C H A P T E R - T W E N T Y - T W O
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The six students sat in the lounge, Rafe, Fletcher and Trevor holding the three keys that they found but none of them spoke. They all sat in silence, sad about what had just happened to their friends. They didn't know why they died, especially since they hadn't said anything. But it was the first time two people had died at the same time. That had to mean something.
But no one really cared then. They were all too upset.
Ella wiped a few tears from her eyes. She had already experienced so much that she couldn't bare to see anybody go. Even if it was just for a little more than a day, she had become so close with everybody that she felt like she knew them for her whole life.
Fletcher brushed the tip of the key. No matter how helpful it was, he didn't think it made up for the lives lost in the process of getting them. Nothing would be worth it, not really.
Teony buried her face in her knees. She wasn't even sitting on the chairs but instead on the floor beside the fireplace, where there was nobody else. She didn't want to look up, her puffy eyes unable to see anything anyways. For that moment she forgot how to speak, and all she wanted to do was hide. Raven noticed, and debated on going over to comfort her, ultimately going with her gut.
Raven walked over to the fireplace, sitting next to Teony. She lifted her head up, holding back a few more tears. Her hand searched for Raven's, and gripped it right as she felt it, putting her head right back down. Raven pursed her lips, hating seeing her in pain. She tilted her head against Teony's and closed her eyes, trying to forget the loss she went through and concentrate on who was right next to her.
It took a long time for anybody to talk. After sitting next to Teony for a while, Raven knew that they had to decide what to do next. Not wanting to let go of Teony's hand, she stayed on the ground but still spoke up. "Where do we go next?"
Rafe shrugged. "I don't know," She said bluntly. Trevor nodded in agreement.
"Half of us have died already and we still don't know who killed them and where the last key is," He said. The cut on his cheek had barely healed, a bandage still covering it. They didn't have a chance to change it, so it was still bloody.
"We have to have missed something," Ella replied quietly.
"We must have," Fletcher agreed. "We've looked everywhere."
Rafe shrugged. "It's hopeless. We're never getting out." The others didn't say anything to contradict her. Trevor fiddled with the key in his hand, mind blank.
Fletcher leaned back a little, looking at the ceiling. It was almost like they all had given up, not caring what happened next. And part of him believed it, what Rafe said. But the other half knew there had to be some answer to all of their questions.
They just couldn't ignore how different the group felt without Jackson's negative thoughts and Damien bringing everybody up again.
"No," Raven said out of nowhere. Everybody turned to her, and even Teony lifted her head. "No, we can't just sit here and do nothing! We've got to find our way out!"
"But, Raven, we don't have any more clues," Ella contradicted, moving her hands as she spoked. For a second Trevor thought she was signing but then realized that, if she was, she would just be signing the words "what" and "why" repetitively.
"Mr. Barla loved hiding things in plain sight, remember the pool?" She said, starting to stand up and letting go of Teony's hand. Disappointed, Teony put her hand back down but stayed curled up. "Maybe he hid it in another place he showed us?"
"Like the kitchen?" Rafe suggested unemotionally, and Raven nodded her head.
"Exactly. Come on, let's go check there."
Raven was the only one up at first, then Fletcher stood up, then Ella and Teony, then Rafe and finally Trevor, who wasn't sure what they were doing since Rafe wasn't signing but after she noticed his confusion, she signed him looking in kitchen real fast, and he nodded. Ella and Teony stayed towards the end, still upset and scared. When Ella noticed Teony's shaking hands she placed hers on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. She smiled a little, and Ella lowered her hand.
They entered the kitchen, Fletcher, Trevor and Rafe going into the back and the other girls staying in the cafeteria area. Rafe, who hoped that the walls were soundproof, led the two boys to the back and started whispering.
"I still trust you guys," Rafe said quietly so that the others wouldn't hear. "I trust everyone here now, I can't imagine one of them being a murderer."
"Exactly, but someone killed Damien, Jackson, Jessica and Fox and we still don't know who it is," Fletcher responded in a whisper. He sighed, thinking about what Raven said about people accusing him. He wanted to bring it up at first but decided against it, afraid he would lose their trust as well.
"I still think it might be Raven," Trevor said, but Fletcher shook his head.
"I honestly have no clue," Fletcher admitted.
"Well, we better figure out soon or we're in trouble," she said.
"And what do you suggest?" Trevor asked, and Rafe leaned in closer. She stared at them in a way that gave Fletcher chills, but intrigued Trevor. She signed very briefly, her voice even more hushed than previously.
"I think it's time to ask Theodore and Alfred."
At first, Fletcher didn't understand what she meant but then a lightbulb went on in his head. She meant the book, the book with Theodore's annotations in it.
"Should we tell the others?" Fletcher asked, but Rafe shook her head.
"I'll just read through it when they aren't paying attention." And with that, she leaned back out and started looking around the kitchen, even though she doubted that she would find anything. Trevor and Fletcher-who were still a little confused by her train of thought-joined her, not saying another word.
After a few minutes, they wanted to give up but kept looking, throwing pots and pans everywhere along with expensive ceramic plates. The three could tell that Mr. Barla had definitely loved his plates, seeing how many he collected. That just made Rafe even more excited, and she grabbed one of them, smashing it on the ground.
"Take that, Voldemort!" She exclaimed. Fletcher stared at her, wondering what the heck she was doing but Trevor was amused. He did the same, smashing a few more plates and bowls on the ground. Rafe started to crack up, throwing a few more of the kitchen supplies on the ground.
Then, a plate flew right by Fletcher's head, and he gaped at the source. Trevor and Rafe had their hands to their mouths to cover up their laughter and Rafe was pointing at Trevor, who then put his hand up in the air as a sign as surrender. And Fletcher-no matter how hard he tried not to-couldn't help but laugh as well. He grabbed a flat plate from the shelf and threw it like a frisbee at the food in the pantry, which made boxes of cereal and crackers fall to the floor.
"Nice one, Fletch," Rafe said, handing him another plate. The three completely forgot about looking for clues and instead decided to enjoy their time of laughter, throwing around plates until all of them were gone.
The other three girls rushed in, wondering what was going on and were caught completely off guard when they saw Trevor about to pour a box of cereal on top of Rafe, the white haired girl uncovering her eyes a peak to look at the others. The three stood still for a second until Fletcher grabbed a bag of jumbo marshmallows from the pantry, throwing them all at them.
"What the heck, Fletcher?" Ella asked, trying to look angry instead of amused but couldn't help but let a small smile creep onto her face. She threw the marshmallows back at him, and they all continued throwing around the kitchen supplies until it was all trashed. Teony stood on the side, however, observing everybody. Raven noticed and asked her to join, and when she said no she pulled a bag of sugar from behind her back, pouring it on top of her head. Teony gasped, laughing a little as well as she was still in shock from the action.
"Come on, you can't mope around forever." And with that Raven offered her hand to Teony's and after a moment's hesitation she took it, both walking into the chaotic mess that was the all out food war in the kitchen.
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