Clover Madden and the Order of Ivan

3) Muted Nightmares

"Come along then, children. Come along," says Headmistress Althorn as she directs them all through the rickety building. She shows them the parlor; a crowded sort of room with piles upon piles of frilly pillows that eerily reminds her of Mary's forlorn household. She then brings them all to a small rusty kitchen that has barren counters and empty cupboards. After that, she turns to a pompous-looking girl who seems to be at least two years older than the rest of them and whispers something indistinguishable in her ear before facing the rest of the students, "Boys, follow me. And girls, follow behind Miss Ezemerelda Lennon."

"You've heard Professor Althorn," she says loudly, shoulders set back and her head placed proudly in the air as though she's better than every last one of them. She is dressed in strange clothing, Clover notices; long white pants that flare out at the bottom and a sweater of the same color with tiny patches of Oleander flowers sewn into the square neckline of it. But the most interesting part of the outfit is the long cloak attached to her top. The color of it is so different from anything that she has ever seen before; almost sheer but also blue with a strange glittery tint to it. Ezmerelda Lennon looks different, too. Her bobbed hair is nearly white and she has hypnotizing violet eyes that don't match her dark complexion at all. If she wasn't obviously human, Clover would think that she is from a different planet. "You're to follow me to your room. Come along, ladies."

She and Jane reluctantly obey, though as they move up a brick staircase and through the narrow hallway that comes along after, she can't help but feel increasingly doomed.

They soon approach a door with at least ten locks attached to the outside and she realizes that, unless there is a window in the room that they can climb out of, all of them are trapped.

When they enter, the first thing that she notices is the fact that there are four twin-sized beds displayed; the same amount that there are girls in the room, minus Lennon. She then sees the dim evening light seeping through a small window and her heart leaps with hope.

"Unpack enough of your things for the night and claim a mattress," says Ezmerelda Lennon curtly and Clover obliges, picking the bed next to Jane.

She doesn't have many belongings in the tiny suitcase that she had packed; a few articles of clothing (Many of which she stole from Alex), some pocket money that she managed to find around Mary's house, and an unframed photograph of her mother.

She is able to unpack much faster than everyone else.

"Something about this situation seems off," Says one of the other two girls. Her face has twisted into one of pure terror and she looks like she's about to cry, "Where is she taking us?"

Lennon doesn't pay much attention to her panic, merely rolling her eyes and saying, "You'll find out soon enough, outsider."

"This isn't a boarding school, is it?" Says the other girl a bit quieter. Rather than being scared, she seems angry.

"Boarding school? I was told that this was a military school."

"So was I," Clover says.

"Military school? That's what Professor Althorn has been telling them?" Asks Lennon, her lips curling slightly in an unnerving smile, "Listen, she didn't tell me that part of the job would be answering the questions of a bunch of emotional thirteen year-old outsiders. So, if you would excuse me, I'd like to go to my own room and get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be very draining for me."

"Wait!" The first girl calls out desperately, tears now flowing down her face freely, "She's taking us somewhere. You have to help us."

"I know she's taking you somewhere," says Lennon in a blank voice, acting as though it should be obvious to them, "I'm helping her."