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Destrõy Me - Episode 1 & 2
(Her•Heartless•Monster)
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Copyright © 2024
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GLENNVILLE, 10AM*
Only the sound of the groaning taxi engines filled the silent road as it drove through under the mild morning sun.
It's as if the taxi is the only one on the road, and it's understandable since the town is not very populous.
The middle-aged driver drove in the front with all his squared attention while his passenger sat at the backseat, covering her face with the novel she's reading.
At the back of the novel, Twilight was written decoratively in beautiful small letters.
Soft sighs were escaping her nostrils from time to time like she was payed to do the exercise, and at the third one, she dropped the book, revealing her unique eyes.
She's wearing a short flower-print ruffled dress that has just one shoulder.
A single-strand pearl choker necklace sat pretty on her neck, the bracelet on her wrist, and the earrings on her ears.
She released another sigh, taking the novel again. She opened to a particular page and brought out her admission letter.
She received it last week, and she decided immediately that she was gonna come without minding the oddness surrounding the whole thing.
She never applied for admission to the University. She stayed homeschooled with her father all her life, so how the letter came for her is still a mystery she's not ready to solve.
She just wants to get to the school and experience another phase of life different from before. She wants to make friends, meet new people, especially the guy from her dreams.
That thought made a thin smile appear on her lips, and the driver grinned from the front when he saw her smile.
"Finally a reaction from you." He voiced, sliding the car into a bend.
"What do you mean?" Twilight's voice came meekly, but firmly.
"I mean... You didn't talk or cough since you entered my taxi. Your face stayed hidden behind your novel" the man replied jovially.
"I'm just not used to talking to people" Twilight simply said, rubbing her clean fingernails that are paint-free.
"I understand. Only freaks go to University of Glennville, and you're the third new student I'd be driving there this month" the driver talked further.
"Freaks?" Twilight shifted uncomfortably on her seat.
"Who else goes to a school where a student go missing every month if not freaks?" The man shrugged.
"The rumor about a student going missing every month is actually true?" Twilight asked without blinking her long lashes.
"I dunno the details, but if it's not true, then the school should have said something about it. They've been keeping quiet and the rumors are starting to look true. Anyways, stay safe young girl" the man said, concentrating back on the road.
Twilight returned the letter back in-between the book, biting her lip slowly. It's an habit whenever she's anxious or impatient.
Is it crazy that the truer the rumours look, the more eager she is to get to the school?
Maybe she's insane.
Nope. Cancel the maybe. She's actually insane.
_Stay calm, Twilight_ a voice said in the air, and she drew recognized it immediately.
It's the voice that soothes her everytime.
She calmed down and fished her phone out of the small bag.
By now, the driver is driving up the low hill, and the city streets disappeared behind them already.
She dialled her father's line, but the network is so bad that it's hanging on its own. There's no signal at all.
She bit her lip again as the driver brought the taxi to a stop in front a long imposing black gate.
They're up on the hill right now, and the driver is surely a professional cos she felt no stir.
"We're here" he told her.
She kept her phone and hung her bag on her arm before stepping out of the taxi, facing the gate.
The gate commanded attention and inspired awe, as if guarding the secrets and mysteries that lay within the university compound.
Adorned with strange symbols and glyphs, the gate was guarded by two stone statues, and the surroundings of the fence are all on the edge of sharp cliffs, so no one can break in without falling to their demise.
The tight defense made Twilight's stomach roll, and she brushed her hair to the back of her ear.
The driver cleared his throat behind, a cue for her to get back in the car so he can drive her into the compound, but then another taxi drove up the hill, pulling up behind the first taxi.
Twilight's eyes widened when her father, Greg came down from the taxi, wearing black shades.
"Papa? You followed me?" She said surprisingly, and immediately the old man removed his shades, the taxi driver gasped.
Greg's eyes are all white. He has no eyeballs at all, but he sees clearly.
"I just wanted to see my daughter again before you'd enter that evil gate" he said frankly, and Twilight smiled big as he gathered her in a warm fatherly hug.
*
ARGENTUM PSYCHIATRIC HOME, SPECIAL WARD 4*
The faint beeping of a monitor rang softly in the ward like a dark melody, connected to someone in bed.
It's a guy, and his eyes are closed, his thin lips are cracked and pale, and the oxygen mask on his nose covered is with fog.
He's in a coma. He has been in the induced coma for two years now.
The essential machines are all surrounding him, and the drip stand is intact too where an IV fluid is dripping into his body.
He was motionless at first, but the smallest finger in his right hand suddenly moved.
A second after that, a doctor came in with a tray of his medications which she dropped on the table.
She picked a small bottle of midazolam and carefully inserted the syringe into it, drawing the required amount.
She pulled it out and brought it to the drip, carefully inserting it into the fluid bag.
She was about to release it when the mad-red eyes of the patient flew open like a curtain ripped apart.
He sat up fast and snatched the injection from the doctor, shoving it into her right eye.
Before she could scream, he drew her head to the monitor and slammed it brutally.
Blood filled her face as he released her, and she fell dead beside the bed.
He stood from the bed afterwards, but the world spun in his eyes, and he fell back weakly.
Cold, heavy breaths ran out of his nose as he brought up his two hands, and immediately he saw no ring, he knew the reason for his weakness.
"Those c+cks+ckers" he muttered, his voice chilly as he tried to stand again.
He had to support himself with the wall as he walked to the bathroom attached to the ward, his hair sprawling to his face.
His red eyes were turning, and his head was spinning. His legs were unstable on the ground too, and his stomach was growling.
He stopped by the bathroom door when he remembered that making contact with water without his ring will make him even weaker
He turned back, returning to the doctor's body with dragging breaths.
He took off her white coat which is luckily not stained.
He put it on and got her nose mask too.
He left the ward disguised as the doctor, not minding his barefoot.
The cold floor was freezing his feet as he made his way down the silent hallway.
He wants to kill everyone in this building right now, but without his ring, they'd probably put him in coma again before he'd even kill one.
How dare they?
How dare they put him in a f+çking coma!
His eyes caught a calendar at the old reception, and when he saw today's date, he calculated he was in coma for two years.
Two f+çking years? Oh gawd.
His eyes turned again, and he held his head as he stepped out of the hospital, using another three minutes to walk to the gate.
The sun shone brightly on him as he walked the road barefooted. It's like the goddamn sun is draining his remaining energy, and he's about to pass out, but he can't.
He just can't.
His legs were shivering, and sweat was pooling at his armpits, face and palms as he blindly made his way to the University.
He needs to get his ring back and then kill everyone.
*
UNIVERSITY OF GLENNVILLE*
"I brought your favorite black woolen sweater. Can't believe you forgot it" Greg said after breaking the hug.
He brought the small bag containing the sweater out of the second taxi.
"Thanks pa" Twilight smiled again.
The first driver is still looking at Greg's eyes somehow, so he quickly used his shades back.
"If you find anything horrible, call me and I'll come get you. If you can't reach me on phone, then write me a letter. I heard the post office works well here" he told Twilight.
"Sure...will do" she replied.
Greg gave her one last hug and stroked her chestnut hair affectionately before getting back in his taxi.
He was waving through the window as the taxi drove down the hill till it went out of sight.
Twilight got back into her own taxi, and the driver blew the honk. A man in brown suit came out to them.
He's holding some files, wearing perching spectacles.
"Name?" He asked.
"Twilight Kent" Twilight replied, and he took a short glance at his files before looking back at her weirdly.
"Your admission letter?" He asked, and she gave it to him.
He looked at the name of the sender, and a small frown formed on his face.
"You received this from Jenna Parker?"
"Yes?" Twilight replied, more of a question than an answer.
Was it a fake letter? Will she have to go back home?
"Welcome to UOG" the man finally said, returning the letter to her.
She took a breath of relief as two doormen opened the wide gate, and the taxi driver drove into the compound.
It's a castle with exactly fifteen towers piercing the sky, several lecture halls and administrative buildings, all with stone walls.
Whatever this place is, it's not a joke cos she felt goosebumps rile up her skin immediately the air hit her.
There are overgrown gardens sprinkled around the centers, and the air is heavy with the scent of damp stone.
Open-mouthed statues of dragons stood in front of every building like stallions, and water is flowing out of the mouth of some of them.
The driver pulled up softly on a good spot, and she stepped out on the cobblestoned ground.
She got her trolley bag out of the car trunk and payed the kind driver.
"I'm sure you can feel it too. This school is something else" he said, still smiling as he got back in his car.
"Goodbye, Miss Twilight" he saluted before driving off
Twilight then saw another girl at a short distance, carrying a trolley bag just like her, and she looks confused as she stood alone.
"Are you new too?" The girl asked, coming closer.
"Yeah" Twilight replied politely.
"Thank gawd! I'm new too and I lost my navigation map. I'm Tanya, and I love how you scent like jasmine" she confessed with a smile.
"Thank you. I'm Twilight, and you smell nice too" Twilight replied.
"I'll just call you Twi, do you like it?" Tanya winked.
Twilight liked her immediately. No one has ever shortened her name. Not her father, not her crazy mother.
"I'm cool with it" she said.
"First year psychology student" Tanya said.
"Same here" Twilight replied.
"Yes!" Tanya squealed cheerfully with a lively gleam, and Twilight chuckled.
Gawd ... She loves this girl already.
Before she could talk again, another girl in glasses appeared, arms folded on her chest.
"The two new arrivals? Follow me" she sternly said, leading the way.
The two girls exchanged glances.
"Who are you?" Tanya asked, and the girl turned back to them.
"Your tour guide, call me Rihannon" she said and continued walking.
The two quickly started dragging their bags after her.
Two minutes after they left, several students trooped out of a lecture hall, chatting amongst themselves about the just concluded lecture.
Everything was in order till one of them sighted someone coming from the gate entrance.
Her books fell from her to the ground, raising dust.
"He's back" she muttered.
That made everyone else turn to the direction she's looking at, and their eyes widened too when they say him.
* Slade?
* Jesus!
* Slade is back!!!
* Who the hell woke him from coma!!
* Run!!!
The hall never remained the same, cos everyone ran off in different directions as fast as their legs could carry them while the daring ones watched from the windows.
Slade's eyes were rolling back and forth as he continued supporting himself with the walls, literally crawling on the stones till he entered the first administrative building.
Thankfully, he's out of the sun, so the weakness is not very much anymore.
The hallway is lined with candlebras which has burning candles on them, and he's doing everything possible to avoid them, but he wasn't very lucky.
His shirt curled the open string of one of the candlebras, and the shirt caught fire at the back, burning into his skin.
"Dang it!" He gritted, taking off the burning clothe, but the fire already affected a part of his back.
The hiding students were peeping cowardly at him as he made his way to the council office.
*
Rihannon hasn't even started showing Twilight and Tanya around when the screams of the students reached them.
The three stopped on their spots, but Rihannon didn't take it serious. Maybe it's one of the students silly tricks again.
"Is it true that a student go missing here every month?" Tanya suddenly asked.
"Yeah" Rihannon faced them casually.
"Then why aren't the cops investigating?" Twilight asked, and Rihannon snickered.
"Cos no one cares"
"No one...cares?" Twilight dragged her statement.
"Listen, in this school, there are three categories of students" Rihanna said.
"Yes?" Tanya urged.
"Students from rich families, students from poor families, and students from the orphanage. Students from the orphanage are the only ones who go missing every month, and no one knows why or where they go. No one cares cos no one asks for them anyways" Rihannon explained.
Twilight and Tanya exchanged puzzled glances again.
"The family of the rich students are the sponsors of this school, and that's why no one pays tuition here, so the rich students are like gods" Rihannon said and led them out to a lawn.
From the lawn, she pointed at a tower, the tenth tower.
"That's the tower of the rich students, and no student from the orphanage or from a poor family can enter, else, you can be killed" she said.
Twilight and Tanya swallowed.
"In that same tower, there are top 3 richest students, and those three are the badasses here... Trust me" Rihannon continued.
"Intense" Tanya said, but Twilight kept quiet, feeling goosebumps again.
"Anyways, every single student here have a weird, dark family background. No one is normal here" Rihannon said.
"It's obvious... I'm not normal too" Twilight said slowly, and Tanya looked at her.
"Good, but apart from the missing students every month and the richest 3 students, do you know what's scarier?" Rihannon smirked.
"What's that?" They asked at once.
"Slade. But thankfully, he has been pushed into coma" Rihannon replied.
*
TENTH TOWER, TOP SPACE*
The sound of harsh breathings and grunts saturated with the hot afternoon air as Tamlin did squats shirtlessly.
Sweat was running from his face down his chest as he did, and he was doing it with so much ease that he started praising himself inwardly.
Ruslan is sitting at the edge of the place, one leg up and one leg down without caring if he falls to his death or not.
He's Tamlin's best friend, and he's staring out at the vast school without a word when Imogen came in
Imogen is Tamlin's junior sister, a petite girl who looks cruel.
They're the 3 richest students of this tower.
"Your class is over?" Ruslan asked.
"Yeah, and i regret going. Dr. Sage's class is always bitter. Could have slept with my time" imogen replied, throwing her bag on the table.
Ruslan chuckled, leaving the edge.
"Are you gonna spend all day doing stupid squats like a teenage girl?" Imogen faced Tamlin with an irritable look.
"You might wanna keep shut, or I'll do you the favor of sewing your damn mouth shut" Tamlin replied, standing straight.
Imogen scoffed and was about to throw him another verse when a student rushed in.
"Who said you could come up here!" Tamlin picked a stone from the ground, ready to stone him to death.
"Chill, Tammy" Ruslan held him back.
"Now why are you here? And have it in mind that if it's not important, I'll throw you down this place myself" Imogen told the breathless boy.
"He's back... Prof. Slade" the boy replied.
"Which Slade?" Tamlin frowned.
"The same Slade! Slade Luther! The monster of this university! He's back from coma" The boy replied.
Imogen was the first to rush down the place, then Ruslan followed, then the reporter boy.
Tamlin turned around, his taut back still glossing with sweat as he dipped his hand into the pocket of his black jean, bringing out a silver ring.
His lips curled up as he stared at it with dark intentions.
"Who let that wild animal out of the psychiatric home?" He muttered.
*
COUNCIL OFFICE*
A meeting is ongoing with the sponsors of the school when Slade found the office and pushed the door with his forehead.
His head got a cut, but at least the door opened, and he stepped in like a giant, the burn mark on his back almost invisible among his numerous inky tattoos.
All the sponsors inside the room stood to their feet with wide terrified eyes immediately they beheld him.
"Slade?"
"Slade"
"What the f+ck! Slade!"
His name came out of their mouths in different forms.
"Slade" the eldest of them called calmly.
He's Lord Vann Wesley, Tamlin's father. A grey-haired man in his fifties.
Lord Vann is like the owner of this university since he donates the highest money monthly.
He's the biggest sponsor.
"My ring" Slade muttered, his whiskey eyes spinning again as plunging veins covered his neck.
This time, his weakness is more fatal than earlier, and he could barely move from his spot as he spoke with a drowning voice...
"My ring is not here, I can't feel it. Where is my ring? Who the hell took it!!!" He yelled, his head pounding with a salacious rhythm.
They all just kept looking at him like he's a ghost or something, and when he got no answers, he staggered out of the room.
Lord Vann made to follow him, but he was held back.
"He might not be with his ring, but a monster is a monster. He's still dangerous let's just find a way to return him to the psychiatric home before he kills everyone"
Together, all the sponsors left the room, trailing after him.
*
Rihannon finished showing the girls around the castle already, and right now they're on their way to get their room keys since they'd be sharing a room.
The scream from earlier came again, and they had to stop again.
"Are you sure you don't have to check?" Twilight asked, and Rihannon was about to move when a number of students raced past them.
"Slade is back!" They overheard one of the students saying, and Rihannon gasped.
Quickly, she faced the two.
"Run!" She told them, taking to her heels without waiting for them.
Tanya ran after her immediately, but Twilight stayed.
All her life, she has never ran. All she did was lay in her bed in her small room at the cottage or do lazy walks to the library to rent books.
_Run, Twilight_ the voice in the air told her in a tone of urgency, but she wouldn't.
Why should she run?
Her question met answers when Slade appeared from the admin building, his foot dragging as he came down the stairs, his eyes bloodshot and his skin blazing.
His toe hit a stone, and he staggered, almost falling.
Twilight ran forward, catching him, but that was her mistake, cos immediately their bodies touched, he grabbed her by neck, turning her back to himself.
"Ah!" She gasped when his hand went to her zip behind.
He destroyed it by pulling it apart roughly, and Twilight froze when his hand went under her br@.
She has no idea how he did it, but he removed the metal under her br@ and brought the sharp edge to her neck.
She held her breath, her hair pouring to her face as the devil held her in place.
"Next time, silly little girl, don't help a falling stranger" he whispered gutturally in her ear, his cold fingertips burning her skin and spreading chills as he pressed the metal into her neck.
Crowd of students rushed out of the towers and lecture halls.
Imogen and Ruslan rushed into the scene too, then Tanya and Rihannon.
The sponsors joined the crowd, led by Lord Vann who looks shaken when he saw helpless Twilight in Slade's trap.
"Slade stop!" He yelled.
No one can go closer cos they know what he can do even without his silver ring.
If Slade Luther says he's gonna murder her, then he'd do it especially if you try to stop him.
"Bring me my ring in 3 minutes, or I'll pull out her oesophagus" Slade muttered with a tone that held too much rancour, his hold on her neck tightening.
The pin is starting to enter her neck, and a little trail of blood gushed out.
Twilight struggled, but the metal only penetrated deeper.
"One" Slade started the count.
Everyone stayed still, holding their breaths too.
"Two" he counted further, pressing the metal harder into her neck.
"Mmm! stop please!!" Twilight writhe hurtfully as she felt the sting, the tension in the crowd growing thicker.
"Calm down and let's talk. Leave her out of this, Slade!" Lord Vann yelled.
"Too late... Three" Slade growled and raised the metal up, bringing it down to her neck.
All mouths hung open, and Twilight let out a tiny scream...
"Papa!!!"
TBC.
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