We can escape if we make it to the staircase!
“Whoa!”
Dark had stumbled. He couldn’t keep the same pace as usual at his current size, and staying shut in his room for so long meant he’d lost muscle mass, too.
Sweat dripped down my brow.
My safety was the priority of the Liddell family. Leeds, Jack, and the twins would do whatever it took to save me, even if it put their lives in danger.
But to me, there was no one more important than Dark. I wanted to protect him just as the others did with me.
That was why running from the beast wasn’t enough. We would have to make a bold move, or it would catch up to us before we reached the staircase.
I felt a breeze overhead and watched the monster land in front of me.
“What?!”
Our path to the staircase was blocked. I skidded to a stop and blocked Dark from going forward.
Dum and Dee were in front of us, holding their weapons protectively.
“Take another staircase, Alice.”
“Take another staircase, Alice.”
“You too, twins. I’ll put a stop to this thing.” Dark waved his cane, which shot a grain of light out of the tip and formed a crest-shaped wall between us.
The monster rammed at the wall of light. With each heavy thud, fissures formed in the crest itself.
“It doesn’t look like it will last for long.”
“This way!”
We spun around and went back the way we came.
Dashing through the hallways lined with stuffed bats, we finally reached the dance room with the old piano. I realized the door had been left open this entire time.
We can stop the monster here.
The door could only be locked from this side.
“Dum, pick up Dark and run! Dee, get Jack and Leeds and head to the chapel!”
“Got it.”
“Got it.”
Once Dum scooped up Dark, the three of them ran out of the room. I closed the massive door. I rushed to lock it—but that was when the twins returned. They’d noticed something shocking.
“Alice?”
“Alice?”
“Just leave me behind! I can take care of things myself!”
My shouting was met with a bewildered retort.
“Alice, this is…”
“A death flag.”
“Ah!”
The blood drained from my face. I’d accidentally turned myself into the character who sacrifices herself to stop the oncoming danger in a disaster movie.
“I-It’s all right! Let’s meet at the chapel!”
I said goodbye, stepped back from the door, and looked around.
I need to find a place to hide.
The broken piano wouldn’t help, nor would the bench with its cracked legs.
“That’s it!”
I remembered the door with the lion and unicorn engraved in its face and ran toward it. I found the gold and silver keys on the keychain and stuck them in the locks.
The keys turned without resistance, and the door swung open with a sharp creak.
I quickly went inside and closed the door behind me. The monster just made it into the dance room but didn’t know where I was.
I hope Dark and the twins went straight to the chapel…
I kept walking forward so I wouldn’t be near the door in case the monster broke through. A small wooden staircase was nearby—likely a way to reach the fifth floor.
I crept toward it, careful not to make noise.
“It’s…a hallway?”
The hallway connected the western and eastern towers. I happened to be right in the very center. To my right was a stack of furniture blocking the way. I could head left, but old suits of armor and spears covered the torn rug.
It seemed this place was a forgotten storage room from long ago. It was the perfect place to hide. Although, there was a frigid wind blowing in from the broken windows, so I knew I wouldn’t last long. I needed to find something to wear.
Curtains were hanging on the walls all over the hallway that would do the trick. They were nothing more than tattered rags to protect portraits from sunlight, but it was better than nothing.
I walked down the hallway, looking for one that was clean.
All of the figures peeking out from the fabric were wearing the same black tailcoats. I couldn’t see their faces well, but I knew they were portraits of past Ark School students. The curtains were cleaner the further down I walked, as the portraits were becoming more recent.
The one closest to the corner was practically new.
That would be the one. I yanked the cloth. The clasp dislodged, knocking me to the ground with the curtain. A layer of dust flew up and then rained down on me.
“Urk… They definitely don’t clean here.”
With teary eyes, I looked up at the portraits. It was too dark to see the student in the portrait clearly. He seemed to be sitting in a chair, looking in my direction…
But as soon as I was about to look away, a bolt of lightning lit up the sky.
“Huh?”
My eyes nearly fell out of my head when I laid eyes on the illuminated portrait.
He had sleepy eyes and a slender nose. The way his lips curved into a smile made him look more feminine, in a way.
The young man’s face was one I knew very well.
“Leeds?”
I stood up. Another lightning bolt allowed me to get a good look at the portrait. Their features were exactly the same. But there was one striking difference.
The boy in the painting had bright strawberry-blonde hair. Leeds had gray hair tinged with green.
I was so confused. Who was this person?
I squinted at the rusted nameplate underneath the portrait.
It was too dark to see. That was until another bolt of lightning came to my rescue.
Prefect Ulysses Cheshire.
They were different names. Maybe it was someone else, after all. When I cocked my head, I heard a voice call out to me.
“I’ve been looking for you, my lady.”
“Leeds…”
Leeds found me. He came straight toward me, paying no mind to the pitch-black hallway.
“It looks like the monster is gone, so come on, let’s get a move on.”
“Tell me something before that. How did you get in here?”
I’d locked the door behind me, and I had his keys. He’d even come from the opposite direction that I did. Maybe he found another passageway.
But instead of answering, Leeds stared at the portrait on the wall.
“It looks just like me. What a great painting.”
“Answer me, Leeds.”
Lightning cracked again. That was when I realized the boy in the painting had a scarf draped over his lap. It was light pink, just like the one Leeds was wearing around his neck.