Crazy Car Ride

MATTHEW'S POV

The tears had dried up on my face. A minute later, we would depart towards the mansion, and Zed's batch would go down in the underworld.

I didn't want them to see me like this. So, I used the short time to quickly erase my tears and blinked profusely to let the redness out, which I didn't know if it worked.

As I tried to fix myself, the pain in my heart remained. What happened less than five minutes ago hurt and shocked me. I wanted to turn back time where I would decide to tell the truth instead of hiding it. A familiar feeling of regret bubbled. Did I regret being an elite...?

I shook my head as I sniffed.

'No, the choice of being an elite doesn't have anything to do with this. It was the decision to lie.'

It was all my fault. What Elijah did may have hurt me, but it was somehow for the best. I didn't have to worry about spilling the secret anymore, as my two 'normal' friends left me. I assured myself over and over again that it was a problem solved. It caused me great pain, yet I was also relieved a little bit. It was either the price of our friendship or the cost of the secret getting out. Guess which one I picked?

I wiped my eyes using my sleeves one last time just before the door opened.

The elites started to exit the building individually. The batch of elites who were staying back at the mansion was all present outside. I stayed a few feet away from them, facing away.

A long wave of blonde hair danced with the sudden gush of wind as a pair of gray orbs shone with delight. Samantha was giggling with her brother. Samuel smiled widely as he made his sister laugh.

With them leaving the elite building, I fully turned away. My eyes still stung from the waterworks.

It seemed Samantha could tell who I was just from the sight of my back. "Matthew?" She said with a soft voice that made me slightly melt.

I didn't move from my spot. "Yeah?" I managed to clear my throat discreetly to avoid my voice from breaking.

"What a-are you doing t-there? Is something b-bothering you?"

'Why does everyone keep reading me like an open book?'

I quickly plastered a smile on before facing the Del Rosario siblings. I almost staggered backward when Samuel stood next to Samantha.

"Me? O-Oh, I'm fine! Just t-thinking about the moon tonight."

Thankfully, Samantha didn't notice my stuttering as she replied gleefully. "I heard that us elite will view the moon a little different than the normals. Isn't that right, Samuel?"

The blonde-haired boy was quiet. Then, he answered slowly while facing Samantha. "It's true. Normal people may just see an ordinary white full moon, but it's much more to us. We can actually see Selene's aura radiating off the moon."

I recalled the times I looked up to see a full moon and there was this weird faint, yellowish hue that seemed to bounce off the moon. I wonder if that was what Samuel was talking about?

Before I could ask, Ashley and Zed both yelled out to Samuel. The gray-eyed captain was slightly taken aback by Ashley's and Zed's combined voices.

"What is it?"

"Dad said he'll be letting you drive us back to the mansion since he's going to be a bit late doing something. Don't worry though, he also said he'll be the one to take charge driving the other elites from the underworld."

Ashley squinted at Samuel skeptically. "You do have your driver's license, right?"

"I do, although I just got it two months ago." Samuel scratched his head nervously. "I still get nauseous every time I take a turn."

"I feel you'll do just fine." Ashley assured. Samuel met Zed's eyes after that. "And you called me for...?"

"Oh, I wanted to request something." Zed's voice dropped to a very quiet whisper so only Samuel could hear it. When the captain of our batch heard what Zed had to say, his expression momentarily darkened. "What for?"

"Do you want me to say it here or...?" The dark-eyed captain's gaze darted to me for a second.

Samuel dragged Zed to put a good distance between the crowd of gathered elites and them. I batted my eyes in confusion at what they could possibly talk about in secret.

"What was that about?" I accidentally let the words slip out and Samantha heard it. She shrugged in response, meaning she was none the wiser, but I saw a glimpse of oppression in her eyes.

I looked back at the two captains and only did I notice the red hat with a gold rose emblem on the middle that sat on Zed's head. It was like the kind of hat you'd see on a sailor or the captain of the ship. 'Why does he have one?'

The two came back as they finished discussing what they talked about.

Samuel extended his arm towards Ashley. "Do you have the car keys with you?"

The girl nodded as she tossed the object. The keys jingled when Samuel caught it flawlessly in his hands. The two commenced making their way to the parking lot, the other twelve elites followed them. I stayed back because I couldn't help but ask Zed. "Why do you have a hat?"

Zed looked confused with my question. "Doesn't Samuel wear-" He stopped in mid-sentence. The captain sighed deeply as he rubbed a hand all over his face. "I forgot. The hat was also worn by her. Of course, he wouldn't even look in its direction."

Now, I was the confused one. The pronouns Zed was using made it difficult for me to identify who was who.

"Well, let me make it short as your batch-mates already left you behind," Zed told me as he peeked to my left, seeing no one but a leaf that glided with the wind.

"It's just for show, really. To determine who's the captain of each batch and to show off the symbol of the school."

"Wait, Samuel is a captain. Why doesn't he wear that? We already went to the underworld multiple times and I didn't see him wear a hat once."

"If I remember correctly, the elites have always had a captain to lead them ever since the school has been established. The hat was passed on from generation to generation - from the former captain to the current one. And so, it continues until the ventifios decides to suddenly disappear forever, which is impossible."

"I don't really follow." I lowered my head to process everything. "Why doesn't Samuel wear the hat?"

I shouldn't be asking too much about it or making it such a big deal. But I just had to know why. Something in me was urging for me to keep asking to satisfy my curiosity, but I also had a feeling this would lead me to something bigger, despite the fact that I was just questioning about a hat. I didn't like this feeling - it was the same thing I felt when Stacey wasn't at her usual spot in the dorms. A few days later, she had a high fever and still couldn't wake up.

"Again, the captain bequeaths this hat to their successor. The former captain of your batch was..."

Zed stopped before he could let any more information break out.

"Ignore that, please. Why don't you talk to Samuel about it?" The captain put his red button on the scanner as he spoke the password and the door opened. "I think he also needs to let it out."

The door closed on me, making me want to go after him for more answers. I looked up to the sky and saw the moon almost shining brightly. When night falls, the moon would be in its full shine and glory. The night sky would be covered with stars that would assist the moon with its sparkling light.

'It's time to go home for now.'

I rushed to the parking lot hoping they didn't leave without me. I arrived at the place, not a minute later. I saw Samuel leaning on the driver's door of the car, arms crossed and brows furrowed in deep thought.

Samuel was like Elijah - he was all fun and games until it was our turn to visit the underworld. Nowadays, he seemed like something was bothering him, eating him up inside. I wanted for him to confide in me, say everything that has been troubling him, and for all of his problems to disappear. I wanted nothing more for him than that. But how could he when he wouldn't even look at me while talking?

Samuel snapped out of his thoughts and his smoky gray eyes met my amber ones. He wordlessly opened the car door and got inside once he saw me in front of him.

'Exactly my point.'

I exhaled through my nose as I also got in the car. There was a vacant space next to Samantha so I took it. The girl greeted me with a smile as I sat down. "What d-did you talk to Zed a-about?"

"Huh? Oh, just his hat. It was nice." I told her and glanced away. Samantha batted her eyelashes at me, expecting me to talk more. When she realized I ended the conversation there, she spoke again.

"S-So, how was gym c-class?"

I grinned a bit at her attempt to strike up a conversation. Something about Samantha was just so persistent but in a good way. I felt like all of my overthinking from earlier vanished as I answered the girl. "It was fine. The teacher favored me so much." I boasted. Samantha saw the change in my mood and giggled in triumph. My heart pounded at the somehow soothing sound Samantha emitted. I tried to hide my blush by quickly asking, "How about you? What's your class?"

It was the girl's turn to frown gloomily. "It's l-literature."

I didn't like that her smile faded into something so sad. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Samantha shook her head frantically. "I-It's nothing! J-Just not used to u-unfamiliar faces and literature i-is not really for me."

"Is that so? No one from the elite is categorized into literature?"

"N-No."

"Don't worry, though." I assured her with a big smile to show everything's going to be okay. "You can endure it for a week and next thing you'll know, we're in the plane flying to France!"

"You're r-right! I can do t-this!" Samantha cheered. As we continued to chat, I felt someone's gaze on me. I secretly looked around to who it may be. Then, I saw Samuel's eyes swinging from the road and to the rear-view mirror. He seemed to be staring at the two of us, and a small smile was evident on his face. It was contagious as I could feel my lips tugging upwards.

'Maybe I can try and talk to him later.'

My happy spirit went down the drain as Samuel's gaze and tone suddenly dropped, the same goes for Ashley who was sitting behind him. "I think we're being followed." The two said in unison. The rest of the elites and I turned to look behind us and saw a black van. To put it to the test, Ashley tapped Samuel on his shoulder. "We can take the long route to the mansion. Turn left here."

"Turn left?" Samuel gagged a bit. Ashley rolled her eyes as she hit Samuel's seat on its back. "Do it!"

The captain suddenly swerved to the left, taking us, the ones at the backseat, crashing down the window. The van also turned left, but unlike Samuel's abrupt swerve, the van did it in a calm and normal manner.

"Take another turn here."

The car kept going in all kinds of directions, and the van was still on our tail. The poor captain looked like he was about to vomit any time soon. "I hate turning." He grumbled.

Our surroundings were different compared to the usual path we took to the mansion. The road was wide with a few cars here and there. It was a change of place. Good thing Ashley knew where we were or else I would've had a panic attack by now.

"I think they're really following us." Samuel and Ashley concluded. The faces of the elites at the backseat - including me - were filled with worry and panic upon hearing that. What was happening? What do they want from us? Do they know us? We're just students!

The feeling of being followed and dread rose within me, like deja vu. The situation felt oddly familiar. Then, it clicked on me. The day where Samuel and I were followed. Could they be the same person? The chances are fifty-fifty.

Samuel saw a stoplight ahead and got an idea. The stoplight showed ten seconds left before it would blink red to stop the cars.

"Everyone, hold on to your seat belts. We're speeding up in three... Two... One!" Samuel stepped on the gas as the car revved. We were pushed back as the force and speed of the car accelerated a lot. My eyes flitted to the van behind us and saw they also matched our speed.

The stoplight counted down from five - and we were still about halfway there.

"We're not gonna make it!" An elite yelled. I think his name was Ryan. Funny that I could even remember their names.

Samuel proved him wrong by passing the stoplight when it was just a second left. I saw the light switched to red just as we passed it. The rest of us immediately turned to see if the van also made it. We all sighed in relief when the black van stopped just below the stoplight.

My heart was pounding in my chest as my breathing became steady again. I didn't even know I held my breath as we dashed under the stoplight. I felt like passing out.

"Do you r-really think that whoever's i-in that van was f-following us?" Samantha managed to stutter out as she cooled down. Samuel shrugged as he kept his eyes on the road. "It was weird that even after so many turns-" The captain narrowed his eyes at that one. "-They would still be right behind us."

"But why us? What did we do?" An elite asked in fear and nervousness. If I remembered correctly, her name was Janet.

"I don't have an answer for that," Samuel spoke. "But from now on, let's be cautious of our surroundings. That may be an attempt of a kidnap."

As Samuel said that, I felt goosebumps all over me. The same goes for the other elites who visibly shivered.

"Let's tell my dad about this-" Ashley was cut off by Samuel yelling, "No!"

The blue-eyed girl raised an eyebrow at Samuel, as well as the rest of the elites. Not me though, I knew what Samuel had in mind.

"Say, Ashley. What was mister Angelo doing to cause him to ask for me to drive you guys?" Samuel instantly questioned to cover up his reaction.

"Well... He said he has papers to look at to ensure the school's safety and finances. And he already started preparing the test papers since exam will start by the end of July. And he still needs to find out who could've started that rumor and how long since it first spread. And..." Ashley looked dismayed as she listed everything the principal was doing. She sighed and looked down at her hands. "So, you're saying we shouldn't add any more problems to dad?"

Samuel nodded. "Besides, what happened earlier might just be a coincidence. Even if they had a plan to kidnap us, then they should've tried harder, right? Look where we are now, I think I see the mansion's gate." Samuel assured everyone in the car. The elites started to think about it and decided that it was nothing important or big enough to tell the principal about.

My eyes stuck to Samuel who was calmly driving the car as if nothing happened. First, he was able to detect a strange van that seemed to follow us. Second, he took the risk of getting us into an accident by speeding up in a ten-second stoplight. Lastly, he calmed everyone down by using his words.

Everything Samuel did today was incredible. There was no one better of a captain than Samuel. His leadership, braveness, and being level-headed were recognized as he was promoted to such a position in the elite. I wouldn't be able to even gather up the courage to attempt chasing down the green light.

'But then again, I wasn't Samuel.'

I was starting to be in awe of how the ideal of an elite and a captain Samuel was. Whatever happened to him two years ago surely didn't bring him down.

'Or did it?'