Alyson stumbled down the dorm stairs as she hastily searched for Natalie. If she knew the girl well enough she would be outside, somewhere near the Western Woods, lying under the shade of a tree. She hoped that her friend had not decided to change her habits all of a sudden because she was not sure how long she could last with that crutch under her arm. Resisting the urge to toss the crutch to the bottom of the stairs Alyson hopped the last few steps to the bottom, recalling her conversation with Natalie in that very stairwell earlier that day and shook the memory from her mind as she pushed through the doors to the lobby. She took a quick glance around to be sure that Natalie was not among the several kids that were standing around the room. Several of the girls were arguing about something, but Alyson paid no attention to them as she headed out of the building and into the fields that surrounded the Academy grounds. The moment she got a foot outside of the dorm she realized something was very wrong, her eyes gazed to the skies and the dark clouds that bordered the school grounds. "This is not good." She breathed, her eyes not being able to tear away from the foreboding sky. Forcing herself to turn away from the sky she glanced around the grounds as she tried to figure out what she should do next. Unsure where Natalie was she decided that maybe going to talk with Amy first might be for the best. With her mind made up she turned around and started down the long path behind the back of the school and passed the Head Mistress's house. She stopped for a moment outside of the wide fenced yard that spread out before the small house the was the home to Sophia and Melissa, the Head Mistresses of Whispering Hills. She always got a strange feeling when around the two women and knew that they were not normal humans. They held a power to them like nothing she had ever experienced before, it was not a power that made her frightened, in fact they felt more welcoming then anything else. She could only feel a faint presence of one of the women coming from the building at that time and figured that they were more then likely out helping the many students around the school. That wave of energy that emitted from Kimberly's death must have affected quite a few of the kids around the school and they more then likely had their hands full around the school. She was about to turn away from the house when she saw something moving in one of the second floor windows. She was not sure what it was, but she was almost certain she saw a small stuffed toy of a white rabbit in the window. Her mind turned to the Bug Bear that was in Penny's room and worry filled her. She could not just leave the place not knowing if another of those tattered patchwork teddy bears still roamed the school. Without a second thought she pushed through the small wooden fence and passed between two large rosebushes that bordered a long stone path to the front door. Cautiously she crept up to the small porch and peered into the large front picture window. Inside the house was dark and she could not see anyone around. She was about to turn back to the front door when something moved in the shadows. She cupped her hand around her eyes and squinted to get a better look. She saw it again, another stuffed rabbit, this time yellow, was walking across the living room floor with what appeared to be a throw pillow carried over its head. The creature turned and Alyson swiftly stepped to the side so the creature could not see her. Holding her crutch tightly she wished she had grabbed her sword on the way out for she was not able to handle these monsters without a weapon, but she needed to do something that was for certain. She glanced around the porch for something that would make a good weapon when she found an umbrella leaning against the wall next to the door, a large umbrella, the kind of a metal spike at the end. She quickly moved to the object and picked it up, testing it weight. It might not have been a sword but it would work in a pinch on these little critters. Carefully she approached the front door and peered through the long frosted glass windows that bordered it. Unable to see much of anything through the distorted glass she adjusted her hold on the umbrella and tested the door with her wounded arm. Her arm might have been useless, but her hand could still move and she managed to grip onto the doorknob and gave it a slight turn to find it unlocked. This fact left an unsettling feeling inside of her. She was not sure if the Head Mistresses locked the door when they left or not, but it made the possibility of someone else being in the house very high and that would mean that those creatures might have already found a meal to feast on. If that was true she would need to battle them inside the person's dreams first and she was not sure she was ready for that in her current condition. Taking a hold of the door handle tightly in her hand, being sure not to allow it to slip and make any sound, she decided that she needed to at least find out if someone was in trouble or not. Convincing herself to check out the house and then seek more help she slowly opened the front door and prayed that it wouldn't squeak. When the door was opened enough to allow her to enter she slipped inside and carefully closed it after her. The inside was gloomier then she remembered it. When she first came to the Academy she was introduced to the Head Mistresses in their home. They were not at all surprised by her arrival and in fact had been awaiting her, even had a platter of snacks waiting for her. Natalie had convinced her to come to the school. She found out that Natalie had been a part of the Eastern side of the Academy for a long time and she thought it would be the place for Alyson as well. Back then Alyson was sceptical, but her brother seemed very interested in the idea of her attending the school, and she discovered much later that his intensions were not all just. He would question her everyday after school was about, whom she made friends with, and what she was taught. He was extremely interested in the school's inner workings and she was his little spy. She didn't realize this until recently and felt guilty for relaying information to him. She rubbed at her head as emotions began to swell inside of her head and she forced herself to clear her mind and stay focused. She glanced around, keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of movement. When she was certain nothing was hiding in the shadows she began to move down the long hall, taking a quick look inside of the living room before moving further along. She discovered a kitchen to the left with a large dinning table at the far end under a long window. There were several pieces of paper attached to the refrigerator with magnets; recipes, and notes from one sister to the other, and a couple of photos. One of the photos caught Alyson's attention and she moved in to get a closer look. It was a photo of several young girls along with the Head Mistresses and Amy as well as three large men in the background. Although younger she recognized Kris right away, sitting next to her sister Kai, and next to her was the girl who was with Kai and helped capture Akaime, Gwen, that was the name she remembered being mentioned. The other girl's she suspected must have been the other Sister's of Death that Amy had mentioned earlier. She found the smallest of them, dressed in a small pink skirt and powder blue hoodie, and guessed that one must have been Carey and could not understand how such a sweet innocent looking child could commit murders. Actually she would not have thought any of the girls to be Angels of Death if she had not been told about it. One of the men in the background was what really attracted her attention. While the two others appeared normal, although very large in comparison to the rest of the girls and dressed in Victorian flair, it was first man, on the left that drew in Alyson's eyes. He stood off to the side of the group and was covered entirely in black with dark brown hair falling into his mask-covered face, a mask that was two colours, silver on one side and white on the other with many red markings that resembled the tattoos on the Sister's of death. His gold and blue eyes stared out of the picture at Alyson, almost as if he could see her standing there in the kitchen. She was almost sure he could see her and this thought frightened her. Her eyes darted around the many other photos to find the man only in the one. What was his connection to the Head Mistress? Could he be their father? No she was almost sure he wasn't their father and as his eyes stared out at her she found herself backing away from the photo. Abruptly a sliding patio door in a small study to her right slide open with a bang and a girl in a long black cloak came crashing into the room, a child cradled in her arms, and collapsed to the ground. ***** To be Continued . . .
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