Julia sprinted in the direction of the dorms, drawing curious glances from the student body around her. Her mind was clouded with anxiety, as she purely focused on what she knew she could do in this moment.

Lead.

She made it back to Team Valiant’s dorm, taking a moment to catch her breath, before coming back into the room and catching Harley and Sola right as they were about to leave.

“Julia, hey. We were just about to come find you. Did you get Percy t-“ Harley asked, only for Julia to raise her finger, still panting excessively.

“Why were you running?” Sola questioned, as Julia let herself breath again.

“…P-Percy’s gone.” Julia stammered, just as Wess popped her head up from the couch.

“What?” Wess let out, joining them.

“Gone where?” Sola asked, helping Julia over to the couch.

“…I-I fucked up…” Julia confessed, hitting her forehead. “I fucked up so ba-“

Wess held her arm to stop her, before linking hands with her and giving her a reassuring smile.

“Just tell us from the start.” Harley insisted, right as the study door opened, with Essex coming out of the study to collective concerned stares.

Julia looked back at her, before finding her voice. “…Percy was mad, so she ran away from me…and then she ran into Cecil.”

Sola gasped, as Julia threw her hands out. “She started freaking out and then bolted, then Cecil said some weird stuff…there’s no doubt in my mind…”

Julia nodded.

“…it’s him.”

Everyone reeled at the information, all too stunned to respond straight away, as Essex decided to join them in the lounge area.

“…so…” Wess started, rubbing her arms. “…what do we do about this?”

Julia lowered her head, playing with her thumbs.

“…I need you guys to go out and look for Percy.” Julia reasoned. “She couldn’t have gotten far, but I’m worried she won’t come back here right now. Split up and ask for help if you need to. We’re not letting Wicker get to her.”

“Okay. Should we…?” Sola started, before Julia raised her head again.

“Just take her to Faller’s office. Or Dulce. Someone who can look after her.” Julia pointed out, before standing back up. “And bring your weapons. I don’t…I don’t know…”

“Alright, dear, easy enough.” Wess assured, linking arms with her, as the team started getting ready to leave.

“You joining us?” Harley asked, as Julia shook her head.

“I have to let Faller and Ferris know about this.” Julia pointed out, facing the team properly. “…I don’t know how much this is gonna balloon, so the sooner they know, the better.”

The team collectively agreed, before going to head out the door, only to realise Essex was joining them.

“Are you coming, Essex?” Harley asked, as Essex nodded back.

“…I am still concerned about how trustworthy Percy is.” Essex confessed, before resting a hand on Julia’s shoulder. “But Cecil takes priority. I will put aside my concerns for the good of the Wailing Conflict.”

Julia gave back a reluctant nod. “Alright. You guys know what to do. Text me to keep me updated.”

The team started to split off, with Julia heading in the direction of Faller’s office, only for Wess to stop her in the middle of the hallway.

“Julia, hold on.” She prefaced, before leaning into her. “…I need to know. Are you planning on confronting Cecil?”

Julia found herself speechless, before deciding to shake her head. “…if we’re lucky, I won’t need to.”

Wess nodded back, before kissing Julia’s cheek. “Just…don’t…don’t do what I think you will. Look after yourself, please.”

Julia sighed out, before somewhat hurriedly kissing Wess’ cheek as well and leaving. “I’ll come find you as soon as I can, okay?”

“That’s a promise!” Wess called out, before joining back up with the rest of the team, ready to go find Percy.

“…god, this morning has not been kind to me…” Ferris groaned, leaving in the middle of her class and staring out the walkway window, before reaching into her pocket. “Teach this, search that, teach this, search that, tap dance while you’re at it…fucking Faller…”

Right before she could grab out her flask, Julia came rushing down the hall, almost running right past her, before realising who it was and stopping.

“Ferris! Ferris, I need to talk!” Julia exclaimed, as Ferris raised her hand.

“Julia, my head’s killing me and I’ve got a class. Knock it down about five notch-“ Ferris complained, before registering her breathlessness and the seriousness on Julia’s face. “…what’s up?”

“It’s…Percy. She just…I think she just confirmed it’s Cecil.” Julia hurriedly let out, as Ferris took on the same serious demeanour.

“…who else knows?”

“Just the team right now. Cecil might be onto it too, I don’t know.” Julia reasoned, as Ferris nodded solemnly.

“…alright, we’re heading straight to Faller’s office. Stay close to me.” Ferris stated, before leaning her head into her classroom. “Hey, fuck off! Class is over!”

All the students present looked around in confusion, as she rested her hand on her sword handle, before running down the hall, Julia quickly following behind.

“Alright, what’s the best strategy?” Wess asked, as the team started to leave the dorms.

“Well, where’s she most likely to be?” Harley wondered, as Sola started counting on her fingers.

“Our room, library…study area? She didn’t leave the dorm much, so I don’t know her hang out spots.” Sola admitted, before counting another finger. “With Faller…maybe.”

“If she is truly worried about being in danger, she would only look for somewhere safe to hide.” Essex reasoned. “Meaning she would avoid the forest or anywhere outside in case of Cecil sending a Wailing. She would also avoid staying with Faller directly since it would be too obvious to Cecil.”

“That’s…a good point too.” Harley admitted, before stroking her chin. “But that just means she could be literally anywhere else on campus…”

The team gave the points a think, right as Wess noticed Team Vanguard wandering down the hall in their direction, weapons by their sides.

“Oh, Joleicia!” Wess called out, waving to her, as she stopped talking with Chops and waved back.

“Hey Wess! Hey there, guys! What’s with the powwow? You wanna join our training sesh?” Joleicia beamed, before jogging over, right as Sola grabbed her shirt.

“Percy’s run away, and we need to find her fast!”

“Wait, what? Run where?” Saxin asked, stepping forward, as Nathaniel hid behind her.

“We don’t know, but it was recent, so she’s definitely still on campus.” Harley explained, as Chops joined her side. “It’s pretty serious.”

“It is Wicker related.” Essex admitted, as grave looks crossed everyone’s faces.

“Fuck me.” Chops let out. “Okay, we can put off training to help. Percy’s a real one.”

“U-Uhh, does that mean…Wailing are gonna be involved?” Nathaniel rightfully asked, as Harley patted his shoulder.

“…just keep your weapon on hand.” She insisted, as Joleicia stepped ahead again.

“Alright, Saxin and Lenin, you each take a support tower. Chops, science department, Nathaniel, security department. Team Valiant, each of you check a quarter of the main building, I’ll check the rest. We’ll meet up at the courtyard in an hour to report. Okay?” Joleicia ordered, as Lenin quickly saluted her.

“I just love how you do that.” He insisted, before grabbing Saxin’s hand. “Ready, dear?”

“Aren’t I always?” Saxin agreed, before running off with him. “Bye, darlings!”

“Come on, Nath! Pull the lead out!” Chops said, running down the hall, as Nathaniel tried his best to keep up.

“W-What lead? I don’t know that saying!”

“We’ll catch you up before splitting off.” Wess offered to Joleicia, as she nodded back.

“Things are getting real, I guess.” Joleicia admitted, before looking over Valiant. “Is Julia already searching? What’s she up to?”

“…ank you, Senator Carmichael. I know we’re not your favourite institution, but this will go a long way to helping us in the future.” Faller stated, as Caren waved over the video call.

“Well, I was given some sound reasoning. I might recommend that strategy in the future.”

“Naturally.” Faller said, chuckling to himself. “Don’t be a stranger.”

Faller turned the call off, taking a second to be at peace and lean back in his chair, right as Ferris burst into his office with Julia right behind her.

“…Ferris, please knock.” Faller asked, as Ferris trudged up to his desk.

“No time. Julia just confirmed it’s Cecil.” Ferris declared, panting to herself, as Faller sat up in his seat.

Faller mouthed the words out of shock. “…is this true?”

Julia slowly nodded. “…Percy ran into him before disappearing. My team’s looking for her, but the way she looked at him before she left…”

Faller consistently nodded in agreement, before pulling out his tablet and making a quick call.

“…Dulce? I need you in my office…right now, 42B.” Faller stated, before hanging up, as Julia went to sit in one of Faller’s chairs.

“42B?” Julia asked.

“It’s a code for ‘high stakes emergency.’ How much does Cecil know?” Faller questioned, as Ferris butted in.

“He may suspect something since he saw Percy, but whether he thinks Julia’s involved is still in question.” Ferris reasoned, before heading to Faller’s liquor cabinet.

“H-He remarked that she was my friend, but again…” Julia added, as Faller tapped his pen on his desk.

“…okay…so there’s still a chance Cecil doesn’t think you’re onto him.” Faller pointed out, as he reached into one of his desk drawers, before pulling out one of the listening devices from the second attack.

He stood up, before going to place it in Julia’s hand. “I want you to try to get a confession from him.”

Julia’s pupils shrank. “M-Me? I-I don’t know if-“

“If me or Ferris showed up so soon after he learned Percy was on campus, he’d know something was up.” Faller reasoned. “We have to act fast or he’ll start making plans. Just pretend you’re there with questions about your work with him. Something to get him talking before you mention Percy and whether he knows her. Dulce can accompany you once she gets here.”

Julia looked down at the bug, as Faller went to resting on his desk. “I redirected it so it’ll transfer audio back to me. We’ve also got security cameras in his office, in case he finds the bug. He won’t openly admit to anything, but we can catch him on a technicality and start making moves from there.”

Julia gripped it in her hand, before lowering her gaze to the floor. “…Faller, are you sure I can do this?”

“…truthfully, no.” Faller confessed, as Julia gazed up at him. “But you’ve got a chance and a prior relationship with him, and that’s better than any of us do.”

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Julia felt her conflicting priorities battling it out in her head, each vying for space, right as a polite knock came from the door.

Ferris grabbed it as Dulce came in, giving a quick salute to Faller.

“Sir.” She greeted, before noticing Julia dejected in her seat. “…so, what’s the emergency?”

“Come here.” Faller beckoned, taking her over to the corner of his office, before he leaned in and started whispering.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…ecil?”

“…”

“…hat do you mean isn’t who h…”

“…”

“…o now I’ve got t…”

“…”

“…that lying little-“ Dulce grunted, before slamming her foot. “So he’s actually some criminal guy, right?”

“Most likely a criminal mastermind known as Wicker.” Faller confirmed, as Dulce grit her teeth.

“Geez…you think you know people.” Dulce let out, clicking her tongue, before looking to Ferris. “Could you imagine lying about who you are for years?”

“…I could take a guess at what that looks like.” Ferris argued, taking a gulp of her drink, right as Faller leaned down to meet Julia’s height.

“…Julia.”

“…Hmm?” Julia let out, only now breaking her concentration.

“…I know I’m asking a lot of you.” Faller confessed, resting his hand on her arm. “I just want you to know this a great service you’re doing. Daysend will be better off after we know exactly who we’re dealing with.”

Julia gave a tepid nod back to him, before standing back up, right as Dulce joined her side.

“I’ve got your back. He tries anything, I knock him on his ass.” Dulce assured, slapping Julia’s side, as Julia breathed out.

“…right.” Julia let out, assuring herself, as she slipped the bug into her pocket. “…let’s get the son of a bitch.”

———

“Long day…”

Cecil opened up his office door, before making his way to his desk, subtly checking his watch on the way.

“…longer day still.” He remarked, heading to take a seat, right as a knock came from his open door.

He lifted his head to see Julia standing in the doorway.

“Julia, come in. I was just grabbing some things.” Cecil offered, reaching behind his desk, as Julia cautiously took a few steps into his office, refusing to break her poker face.

…keep it under control, Julia. Don’t screw up.

“…hello, sir.” Julia replied, dropping her bag to the side of the door while trying to hide her rifle inside, as Cecil got back up from his desk.

“Did you need anything from me?” Cecil asked, wandering up to a bookshelf and pulling off a book.

“…I, uhh, just had some questions about the next lab cleaning.” Julia started, trying to regain some composure, even as the sight of Cecil was putting her off.

Cecil looked back at her. “You could’ve just asked me during the cleaning.”

“I know, I just…think I screwed something up last time and wanted to rectify it.” Julia admitted, looking embarrassed, as Cecil glanced back at her, before putting the book back and wandering again, quickly checking his watch.

“Well, it couldn’t have been too bad. I didn’t notice anything.” He said, stepping to the door and resting his palm on the handle.

Julia caught the subtle sound of it closing behind her, as she tried not to freak out and blow her cover.

Before she could slyly get away, she heard the lock being turned, causing her to stiffen up, then turn around and face Cecil again.

His expression remained neutral as he stepped away, right as Dulce started to pull on the door.

“Julia? Is everything alright in there?”

“Everything’s fine, Dulce. No need to worry.” Cecil called back, as he wandered back to his desk and sat against it.

Dulce pulled on the handle a few more times, before heavy banging rang out from Dulce slamming against it, tensing Julia up every time it hit.

“…i-it’s just…” Julia stammered, doing everything she could to keep her cool. “…F-Florey mentioned that you have a certain way yo-“

“Julia, I’m gonna stop treating you like you’re dumber than you actually are.” Cecil let out, as Julia nervously looked back at him.

“C-Cecil?”

Cecil tapped his fingers on the desk.

“You could’ve played this a lot smarter, you know. In terms of hiding your intentions.”

In a fit of panic, her nerves getting the better of her, Julia’s eyes very briefly darted over to her bag in the corner, then right down to her pocket, as Cecil followed her gaze, before noticing the slight bump in her pocket.

He got back up and took a step forward, as Julia began backing up, only to immediately hit the door behind her and fall to the floor, before he crouched down and reached in, grabbing out the bug from her pocket and holding it up.

“Using my own listening device against me…” He said, before effortlessly taking it from a terrified Julia. “I bet Faller put you up to this, huh?”

Cecil brought the ‘bug’ to his mouth.

“I hope I’ve been giving you a good show.”

He then violently threw it against the wall, before stretching his hand a little.

“The least he could do was make his own.” Cecil stated, before staring back at Julia. “It’s almost a joke he’s playing against me. Can’t even be bothered to make his own, and yet he has the honour of being principal.”

Cecil sat back down, before letting out a weighty sigh.

“It’s about time you got some answers.” Cecil prefaced, as Julia tried getting back onto her feet. “Yes, I’m Wicker. Yes, I’m responsible for the attacks on the academy, and yes…you broke into my facility.”

Julia could feel the blood drain from her face at the realisation she didn’t want to admit was true. Alarm bells were going off constantly in her frazzled mind, as the situation only got worse.

“Julia, just stay put! I’ll be back, don’t worry!” Dulce called out from the door, panicking Julia even more.

He shook his head in frustration. “At this point, I don’t care who knows. I could tell you’ve been giving me the run around for a while, and after seeing you with Jules, it only cemented my suspicions.”

Julia could feel her body betraying her, as she felt her hand reach for the door to leave, her eyes still locked on Wicker, before turning away to try and unlock it, only for a massive gust of wind to appear from seemingly nowhere and close it shut again.

Julia tried to pry it open, before facing Wicker again and seeing his hand stretched out, a slight gust a wind still emanating from what Julia was quickly realising was his Whil.

“Was this your plan to confront me?” Wicker asked, putting his hand back in his pocket. “I was hoping for something better conceived…I guess you were strapped for time.”

“…w-why…why d-did you lie to all of us?” Julia managed, subtly trying to make her way over to her bag.

Cecil found himself pausing, before resting his hands again and sighing out.

“…tell me, Julia, who’s your enemy?”

Julia was lost for words again, as she shook her head in desperation.

“I’ll tell you who my enemy is.” Wicker stated, before picking up one of the photos from his shelves depicting him alongside the other staff of the academy, all in a group photo. “Whoever needs to be.”

He put it back down, before lightly wandering around his office. “The Wailing are my enemy, the Venators are my enemy, the Central Government are my enemy, Faller and his lap dog Ferris are my enemy, and most recently…you’ve become my enemy too. Faller insists on sticking his nose where it shouldn’t be, The Central Government refuses to make things easy, the Venators aren’t doing their job well enough, and the Wailing…refuse to die.” Wicker bemoaned, holding his head in his hand. “And then you and your team break into my labs, intervene in my plans and distract Rosalind, and steal away one of my most valuable assets…not to mention stay in contact with and influence my prodigy.”

Julia sidled against the wall, doing her best to use her terrified state to avoid looking too suspicious, as Wicker leaned over and pointed to himself.

“Jules was mine until you arrived.” Wicker declared, before standing back up. “I gave her a home and as much affection as I could spare, and she helped in my operations in a way no one else could.”

“…you used her, you scumbag.” Julia quickly replied, now in front of the bag, as she tried to regain some confidence.

“Okay, now that’s motivation.” Wicker stated, before tapping the side of his head and leaning on his bookshelf. “Is that the reason you do what you do? To help other people? Is that why you’re opposed to the Wailing?”

Julia took a second, still pressed against the shelves.

“Is that why you’re opposed to me? But Venators help people, and I’m helping Venators.” Wicker reasoned, scratching his chin. “So I ask you again, who’s your enemy?”

Julia gave an expression looking like she was deep in thought, as she lowered her guard briefly, before tripping over her own feet and falling forward, landing on the ground in a less than dignified way.

Wicker found himself chuckling. “I didn’t think I’d dumbfounded you that muc-“

To Wicker’s surprise, Julia’s fall was actually premeditated, as she jumped for her bag, now on the same level as her, before grabbing out her rifle and aiming it at Wicker’s head.

Wicker just stood there, hardly reacting.

“Are you really prepared to take another person’s life?” Wicker said, as Julia found herself hesitating. “I might be your enemy, but I’m not like the Wailing. I can be reasoned with. I make deals, remember? Dead bodies are bad for business.”

Julia felt her finger graze the trigger, shaking with each movement, as sweat started to stain her brow, only making her hesitation worse.

“Julia, please. I’m no petty criminal.” Wicker pointed out, mockingly holding his hands up. “Just put the gun down, and we can talk this out. Okay?”

To Julia’s credit, she managed to get back up on her feet, as she refused to lower the barrel.

“You’ve been lying for years. I’m not gonna keep falling for that.” Julia argued, still keeping her distance, as Wicker shrugged back.

“Respectable move. Alright.” Wicker said, still with his hands up. “So now that you have me, what’re you going to do?”

Julia started to panic again, as she realised there wasn’t much of a long-term plan from here, before shaking her head and just focusing on now.

“H-How’d you do the attacks? On the academy?” Julia asked, as Wicker leaned back on his bookcase.

“Listening devices in the academy let me know the security department’s movements and strategies. I found weak points in each and moved the Wailing through them accordingly. After the devices were discovered, though, I couldn’t guarantee more successful attacks.” Wicker explained, as Julia kept her sights lined on him.

“Okay…how’d you get the Wailing to do what you wanted?”

“Ah, that’s a trade secret. Even with a gun to my head, I still need to protect my business.” Wicker pointed out.

Julia found herself running out of questions. “…why’d the listening bugs look like insects?”

“A pun on my end. Also, most people don’t go around picking up random bugs.” Wicker clarified, slightly wiggling his fingers. “Can I lower these now? They’re starting to sting.”

Julia reluctantly nodded, as Wicker lowered his hands, before making an undetectable movement with his fingers, creating a slight gust behind one of the photo frames on his shelf.

It slid off and landed on Julia’s head, jamming the corner of the frame into her, as she reeled in pain, giving Wicker the chance to kick her in the chest and grab her rifle.

She fell back into the shelves, collapsing them, as Wicker grabbed the bullets out of the gun and chucked the rifle to the side.

“Decent attempt, but your good nature hindered you this time.” Wicker reasoned, smiling as he chucked the ammo behind his desk too. “I’m done playing coy. You’ve annoyed me enough for the time being.”

As Julia attempted to get her bearings, Wicker stepped forward, leaning down to get in her face.

Julia found herself backing away, now in too much pain to get much strength back, as Wicker scoffed.

“Trick the morons, indulge the worthy.” Wicker reiterated. “What does it say that I managed to trick this entire academy for years?”

Wicker turned back around, before grabbing his forehead. “I always suspected Faller was looking into me. After Ferris borrowed those files a few years ago, that pretty much cemented it…but fortunately, they weren’t very proactive with the information. Granted, in my earlier years as Wicker, I wasn’t as sharp as I am now. I left a paper trail here and there.”

Wicker shrugged. “Heck, even my recent staff weren’t able to capture you, five students. But that’s the beauty of my work; constantly reiterative.”

Wicker faced Julia again, as she struggled to find anymore angles.

“So make a good decision, Julia. Who’s your enemy?”

Wicker smiled.

“Because it shouldn’t be me.”

Wicker proudly started getting in her face again. “I’m a public figure, a pillar of industry, Daysend’s future hero. I’ll do what centuries worth of Venators before me couldn’t handle. I’ll be the one responsible for the permanent eradication of the Wailing and everything the Conflict holds.” Wicker declared, before staring down at Julia, as she huddled against wreckage of the shelves, too terrified to respond back in kind.

Wicker’s expression turned serious. “What’ll people remember you for? Folding when the chips were down?”

Julia’s pupils shrank.

“Some noble fucking legacy.”

Wicker took a moment, before getting up and turning back around, as Julia flinched in fear, right as he went to check his watch again.

“And that seems to have run out the clock.” Wicker admitted, before pulling out his tablet. “Appreciate it, Julia.”

Before Julia could make out his meaning behind that, a pained roar called out from the Central Forest, shuddering the windows with its violence.

Wicker smirked. “Now it begins.”

“…low down! You saw what in the forest?” Dulce yelled over her tablet, as she swung her baton in her hand over and over, letting it build up momentum over and over. “How much, Lawkins? I need more information. You’re talking a mile a minute.”

She kept storing it in her body, preparing herself to use her Whil against the door to Cecil’s office and blow it off its hinges, only for the pained roar from the forest to ring out through the halls, shaking the building interior, as Dulce’s attention brought her to the window.

“That’s a Wailing.” She quickly realised, only to notice the intensity of the cry still echoing in the hall. “Wait…that’s…”

In a panic, she bolted down the hall, heading to the nearest stairwell, before pulling her tablet to her mouth.

“Lawkins, sound the alarm and get the student body to safety, now! Multiple Wailing on campus! I repeat, multiple Wailing on campus!”

“Oh boy…back at the old stomping ground…”

Rosalind playfully swung her sword around, sneaking her way onto campus through the front parking lot, as she avoided several of the guards heading in the direction of the reported Wailing.

She waited for them to pass by, ducking behind a car, before finding her way up into the student dorms, heading in the direction of the main building.

Alarms were blaring now, with massive crowds making an exodus from the dorms.

“Let’s get out of here!”

“Wait, we can’t fight these ones?”

“Don’t think about it, just run!”

Rosalind smugly walked through them, as teams of students all ran past her toward the academy arena.

Rosalind smirked. “Like cockroaches. Big, stupid, cockroaches.”

Suddenly, she stopped, before staring up at into the main building proudly.

“Now…where are you, Jules?”

“Hey! Any sign of her?” Harley called out, out of breath and standing at the part of the courtyard connected to the road, as Saxin and Lenin joined up with her and shook their heads.

“No luck. She’s an elusive one.” Saxin reasoned, right as the rest of Team Valiant came down to join them.

“We couldn’t find her in any of the classrooms!” Sola clarified, splaying her arms out. “It’s like she doesn’t want to be found!”

“Hey, guys!” Chops called out, waving and dragging Nathaniel along behind her. “Did you hear the alarm? I think something might be going down!”

“Is Wicker acting?” Essex reasoned, as Lenin clicked his tongue.

“Let’s hope it’s a random, non-Wicker-related Wailing.” Lenin suggested, before spotting Joleicia on the balcony running around the courtyard.

“Hey! I couldn’t find Percy!” Joleicia explained. “Did you hear the alarms?!”

“We just caught them! Come down here!” Wess yelled back, right as Nathaniel yelped, before pointing back at the security department.

“U-Umm…” Nathaniel let out. “I-I-I think I know where the Wailing is…”

The group turned their attention to the security department, off the main campus building and bordering the Central Forest, as what looked to be a massive Wailing was ripping the building apart, tearing into it with ease.

The security had gathered around it, as Team Valiant and Vanguard all ran up to see what was going on, right as Joleicia emerged from the building to join them, before getting a better vantage of the action.

“Wait, stop! It’s not just one!” Joleicia cried out, as Valiant and Vanguard only now realised it wasn’t just one huddled over Wailing, but three massive Wailing each destroying the building one by one, before they acknowledged the massive security and student presence building up around them as they made quick work of the department.

The security suddenly noticed the teams behind them, as the makeshift leader started calling out declarations.

“Keep the students protected! We can worry about the building later!” They called out, as the Wailing started to turn their attention to them.

Once Joleicia was down too, she finally saw just what devastation they were capable of, having killed several security already, and having torn half the building down in a few minutes alone.

“Okay…this is the worst-case scenario…”

Julia stared out the window, watching as the Wailing’s presence consumed the slowly growing atmosphere of the evening that enveloped the academy, horrified at just what all this had come to.

“…Now, Julia.” Wicker declared, looking back at her, as she finally found the will to clamour back up to her feet. “You’ve got two options here.”

He indicated to the door. “You make a run for it in an attempt to rectify the situation.”

He indicated to her scattered gun across the room. “Or you try to take my life again. What’s it going to be?”

Almost immediately, Julia booked it out the door, not even giving him a chance to sway her decision, as Wicker shook his head and smirked.

“Of course…” He let out, before leaving his office to try and make tracks himself. “We’re both fairly busy right now, after all.”

Julia tried her best to think, to come up with some genius counter or strategy to make Wicker pay, to help everyone she cared about stay safe, to find Percy, to keep her safe again. She thought about dealing with the Wailing, or finding her team, or letting Faller know what she learned, or finding Wicker again.

Tears streaked down her eyes as all the options overwhelmed her, barely giving her a chance to do what she could in this situation.

She was living in a nightmare.

Now it was up to her to wake up.