What lurks beyond the dorm

That night, Julianne couldn't sleep.

She had tossed and turned for what felt like hours. The shadows on the walls looked longer than they should have been, stretching as though trying to reach her. She thought about earlier, about the strange boy and the one in her class with silver hair who seems to always be looking at her every time but has never spoken a word to her.

With a frustrated sigh, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand and turned it on. The screen lit up the darkness, a small comfort. She tapped into her messages, hoping for something, anything that could distract her. Maybe a message from the ones she wasn't expecting anyway.

Nothing.

No new messages. No signal bars. No Wi-Fi.

A frown settled on her forehead. She thought it was odd for a school like this not to have internet. To think of it, it was even more odd that she has never seen any student with a phone since she arrived.

She opened her settings and tried reconnecting, then turned the phone off and on again. Still nothing. No network. No internet. No service.

That didn’t make sense. Blackthorn might’ve been old and secluded, but surely they must have some connection to the outside world, she thought.

Putting on her cardigan, she slipped quietly out of bed. Maybe the signal was just weak in her dorm room. Maybe if she went closer to the main building, or near the library windows, she could catch a bar or two.

The hallway was empty, the sconces casting flickering light along the walls. Her footsteps were soft against the stone floors. She walked past the archway that led to the classrooms and turned down a path she hadn’t taken before. At first, she didn’t realize how far she had wandered. She thought she was heading toward the east wing. But instead, she met the edge of the forest that loomed behind her dormitory.

A thin mist clung to the ground, curling around her ankles. She paused when she suddenly noticed.

How had she gotten here?

She looked down at her phone. Still no signal. No matter where she stood.

She almost turned around, until she heard voices.

They sounded low, but urgent.

She hid herself behind a thick tree trunk, her heart pounding in her chest. Straight ahead, past a break in the trees, two figures stood in the clearing, dimly lit by the moonlight.

She was quick to recognize one of them immediately. It was Velvet. She couldn't mistake her long dark hair that covered the sides of her face. Her arms were crossed and she stood with a sharp posture. The other woman wore a long black coat. Silver strands threaded through her raven hair, and her presence sent a chill down Julianne’s spine.

Who was she? She wondered as she stayed hidden, straining to hear what they were discussing in the dead of the night and in a place like this.

"She’s not ready," Velvet said. "She doesn’t even know what she is."

"She doesn’t need to know," the woman replied, her voice smooth but cold. "Not yet. She’ll find out soon enough."

"But Mrs. Eldryn, are you sure she is the one? I mean, we've waited for so long and now it turned out to be someone who isn't even aware about the kind of blood she carries. Remember what happened with the last one we thought was the one."

Eldryn turned her head slightly. "I sensed it. Her presence is like a ripple, powerful and ancient."

Then her eyes narrowed.

“There is a strong presence here,” she said suddenly, voice sharpening. “Who is it?”

Julianne froze.

Velvet’s head snapped toward the trees.

Julianne wondered if it was okay to get caught in a moment like this. As she was busy weighing her chances, the ground began to tremble beneath her feet all of a sudden. The leaves rustled high above and the wind turned violent, sharp as a blade. And then, deep in the dark, she heard a growl.

It was low. Feral.

Julianne’s breath caught as she saw a creeping shadow behind her. She turned slowly around and a massive wolf stood just feet behind her. Its fur was black as night, eyes glowing gold and its fangs bared.

Another one stepped out from the trees. Then another. She was soon surrounded and she stumbled back into the clearing, heart thudding wildly. The wolves moved in a circle, snarling, their muscles taut.

“No,” Velvet gasped on seeing her. “She’s not—!”

“Stand down!” Eldryn’s voice rang out, commanding them.

The wolves stopped, trembling with restrained fury. One of them shifted, a horrible, twisting transformation that made Julianne’s stomach turn. Bones cracked. Limbs snapped. Fur melted into skin.

And then a boy stood in its place.

Barefoot, shirtless, with cold grey eyes.

"She's in our boundary. And now she's seen me," the boy said, looking at her dangerously.

"Why'd you come out here?" The headmistress asked Julianne who now threw up on the ground as the others shifted.

Velvet went to her but Julianne moved away, scared. She didn't know what Velvet was, and she didn't know if she could still trust her.

"You are all insane," she said and pushed back until she was leaning on a tree. Her eyes moved to look at the animals who had shifted and she saw the boy with silver hair in her class, standing behind the rest, watching her keenly.

"We came because we sensed a threat to the territory. She must be a spy sent by those people to hunt us down," one of the boys said.

"Yes, we should kill her here right now before she informs her people. We can't let her go free."

Julianne's body trembled in fear and she wanted to cry, but all the emotions were too much and they were affecting her in a bad way.

“Bind her,” Eldryn ordered softly. “She’s seen too much already. We'll wipe her memory instead."

“What?” Julianne breathed, voice hoarse.

Velvet stepped forward. “I told you to stay in your room no matter what,” she said quietly.

“You said I could trust you,” Julianne whispered, backing away and looking at her with unbelievable eyes. "I thought I had you this whole time, but you were just using me."

The boy walked toward her with a strip of leather in hand. She turned to Velvet in disbelief.

“Velvet, please. Don’t let them do this," she cried out and wished she could do something. Wished the strange thing that glowed in her skin would appear now of all days and help her out of the situation, but nothing.

“I’m sorry,” Velvet murmured.

The boy lunged at her and Julianne struggled, but he was too strong. The leather wrapped around her wrists, tight and unforgiving.

“No, stop! Please!”

“Knock her out,” Eldryn said, her voice calm. “She's being loud."

The last thing Julianne saw was Velvet looking away.

Then darkness slammed into her.