Chapter 2: Revenge School Starts

Oh, where was I? Enjoying talking about the revenge done in my name. Oh yes, the revenge school.

Our teacher was Filene, Fii-lean, not File-ne. Her well-written revenge story is documented in If It Seems Too Good to Be True by peregrinf here on SOL.

Our first lesson began, “Carol and Margo, revenge training comes with some secrets that must not be shared with other Grotto residents. The Really Big Secret is that we have no way to prevent someone from abusing children. Indeed, the only way we find abusers is when they actually kill children. Also, we do not see killers of those under 4 or 5 years old. And we only see a very few special cases of murdered children as old as 14.

“We don’t like it, but we do what we can to stop additional abuse.

“Today, we will talk about getting into the world of the living and getting out without anybody noticing. All you have to do to return to The Grotto is to want to come back and say ‘return’ or ‘back’. When and where you do that is important because people are not used to seeing others simply vanish in front of them. Going out to the world of the living is more complicated because you need to specify where. And you MUST NOT be observed popping into existence. It has happened and it’s bad.

“Some of us can see where we are going and arrive safely without assistance. Others cannot. You may need a guide to get to where you need to be. We are going to pop into a public library. Then walk to the elevator. If no one joins us we will pop back. Do not try to pop yourself back. I will do it all. It feels a little strange at first so be prepared. Remember, no talking in the library. Hang on to me.”

Suddenly we three were in some library’s stacks. I’m glad Filene warned us about a strange feeling or I might have said something. She led us to the elevator and pressed the up button. The door opened, we got in, the door closed, and we popped back.

“Carol, Margo, can either of you see if anybody is in the elevator right now? Is there still an empty space in the stacks where we popped in?”

We shook our heads indicating no clue.

“Okay, only a few girls can see where they are going without training. I couldn’t at first but I learned how to ‘See Ahead’ much faster than my instructor had hoped. We are now going to do the same thing in a different library. But this time Carol, try to return just as the elevator starts rising. When you disappear Margo will try to return.”

I was happy when I returned. Margo and Filene returned in order as expected.

It was time for trying to ‘See Ahead’. We were supposed to somehow find our schools and ‘See Ahead’ for places where we would be able to jump to. I was to try for at least 5 minutes but no more than 10. Then it would be Margo’s turn. And back and forth until one of us was sure we found a spot or we both gave up.

I found my school easily enough but my seeing was mostly fog and images shifting uncontrollably. I think I saw the nurse’s room but before I could look around I saw the dumpsters in the parking lot. I’m almost sure I saw the lunch room/auditorium but I had no clue if there was anybody inside.

Margo saw something. She felt like she was almost blind walking near the bus stop.

Filene was pleased with our progress. “Stop trying. I will call you two back in two days to cover jumping in strategies. Remember, during those days away from class, don’t try to find your school or anything you remember. We will get back to that later.”