Chapter 8: Disaster

“So, I heard that the school you were at was attacked.” said E.J suddenly while we were all eating dessert.
“Yes, it was, but I fixed it.” said Lou, looking at me worriedly.
“Who was it?”
“Noir.”
“Oh, that bastard, better him than someone stronger though.”

Suddenly Ike butted in.
“I don’t think this is appropriate conversation in front of our guest.” he said. I looked at him and he smiled, blushing slightly.
“Thank you, Ike.” said Walter, still glaring at E.J. Ike blushed even more and looked down at his food.
“Well, I’ll show our guest to his room.” said E.J suddenly, standing up and pulling out my chair. Lou stood up.
“No. I will show our guest to his room. You will stop being so rude or you will be asked to leave.” E.J sat down without saying a word. Lou smiled at me and I followed him out of the room.

“Sorry about that, he’s really inappropriate sometimes.” he said to me while we were walking up the staircase. It had gotten very dark outside. There were lit candles all the way up the staircase which were covering everything in an eerie glow.

“It’s ok, you told me to expect weird things to happen, so I am.”
He laughed, “You can pick a room if you want, there are quite a few to choose from. Although they do mostly look the same inside.”
“Erm...I don’t really mind as long as there’s a bed” I chuckled.
“Ok.”, he opened one of the many doors and led me into a room. It was dark inside but as we walked in the lights beside the bed came on. It looked similar to Lou’s room except nothing was as big.

“There’s a bathroom through there and a smaller wardrobe but it’s pretty much the same.” he said. I nodded.
“Well, if you need me you know where my room is.” he smiled, leaving the room and closing the door. I sat down on the bed, which was really soft and comfortable. I sighed. This had all happened so fast I didn’t really know what to think. I was worried about my mum and dad. Would they notice I was gone or had Lou already thought of a plan? I was also worried about Victor. He didn’t have any parents so he lived in a care home. I couldn’t bear thinking about him alone and I knew that he didn’t get on very well with the other children. I lay back on the bed, secretly hoping that Victor would suddenly appear and say that he was going to stay with us. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight. Although Lou was my friend, I’d only known him for a couple of weeks and there was still so much I didn’t know about him. I went over to the wardrobe and changed into some pyjamas, then went and sat back on the bed. This room was huge, and it felt kind of lonely. I hugged my knees to my chin. I suddenly felt like crying. Suddenly Lou opened the door and came into the room.

“Hey Tim, I was just wondering if you...” He stopped and looked at me. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
I shook my head, scared to speak in case I cried. He closed the door and came over, sitting on the bed next to me. I noticed that he was still wearing his suit, only he had taken off his jacket and tie and his waistcoat was undone.
“If it’s because of my friends I’m sorry, they can be a bit...loud and obnoxious sometimes.” I shook my head again, really wishing that he would leave me alone; I hated crying in front of people. He shuffled closer to me so that his shoulder was pressed against my own.

“I understand. You’re in a strange house with strange people and you’ve seen a lot of weird stuff today. Is that it? If you want, I could sleep in here tonight so you’re not on your own.” I knew he was really trying to comfort me but it wasn’t working, I could still feel tears prickling in my eyes. I shook my head, “I think I’ll be fine.” He didn’t look convinced. He stood up and took off his waistcoat, hanging it up in the wardrobe.

“You’re not fine. I’m staying here.” he said bluntly, unbuttoning his shirt. Then he sat back down next to me.
“I know this is a big house, but there’s nothing to be scared of, trust me.”
“That’s not it, I’m just a little out of place, and I’m worried about Victor.” I mumbled into my sleeve.
“Don’t be. Victor’s fine by himself, I’m sure.” He walked out of the room.

He came back a few minutes later wearing some pyjama pants and a thin dressing gown which was open and was hanging off his shoulders. I suddenly noticed how pale he was. He closed the door and shuffled onto the bed next to me. I was still sitting in the same position, worrying that if I moved I would cry.

As he moved over to me, his dressing gown slipped off his shoulders and I noticed that he had tiny bruises all over his left arm, mostly on his wrist. He pulled his dressing gown back on quickly but he knew I had seen them.
“How did you get those?” I asked suspiciously, hoping that it would take my mind off being depressed.
“It’s a long story.” he answered quickly, obviously wishing that I wouldn’t want to hear any more about it.
“There’s a lot I don’t know about you isn’t there?”
“Yeah, definitely.” he sighed.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion. The room shook violently and I was thrown back off the bed.

The last thing I remember seeing was a large cloud of ash as the room collapsed around me.