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The truck jerked to a stop, causing Rue to ram into the wall, and Kara to ram into Rue. "Sorry," Kara muttered, shifting away. Rue didn't respond past a small nod, adrenaline already beginning to course through her veins. The doors were thrown open, the sunlight seeming harsh after the dim interior of the truck.

They had reached the School.

Suddenly, blinding light flooded the anterior of the van, making Lark almost wish he still had that blindfold. The School was something he never desired to set eyes on, but their childhood fantasy, soon-to-be darkest nightmare was approaching, and there was nothing Lark could do about it.

Pascal, even stuck in a more ridiculous position, had finally snapped the last rope free, and his limbs flung free after he had bit the final string. "Yes!" he cheered. But, right when the doors were thrown open, he was brusquely shoved out by a pair of giant hands. He gulped before he was pulled out and onto his feet, some kind of guard snapping handcuffs on his wrists and a strap similar to Lark's around his torso.

Rue's wings were soon pinned against her back, burly Eraser's gripping her arms on either side. She fervently wished there was something she could do, something to help them escape...
But there was absolutely nothing she could do.

Kara fought to keep a lid on her rising panic. The School had been a childhood nightmare, always haunting her dreams at night. Now it was a reality.

When Lark was finally pulled out by the front of his shirt did he actually see the School courtyards. The walls were huge; it seemed like an actual, literal prison. The outside of it looked like where the Grim Reaper would live; barbed wire, 'No Trespassing' signs... he was then broken out of his trance from a kick in the back of his knees, making him crumple. This took Lark by surprise, but his escort pulled him back up by his strawberry-blonde hair. "Move it." the man snarled in his face, giving one final shove, looking like an Eraser in human form.

Rue and Kara were roughly shoved inside. The smell of antiseptic was distinct in the stuffy hallway, making Rue cough slightly.

After they were escorted inside, Pascal was shoved down another narrow hallway with the rest of them, leading to rows and rows of cages like a dog kennel. Some were empty, but others were inhabited by hybrid creatures, all staring at the newcomer. The walls were steel-bolted, and there was not one window present. Pascal bit his lip nervously, eyes anxiously flitting from side to side.

"Where are you taking us?" Lark obnoxiously asked his captor, eyes angrily set straight ahead. Suddenly, the burly Eraser smashed the side of Lark's head, all the while making him walk faster to keep up. "Shut it." the Eraser commanded calmly. "All in good time, kid."

The eventually reached a section where the majority of the cages were empty. Rue was shoved inside the nearest one, with Kara two cages down. The door was slammed, the lock clicking. Memories of all the stories and the journals flooded Rue's mind, seeming all the more terrifying now that she was actually here, stuck in a cage within the School.

Pascal was suddenly hoisted off his feet by his Eraser and set in the cage above Kara, the wire mesh door clicking shut.

Lark's Eraser pushed Lark's head down and stuffed him in a crate diagonal above Rue's, one empty crate between him and Pascal. The door snapped closed, and Lark was stuck in an uncomfortable position because of his height and the small size of the cage.

Once the Eraser's were out of earshot, Rue turned to the others. "You guys okay?"

"I guess so," Kara replied shakily.

Pascal began to feel the burning anger rise inside of him. "No, I'm not okay!" he answered, snarling. "We were ambushed at our house, living in a cave, tricked by a smelly old coot who doesn't know what he's talking about, now we're locked in dog kennels, and I still don't have my pirate costume-!"

"Cool it, Pasc." Lark calmly interrupted, trying to work himself out of his awkward placement. "If they say they need us, at least we'll all stay alive."

Rue nodded. "Right. And if we're alive, we can find a way out of here."

"You have a plan?" Kara asked, hopeful.

Rue remembered Max's ever important lesson about plans, and sighed. "Yes," she lied. "But it still needs some working on." Now...how the heck was she going to come up with a plan?

"Well," Pascal continued, "What have you got so far?"

Lark, knowing so well that Rue didn't have a plan, stayed quiet, smirking to himself as he pulled his leg free of its uncomfortable position.

Rue caught Lark's faint smirk and glared. "We're gonna have to find some way to take out the security cameras and unlock the doors first. Getting out should be pretty simple after that," she answered quickly, thinking on her feet and answering vaguely.

"Alright, fair enough." announced Lark, scratching his head, "There's only one minor problem; we're locked in cages."

"I said we'd have to find a way to unlock the doors," Rue said. "I dunno if a bobby pin would work or not, but we could try." She looked at Kara pointedly, who removed the pin from her hair. Rue shook her head. "Not now. It would be best if we did it at night," she said.