Zein's Point of View:
As soon as the sun came up the next day, we headed straight for the administration office. We didn't even bother trying to get our stuff back. All we wanted was to get the hell out of here.
"How can I help you?" Madame Violet asked with a smile. She was playing with a pen, tapping it repeatadly on the desk. She was still in a black dress; even her eyeshadow, lips, and nails were pitch black. Like a total black lady.
"Good morning, Madame Violet. Thank you for letting us stay here last night. We just wanted to let you know that we're heading out now," Vanessa said politely. It was probably the most respectful I'd ever heard her sound.
I stayed by the door, just itching to leave this place.
"Oh, why?" She acted surprised, though it was obvious she was taking it. "You were just so excited yesterday. Did something happen?"
"A lot...." Matt said.
"This school is a complete mess!" I couldn't keep my mouth shut anymore, glaring at Madame Violet. "And that Bloody Night? Why hasn't this school been shut down yet?"
"Easy there, Zein Shion." Madame Violet chuckled. "Hell University is an independent school. It's not under government jurisdiction. They can't interfere here."
"How is that even possible?" Dave asked in disbelief. "Anyway, we don't care anymore. Lead us the way to the exit, please?"
Madame Violet shook her head and leaned back in her swivel chair. She looked at each of us before her signature smirk crept onto her black lips.
"My bad. Remember when I told you yesterday that you needed to know one thing about Hell University?" Her smile grew wider. "There's one more thing..."
"We're not interested anymore," Matt snapped.
"We're leaving now!" Vanessa insisted.
I glanced at Mia, who was just standing there silently. She must be still rattled by what happened last night.
"We have our one and only rule here," Madame Violet said suddenly, catching my attention. "Once you enter, there's no turning back."
My jaw dropped. I suddenly remembered the words carved into the wall yesterday before we walked in.
"Well, fuck your rule!" Vanessa slammed her hands on the desk. "We're getting out of here whether you like it or not!"
"This is illegal," Matt said firmly.
"You illegally went inside. No one forced you. You even filled out our forms willingly. All you have to do now is," she replied with a chuckle," deal with it."
"Bullshit! We're leaving. We'll find a way. And once we do, we're reporting you to the police," Jerome threatened.
"Go right ahead, Mr. Jerome Marquez. Find the way out if you can. No one's stopping you," Madame Violet replied, laughing.
She looked so confident that we'd never find a way out. She wasn't taking our threats seriously at all.
Suddenly, the door swung open, making me jump back. A student walked in without even glancing at us. He was carrying some paper bags.
"Good that you've arrived, Me. Onel Ty," Madame Violet greeted him. "Please distribute their uniforms and schedules."
Onel handed us the bags one by one. Mia and Matt willingly accepted the paper bags, as if they knew they didn't have a choice. Jerome just snatchrd his.
"No" Vanessa shook her head. "What's the point of a uniform? Are you actually going to teach us anything, or is killing the only thing you guys know how to do?"
"Hell University is still a school. We only hire the best teachers because we want to provide high-quality education. So, I can assure you that you'll learn more here than in any other school," Madame Violet went on.
Vanessa laughed sarcastically. "Despite the danger? I doubt it."
"Yes," Onel Ty chimed in.
"I wasn't talking to you." Vanessa rolled her eyes at him. Jerome tried to stifle a laugh.
"If I were you, I would show Mr. Onle Ty some respect. He's the vice president of the SSG," Madame Violet added, referring to the Supreme Student Government, the school's highest student body.
"Like I care?" Vanessa rolled her eyes again.
"To answer your question, yes." Madame Violet stood up and walked over to the bookshelves, scanning the titles. "Let's just say they receive more than double or triple the usual benefits."
"Even if it costs them their lives?" Mia asked.
"Maybe you just tricked them the same way you tricked us," Mayy chimed in with a smirk.
"Enough with the discussion." Madame Violet turned to us, her smile vanishing. Now she had this piercing, menacing look in her eyes. "Wear your uniforms now and go to your respective classes."
"You should better listen to Madame Violet," SSG Vice President Onel Ty chimed in. "You don't want the president catching you. Trust me, you won't like the punishment."
****
There was nothing we could do except do as we were told. We're in the restroom now, putting on the uniform they gave us. The boys had already left because we had different schedules. They really made sure to split us up.
"I must say, the uniform is actually pretty cute," Mia giggled.
We stopped when a tall girl walked in. I was the tallest among my female friends, but this girl was even taller than me. For some reason, she looked intimidating.
She walked to an empty sink and washed her hands. I watched her through the mirror. She had jet-black hair and eyes to match. She was gori.
"Newbies," She said suddenly, without even looking at us.
I quickly looked away when she turned towards us, pretending to be busy fixing my hair. I could still feel her staring. Shit. Why do I feel nervous?
"I guess the rumors were right. Six rats wandered in. How pathetic," She remarked.
That got under my skin, so I couldn't help but look back to her. She had her eyebrows raised and smirk on her face.
People here really love to smirk, huh?
"Don't fret to much. We're leaving soon," Vanessa snapped back.
The girl chuckled at Vanessa's remark. She turned back to the mirror, and we watched her apply lipstick. I noticed a small scar on her neck.
"You're leaving? Let me know the way if you find it, okay?" She said mockingly.
"What? You don't know the way out?" I asked, confused.
She shook her head and tucked her lipstick back into her bag. One last time before looking away from the mirror, she popped her lips. Then she turned to face us.
"Nobody knows. Once you enter, there's no turning back. Unless you're dead or..." She trailed off.
She started walking toward the door, but before leaving, she finished her sentence.
"You can only leave if someone with a high rank in Hell University helps you. But.... Who?" Then she left, slamming the door behind her.
The three of us just stood there, totally dazed.
What's that about?
****
Madame Violet wasn't kidding about the quality of education here. I'm not that bad at math, but I admit I have a hard time learning it sometimes. However, I actually understood our first subject pretty quickly.
"Zein. Do you notice anything?" Vanessa whispered. Mia was on my other side, so I was sandwiched between them.
I almost rolled my eyes. As if I wouldn't notice that nearly everyone in class was staring at us. Some were just stealing galnces, while others were straight-up gawling. Some were even giving us these weird smirks.
"Mia?" I tried to get her attention, but she was just staring blankly out the window.
Suddenly, Mia started sobbing and hugged me tight. I followed her gaze outside.
I let out a loud scream when I saw a shirtless man tied to a chair, his hands bound behind his back. His body was covered in stab wounds, his tongue hanging out.
I heard whispers and gasps all around as the others saw the poor guy's body.
Everyone rushed toward the window, let by our math teacher, Mr. Alvarez. I wanted to check it out too, but I couldn't move because Mia was clinging to me.
Shit! Who would do that? That's just so heartless," Vanessa commented, rubbing Mia's back to calm her down.
I looked out at the crowd of students gathering around the body. Some stayed inside, looking too terrified to step out.
"A devil. Only someone heartless could do something like this," I said.
They're demons! Damn. Now we really, really need to go out of this place. We aren't safe here. No one is.
"Are you guys okay?!"
"What happened to Mia?"
The boys arrived, out of breath and clearly worried.
"She's okay, just scared. We should probably take her back to the dorm so she can rest," I suggested, and everyone agreed.
Dave arrived Mia, while Vanessa and Jerome walked beside them.
"We found out something about this school," Matt said seriously.
I was about to ask what, but he ran toward the crowd to get a closer look. I followed him. I had to cover my mouth when I saw the dead man up close.
My eyes went wide as soon as I saw his protruding tongue, and I seriously felt like I was going to throw up. It had a mark on it---a nail. Like it had been branded with hot iron because it was sunked in.
"They did it again," A girl with glasses whispered. Then she looked at me and smirked. "Zein, right?" She asked.
I just nodded.
"I'm Meico. Third year," She introduced herself.
I just nodded again. I had zero interest in making friends here. I couldn't trust anyone right now. Damn! This situation in a nightmare!
"That nail on his tongue is the symbol of the Black Blood Gang. This is the first time they've shown themselves since what happened last week."
I couldn't help but listen. It was so confusing. What was she talking about?
"It just means that another war will happen soon. I know it'll be worse this time because they killed the only brother of Raze Silvenia---the leader of the Devil God Warriors."
I swallowed hard. We needed to leave as soon as possible, or we'd get caught in the middle of this chaos.
"Let's go?" Matt asked, appearing out of nowhere. I took one last look at the poor guy before nodding.
We had already left the scene, but the image stayed burned into my memory. Especially that nail on the tongue. How brutal could they be? Or maybe this was just a small taste of their cruelty.
"Rouge Silvenia. That was Raze Silvenia's only brother," Matt said, looking ahead grimly.
I kept my ears open, waiting for more details.
"Who are they?" I asked, even though I already knew Raze was the leader of the Devil God Warriors from what Meico said.
Matt put his arm around my shoulder and gave me a small smile.
"Enough. You don't need to know, Zein. If you find out too much, you might never be able to leave, and I'm never going to let that happen."
I didn't understand him. Why did he know so much? Did someone tell him? What about him? If knowing too much means staying forever, is he stuck here too?
We got back to the drom and found Mia asleep on the sofa. She must have been exhausted form the fear.
"C'mon, guys, eat up. By the way, what's your next subject?" Vanessa asked while sitting the table. Jerome and Dave were probably in their room.
Matt pulled out a chair for me, and I gave him a small smile.
"English," Matt replied as he served me some rice.
Vanessa looked at me, waiting for my answer.
"History," I said. I already had my schedule memorized.
"Oh, so you're the only one on your own," Vanessa noted, making Matt stop mid-scoop.
"You're all having English?" I asked.
She nodded.
"You're the only one separated from us, Zein. Do you want me to walk you there?" Matt suggested, staring at me.
"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it," I replied, laughing it off.
I have to admit, what Matt said made me blush. I've had a crush on him for a long time, but he's just totally oblivious.
Just as we finished eating, Mia woke up with puffy eyes.
We sat down in front of her. Right then, Jerome and Dave came out of their room, looking like they had just woken up too.
"Feeling better?" Dave asked, sitting beside Mia.
"Yeah. Thanks," She murmured.
I was dying to ask her questions, but I held back. I didn't want to shock her if she wasn't ready to talk. I knew she had seen the people behind that atrocity.
"Are you sure you're okay to go to class?" I asked Mia as she put on her blouse.
She paused for a second but then she smiled at me.
"I'm more worried about you. You're the only one going solo," She said.
"Please I can handle myself. I know karate, remember?" I joked.
****
High noon. It was scorching hot as I walked toward the farthest building by myself. There wasn't many students around since classes had started. I knew I was late.
I hurried up, ignoring the states from the few people I passed. What was their problem? Could they not get over the fact that some idiots actually enrolled in this schr? Psh.
The room was silent when I arrived. The teacher wasn't there yet. Feeling awkward with everyone staring at me, I kept my head down and took a seat at the back.
"Late? You've got a lot of nerve."
I looked at the girl next to me and was shocked to see it was the girl from the restroom, the one with bright red lips and black eyes. Her stare was terrifying.
"You should be glad Supremo didn't catch you," She said, shaking her head before looking back at her notebook.
My eyes widened when I saw what she was drawing.
A nail?