Serena woke up the next day earlier than she had expected. She stretched beneath her soft blanket, took one steadying breath and slipped out of bed. The water was cold against her skin, shocking her fully awake. She brushed her teeth, twisted her dark curls into a neat bun, and got dressed. This time she decided to dress prefect for Eldermere's chilly weather. She wore a cream colored cardigan, over a simple white lace top, pairing it with dark jeans and her favourite sneakers.
As she zipped her bag closed, a familiar knock tapped at her door.
"Please tell me you're ready," Elsie said peeking into the room with her signature bright grin. Her ginger curls tossing to her side, her eyes lit up when she saw Serena standing by the mirror.
" Morning Elsie," Serena beamed. Together, they stepped out into the early morning air.
The walk to class was far better than the day before; no tension, no running and best of all no stares. Just the gentle morning breeze. Elsie chatted about her theories on Eldermere and the secrets she believed the town hid from the world, while Serena listened with half an ear, letting her eyes absorb the world around her.
Her eyes casually roamed the campus enjoyed the beauty of the campus grounds. The library stood at the center, dividing all academic sessions of the school from the recreational and living quarters. It's towers were so tall, it's pale grey stone walls stood strong holding the entire building. The windows made with stained glass with mystical pictures drawn on them. It looked like a castle from a Disney movie. The stairs,were curved into the shape of an open book, it's pages fanning outward to create a grand entrance.
" Elsie..." Serena said, her feet slowing down, her eyes fixed on the library.
" Hm?" Elsie followed her gaze. "You said... you think the town is hiding something. That some parts of the history doesn't add up?"
Elsie's brows lifted, but she nodded. " I didn't think you were listening but, it's more than just the history," she said a frown on her face. " The town's records don't add up, missing people reports are never followed up and later completely disappear, timelines don't match. For one they don't even have a police system like the rest of the world neither do they have advanced weapons and the only security is the general and his men. If that's not shady then I don't know what is."
Serena turned her gaze back to the library building. " Then maybe we should check out the library see what we can find."
"What do you mean?" Elsie asked, her voice laced with enthusiasm.
"Well I would like to help you with your project, that's if you would let me" Serena said with a steady voice. She wanted to help Elsie out not because of she is interested in the town's secret, that's probably the least of her problems but she feels Elsie's project would bring her closer to finding the reason her father wanted her to come her and maybe, hopefully give a reason behind her strange visions.
" Really?!" Elsie bounced on her heels, " I knew you'd get hooked on it. It all seems very intriguing right?"
Serena chuckled. " Yeah I'm too curious to let it slide."
Classes passed in a blur after that. Thankfully she didn't have Mythology today, she didn't have to face the misery of being between them again. Her mind was clear all through her classes, she took down notes, avoided making eye contact with people generally remained invisible just as she had planned. After her last class was over she sprinted out of the academic building meeting up with Elsie beneath an oak tree near the library. They climbed the grand staircase together. A feeling of uncertainty plagued Serena but she brushed it off, this was a library, nothing bad happens in a library.
The heavy, old wooden doors creeked as the opened. Serena half expected the library to be deserted, just a large empty building filled with old dusty books but she was wrong. A surprising number of students moved silently between shelves,some already seated hunched over open books. The sunlight reflected from the stained windows given the library a magnificent colorful hue.
This enormous building was divided into two sections , the presently stood in the analogue section which housed all hardcopy books placed according to their genre on large wooden shelves. Past a glass wall was the digital section of the library with numerous glowing monitors. This was the only way students to access the limited Internet the school provided, but it was equally monitored.
" Okay," Serena said nudging Elsie. " Lead the way, professor."
Elsie grinned. " We're heading old school today. The truth always hides in the dust".
They weaved through the quiet aisles until they found themselves in a tucked away corner of the hardcopy section.
"This is where they keep most of the historical archives," Elsie whispered as they walked between shelves labeled with peeling stickers; Regional History, Founding settlements, Secrets of Eldermere.
" Don't be fooled by the titles, I have gone through these, but I figure two heads are better than one."
Serena trailed her fingers along the leather spines of the old dusty books. Most cracked and torn with age. " They have so much records of the town yet you can't find anything about it online."
"Yeah, I think they don't want people to realize their slip ups just like I did. They want to remain in the dark for a reason." They started to pull out massive tomes with embossed titles, most of their pages yellow with age and cryptic illustrations. Anything that looked remotely related to the town's origins, they took. With there arms full, they settled at a long wooden table near the rear of the library, where the light was softest and no one else was nearby.
For the next few hours, there was only the sound of turning pages, quiet breathing and the occasional sigh of concentration. They flipped through every page with the same concentration to detail as they had done the last, looking for anything that seemed out of place.