Chapter 10: Dawn of Eclipse: Part 3

Dawn of Eclipse: Part 3

Despite the calming atmosphere, the argument could still be heard coming from the open field.

The group began to disperse, several looking for seats to shield themselves from the sun's rays.

It seemed they couldn't reach an agreement with that woman, or so the boy with the large eyebrows and his friend thought, sitting on the only bench in the corridor in front of the infirmary.

"Wow... So that's what happened... And now ghost towns have appeared, huh? Ah! Now I regret not having gone on that trip even more. My mom kept me busy here..." the girl commented, playing with her orange curls.

"Be thankful you didn't come with us (I am)... Since the accident, everything has gone from bad to worse. What frustrates me right now is figuring out how to proceed..." Jevo declared, massaging his head.

Something filled him with uncertainty, and that was the chaos he saw through the bus window on the way.

"How to proceed...? Don't do anything stupid, Jevo. Just wait for your parents' arrival like the others."

"No one will come..." he murmured, leaning completely against the wooden backrest.

"Why do you say that?"

"You see, few students have close relatives living under their roof. Most travel to neighboring countries to find work and bring the wealth they've earned back to their relatives here, but they themselves don't return. Some drift away, and others are... victims of this life. But it's understandable; that a woman of 'high society' would be unaware of these kinds of situations..."

"Don't give me that story. You know very well that life is not easy for anyone..." she replied immediately.

He looked at her for a moment and then returned his gaze to the field.

“...That's not even taking into account that once you reach 18, there probably won't be anyone to take care of you from then on... Those were my older brother's words before he left me alone and traveled abroad. Therefore, no one will come for me. Although I'm not surprised either; perhaps he inherited that from my father.”

“And what about your other relatives? Or even acquaintances...”

“We lived alone in the same apartment. The neighbors... well, any other person, no matter how generous they seem, will always prioritize their most precious loved ones. This is something you should know, Rousset. It's such an obvious fact that it could be considered common knowledge.”

The girl let out a deep sigh before him. She opened the plastic wrapper she was holding and took out a can of soda.

“Always so negative... That's why you're alone and helpless. Here, take it.”

He caught the can that was thrown to him. He looked at it and lightly curled his lips.

"Are you trying to comfort me? You misunderstand. This is a reality we live. I'd only be depressed if there was a better alternative."

"Just stop complaining and drink it. It's the only thing I found at the cafeteria, so you're in luck. And about that... Izzy does seem to see things differently than you... don’t her?" Rousset looked away.

Jevo had spoken to Izzy before retreating from the Acracia Mountains the moment he found an opportunity. It was understandable; she didn't know what had become of the professor who brought them there, and he was interested in the situation to come.

"Surely... I wonder how she's doing with it..." the young student mused as he opened the can and waited for the gas to dissipate before drinking.

"But what could I know... Two years as her classmate... Not even her 'best friend' knows what's going on in that girl's head, much less me." Rousset shrugged. She approached the boy with a sly smile and continued, "Heh, changing the subject again, there's something much more important I want to know... Who was that guy with you?"

"Hm? Which one? There were several."

"You know, he was walking near you. Lightly dark-skinned, tall… I think he had a beard, too."

"Chase? Don't waste your time thinking about that kind of stuff." He sighed softly before continuing to drink.

"It's none of your business how I waste my time. Come on; tell me, how does he like? How does he act? Can he dance?"

"I'll just say he's not who he seems."

"No! Jevo, no. I gave you the last soda in this school, now I want every last detail of his life."

"(So that was the reason...)"

Jevo ignored her and stood up from the bench. He placed the can on the ground to crush it and threw it like a basketball into a nearby trash can, though he missed embarrassingly.

"Ugh..."

"Hey, I asked you a question! Jevo!" she exclaimed mockingly when he ignored her and picked up the can to dispose of it properly.

"Are you still doing that? ...Tch, if you want to meet him that badly, do it face to face. Although I suggest it be soon since we'll be leaving... That's why I said not to bother thinking about such things..."

"I already told you it's a terrible idea," Rousset said, standing up. "Fine. You have no reason to stay, so why drag others with you?”

“…”

The boy simply listened and proceeded eloquently, returning to the bench.

“Rousset… I know my comrades well. I assure you, they are the last students in this Institute who would want to see their parents again. So I'll just wait until we've had enough rest before leaving… You should hurry up.”

“How arrogant…“the young woman muttered, returning to her seat, clearly annoyed. “How about I accompany you?”

“… (Damn, I was afraid she'd ask something like that…)”

“A problem with that?” Seeing the young man's face, the girl retorted even more forcefully.

“Hmm… You see, it's best that—“

“HYAAAAAAAA!!!”

“…!”

A resounding, high-pitched shriek dominated the place.

Alarmed, both stood up, shuddering, wondering where it came from, bending their knees and hurriedly exchanging glances with each other and their surroundings.

"W-What...!?"

The commotion ceased for a few exhausting seconds.

Total silence fell.

Not even the argument on the field or the sirens outside could be heard.

It was impossible to blink, only to wait for another sound to reorient their senses.

"W-What... w-was it...!?"

It didn't take long for it to appear.

The isolated sound of a large, solid object being thrown down some steps, and silence returning.

That was their first impression. It revealed nothing more than a clue to its origin: the interior of the infirmary.

The boy turned to see his companion; gaping and paralyzed behind him. Then he swallowed a bit and, with his heart about to burst, he moved his restless hand to the door handle.

He opened it slightly, trying to peer through the gap on one side. However, what lay inside was imperceptible with just that effort.

He opened it a little more, but stopped.

Again the aggressive sound of the "object falling down the steps" and again an overwhelming silence followed.

"…"

A cold drop of sweat trickled down his chin, splashing his hand on the handle.

The boy's vision was becoming glassy.

Mechanically, he gave it one more try.

This time, he had undesirable success.

In that gloomy room, the lights had stopped working properly; they gave little light, and their illumination appeared and disappeared at irregular rates.

The curtains further hid the poor luminescence.

Jevo strained his eyes amidst that false dusk.

Black, anomalous figures writhed violently on the ground, knocking aside objects around them.

Motionless, one of those nocturnal silhouettes rose in the middle of all the others.

Tall, gaunt, and with a human profile, its head fixed to the sky.

The dim light only made it possible to distinguish its eyes, and of these, only one image came to mind.

An eclipse.

"G-Guh... Aa... ah!" The boy watched, irresolute and inert, like the entity that appeared before him.

"AAAAAH!!!"

And a horrifying echo followed, not coming from that dark individual, but from the young man, panicking as he saw it grimly swinging its limbs without any flexion, walking swiftly toward him amid incoherent screams.

It was 4:15 pm

Jevo immediately closed the door.

Inside, he heard the creature that was planning to attack him crash against it, creating a gap in the door despite its thickness.

Shocked, Jevo fell to the ground, and Rousset instinctively let out a high-pitched squeal.

"W-What w-was t-that!?" the girl stammered, dropping the bag she was carrying.

The boy didn't know how to respond, nor did he have the intention to. He could barely stay calm and not go into shock enough to worry about it.

He stood up using his shaky legs and turned to look at his friend.

"We have...! We have to get them out of there! Jazmin...!"

"I-I won't go near there!" Rousset retorted.

Loud knocks were heard on the door. One after another, like temple bells, they slowly opened the crack previously made in the door.

"Eeeek!"

"Rousset, w-we have to get them out of there!"

He didn't know if the calm he felt was from thinking only about that, or because the shock he'd been avoiding had already consumed him.

However, the knocking on the door shattered the girl's reason. Without thinking, she fled the scene in a hurry, stumbling and screaming in terror.

"W-What the...?! You d-damn selfish bitch!" Jevo exclaimed from the infirmary.

The intermittent noise had stopped for a long time. The boy didn't know the reason and, in fact, didn't want to know about it.

Instead, the door handle jerked open.

Not knowing what to do, Jevo took two steps back, waiting for the worst.

When the door finally opened, one of the foreign boys he'd traveled with earlier came out in terror.

"Y-You're...?!"

-[Ø]-

"YOU OLD FUCKER SON OF A BITCH!"

"Chase! Stop it!"

Clouds were beginning to gather in the sky over the open field, and the clock read 4:18 p.m.

Near the exit and the parking lot, a young man tightly gripped the unusual black lab coat of a man much older than him, expressing his unbridled anger as he did so.

Despite having dropped the leather suitcase this new individual was carrying due to the jolt, he silently watched and listened to the incessant complaints spewed at him.

"I see you've returned safely..."

"Don't give me that! Making up lame excuses...! You knew about this! You bastard! Answer me! You knew! And yet...!"

The insults were silenced by the man, who pushed the boy. He lost his balance and fell to the ground easily. His companion approached to help him.

It was Henroy Fanous, a biology teacher. A tall man with straight brown hair swept completely to the nape of his neck. He usually wore dark suits, and today was no exception. This, coupled with his temper and intellect, gave him an intimidating appearance even among his own colleagues.

"Tch, you insolent brat. You can't ask for answers if you haven't asked questions. I clearly remember teaching you something like that," the man stammered, shaking his aching hand and readjusting his trench coat.

"Y-You abandon your students to nothing... and now this? What a shitty teacher," Chase muttered. Earlene stopped the enraged boy, then helped him up.

Without taking too much notice, the Professor Fanous approached the young students, overshadowing them with his great height. He proceeded to speak in his characteristic deep, stifled voice.

"Let's discuss it like people. Both of the statements you mentioned are false, indeed, or do you have grounds to support them?"

"W-What do you mean, sir?" Earlene asked nervously.

"I have no reason to excuse myself from you, however, for the sake of this foolish youth, I will make an exception."

"...”

"I have done nothing more than respond to the call of my wife and children." The teacher explained “That was the message before leaving, with no words between the lines. And as you can see, at this moment, I am not dressed formally enough to be mistaken for a high school teacher; my actions are exempt from the obligations of a moral agent of that order," he exclaimed as if giving a speech.

"(Uh... agent... moral...?)"

Seeing the confusion on their faces, Henroy stepped back in disappointment, picked up the black suitcase from the floor, and took some keys from his coat pocket.

A white sheet of paper fell out without noticing.

"...You're wasting my time. I'll tell you this as an individual, not as a teacher. Get out of the way. You are not prepared to what is happening. Is that clear?" The man turned his back on them, ready to leave in the only car in the parking lot, a luxurious dark blue Jaguar C-x17 4x4.

"...Umm, how...?" The blonde girl glanced at him, intrigued.

"G-Gh, that bastard..." Chase pushed Earlene aside and stood up shakily.

"CHASE!!!"

His next move was blocked by the call of his name.

In the distance, near some columns, the young man with the thick eyebrows was waving his hand in an unusually desperate manner as he ran toward the main entrance. The long-haired stranger followed him.

"Huff! C-Chase! Hah... L-Let's get out of this place! Now!"

"Jevo? W-Why...!? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

"T-Too soon, I'd say..." He said to himself, the man in the dark trench coat behind him. He immediately turned around to flee in the car.

"Tsk! (Could the riots have reached here...?)" The boy only saw him climb into the ostentatious car and speed off, sending some metal bars flying through the air like feathers. "Fuck this! ... Earlene, we're leaving!"

"U-Um... okay..."

When Chase turned to look at her, she was distracted by a dusty piece of paper in her hands, which she quickly stuffed into her pants pocket.

"EARLENE!"

"Hey! Uh! Y-Yeah!"

To be continued…