The classroom had dim, fluorescent lights as Luke grinned deviously. He placed Ashley on her right side with the cooking knife against her hip. She had tears flowing down her cheeks and metal chains around her arms and legs. Her ginger hair was a mess, her eyes wide, and her entire body trembling.

"Scream all you want, but nobody comes to the east end," he snarled, jabbing the knife at her side. "I could stab you at any time. Maybe I should use the rulers instead."

He walked toward one of the desks, most of which were pushed against the walls. Some had wooden rulers on them, so he grabbed one that he had retrieved from the class.

The girl kept trying to roll out of the chains, panicking and crying. She tried moving her body on the floor slowly, but he walked over and whacked one of the wooden rulers hard on her head.

Luke heard the classroom door open as he glanced over to where Greyson and Scarlett stood. This obviously meant his business with Jason had ended.

"Well?" Luke asked, holding two rulers in each hand.

"Both are injured, but it may take some time for Jason to recover," Greyson said.

"What did you do to my brother?" Ashley exclaimed with wide eyes.

Luke laughed at Ashley's panicked expression. It was entertaining to see this stupid girl panic. Plus, she wasn't even the biological sibling, but some stupid stepsister that came as coverage.

Greyson leaned his head over Ashley. "You aren't even his real sibling; I am," he spat.

Scarlett walked toward the trembling girl on the ground, shaking her head. Luke whipped her knee with a ruler multiple times while Ashley cried out in pain.

"A stepsister is no different than a friend. I don't like my brother, so that's why you're here," Greyson barked.

Luke whipped her in the stomach this time, but that was when they saw the whip mark didn't produce blood, but had a light purple substance oozing from the whip marks on her body onto the white floor.

"The hell is that?" Scarlett irked.

"Scarlett, go find James," Greyson ordered.

She walked out of the room to search for him. The substance was still oozing out of Ashley onto the floor, and Luke noticed that it seemed to be burning. He wasn't good at science, but his only guess was that she drank acid.

"What is that?" Greyson demanded Ashley.

Ashley didn't say anything but just whimpered in pain, causing Luke to whip her once again.

"I don't know. It went into my body when I slipped into the ditch." Ashley sobbed.

The concept she explained didn't make any sense to Luke. Having some random purple substance inside the human body was abnormal. According to basic facts, blood never appears purple when humans get injured. From the number of fights he has caused, it seems illogical. Honestly, he didn't care but wanted to keep torturing her.

"I guess we're going to keep this annoyance longer," Greyson spat.

Ashley had tears streaming from her ugly green eyes. This girl acted pathetically because she was showing no strength or defence, which is weakness. It was the same with that slut, who reminded him of Scarlett. Greyson would always say that he could do whatever he wanted, except kill.

He always has the intention of wanting to play someone. It became enjoyable to watch people suffer. Greyson had his powers, and he had the skills. People feared him in this pathetic place, but it's no different than staying at Uden Academy. It's a cage inside, with people you don't know being fed and pathetic people roaming around.

That purple substance began to pour out of her arms onto the flooring. This substance was as if someone had injected her with fluid, except she still lived.

"Keep doing what you enjoy; I'll be in my office," Greyson said, walking out of the classroom.

Luke grinned as this girl cried. He would punish this girl until her cries faded. There was no sense in killing her yet, since Greyson informed him he couldn't.

Scarlett sat in Greyson's office, eating some warm fries from the cafeteria. The many joys of knowing that some kids here can actually cook in the deep fryer that the cafeteria has. It normally meant disgusting fish or chicken strips, but then again, she wasn't the biggest fan of either of them.

James had his laptop opened up, pulling up data documents. "I've started to track down each person who has disappeared. With the boy yesterday, he disappeared at noon and hasn't appeared since. I'd need more information about what else has been happening," he informed.

It was already dark outside, and it was just a short amount of time. The dim outside lights were glowing at the entrance, with some children guarding the place.

"We'll go to Simcoe tomorrow to check out more information," Greyson said.

James stood, glancing over at her. She winked at the light-blond-haired boy. His face flushed red, and his lips pressed together before shutting the door behind him.

"It seems you've got partway there," she said, grinning.

Greyson glanced out the large window from behind. "It's only the beginning. We don't even know much." His voice was cold.

Standing, she placed the fries on the wooden desk and walked toward him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned her body into his back, pressing a finger to his temple.

"That war will eventually come," he admitted without looking at her.

Scarlett often did this to get the truth out of him. There were times he'd make excuses about doing something before he actually did it. Inside, she knew he had much more planned.

Both of them were twisted individuals in their own ways. It became a game every time she leaned her body into him. Greyson wasn't like other boys, who would blush or react on a whim.

"Yes, exactly. You'll fight your brother and whatever random people help," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't want random people helping," he snapped as he finally glanced at the side of his eye.

Scarlett traced her finger from his temple down his cheek, stopping at his shoulders. "You'll prevent that then," she said.

Slowly, she felt him pry her arms away from around his neck. Scarlett reached over to grab some fries before Greyson snatched the whole box with his mind.

"I got them for free," she said.

"Using your seductive skills," he remarked, eating salted fries out of the small paper box.

"There's nothing wrong with being seductive, right?" She asked, leaning close to his face and tracing a finger down his cheek again.

"If it gets the job done."

"Your little fake girlfriend asked that question, so I told her the truth."

"And that's implying what?"

"That we're wicked."

Scarlett felt Greyson's lips lock around hers as he kissed her. She let him kiss her before closing her eyes and kissing him back. She then placed a hand on his chest, pushing herself back. The box of fries dropped to the floor, with the two of them staring at each other.

"Wicked, I say," she snarked, staring out the dark window.

"We need to have Emma examine that child Luke's playing with." Greyson finally spoke as he grabbed some fries from her box.

"And when are you going to stop using her?" Scarlett asked, sitting on the desk, legs crossed.

Greyson ran a hand through his dark hair. "Eventually," he spat, sitting in the black office chair.

Most were going to sleep in their dorms with others. Scarlett had no intention of sleeping just yet since Greyson always intrigued her.

"Don't wait too long," she said, waving a hand. She hopped off the desk and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm heading to your dorm."

Bella never thought she'd have others tending her wounds. She tried staying away from sports to avoid the harm, even if she worked out to keep her body in shape. She enjoyed going to the sports games to watch and cheer on the soccer team when they would play.

Out of this, though, having Teagan Baker in her own house felt strange. The two were once best friends, but their distance bred tension. Last year, Teagan's boyfriend ended up kissing Bella at a party since he had been drunk.

When Bella explained, Teagan avoided hearing her answer. Bella had assumed she had moved away because they had never been in the same classes since. Even if she looked the same, having her act empathetic seemed absurd.

Melany was able to wrap her arm with some bandages, while Teagan handed her an ibuprofen. They were now back inside her house, since she knew they needed rest and wasn't exactly sure where Jason lived. This resulted in Melany bringing her back, and Teagan saw her hobbling since the two lived in the same neighbourhood.

Jason lay in her parents' large bed, his pain obvious throughout his entire body. His body was bruised all over his ribs with an ice pack on both sides, but he was sleeping when she checked on him.

Teagan sat at the end of the leather couch, making Bella sit up on the couch. On the flat-screen TV, there was nothing at all. Any type of cable channel, such as the news, didn't even produce. She tried to turn on Netflix, but it wouldn't work either when she pressed the button multiple times on the remote.

"I heard about what happened." Teagan's voice was plummy.

There will be no boys fighting over or comparing themselves to each other now that they aren't in school. They were often both hanging out at the beach with each other or with older students they were friends with. They both always had to make sure to have the perfect bikini or avoid getting a bad sunburn.

Maybe Bella had been changing from being someone who cared about being perfect. Now in Simcoe, there was worry about her parents, Uden Academy, and the children in general.

"Melany told me," Teagan implied.

Melany was only a year younger than them. She was sweet and kind, with a desire to help at school when they collected donations for food drives that they'd have at the school close to Thanksgiving.

It was the polar opposite of Scarlett's personality, since it seemed that the girl harboured no sense of kindness. That girl used true methods of seducing boys and taunting people as she pleased.

Bella eyed her once-best friend. "We went to stop Uden, but that didn't work," she remarked.

Jason said he and Greyson are twins, which was the bombshell. How were they twins when he didn't even know about it? Did his mother keep him out of the loop because she wanted a daughter instead? Even some parents at Uden may have been better than that.

"Uden Academy? The one for rich people?" Teagan asked.

She glanced back at one of the windows near the dining table and spotted the dark sky in the evening. Did it actually take them that long to do everything? Looking down at her watch, it read 9:00 p.m.

"Yeah, they've got a range of people, from a sadist to a sharp-tongued girl," she spat with a scowl on her face. "Let's just say that girl is more alluring than we are."

Maybe they were actually going to stop pestering each other. The majority of it had been motivated by jealousy for Teagan's long, bronzed hair or her own beautiful looks. The conflict between boys didn't even require time for bickering anymore.

"Scarlett Russell, who is a seductive bitch," Bella spat.

She tried to read Teagan's expression, in which she had widened her hazel eyes with her fists clenched together. Maybe she came to the same realization that they couldn't just fight with each other. Uden may have even more students who are beautiful, like Scarlett.

"She's seductive?" Teagan questioned who seemed uncomfortable now.

Bella pushed her honey-blonde hair behind her ears. It made her hiss in pain at the marks visible on her arms. Cindy had put two bandages on some of the marks that actually tried to bleed, but the rest she left for them to heal on their own. Slowly, she lowered them with the support of the armrests on her side.

"Anything she says, guys fall for it. That meeting that Greyson wanted the other day, Scarlett told Jason something that made it happen that day," Bella sighed.

Teagan's eyes widened as she brought her legs to her chest. They were similar in many ways, including their perceptions of their own attractiveness and popularity. Maybe she was being selfish and wanted to be a perfectionist since those dreams have been washed down the drain.

There was a slamming on the door, making the two jump. Teagan wobbly stood and walked toward the entrance, revealing Zane with a girl by his side. From the porch light, the girl had dark hair done in a braid, wearing a red long-sleeve shirt, black leggings, and a red baseball cap, which connected her to the fire station.

"Here," Teagan said.

Zane and Yara walked toward Bella, who stared at her. She remembered seeing that girl the day Ashley was pulled out of the ditch, but she couldn't remember her name.

"Jason's sleeping, but he's worse than me," Bella hissed, accidentally moving her arms. "Henry and Stick tied me up. Jason, I presume, was thrown by Greyson, along with Stick kicking him."

Zane sat in the middle of the couch near her, narrowing his eyes at the television. He grabbed the glass of water from the wooden coffee table and handed it to her, since she didn't realize how parched she actually was.

"Ashley has been kidnapped and tortured," Bella murmured, taking a drink. "You can't go after them."

"I'll talk to Jason in the morning about it. Just let him know that there has been more fighting and some partying," Zane stated.

Bella nodded with a soft smile as he placed the cup of water back on the table. Zane and the girl walked out of the thick, wooden door as Teagan closed it behind them.

Problems kept stacking up throughout the day, especially injuries. Hopefully, children weren't actually getting into alcohol since they were still young. Some students drink in grade nine and go to parties, such as herself, but there weren't any parties around here.

Teagan sat back down slowly at the end of the couch. It was silent between the two as she glanced up from some hair in her face.

"Why are you really here? Any other person could have helped," Bella snapped, wanting to know the truth.

"Amends," Teagan began. "It was childish of us to fight over whatever we kept fighting over."

Bella looked down at her bare feet, where red marks rested around her ankles. It didn't sting, unlike her arms, but moving too fast made it ache.

"True," Bella mumbled, looking back at Teagan.

Obviously, clicking back would be hard. Becoming friends wasn't much of a problem in the beginning; they were always bonding over gossip from someone they disliked. It wouldn't be hard unless Teagan actually grew to like Scarlett.

"Tell me about who this Scarlett is in case I see her," Teagan urged, slowly moving toward her.

It still felt like tension filled the space between them. The thick wall would take a lot of bonding to fill. Then again, it wasn't normal here. New people were allies, and nobody cared about popularity but survival.

The classroom lights popped as Greyson leaned on the entrance of the doorway. The purple substance leaked onto the floor, almost burning a hole through the dirty white tile. Ashley was now unconscious on the ground with the purple substance still on her arms, legs, and stomach without any burn marks.

Luke looked unsatisfied with his hands on his hips. "Can't I just blow her up with gas?" he insisted.

"We need to figure out this substance. Whenever you get tired of torturing her, Oscar will guard the classroom," Greyson said.

Greyson walked down the long hallway of the east end, which had been abandoned. They had built the south end due to leaks in the roof or windows being broken. The game of who could break all the windows in one recess when they went outside. Greyson had always won that game since he developed his powers early.

Uden Academy may be a troubled school for youth, but you rarely see any reform. Everyone had their own traits that got them away with something.

Scarlett, who is skilled at persuasion, gets anything she wants. This made him stop in the dark hallway near an open, broken window.

Kissing Scarlett had always been something he did. With her always making him spill most of the truth, regardless of what she did, some feelings were involved in their own twisted games.

Luke has always been the most twisted, if he were to name someone completely evil. Uden had no idea what to do with Luke when school started in the first place. There was another person close to Luke, but they changed. They weren't exactly in the psychopathic field, but she had fought with him before and won.

Climbing down the back stairs, Greyson spotted some people eating a chocolate bar. He always found it amusing that people still hid their things down the staircase. It was enough that people went to these stairs to make out in secret or do drug deals.

One girl was handing a bag to someone when he opened the back door toward the dorm building with a smile. The three-story building was made of maroon brick, each with its own window. They took away the concept of balconies for only the top floor, which he unfortunately didn't have.

As he walked inside, people rushed to greet him. In a normal manner, questions about parents or whatever they were supposed to do. Greyson still needed time to figure everything out before a war with Simcoe was decided.

Stick sat beside Scarlett on the black leather couch while she was leaning over, talking to Henry in the armchair, obviously worming her way to get information.

"Stick over here was asking me, why did we let the two of them go?" Scarlett inquired.

"Well, it will make sense eventually," Greyson stated. "Don't worry, we'll be going to Simcoe tomorrow to do whatever we please. Uden had rules, which we don't need more of."

Greyson looked over at Preston, flipping through some bikini magazines. Using his mind, he snatched the magazines from his hands and threw them against the wall.

Preston peered his way as Greyson walked over. "I'm glad you aren't a nudist, like Nick, who was exposed," he spat.

Nick was one who oftentimes just stripped before going into the class, head to toe. He was an older student who was part of the disappearance, but he's seen multiple videos of the whole ordeal happen. They had been posted on social media and even the school website due to some hackers getting into the system.

There was still Noah, whom they all called Stripper. Nick was one problem, but Noah automatically had no clothes on. It was some strange art; some called it that, while teachers would freak out.

"Where is Stripper?" Scarlett questioned.

In the past few days, he had not seen the male stripper. He obviously stood out because people were always screaming around campus when they came into contact with him, since they were normally flashed. If that guy was down in Simcoe, Greyson was going to throw him in the lake.

"Don't know and don't care," Greyson spat.

He walked to grab some cold water from the fridge. He opened it, which was filled with meat, fruits, and veggies, along with ice cream.

"Who put ice cream in the fridge?" he demanded as he glanced back. He saw that most were quiet as he took out the tubs of strawberry and bubblegum ice cream. In his favour, both of those types were disgusting.

When he opened the freezer, there was barely anything in it. His jaw tightened as he used his hand to put all the ice cream and frozen treats in. He grabbed the water bottle and flipped it in his hands.

Scarlett was leaning near the window, darkness filling the sky. The lights were already dim in the dorms since the mechanical people at this place were shit.

"Luke still torturing that dear stepsister of yours?" she teased.

An idea automatically popped into his head at the mention of Ashley. That substance happened to be in a ditch, which was on the outskirts of the town, near the hospital.

Simcoe may no longer be the place it once was, but it still has its small places. Stick and Henry were going tomorrow, so they could bring two along on the mission. If they get hurt in the process, Emma can heal them easily. Then again, not many people got injured here.

"We need someone to bring some of that substance here. Well, test the substance, you'd say," Greyson said.

"Making some ice cream, are we?" she mocked.

"I'm going to shower," he stated, turning on his heel toward his own dorm.

Everyone had their own bathroom, except they were tiny. Apparently, they had bathrooms in the main area, but two guys used to make out in them in secret and got caught.

After undressing and opening the white shower curtain, he noted that it was a good thing that they still had hydro. Greyson didn't exactly know the laws of physics, but someone around here may know how to turn the wifi back on. Outside communications were unavailable to even know who was alive and who wasn't.

Would the beaches have any sort of explanation about what happened here? Sending James and Oscar could work since understanding became paramount.

Shutting off the shower and changing, Scarlett gazed through some of his papers on his small wooden desk. The desk had a small office chair with his silver MacBook closed and charging despite not actually turning on, with a small white desk lamp beside his black pencil case.

"Who knew you did your work?" she said.

He snatched the papers away from her, tossing them in the trash because school was no longer an option for them. None of them could teach or wanted to in the first place.

"Who's good with physics?" Greyson questioned, tossing the towel at Scarlett. "I think James could get the wifi running."

"Think and know are two separate things," she said, crossing her arms.

"Think," he snapped.

Scarlett threw the towel into a basket of dirty clothes that he hadn't brought to get washed. She travelled toward his bed, sitting at the edge with her arms behind her. It was small, with a plain maroon comforter, white sheets, and a single pillow.

"What good will that do? Our phones are disconnected from service completely and won't turn on," Scarlett spat. "Unless you have some magical charger that can operate our phones to turn back on."

He gritted his teeth at her as he pointed toward the door. He didn't want to send her away, but he needed to figure out a way.

"It's a realistic fact," she stated, slamming the door behind her.

Greyson let out a frustrated groan, sitting on the bed while trying to think over everything. He had to figure out this communication business and deal with his own emotions.

Which character were you mad at the most this chapter?
-Lexi