Awakened

Chapter 2

When Eloa was a child her Mom used to take her driving in the afternoons when her father was not there. They would drive through the country lanes with loud music playing on the stereo and the wind would blow through her hair and she used to laugh and laugh at her Mom singing along with the song playing on the stereo. It was one of the memories that came to her mind on this car ride. But it was nothing like that, not even close.

She was sitting in the back of the limousine that her father had gotten at the airport and now they were driving towards the college where she was going to be dumped for an entire year before she could go home again. It was a privilege given to students only if they showed signs of change and improvement at all. Her father had not spoken a single word with her in the course of the entire journey and neither had she. She was not going to beg him for forgiveness or say anything which showed that she was weak. Neither was she going to cry. She had seen enough weak women in her eighteen years and she had also seen that they were always trampled underneath the boots of men. Be it their will, be it their resistance and be it their wishes and happiness. You did what the man of the house said.

Finally they reached the gates of the college. The iron gate looked like it had been forged a century ago. It was a clear six feet tall and made of twisted black rods. At the end some were curled in convoluted patterns and opportunist spiders had created webs there. The latch lifted with ease and it swung open almost without sound. Whatever this place was it was occupied and maintained. And there was a biometric and digital lock on the gate as well which allowed them to enter soundlessly. It could only mean that their arrival was expected.

Once they reached the building Eloa looked at the stone walls in wonder. It looked like a huge castle, which had been converted and was now being used as an institution for the ones who were clinically insane but had slighter chances of becoming better. It almost looked like she was standing at the doorways of Arkham Asylum and any moment Dr. Scarecrow was going to come out with his briefcase to make her scream and cower with fear.

The driver came out silently as he put out the two suitcases which she had packed and kept it on the gravel path. Her father came out and stood beside her as she watched the blue door which opened a middle aged bespectacled man came out with a congenial smile.

“Hello there, you must be Ms. Atwood and Mr. Atwood. Welcome to St. Augustus’,” said the man as he shook hands with her father. She did not come forward and both the men spoke in hushed tones and bit far away from her. The man nodded at him and he said,” Yes yes of course I understand…”

Then her father came to her and Eloa almost felt that there were tears in his eyes and said,” We have given you every opportunity we could think of El. And this is the last one, I hope you make better decisions and judgment this time when it comes to choosing them. Have a good year and we will come to take you home for the summer holidays.”

Eloa could only nod at him. No hugs and no emotional display of affection. It was all so professional. Her father got in the limousine without looking at her again drove away leaving her there. Yet she did not feel sad. Rather Eloa, did not feel anything at all. It was just like she was empty and lonely and then suddenly the man said,”Ms. Atwood, please if you will follow me.”

She looked at her bags and gestured at them while he waved it away with a hand and said,” It will be taken care off. Come on now.”

And they the gates opened and Eloa stepped inside the doorstep and for the first time in her life she felt alive. It felt like a ten pound cloak on her was lifted off immediately and her hands and feet were lighter. She looked at the man in shock and he nodded understandingly,” The first time is indeed the most difficult to understand but you will see that this place is the perfect habitat for you. After all, you are not built or a world of the human beings till now. They do not understand you.”

“Understand me? What is happening here exactly? I don’t understand!!” said Eloa, with panic close to her voice.

“Come on dear. You will understand everything in time. But just know that you are safe,” said the man as he waved a hand and the scene befuddled her mind. It was nothing less than a Harry Potter movie. Suddenly the corridors were all bursting with students in dresses and books in their hands and she started walking. She earned a few looks but not enough to make her feel like she was an animal at the zoo.

“What is this place?” she asked as she jogged up to the man and he said,” It will be best if you hear everything that you need to from one of your fellow students. And I would like to ask you to keep an open mind. Just know that we are here to help you achieve and unlock your full potential.”

As soon as he finished his sentence as if by some magical signal a girl with bright pink hair appeared before her.

“This is Melanie and she is going to be sharing her room with you. She joined us a few years back and now she is one of our senior students. Your case is really unique so it is best that you listen very carefully to everything that she has to say,” said the man as he smiled at her and then left her in the middle of the desolate corridor with the girl named Melanie.

“Hi,” she chirped brightly as Eloa said a quitter Hi and then walked along with her.

“So is it true what I am hearing about you? That you sawed off the head of a horse? Like that movie Godfather?” she asked with unusual amount of glee in her voice which made Eloa look at her with interest.

“That is an exaggeration,” said Eloa, quietly as the girl laughed and said,” Come on, this is the most romantic and best version that you have heard yet. Wait till you hear what the others are talking about you and then you will understand that how bad you need a friend in a place like this. This is just not a normal college, girl.”

“I never had any friends in my life. All my life back at home everyone thinks I am a freak and then my eyes are not helping in any way. How bad it can be?” asked Eloa, with a scoffing tone.

The girl stopped and then paused,” Listen well dearie, it is going to be bad. Really bad. There is no dearth of back stabbers in this place but once you get friends like me then you will know what it means to be sisters for life.”

“My name is Eloa. Everyone calls me El for short,” said Eloa as she smiled at the pink haired chick. She liked the girl, despite the desolate and gloom look of this huge place her bright pink hair cheered her up.

“Wow!! Nice and cool name babe. I like you already. And you know what, if you killed something or someone, I am pretty sure you have a good reason for it and I want to hear all the details when we are in our room,” said Melanie as she added,” You can call me Mel. And wait till you meet my older sister Bellamy. She is one year older than us and we will be meeting for tea in the afternoon. Come on, let’s get you settled.”

As they walked in the room Eloa and Melanie were greeted by a pungent greenish smoke which made their eyes water and choke and cough and Eloa whispered,” Chlorine.”

And then they heard peals of laughter from behind them. Eloa pulled Melanie back as she was afraid someone might throw a light match and chlorine was flammable. They would instantly burn to death. Once her eyes stopped watering she carefully looked at the girl who was clearly the leader of the Mean Girls team.

“Well hello there, newbie? Like our little welcome surprise? We hoped that it will help you remember slightly about the morgue where your parents found you,” said the girl. Behind Eloa Melanie growled menacingly and she said,” You are going down Taylor. You are going down bad.”

Eloa did not say anything as Taylor waited for a response and Eloa put an arm on Mel’s hand and said,’ Let it be, Mel. I have seen a lot like her. If Bitchy Barbie here thinks that she can scare me off with a smoke bomb filled with chlorine then she has got to do better than that. She does not know when I might have the interest in drawing blood and cut up her pretty face in sleep.”

And just like that the b***h named Taylor glared at her and her team huffed away from there and Mel broke into laughing fits as she held her stomach and said,” Girl you are epic. Really!! I would have loved to capture the look on her face when she shot you with her eyes. It was epic…cutting up her face in sleep. Holy s**t!! No kidding …you are really good.”

For the first time that day Eloa smiled and she really felt peaceful which she had not felt her whole life. It was good to have even one friend.

Eloa and Melanie finally entered the room when everything dissipated and they sat on their beds and discussed about sharing the room and then Eloa asked,” What is it that the Headmaster told you to tell me? And he also asked me to have an open mind. I mean, illusions are nice tricks but I just want to know that what is the real deal of this place?”

“Well the real deal of this place is that none of us are normal human beings and neither are you. Every single year once when the children who are studying here reaches a certain age, that is eighteen they have to undergo a ceremony which divides them into factions at the school. Now the factions are your family when you are here and they are the places which will help you to grow in your potential,” said Melanie as she looked at Eloa who was still not looking very much satisfied with the details.

“You are telling me nothing at all really. Everything is so vague and you are not giving me details of any kind Mel,” said Eloa as she looked at the pink hair and Melanie sighed deeply.

“You are a tough cookie along with being smart. No doubt that you did not settle well there,” said Melanie as she opened her drawer and said,” I was not planning to do this till tomorrow morning but then again I am sure that you would not believe until you see some kind of proof.”

Eloa waited to see what this girl was going to do and the saw that she pulled the stopper from the vial and drank the contents of it. And then closed her eyes and shook her head once and immediately her bright pink hair changed colour and turned into a beautiful shade of lime green. Eloa did not know that her mouth was hanging open and her eyes were as wide as saucers.

“How did you do that?” asked Eloa and Mel smiled and said,” Magic.”