Warning, disclaimer, not for the faint of heart!
World Academy W
In the dim hallways with cracked walls and tiles, a pair of legs in a school skirt run at full speed. We see Yasna gasping for air as she rushes terrified. Behind her is a dark figure in a school uniform, carrying a knife and snarling. Besides that it resembles Ludwig almost completely.
"You can't escape me!" the creature growls. "Just where do you think you can go?!"
The frightened girl runs even faster. She turns a corner and looks up. There, right next to a row of lockers, she finds a discrete vent shaft just big enough for her to squeeze through. With Adrenalin rushing through her veins, she jumps on the lockers and grabs the shaft. With one violent pull, it flies loose almost hitting her attacker. Not fazed for a second, he tries to grab her failing to notice the lockers wobbling. With her upper body firmly in the opening, she uses her last remaining strength to topple them before climbing into safety.
They fall over him, causing his fall. The evil Ludwig rubs his head. Like a wild animal he stares up into the whole. Yasna, exhausted and crying, curls up in a ball. A hand appears from the opening and moves frantically like a spider. "Get back here! I just wanna talk!" he growls as the poor girl crawls away. She moves slowly eventually reaching the intersection where a larger vertical vent meets the horizontal one. Looking down, she sees the light from the lower shaft. It violently flies inward as if pushed. The light is quickly blocked by something resembling pants. She flinches muffling her yelp and crawls over as silently as possible.
Flashback: Two hours earlier. Ivan, Yasna and Ludwig walk the hallway talking. With make shift backpacks and all the geared they could carry they head towards the basketball court. "If I was an evil mastermind trying to take over the school, where would I put the mechanism for my minions" Ludwig thinks outloud. Yasna and Ivan look at each other and chuckle.
The blond boy turns. "What's so funny?" he asks slightly insulted.
"Oh nothing...And why do you think this is a work of an evil mastermind?" Yasna says.
Next scene: In a dark room surrounded with screens. "Who else can it be. This certainly isn't a glitch. Someone must be behind it" we hear Ludwig's voice as Arthur stands next to a shadowy figure petting a cat.
"If you ask me, I'd hide it in plain sight. That way it's more fun" Ivan's replies making Arthur extremely nervous.
Next scene: Back in the hallway, Ivan stops intrigued. He looks around as his companions follow his lead. Ludwig tilts his head seeing the fire box. He observes it carefully from all sides. "No way" he says smirking. The two come and look. With the tip of his fingers, the student feels the miniature hinges and gently opens the box. To everyone's amazement, inside are a row of black switches. "Yes!" Yasna jumps happy.
Meanwhile, in the dark room, the large man in the shadows let's out a sigh that sends shivers down Arthur's spine. "I'll show them" he says with his strong voice and pushes a series of buttons. A sweat-drop falls from Arthur's forehead as he turns towards the screen.
The hallways shake. Slowly at first and then, as if a large earthquake hit, the tiles part. Many student's start screaming and fall to the ground. The damage is not so sever in some parts, but to the nerve-wrecked students it is yet another unexplained event in an already unsettling time.
Next scene: The hallway in which our three protagonists are is shaking so hard, the floor turns into rubble. It completely splits into two, leaving a large canyon-like gap in between. "Damn it!" Ludwig screams while the other two are still in shock. Yasna almost fell in and is still shaking. "And the entrance behind us is blocked" he yells angry pointing at the metal door that appeared out of nowhere.
"What switch did you flip?!" Ivan asks furious.
"I didn't touch anything!" the other boy yells back.
"Then why are we trapped on this small piece of floor?!" Ivan retorts.
"Guys, please focus. We have to find a way to cross over" Yasna says and turns towards the other part of the hallway. She sees the fire box torn from the wall hanging by a few wires. "If anything can open this door it's that over there!" she says pointing. The two boys look in that direction. Ivan shrugs and takes out a round sport hammer. Ludwig gets his rope and ties it to the hammer handle. Ivan then throws the hammer aiming at the fallen blocks. Afterwards, he confirms that it is jammed properly by tugging it.
Yasna looks at him. "Who will have the honors?" Ivan says looking at Yasna.
"Are you sure it is safe..." she starts noticing that now she is in eye-level with her tall friend's face. Confused, she realises that Ludwig has picked her up by the armpits. "Just as I thought. 40 kilos. Your light enough to slide down the rope" he says still holding her.
Her face turns red from embarrassment. "Let go off me you jackass!" she yells kicking her legs in the air to the amusement of Ivan. Ludwig does so. "I always knew you were small but I never thought you weighed less than a bag of flour" he says turning away to secure the rope.
"For your information, I weigh 50 kilos!" Yasna says with fumes coming out of her ears. "Whatever makes you feel better short-stuff" Ludwig snickers.
Yasna jumps to hit him from behind but Ivan stops her. "Slow down tiny tiger. Focus on the job at hand" he says giggling. She glares at him in a threatening way.
Next scene: Yasna quickly slides down the rope and gets to the broken switch box. She takes out a few of Ludwig's tools. "Tell us what you are doing, alright?" Ludwig says as the two boys watch her.
"Relax, I paid attention in Electronics class. I got this" she says trying to reconnect the wires.
"That's funny. I was always under the impression that girls are not interested in that stuff" Ivan says with a raised eyebrow.
"Well...it's not that I'm not interested. It's just taught in a boring way" she says. The two boys blink confused. "I always found it interesting" Ivan says. "Me too" Ludwig adds.
As they talk Yasna finishes connecting the wires, she presses a few switches, and...The door behind the two boys opens. Happy, they cheer out loud.
Next scene: In the Teacher's Lounge, the staff is already getting tired. They flinch hearing the students again. Rejoiced, they stand up. "If only we could talk to them" the history professor, who is also the school councillor's brother, says. The IT professor straightens up, facepalms himself and yanks one of the speakers. "We can. I just need to modify this, and that, and voila..." he says and gives the ripped speaker to the history professor. Confused, he takes it carefully and starts talking.
"Attention students!" his voice is heard loud and clear throughout the hallways. All the students gaze up.
"This is your teacher speaking. Please remain calm. We have encountered some slight issues but will resolve them soon. Please stay with your group and do not attack each other. Avoid the smaller dark hallways and your lookalikes. We will be saving you shortly."
As he speaks, Yasna manages to return to the other side. The three run back to the less damaged corridor. Their happiness does not last long, for the sound from the speakers becomes so irritatingly high that everyone needs to cover their ears. After it stops, the teacher's voice is heard no more.
Next scene: Still rubbing their ears, the trio continue walking. Yasna hears a familiar voice and stops. "What is it?" Ivan asks.
"Shh" she utters. "I think it's Šćepan." They all listen. "Is anyone there?" a weak male voice is heard.
"That is definitely him" Yasna says excited and runs in the direction of the voice. Ivan follows. "Be careful. It might be a Shadow kid, remember" he says running after her.
"I know that. I'm not an idiot!" she says and listens carefully.
"Hello?" Šćepan's solemn cry is heard again. She hurries and sees the short boy sitting covered in blood. He has bowed his head, prepped himself against a wall.
"Šćepan! It's me...What happened to you?" Yasna says slowly approaching him. The hurt student raises his head and smiles. "Oh finally, a familiar face. Help me sis! I've been attacked by a bunch of crazy students" he says holding the wound on his stomach.
Alarmed, Yasna moves even closer and says: "Don't worry, we'll take care of y..."
Šćepan takes a shiny weapon from behind his back and aims it at her. He would have hit her if Ivan didn't pull her away. The long metal arrow, resembling a harpoon, flies nearly hitting Ludwig. He sees an attached rope and grabs it yanking the weapon from the boy's hand. The student growls and curses before running away into the smallest and darkest passage.
Ivan still holding on to Yasna, lets go of her yelling: "See what I mean! If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead!"
Embarrassed, she turns her back to him and pouts. "Seriously, Yasna. Use your brain for once!" Ivan says infuriated by her reaction. She bows her head as if trying to stop tears. Ludwig observes the tense scene. There is awkward silence. Ivan looks around at his mute companions.
He looks at Ludwig's new harpoon. "Nice. It can come in handy" Ivan says to which Ludwig nods. His stomach starts to rumble. "What do you know. From all this excitement I forgot I haven't ate anything all day" the fair masculine boy says trying to lighten the mood. "We should find some food. Is the cafeteria nearby?" Ivan continues calm, to which Yasna turns her head a little.
Next scene: Taking the longest and most bright passage, Ivan scouts ahead while Yasna follows. Ludwig is behind her protecting their backs. Once in the cafeteria. Ivan goes to the kitchen, while Yasna checks the dinning area. She seems very tense and quiet.
"So your boyfriend..." Ludwig starts just to start a conversation.
"He's not...I mean, what about him?" Yasna says finding the shelves completely empty. Discouraged, she goes to the nearest table and sits on the only chair left standing.
Ludwig, steps closer. "Weren't you that girl who made him and two most popular boys wait in front of the school for two hours for you?"
Smirking, Yasna says: "Was it two hours? I remember it being less."
"So it is you. You're actually one of the cool kids. I remember some guys talking about you" Ludwig says slightly interested.
Yasna blushes embarrassed. "Nothing bad I mean" he assures her with a calm voice.
"Well...I mean, maybe. I have done and said some cool stuff recently..." she says smiling and then remembers their reality. "Before, we were dropped here that is" she says sinking back into her chair.
Ludwig tilts his head curious. "And, you decided on Ivan? Can't blame you. As much as he caused me grief in the past..."
"Don't take this personally, but can we talk about something else?" she blurts still solemn.
"Like what?"
"Like, how exactly did you manage to stay under the radar for so long after what you did?" she asks not expecting an answer.
"It was hard at first. My father told me not to worry about it. To stay in the company of my brothers and keep a low profile. I don't know what he did exactly, but it worked. Other students left me alone" he answers to her astoundment.
Yasna raises her eyebrow but still nods.
Ludwig continues with a discrete chuckle: "Lucky me...One of my brothers had this ridiculous idea that an all student singing competition would be a goo idea. He said it would make everyone relax and not think about it. Can you imagine what that would look like? I'm not even that good of a singer."
Yasna laughs, finally opening up. "Yeah...It would be a nightmare. Like me for example. I'm a great singer but not many get my music."
"Sounds like a great idea to me. I would love to compete. Maybe even win" Ivan is heard coming out of the kitchen. His hands are full of spam cans. The kitchen was full of it. The two students look at them eagerly. Ivan smiles: "Let's eat."
Next scene: After the meal they talk outside the cafeteria. "Are you sure?" Ivan asks.
"Yes" Ludwig replies. "It might be a good idea to visit the Chemistry lab. We could use a few explosives."
"Alright then. I guess we'll see you later" he says.
"Wait" Yasna adds and puts her hand in her pocket. "I was thinking...since there are all these evil lookalikes... We should have something to recognise each other" she says and presents them both with a fluffy pink hair tie.
"Thank you but I really don't think..." the blond student replies cringing. "They're the only things I got. This way I can be certain I'm talking with the right person" she insists. The boys shrug and take them.
"Oh and I could really use some sort of weapon. Like that harpoon for example?"
The boy in the black tank top looks at her surprised. "I don't see a need for that. Besides it's heavy."
"I don't mind" she replies.
"I think it's better for me to keep it for now" he says calmly ignoring her annoyed expression. Ivan puts a hand on her shoulder: "What do you need a weapon for when you've got me?" he says with a smile. This annoys Yasna even more.
Ludwig checks his bag again. Inside with cans of spam, tools and other stuff, we see his school shirt and tie. The student waves and walks away. As he turns, a sly grin appears on his face.
Next scene: The remaining two students continue with their mission. Yasna is still quiet. "Are you still pouting?" the boy says not being able to take the silence.
She raises her nose up.
Ivan sighs: "Look, I'm sorry for yelling but you did a reckless thing..."
"It's not that."
"Then what is it?"
Yasna stops reluctant to say anything.
"Tell me please."
"Ever since the school councillor wanted to talk to me, you'd been acting weird."
"Weird?"
"Yes, like jealous" she says with her hands crossed.
Ivan rolls his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous"
"Oh so you don't mind that she wanted to talk to me instead of you?" she says openly.
He sighs. "Alright, I'll admit that I was a little surprised but that doesn't mean anything. I'm just here to protect you."
"Why do you keep saying that? You act like I'm some sort of lost puppy! I don't need you to rescue me all the time!" she says irritated.
"Then stop acting like an idiot!" Ivan blurts loud.
"Look who's talking! Do you know how you can be sometimes? Do you even know how many students fear or hate you?!" she yells pointing her finger.
"Hey!" the boy screams and bangs the wall near him. Yasna flinches protecting her head. Ivan takes a step back shocked.
"Oh, so that's it" Ivan says slowly stepping back. "You're afraid of me! You think I am all those things people say I am behind my back" he says sad.
Putting her arms down, she shakes her head. "No" she says almost crying. The girl extends her arms. Ivan puts his hand up to rub his head. She unintentionally flinches again. Seeing this, he turns around heart-broken.
As he walks away, not saying a word, Yasna slides to the ground crying. "I've always been your friend. No matter what. I know you. That is why I helped you every chance I got. You can't deny that" she says through tears. He turns the corner not looking back.
Next scene: Fifteen minutes later. Yasna still sits in the same spot, waiting for Ivan to return. She hears footsteps and is relieved seeing a familiar male figure in a school uniform approaching her. "Hey, back so soon" she says to the blond boy. He does not reply despite coming closer.
She stands up, confused. Observing him closer, she grows suspicious and frightened. He stops and grins at her. The girl immediately starts running in the opposite direction leaving her bag behind.
