Bam! Sierra's whole spirit had ran into what felt like a solid blockade. She immediately returned to her body and awoke in shock, her whole body shuddering with pain. Sierra stared at this certain girl's vibrant, blue eyes while the girl stared back, confused. Regaining her balance, Sierra hissed under her breath that she should've just used her senses, instead of using her whole soul on this girl, Raine. Sierra had used her minor senses on Devin and a few others with minor cases, but the rest had more complicated ones, so she just used her soul them instead to retrieve greater memories.

Peculiarly, half of Raine's memories had been sealed off, which seldomly happened in other people. Sierra regained her balance and dusted herself off, before making-up an omen to get to the head of this fragile girl. Sierra knew that it wouldn't take long before this 'mental wall' would fall.

As the pain numbed, Sierra resolved that perhaps she wouldn't tell the rest of her partners later, but she knew that she did not hide her shocked expression in time when she had awoke. Sierra did know though the reason why 'mental walls' were created. Something immensely tragic had happened in the midst of Raine's life, and she had attempted to cut that those memories off from everyone, including herself.

Sierra finally spoke to the class as she clenched her aching arm and hissed from pain, "Raine, hss, before the rainstorm comes, hss, you shall have the truth rain out."

There were so many hissing sounds from Sierra's pain and 'rain' sounds in that sentence that the class got stumped.

Raine's expression had turned from impassive to questioning. Raine began to question herself mentally while Devin's beastly eyes stared down upon her with concern. She asked herself, "What truth? I really don't have much to hide now do I? Let's see… I have failed driver's test (and traumatized the examiner, but I didn't get to practice), got stunned when I got lower scores on quizzes than what I expected, and then I am also really bad at drawing landscapes."

The bell had finally rung, dismissing the class and disrupting thoughts. Cyndi yelled as she rain out the door, "Hooray! Finally, we can get out of here." The class began to file out of the door, but suddenly, a voice rang through the place, "Stop!" The demand was so sudden while the voice so eerie that Raine thought for a second that the voice might've belonged to a reformed, chemistry professor. It wasn't though, but it still was someone creepy who told them to stop; it was 'Nightmare'.

Sierra swung around irritably, "What do you want? Oh… my bad. I lost my temper for a second, but these kids need to get to class."

'Nightmare' had his smirk hidden under his shadowed mask as he replied, "Hey, you're not the principal here, remember? I did the dirty work, and I get some credit, okay? Now, I'm sorry to intrude your time, but why didn't you tell us Talia's prediction?"

Sierra answered immediately, "She already knows hers whether I tell her or not. I've been with her for years and I already know what it is for her."

Talia's medium-red eyes grew wide in the corner as whimpered at the trauma from the large spider. How could 'Nightmare' do this to her? She thought that he was a good friend who would understand what she wanted! She didn't know whether she wanted to be angry at 'Nightmare' that instant, or heartbroken. That's when Sierra did what she hoped would not be done; Sierra said it:

"You care," and with a swish of her gown, Sierra strutted out.

Her statement was so short that everyone else but three of them thought that it was a question rather than a statement such as, 'You care?' or 'Do you care if I tell you?' The class shuffled out awkwardly afterward, while Joy skipped happily, her dark hair bobbing up and down as she went.

Marie, after thinking so much about the predictions, had gotten grumpy and told Joy, "Geez, you don't need to be riding on a pony to have your hair bobbing like that with all that skipping."

Joy thought that Marie's snide remark was a compliment instead, and she decided to joyously lead the teens to their next class. Marie lingered behind and waited for Talia to come, but after Talia shoved her humorous jokes away, Marie decided that Talia wanted alone time, so she left her alone. As soon as Marie had left the room, Talia scampered past 'Nightmare' and bounded out the door while Ani had awaken from her nap, shocked to find the place empty.

Talia grumbled as she was infuriated; she began to detest this place after all the nightmarish things that'd she'd been through here. She shook her head at the thought of the word, 'nightmarish,' for it reminded her of someone.

Then, she whispered to herself, "Be careful what you wish for, or you just might get it." She had always hankered for a better appearance. When she finally got here, she got what she fantasized about. After what Raine had told Devin about though, she knew that they were right all along: Beauty is only skin-deep. It was just the inside that truly mattered.

Sierra had gotten it correct about how she really did care for all those teenagers like a parent. Sure, she might have to put a stop to the teens' fun once in a while, but it was for their own good. If they died then there wouldn't be any more left. She believed that they all thought that she was tuff-stuff, knuckle-headed and unforgiving. On the inside though, she was starving for a bit of affection, but only did what only 'Nightmare' and she would do. They would have to act tough only to lead people through the hurdles, before they would scatter like seeds!

Talia ducked her head in uneasiness as she ambled around a large, sakura tree that was planted indoors. Her face, sprinkled by the shadows, felt its soothing coolness, while she gloomily listened to the her friends' laughter. She knew, or she thought that the only person who knew her long enough to break through her melancholy was…

"Hey," said a voice gently.

Talia knew that voice long enough, and was not startled by it any longer. It was 'Nightmare,' her childhood friend. She took a few steps away from him and mumbled, "Okay, okay, I'm getting to class."

Before Talia could escape from him, 'Nightmare' grabbed Talia's wrist, before responding, "You know that I'm not stupid enough to leave you alone now, right?"

Talia immediately whirled around, infuriated at 'Nightmare' for even trying to stop her, and yelled, "Okay, maybe you're not stupid enough, but perhaps you're stubborn enough to keep chasing after me! Why do you want with me after how inconsiderate you were?!"

'Nightmare' responded uncomfortably, but honestly, "Look, I want the best for you, and that means that I have to do whatever it takes. I believed that the best for you included the truth, so I made sure that everyone knew the truth about you. Besides, I can excuse you from class."

Talia frowned, "Oh, so now that you're the king of the school, than do I have to overthrow you to let myself go to class? Do I have to curtsy and trip over my skirt to the King of Stupidity?"

'Nightmare' chuckled, "No, because I'd make you my queen."

Talia's cheeks instantly flushed red as her eyelashes fluttered under the light of the sakura tree as its petals drifted down serenely. She gasped as her complexion softened, "Really? You'd do that for me? Maybe you aren't that inconsiderate."

"Of course, I'm not," smiled 'Nightmare,' who considered to take off his mask for a moment, "I am unlike that grumpy, old headmaster that I overthrew."

"You did what?!" cried Talia, suddenly shocked.

"Oh. Er, ya, it was like one of those spy movies where they sneak around in air vents, break open windows, chuck around stuff, before finding the papers that they need and then calling their place as the new headmaster, heh heh."

Talia gasped, "You bad boy!"

'Nightmare' admitted, "Okay, cut the 'broken glass and the sneaking in air vents' part. All I really did was knock on the doors, but apparently, the doors were so old that they just broke off their hinges, so I technically broke in. Then, I just convinced the guy to retire. So he did, and then I excused him from the room, and that's all!"

Talia snorted with laughter before the warning bell had rung.

"C'mon," said 'Nightmare,' grabbing hold of Talia's hand, "Let's go and spectate the class on the balconies!" With that, he ushered Talia up the marble steps of the magnificent school while the breeze rustled at the sakura tree at the two's departure.

Meanwhile, Raine was finished sitting by her silent cousin as they were in the nurse's office. It felt kind of awkward in there, because only the patient's eyes moved while she was stuck in bed. Raine had the boys bring her cousin to there as soon as she found out where the nurse's office was. All that her paralyzed cousin could do though, was stare at Raine with vicious, unforgiving eyes.

Raine bowed her head as she whispered, "I'm sorry, Melody," she said, "But there's little I can do for you." Just then, Joy came into the room, while having her multiple, dark braids bounce around behind her.

Joy, in her nurse uniform, reassured Raine, "Don't worry, I promise that I'll take good care of your cousin."

Raine returned a small smile, and put her trust into Joy before she got up and briskly, walking out of the from the chilling room.

While Raine was striding down the hall, she lost track of where the others were. Devin had queried whether he should stay with her, but Raine had asked to be left alone for a moment. Devin was still reluctant before Tai had teased him about something that Raine did not here, before Devin chased after him.

Now the late bell had rung, and Raine squeaked in terror at the thought of a punishment for being late to class. She didn't mind that she was lost though, because she knew that she could always find her way back.

Raine silenced her breath for a moment and listened intently for the sounds of voices, but none could be heard. She grumbled as she began to stroke her brown ponytail with worry, knowing that she was clueless of where to go next. She glanced back behind her, hoping that someone had been waiting for her, but no one could be behind her but Melody. All of them had apparently scampered off with glee the moment that they were released from a horrendous classroom. It was a major surprise how none of them had gotten severely poisoned by the fumes in that icky lab room yet. It absolutely reeked in there apparently, but Raine didn't smell as much as the others did, because she was a mouth-breather, instead of a nose-breather. She had learnt to be one after she lived in what seemed like eternal filth.

Suddenly, Raine heard shuffling noises break the silence. In the hallway to the right of that curved around the nurse's office, Raine saw where the noise had come from. It was the girl who Sierra had introduced earlier.

Sunset, the girl who was excused from most classes, attempted to stuff a book in her backpack, but missed putting it in.

Feeling compassion, Raine approached the girl with a friendly smile, and the girl named Sunset, froze in her kneeling position. She saw Sunset trembled a bit in her place meekly as she heard someone unfamiliar approach her. Raine held out a hand bravely to help Sunset get up before she greeted her.

When Sunset had finally calmed down, she accepted the boost up before slamming her locker shut. This gave Raine some time to introduce herself, "Hey there, you must be Sunset. Sierra told me all about you. Plus, I also adore the color of your hair!"

"Thanks," smiled Sunset sheepishly, before she swung her tied-back hair behind her and grinned, "And I'm guessing that you must be Raine."

Raine yelped, "Oh, well, so everyone knows my name already? Word around here must spread quickly, right?"

"Oh, I'm sorry to be so sudden," apologized Sunset, scratching her hot-pink hair nervously as her other hand tugged at her single, yellow strand that was caught on her backpack, "I-I can just hear things really clearly."

Raine smiled, "Well, good for you!" To her surprise, Sunset did not react the way that she expected.

Sunset was frowning instead, "Ya, but it can be annoying too. My hearing has enhanced to make up for one of my senses. Imagine the world practically sound like its rumbling so much, that its seems like it might collapse on you. Every footstep I hear sounds like a stomp, every soft rain shower sounds like a roaring waterfall, and every piece of paper falling can sound like the wind. And Raine," she concluded, "I know that you're a cripple."

Raine's expression immediately turned to shock again as she thought, "Whatever they're doing, kids at this school definitely know how to creep people out! Maybe they're just not good at introducing each others. They can afford expensive classes here, but not the cheap ones?! Weird! They sure do need a socializing class." Raine broke out of her thoughts before she plastered on a weak smile from her terror, and squeaked, "But how do you know that? I can walk and run now with my two legs. Have we met before?"

Ignoring one of the questions, Sunset responded easily to the first question, "I know because you put down one leg harder than the other, almost as if you're limping. I can tell that your case isn't a limp though because I can practically hear your muscles crackling as if they haven't been used in a long time."

Raine's mouth dropped in awe, "Wow, that's amazing."

"Everything can come with a sacrifice though," smiled Sunset sadly as she had said her warning.

"How?" questioned an intrigued Raine.

Sunset hesitated before responding, "Do you really want to know? Some people get get weirded out by this."

Raine thought for a moment as her eyes whirled around the room, trying not to make contact or else they could catch some more of her untold tales. Her eyes went down to the floor, and she saw the book that Sunset had accidentally left on the floor. Carefully, Raine bent down and picked up the book. Surprisingly, it wasn't just any normal book. This book was a lot heavier and instead of paper pages, this one had stone tablets enclosed within it with stone carvings on each tablet. Raine thought that it was interesting as she handed the book back to Sunset. Then, she determined her answer to Sunset's question, "Well, if you don't want me to know and it makes you more comfortable that way, then you don't have to tell me. Neither, will I force you to."

Sunset took a deep breath before she finally put on a brilliant smile and saying, "I trust you." With that, she pinched one eye closed with one of her fingers, while opening the other eye slowly.

What Raine saw next, shocked her as it all made sense to her. The pieces of Sunset's curious mystery finally fit together, from an unusual lock on her locker that only required a thumbprint to unlock, all the way to why she had such an unusual, heavy book.

Raine gasped, "Why, you're blind!"

Instead of the vibrant colors that Raine expected to see, all that she saw within Sunset's eye was a dull, storm-blue iris that almost faded into the whites of this girl's eyes, while the what was supposed to be the dark center in her eye had practically faded into her iris.

Sunset smiled sadly as she closed that eyelid and confirmed it, "Yes, I am. To never see a sunset, and not see what beautiful objects cause such wondrous smells and rhythms as they whisk past me is heartbreaking."

An awkward silence occurred while they both digested this tragedy. The silence had finally broken when Raine bowed her head and whispered, "I'm sorry. If you ever need anything though, like earplugs, for those annoying noises, than just let me know, 'kay?"

Sunset grinned gratefully and responded, "Thanks, but I'll be fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a conversation to listen to."

Raine inhaled with shock as she shook her head at Sunset's misdeed. She was using her oddity to her advantage by eavesdropping on other people? That wasn't right, but if it was for catching other wrongdoers, than it couldn't be that bad right? After all, it was like shooting a school-shooter. Both sides were wrong in their own ways, but it was for the greater good sometimes. With that, Raine walked off without another question. It didn't take her long to find the others, because their bickering voices were now so loud that she thought that they were going to awake Mother Nature and bring spring early!

Meanwhile, Sunset crept upon a group of emotional friends. It didn't matter if she was hiding by one of the elaborate staircases or out in the open, these girls were so immersed in their pleas that they did not notice her. Apparently, the girls involved in this were Ani, Eve, Fern, and Cyndi.

Eve was begging as she shed desperate tears, "Please, Cyndi, just let us go home now! I'm sick of this place already. It's not fun."

Ani chipped in happily as she did not notice the others' terror, "Ya, it's not fun; it's killer fun!"

"As in literally!" barked Fern angrily at Ani, "This place was fun, but now it's might as well rain knives with so much havoc!"

"Please, you guys," begged Cyndi, "I can't do anything about this."

All of her friends shouted, "What do you mean?!"

Eve chipped in, "Ya, there's no way that you can't do it again, right? I was standing on the balcony back at Zombie High School, when I heard that Raine wanted dry clothes, and then you made them appear out of this swirly thingy."

Ani squawked, "Swirly thingy as in a portal!"

Fern nodded, "Ya. Then the moment that we were knocked out of our undead daze, the portal had appeared! It has to fit now doesn't it?"

Eve nodded, "Ya, you were there with every event that erm… portal appeared!"

Cyndi cried weakly as she felt cornered by the stairwell from her friends, "Ya, but… wasn't almost everyone else there too? It can't be me. I don't feel anything special run through me."

Fern asked crucially, "Then how do those things appear every time you're around?"

Cyndi trembled as she was being accused by her own friends, "I- I don't know, but it can't be me."

Eve then pointed out, "Then how else? Everything leads to you at this point."

With a few sentences, Cyndi had shut them down, "Look, you guys, I want to get out of here as badly as you do! You see this mess of my hair?! If I could, I would make it grow back, but I can't. Neither can I just wondrously teleport myself to some barber shop to fix-up this burnt mess of hair!" She ended their accusations right there, before she shed a few tears.

Her friends glanced at the charred wreck of hair, before they shamefully realized how badly they had treated Cyndi during their desperate moment. Silently, they hugged their miserable friend and apologized for how heartless they became at the thought of home.

While they did this, Sunset emerged out of her hiding place and strode off, knowing that this had proved something great to her: This excused Cyndi from their suspect list; she was not the one.

Greetings again, fellow readers! I decided not to put the quick note at the top of the story this time because of the intense cliffhanger on the last chapter, but here is the note at the end now! Sorry that this took a while to update, but ensuring good quality into this once again, ya know! I also forgot how Joy really was supposed to look, so my bad. I'm going tweak everyone's imagination now, including mine. Joy is actually supposed to have darker skin with brown braids along with beads on them. She still has sunflowers in her hair, and her keeps the same clothing; it's just her physical appearance that has changed so my bad that I had forgotten.