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In another part of the ancient school, while Aurelia and Nick were exploring the library, Lead and Thalia were on their own exploration mission. They decided to investigate the old science laboratories, a place rumored to be filled with forgotten experiments and relics of the past.
“Are you sure this is a good idea, Lead?” Thalia asked, her voice echoing in the empty hallway. The flickering lights cast eerie shadows on the peeling paint and dusty floor, home only to old apparatuses and a community of rats and cockroaches.
Lead shrugged, his eyes scanning the dimly lit corridor. “We won’t know until we try, Thalia. Besides, we might find something interesting.”
“I wish Aurelia were here so we could get more light…” Thalia muttered to herself, as she kept searching for something worth finding.
“It’s fine, she’s probably busy with her own exploration of the library.” Lead replied, unwilling to let Aurelia steal his thunder. “Besides, we’re fine here on our own.”
With a shared sense of curiosity, they pushed open the heavy wooden door to the first laboratory. The room was filled with dust-covered tables, old microscopes, and glass containers holding unidentifiable glowing substances. The air was thick with the smell of chemicals and old paper.
As they ventured deeper into the lab, they discovered an old chalkboard covered in complex equations and faded diagrams. Thalia, with her affinity for numbers, was immediately drawn to it. She traced the equations with her finger, her brow furrowed in concentration.
Meanwhile, Lead was drawn to a large, rusted cabinet at the back of the room. He pulled open the creaky doors, revealing rows of old textbooks and journals. His eyes lit up at the sight of the ancient knowledge stored within. “Hey, Thalia, check this out. Looks like something blew up in here.”
Thalia abandoned the equations for a while and went over to the book cabinet. “I don’t know, but I might have a theory as to the explosion.” Her thallium-infused senses were tingling with fear. “Still, it’s probably not safe to be here. And don’t touch these substances. They just seem… dangerous.”
“All right, but what’s your theory?” he asked, eager to cut to the chase.
“I don’t know if I’m allowed to tell, but it involves Aurelia.”
“Aurelia? What does she have to do with anything?” he asked, a small frown on his face at the mention of her name. “It’s okay, just tell me. We need to know all we can.”
Thalia looked at Lead, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and determination. “Aurelia’s dad was in that class, the one where Alithea Radon lost control of her powers. He was there when the explosion happened,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “He saw everything.”
Lead’s eyes widened in surprise. “Aurelia’s dad was there? As in, Dr. Aurelius, our mysterious Math teacher? But why didn’t he ever mention it in class? And how is he a Math professor now?”
Thalia shrugged. “He also had the Math degree. But be honest, if one of your students was radioactive, and something huge happened like this, would you want to be reminded of it every day?”
Lead was silent for a moment, processing the information. “Good point. But do you think we should ask him about it? Maybe he can help us.”
Thalia shook her head. “No, we’ll talk to Aurelia first. Then to her dad.”
“Sounds fair, but now we have to explore,” Lead replied, his slight hesitance to speak with Aurelia forgotten thanks to the urgency of the mission.
As they stood there, surrounded by the remnants of a classroom that had once been filled with eager minds, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe. They were standing in a place that had witnessed creation and destruction, a place that had seen the devastating consequences of unchecked power.
As they were about to leave, Thalia’s eyes caught a glint of something metallic half-buried under a pile of debris. She walked over and carefully moved the debris aside, revealing a small, tarnished locket. She picked it up and dusted it off, revealing an intricate design etched into the metal.
“Look at this, Lead,” she called out, holding up the locket. “I think it’s Alithea’s.”
Lead walked over and took the locket, examining it closely. “How can you tell?” he asked.
Thalia pointed to the design on the locket. “See this ‘Rn’ written on it? It’s the symbol for radon. And look, there’s a small ‘A Li’ engraved next to it. I think this belonged to Alithea Radon.”
Lead opened the locket and found a small, faded photograph of a young woman with bright eyes and a radiant smile. “This must be Alithea,” he said, a note of sadness in his voice.
Thalia nodded, her eyes welling up with tears. “She was just like us, Lead. Just a student trying to understand her powers. And she paid the ultimate price for it.”
“I get it, I guess. C-14 is radioactive as well, but luckily, I’m all right, since only part of my carbon composition is C-14. I’m not considered legally radioactive, and I don’t pose too much danger, or at least, I’m pretty sure I don’t. She wasn’t so lucky…”
Lead placed the locket gently back into Thalia’s palm, the weight of the information pressing down on him. “I wonder if there’s anything else of Alithea’s here.”
The two friends continued exploring the classroom, careful not to touch anything. “Look,” Lead pointed to a small book lying on a table in the second-to-last row of the class. The table had a small strip of paper taped onto it, presumably a placard reserving a student’s place. He read the unintelligible contents of the paper, which read, ‘Ali…a… don’. The rest of it was either smudged or torn apart.
“Alia Don? Who’s that?” Thalia asked, cocking her head.
“Alithea Radon, I presume.” Lead replied. “The explosion was probably huge. She’s a back-bencher, and her table has the debris on it. There’s also a book. Wanna read it?”
Thalia looked at the book, her curiosity momentarily taking control of her instead of the thallium-infused vigilance she usually exhibited. “Maybe, but… I think we should ask Gallus to read it.”
Lead cocked his head in confusion. “Why him?”
“Because the book might have some radioactive energy, which may affect us. But it probably won’t affect an already radioactive person. His francium could counter whatever radioactivity it emits.”
“Or it could be dangerous to Gallus as well…” Lead warned her, a stern look in his cold eyes. “I don’t think we should take it to him either. Maybe we’ll ask them all to get here.”
“Good point. I’ll call.” Thalia replied, and proceeded to call Selena and Aurelia.
Thalia’s phone began to vibrate just as she was about to dial Aurelia’s number. She glanced at the screen and saw Aurelia’s name flashing. With a sense of urgency, she answered the call.
“Thalia, I need your help,” Aurelia’s voice came through, slightly muffled and anxious. “Nick and I were in the library, and we’ve stumbled into some sort of secret chamber. It’s like it’s power-proof or something—I can’t use my abilities to get out, and neither can he.”
Thalia’s heart raced as she processed the information. “Okay, stay calm. Lead and I will come to get you. Just tell me exactly where you are.”
Aurelia quickly described her location in the library, mentioning the exact bookshelf near which the trapdoor was. Thalia relayed the information to Lead, and they both hurried out of the laboratory, their previous mission forgotten. They knew they had to act fast to help Aurelia escape from the mysterious chamber that held her captive.
[Yep, the pic is accurate. Thalia is not very tall. (Lead's 5'9", she's 5'1")]
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