Chapter 14
Kiersten
After spending days cramming for my microbiology and phycology midterms, my brain felt like complete mush.
I couldn’t even blink without thinking about bacteria, fungi, and single-celled organisms. I wanted to believe that all my studying had paid off, but I wasn’t so sure.
Usually, it all came pretty naturally to me.
I never really had to study all that much, just enough to review the basics, but I’d been so distracted with work and everything in between that I simply wasn’t as focused as I usually am.
So much so, I might’ve tanked one of the tests, which was something I hadn’t ever done before—not even once.
But, at least, there was one positive. I hadn’t seen Drake since the night I ran into him at the gas station.
He’d never missed class before, so I was surprised he hadn’t shown up to take his exam.
I took it as a blessing and left campus without the eerie feeling that someone was watching me.
A storm was rolling in, so my ride home took a bit longer than I’d hoped.
Once I made it back, I checked in with Braylon and Widow.
It had been a while since we had a bad storm and wanted to make sure we were prepared.
They were both sitting in the office eating dinner when I walked in looking like a drowned rat. “It’s getting pretty nasty out there.”
“Yeah, we noticed,” Braylon answered. “Did you forget your umbrella?”
“Of course, I did.” I giggled as I told him, “I didn’t remember it until I stepped out of class and saw that it was pouring.”
“Sounds about right.”
“So, are we good for tonight and this crazy storm?”
“Yeah. We’ve been watching the weather, and it looks like the worst of it should be past us in a hour or so.” Braylon glanced over at Widow as he said, “I’ll keep watch tonight and make sure the generator kicks on if the power goes out.”
“Okay. Great. I’m going to do my rounds, then I’ve got some studying to do. Just let me know if you guys need anything.”
“Will do.”
I left them both and headed down the hall.
I went to each room, checked the timers on the lights, and made sure the daily checklist had been completed.
Once I was done, I went back to my place.
As soon as I’d dried off, I made myself a batch of ramen noodles and a glass of chocolate milk, then carried them into the living room.
I spent the next couple of hours watching a scary movie while finishing up an assignment I had for my genetics class.
By the time I was done, the storm had started to let up, so I took a long, hot bath and put on my pjs.
I was so looking forward to a good night’s sleep as I crawled into bed and snuggled into my covers. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
I’d barely drifted off when I heard someone pounding on my door. It was well after midnight, so I knew something had to be wrong. I shot out of bed and rushed to the door. When I opened it, I found Mia on my front step, looking absolutely panicked. “What’s wrong?”
“I was umm... I was with Braylon, and he got some warning or something that there was a fire.”
“What? Where?”
“Over at the gym... He went to check it out and told me to come and get you.”
“Oh, shit!”
I pulled on my boots and rushed out of the house, quickly closing the door behind me.
The cold night air was damp from the rain and made me shudder, but thankfully the rain had let up.
It was barely sprinkling as I ran to the gym to find Braylon.
I didn’t bother to stop and see if Mia was following me.
I was too worried about everything I’d worked so hard for going up in flames.
I charged through the front doors of the gym as I called out, “Braylon!”
When he didn’t answer, I called out again, “Bray! Where are you?”
Still no answer. While I didn’t see any flames, I smelled the overwhelming stench of burnt siding.
I decided to check outside for any signs of fire, and that’s when I noticed the extinguisher sitting on the ground.
A portion of outside wall of the gym and ground was charred and covered with a white powder residue.
Mia rushed up behind me and asked, “Where’s Bray? ”
“I don’t know.” It was clear Braylon or one of the guys had been there, but I had no idea where they’d gone. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
“Well, it looks like he got the fire out.”
“Yes, but where is he now?” I looked around and there was no one in sight.
Suddenly, the power went out, and the entire place went black.
Even though it was no longer storming, I assumed it had something to do with the crazy weather.
Maybe a downed tree or a blown breaker. Regardless, I knew it would be only a matter of time before the generator kicked on.
I had an uneasy feeling as I stood there in the dark.
Trying my best to not panic, I turned to Mia and asked, “What about Timms or Widow? Any idea where they might be?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen them.”
I didn’t know what it was, but something was wrong—very, very wrong.
Unnerved, I rushed towards the back doors of the school, but stopped dead in my tracks the second I heard what sounded like gunshots coming from inside the school.
With my heart drumming in my chest, I stood frozen, waiting to see if I heard it again.
I turned and searched the grounds for any sign of Braylon or any of the others.
That’s when I spotted three figures dressed in all black darting across the backfield.
I knew then that this wasn’t just a simple fire.
On the verge of tears, Mia shrieked, “Were those gunshots?”
“I’m not sure.” Trying to remain calm, I told her, “Go get Reagan. The two of you need to get to your car and go.”
“But what about Braylon and...”
“You have to go, Mia. He would want you to be safe.”
She nodded, then turned and ran towards Reagan’s place.
I was considering my next move when I heard another round of shots.
I rushed up to the back door of the school.
I tried to peek through the window, but it was too dark to see anything.
I had no idea what was going on inside that building.
I just knew I had to get to the security button and lock the place down before the other intruders made it inside.
Without any further hesitation, I eased the door open and slipped inside.
I kicked off my wet boots, then started down the long, dark hall.
I kept my back against the wall and started inching towards the office.
I was just about to round the corner when the lights came flickering back on.
Several more shots were fired. Seconds after, there was a loud thud that sounded like a body hitting the ground.
The second I heard a man groan, I knew someone had been shot and had fallen.
I opened the large, wooden door and inched my head out and immediately spotted Braylon on the floor.
My heart dropped when I saw that he had a bullet wound in his thigh and another in his shoulder.
Without thinking, I came out of hiding and started racing over to him, but stopped when he held up his hand and scowled.
More gunfire erupted, drawing my attention to the end of the hall.
Relief washed over me when I spotted Timms, Duggar, Widow, and possibly Jackal.
Their backs were to me, making it difficult to make out who all was there, but it was obvious that they were doing what they could to hold off whoever was attacking us.
I didn’t move. I just stood there watching them until I heard Braylon whisper, “Kiersten.”
I quickly turned to look at him and asked, “What should I do?”
“Lock her down.”
He used two fingers to motion over to the security button.
I nodded, then crouched down, being careful to stay out of the line of fire, and scrambled over to the office wall.
I knew what would happen when I pushed that button.
The panels would come down, and we would be locked inside with our attackers.
Hawk had warned us about the possibility of this very thing happening, and we thought we could handle it.
At that moment, I wasn’t so sure. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a choice.
Pushing that button was I could keep the other intruders from getting inside with us.
I reached into the hidden compartment and pressed the button, and within seconds, the metal panels came down over the windows, sealing us in with our attackers.
The commotion down the hall continued as I leaned back against the way, trying my best not to be seen.
The sound of an object sliding across the floor drew my attention to my feet.
I looked down and gasped when I saw that it was Braylon’s handgun.
“You gotta get out of here, Kiersten! Go find a place to hide until we come....”
“No!” Knowing our intruders were just around the corner, I cried, “You’re hurt, Bray. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving you.”
“I’m fine. Just catching my breath.” He motioned his hand towards the small handgun at my feet. “Now, take it and go.”
“But...”
“Go, Kiersten!”
I did as he ordered, then hurried back down the hall and slipped into one of the hydroponics rooms. The timer-controlled lights were off, so it was difficult to see as I made my way to the back of the room.
I’d always loved being in these rooms. It was always so quiet and serene being there with all the green plants and warm glow of the lights, and I felt like I’d truly accomplished something when I saw that my plants were growing healthier and hardier than any other on the market.
But at that moment, nothing about this room felt comforting or soothing.
Instead, all the shadows and strange noises made me feel like I’d stepped into my very own horror film.