Death Is Only the Beginning - The Midnight Club

2

Ivy covered her face as the morning sunshine fiercely invaded her eyes. It was strange seeing the hallways and rooms empty. A thing she wouldn't ever get used to, it seemed. Actually, it was more sinister than strange, now that she gave it some thought. But everyone was just a floor below, eating breakfast. And it was a nice morning, too. Nothing even remotely boding ill. She smiled at the realization.

The girl continued along, stopping at every room to see if everything was disaster-free, searching for wet beds and puke stains. Quick change from the calm morning, but that was just her job. The ugly side.

Thankfully, she didn't find anything out of order. As usually was the case, also thankfully. Ivy decided to join the others and see if Mark needed any help putting the food out. She turned around, starting her way back towards the elevator. She would have completed it in a matter of seconds, had she not seen Ilonka exit her room. When did she go back up here? How did Ivy not hear? She subtly shook her head, because who cared? Definitely not her, she had more important tasks to attend to. The first one being pretty easy to carry out, it seemed, as the opportunity presented itself.

"Hey, Ilonka!" She waved at her, relieved she now won't have to awkwardly ask her to retreat with her into a silent corner to talk. Her steps were determined, almost intimidating. "Can we talk for a second?"

"Uhm, sure." She chuckled awkwardly. "What's up?"

An emotion she didn't quite anticipate emerged in Ivy. Were her hands sweating? She shouldn't be anxious about confronting Ilonka. She herself was clearly in the right. But then, she hadn't much been in a position such as this one, disciplining someone her own age. She didn't want fights, especially not with newcomers. However, it was also true that Ilonka was the one who caused it. She took a breath in as if the air contained some sort of leadership and courage that day instead of oxygen and other gases. "What were you doing in Stanton's office last night?"

Her face froze. A few moments of silence followed.

"I'm so sorry," she began. "I really didn't mean to do anything bad, I was just—"

"Kevin already told me." Ivy replied in an icy tone, feeling proud of herself. "And no, I'm not planning on telling Stanton, before you ask. But one thing I don't know is... whose file did you take?"

Ilonka didn't even make an attempt to explain, just continued staring. The thought of intimidating her with a bluff to get the truth had crossed her mind before they began talking, but the girl in front of her was scared already.

"She's long left here, so I don't know if this name even means anything to you..." She finally said. "But it's a girl called Julia Jayne."

Ivy's eyes widened. "What?" And without waiting for an answer - or looking around - she grabbed Ilonka by the wrist and pulled her back into her empty room, letting the door slam shut. "What?" She repeated.

The girl stared at her in silence, now even more embarrassed than before.

Ivy leaned closer, her tone a bit calmer. "You know about Julia? How?"

A self-conscious smile appeared on her face. "It's on the internet."

After processing the new information she took a step back and sighed. "Yeah. I guess it is."

"Wait, how do you know about Julia?"

"It's on the internet." She paused. "I didn't just come here not knowing jack about the place."

She awkwardly nodded. "Well, same."

Silence followed. Ilonka's eyes changed from a mix of uncertain and embarrassed into intrigued. "Wait, so does this mean..." She furrowed her eyebrows. "Do you believe in her story?"