Chapter 2

Lucas felt light-headed when he awoke. When he looked around, all he saw was pure darkness. The sky had already darkened, and all he could see were the shadow of the trees and feel the moist earth that he was lying on.

He felt cold and trembled at the thought that he was alone there, not having a clue where he was. He had no memory of the events of what had happened before waking up in the strange woods.

He rose up, slightly alarmed, and noticed that his clothes were soaked. He was dressed in his shirt and pants. He knelt on the ground, searching to see whether he had anything with him. He gropes on the wet ground, looking for something useful to help him.

He brushed up against a piece of fabric. He continued to touch it, feeling the handle of the thing and supposing it was an umbrella. His head was filled with memories, and he remembered everything.

I was walking on my way to Eleanor's house when thunder erupted and lightning struck me. I felt the pain, it went through my body, but how? Why am I here? Where am I? What exactly is this place?

While trying to find his shoes, he heard the heavy footsteps of countless unknown creatures. As he sought to hide on the back of a large stone beside him, an unfamiliar fear crept into his chest.

Torches fueled by fire were used far away to illuminate the path of the men riding the creatures. Lucas couldn't take it anymore as he heard footsteps approaching his current location. Lucas covered his ears with both hands and closed his eyes to keep himself from panicking, feeling the tension flow through his veins.

Lucas was on the verge of passing out when a burning fire was swiftly pointed in his face, allowing him to react and dodge the scorching fire, keeping it from touching his face.

"Sire! I found a young man!" Lucas' ears were pierced by a man's yell, as if he hadn't heard a voice in a long time.

When he looked up to see who was speaking, he saw a man holding a torch and staring at him.

"Bring him over here!" a man ordered, with a voice full of authority.

The man who had seen him began to approach him closer, whilst Lucas, who was seated, began to back away. The man tightened his fist into the collar of Lucas' shirt. Lucas tried to free himself from the man who was grabbing his collar, but he was too powerful for him.

As the man stared at him with anger in his eyes, he swallowed. He was dragged out from behind the stone by the man. At the same time, Lucas felt afraid and hurt. His sluggish body wasn't strong enough to resist being dragged on the ground.

As the man let go, Lucas was kneeling on both of his knees in front of many men sitting on the horse-like beast. He felt numb, not looking up.

"Who are you and why are you in the woods?" asked the man seated over one of the creatures. The man who discovered him remained standing behind him, emotionless in his gaze.

Lucas couldn’t find his own voice, not being able to talk. The man kicked him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground and kiss the earth.

"Stop the violence, Chase." Lucas raised his head a little to see who was speaking. It was a man dressed in a gleaming metal armor. His eyes widened as he realized what was happening.

This is too impossible!

"Understood." Chase, the man, knelt down and supported Lucas on his right arm as he stood up.

"He must be in shock." The man stated while looking at Lucas directly. Lucas felt a rush of excitement in his chest as he stared at him in disbelief and amazement.

"Bring this young man with us. He'll be imprisoned for quite a while."

*     *     *     *     *

Lucas had been gone for weeks. Eleanor was left wondering where he had been for all those days when he hadn't even shown up at school.

There are nights where she dreams of him, running through a dark forest full of huge trees that seem to be alive. She chased him, but never got ahold of him. Every time she woke up, she was catching her breath, her heart was pounding so fast, and her bed was wet with sweat.

Eleanor needs to get her act together. Her midterm exam is approaching, and she must do everything she can to ace it.

Everyone is burying their heads in their books and notes as they go down a bustling corridor; some are reading silently, while others are reading aloud. Those who read quietly frown at those who read aloud. While others are busy doing simply what they want.

"Hey Eli, how have you been?" Sheila, a friend of Eleanor, asked her. She was a tall, beautiful girl who always carried books on her right arm.

"I’m fine. What about you? How was your vacation with your family?" Eleanor closed the door of her locker gently so as not to cause a loud noise to distract the other students.

"Well, I got dragged into the water again. Ugh. No matter what I say, my family never listens when I say I’m afraid of the sea." Sheila said, rolling her eyes. She kept on talking while making their way into their classroom for the first subject.

"Anyways, has he shown up yet?" Sheila, pertaining to Lucas.

Eleanor stepped immediately into the classroom after opening the door and saw that their lecturer was still arranging papers on her desk with her back to the door.

"No. He hasn’t." she answered as they sat in their seats at the back.

"What if he had already run away?" Sheila asked, her head tilted and her gaze fixed on her.

"Why would he run away?" Eleanor chuckled.

"Oh, come on, maybe he did something that would anger you." She tried to convince her.

"Shei, I know him. He won’t run away because of something like that. I trust him. He has a reason why he’s not here. But I know that he’s coming back." She smiled at Sheila and went back to unpacking her belongings in preparation for their class.

Eleanor has always been known as the top achiever in her class. She gives it her all in whatever she does, especially in school. Because of her talent, she was admired by many.

She sat there all day, listening to the lectures and not thinking about Lucas.  She was in the midst of her final class period of the day. Eleanor used her phone to divert her attention away from her thoughts.

"Attention now, class, the president of the student council is here to make an announcement." The president was invited inside by the professor, who motioned her inside.

Eleanor sighed as she glanced at the lovely president.

"Hello and good afternoon. My name is Ava, and I am the president of the student council, as you are all aware. I'm here to inform that the grand ball will take place within the next two weeks on campus. You are all welcome to attend, and you may come alone or with a companion. It is a formal event, so no sneakers are allowed." She smiled broadly as she looked around the room, including at Eleanor.

The students then excitedly discussed their plans for the ball with one another. While others are simply admiring Ava's beauty. As she walked out the door, the class fell silent once more because their lecturer was quietly looking at them.

Eleanor just stared blankly at the ceiling. After all, she couldn't escape it. When she heard about the ball, the first person who came to mind was Lucas. They had both anticipated it and had already decided to be each other’s partners.

I only hope that he’s back by the time of the grand ball.

"Class dismissed."

She blinked twice as she realized that the class was already over.

Oh, I spaced out. Great!

Eleanor began to gather her belongings and stuff them into her backpack. Sheila had already completed packing her stuffs and was assisting Eleanor in retrieving her belongings.

"Can you accompany me to my locker? If you’re not busy or something." Sheila asked Eleanor. Having no second thoughts, Eleanor agreed to come with her.

Walking on the marble floor, Eleanor could hear the footsteps of everyone. The sound of Sheila’s heels touching the floor echoed through the halls, blending with the other sounds of the people.

Arriving at their locker, Eleanor decided to put some of her books inside her locker. Books that she won’t be needing for the time being.

"Are you done?" asked Sheila.

"Yep." Eleanor answered. Sheila looked sideways, unsure of what to say. "What is it?" she asked.

"Would you like to eat somewhere with us?" A girl suddenly appeared to her left, causing Eleanor to lean closer to her locker door.

She turned to her left, seeing Ava smiling at them.

Eleanor felt nothing. It’s been a long time since the last time the three of them talked to each other. They were originally BFFs, but since Ava became the student council president, she barely talked to them.

"Why don’t you eat with those famous kids, Ava?" Sheila interrupted. Eleanor looked away and pretended she hadn’t heard anything.

"Come on, I just missed the three of us hanging out together." Ava, still smiling, tried to touch Eleanor’s shoulder, but Eleanor immediately walked away from Ava as fast as she could.

"Not interested." Sheila answered.

As Eleanor felt her breath running out, she stopped on the side of their building and tried to catch her breath slowly. Looking around, it seems like the other students have already gone home.

She decided not to take the bus and walked home. She kicked every stone she came across on the sidewalks. Until she found herself standing on the front porch of someone else’s house.

Before knocking on the wooden door, Eleanor took a big breath. Her heart was pounding as she knocked.

A woman greeted her as the door opened. "Dear Eleanor?"

Seeing the eyes of her lover’s mother made Eleanor miss the presence of Lucas.

"How have you been, Mrs. Ferrington?" Eleanor asked worriedly.

"Oh dear, why don’t you come in and sit with me." She invited her. Eleanor agreed without hesitation.

When she entered the house, she noticed a family photograph of the Ferringtons on the living room wall. When she saw a photo of herself and Lucas when they were younger, she smiled a little.

She sat on the soft couch while Mrs. Ferrington excused herself to make tea for her. She looked around the cozy home. Lucas's father was standing in the corner of the living room, looking out the window.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Ferrington." She greeted him. He turned to her and gave her a nod, acknowledging her presence.

"Here you go." Mrs. Ferrington appeared, holding a teacup with smoke coming out of it. She sat down with her and gently placed the tea on the coffee table.

"Has Lucas been in touch with you yet?" Eleanor was questioned by Mrs. Ferrington. Eleanor fidgeted with her fingers as she stared at her lap.

"Not yet. I was hoping to hear from him, but he hasn’t left a single message." Eleanor said, leaning on the sofa’s backrest, as she felt her body losing some vitality.

"I will notify you when he comes home. It is really unusual for him to disappear just like that." Lucas’s mother said, her eyes filled with concern, looking at the family photo of them.

Eleanor felt good, conversing with Mrs. Ferrington and, at the very least, helping her to calm down. Upon finishing her tea, she said her goodbyes to the couple. Mrs. Ferrington escorted her off from their home's front porch.

"Remember to take a break." Mrs. Ferrington spoke up before Eleanor walked away. Eleanor turned around to see the lady comfortingly smiling at her.

But she knew that behind that smile, Mrs. Ferrington was worried.