‘I can’t accept this as coincidence. This being must be aware that I am looking for it and is trying to make me chase it. But if I wonder if they know how close they’ve allowed me to get.’
He again looked through the photographs of the entity. Since every picture only displayed a black figure, Thane had begun trying to take mental photographs of every scene before taking the actual photograph. With all the pictures he took and the problem of crowds, it was next to impossible to remember individual faces, but one thing he had at least accomplished was memorizing the uniforms. He remembered there being a female student standing in the position of the dark figure every time he took a picture, and even with the large margin for error considering the holes in his memory, he was certain the figure was a girl.
But there was a problem with that. Half of the accidents occurred between classes, when the hallways of every building were flooded with students. The other half occurred randomly throughout the day, during classes. He was certain that this entity was masquerading as a female student, but what if it wasn’t a student actually enrolled? He had originally assumed it to be some kind of human that was causing it because of how well the evil was contained and hidden, but it could also be some kind of demonic entity, new to him or at the very least more powerful than the kinds he regularly dealt with, and could disguise itself as a student however it wanted like a chameleon.
If this was true, then it meant trouble. If the perpetrator weren’t a real student, but merely a wolf in sheep’s clothing hiding amongst the herd, then it would be all the more difficult to hunt it down. It wouldn’t have an identity that could be discovered and lead to its finding. But there was another possibility. Just because classes were in progress didn’t mean students were chained to their desks. In just the high school buildings alone, there could be a hundred students in the halls for bathroom breaks or trips to the infirmary, not to mention truants who skipped class all together.
He turned to a manila envelope beside him, given to him by Father Hauser. It contained the attendance records for the last several days. Looking through it, he saw a name that caught his eye. She had been absent or late quite often lately, many times when an accident took place, and had even been the victim at one point, though for all he knew, she could have done it to exclude herself from suspicion.
“Hmmm, Helena O’Connor. I think it’s time for you to have a talk with a few teachers.”
“Helena, are you ok? You look really sick.”
The question was asked by one of her friends in the cafeteria during breakfast the next morning. Helena was blushing, her breathing was quick, and her movements were slower than usual. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
The reason for her condition was the trial of the day that Xavier had set up for her. Her panties had some kind of curse on them that would make them vibrate with extreme intensity against her pussy, making her feel like she had a silenced phone hidden in her underwear and it was being called every minute. This continuous tickle was driving her crazy, making her wish she could touch herself and break that orgasmic threshold. Every time she tried, her cotton panties would become like steel, keeping her fingers out as if she were wearing a chastity belt. The stimulation was torturous, too strong for her to simply ignore, but too weak to trigger the orgasm she so desperately wanted.
‘I’d give my right hand to be able to masturbate right now. Oh God, what the hell is wrong with me?!’
She looked around and spotted Daphne a few tables away. The two women made eye contact and Helena could sense the bloodlust, as well as the fear. If she did anything to Helena, anything at all, Xavier would kill her very slowly. Helena also liked to think that she had shown Daphne that even without some unholy powers, she was not someone who could be killed easily.
“Helena O’Connor, please come to the Disciplinary Committee office. Helena O’Connor, please come to the Disciplinary Committee office.”
The announcement of the intercom shook her from her dazed attempt to focus. She was sitting in math class, not even bothering to pay attention to the teacher, but working to just keep from losing her mind to the haunting stimulation of her vagina. She didn’t know if it was really her panties vibrating or something else, but if it continued on any longer, she was going to pass out.
‘Goddammit, what now?’
Grumbling in annoyance, she got up from her seat and walked to the door, and as she passed him, she made eye contact with Xavier. It was one of the classes they shared. She could see a clear reaction in him, just from looking in his eyes. He didn’t appear alarmed or even worried, but he was intrigued. He knew something was going on and he was eager to see what would happen. She could hear him talking to her, as if he was inside her skull. It was the collar, connecting them.
‘Don’t stray too far.’
Hearing him speak to her in this manner did not surprise her. After the things she had seen and experienced, she just considered it another aspect of this rivalry.
The walk to the disciplinary office was long and difficult. Helena’s legs felt like jelly, and she had to stop at the bathroom to clean herself from the… “runoff”… of her unwanted arousal. She wondered what it was that the Disciplinary Committee wanted with her. She hadn’t caused any trouble in the past few days, not since her fight with Daphne. Xavier had fixed up everything in the locker room, so she was sure it wasn’t about that. Was it because she still hadn’t settled things with Sister Olivia? Was she going to be suspended or even expelled? But then… why wasn’t Xavier called in with her?
She soon arrived and in the waiting area sat Thane. He was staring at her intently, having known that there was something about her from the moment she entered the room. The receptionist directed her to the meeting room. Before stepping inside, she took a deep breath and put all of her effort into ignoring the vibrating sensation between her legs and maintaining her composure. Inside, she found Father Brian, Father Hauser, and a priest she didn’t recognize. The furniture had all been removed but a single chair, set out for her.
“Uh, what’s going on here?”
“Helena, thank you for coming. Please, take a seat.”
She shot Hauser a wary glance. “I think I’ll stand.”
Father Brian stepped forward. “Helena, we know things have been hard for you lately. First there was the terrible incident with those boys, then your failing health, that incident with Sister Olivia, and now that burn. We wanted to tell you that you aren’t in trouble and that you can ask us for help whenever you need it.”
The unknown priest extended his hand with a smile. He wore a stole of the clergy. “Ms. O’Connor, I’m Bishop Nelson from the Vatican, and Father Brian asked me to come. He thought that a group prayer would help you raise your spirits and remind you that you have God’s protection.”