Chapter 17: Brothers
4:08 p.m., Hester left the office building where Valerie was located and walked down a corridor on the third floor toward the classroom for course selection.
She sensed someone had been following her ever since she left Valerie's office, trailing at a distance. Through the glass windows at several corners, she caught a glimpse of the figure’s shadow.
A man.
Her eyes quickly scanned the surroundings. About a dozen steps away, there was a manual fire alarm, which happened to be under surveillance.
Hester broke into a run. She swiftly smashed the glass covering and pressed the red button. Moments later, piercing alarms reverberated throughout the building. The bright white lights in the corridor instantly went dark, replaced by flashing red arrows on the floor and walls, pointing to the nearest emergency exit.
Rain began to fall inside the corridor—part of the building’s automatic sprinkler system triggered alongside the fire alarm.
“Good grief... what have you done?”
As rapid footsteps approached, Hester heard a young male voice, tinged with confusion. She turned around—the man who had been following her finally revealed himself.
He wore a loose black hoodie, his hands tucked into the pockets at his waist. Half his face was hidden beneath the hood, revealing only the outline of his cheek. “Why did you—”
“Don’t move!”
Tension surged through Hester’s muscles. Clenching her fists and slightly crouching, her eyes flared with hatred and vigilance. Like a young she-wolf defending her territory, she adopted a defensive stance.
The man actually halted. Slowly, he raised his hands above his head and took a couple of steps back.
Under the flashing alarm lights, he pulled back his hood. The gentle rain from the sprinklers cast a chaotic red glow, illuminating his pure white hair with a neon-like sheen.
He appeared to be a small-statured boy, perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old, maybe even younger. His hair was likely dyed, as the roots showed a starkly different deep black from the tips. Beneath faint eyebrows, his golden eyes looked lazily indifferent even in this tense situation.
“Oh, I see...” he smiled. “Because you spotted me, you triggered the alarm.”
After confirming the camera had captured his face, Hester quietly shifted her weight—ready to bolt at the slightest move.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend,” the boy kept his hands raised. “I looked at your profile and saw you just arrived yesterday, living in room 403 upstairs... I didn’t expect such a coincidence—this afternoon, I happened to pass by Miss Viking’s office and saw you—”
“Who are you?” Hester cut him off sharply.
“Me?” The boy’s voice sounded thin against the shrill alarm. “I’m Sean Glangua.”
***
“Why were you following me?”
Sean laughed softly, lowering his hands to clasp behind his head. “Well, Miss Hester... maybe because when I first saw you, you seemed familiar.”
Hester frowned slightly.
Sean looked at her. “You didn’t fill out Miss Viking’s questionnaire truthfully, did you?”
Hester didn’t respond, but her lips pressed into a slight downturn.
Sean read the answer.
He smiled again and continued, “It’s okay, I haven’t either, never have. But since last year, I noticed they added lie detection components to the form... Of course, I figured out which questions are used for that. If you want, I can share the details with you—”
“No need,” Hester’s voice was low and cold. “Please leave.”
“All right.” Sean stepped back two paces, appearing ready to go. Just as Hester felt a flicker of relief, he stopped and glanced behind her.
“...Carl?”
At Sean’s soft call, a tall man emerged slowly from the shadows behind Hester.
Hester’s heart nearly stopped. In the instant their eyes met, she felt a crushing force so overwhelming she hadn’t sensed the man’s presence until now.
He was nearly tall enough to touch the corridor’s ceiling. Even relaxed, his arms hanging by his sides were muscular, veins bulging visibly on his forearms.
His gaze lingered on Hester only briefly before he strode directly toward Sean.
In their brief passing, Hester again felt the oppressive weight pressing down on her. She struggled to steady her knees enough to keep from collapsing.
“Following me again?” Sean asked.
“I’m here to see if you’re causing trouble again.” The man reached out, grabbed Sean by the collar at the back of his neck, and lifted him off the ground. “Sean, let’s go back.”
Though he spoke gently, the man clearly gave Sean no choice. Sean flailed helplessly in the air as the man carried him slowly down the corridor.
Once more, the long corridor stood empty except for Hester.
***
Soon, several staff members arrived, carrying fire blankets and wearing goggles. Liz spotted Hester standing against the wall almost immediately. “Jane!”
Hester lifted her head, her face pale.
Liz hurried forward and held Hester’s hand, feeling it icy cold. Hester seemed to tremble lightly, as if frightened out of her wits.
Others noticed the shattered glass from the fire alarm on the floor. “Did you trigger the fire alarm?”
“Yes,” Hester replied softly.
Everyone tensed. “Where is the fire?”
“There’s no fire...” Hester said. “I noticed someone was following me, so... I set off the alarm...”
They exchanged looks, relaxing slightly—the fire threat was apparently over for now.
Liz draped a fire blanket over Hester. “Are you okay? Can you walk?”
Hester was still trembling but shook her head. “...I’m fine.”
“Don’t be afraid, and don’t worry...” Liz steadied Hester by the shoulders. “Did you see who it was?”
Hester’s throat moved as she recalled the second man emerging from the shadows. A chill ran through her.
“He said his name is Sean Glangua.”
Liz’s expression grew complicated.
She knew Sean well enough. Though she rarely interacted with him, his intense narcissism and self-aggrandizement made him like a walking narcissus flower. Whether necessary or not, his habitual lies were constant headaches for Miss Viking. Liz had long heard about this.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Liz said softly, glancing at Hester’s wet clothes from the sprinklers. “Let’s get you changed first. Be careful not to catch a cold.”