Furuno

We both freeze, refusing to even breathe.

The person starts approaching us.

"Run, hide somewhere." I whisper to her.

She hesitates, clearly worried about me.

I give her a little push. "Find Vert Sinclaire's files and bring them to my room. I'll find a way to meet you there."

With that, she runs off to hide behind one of the shelves.

"Come out of the shadows!" The voice calls out, much closer now.

I move forward, hands raised in surrender.

The person with the flashlight comes into view.

"Are you a student here?" The gruff voice asks.

I study the man before me - beefy arms framing a rounded belly. His face is flushed and chubby. He's wearing a tight shirt and slacks - probably a staff.

"Answer me!" He's much closer now, close enough for me to smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Yes." I mutter sheepishly.

"Didn't you read the sign outside? What are you doing in here?"

I don't respond, preferring to cast my eyes to the ground.

"In fact, I have a better question for you - how the hell did you get in here?"

I shift on my feet uneasily.

"The door had been open."

I try to sound as convincing as I can because the lie is all I've got.

He narrows his eyes at me.

"You sure, boy? I may be old, but I am not dumb. I'm pretty sure I locked the door behind myself."

Taking the laid out cue, I shrug.

"I saw the door open and got curious. If you still don't believe me, you can search me - there's no key on me."

He flashes his light over me, seeming slightly convinced.

"Then get out of here and stop trespassing. I'll pretend this never happened, do you hear me?" He calls out, his gruff voice holding a severe warning.

I nod firmly.

"Then get out of here, boy."

I spin on my heels and dart out of the room.

My relief is short-lived - Angela is still in there. I had only managed to escape by mere luck.

I pace the entrance silently.

Then, footsteps start approaching from within.

I hide behind the adjoining wall, peering out in a way that I can't be seen.

Instead of the plump man I had seen earlier, all I see is long stockings and a short skirt.

Angela. She made it out.

I step out of my hiding place, sighing with relief.

She turns toward me, startled. In her fright, the file in her hand slips out and lands in the puddle beneath her feet.

Gasping, she leans down to pick it up from the stinky water.

"Gosh, it's soaked up. Why did you have to scare me like that?" She asks, wringing the file to get as much water as she can out.

I take it from her quietly, ignoring her question.

"Let's get out of here."

We move stealthily along the dark tunnels, finally arriving at the ladder leading to the trap door.

She pauses mid-climbing.

"What is it?" I ask, immediately sensing her unease.

She looks down at me.

"Someone is up there. We can't go up this way."

"Do we wait?"

"That's way too risky. Professor Arkinson is still down here."

Arkinson?

"What do you suggest? Is there another way out of here?" I ask.

She nods reluctantly.

"There is… but you may not like it." She whispers, dread apparent in her voice.

I'm will to try any route as it is.

"Where?"

She gulps. "It opens up in the cemetry. It's really creepy there at night."

Oh? But, I've never been one to shy away from creepy things.

"Let's use it then, provided you know the way this time."

"I'll faint first before I can even take a step." She mutters, her voice sounding frail and small.

Heaving a sigh, I pat her back. "Then I'll hold your hand if I have to."

Her gaze flickers to mine and holds it, searching.

When she finds whatever she had been searching for, she smiles. "Thank you, Furuno. That means a lot coming from you."

"Let's go, shall we?" I say quickly, in a bid to change the subject.

I urge her forward gently, while tucking the soggy file inside my jacket. It smells rotten - as rotten as the entire place does.

It's as if something died down here - that would explain the terrible stench emanating from even the walls.

She dabbles along the path, lighting the way.

I follow her quielty. Then, she stop before a rusty ladder.

"I'm not sure this would hold my weight. It wasn't this bad the last time I was here." Angela mutters.

"Try it out first. If it doesn't work, we'll just have to improvise."

She nods shakily, grasping the metal bars with shaky hands.

As she rests her feet on the third steps, it crumbles along the middle, scattering to the floor in fragments.

I hold her waist from behind to keep her from falling.

When she reaches the top, she tugs at the trapdoor.

"Uh… Furuno? I think it's locked from the other side - it's not budging." She calls out, her voice muffled.

I run a shaky hand through my hair.

Do we really have to deal with this now?

"Come down."

"Huh?"

"Let me see if I can open it from the inside. That's our best bet."

She climbs down.

Bracing myself, I ascend the rusted bars slowly, balancing my weight along the sides to prevent the middle from crumbling.

I turn the latch from within, pushing at the door with all the strength I can muster. Slowly, the door lifts, allowing the cool night air to sweep into the stuffed room below.

I push further, forcing the soil and debris that had caked over to break up. The debris slithers through the opening, falling into my eyes and blurring my vision.

Then, with one final tug, the door opens fully.

I climb out of the opening, crouching at the side to peer down at Angela's progress.

Still clutching my phone, she remains below, muttering something indistinct.

"Angela? Come on!" I chide softly.

She steps away.

"I don't think I can do it. It's too scary out there."

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes at her childishness, I hold my hand out.

"Take my hand. I'll pull you up."

She hesitates at first but eventually grabs my outstretched arm.

I lower my second arm, grasping her firmly. At the count of three, I lift her out of the opening.She lands over me, rolling along the bare grass.

"Turns out the door wasn't locked. It was just stuck." I murmur.

She chuckles.

"I would never have been strong enough to push it myself."

I look up at the sky, allowing myself a moment of respite on the cool grass.

Fireflies buzz above us, lighting the dark night in light hues of green.

Angela slaps on between her palms. She immediately sits up, opening her palms slightly to peer at her prize.

I can see the glow in between her hands - she actually caught one.

"Furuno! Come see!" She calls, sounding like an excited little girl.

I lean closer, feigning interest.

"Nice." I mutter.

My response comes out dryer than I had hoped.

"Catch one." She dares me.

"Huh?" I pretend not to hear.

"If it's so easy, why don't you catch one right now?"

I never back down from a challenge - especially one from a woman.

Following one of the flies with my eyes, I snap my cupped hands around it with timed precision.

Smiling slyly, I show it to her.

"You got lucky." Is all she manages to say.

"Let's go to our dorms. It's late. I'll walk you down to yours if you'd like."

She pouts.

"You said I could come to your room."

"Yes, but there's no longer any need for that."

"There is. I want to see the contents of the file."

Sighing, I say, "You'd see it tomorrow."

"I don't want to wait so many hours before I see what's in it. Why can't I see it this night?"

"Fine. We'll go through it together." I finally give in.

"I don't want this girl to go through my file." The voice says suddenly, startling me.

It had been silent for most of the night.

An owl hoots somewhere in the distance.

I suddenly start noticing the tombstones littered around the place - I had almost forgotten that we are in a cemetery.

"Let's get out of here." I say, sounding rushed and urgent.

She clambers to her feet. Then, she slips a hand through mine.

I freeze. What the hell is she doing?

I try sliding my hand out of hers, but her grip only tightens. She even goes as far as entwining her fingers.

"What are you doing, Angela?" I ask, barely able to keep the coldness out of my voice.

"You said you'd hold my hand, remember?"

Oh, yeah. I had said that - but it had just been to motivate her - I didn't actually mean it.

"You seem bent on defying me, don't you. Let's see how it'd look if she dies at your hands."

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