Order of the Alpha #2

The hum of the bus engine was a monotonous lullaby, pulling me deeper into a world I was forbidden to acknowledge as my own. My new name, Celeste Caesar, felt like a costume, flimsy and ill-fitting. Across the aisle, Clarissa Wilson, my supposed roommate, sat shrouded in a silence so profound it felt like a deliberate barrier. She was pale, almost corpselike, and just as keen on disappearing as I was.

"This is what normal was," I thought, gripping the worn fabric of my seat. No balls, no fear of Martin's cruel whims, just the simple act of heading to a prestigious college. Yet, outside the window, the world blurred into a vibrant tapestry of green, red, orange, and yellow trees, hinting at the fantastical reality I now inhabited. And then, a rock bounced off the window, not shattering, but dissolving, reforming into the glass as if possessed. Magic. Just a bus. My new reality.

My attention drifted to the hushed conversation behind me. "Did you hear about one of the seniors?" a tattooed voice murmured. The words 'cult' and 'killing' were thrown around, followed by whispers of new rules, strict curfews, and 'reinforcements from the capital.' This wasn't the normal I’d envisioned. This was Nocturne Academy, and it was already screaming for attention.