- EVERY WISH IS OUR COMMAND,
WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES IN NEVER,
NEVERLAND. (neverland, zendaya)
As promised, they were to come back to the classroom once school ended for them the next day. Solar was waiting right outside the school gate for his peers, dismissing his friends once they invited him for a hangout. He couldn't risk ignoring the spirit's request; the threat is probably real. Whatever that psycho-headed Wonder is planning, he thinks, it's probably bad.
"Solar!" He hears his name from the crowd of students walking out of the lobby. The boy shuts his phone off and stands on his toes to look for the source of the sound.
"Here!" Solar sees a hand waving not far from where he stood, and he picks up his bag swiftly before joining the group of two. Yaya and Ying were searching around for any signs of Gopal. Fang presumably, was too embarrassed to go to school because of his appearance.
The chocolate-skinned guy was nowhere to be seen after some time. There's barely anyone left in the campus area, as they all immediately went home on a free Friday.
Too bad the five of them had things to tend to.
Gopal finally emerges from the corner of the building, "Sorry I'm late!" He shouts from afar, raising his arm to greet them, "Something came up!"
"It's alright." The three of them answers, stopping their chat.
And together, they walked towards the abandoned school building. Unknowingly though, a dark puddle shows itself, following the trail of those five, particular learners.
"Are we supposed to do that satan-calling ritual again?"
"Dunno." Gopal quips, stashing both hands in the patches of his varsity jacket, "We should probably knock or something. Oh, wait." He notices the outnumbered presence, "Where's Fang?"
"Right here." Yaya slings her bag down gently and zips it open. Inside, lays a soft, purple fur-ball. "He was too embarrassed to go home." She rolls her eyes with a smile, "So he lied and told his parents that he's staying over at a friend's home for a couple of weeks. At least, until Thorn somehow reverses him back to his human form."
"I'd get grounded by my parents if I did that." Ying shakes her head, "Lucky to be born with non-strict parents I guess. Even I had to cover-up on why I'm coming home late today."
"That's unfortunate." Yaya frowns with sympathy.
Solar knocks on the door thrice, starting to grow impatient. The sun is starting to set now, and who knows how long it would take for them to finish whatever business they had together. Not hearing an answer, he proceeds to force the sliding door open.
To their surprise, it opens without a challenge. They poke their heads in, finding nobody. Thorn was gone.
"Where'd he go?" Ying questions the thoughts in their head.
All of a sudden, a figure appears in front of her.
Ying screams, stumbling from the shock and accidentally hitting Solar. Solar grunts, unable to keep his balance and crashes onto Gopal behind him. Just like human dominoes, all four standing humans fell from their spots and onto the concrete floor.
"What was that for?!" Gopal holds his dizzy head.
"Pfft," The apparition puffs his cheeks and drops down from the ceiling with a chuckle, "I got you guys! Hope that was enough to put you in a good mood!" His eyes turns into soft, crescent moons.
"You're a jerk." Ying huffs, getting up on her own then lending a helping hand to her friends. Of course they all noticed the sudden change of mood. For some reason, his aura wasn't as serious as yesterday; did something happen?
"Oh~," Thorn places a hand on his chest, "Looks like your wish is taking place quick." Just like before though, he leaves them standing by the doorway. Without thinking twice, the students join him into the wide, class space.
Solar takes his glasses off, tucking it into the collar of his uniform. "You're here to take what's valuable from us, as a form of payment, correct?"
"Yep!" His grin was huge, "And I'm excited."
Ah, they collectively thought, sweatdropping. No wonder he's in such a good mood today. That bastard.
"Okay! Who wants to go first?" Thorn leans on his outstretched arms behind his back, "Same rules apply; no leaving until you pay it, and by the count of five- if nobody's stepping up, I'm going to.."
"Dey," Gopal deadpans, "I haven't heard of that rule."
"I make the rules, kid. You're in my territory." He frowns, drumming fingers on the table, "It's a rule starting from now on. Hurry up, you all."
Yaya notices; once again, the apparation turns to see the clock hung nicely above the board. He's been doing it ever since they came in here. Time? She asks herself, Is something wrong?
And also, why did he choose today, not yesterday? It would have been quicker for him this way. She speculates, stealing a look at the green-eyed boy, Or maybe, he has something to do with us.
Her gut feeling quenches, telling her to run.
Thorn sighs, "I'll be starting with him then." He points at Solar, who already knew it was coming. "Like I said before, I'll be taking your eyes."
"So be it." Solar's shoulders sagged. He closes his eyes, sensing a dark energy within Thorn, who rests a hand on his head gently. "Just, make it quick. As long as my brother's here with me." He whispers the last part, only heard by the apparition.
"Of course," Thorn's expression changes, unseen by any of them. His fingers were shaking, but he took a deep breath, "I'll make it quick, as you say.."
Quick enough to save you all, he thinks. And sure enough, Solar was left with nothing else to see except the dark, pitch black void. It scares him, it always does. The dark's always there to haunt him.
The last thing he saw before everything came to the end was Thorn, standing right before him and mouthing the words,
Thank you.
OOP OOP OOP HAHAHAH
i hope you enjoyed this chapters as much as
i enjoyed writing it! you'll see why Thorn acts this
way in the next chapter (づ￣ ³￣)づ
thank you to everyone who's read this book!