The Phantom School

"We definitely will." I answered. Mr. Kenan grumbled angrily, but didn"t say anything. "Your aggressiveness and hate towards your enemies hurt the people you once pledged to protect." I continued talking.

At that moment, one of the small cabinets near the back of the lab fell down and made a loud noise. It"s gla.s.s was shattered, and everything inside the cabinet spreaded around. Empty beakers and tubes were rolling on the floor. There were puddles of water and piles of white-yellowish powder on the floor. I had no idea what the chemical was, but there was no doubt that this was meant as a warning for us.

"It is not fair for you to see us that way. During your previous struggles, you"ve done that too. Don"t you see the necessity?" the voice was getting louder and angrier. "Do we need to remind you of Melis or Onur? Do we need to remind you that we are still in this situation just because you refused to sacrifice?"

"We"ve only did that because our own lives were in danger!" I yelled. "You have nothing to lose, yet-"

All of a sudden, the room got darker and started vibrating.

"...yet..."

I wanted to continue talking, but I couldn"t. No matter how hard I tried, I wasn"t able to make any sounds.

"Watch your words." the voice said. "We are trying to understand you, yet you are only trying to start a fight. If that"s what you wish, that"s what you will get."

I felt something on my back. I wanted to look at it, but I couldn"t move. After a few seconds, the feeling on my back reached the lower parts of my body. There was a burning sensation on my skin, and it was gradually getting more painful.

I started feeling great pain as I breathed in. My eyes were full of tears. There was something in the air that was affecting me badly. Unable to withstand the pressure, I closed my eyes. After suffering the pain of breathing for a while, I started coughing. My throat was hurting. I was making scary noises while breathing.

I hopelessly opened my eyes again to look for Mr. Kenan. I couldn"t see him, but I could see my own body. My own blood was pouring down my shoulders. My skin was full of small wounds, and the larger cuts from Mr. Kenan"s operation were opened wide. I was losing blood quickly.

I heard Mr. Kenan coughing behind me. He was moaning and struggling. Finally, he managed to speak out some words.

"S-s-s...top! Stop!" he said. "We...eee wann-"

He couldn"t finish his sentence. Just then, the windows of the chemistry lab cracked and bursted out. Clean air started coming inside. After a while, as the fresh air got inside, the burning sensation went away. I was still feeling a lot of pain on my wounds, but it was starting to be more sufferable.

I could move again. I quickly looked at Mr. Kenan. He was on his knees, standing in the middle of the lab. He looked at his dirty clothes for a second, and then got up on his feet.

"You... you are right." he said. "We are willing to cooperate, since we have a common goal. Fighting each other would only create distractions."

"Very well. That"s what we actually wanted to hear." the voice replied. I could never agree with what Mr. Kenan was doing, but we had no other chance. Our deaths here would serve no purpose, and The Community would continue with their plan anyway.

"But hold on for a second!" Mr. Kenan shouted. "How are you so sure that there is no other way to do this?"

"We"ve had years to think about it." the voice replied. "If there was some other way, we wouldn"t have tried to kill so many people. You"ve refused to operate on the students. So, now, if you try to stop us from eliminating the tools of the enemy, you will be standing in our way."

"I don"t want anyone to die... In that case... Fine. I will perform the operation. Just... Just don"t harm anyone, okay?" Mr. Kenan calmly said.

"What!? Mr. Kenan, what are you doing?" I couldn"t handle myself, so I yelled in shock.

"Would you like to see them dead?" he asked me.

"Of course not, but perhaps we could protect them against-"

"So much fantasy is going on in your head. We can NOT win a fight against The Community. Remember what happened when you were a student. A lot of people died... Besides, it is always good to have allies on your side." he answered.

I didn"t reply to him and looked away. Even though there were no alternatives, it felt like we were doing a very big mistake.

"If that"s what motivates you, we are okay with that." said the voice.

"Though, I need to know... What is your plan after we disable the implants?" Mr. Kenan said.

"That will be decided after the implants are disabled." the voice answered.

"Not a very trustworthy plan, but I will take it. Please keep in mind that I still don"t trust you; we simply have a common goal, that"s all." said Mr. Kenan.

"What do you want us to say?" the voice replied. "We don"t have a plan right now, so if you ask us about it, of course we will tell you that we don"t have a plan."

"What"s our plan for right now?" I asked. "How will we free the students of the implants" effects in the first place?"

"We will have to make small surgeries on them, just like the one I did with you." Mr. Kenan replied.

"And... How exactly? How are we planning to do it? Do we even know the students?" I asked.

"We know who the targeted students are. We will share the list with you as soon as you wish." the voice said.

"When the right time comes, you will lure the said students into the chemistry lab, one at a time. Then, we will perform the surgery and we will release them." said Mr. Kenan. It was a simple explanation which was missing a lot of important details.

"Excuse me... Are you out of mind? Are you really asking me to kidnap my own students!? What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you?" I yelled.

"Why is it so hard to work with you?" I heard a sigh from the intercom.

"And how are you going to explain the situation to them? Furthermore... How will you perform that savage, painful operation on them?" I continued yelling. Mr. Kenan was patiently waiting for me to finish talking.

"Once they arrive in the lab, they won"t feel anything; and afterwards, they will have no memories of the surgery. I know a lot about organic chemistry, I can make it work. It will just be a little bit expensive for the school"s budget." Mr. Kenan said.

"Still, that"s cruel. I won"t be working with you. I won"t let any of you touch my students." I said.

"Come on, don"t be like that. You know what we are trying to do. We do not wish to harm your students, we want to help them." Mr. Kenan said.

"You are talking just like her." I told Mr. Kenan, referring to The Voice of The Community. "Let him go!" I yelled towards the intercom speaker.

"When did you become so paranoid?" the voice asked.

"I know how you feel, I feel the same way. I am a teacher too, they are my students as well... But unfortunately, there is no other way out. If you don"t want anyone to die, we will have to work together." said Mr. Kenan.

"And please be quick." added the voice.

I sighed. If I tried to fight against their methods, I would definitely fail just by myself.

"Let me think about it." I said in order to gain more time.

"We need an answer so we can start working." the voice entreated.

"Okay, okay. You are right. I will help you." I finally said. My own words hurt me as I spoke. What did I get myself into?

"It is settled then." said Mr. Kenan. "We shall begin the operation tomorrow."

"It"s nice to have you both on our side for once." said the voice.

"Let"s head out, we"ve been here for long enough already." said Mr. Kenan. We started walking to the main exit of the building.

"By the way... Sorry about the fire." the voice said.

"The fire... THAT fire?" I pointed at the woodland that surrounds the school.

"Yes. I was simply trying to get you back into the building. That won"t happen anymore." the voice replied.

"Good to know. That scared me a lot." I said.

"Well... Goodbye for now." the voice said, and the intercom deactived with a click. Mr. Kenan and I exited the building.

"Come here early tomorrow. I will be in the lab, as usual." Mr. Kenan said. I silently nodded. We separated our paths and headed home.

I couldn"t sleep that night.