(!) Super High School Cool Gang
[Julian has added Robin to the group]
Julian: Hey Robin: What is this group name Julian: gdi ezra changed it back Julian: anyway Julian: not important right now Julian: Ezras awake Robin: Ohmygod!! How is he doing?? Is he ok? Julian: Hes Julian: idk. weird Julian: he wont talk Julian: we're getting ready for school. so you can see for urself then Robin: Ok... Well its progress, right? :) Julian: i guess Julian: hes freaking me out tbh Julian: see you guys soon
[Julian has added Robin to the group]
Julian: Hey Robin: What is this group name Julian: gdi ezra changed it back Julian: anyway Julian: not important right now Julian: Ezras awake Robin: Ohmygod!! How is he doing?? Is he ok? Julian: Hes Julian: idk. weird Julian: he wont talk Julian: we're getting ready for school. so you can see for urself then Robin: Ok... Well its progress, right? :) Julian: i guess Julian: hes freaking me out tbh Julian: see you guys soon
Grey Springs - Road to School
You're walking to school. You spot Julian and Ezra in the crowd, so you run up to them and greet them. Julian turns around and greets you, but Ezra doesn't react at all.
Julian
"He hasn't said a single thing since waking up. He got ready for school with me and he follows me but he just... doesn't say anything."
You look a little closer at Ezra. His expression is neutral. Many of the other students walking around you have similar expressions, but something about Ezra makes you feel uneasy. He doesn't react when you tap his shoulder.
Julian
"Solomon said he's got more spirits in him than we've gotten out, right? So I guess he's still possessed. I thought maybe now he's awake, we could figure out who's possessing him through what he says and stuff, but I guess it's not gonna be that easy." He thinks for a second. "Are there any demons who are mute?"
You say you don't know, but Robin might.
You meet up with Robin at the school gate. Her eyes widen when she sees Ezra, and she runs up to you.
Robin
"Ezra! I'm so glad to see you!"
She hugs him. Ezra doesn't react. He stands like a statue as she buries her face in his chest. You and Julian share a look of discomfort. After a moment Robin seems to notice Ezra's lack of response to her hug. She lets go and takes a step back, her face full of worry.
Robin
"Ezra...?" He doesn't respond. "He's looking at me but it's like he can't see me."
Julian
"He's been like that since he woke up. I guess whatever's inside of him is causing this, but I was hoping maybe we could snap him out of it somehow. Even if just for a moment."
Robin
"That should be possible, actually. Ezra is in there, and he's most likely fighting against the spirit inside of him. We might be able to get him to gain control for a little bit... But I'll need to do some research into how, and it's different depending on what kind of possession we're dealing with."
Julian
"Do we have to know what spirit is possessing him before we can talk to him? I meant to ask you, are there any mute demons?"
Robin
She thinks for a second but then shakes her head. "Not as far as I know. The books I read don't generally go into how much or little they talk, really, just what they can do for you. Or what they do to you, I suppose. And we don't need to know their name, we just need to be able to narrow their character a little. I'll see if there's anything about silent followers, but I don't think so... But it's all we have to work with, right now."
Julian
"Thanks. Um, I'm not good at like, focusing on books and reading, but if you want any help..."
Robin smiles at Julian. He turns slightly red.
Robin
"Thank you. I think I'll be okay, but if I need help, I'll let you know!"
You head inside. Ezra still quietly follows Julian. You feel uneasy. He's not doing anything, but it feels wrong. When you woke up Solomon had already left; the one time you really wanted him to be there to ask him for help with Ezra. Where does he go when he's not with you, anyway? Temperance, maybe?
Grey Springs High School - Entrance Hall
You notice students are putting up banners around the hall. A few others are putting up what looks like cobwebs and foam pumpkins.
Julian
"Geez, it's October 1st, isn't it a little early for Halloween decorations?"
One of the girls putting bat stickers on a wall turns around when she hears Julian. You realise it's Edi. You didn't recognize her from behind, because her hair is no longer teal; it's bubblegum pink.
Edi
"Nope! We only get Halloween for one month and then it's Christmas 'til the end of the year, so we should start celebrating it as soon as possible!"
Robin
"I think you're skipping a few holidays..."
Edi
"Besides, Halloween is a special holiday for Grey Springs, so it only makes sense we go all out for it!"
Robin
"I guess that's true. And I do like Halloween."
Julian
"Is this for the Grey Springs werewolf...? We've never started Halloween this early just for that."
You ask him what the Grey Springs werewolf is.
Julian
"There's this ancient legend about a werewolf that lived in the forest when they founded Grey Springs. It would drag off settlers. But sometimes it would return one of them, and they'd be cursed. So they say the blood of the werewolf still runs in the veins of people who can trace their lineage back to the settlers." He rolls his eyes and quietly adds: "and that you can hear them howling in the forest at the full moon. Always thought that part was kinda stupid."
Edi
"It's not stupid! I think it's super neat. My hometown doesn't have cool folklore like that. All we had was an old windmill in the center of town."
Robin
"Grey Springs does pride itself on how dreary and spooky it is."
Edi
"Hey Yon, can you help us with this banner? I'm struggling to reach..."
You and your friends end up helping Edi and the other students putting up decorations until the bell rings for the start of the first class. All the while Ezra stood still, as if he was waiting for you to finish your work.
When you make your way to your classroom, Robin voices worry that Ezra might follow you inside, but when he reaches the stairs to his own classroom he heads up on his own.
When you make your way to your classroom, Robin voices worry that Ezra might follow you inside, but when he reaches the stairs to his own classroom he heads up on his own.
Julian
"Well that's good at least. I hope..."Homeroom
Mr. Powell
"Good morning everyone. As you may have noticed when entering the school today we're making preparations for the Halloween celebration at the end of the year. Don't forget that each student is expected to contribute to the festival at the end of the month in some way. On Monday I'll pass around the list so you can write down your name and what you will do for the festival. If you're not sure yet, you'll have until the end of the week to decide."
Julian
"Ugh, I forgot they expect us to do something for that."
You ask him what they mean with "contribute". Are you supposed to host a stall or something?
Julian
"No, it's not like a summer festival thing, it's more of a 'celebrate the town history' thing. Basically you can make anything spooky and they'll display it at the festival on Halloween. Last year me and Ezra just carved some pumpkins. Might do that again this year if we can't think of anything better."
Robin leans in a bit closer.
Robin
"There's always a huge display of pumpkins, it's kinda boring. It might be good if we do something more creative, it might get more members for the occult club!"
Julian
"You still want more members? We don't have enough occult stuff going on with this whole spirit hunting thing?"Mr. Powell
"Weaver, Kaminski, quiet! Now onto the other announcements for this month..."Grey Springs High School - Lunch break
The morning passes relatively peacefully. When the lunch bell rings, Julian turns to you.
Julian
"Do we head up and grab Ezra?"
Robin
"I don't think you'll need to."
You follow Robin's concerned gaze and find Ezra is standing outside of your classroom already. His face is still unreadable.
Julian
He's not been standing there the whole time, do you think...?
Robin looks like she's about to reply when something outside distracts her, and she jumps up.
Robin
"Lea!"
You and Julian follow her out of the classroom, a little aprehensive about Leander, but hopefully with Robin there he will be a little less hostile than usual. You know she said he's not giving her the time of day either, but you hope he's at least less aggressive towards her.
He's standing beside Ezra. The moment Julian steps outside of the classroom into the hall, Ezra crosses to stand by his side. Julian greets him, but Ezra gives no response.
He's standing beside Ezra. The moment Julian steps outside of the classroom into the hall, Ezra crosses to stand by his side. Julian greets him, but Ezra gives no response.
Leander
"I see you booked some progress. He's not in a coma anymore, at least."
Robin
"Yeah! We've managed to exorcise two spirits out of him so far. W-well, sort of exorcise, since they were actually part of me and Julian- It's a long story."
It takes Leander a second to respond; he simply regards Robin for a moment with a raised eyebrow. You can tell that Julian is trying hard to not to make a snide comment about it.
Leander
"What does that mean? Are the two of you possessed now, or something? Did that bird do this to you?"
Robin
"No, you don't get it, the stuff we read about, this isn't quite like that. They're not demons, I think, it's more like... Ugh, how did Solomon explain it..."
Leander
"So you're not even sure but you're listening to a thing that came out of a portal?"
Julian
"At least we're trying to fix things. All you do is grill Robin over something you were also a part of. If you'd just listen to Solomon you'd see he's not evil."
Leander
"I am trying to fix things, I just don't associate with what is clearly a demon. Come on Robin, you know better, we've read about entities like this."
Julian
"What do you mean 'you're trying to fix things'? D'you pray at your bedside every night, or something?"
This seems to have struck a nerve with Leander. He backs Julian against the wall. Robin grabs Leander's arm and tries to pull him back, but Ezra simply takes a step aside as to not get in the way.
Leander
"I have made sure no one has come knocking about Ezra's absence last month. Just now I've had to babysit him through our morning classes because it's pretty obvious he's not acting right and people are suspicious. Don't act like I'm not paying my dues for what happened just because you took the easy route."
Julian
"Easy route? We've been fighting to get Ezra free! Actually fighting! You have no idea what we've seen just because you're being bullheaded about your beliefs!"
Robin
"Guys..."
You and Robin are occupied with trying to stop Leander and Julian from getting into a fight, so nobody notices Ezra has produced a pencil from his breast pocket.
When he first makes the rapid move from Julian's side you think he's about to push Leander, until he suddenly lunges back and punches Julian in the chest.
When he first makes the rapid move from Julian's side you think he's about to push Leander, until he suddenly lunges back and punches Julian in the chest.
Julian
"Aah! Ezra, what the hell?!"
Leander grabs Ezra's arms and pulls him off Julian. For the first time since his awakening has his expression changed, he looks manic as his eyes stay locked on Julian, who has his hand clutched on his chest where Ezra hit him. The pencil falls to the floor, snapped in half.
Robin
"Are you okay?"
Julian
"I think so..." Julian pulls his blazer aside. There's a puncture mark in his hoodie on the left side of his chest. "I don't think it went through." He looks back at Ezra, frazzled. "You tried to stab me, what the hell man?"
???
What is going on here?
A teacher has walked up to your group. You don't recognise her. Everyone straightens up a little out of habit, except Ezra, who has snapped back into his catatonic state. Leander lets go of his arms.
Robin
"N-nothing serious miss, just a missunderstanding between friends."
???
Is that so? Why did I hear something about a stabbing, then?" Julian tries to answer, but the teacher shushes him. "I don't want to hear it. I want to see all of you in my class after hours. Detention."
She walks off before any of you can say anything else.
Julian
"Dude, I'm the victim here! Who the hell is that, anyway?"
Robin
"I don't think I've ever seen her before."
Julian
"Same, I definitely would've remembered her."
Robin
"Julian..."
Leander
"I suppose I'll see you after school, then. With what just happened, I have some research to do."
Robin
"We could do it togethe-" but Leander doesn't wait for her to finish her sentence. She sighs and crosses her arms. "As scary as that was, Ezra attacking you like that might've actually given us a hint at what spirit is possessing him. They're not all violent, and even the weapon they choose to attack you with can say something about who they are. Let's go to the occult clubroom."
You spend the rest of lunch at the clubroom rifling through texts and books Robin has pulled from the shelves. You end up finding some interesting information, but nothing concrete. You try to put a list together of names of demons who could possibly cause Ezra to attack Julian, but you stop once the list gets so long you need more than one piece of paper to record them all; you simply can't narrow it down enough yet. All the while Ezra has stuck quietly by Julian's side, who is now keeping an eagle eye on him and picking up his hands and dropping them on the table any time he dares move them from his view. To your relief it seems the sudden attack was a one-off occurance, as Ezra remains calm for the rest of the hour.
Grey Springs High School - Afternoon, after school
Your final class of the day has just finished; it's time for detention. You don't know where to go however; as none of you recognised the teacher who gave you detention. You don't have to panic for long, as when you and your friends step outside you see the teacher in question is waiting for you in the hall. She is flanked by Ezra and Leander. Ezra once again moves to Julian's side when Julian leaves the classroom. Julian moves an uneasy hand to the left side of his chest as he eyes Ezra nervously.
???
"Good, that's everyone. Follow me."
You follow her to a classroom on the first floor. It's rather barren looking. If you had to guess, you'd say it's a room thats mostly only used for taking tests, as most teachers like to deck out their own classrooms in items related to the subject they teach.
???
"Sit down, everyone. Front row seats, please."
You do as you're told. You have a lot of questions for the teacher, who is she, what does she teach, why is she punishing you when she doesn't even know who you are instead of talking to Mr. Powell about it? but you're worried that if you ask she will make you stay in detention longer. There's also another question that's nagging at you, but you'd never have the guts to ask. There's something familiar about her, but you can't pinpoint it.