"Shut your redneck mouth!"
The sounds of an argument came from Ray and Chanell's room. The classic situation no longer surprised practically anyone. Increasingly vulgar words emanated from the room, along with the sound of various objects crashing against the walls. As Nick used to say, "telekinesis is a dangerous toy..."
The heated exchange had gone on for a while. A large audience had gathered outside the door, listening intently to the sounds of the argument. They could clearly hear something glass (probably a crystal vase in which Ray kept wildflowers) shatter against the wall, then a short scream and... silence. The performance was over. After a few minutes of silence, the gawkers dispersed disappointedly throughout the castle.
Nick happened to hear that another verbal altercation had broken out in the girls' room, and this time, force had been used. He called the principal, and the two ran to the teenagers' room. They stormed in and stood in surprise at the doorstep.
At a small table set roughly in the center of the room, Chanell sat in her long black dress, clutching a book. She looked up lazily as the teachers rushed into their room as if something had happened.
"Where's Ray?" the principal asked after a moment.
"What do you mean, where? Here. Ray..." she said sweetly.
Ray rose from the soft sheets piled on the bed. She looked at the astonished men and smiled faintly.
"Ray... are you okay?" There were shouts...
Chanell glanced sideways at Ray, who was sitting on the bed, and sweetly answered them for her:
"Of course she's okay, what could have happened to her? We got a little carried away again, but we cleared some things up and came to an understanding, right, Ray?
" "Of course.
" "See. Nothing happened. You can go now; you're probably busy; we don't want to disturb you. We're sorry we caused a disturbance," Chanell said, still smiling sweetly.
The teachers, shocked by the situation, simply left, begging for it not to happen again, to which Chanell replied that they had nothing to worry about, as there would be no more arguments. Both teenagers waved as they left the room.
"Nico…
" "Ray…? What are you doing…
" "Shhh…" Ray put a finger to Nicolas's lips to keep his voice down.
The girl sat on the edge of the bed and silently stared at the teacher's surprised face. She smiled gently.
"What are you doing here?" Nick asked, surprised.
"I came to talk.
" "Great, what happened?" Nick asked sarcastically.
"Nick… I didn't come to argue, I came to talk like a civilized person. You know how to do that, so don't be silly.
" "You've become so smart lately! I wonder why…?"
"Nick... please. What are you even talking about?! You kissed me, not me, it's because of you that we're not in touch, anyway... it doesn't matter...
" "Because of me? You're blaming me again, it's best that way...
" "Be quiet or someone will hear! Save your sulking for another time, there's no time for that today...
" "Of course, you know best what's time and what's not!
" "Nick, what the hell are you talking about?!
"Nothing. I never care about anything. Everything's always my fault. And what about you? Christmas?!
"What are you talking about..." Ray repeated slowly.
"Since when have you and Chanell been such close friends?"
"Nick... don't be such a baby... I've made up with her, that's what you wanted! You wanted us to finally be able to talk normally. So we're talking. So what? That's too bad. Well, I don't know what you want, Nico.
" "From you? Nothing. Just get away from me with your teeth.
" "That... what? You think I...?" Ray laughed, revealing her white teeth.
"I'm not a vampire, Nick. Do you want to… check me out to see? You're welcome," Ray said after a moment, taking off the blouse she was wearing. Underneath, she wore black underwear that, contrary to appearances, covered her beautiful body.
Nick stared at her a bit confused. Mainly because a beautiful girl was sitting next to him in nothing but a bra. Besides… maybe he overreacted; he shouldn't have immediately accused her of having sex with a vampire.
"Go ahead. Check it out if you don't believe me," Ray said ironically, looking disappointedly at Nick.
"Ray, I…
" "Thanks for trusting me. Just because we haven't talked for a few days doesn't mean Chanell turned me into a vampire.
" "That situation was different.
" "I shouldn't tell you, but… if you're going to hate me, I'd rather displease a vampire than be your enemy. She intimidated me. She said she'd turn me if I didn't obey her." I'd rather obey her by being myself than by being a vampire vassal. I agreed.
"So your visit here isn't selfless...?"
"Where did you get that idea? Of course it is. She doesn't know I'm here. Besides... she's not here, and that's what I wanted to talk about.
" "Are you trying to snitch that your roommate leaves her room at night?" "Nick, stop being snide. It's cold in here..." the girl said, putting her blouse back on.
"So... maybe you'll finally tell me what you know.
" "Finally? You're the one who keeps making this difficult for me! But no more arguing, we're only wasting time."
"Speak.
" "Something strange is going on in the castle.
" "I noticed it myself..."
"Chanell... she goes out in the middle of the night, I don't know where, she's been absent lately. She keeps asking me if I've seen anything strange... something different. As if she were waiting for something... looking for something... I don't know...
" "She goes out into the courtyard. I've told you this before. She's praying, I have no idea what to pray to or why.
" "I suspected prayers. She comes back to her room covered in blood, wearing strange medallions, claiming they're holy... it's a bit strange... she keeps asking me if I hear voices...
" "Voices?" Nick interrupted.
"Yes... you... you still hear them?
" "Getting stronger. I'm tired of them..." The boy stood up, walked over to the window, and stared out into the night.
"Nick... I hear them too..."
The teacher looked at the girl fearfully. "How is that possible... what's going on?" he thought
. "It started a week ago." When I was thinking a lot, a strange voice would distract me… at first it would beg rarely, only when I strained my mind, but now… it's with me all the time… I'm so sick of it… I can't concentrate at all, and I have to study!
"But… why did it come to you too…?
" "I don't know. And that worries me.
" "It has something to do with Chanell. I'm sure of it," Nick said, staring into the night.
"I think so too. I don't know how relevant it is, but… I followed her at night once. She didn't go to the courtyard. She went to the library.
" "What? What does she have to do in the library in the middle of the night! As if it couldn't be done during the day. That's ridiculous…
" "Hmm… maybe, but she didn't go there without a reason. Think about it, what can you do in the library in the middle of the night?
" "Definitely not sleep.
" "Nick, focus.
" "Okay, okay… at night… when no one's around… she has unlimited access to forbidden books. Maybe… that's the point, she's looking for something we don't want to give her. By the way, I wonder what the hell she's up to."
"You know... I think it's not just about the books. She's already read everything she could; it slipped her mind once when she was shouting and complaining about something.
" "What could she be looking for..." Nick wondered, staring out the window at the nearby forest.
"Maybe you, Nick, noticed something... strange, different?"
"Hmm... that voice... I don't know. My head hurts, maybe... we'll postpone this for another day,
huh?" "Daytime? I'd say nighttime.
" "Well. It could be nighttime. But we'll just talk.
" "If you want..." Ray said disappointedly, getting out of bed and heading for the door.
Nick watched his friend disappear into the darkness. He was the one who pushed her away. Was it right? Probably, but he still regretted it. She swayed her hips so seductively as she left that Nick almost did something he would definitely not be forgiven for.
He stood by the window. He wondered why Ray had really visited him in the middle of the night. Someday he would have to talk to her about it. The time would come. Not yet.
Nick was once again awakened by the persistent voice in his head. Another sleepless night, and this was too much, but what could the teacher do? Nothing, and that was the most irritating thing.
Nicolas sat up in bed. He involuntarily glanced at the mirror, a sight that was hard to avoid. He saw his own barely visible reflection in it. He sighed, indicating his disinclination to look at himself again. "I see myself every night, I've had enough, myself and this mirror..." he thought. He got out of bed and went to the window.
He stared into the darkness. A nearby forest was visible through the night. It was the natural boundary of the institute grounds. There had once been no trees here. They had been planted back when the castle was still used for research on telekinesis. Yes... Nick remembered the old headmaster telling him about the castle's history. Except… he only started in 1992, when the tissue research institute began operating. Strange? Nick didn't really have the time or inclination to think about it right now. There would be time.
Suddenly, the voice in his head fell silent. Nick breathed a sigh of relief, but there was something unsettling about this silence… the teacher began to wonder what it was, why the voice had gone silent, what was going on? He decided to go to Ray and ask if she also experienced these silences in her head. Nick was afraid of one thing – that this silence heralded storms…
Classes had ended four hours ago. Nick was sitting in the library, leafing through books, searching for the castle's history. He had a feeling it all had something to do with it. That there was something in the castle that no one knew or wanted to know. What could it be? That was the problem. Nick had no idea.
He'd been sitting there since he left the school wing. He'd already been searching the internet for anything about Kisvarda Castle and the surrounding area. He found only vague notes from 17th-century chronicles about attacks on the village by a mysterious Hun. That was the end of the online information.
Browsing through thousands of books also yielded nothing new. Everything begins in 1992, the year the institute was founded.
There were no records of the castle between 1642 and 1992. Over 300 years had been erased from the castle's history.
Nick felt helpless. He looked out the window at the meadows.
It was evening. Children were playing all sorts of games outside. Older boys were playing football, girls were strolling along the edge of the forest, and younger children were playing in the sandbox, squealing with delight on the swings. Three teachers, sitting on benches and pretending to have everything under control, watched over the evening bustle.
The whole affair was haunting him.
The library door opened. Nick saw Chanell's petite figure in the doorway. She smiled faintly at the librarian, then moved between the shelves.
Nick watched her shapely body appear and disappear among the bookshelves. He looked at her pale face with a slightly embarrassed expression. At her feet slowly pacing the floor. At her hair falling limply down her back. At her eyes and lips filled with a dark sweetness.
The book slipped from his hand and fell to the floor. The unintentional gesture caught the girl's attention. She looked at Nick with a smile. She folded her arms across her chest and stood right in front of the teacher.
"Did something distract you...?" she asked, teasing Nick.
"Is nothing distracting me.
" "Oh! Could it be? It's easy to see..." she said, stepping closer.
Nick placed the book back on the shelf.
"Are you reading something or supplementing?" he asked, looking at the girl.
"I'm reading and supplementing at the same time.
" "Anything specific?
" "I'm interested in the history of the castle." You too, I see.
How could she know that? Nick thought. Chanell pointed to the book Nick had dropped on the floor. Its title was "Kisvarda – A History."
"Well… are you looking for anything specific?" Nick asked.
"Not really. I'm just interested in the castle itself. I like to know where I stand," she added with a smile. "And you?
" "And you," Nick corrected her.
"Oh come on! There's almost no one here!
" "Almost. Getting too familiar with a student got me into trouble once. I don't need any more.
" "You kissed her then, now we're just talking… talking to a teacher isn't a crime, unless you prefer kissing me…"
Nick blushed involuntarily. He turned his face away and pretended to search for something on the shelf. Chanell noticed.
"Well… a teacher who blushes at the suggestion of kissing a student… does that really turn you on?
" "I'm into a hundred other things." Nick defended himself.
"Yes…? What kind?
" "That's not a topic to discuss with a student."
"Then forget for a moment that I'm your student.
" "Don't count on it. And by the way... can I ask you something?
" "You always do.
" "Where do you go at night?"
Chanell hesitated. She said nothing. She frantically searched for some elegant explanation for her nocturnal escapades.
"I understand you refuse to answer," Nick said triumphantly.
"I'll refuse right there... I'm wondering how to explain this to you..." She glanced at the teacher out of the corner of her eye.
A proud smile graced his face. Nick, despite appearances, wasn't naive. He might be attracted to the students, but he wouldn't let himself be seduced… and he'd get his way. Chanell wouldn't shirk the answer. Perhaps Nico already knows something…
"Maybe… let's go talk somewhere quiet," the girl announced, gesturing to a dark corner of the library. "No one will disturb us there."
He dreamed of a door. A large, old door, glaring menacingly at every passerby. It looked quite ordinary at first glance, but a closer look revealed the marks left by the ravages of time.
The door was permeated with something he couldn't quite identify… some mysterious force, an energy drawing him toward it like a magnet. Behind it lay something no one knew about. Something he subconsciously desired and simultaneously feared. Great power, strength, authority, might, and ancient knowledge. To access all of this, he needed a key. But there was no key.
Suspicions arose in his mind about the key's hiding place. It seemed strange to him that he had mistaken the key for something living, thinking, capable of movement. He racked his brain. He tried to determine who the desired key might be. A multitude of people came to mind. Perhaps he himself was the key? But how was he supposed to open the door?
He sat on the stone floor in front of the door. He stared at it, and it stared at him. Waiting. He did too. He wasn't entirely sure what he expected… his mind suddenly clouded. It was as if a great dark cloud had entered his head. He couldn't think straight. He felt weary. His eyelids felt heavy, his limbs seemed to disobey him. He couldn't control himself. He took one last look at the door and, lying down on the floor, fell asleep.
In his dream, he saw her. She was wearing a white dress, her hair in an elegant bun. She was dancing on the grass in front of the castle. She moved like a true princess, as if her feet were completely off the ground; she looked as if she were floating on air. She was laughing. A charming smile graced her face, inviting him to her.
Suddenly, something appeared out of nowhere. A large black shadow wrapped around the girl. He stood on the grass, watching her face twist in a grimace of pain and fear. She was screaming.
The shadow enveloped her entire body. For a moment, not a single inch of her was visible. Then the shadow slowly receded, revealing her in a completely different light. Her white dress turned black. Her face was smiling mockingly, and blood trickled from the corners of her mouth…
Nick woke up in a rather strange place. He couldn't remember anything from the previous evening. How had he gotten here? He had no idea… Every muscle in his body ached, and his mind was in a terrible haze. He desperately wanted to remember what he was doing there…
He lifted his aching limbs, trying to stand. Before him, he saw something that stunned him. A large wooden door loomed before his eyes. The same one he'd seen in his dream… but this time, it no longer seemed so inaccessible…
Nick stood up. He slowly walked to the large door and gently touched it with his fingertips. He could almost hear the sigh of relief emanating from within. It was drawing him… something within it was pulling him towards the abyss of the enormous power of the large door.
"Nico…?" A hesitant, girlish voice woke him from his hypnosis
. Nicolas turned and looked at Ray's small figure.
"Ray… what are you doing here…?"
"And you? I've been looking for you all night and couldn't find you anywhere.
" "What time is it…?
" "It's still early. Everyone's asleep, but they'll wake up soon. Will you tell me what you were doing here?
" "I…?
" "Well… I don't think I spent the whole night here. Nico, what's going on?"
"I don't remember..."
Ray looked surprised and approached the teacher with a slight hesitation.
"I don't remember anything!"
"Nico, calm down... let's go to your room." The girl said calmly, taking his arm and leading him to his room.
They were sitting in Nick's room, he on the bed and she on the armchair. They both looked at each other without saying anything. Reveille was in half an hour. If anyone caught them together, they'd both be in trouble.
"Will you finally tell me what happened last night?
" "I already told you. I don't remember anything.
" "Nico, but how is that possible?! Remember, it could be important!"
Nicolas took a deep breath and calmly, very slowly, began to speak:
"I was in the library. I was looking for something about the history of the castle. Over 300 years have completely disappeared! Can you believe it? 300 years... who knows what could have been there... and what if that was it? What if that's what it was? What if that's what's so important? Is it the key? Maybe that's how we find the answer to our questions!
" "But where are you going to get those 300 years?" You can't make them up.
"I think there's a way. Some book must have those years written down. It must. Remember... old Stentor once told us how interested he was in the castle. He certainly knows more.
" "What, will you go and ask him about it? You know perfectly well he has progressive multiple sclerosis, and he's terribly possessive when it comes to its secrets. He won't tell us anything. Not to you, much less me.
" "Then we have to sneak into the library.
" "You're starting to act like Chanell!
" "Apparently, she's right in her behavior. She may have unconventional methods, but she knows more.
" "And you want to act like her?
" "What am I supposed to do? Ray... I don't understand you at times...
" "Yes? That..."
Ray interrupted as they heard voices coming from the hallway. "Stentor? Up at this hour?" Impossible... it must be something serious.
Nick looked into the girl's wide, frightened eyes and told her to hide, while he calmly walked out into the hallway.
A nervous Stentor, flanked by four professors, walked ahead. When he noticed Nick standing in the doorway, he stopped, faced him, and, hiding his nervousness, said,
"Don't ask me anything. Come with us, you'll find out everything when you see it."
A little disoriented, Nicolas closed the door to his room and followed the crowd of professors. They walked a short distance and stopped in front of the large door leading to the forbidden west wing. It was here that Nick had woken up this morning...
The young teacher looked with surprise into the eyes of the principal, who was now no longer hiding his nervousness. The old man pointed to a large red stain on the floor just below the door. It looked like blood was pouring out from under the door... or as if the door was bleeding...
"What's that..." Nick asked.
"I'd like to know myself. It's probably some stupid prank by one of the students. Let me just find out which one!"
"Easy, Stentor... watch your heart..." whispered one of the professors, holding the headmaster and giving Nick an angry look.
Where did that blood come from...? It hadn't been there a moment ago. This door seems alive. As if it felt and thought, as if it had its own consciousness, but not entirely free will. Maybe it was some kind of sign? Or maybe it wasn't about the door, but about something behind it...?
The young teacher's mind was racing. He didn't know what to make of it all. They were civilized people, living in the 21st century, and miracles didn't happen, so what the hell was going on?
Ever since Chanell appeared, Nick's worldview had completely shifted. This girl had proven that vampires existed, and in her presence, absolutely anything was possible. So, it follows that all the strange things happening in the castle were caused by the young vampire's eccentric antics.
Absolutely anything was possible... there were no limits anymore. My imagination is working at full speed, and even my wildest premonitions seem to be coming true. There are no limits.
Nick stood by the window and watched the children play, enjoying the last rays of autumn sun. They don't even realize how dangerous the castle is now. Or maybe... this has already happened? Perhaps history, so fond of repeating itself, is preparing another old surprise for us? No, Nick must find out. This could have profound implications.
Brak komentarzy:
Prześlij komentarz