Chapter 79
"Feels like winter came overnight," James mumbled, staring out the frost-covered bus window as we drove to school that morning.
The winter hadn't really come overnight. Today was much colder than the last few days, and James was sensitive to the sharp temperature change. In reality, a couple of weeks had passed since the last warm day, but the cold had crept in quietly—until suddenly, it was everywhere. No one could remember the cold settling in quite so heavily, quite so fast.
The day began with nothing more than the dusting of light snowflakes lazily drifting across the school grounds like feathers caught in a breeze. Morning classes continued as usual, with no signs of early dismissal due to the weather.
Some of the students grumbled at any of the work they were given, and some didn't even do their work; they just fidgeted with their pencils, probably longing for the comfort of their beds. Duke, despite his gruff exterior, let out a rare smile across his lips as he paced towards the front of the classroom, watching the snowfall behind the window with careful eyes.
"The storm is starting to pick up some weight," he muttered to himself, then repeated louder for the class to hear. "All right, heads up, everyone. If this snow keeps coming down like it is now, we might have ourselves a snow day tomorrow."
An uproar of cheers and whispers immediately arose from the students. Becky leaned over her desk toward James, whispering something that made him chuckle. While I stared mindlessly out the window, thinking of a bad dream and a gut feeling that was toying with me. Nearby, Micah turned her head and rolled her eyes at James, trying to hide her emotions. She was absentmindedly lost in thought as well. She touched the silver chain of the necklace beneath her shirt—her cross, the sacred charm that kept the demon inside her in check. I think she felt bothered by something, too.
Before I could ask Mecky what she said to James, a new teacher walked into class.
Hello, everyone. Your teacher, Mr. Armati, will hold Miss Guardians' class lesson today, as she has an emergency meeting. He'll be co-teaching and helping you finish your lesson plan today.
I leaned over and whispered to Becky and Micah, "I wonder what the emergency meeting is about. What might all the school's faculty be concerned about?"
Evan took his seat in the back, sketching in his notebook.
-Evan POV-
My nerves restless, I doodled in my notebook and glanced at Kaysi occasionally. I noticed her presence had changed—tense, almost restless. I could tell she was fidgeting with the sleeve of her hoodie, her eyes darting towards the window and then back at the front of the class, trying to keep focus. Something about her energy was... disturbed. It hummed beneath the surface like a storm about to break.
How's the bell ringing? I caught the baby in the hall. She was doing her rounds of monitoring when I mentioned something to her. We looked in the window glass to see her eyes lock on ours. Her expression was mixed with concern and caution. She could also sense something shifting beneath the surface, but she didn't want to come out about it.
By the third period, the snow was no longer a casual dusting but a furious flurry. A blizzard rolled down from the mountains on the city's outskirts down the town's shallows. White consumed everything. Roads vanished within a mere couple of minutes, following everything in its path at unnatural speeds. Trees bent over with the weight of ice. Fog concentrated across the windows from the trapped heat inside. The world outside seemed to vanish in an impenetrable blur.
At lunchtime, the kids buzzed about how they were going to get home and other concerns with the weather's current conditions. Then Principal Harmon announced on the school PA system, his voice tight with concern.
"Attention, all students and staff." He cleared his throat. "Due to the rapidly worsening winter weather conditions, we have decided to enter a temporary state of lockdown. All students are to remain inside the building until further notice. Emergency crews are working on clearing the road, but it may be several hours and, unfortunately, potentially overnight before you can get transportation home.
A collective groan followed the announcement, along with the sounds of phones dialing parents, guardians, and friends. Signal bars flickered in and out, and calls dropped and remained disconnected. Thankfully, it was on the news, so some of the parents didn't have to worry completely.
By 2 p.m., the gymnasium was transformed into an emergency shelter.
Baby helped spread gym pads across the floor for makeshift sleeping mats. They divided the room intersections by different grades and genders. Duke set up a battery-powered lantern and distributed emergency wool blankets from the supply closet.
Kaysi sat cross-legged beside Micah and Becky near the bleachers. Her hands were tucked in her hoodie pocket, fondling something unseen.
Micah must have caught on. "Kaysi? Are you alright?" She asked.
"Yeah... Just thinking. I feel weird about being stuck like this. Like we're frozen here in time."
"Yeah, but at least we don't have class tomorrow," Becky joked, trying to lighten the mood.
James and I, along with a few other students, formed a group near the back. Someone had propped up the phone to play movies, at least until the battery gave out. I wasn't watching; I've just been scanning the walls and the ceiling, thinking of something.
A feeling of uneasiness had settled into my stomach. Some type of spiritual pressure felt as though it was building in the atmosphere.
By evening, the blizzard was howling like a live beast. The gymnasium's metal frames groaned under the weight of the snow. The lights flickered once or twice off and on, then steadied.
Duke stood in front of the students gathering on the floor.
"Listen up. We've been through worse, so we're going to make this work. We have food, water, and heat for now. Stay together, stay warm, and if you need anything, come find me. I want the other teachers.
Micah folded her arms, her cross necklace briefly visible as she shifted. I noticed a familiar pulse of power pumped through it. Michael must have been stressed.
At nightfall, students whispered stories and took turns sharing snacks, playing card games, or bundling up in layers under the blankets. If you tried calling home again but got nothing but static, ice must have formed on the towers and telephone poles, making the signal difficult to work.
Sometime around midnight, I glanced over and saw Kaysi staring at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep. She quietly got up and walked down the hallway toward the art room. I'm guessing she left to ease her mind, looking for solitude. I felt a magnetic pull and told her to follow me.
She stared out the window into the blinding snow. "I feel it too, don't you?" she said, catching my presence.
What kind of denial is it? Something did feel off. "Yeah," I said, standing beside her. Something feels like it's out there coming our way."
"I had a dream last night," she whispered softly. Someone was calling me or maybe warning me—I don't know. And then the storm came out of nowhere. Does it feel alive?"
Before I could answer, the hallway lights flickered and then went dark.
"Stay close. I reached for her hand and pulled her into me."
I was back in the gym, and cries rose as darkness swallowed everything. The emergency lights hadn't come on yet. There was a sound—something groaning—deep beneath the floorboards.
Duke sprang up, a flashlight sweeping the beams across the room. "Everyone, stay put and stay calm! Baby, check the generators. James, Evan, and Micah—you're with me." She called out to us.
We had to go outside and around the corner to access the door that led downstairs. Beneath the gym, locate the generator room. And try to restore the backup generators.
As we opened the door, the four of us stood at the top of the stairs, staring into the Dark Void. In the distance, the night and cold howled at us.