Chapter 42

“I still can’t believe you actually slapped him!” Paige muttered as she stared at Sophia, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Sophia shrugged, crossing her arms.

“I didn’t like the way he was talking to Caleb, like Caleb was the one who called for that giant wolf to attack. And he was being so disrespectful about it too.”

Caleb, who had been silent for a while, let out a small chuckle.

“It’s fine, Sophia, but thanks. I can handle myself.”

“He was being a jerk.” Sophia said simply. “And I don’t like it when people talk to my friends like that, especially when they’re being stupid about it.”

“Atta girl!” Paige nodded.

“I appreciate it, but I didn’t need saving.” Caleb said, looking away.

“Oh, you definitely needed saving.” Sophia shot back. “He was two seconds away from punching you.”

“I could’ve handled it.”

Sophia rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, by getting your face rearranged.”

Before Sophia could respond, the school’s intercom crackled and a message came through.

“All students, please report to the assembly hall immediately.”

The voice of Miss Flora, the principal, sounded all over the building.

Caleb sighed.

“Looks like we don’t have a choice.”

Without any further discussion, they all turned and made their way up towards the assembly hall. The school corridors were filled with students murmuring among themselves filing up, and some of the students who had experienced the attack still had the shock and fear from the attack evident on their faces.

Some walked in groups, whispering about the bloodstains and the broken windows in the class of one of the second highest years, and the absolute destruction left behind, people wondering just how many students had died.

The rest of the students were silent and still, processing what had happened as they went up.

When Sophia, Paige, Caleb, and Allison reached the hall, the atmosphere was tense. Rows of students stood in straight lines, their expressions ranging from confusion to unease.

The hall was the largest in the school, with high windows and enough accommodation for two times the students in the school. Teachers stood at the sides, watching the crowd of students intensely, probably making sure that no one tried to slip away.

At the front of the room, Miss Flora, the principal, stood on the raised platform. She was an older woman, strict but fair, her and usually she had an air about her that made just a look from her more than enough to silence any restless student.

Today, however, there was something different about her. Her usual composed demeanour had a crack in it. Her hands were clasped tightly together, and the lines on her forehead were deeper than usual. She looked nervous.

Miss Flora took a deep breath before speaking.

“I know that many of you have been shaken by what happened today.” She began, sounding worried. “What occurred today was extremely unexpected, and I want to start by apologising to those of you who experienced it firsthand.”

There was a murmur through the students. Paige turned to look at Sophia, who still looked deep in thought.

Miss Flora continued.

“I understand that some of you may have seen things that don’t make sense. You might have questions. And I assure you, the school is taking this matter seriously, as we do not understand how a wild animal must have made its way here, but we will find out.”

Sophia scoffed under her breath.

Seriously? She thought. How would they track down a wild animal? No one even knows what that thing truly was. Too big to be a normal animal from the forest.

“But right now…” Miss Flora said. “We need information. If anyone saw anything that might help us understand what happened, please step forward.”

For a moment, the hall was silent. Then, a few hands went up from the row where Sophia’s class stood.

Miss Flora’s saw them and nodded.

“You!” She said, pointing at one of them. “Come forward and speak.”

A boy hesitated before stepping out of the line. He cleared his throat, shifting nervously from foot to foot under the weight of the hundreds of eyes watching him.

“Uh, I don’t know much, but before everything went crazy, there was this guy. He was looking for Allison.”

Sophia frowned. What guy?

The boy continued.

“He was acting weird. Then suddenly, he just… he just started tearing at his clothes and then…” The boy hesitated, his face paling. “And then he turned into that giant wolf thing.”

The entire hall was deathly silent.

Sophia’s heart skipped a beat. Turned into that thing? What was he saying?

Her mind immediately went back to her vision that she had at home. The man in front of her, his clothes tearing into pieces, his transformation.

Was it him?

Sophia turned slightly, her eyes landing on Allison, who stood stiffly in place.

Miss Flora’s expression hardened. She turned to Allison.

“Allison, please come forward.”

Allison hesitated but eventually walked up. Miss Flora looked at her carefully.

“Did you know this man? Or did you know of him?”

Allison shook her head immediately.

“No. I’ve never heard of anyone like that before in my life. I only saw him for the first time today and he was asking everyone who I was.”

Miss Flora didn’t look convinced.

“Are you sure?”

Allison’s nodded, looking offended that they had not taken her at her word.

“I swear. I don’t know whoever that guy was, and I don’t know why he would have been looking for me.”

Miss Flora looked at her for a moment, trying to see any cracks that would prove that she was lying before she then asked another question.

“Have you done anything recently that might have upset someone?”

There was a snicker from somewhere in the crowd and a few others joined in. Allison’s reputation wasn’t exactly great when it came to being kind.

Allison rolled her eyes.

“No.” She said flatly. “I haven’t bothered anyone at all.”

Miss Flora’s eyes rested on her for a few more seconds before the older woman nodded.

“Alright. After this assembly, you will come with me to my office.”

Allison clenched her jaw but said nothing.

Sophia, meanwhile, wasn’t paying attention to the exchange anymore. She was too deep in thought.

Why did Allison also act like she saw a man?

To Sophia, all she had seen was just a giant wolf from the moment she arrived at the scene. There was no man, just the beast.

Was there actually a man? If there was, where did he go?

Her heart beat even faster.

Or if there really was a man like that, was he like him? Like the one in her vision? Was that really happening?

It all felt too unreal, like something straight out of one of her books. It felt like everyone was in on a joke except her, like the entire school had collaborated to prank her, and she was being pranked right now.

Why was nobody acting out? What was going on?