Of all the monuments in town, St. Verina Academy was the landmark residents took more pride in above any other. The magnificent academy, located in the northernmost region, was one of the most prestigious private high schools in the nation. While not always a private educational facility, it became so after decades of increasingly successful evaluations, as well as the establishment of numerous exclusive clubs and college preparatory courses.
Along with a renowned faculty of teachers, the school had evolved into a highly attractive destination for many students outside of the area. However, the academy yet remained accessible to the locals, who had personally invested in the institute throughout the years.
St. Verina Academy stood atop a hill that overlooked most of the town. Distanced fifteen minutes from central downtown, it was in a quieter area, although there were several small businesses and restaurants within the vicinity. There was a road that extended up the hill on which cars could take to access the school's single parking lot, which is located on the back end.
The front of the school was at the dead end of another roadway, typically accessed by crossing a bridge over the ravine alongside the lower road. At the entrance of the school beyond the steel gates lied an open plaza with several small trees, light poles, and wooden benches along the inner walls of the fence. The academy itself was a large, mansion-like facility, beige and maroon in color. It was one building split into three distinct sections with one being on the right, another on the left, and one centrally located.
On Monday morning, the first day of the fall semester began. The skies were gray and a cold chill filled the air as the weather reverted back to its typical dreary, overcast state. Numerous crowds of students walked towards the academy on the flood plain above the ravine. Most were on foot, while some were dropped off or traveled by bike. Just below the upper road, a somewhat weary Dawn hurried across the street. She was dressed in uniform- wearing a red vest over a white dress shirt, along with a solid black blazer and red skirt.
Dawn nodded and waved at the driver of a car who had stopped and allowed her to proceed. After taking the stairs up to the flood plain, she headed straight down the path to the academy. She was able to relax and slow herself once she saw the school in the distance ahead. As continued down the pathway toward the academy, Dawn gazed at the dense forest that lied beyond the field to her right. Oblivious to her immediate surroundings, Dawn abruptly hit the ground, tripping on the heel another student's boot.
Once again, she found herself on all fours. This time making a concerted effort to keep her short skirt down. "Ow," uttered Dawn. She quickly sprung up and adjusted one of her black stockings. "I'm sorry."
The male student turned around. He had curly taper fade and wore a single diamond earring in his left ear. "You don't gotta apologize," he said, holding out his hand. "That was my bad."
"It's okay!" said Dawn. She shook the boy's hand.
"I'm Trey. What's your name cutie? I don't think I've seen you here before."
Dawn's cheeks immediately reddened as she pulled her hand back over the back of her head and looked toward the ground. "Oh, it's, um...Dawn."
"Dawn. I like that," he said. "So what do you-"Just then the academy bell rang, signaling the start of early morning classes.
"Crap, is it seven-thirty already?" asked Dawn, to which Trey nodded. "Sorry, I'm running late. Bye!"
Dawn ran off in a hurry to class, rushing through the throngs of students approaching the gates. When she reached the courtyard of the academy moments later, it was emptying as many of the students began to make their way indoors. She thanked a male student who held the door open for her as she walked into the west building. Once inside, Dawn took her printed class schedule out of her bag and managed to identify the location of her first period classroom, nearly sprinting up a flight of stairs to get there.
On the second floor, she passed two other classrooms and a block of lockers along the hallway before reaching classroom 2-16. Much to her chagrin, the classroom was already filled with students and the teacher, a middle-aged male with long, slicked-back black hair, had already begun lecturing. Dawn slipped her folded schedule back into her bag and slowly opened the door.
"So keep that in mind during the year," the professor said. He turned to his left as Dawn closed the door behind her. She forced a smile to hide her embarrassment as everyone's focus shifted onto her. "Hmm...and you must be..." He held the attendance sheet up to his face as he briefly scanned it. "Dawn?"
"That's me," she responded. "And I'm sorry for being late. I know it's the first day..."
"It's quite alright," he said, smiling. "Trust me, you weren't the only one. I'm Mr. Price. But if you want, you can just call me Price or by first name Benjamin. Whatever you like. Now, let's get you seated."
Price looked around the room for open seats. A couple of boys stood up and offered their seats, until Sky, who had been sitting in the very back of the glass casually motioned toward a nearby empty chair. The moment she recognized him, a large grin surfaced upon Dawn's face. She immediately walked to the back of the room and sat near him.
Unlike most of the other boys, Sky had a somewhat unkempt appearance. He wore his blazer unbuckled with the collars up revealing his red vest. The collars of the white dress shirt underneath it were also unbuttoned as far down as possible, essentially turning it into a V-neck that revealed his upper chest. He also had pierced ears and a chain that dangled out of the right pocket of his black slacks.
As Price continued his lecture about school policies, Dawn turned to Sky, who had been daydreaming with his head planted against his fist.
"Did you just roll out of bed this morning or what?" asked Dawn, grinning. "That has to be a dress code violation."
Sky shrugged. "Did you? I'm not the one who was late."
"Ha. Ha. Very funny. I appreciate you saving me a seat though. I knew you missed me, Sky. Admit it."
"Well who else am I supposed to copy off of all year?"
"Off me? Yeah sure, that's a good way to guarantee an F."
Dawn thought to herself as the lecture continued. In spite of all the bizarre and ominous happenings around the town, for the first time since she arrived, she felt happy. Simply to be back at home, reunited with her childhood friend and another one of her closest friends in Josie. The city she moved from was great, she thought, but it was different here. There was a greater sense of community and familiarity that wasn't present in a big city where people come and go every day. But of course the town hadn't been its usual, peaceful self lately and it would not stop nagging at her as to why exactly that was.
Turning her attention back to the classroom, everyone seemed to be bored, either listening to music with speaker buds lodged in their ears or typing on their phones and laptops. All the while, Price was happily going on about his experiences in teaching, delivering a speech that seemed to be directed at himself. When she glanced to her left, a brown-haired boy with glasses waved at her and grinned. She waved back, with her hand slightly raised, wiggling her fingers.
When she turned back to her left, Dawn saw Sky in the same position, only this time he had been staring out the window. She noticed a large cut on his right fist, which was resting on the edge of the table. The slit started at the end of his middle finger bone and extended far down under the white sleeve sticking out of his black uniform coat. It looked to Dawn as if an incision had been made with a butcher knife, as it was fairly wide.
She considered asking him about the gash, until a loud, pounding ring came from the tower outside. Class had seemingly ended almost as soon as it started. Sky immediately stood up, grabbed his books and walked out of the door before any other student. It was typical of him not to say goodbye or acknowledge anyone else, but nonetheless, she couldn't help but worry.
Price continued lecturing, as if he were willfully ignoring the fact that the class was over. Dawn picked up her bag off the wooden floor and exited the room alongside a group of other students. During the passing period the spacious, immaculate hallways were filled with students and faculty alike. Following mythology with Price, she attended an English and trigonometry class. Before the 40-minute lunch period, a school-wide assembly was called for in the auditorium. Dawn's trigonometry teacher, an older man named Mr. Martin, directed everyone downstairs.
The massive auditorium, located on the first floor of the main building, was occupied by nearly the entire student body by the time Dawn and her class arrived. She walked through the open doorway, which had chairs holding the heavy doors to the wall on each side. With her short stature, Dawn struggled to even see over the shoulders of most students there. All she could make out was a long red curtain hanging down over the stage. Noise of laughter and chatter filled the auditorium as the crowd of students waited in anticipation. Dawn grabbed her cell phone out of her school bag and noticed she had received a text from Josie, who had asked where she was located. Dawn replied that she was standing right near the entrance and, within several minutes, Josie had made her way to Dawn's side.
"Hey you," said Josie, raising her voice to compete with the surrounding noise.
"Hi Josie. Any idea what this is about? I think the entire school is here."
"No," she started. "Oh wait, it might be that thing I mentioned yesterday."
Suddenly, the screech of a microphone came erupted through the speakers on stage. Josie stood on the tip of her toes and looked at the stage to see three individuals on stage. The one handling the microphone was an older man, with white hair and a long beard wearing a brown business suit. A middle-aged woman in a red blazer and matching skirt stood to his right.
"Yeah, it's definitely about those incidents," said Josie as she whipped out her phone. "Get comfortable." Dawn tried her best to look toward the stage as the man began speaking.
"Welcome dear students," the man started. "I hope you have enjoyed your day here so far. I know the first day of classes can be chaotic, but I felt it was important to discuss this issue at a time when everyone was present. Rather than let rumors and gossip distract you at the start of a new year, I feel that as your principal I need to be honest and upfront with you all. Now then, as I'm sure you have all heard by now, early last week two of our students went missing. Jason Coleman and Hailey Weiss were last seen on the afternoon of Sunday, August twenty-eighth crossing the field at Cloud Avenue, where it is believed that they entered our local forest. They were reported missing the following Monday night and, at this time, police have no leads as to what may have happened to them."
"Sure, that'll put our minds at ease," remarked Josie. "What a dumbass."
Dawn simply shook her head in disbelief, a look of increasing concern growing upon her face. A nervous tension built in the air, as the crowd of students fell even quieter. The principal stumbled as he shuffled through several pieces of paper.
"Erm," he grunted. "While nothing is certain, there is strong reason to believe that this incident is related to the previous four which occurred in the past year, in which several other townspeople went missing in the forest. Granted, this is the first case in which students from our academy here have been involved. It is for this reason that we are instructing each and every one of you to stay out of the forest. Of course, the rangers have done their part to deter those attempting to enter, but they can't jeopardize their own safety to stop the reckless. Most have come to understand this by now, but for those who haven't, please, for your own safety stay away from that forest. Now before you head out to lunch, we'll have some words about general campus safety from Miss Garza."
Dawn folded her arms over her chest and sighed heavily. "This is getting on my nerves!"
"Whoa there, feisty one. Settle down," said Josie. She chuckled as she stuck her phone back into her coat pocket.
"I'm not being feisty," said Dawn. There was a hint of annoyance in her tone. "I just want to know what's going on out there. Don't you? I feel like everyone is keeping information from me. All these cryptic messages about 'the forest' are getting to me."
"Okay, honestly, I don't know what's happening any more than you do. And I've been here for, like, ever. But...if you're that determined to find out, then there's something you gotta see."
"And what is that?"
"Come on," said Josie, carefully surveying the area around the entrance. "Follow me."