Chapter Sixteen
"Jigsaw falling into place," -Radiohead
Tristan's heart was beating like a drum being played wildly. The digital clock on his nightstand indicated 8:59 in bright red letters. The students officially had one minute left of imaginary freedom. Of course the curfew wasn't about to stop Tristan from completing his mission. The curfew wasn't an obstacle, it was actually the perfect opportunity to break into the school office and find the file he was looking for. At nine practically everything at Oak Wood High shut down for the night. Students and teachers retired to their dorms, the cafeteria closed, lights were dimmed in the hallways and the guards came out to watch over the sleeping people.
9:05
Without thinking further into it, Tristan grabbed his bag, his flashlight and dorm keys before turning his door knob and looking both ways. Tristan had observed the behavior of the guard and every day after sitting five minutes in his watch chair, he would walk around to check the surroundings at 9:05. It took the guard on his floor exactly two minutes to go around the building's first floor and that would give him more than enough time to make a clean escape.
Gripping his utensils in a tight fist he made his way to the heart of O.W High; the main office. Inside this building lied everything Tristan needed to set his plan of leaving the school into action. When he finally made it to the door, he sighed in both relief and anxiousness.
Making it in to the office would've been a difficult task for a common person. Luckily Tristan had been friends with some questionable people back at his old school who'd known a few things about hacking systems and computers which they'd shared with him. His mother had always criticized him for hanging out with the 'wrong crowd' but he had known the knowledge would come in handy someday. Besides those guys were the only ones who'd been too busy with technology and distracted with their own geeky problems to pester Tristan about his own. He liked it that way. They accepted him no questions asked, unlike all the other cliché groups at his school.
The lock of the door wasn't a simple 'pick it with a clip' kind of mechanism. It was something a bit more complex. This required a passcode which consisted of seven numbers. On the right side of the door was a small device, similar to the one where you swiped a credit card through, where the code had to be punched in.
He had contacted one of the only guys from his group of geeky friends he still kept in touch with to help him figure out the passcode and now he prayed it worked. Garry, his friend, had warned him that if by some abnormality he was wrong about the code, Tristan only had two more shots to try unlocking the door before the alarms went off throughout the entire school. If he exhausted the opportunities he would have to wait twenty four hours to try again. The lock system reminded Tristan of the passcode lock on his iPhone.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Tristan punched in the numbers one by one and gave a silent thanks when the red light turned green and he was able to push the door wide open. Now came the hard part. He had to locate the files he needed, erase his profile from the school system and exit without being caught.
Nerves were getting to him so he tried his best to set his mind at ease by thinking of how far he'd already come.
Just breath and get it done, he reminded himself.
The office was very prestigious with white Chinese porcelain tiles, comfortable waiting chairs, potted plants and expensive looking computers and printers as well as other office devices. Tristan observed the secretary desks before glancing towards a door that had the title HEADMASTER engraved in the glass. Under that there was a plaque with the name Mrs. Hale on it. Should he waste time looking for the files out here by the reception desks or would it be more productive to enter the other office? He wondered.
Without thinking too much about it he took a deep breath of courage and took long strides in the direction of the headmaster's door. This one appeared locked as well.
Tristan thought for a moment before he decided to be optimistic and tried his luck with the gold knob of the door. To his surprise it turned! He was beyond shocked at how easy that had been. He entered the dark room and quickly felt around the walls in search of the light switch. When he found it, the room illuminated completely and Tristan felt more comfortable. He put his gloves on, as to not leave fingerprints, and opened up the filing cabinet. He searched under B until he came across his last name, Bellicose.
He grabbed the file and looked for the M section where he found Sienna's file. It was under Maddison. He took that one too and was almost tempted to open it but decided against the idea. He didn't want to spend too much time in this office because he was, after all, breaking in. He couldn't risk getting caught and jeopardizing his plan to leave the school.
With both files placed safely in what he chose to call his "spy" bag, he went for the computer. He switched it on and logged into the system. He searched for student records from his year and month of enrollment. The computer took about a minute to load the data he wanted.
Doing anything else, a minute would seem like no time at all but spending it waiting in tension made it seem like eternity. Finally the screen showed him exactly what he needed. He read through his information and was not surprised to find that they had everything from his social security number to his blood type on it. He deleted it all without a second thought. He searched the recycle icon and deleted the backup files that automatically saved themselves on there. He also went ahead to look for any copies they might have and deleted those too. He took the liberty of doing the same for Sienna's file as well.
Tristan was about to shut down the computer when he came across a document that caught his attention. It was a file named Oak Wood High School Plans 2015. That was this year. He double clicked and opened it. The document was 45 pages long. Tristan thought for a moment. He knew that would take too long to print and he had no time to read through it all but something was telling him this document was vital.
It was then he remembered he had conveniently thought of bringing his USB device to store any information. He plugged it into the hardware and 'saved as' all the school files on his device. He also saved the student files of every other teen here at O.W, including Sienna's 'friends'. He knew it was an invasion of privacy but he didn't know when it could come in handy. Plus he didn't think he would be coming back to this office any time soon. When he was finished saving the numerous documents to his USB, the memory space was almost full.
He made sure to place the mouse exactly in the position he had found it, looked around the room for possible left behind evidence of his visit and double checked his surroundings. He exited the main building safely and with more information than he had wished for. Now all he needed to do was read through the documents and contact Sienna about his plan.
With Sienna in mind he decided to stop by her room and slip a note under her door. He needed to fill her in on his plan if he was hoping to take her with him. Her reaction to his proposal scared him but he needed to know her opinion on the subject. Now that he had realized he had feelings for the dark haired beauty, he needed to include her in the plan. He wasn't just thinking about himself anymore.
He ripped a page out of his notepad and wrote in his cursive handwriting.
Meet me by the garden at the back of the library tomorrow after your last class. I have something important to tell you. –T
His note was vague but straight to the point, just like him. He pondered whether to write his full name or leave it with his initial. Assuming she would probably know it was him, he folded it up. Besides, he couldn't risk leaving his name with fingerprints just anywhere. It wouldn't be smart to leave too much evidence behind. He had to think of the future, or better yet their future.
He smiled to himself at the thought of a life with Sienna. He didn't know her that well but what he did know about her was enough to make him like her much more than he would've hoped for.
Tristan wasn't looking to be in a relationship. He knew girls were trouble, heck people in general were a problem. Whenever he associated with someone there always seemed to be trouble following. That was the reason why Tristan tended to avoid people. The problem was that Sienna was irresistible.
When he reached the girl's dormitory building he glanced both ways before proceeding.
You seem to be doing that a lot, he noted to himself with a hint of amusement. He could be a protagonist in a detective movie with all the sneaking around he had been doing lately.
Lucky for him the guard on Sienna's floor was overweight therefor even if he did get caught it would be almost impossible for her to catch him. He waited for the guard on the first floor to go around the corner before he escalated the stairs to the second floor. The guard on the next level was nowhere to be found so he rapidly advanced to Sienna's floor.
Tristan felt like he was in a dangerous game of snakes and ladders where his pride wasn't the only thing he could lose if he rolled the wrong number on the dice. He was a bit out of breath when he arrived at the third floor. That made him realize he should exercise more.
Before he could think further on his physical endurance he heard a noise that almost stopped his heart.
"Who's there?!" growled the rough voice of none other than ape lady. Tristan quickly ducked down behind the railing of the stair case and avoided looking in the direction the voice had come from.
He heard footsteps- that sounded more like horse hooves- approaching his way. His breathing became a bit erratic as he slowly ascended a few steps to hide himself from view. How had she even seen him? He hadn't even reached the last step in the way. Or maybe she had heard him? But that was basically impossible seeing as she was old and Tristan was careful to avoid making unnecessary sounds.
The loud sound of footsteps echoed down the hall until it was right in front of him. He did everything in his will power not to look up and see if she had caught him. If he made any sudden movements there was a bigger chance of being seen by ape lady.
To his utter surprise she walked right past the staircase. She stopped by the end of the hall and glanced both ways before calling out "Who's there?!" in her loud coarse voice. Tristan wondered if the woman had been a smoker in her earlier years. He waited for ape lady to either turn the corner or come back the way she had come to make his next move. From the sound of her shoes it seemed she had turned the corner. He waited five seconds before making a run up the remaining steps and jogging to room #313.
He slipped the folded note under Sienna's door. After completing the task he rushed to the stairs where he had come from and made his way back to his own building. Lucky for him the guard on his floor was sleeping when Tristan arrived.
According to his watch it was now 11:36. No wonder a big yawn escaped from his mouth. He had been in the office for over an hour. In that time he had accomplished everything he had set out to do. He had also contacted Sienna. His plan had begun and even though it was only the beginning he was happy he had been successful tonight. Tristan was satisfied with himself.
Little did he know the great feeling would soon vanish when he set his eyes on the information he'd gathered from the school files. Some things were better left being unknown.
"Parry, what are you doing?" Scar asked her brother in a hushed tone. She had been lying in bed when she'd felt the all-too-familiar subtle headache towards the right part of her head and a chill running down her neck. It was close to midnight and she was tired but that hadn't stopped her from getting out of bed and searching for her brother. It was a sign of one of those frequent twin vibes she got when something wasn't right with Parry. They called it twin's intuition. Parry felt it too but in a lesser intensity, or so he claimed.
Whenever something was wrong with Parry Scar knew and vice versa. Of course the feeling didn't make it clear to Scar if Parry was suffering from physical pain, if it was an emotional problem or where he was. All she knew was that her twin wasn't feeling alright.
After looking for him in his room and coming up empty handed she headed to the forest. It was the only other place she could think of where her brother would go at such a late hour. Why? Because that was the only place on campus where Parry could 'safely' relieve stress in the way he thought best. That was the reason he sat across a small fire made from logs, dried leaves and some matches at the moment.
The owls were hooting and the night was pitch black out here where artificial lighting didn't exist. It was calming yet eerie being out in nature at such a late hour. Scar wrapped her arms around herself and cursed her stupidity for not bringing a jacket with her on her journey.
"Parry tell me what's wrong," Scar said as she plopped down next to her twin on the old log. She was grateful for the heat that radiated from the fire he'd built.
She watched her brother as he stared into the flames seeming oblivious to her presence. However, Scar knew that was impossible. They could feel each other miles away, it was a twin thing. His skin glowed orange from the reflection and his eyes gave off the illusion of containing a mini fire in each orb.
"I couldn't sleep," he told her in a hushed tone.
"As if I haven't already figured that out, Captain Obvious." As soon as her words were out of her mouth she regretted her tone. She didn't mean to sound so snappy but she was very tired. Under normal circumstances Scar would be in bed at such a late hour. However Parry didn't even glare at her like he would usually do at the sound of her attitude. He simply kept his gaze set on the fire. That worried her.
"I meant why couldn't you sleep?"
"It's none of your business, sis. Just go back to bed and leave me alone," he said to her coldly.
"Well, bro, it is when you're the cause of me waking up at such an inhumane hour."
"I didn't tell you to come see me," he hissed at her.
"Yeah well I couldn't sleep either with the headache you gave me so it's not really up to us to decide if I should be here or not. We didn't choose to be twins, Parry, we just are. That has advantages and disadvantages but I can't help worrying about you. Now please tell me what the problem is,"
He sighed before speaking. "Don't judge me."
"Of course not," she replied.
"It's Sienna," he admitted in a hushed tone but it was so quiet out in the forest that Scarlet heard him perfectly clear.
"Really?! All this is about a girl?"
"You said you wouldn't judge, Scar." Parry reminded her with a roll of his eyes.
"Sorry, you're right. I just can't believe you went back to burning things after you promised me you were staying clean and all for a girl!"
"I can't help it! She's all I think about," he confessed as he tossed a bunch of leaves into the fire. It grew a bit before it simmered down to its previous size.
"Well control yourself and stop burning the leaves!" she yelled at her brother.
"IT'S THE ONLY THING THAT KEEPS ME CALM!" he yelled turning to look at her for the first time that night. Scar was shocked to admit the fury reflected in his eyes almost paralyzed her in fear. She knew that look well. The fire that burned inside him was much more dangerous than any fire he could physically start. Parry's internal fire had caused many catastrophes in their lives. "Besides, would you rather I burn something else?" he asked in a calmer voice but there was an undertone of something sinister lying there. Scar loved her brother but she didn't like this side of him. Parry was a kind and gentle soul on the surface but he had monsters hiding deep inside him. Of course Scar couldn't criticize him seeing as she had her own set of serious problems. Still, Parry concerned her more.
Contrary to her brother, Scar didn't keep things bottled in. When she was angry she made sure everyone knew it. Parry was a different story. He smiled at everyone even when he was seeding on the inside but when he exploded he was like Mount Vesuvius.
"You're right, I'm sorry. This is your coping mechanism," she said not wanting to make things worse. The log they sat on was starting to feel uncomfortable for Scar and she no longer felt safe with her brother. However she wouldn't abandon him in his time of need. She was the only family he had close by and he was always there for her when she was in one of her crisis. They had to be there for each other. "Do you want to talk about it? I promise I won't judge this time, for real."
He shrugged and lit a match. The orange fire at the tip of the stick didn't last long though. The wind was too strong and blew it out like a kid making a birthday wish in front of a cake.
"I..." Parry stopped speaking before he had concluded his thought.
"You what?" his sister prompted.
"I'm in love with Sienna," he admitted covering his face with his palms.
Scar stayed calm; that was how baffled she was at her brother's words. Parry had had several girlfriends over the years but he had never said the L word with such an intense and genuine sounding feeling.
"Say something," Parry begged after prolonged silence.
"I'm at a lack for words. I-I didn't know you felt that strongly about her, Parry."
"Yeah well...I do."
"You do know that Tristan is after her too, right?" she reminded him.
"Don't even mention that jerk to me,"
"I'm just making sure you're aware of your adversaries."
"I'm not threatened by him. He's not competition for me...or is he? Doe she like him too?" he asked in a worried tone.
"I don't know," she admitted.
"But you're her friend! Don't girls gossip about these things and tell each other everything?"
"That's just in the movies, bro. Don't tell me you believe we paint each other's nails too while we read idiotic teen magazines?" she asked with an arched eyebrow and amusement clearly written across her face.
"I wouldn't know since I'm not a girl," he continued "But aren't you like her best friend? Can't you find out if she likes him too?"
"Well of course I can but what good would that do you? If she likes him it'll be bad news for you and if she doesn't like him that still doesn't mean she likes you so in all honesty I really don't see the point, dear brother."
"But if she doesn't like him and her heart is open then as her friend you can influence her to like someone else say like myself. You can be like my wingman well wing-girl," he suggested with a hint of a spark in his eyes.
"And why would I do that?" Scar asked crossing her arms across her chest. Parry, however, had been expecting that question and was prepared to answer.
"Because it's a challenge for you and you never say no to challenges, do you? Also you're the best manipulator I know, or have your persuasive skills gone weak? Besides I'm going crazy over here, it's the least you can do to help out your 'dear brother'," he said emphasizing her own words.
"Weak? No-uh. Of course I can get her to like you. That'll be cake for me but don't think you're going to reel me in to this plan and use my help with simple words and challenges. What's in it for me?"
Parry thought for a moment before he turned to face his sister with a serious face.
"Revenge. I promise I'll get your revenge on Nathan for what he did to you if you help me capture Sienna's heart," he promised. This proposal interested Scarlet greatly. If there was one thing she wanted at the moment was to get back at Nathan for making her look like a fool in front of everyone and toying with her feelings as if she were a puppet on strings. Scar's still felt immense anger when she thought of the red head sitting on Nathan's lap as they sucked each other's faces off. To top it off he hadn't even had the decency to admit it to her or apologize. On the contrary, he had been ignoring her ever since without explanation.
"Deal," she said to him with a smirk on her face as they shook hands to seal the pact.
Running.
Sweat was dripping down her neck and back at the effort she was making to get away. The night air was freezing. The hot drops of liquid leaving her body were rapidly turning cold and her shirt was sticking to her skin. She didn't look back as she ran. There was no time for that. What exactly she was leaving behind was unclear but one thing she did know was that it was dangerous.
The forest was surrounded in darkness therefor it was hard to see where she was going. She tripped once or twice over fallen twigs but kept up her rapid pace. Her legs were starting to ache and her breath was coming out in short pants. She was exhausted. She didn't know how long she could keep running through this sinuous path without collapsing.
Just as she was about to give up on this obstacle course she saw a light flicker on and off in the distance. At the same time she heard a name being called, her name.
"Sienna!" it had come from the right. She looked but saw nothing. Sienna tried to search for the flickering light but realized with great depression that it had gone out. Having no other reason to keep going she decided to stop wherever she was and catch her breath.
Whatever was chasing her would soon reach her but she didn't care. She couldn't keep running. She had no physical or even emotional energy left for that. She was giving up on fighting. Her fate was up to destiny. She had her head bent down with her palms resting on her thighs as she regained her breath when the area around her was illuminated. At first she felt fear. Had they found her?
She slowly looked up and was momentary blinded at the contrast from darkness to brightness. She shielded the light from her eyes with her hand until she adjusted. When she was able to distinguish where the light came from she noticed the road she'd been running on divided into seven different paths. At the entrance of each path were hooded figures holding old fashioned black lanterns. Each lantern contained a lightbulb which provided light.
At first glance these figures appeared like strangers. Where they going to hurt her?
She took careful steps towards them to see if they moved. They didn't. They remained perfectly still like statues. For the first time she looked back over her shoulder and then forwards again. She felt utterly helpless in this situation.
If she turned back the way she had come she'd have to face whatever she ran from. She couldn't go forwards because these figures blocked the seven paths. Where could she run to? Where could she find safety?
She was on the brink of desperation when the first figure on the far left unhurriedly unveiled itself. When it took off its hood, she was flabbergasted. Her brain made the quick connection between the revealed face and Sienna's memory. It was none other than Mrs. Hale! Sienna remembered meeting her on her first day at the boarding school. She was the school's headmaster and principal. What was she doing here?
"Sienna, come forth," she called out. She made an inviting gesture with her free hand that didn't hold the lantern. Sienna pondered for a moment before she moved in the direction of the lady. As Sienna approached her, though, she realized something was off. Mrs. Hale's usual cold, bird like eyes were filled with unfamiliar warmth.
Just as she was only five steps away from the lady, the figure on the far right exposed itself.
"Genine?" it was none other than her only friend at her beloved hospital, Genine the Genuine. "What are you doing here?" Sienna asked in bewilderment.
"Hi old friend, follow me," Genine said in a soft and soothing voice. Sienna turned, observed her friend and started walking towards the familiar face. A sudden realization stopped her in her tracks. When had Genine ever been gentle and so quiet? The Genine she had known had been loud and crazy. She had never inspired peace and tranquility in Sienna like this Genine did. had the girl changed so drastically in a lapse of months?
"Sienna, let's go have lunch," Parry said appearing next to Genine. Sienna noticed Scar was beside him as well when she shook off her hood. That dyed scarlet, orange and red hair was unmistakable.
"Yeah Sienna, come on I'm starving," Scar whined. Those two did in fact sound like themselves but it was the middle of the night, how could Scar want to have lunch? Besides there was no sign of a cafeteria anywhere. Something in Sienna told her that was a trick. She stayed exactly where she was.
"Honey, we miss you, come home," the voice of her mother and father startled her out of her trance and she quickly directed her attention to the couple next to Mrs. Hale.
"Mom, dad?" Now this was a complete shock. What on earth were these two people doing here? Shouldn't they be at home or at work?
"Honey, we miss you, come home," they repeated again simultaneously in the same exact tone. This time, without hesitation, she walked right to them. These were her parents. If there were two people she could trust in this world, it was them. They had brought her into this world, after all.
Sienna was a step away from reaching her mom and dad when something odd occurred to her; the figures standing there posing as her parents sounded completely like robots. They spoke as if they had been programed and had no choice but to repeat it over and over again. Sienna froze on her last step and shook her head. What was going on? All these individuals appeared to be the exact people she knew and yet something was wrong with all of them. It was as if they were copies!
"Sin, come here, love." The personification and that particular male voice made time stop for Sienna. She didn't have to look to recognize him. Still, since her mind liked to play tricks with her, she faced the tall, handsome figure she was familiar with.
Tristan's voice was unmistakable. His dark brown hair was pushed back and he was wearing a black shirt with short sleeves that made noticeable his toned biceps. She examined him with care and came to the conclusion that he resembled the guy she knew.
"Sin," he said in such a loving tone that it almost made Sienna melt on the spot. "Come with me darling, I'll take you where you want to be," he said sweetly. He extended his left hand to her and stared into her grey eyes.
"Tristan?" she asked in doubt.
"Yes, now follow me, love. We don't have much time," He warned her turning back to look at the darkness that was behind him. He too had a lantern, she noticed, but the forest was pitch black so there were only a few steps being illuminated. The rest of the way was left to the imagination. Sienna was so close to doing what he said- his request sounded lovely- but even though this guy resembled Tristan, his words and sweet tone were so out of character. It was almost too good to be true.
As if detecting her uncertainty, his melodic voice said the three words she had subconsciously been desiring to hear all along.
"I love you." That was enough to make up her mind. Sienna was convinced. Yet, just as she was centimeters from grabbing his hand something extraordinary happened.
"NO!" a voice screamed at her. Sienna's body froze as she heard this command. It can't be, she thought to herself. That voice was haunting. The effect this voice had on her was nothing compared to the previous ones she'd heard. This voice made the hairs on her body stand alert. It was so similar, too similar...
She was scared of looking at the source of the voice in fear of confirming her thoughts. She did everything in her will power to stop herself from meeting the eye of the being that demanded her attention.
"LOOK AT ME! HE'S LYING TO YOU. THEY ALL ARE. DON'T GO! YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO ME," yelled the all too familiar voice. It was her. How was that even possible? Another Sienna? But then if there were two of her who was the real one?
But before Sienna could interrogate her, the other Sienna banished into thin air along with the rest of the familiar figures.
A/N: There's nothing I can do or say to apologize for my prolonged absence but hey at least I updated right??? Anyone? No. ok. I just want you all to know I will do my best to update much more frequently and I won't disappear like that again. I am done with my college semester and I have like a month of vacation so I'm going to try and dedicate my time to this book. I want to finish this book and I want you to stick around with me. Please show some love by voting and commenting on the chapter if you liked it :D I have so much planned for the plot!