HER LIFE FORCE I
Nicholas waited for Serina to wake up, wanting to question her about her drawing but then, their class representative sent a group message, telling everyone to come back to their room because of some important announcement. Even if he didn't want to, Nicholas has no other choice but to go.
Serina slept peacefully and she only woke up for lunch. Nicholas couldn't join them and she didn't really mind it. After lunch, their first afternoon subject teacher asked everyone to come to their room because she wanted to give them a mock exam. Serina answered it as quick as she could and went back to sleep on her desk. She felt so sluggish and tired. She's not really under the weather but she didn't have the energy to have fun with her friends.
When the bell rang for high school students to be dismissed, Serina bid farewell to her friends and left without turning back. She just wanted to hug her pillows soon. She wanted to bury her body under her blanket. She's tired.
"Do you think Rina is fine?" Hillary asked Brigette as the two of them walked back home.
"I'm wondering, too. She didn't feel hot so, I'm dismissing the idea of having a fever but she looked really weak."
"She mentioned that her shoulders hurt, do you think it was the reason? I just couldn't put it out but she looked so sluggish to me."
"Well, maybe she just didn't get enough sleep when she came home last weekend."
"Probably."
The two friends dismissed their idea and worry as they continued their trip back home.
Serina's roommate wasn't around when she came home. She remembered that her senior was busy with projects and some other activities which were necessary for graduation, and wouldn't be back until 8:00 in the evening. Serina covered her mouth as she yawned and walked to her bed. Before she could take off her clothes or even arranged her things, she slumped on the bed and went to sleep.
Nicholas has an evening class which will end at 7:30 PM. And for some reason, he felt so restless and bothered. His mind often wandered off to Serina and he couldn't focus his attention to class. 'Something wrong must have happened to her.' Nicholas thought inwardly while scribbling nonsense on his notebook.
'I don't feel anything.' Kiro responded with no trace of concern or worry.
'It doesn't matter if you don't feel anything.' Nicholas retorted indifferently. He stood up from his seat and excused himself to use the comfort room. In truth, when no one was watching, he jumped down from the third floor to the ground. No one saw what he did and he ran at full speed to Serina's dormitory.
"Boys aren't allowed here." The lady guard told Nicholas before he could say anything to her. "You can wait at the lounge and just call the person you wanted to see."
"Thanks, chief." Nicholas called Serina but no one was answering his call. He dialed again and again to no avail. "Chief, can you go to Serina's room and see how she's doing? I'm afraid that something bad has happened to her. She's not answering my call."
"She could be sleeping." The guard answered. "She looked sleepy when she arrived."
"Sleepy again? She didn't do anything else but sleep today. What could have happened to her?" Seeing that the guard was very firm with her resolve and commitment, Nicholas was left with no other choice but to use his charm. He looked into the guard's eyes and smiled sweetly at her. "How about we go there together to see how she's doing? This is an emergency and I know that you are very kind and you care for the well-being of the students here. Let's just go and see her, shall we?"
The guard didn't move or a moment and just stood there, looking to the mesmerizing eyes of Nicholas. After few seconds, she finally nodded her head and took the ring of master keys before leading Nicholas upstairs. On their way to Serina's room, Nicholas charmed many students to keep them quiet, telling them not say about his visit as well.
Serina's room was locked so the guard picked up her duplicate key and opened the room only to find Serina sleeping with her school uniform. Nicholas went inside and felt her forehead with his, thinking that she might be having a fever. 'Her temperature is normal.' He thought.
'Something's wrong with her indeed. I can feel the erratic beat of her heart. Although she looked normal and felt normal, somethings messing with her life force.' Kiro added after feeling a strange of energy the moment Nicholas touched Serina's forehead.
"Painful." Serina muttered with her eyes closed.
Knowing that he can't stay there for long, Nicholas contacted Hillary to come back to school. He needed someone he can trust to stay with Serina while he thinks of a way to relieve her from her discomfort.
Hillary, who just came home, went back to school with the excuse of doing project with Serina. She was so worried with what Nicholas said that she didn't even realized something was amiss. When she arrived at the dorm, that's when she noticed what was wrong. 'How the hell did Nicholas know Serina was uncomfortable? Men aren't allowed in the lady's dorm. Did he come or did he place a tracker on her? It should be easy to place a tracker on Serina with his wealth and connection.' Her thoughts wandered off to many possibilities but none of them were the answers she was looking for. She also knew that it was impossible for Nicholas to get inside the dorm. But what she thinks as impossible was actually the answer to her question.
As for Nicholas, he went back to class but his attention was no longer there. He tried to recall as much information as he could about several ways of tampering one's life force.
'Are you sure about this?' Kiro asked Nicholas while feeling his consciousness look for methods to deal with the current issue that Serina was facing.
'I am. Aside from the vampire clans, no one else comes to my mind of whom can tamper her life force. Tampering a life force is a vampire's known skill. I can't be wrong about this,'