Chapter 100: Meaning of Death (1)

Flittering footsteps pitter-pattered through the wide and long hallways of the Academy's underground; almost echoing endlessly as they reflected the unrest of their owners-- only drowned by the sound of her sighs filled with frustration.

Hannah was allowed to go with Riley to wherever it was he was being taken-- somewhere suspiciously deep into the Academy. She could care less, however, as she followed him and the guards without uttering a word. But as soon as they reached a certain room, she was blocked by the guards, saying that she can't go inside and should just wait.

She should just wait… and that was more than an hour ago now, Hannah thought as her frustrations once again traveled through the long hallway. Her steps only stopped as she updated Gary and others about the situation, but since there really wasn't anything happening, the most she sent them were also just her frustration in the form of texts.

But finally, a few more minutes before she completely turned crazy, her steps were no longer alone. She squinted her eyes to see who it was that was approaching the room, only to see Whiteking and Katherine, along with who she could only assume were other staff of the Academy.

"Dad!" Hannah then yelled, "What's going on!? Why are they not letting me enter!?"

"Not now, Hannah," Bernard could only shake his head as he gestured for her daughter to calm down.

"Is… Is Riley in trouble!?" Hannah, however, did not seem to care as she continued to block Bernard's path, "Surely nothing's going to happen, right? I mean… This… This is a school for Supers for fuck's sake. What… what did they expect, a scratch? Of course, someone was going to get hurt sooner or--"

"Someone died, Hannah," Bernard then let out a long and deep sigh as he gently pushed Hannah to the side, "...And the child's parents would be here soon."

"T… that's…" Hannah could only gulp, "It's… it's not his fault, dad."

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"That's what we're here to talk about," Bernard then said as he looked at the other people behind him, "Let's go inside."

"W… wai--"

And before Hannah could even finish her words, the silver door closed on her.

"..." And after a few seconds, the only thing that her body wanted to do was release her frustration… and she did so by punching the Academy's reinforced wall.

"..."

"Gaah!" Hannah then let out a high-pitched shrieking noise unbefitting of her age-- loud enough to almost shake the reinforced walls she stupidly slammed her fist on. Her screams were disrupted by the ringing of her phone-- she wanted to throw it away in a rage, but as soon as she saw that it was her mother calling, the first instinct she did was to reject her call.

"...Shit," Hannah then whispered as her breaths became heavier by the second,

"Shit… Fuck!"

"I see your vernacular is still as colorful as ever."

Hannah's screams were then followed by a calm voice, causing her to slightly back away; but as soon as she saw who it was, her eyebrows quickly raised.

"M… Mr. P!" Hannah then quickly bellows, "If… If it's you then you can do something, right!?"

But alas, even with her pleading tone, the only response that Prophet gave him was the shake of his head.

"You're… you're the Headmaster! Do something!"

"No special treatment in the Academy, you know that," Prophet sighed as he continued to make his way to the door.

"But--"

And before Hannah could finish her words, Prophet placed his finger on his lips and shushed Hannah, "I'm sure we can do something," he then said as he let out a small smile before entering the room.

"..."

"..." And so, once again, Hannah was left alone in the hall. Her solitariness did not last, however, as another set of steps echoed throughout the hallway.

And judging by the weight and rhythm of their hurried steps, they were Shomari's parents. The Family Villa was near where they were, but it was by no means a distance that could be traveled on foot without effort.

"..." They have also probably been waiting for news about their son. And as soon as Hannah saw the dismal looks on their faces, the only thing she could do was turn her head to the side and close her eyes, wincing at the thought of their sights meeting each other.

Hannah thought that she was used to seeing the dead by now… but seeing the expressions of those that were left behind feels even more… powerfully painful.

And as the sound of the door closing whispered through her ears, she was finally able to open her eyes-- letting her back rest on the wall as her legs slowly gave in.

And once again, letting out the only words she could breathe out--

"...Fucking shit."

***

A few minutes ago, the situation inside the room was not any better as Bernard and the others all discussed and whispered amongst themselves. The video of what happened seemed to be playing on the huge monitor on the screen but was currently paused.

And while the group was discussing the situation, Katherine could not help but keep glancing towards Riley, who was sitting alone at his own table provided to him, his eyes locked on the monitor.

"..."

"..."

The group continued to whisper with each other until finally, the sound of the door opening instantly sedated their words; with one of them quickly turning off the monitor.

"Our Shomari… Where is our Shomari!?"

The mother's words quickly echoed the entire room, her accent reflected the weight that was trapped in her heart. Bernard was the first to approach the parents, carefully patting them both on the shoulders.

"Please… sit down first," Bernard meekly said. His words, however, only served to further increase the weight in the parents' hearts as they both dropped to the ground; with the mother's wails enough to deafen their ears from all the hurt it contained.

Bernard had thought that he was used to the cries of those that were left behind… but now that his son was the one the other end of the tragedy, it… hit him differently.

It took almost a quarter of an hour for both the mother and the father to calm down; Bernard and the others did not really say anything, as they knew that most of their words would just be useless.

Of course, Mega Academy has already prepared for this kind of scenario, but not that it was here… they realized any of their training meant nothing.

"I… I want to see my Shomari," the mother then whimpered as she and her husband took a seat, "I want to see my beautiful baby boy, please."

"You… can see him soon," Bernard muttered, "But I know it would feel hurtful coming from me… but I would like to apologize to--"

"I do not need your words! Bring my son back from the dead!" This time, it was the father that spoke up, his words loud and filled with anguish, cracking as he tried to stop the tears that were wishing to burst out from his eyes, "You have powers! Do something!"

"That's--"

"We are actually here to discuss something with you."

And before Bernard could say anything else, Prophet approached the two parents, "Videos of your son's death… might be surfacing in the news and social media soon."

"W… what?"

Hearing Prophet's words quickly sedated the two as they stared at the staff of the Academy, "What… what is the meaning?"

"We… we were required to stream the activities of the students live by the government," Prophet sighed, "We were too late to stop the stream from being scattered… and the reason we brought you here is to ask you to watch the video here first so that you won't get surpri--"

"You want me to watch my son's death!?" Shomari's father slammed his palm on the table, "Where--"

And before he could finish his words, his raging eyes landed towards Riley. And as soon as he saw his face, the tears that he was preventing from falling from his eyes needed no obstruction anymore as they quickly retracted on their own.

Shomari's father then placed his hand on his wife before gesturing towards Riley; and like him, the mother's tears quickly faded as they saw Riley.

"The video…" Shomari's mother then muttered,

"Let us watch the video."