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There were no words to describe how the students felt as they looked onto their deceased teacher. They were confused, scared, upset, and even a little guilty. It was obvious that the body had been there for at least a day, so they felt bad for not seeing it earlier.

"I-I don't think I can handle this," Raven said, backing up. She put her hands up like she was trying to block Mr. Barla from view. She stayed close to Teony who, even if she was disgusted, could not look away from the teacher. How long had he been down there? Did he actually write those notes? Were they judging him on false information?

But the most important question she could think of was who had done it.

And that was the one that she was completely clueless on.

"Guys, I-I think we should go, it's obviously not safe down here-" Fletcher said nervously. 

"No, we can't leave. We need to figure out what killed him," Teony said.

"What?" Raven asked. "You don't think it was a human?"

"Well, maybe, I don't know. But you get my point."

"Teony's right," Ella agreed. "When I came down here I was so scared that I ran right out, but there has to be some clue." Raven bent down by the teacher, noticing a small slip of paper sticking out of his pocket. 

"Found it," She said, unfolding it all of the way. Everybody went towards her besides Trevor, reading it in their heads.

Dear my beloved students,

I apologize that this must have been found under extreme inconvenience but I am in a rather big hurry. As soon as I came downstairs to tidy up the academy and noticed a letter signed by me saying that I had left, I knew something was wrong. I never wrote a letter of any sort besides this one. I would never abandon you. Well, not by choice. Because as I am writing this I have a feeling that my life will be at its end soon. But I want you to know that any note not written in this handwriting is not me, and probably a message from my killer.

If you are reading this, then I know my life has ended. And there are probably very little of you left as well, which I am extremely sorry for. I wanted to show you so much here, and so I don't take too long writing this I will tell you only one that will be absolutely necessary. Flip to page 139 in Alfred's book.

I'm sorry I've failed all of you.

-Mr. Herman Barla

Raven dropped the note in shock, but Trevor picked up after her. "Oh my god," Fletcher said quietly, falling to the ground and onto his knees.

"All this time we thought he had it out for us," Ella started. "but he was a victim too, just like Jessica."

"This is why Mr. Barla's notes always lead to trouble. He didn't write them," Raven realized. "The person who wrote them knew what was happening, so they could set up clues that would distract us, and while we weren't paying attention, they would murder someone else."

Trevor put down the note, his face in shock. After he got over the surprise, he looked at Ella. "How'd you find this?" He asked her, suspicious. The others were surprised with his words, since it was the first time he had spoken since he saw Rafe, but that was the least important thing on his mind at the moment. It was already too busy.

"Find what?" Ella asked, a little confused.

"Oh you know what I mean! Mr. Barla!"

"I told you, I thought I heard somebody come down here."

"But me and Rafe didn't go in the trapdoor. We just went in the classroom." 

"Well maybe that's what I heard. I'm not sure, Trevor."

Trevor scoffed, keeping the rest of his comments to himself. He knew she was lying. She just had to be.

Right?

There were only five students left at the Academy, and Trevor knew that they needed to figure out who killed their friends before all of them were dead. Even if he had to point fingers at his closest ones. 

"Okay, well, we might as well do what Mr. Barla said," Raven said. "Trevor, do you possibly have the book on you?" He shook his head.

"Rafe had it." 

"Did you see it beside her?" Raven asked. He shrugged lazily, not wanting to talk about the girl. "Come on, Trevor think! Where did you last see it?" He still didn't answer.

"I think I saw it," Ella said, but she still sounded unsure. "Can one of you come with me to go check?"

"I'll go," Fletcher offered. Ella smiled a little as he walked towards her. "We'll be right back."

"Are you sure?" Teony asked. Fletcher nodded.

"We have to figure this out once and for all." It took a moment for everybody to agree, but they eventually did. The two left, leaving Teony, Raven and Trevor alone.

For a while, it was all silence. Trevor looked down at the ground, while Raven examined the note again. Teony thought to herself about who might have caused the teacher's demise, but again, hit a dead end. She moved over closer to Raven, whispering in her ear, "Raven?"

"Yeah?" Raven replied quietly.

"Promise me that I can trust you."

Raven turned to her, hesitating a moment before kissing her on her cheek. Teony blushed, and realized that that was all the answer that she needed. "I promise," Teony whispered.

"I know," Raven said, not needing any further explanation.

There was a little more silence before Ella and Fletcher ran back to the group, Fletcher holding the book. "We got it!" He said, seemingly proud of his accomplishment.

"Oh, good," Raven said, standing up. She tapped Trevor on the shoulder, trying to show him that the pair returned. Fletcher flipped through the pages, finding the correct one. Once he did, he handed it to Trevor so that he could read it better, but also because he didn't want to say any spell that was required. 

"Well, this is definitely the right page," Raven said as she saw the title, which read, "How to get rid of dark magic." She started to read it aloud.

"From my experimenting, this should be the best bet for curing someone infected with magic. Begin with saying the first incantation if it is unknown to you who is infected, then, once you are sure who it is, say the second incantation while standing directly towards them and looking at them before and after you say it. That should destroy all of the dark magic present within them."

They all stared at the page before Ella backed up, not willing to say it. Fletcher joined her, and Trevor got the hint. "Alright, I'll say it."

They all let out a sigh of relief. He cleared his throat and he started to read, making them hope for the worst things possible to happen in the next few seconds.

"Stop the lies, stop them now. Reveal what the eyes can not see. Reveal the truth of what has happened. Reveal the monster that lies in us." Trevor finished the spell, but nothing happened at first.

At first.

Raven and Teony gasped, taking grip of each other's hands once again. Trevor almost dropped his book but instead held onto it tight, worrying that if it lost his grip, it would be gone forever.

"Ella?" Fletcher asked worried. The blond girl was staring into space, but then did something that startled everybody. She fell onto the floor, a scream coming out of her mouth that sounded nothing like the high pitched voice hers was. Fletcher jumped back, almost knocking into Trevor. Ella was now squirming on the ground, her eyes turning completely black. It was almost like she couldn't control herself, her body movements frightening and disturbing. After a few seconds she stopped, returning to herself again. As she stood up, all four of them looked in horror.

"Woah, what happened?" She asked, pressing her hand to her forehead. She winced. "Whatever you said gave me a massive headache."

"No way," Teony said quietly, in shock. 

"What?" Ella asked, not getting what she was saying. Her eyes moved then to Fletcher, and her eyes went wide when he saw him. His whole body was completely pale and in shock, as if he had just saw a ghost.

"Oh my god, Fletcher, what happened?"

"No..." Fletcher whispered, ignoring what she said. "I-It can't be." His hands started to shake, his heart dropping. 

"Fletcher? Are you okay?" Ella asked. The boy was shaking a lot now, a single tear dripping down his cheek. "Fletch?" He started to feel weak in the knees. He couldn't believe that someone that he trusted so much would betray them.

"Ella..." He muttered, wiping his eyes with his hand. 

"What's going on?" She cried, looking at Teony for an answer. She didn't say anything, but Ella got the message by how she was looking at her. And as soon as she understood, she gasped.

"No," She whispered, then her voice got louder. "No! No, no, no! Guys, I didn't hurt anybody! I would never! Please listen to me! I promise you!"

"Ella, we saw it," Raven said. "I'm sorry, but you can't deny it now."

"Guys, please!" But no matter how hard she begged, nobody believed her.

"Ella, I'm so sorry," Trevor said, and got ready to read the incantation. 

"Trevor, stop!" Ella cried, completely terrified. Her voice cracked, and she had no time to cry. She plead for him not to, but he said it anyways.

"Carissimi angelis, hoc tenebrae superant, deponentes igitur omnem sui conscii et fac illud lumen semper mitis videt iterum!"

"Trevor!" Ella screamed furiously before she fell to the ground, twitching and screaming in front of their feet. It only lasted a few seconds before she flew up into the air, a black cloud rising out of her body, letting out its own scream before disappearing into nothing. She fell right back down, hair covering her face. Fletcher backed up putting his hands to his mouth as he choked and shook his head at what was in front of them. Teony did a little as well, light reflecting off of her shiny eyes.

"Ella?" Fletcher asked quietly, his voice still clogged up. No response. 

None of them had to come any closer to know that the spell had killed her.

Fletcher let out a cry of frustration before he flung himself onto the floor. He was almost going insane, letting out all of his insanity about what he had experienced those past two days, not caring what anyone else thought. Trevor closed the book, dropping it onto the ground. He didn't want to do it, but he had to. They could leave now. They were all safe.

But somehow, it didn't seem worth it.

Raven and Teony joined Fletcher on the ground next to each other, kneeling beside their deceased friend. He now sat on his knees as well, but kept his head down to hide his teary face. The girls put their heads together, mourning everyone that had been lost in their time at Ashwock Academy. At last, Trevor sat next to Fletcher, putting his hand on his back. Fletcher still didn't look up, but Trevor knew that Fletcher felt it. So he didn't let go.

All four students looked in front of them, memories of everything that happened flooding back to them. It wasn't something they would forget, definitely not. It had made a lasting scar on them, one that would never leave. One that would haunt and stay with them forever.

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A/N

There you go. The final four.

To be completely honest this made me tear up, but I'm also quite happy with it. There will be only one more chapter, which will be an epilogue/resolution. I really hope you enjoyed this, and that you will stay for the conclusion.

-Puffin <3