CHAPTER 163: 163-WIPED OUT

Clementine:

We looked toward the green squad’s door from the hall and saw that Mr. Brian and Mr. Rick were right at the exit, just leaving.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" Mr. Rick yelled at the other ringleaders. It was pretty clear to us that he and Mr. Brian had run faster than the ladies, so they were about to leave but were waiting for them to catch up.

"Did something happen?" Oriana asked, her face pale.

"What was the gunshot about?" someone from the blue squad questioned.

There were no answers. Everyone was panicking while the ringleaders started to leave, joining Mr. Rick and Mr. Brian.

"You guys stay behind. Nobody comes out. Let us deal with it first and see if everything is fine," Ms. Lenora warned, keeping us from stepping forward.

As she rushed out, I saw Ian and Haiden trying to follow, but suddenly lurkers appeared with guns in their hands, almost as if reminding us we were supposed to obey the rules. We had no choice but to stay behind.

Now we were just anxiously waiting for the arrival of the ringleader so they could tell us what exactly happened. What had turned things so scary? The storm just got worse.

"Why don’t you sit down," Troy asked as he came over to me. He had probably noticed how anxiously I’d been rubbing my palms until my knuckles turned red.

"I’m fine," I said, though I felt a lot dizzier than before. I didn’t know what was going on, but I had a very bad feeling.

"Come on, sit down." Troy held my hand and made me sit.

Somehow my eyes moved to the white squad. I didn’t know why I was getting so self-conscious, but I noticed them staring at me, then scoffing and looking away like they were judging. Troy followed my gaze and then looked at them.

"Don’t worry about them. The more you give in to that, the more you’ll feel trapped. Don’t let them embarrass you," Troy whispered, rubbing my hands between his.

This was the first time in so long that we spoke like this, without any animosity. At least not from my side, maybe because I was too stunned and wanted to focus on what was happening instead of my own problems. But it didn’t change the fact that I was scared. I was scared for the green squad. Had the lurkers gotten angry at them? Were they trying something and got caught? I didn’t know.

"Clementine, please calm down," Troy said, staring into my eyes.

I noticed Haiden and Yorick pull closer, whispering to each other. I guessed because Troy had already taken the place in front of me, kneeling and holding my hands, they couldn’t come closer. Maybe they thought the others would mock them, and I wouldn’t be comfortable with it. That was true, at least for now. I didn’t want any attention on us.

And then the ringleaders began to arrive back. I instantly straightened, standing with my squadmates.

"Everybody, take your places, please," Mr. Rick announced, his voice low.

But it was Mr. Brian’s face that told me the news wasn’t good. He looked like he wasn’t even in his senses. I could feel the anxiety radiating from him, and I bet I wasn’t the only one. Others were staring at Mr. Brian too.

"We have to announce with the deepest regret that a whole squad has been wiped out of the academy," Mr. Rick said, using the most unhinged words.

Everybody began to panic, staring anxiously into each other’s eyes, then looking back at their ringleaders for more explanation, while my breath hitched.

"A very sad event happened," Mr. Rick continued as he wrapped his arm around Brian, who sighed and lowered his head. "The green squad is sadly no longer with us."

And then Mr. Rick repeated it, this time with more clarity.

"What?" Haiden grunted, shocked. "How is it possible?"

As Haiden kept asking, Mr. Rick continued explaining.

"The green squad had been heavily involved in trying to figure out what the academy was about, what the North was about. These were questions that didn’t need to be dwelt upon. There are no secrets, no mysteries. The North was invaded by monsters that grew, and their poison, their negativity, started to bring other monsters back alive. A few wealthy alphas then decided to start an academy, just to stop it, to stop the monsters from spreading across the world and taking over everything. That is what the academy stands for. Of course, there are things you don’t need to know, just like in schools where principals never tell their students everything, or the meetings teachers have. That’s all there is to the mystery. But the green squad didn’t believe it. I guess they were following someone’s footsteps."

Mr. Rick paused, glancing toward our squad, and all eyes turned to us. I noticed the looks on their faces. Most seemed upset with us, except Oriana and Jessie, who looked worried for us. Then they turned back to Mr. Rick as he continued.

"And sadly, it got to them," Mr. Rick finished, before Miss Lenora took over.

"The green squad had been acting strangely ever since they returned from the North the first time. Omegas are the weakest in our hierarchy. But they also have the strongest will to survive, because they know their strength is limited. They try their best to live. But in the green squad’s case, it was different. They didn’t want to go back to the North. They scared themselves too much when they started coming up with conspiracies."

Ms. Lenora paused, glancing at Mr. Brian to take over.

"In simple words, when you are in the North, you’re supposed to worry about it, try to figure out how to fight a monster, how to win. But once you return, you’re not supposed to think too much about the North. You’re not supposed to bring its worries back to the mainland, especially not any weapon you carry with you," Mister Brian took a deep breath.

"With that being said, Bodhi had stolen one of the weapons from the office earlier, the weapons the Black Squad brought with them. Bodhi not only stole them, but he also refused to hand them over. And then, sadly, the madness got to him, the madness of the North, and he ended up killing two of his squadmates and then himself," he continued and I felt my heart losing its beats.