Clementine:
"What is this place?" I asked Miss Rue as I followed her in silence. I knew we had stepped beyond the academy’s border.
There was a large gate, and Miss Rue used her key card to let us out.
"This is part of the woods you’ve probably never visited," she replied instantly. "Let’s be honest, it isn’t part of the academy you know."
After she returned, we didn’t talk much about the diary.
She only gave me food and medicine, telling me to finish them so we could discuss reality later.
Everyone else, including the two ring leaders, was busy with the bucket task.
Even the ringleaders had to make sure the exact number of buckets was poured over the herbs.
The principal and the others were so cautious about the academy, they had asked Miss Rue to stay behind with me.
That gave us both a chance to have this conversation.
She had let me out, saying she wanted to show me something.
After a while, we reached our destination, and I could already feel the negative energy in the air.
Barbed wires stretched as far as I could see, and a tall metal gate stood ahead.
"It’s filled with energy, vibrations that protect the mainland," Miss Rue explained as I inspected the area.
"What do you mean, protect the mainland? What is this place?" I asked her.
"The land beyond that gate is not mainland," Miss Rue said, pointing toward the other side. "It’s worse there, similar, but twisted."
Suddenly, something appeared that made me gasp and step back in fear.
"A fleshmingo," I whispered. "This is a fleshmingo." Seeing a monster here on the mainland was shocking.
"That other side of the door is part of the North, Clementine," Miss Rue said and My eyes widened.
"I thought the only way to reach the North was through the train station," I muttered in heavy breaths.
Miss Rue laughed softly, almost uneasily.
"That’s what they want you to believe," she replied.
I stood and walked toward the main gate, noticing how the Fleshmingo stared at me.
It suddenly lunged at the gate, but the towers released energy that threw it back.
"They can never cross this line," Miss Rue explained. "Remember the towers you helped secure? That’s what they’re for, keeping the mainland protected."
And it made sense. The North was part of our world. Of course, its borders are connected to ours.
"I’m guessing it must mean a lot. Otherwise, why would you show me this place?" I asked, stating the obvious.
I figured it wasn’t much of a secret that the North connected to the mainland through different borders.
"That’s what I like about you, Clementine," she said. "You’re intelligent and always straight to the point." She touched the gate as if remembering something. "And yes, there’s a big significance to this particular gate."



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