"Don't worry, I'll let you know once you get the grouping notification the anonymous speaker talked about." Mike whispered, then sat on the ground like a madman.
[This guy is hilarious! How can he just sit on the floor like that?] Leon muttered to himself before turning towards the bus.
"Aren't you joining?" Just as Leon boarded, he turned and asked. But in response, Mike shook his head and laughed.
"Have you forgotten what I said earlier? Give me a call once you receive yours, and I'll let you know." Mike whispered, then informed the driver that he wouldn't be boarding like the other students.
As the bus took off, Mike waved at Leon, who now stood at the seat he had sat and chewed the snacks, gazing through the window.
To Leon's surprise, Mike wasn't the only one who hadn't boarded. Nearly half of the students who had initially joined stayed behind.
"What's going on?" Just as Leon tried to get off and join those outside, he saw countless cars approaching. Some had strange appearances, while others had the similar feature he had seen all along.
But as one tinted black jeep passed by, Leon jolted back instantly. "What's that in the car?" He hid himself as if the world was about to end, remembering the face of the fifteen-foot alien from his dream.
"No… no, this can't be real! How can a person in real life have the same face as that alien?" Leon's body trembled as he tried to maintain a steady posture, since his movement had startled some students awake.
As the distance between the bus and the students standing on the pavement shrank, Leon lowered his head behind the seat in front of him and pretended to sleep.
Once the brake screeched, Leon jolted awake. Then, as he rubs his face to shake off the drowsiness, his fingers trace a strange, visible line.
Not only was he touching it, but just as he peered through the window, he saw them—thick, gnarled lines resembling the roots of an ancient tree.
Watching the remaining students descend from the bus, Leon grabbed his bag and then joined them outside the bus.
"Look at that boy's face." Once Leon stepped down, one student whispered and laughed as he pointed a finger at Leon.
Leon stiffened but brushed it off as he usually did when he wasn't in the mood to deal with annoying peers. But even as he walked past the bus and crossed the street, the student kept laughing.
"God, why?!" Glancing in the student's direction, Leon muttered under his breath but kept walking without looking back.
"I need to find something to eat; it's been eight hours, and not even water has passed my lips. Wow!" His stomach growled loudly as he reached the edge of Rustburrow, forcing him to clutch it with his left hand.
Lucky, he had arrived early enough to grab a meal before bed.
---
"Did you see your puppet's friend also standing outside as the bus drove off?" Sitting on her lavish pink-colored bed, Vera asked Tiger as they chat on a video call.
"Who? That black cat-looking guy?" Tiger laughed, then adjusted his phone before heading towards his drawer to retrieve one of his best VR games.
"Hey! Don't tell me you're about to play a game while we're talking!" Vera barked, spotting the VR headset in his hands.
"Oh, relax. I'm just setting it up so I can continue with an unfinished level I died on yesterday once we're done." He chuckled, then placed the headset on his king-sized bed.
"So, tell me, were you able to do what your uncle told you to do?" Vera asked, giving him a shy look.
"What are you talking about? I don't remember." Tiger sneered, then smiled. But still, his mind lingered on the answer to give.
[Wait! did she see the sheet when Uncle Gray slipped it into my hand?] Before he could figure it out, Vera laughed.
"What's on your mind? I'm talking about us moving in together in a quiet, remote place and enjoy ourselves for a month." As her laughter faded, she began to undress in a delicate manner.
As a matter of fact, Tiger was like a husband to her. No matter how many ladies or women he chased, she still cherished and loved fucking with him as if nothing else mattered.
"Vera…" Watching her undress, Tiger called on her name as he also began to remove his shirt. For a split second, he tilted his head and whispered quietly, "I'm not in the mood today; let's try something else."
Vera paused mid-motion, her hands still on her breasts. "Why? Why this sudden change of mind?" She slowly placed her bra back on.
"Nothing serious. I've a lot in my mind that needs to be complete before tomorrow comes." Tiger tilted his head towards his customized black shadowy wall, which contained his death list.
"Is it about the soldier who humiliated you?" Vera whispered, but before Tiger could turn his head, she burst into unrelenting laughter.
"Yeah…" As soon as Tiger responded, she collapsed onto her bed like a triumphant king.
"Wait—don't tell me you…" Watching how she laughed, Tiger knew exactly what would have made her act in that manner.
"That's right! I did exactly what you're thinking. Do you want to see his face?" Still giggling, she bent down towards her treasure box.
"Did you actually do it?!" Tiger froze. Though it wasn't his first time hearing something like that from Vera, yet, he was still shocked to see her carry the victim's head home.
"Aww… look at his lovely eyes…" She lifted the severed head from the box and traced her finger over its hollow eye socket as she sobs.
"They say I'm a monster, but you're worse!" Tiger bolted into a series of laughter as he saw the soldier's chopped head cradled in her hands like a gruesome artifact.
"Oh, stop—you're making me blush." As Tiger continues to tease and give her strange and murderous appraisals, Vera pressed the head's severed neck to her lips.
After sucking some blood from it, she licked her lips and smiled, showing her blood-stained teeth.
"Whoa! Did you just drink his blood?!" Tiger hopped in excitement, forgetting his VR headset was beside him.
"I know it's not your first time, but this is insane—sucking blood straight from the severed neck?! I would love to try that." Tiger kept cheering her, knowing one of his victims had been cleared.