by Jimi Alan
Alice's aunt muttered under her breath. “Covered in stone.”
Mrs Monroe sighed. “Appears so.”
Cedric held a look of confusion on his face. “That doesn't explain anything.”
“We woke on the floor.” Alice told them. “No memory of what happened.”
Mrs Monroe sighed. “It was calling them.”
Her eyes locked with Serena's eyes. Both of them shared a look of concern. A slight touch of Alice's aunt holding her finger up to her lips made her realize she was keeping something from her and her uncle.
“What just happened?” Cedric looked over at his wife. “Can someone fill me in?”
“Not now.” Her aunt's personality seemed to change. “We can talk about it later.”
Mrs Monroe sighed. “Girls.” She looked at Lucia then at Alice. “Don't mention to anyone else what happened to you. We are afraid that other curious souls might find themselves in worse shape, if you do.”
Alice nodded her head. “Got it.”
Mrs Monroe said. “You may need to attend extra classes to get caught up in your studies. But besides that, I don't see why else you can't continue with your education at Graves Academy.”
Alice saw the look on her aunts face. She was biting her tongue. Keeping some kind of secret from her own flesh and blood.
“Ohkay.” Alice sighed. “We should go.”
“Sure.” Lucia stood up from her chair.
Alice followed behind her towards the door to Mrs Monroe's office. Lucia opened the door, letting her go ahead of her. She closed the door, locking her eyes with her mother. Alice walked into the elevator, which its doors were already open waiting for them to step into it.
The doors of the elevator closed as Lucia let out a deep sigh of regret. She closed her eyes as her eyes closed. Alice looked over at her friend as a tear rolled down the side of her face. She wrapped her arms around her, hoping to give her friend comfort.
Back up in Mrs Monroe's office, Serena looked out the window with Mrs Monroe behind her. She held a stern look on her face. Staring out the window, Alice's aunt crossed her arms over her chest.
“I thought it died.” Serena told Mrs Monroe. “With them.”
Mrs Monroe said. “I thought so.”
Cedric told them. “Serena.” The frightened look on his face told her what she needed to know. “What's going on?”
Mrs Monroe looked at him from where she stood. “You might not remember this-.”
“I will.” She told Mrs Monroe.
Nodding her head at Serena's order, Mrs Monroe did not refuse her wish. She walked away from Cedric's wife towards her desk. She sat down in her chair as Serena looked down at the floor. “Cedric.” The look on Serena's face was lifeless as she told him. “You remember what I said happened to Alice's parents tragic deaths?”
“Um.” He thought for a moment before responding. “They had some kind of accident.”
“What a lie.” Mrs Monroe muttered.
“The truth is.” She looked over her shoulder at him. “We know what killed them.”
Silence slithered over each cruzes of the room. The words sunk in deeply into the minds of each person in the room. The three of three kept the secret about the accident in the silence for years, with the hope of their secret would keep Alice alive.
Later in the night, Alice slept in her dormitory room with Gloria snoring. She did not mind the noise coming from her friends mouth. Her mind could not help, but to worry about how Lucia was feeling. She had not returned from the bathroom with her bed still empty and left untouched.
Alice rolled her blanket off of her body. She climbed out of her bed with her feet touching the cold floor. Her mind wanted her to keep on walking. She knew she had to, like when she was in the tunnel of stone.
Walking out of her dorm room, Alice made her way down the hallway. She kept her footsteps shallow and quiet. Hoping for no one to be up to hear her, Alice made her way further down the hallway to check up on her friend.
Making her way to the bathroom, Alice opened the door. She knocked softly, hoping to hear Lucia's voice. Taking a step into the bathroom, Alice heard the sound of water pouring. She walked slowly into the bathroom.
On her feet, Alice felt a dampness like the tunnel. She walked further into the tunnel, hoping to see Lucia soon. Keeping her pace slow and quiet, Alice reached the showers. She felt the hot steam of a shower going. Her mind was telling her to keep going. She knew she needed to.
Alice whispered. “Lucia. Are you in here?”
She heard no reply from her friend. A silence beneath the pouring sound of the shower told Alice her friend was not alright. She still feared what happened in the tunnel as well. Her mind was trying hard to keep her sheltered by it, only allowing small pieces of those four months to come to the surface. Alice had a feeling Lucia's mind was not doing the same for her.
Walking up to the shower with the water running, Alice moved her hand towards the curtain. She reached her hand for the curtain, scared of what she might see. She closed her eyes quickly as she pulled the curtain open.
Alice peaked her eyes open. She let out a deep breath as she saw the shower was bare. Her eyes looked down at the tiled flooring. She saw no sign of her friend being around. Her eyes widened with fear as she realized where Lucia went.
Rushing out of the bathroom, Alice felt her chest pounding. She headed down the staircase faster than she ever thought was possible. Her feet kept her going, making her reach the main floor in a record timing for her.
Making her way outside of the academy, Alice looked down from the hill. She saw Lucia standing on the retaining wall. Her eyes where looking down at the water in front of her.
Alice raced towards her friend. She feared for what she might be thinking of doing. Her heart raced in her chest as she reached her arms out. Pulling Lucia into her chest as her arms wrapped around her.
“I was so worried.” Alice told Lucia. “When you didn't come back from your shower.”
“I'm not like you.” Lucia admitted, pushing Alice away from her. “I wasn't strong enough down there. I can't even do something simple like taking a shower.”
The amount of disappointment in her voice told Alice what she feared was true. She had seen something in the tunnel. Something she had become afraid of.
“That's alright.” Alice told her. “I'm scared too.”
She wanted to make her friend feel better. Her lie was easy. The lie rolled off of her tongue like it was the right thing to say.
“No you weren't.” Lucia shook her head in disbelief. “When we were down there. I saw you drown in the stones. Then the next think I knew, you were uncovering me.”
“I had to.” Alice told her. “I could not leave you behind.”
Lucia looked down at her reflection in the lake. “You know it's not there anymore.”
“What?” Alice tried to understand what Lucia was saying. “It's probably just covered by the water?”
“Nope.” Lucia looked up at the moon. “I thought so too. But it's gone.” She looked over her shoulder at Alice. “Like it never existed.”
Alice reminded her. “But it lead us to the lodge.”
“No it didn't.” Lucia told her. “After you uncared me. We walked, apparently for four months.”
“That's impossible.” Alice told her. “We would remember that.”
“Not if it didn't want us to.” Lucia smirked. “It might sound crazy or maybe I am losing it. But when it forced us to forget. We had to write our names. Without even knowing why we had to do so. Like it was playing with us.”
Alice knew her friend had a point. “It was.” She hopped Lucia would go back inside with her. “It's getting late.”
“Your right.” Lucia sighed. “We should head back to our room.”
She headed away from the retaining wall. Her feet stepped away from the ledge, where the waves of the lake brushed against the stone keeping the ground from washing away into the lake. Lucia headed up the h
ill towards the academy with Alice beside her. The two of them knew the tunnel had changed them from for the rest of their lives. They still had yet to known what had it made them forgotten in their memories or what it made them reveal.
Chapter Six
Let's Catch Up
Sitting alone in her dorm room, Alice looked out her window. She looked down at the lake she could see. Her mind was still haunted by the tunnel she visited a few days ago. She remembered what happened, but apart of felt as if none of it was real.
Alice heard the door close. She glanced over her shoulder to see who came in. Gloria stood by the door. She held books in her hands as she walked towards her bed.
The silence made Alice feel the distance between them. After what happened in the tunnel she felt connected to Lucia. Her friendship with Justin and Gloria seemed to have diminished due to the four months she had no memory of disappearing for.
Alice knew Gloria liked magic more than any other witch or wizard at the academy. She wondered if her friend had kept up her studies. She might even had made the potion that Alice and them wanted to make several months ago.
She smiled. “Did you make the potion?”
“What potion?” Gloria sat down on her bed. She opened a book flipping through the pages quickly. Her mind thought for a moment. “Oh that potion.” She looked down with a sad look on her face. “I made it. But it didn't work.”
Alice wondered. “Really?”
She looked out at the lake. A reflection of the clouds in the sky shimmered above its rippling surface as a breeze hit the water. Alice thought there was something strange about the lake. Her heart raced in her chest as she thought harder.
Gloria’s voice echoed in her ears as she told her. “When you guys went missing, Justin wanted to tell someone. But I didn't.”
She looked away cowardly, like she was disappointed with her own actions. Alice wanted to believe that she knew her friend. They were more like acquaintances than true friends.
“We should try the potion again.” Alice hoped it would cheer her up. “I'll get the others.”
She headed away from the window. Walking towards the door, Alice saw the look on Gloria's face. She looked scared, like a child who knew they did something wrong. Alice kept walking past Gloria. She reached her hand for the door handle, stopping at the sound of Gloria's voice.
“I'm glad that your back.” Gloria said. “That both of you are back.”
Alice looked over her shoulder at Gloria. “Me too.”
She turned the door handle, looking away from Gloria in the process. Alice took a step outside of their dorm room. She headed down the hallway in search of Justin and Lucia. Alice had a feeling Lucia would be in the library trying to find answers about the tunnel. As for Justin, Alice had no idea where to look.
Alice made her way down the spiraling stone staircase to the archway of the library. She headed inside with a smile on her face. Alice knew she was the talk of the school for the past couple of days with everyone wondering who her and Lucia managed to vanish for four months without any notice. Some of the remarks were amusing to Alice and others were hurtful. Her head had to stay high as she continued the school year. For she knew her parents would have wanted her to do so.
Walking down a hallway of bookshelves, Alice heard a familiar voice. She looked over the books on the shelf to the hallway on the other side. Her eyes caught a glimpse. She saw Giles walking with Lucia.
He told her. “Down here is where your find all kinds of books about magical places. Some of them are true. Others well, aren't so much.”
Giles shrugged his shoulders. He walked down the hallway, looking at a few of the books on the shelves as they walked past them. Alice headed down the hallway. She had no idea what Lucia was looking to find.
She clued in, stopping dead in her tracks. Alice looked over her shoulder. She knew Lucia was still haunted by what happened in the tunnel, but was she going to try and find it again.
Alice felt her heart skip a beat in her chest. She panicked as she leaned against the bookshelf. A book fell down. She rushed to pick the book back up, hoping she didn't draw any attention to herself.
Lucia told Giles. “Thank you for your help again. I do appreciate it.”
“I know.” Giles said in a friendly tone. “I must get going. Take a look on both sides and you might find what you're looking for.”
Alice placed the book onto the shelf. She could not help herself but to listen in on her friend's conversation with Gloria's brother. Moving her hand away from the book, Alice saw the high shelves of the library change around her again.
The high shelves changed into a stone wall, covered in vines and roots. A dribble of water slithered down from one of the walls, covering between the stones. Her heart raced in her chest as she saw the chamber once before.
Alice felt like back then was a lifetime ago. She looked over her shoulder as she saw a trunk shaped column in the middle of the room. Her eyes noticed how large it was, with roots and vines covering around it. She saw something staring at her from deep inside the trunk. A ghostly sound sparked from the chamber, inviting itself into her ear.
The ghostly voice muttered. “You look just like your parents, little one.”
“Who are you?” Alice glared at the eyes in the shadow of the trees trunk. “What do you know about my parents?”
“I know many things.” A dark feeling came from the shadows. “But I am not a who. But a What.”
With a laugh, the chamber was gone again. Alice stood in the hallway of the library with the high bookshelves surrounding her. She looked down at her feet noticing the floor below her had not changed to the stones, which had covered the chamber she had just seen. Her mind raced as she thought back to something her friends had said about portals.
Feeling a hand touch her, Alice took a step back. She looked up to see Lucia standing in front of her. Alice crossed her arms over her chest.
Lucia asked her. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah.” Alice took a step away from her. She stopped as she reminded herself of why she was in the library. “Um, Gloria wants us to meet to get Justin and do the potion.”
“What potion?” Lucia looked confused.
Alice smirked. “The one we got the ingredients from the lodge garden for.”
“That potion.” Lucia tugged the book in her hands up to her chest. She walked with Alice out of the library. “I thought they would have done that without us.”
Alice admitted. “They tried. Apparently it didn't work.”
She walked with Lucia by her side. The two of them headed out of the library in search of their friend. Alice kept beside Lucia. She had a feeling the book Lucia had in her hand was for the tunnel.
Outside of the school, Alice spotted Justin. He stood on the wooden bridge that connected the school to a small village further down the mountain. Justin seemed to be throwing ripped pages from his book off of the bridge.
Lucia asked Alice. “Maybe you should go alone. It looks like he's in a good mood.”
Alice agreed. “Yeah.”
She walked onto the bridge with her hands tucked into her pockets. Alice had her fingertips touch the handle of her wand she knew she would never need to use it on Justin. But her father's wand gave her comfort knowing it was there incase she ever would need it.
Justin looked over his shoulder at Alice as she walked towards him. He smiled with his eyes as his mood seemed to change. Dropping the paper out of the book with a happier tone than before.
“Hey.” He smirked. “What's going on?”
“I was just coming to get you.” Alice told him. “We are heading up to our dorm room to make the potion. Would you like to join us?”
“Sure.” Justin smiled. His mind drifted away for a second as he seemed to remember something. “But guys aren't allowed in the girls dorm.”
Lucia corrected him from where she stood. “Only during night. All we have to do is keep the door open and it's still in regulation.
”
“Really?” Justin seemed surprised. “Why don't we ever hear of it?”
“It's part of the new rules.” Lucia told them, halfway telling from across the bridge. “My mother made me read it yesterday.”
“Cool.” Justin seemed to be cheered up. He closed the book her was ripping piece of pages out of. “Let's go.”
Alice looked down at the river below the bridge. It was strangely calm with the waves rippling from the lake down below. Alice looked down the stream to see the pieces of the book. She smiled at the sight of none of them in the water.
She joined her friends off of the bridge. Alice walked with Justin and Lucia to the school on the hill. She looked up at the school, never noticing how large the school looked before.
Reaching their dorm room, Alice walked inside with Lucia following behind her. Justin kept quiet as he walked in behind them. He left the door open as Gloria smiled at them. She looked a little concern as Justin walked into their room.
“Aren't we going to get in trouble for having him here?” Gloria cautiously said. “No offense Justin.”
She meant no disrespect in the words she said. Alice knew the rules of the academy they were told ‘no boys or girls in their opposition gender quarters’. She knew what Lucia had sat down at the bridge was a clarification of the rule from a book older than any of them in the room.
Lucia said. “We can have guys in our dorm room, just the door needs to be open.”
“Really?” Gloria looked over her shoulder at Alice. She saw the look on her friends face, telling her it was alright. “That makes sense why Giles has so many girls over when I come by. I thought he just got special treatment because he's our parents favorite.”
“Now that's sorted out.” Justin said. “Let's start making some potions.”
Lucia turned to her closet. Glass jars covered the shelves full of plants she collected pieces of and other things. She looked over her shoulder, placing her book she held tightly onto her bed. Her eyes met Alice's as she looked back at her shelves.
