book, tore the paper from it, crumbled it, and threw it in the dustbin.

"What did you do that for?" He asked.

"For your own GOOD." I said.

"You shouldn't be doing that in such a situation Niall." Louis said.

"Okay, sorry." He said, and kept his book back into his bag.

Niall's POV :

For my own good?  Why did she have to do that?  She told me to stop doing it, but why did she have to tear the page for it? Did she know anything about it? Does she think I'm in danger now...because I drew that symbol? I understand it wasn't something I should've done at such a situation, but, I feel she knows something about what's going on.

Zayn came in after a few minutes, but he was panting. Looked like he was running. A few students gathered around him even before he could enter the class. Elsa got up, grabbed him by his hand, and helped him out of the mob.

"What did she ask you?" She asked him.

"You know what they could have asked." He said. "All the professors including the principal were there. Everyone had just TWO questions. WHY DID I SCREAM...and why did I say DON'T KILL ME after I was conscious."

"And what did you say?" I asked. "About the two figures...the man and that woman...the symbol...did you?"

"Of course not. They would put me in rehab if I said all that. I just told them I've been watching a lot of scary movies these days, so stuff like these bothers my mind." He said.

"Thank God you didn't' say anything." Elsa said.

"Zayn, you should learn to be mentally strong...to be able to face such issues." I tried to explain, but he still looked worried. He wasn't paying attention to what I was saying.

"Are you hiding something?" I asked.

"Well..."

"WHAT? Did something else happen?" Elsa asked.

"Yes." He lowered his head and replied.

"Oh no. What was it this time?" I asked.

"That symbol...and that voice...AGAIN." He said.

"What?" Niall asked.

"While I was coming back, I leaned myself against the wall outside the staff room, thinking about all this, and I heard that voice again, saying the SAME thing, the same MAN's voice :

You must not be here. Go away. Save yourself.

I stood straight, and listened carefully. The voice said:

Keep her safe till I come.

"I got scared, and was about to run, and then..."

"And then what?" Harry asked.

"That SYMBOL... was on the wall in front of which I was standing. Same size, font, and that same RED color." He said. "That's why I ran from there...and was panting when I reached the class."

"Jesus Christ!" Niall exclaimed.

"Her ? Who's that HER?" I asked.

"Me?" Elsa asked nervously.

"Oh no. Not YOU !!" Zayn panicked.