Surrounded by the darkness of the past

The main topic among the gossips turns out to be a mysterious man who appeared in class and expressed interest in Alan. No one really knows why he has come to the center. He tours the building as if fascinated by it, and every student wonders what his purpose is.

The man is elderly, but his face is not friendly like that of most old men. It emanates hostility. His gaze is stern and looks down on everyone. He makes one's body shiver, so everyone avoids him by a wide margin.

In time, however, it comes to light that the man is staying in the building for a longer period of time. Sara has a bad feeling. This center is a hell from which one cannot get out. The students are under the care of villains who harm them with impunity. The parents have no interest in the children, so they can't even count on their help.

This is the first night after his arrival at the center. Sara gets the impression that the building is getting monstrously gloomy and even more restless.

It's late, and she can't get a wink of sleep as she keeps hearing creepy laughter coming from the hallway, and strange thuds that give her goosebumps. Tonight the ghosts are more aggressive. She plugs her ears, hoping it will help, but she can still hear them. Their whispers echo in her head, and she can't get rid of them.

She gets out of bed and decides to leave the room to see what is causing her insomnia. Lying in bed finishes her off mentally, as it gets more and more insistent with each passing moment. With her heart beating loudly, she walks out into the hallway and looks around uncertainly. It's quiet, and she doesn't see anything to cause alarm. It is late in the evening and everyone is asleep, so the building is quiet.

With the thought that it's her mind playing a trick on her, she decides to return to the room, but can't get inside because the door slams in front of her nose. Panicked, she pushes on the handle, and a quiet moan escapes her lips as she realizes she can't get into the room.

She opens her eyes wider as she feels an icy breath on her neck. She tentatively looks back, expecting the worst. Furthermore, she closes her eyelids as a massacred eyeless figure appears in front of her, emitting shrill squeaks. Although she has seen similar phenomena many times before, they still make her terrified. They have become more envious in recent times.

Without thinking for a second, she opens her eyes and runs towards the stairs. An unknown force throws her backwards so hard that she hits the wall with her back. The pain is excruciating. For a moment, she couldn't catch her breath. She tries to pick herself up from the floor, but a painful shudder runs along her spine, preventing her from doing so.

She sheds tears trying to stop thinking about it, yet it is impossible when the phantom reappears by her side and grabs her by the neck. It lifts the girl upwards. Sara attempts to fight it, but is unable to do anything. She feels she is running out of air.

- Kill the boy before it's too late," she grunts uncomfortably, then painfully throws her to the floor.

Breathing heavily, Sara crawls toward the descent. Grabbing the handrail, she painfully rises to her feet. She only makes it halfway down the stairs, as she unexpectedly trips over her feet and falls down. With misty eyes, she stares at the ceiling, feeling everything swirl around her. She closes her eyes and then darkness sets in.

*

She can't open her eyelids, but she can hear voices perfectly. Several male voices who are fiercely discussing something. She is unable to focus on their conversation as she struggles to regain consciousness. She gets the impression that someone has sealed her eyes with tape, but after prolonged attempts, the girl manages to lift her eyelids.

Furthermore, she lies on a hospital bed. She tilts his head and panics when he recognizes four men. Among them are a psychologist, a math teacher, a director and a mysterious old man who unexpectedly appeared at the center, arousing the youth's interest.

She lays her head down and pretends to be still unconscious. She wants to hear at least an excerpt of their conversation.

- ... so you confirmed that this boy is my grandson?

- Yes, although even without the test, I was sure of it. Alan is similar to you, even his character is feisty. He got into his grandfather, so forcing him will not be easy, but my son is a specialist in this," says the director, patting the psychologist on the shoulder.

- This bitch didn't even squeak a word when she was pregnant. She ran away like a coward," the man says in a harsh tone, sitting down in a chair. - But what did I expect? After all, this bitch was from Poland, and they are all trash.

- Brother, Alan's grandmother died many years ago," the director reveals, and a mocking smile appears on the man's face.

- She should have died in her young years. If I hadn't been hiding under a false name in Spain, then I would surely have caught up with her and murdered her with great pleasure. - His gaze finds Sara. - And who is this girl?

- We suspected that it was the granddaughter of the woman who tried to kill you.

The man starts laughing and approaches her. The teenager tries to keep her cool. She can't let it be known that she has regained consciousness. Her heart is pounding like a hammer, but she can't be a coward.

- That woman was also helped to escape. She knew perfectly well how cruel a death awaited her for attempting to kill me, and yet she didn't care. I fell in love with her for a reason," he mutters, amused. - Anyway, what kind of love am I talking about. I was just fascinated by her, that's all. She was as cunning as a fox.

- However, we were wrong. This is not the girl, but we already know who her granddaughter is," the psychologist speaks up, and the man looks at him with interest. - It's a girl who has already caused many problems at the center many times.

- Then why are you keeping her here? Send the girl to the doctor until she regains consciousness. Don't complicate it, because things have already gotten messy.

*

She wakes up in the doctor's office. She only opens her eyes when the teacher leaves the room.

The doctor tells her to stay in the office until morning, for which she is grateful, as she prefers not to walk back down the corridor to her room at night. Not after what happened to her.

She rises vigorously as she recalls the conversation in the psychologist's office. From what she heard, she guessed that the mysterious man was the cruel General from the photo. Alan's grandfather, who is planning something dangerous.

Sara must warn the boy.

Without a word, she leaves the office and runs to her room as fast as she can to freshen up and get ready for class. Her head still hurts after the fall, but fortunately, she hasn't done anything serious to herself.

Running down the corridor, she nudges Julia's shoulder as she heads toward the cafeteria. She has recently started to recover, but that doesn't change the fact that she is still scared. Besides, she no longer behaves as cruelly as before.

- Watch where you're going," she says just as Sara passes her. She runs up the stairs and, winded, rushes into the room, not expecting that the sight she finds will be a sleeping Laura and Simon cuddled up to her.

She takes clean clothes and uses the bathroom. When she returns to the room, Laura is already awake and talking to Simon.

The teenager envies her such a great friend, but she noticed some time ago that the boy had deeper feelings for her. He, too, must be suffering for this reason, when Laura confides in him about Chan. Apparently, he himself is trying to deal with his pain. This is not pleasant for him in any way, and yet he tries to be caring towards her.

- Where were you all-night, Sara? I was worried about you again," she says quietly, wiping tears from her cheeks.

Simon throws the brown-haired woman a furious look, as if she is to blame for his friend's condition.

- She is already suffering enough, so don't cause her any additional worries. She's your roommate, and she's worried about you, especially after the recent events. No one is safe in the center, so you should sit in your room at night, even if you suffer from insomnia!

- You shouldn't yell at me. I didn't hurt her," she defends herself, and he tightens his lips in anger and suddenly gets out of bed. Without a word, he leaves the room, at which Laura shakes her head.

- Why did you say that? I was trying to calm him down so he wouldn't do anything stupid, and you fueled his anger. Simon is impulsive and uses his fists right away, especially when he doesn't like someone," Laura says in a panicked voice, hurriedly getting dressed. Sara makes big eyes when she realizes that she actually gave him the idea.

The girls run out of the room and head for the men's section, hoping to intervene in time. Unfortunately, it's too late, because Matthew opens the door and gets punched in the nose by the blond man as a greeting. Sara covers her mouth with her hand, as it doesn't look very intriguing. It must hurt, and she immediately feels sorry for her friend. She feels guilty because it was because of her that Simon came here.

- Have they lost their minds? Do they want so badly to find themselves lectured by a psychologist? - She hears Alan's voice and immediately remembers to warn him.

Laura steps in between the guys, and Sara grabs Alan's hand. She pulls him aside, entirely ignoring the situation there. The blond looks surprised, but does not react in any way to this.

- During the night something happened, and I accidentally ended up at the psychologist," she begins uncertainly and notices the look of worry on Alan's face, so she quickly adds. - I'm fine. More important is what I have to tell you. You need to take care of yourself. The man who was looking at you like that is the General, the same one who was once behind all the atrocities. He hid in Spain for many years under a false name. He is your grandfather. You are related, and I'm sorry I'm only now telling you this, but there's more. I think the director is his brother.

The blond man opens his mouth, looking shocked. He stares at Sara, as if he believes she is about to tell him that it's just a joke.

- They will try to convert you to their side. I don't know what they are planning, but you have to watch out for yourself, and under no circumstances can you trust them. But you know this perfectly well, don't you?

- I guessed that I was related to this man, but I didn't think he was my grandfather. Besides, I thought he was dead.... - This is the first time Sara has seen Alan in such a state. Usually, he is brave and doesn't let on that something scares him, but as you can see, the thought that this man is so close to him makes him shudder. No one would want to be related to a monster. - Now I know why my father is such a bastard. He was born into his daddy," he adds quietly, then laughs. - It's a good thing my grandmother died before I was born. I wouldn't want to meet someone who bonded with a beast. She was probably just like him. I can be proud of my family, she is a role model," he claims with derision in his voice, and without a word enters the room.

She doesn't know if she did the right thing by telling Alan, but she couldn't hide the truth from him. This is about his family.

- What is going on here! - She hears a loud shout that belongs to the math teacher. She shudders as he walks past her. - Are you arranging a fight?

- It's just for fun. We're practicing! - replies Laura hastily as the three of them move away from each other. The man throws them a mocking glance, but Sara understands he is planning something.

- I invite you to the director's office. As you can see, previous punishments were definitely not enough. You need to be properly called to order," he says in a sharp voice, and they freeze. They guess that they are in danger.