Chapter Twelve #7
I looked up at the sky seeing the sun and moon continuously bursting into an animated loop as they came together.
This was the sign. This is it! I turned back seeing Asha and Isis already halfway across the yard, waving for me to come on.
So we were all on the same page for once.
Namir’s brows furrowed together with suspicion just as a set of screams broke out.
“Aye!? Aye!?” He shouted, jumping into the crowd that began tearing at one another. “Stop! Somebody call security!”
I took off running to catch up with Isis and Asha as we stuck close together.
“She started an entire fight!” Asha laughed. “I can’t believe it!”
“She said the fireworks…Wait for the fireworks…Clementine knows she’s going to get in trouble for this,” Isis said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“It does if you know there’s a big pay out in the end. She doesn’t do anything unless it benefits her,” I said, feeling more confident than ever. “Now is the time to do this. Hillary is waiting for us. So what about this pool, Asha?”
When we came up to the building, it was unfortunately locked but Isis, forever the clever and resourceful one had a way in. She pulled out a makeshift key that was able to turn into any shape of the lock.
“Stole this from the magical artifacts department at my brother’s job when I was younger,” she whispered.
She shoved the side door open, and the smell of chlorine and salt water instantly pinched and teased at my senses.
The building was dark and damp, but we followed Asha until we reached the main level where the massive Olympic size pool was.
The bleachers were pushed up against the wall when we came up on the edge of the pool, seeing the dark waters as calm as they wanted to be.
The only source of light was from the windows that showed the school lamp posts.
None of us said a word at first until, just taking in the calm waters.
“I heard her say my name,” Asha said, voice full of emotion. “I heard her call out to me. I thought it was just another…awakening moment or some weird juju…but this felt familiar.”
“What did she sound like?” I asked as I bent down to touch the water.
“Like her…but frantic,” she let out with a small sniff.
“She’s not dead,” I stated. “She’s alive but she may need our help which is why we’re going to involve Hillary who was a part of our crew. We–––” The sound of my phone ringing caught us all off guard. When I saw Harvey calling, I debated on whether I wanted to answer or not.
“Hell–––”
“She’s coming your way. The dean and her boy toy Xavier saw you all running like fools.”
I hung up just as the sound of a lock snapped out of place, sending its echo throughout the building.
Asha silently panicked while Isis waved her arms to calm us down before running towards the corner where the stairs were.
With a deep inhale, she drew her hands up high in the air, slowly lifting the water like a blanket from the bed.
She started to step down with Asha and I followed behind her with our things.
“Don’t panic,” Isis whispered as the water slowly began to fold over us like a wave.
I felt my heart race with adrenaline as the sound of heels clicking, and voices talking went out throughout the building.
Isis came up against the wall, creating an air pocket in the middle of the deep pool before slowly turning her back against the wall.
We followed her every move until she drew her hands close to her, pulling the water back as it gently folded against our body like a glove.
I sucked in my stomach, Asha clamped her mouth shut before I did the same, using both hands.
The warm water laid against my skin like a second layer, only giving a small space for air to escape as we remained completely still against the side of the pool.
If we moved, it would break the mold of water formed around our bodies and Isis’s fingers were barely holding on when she squeezed her eyes shut.
We could hear the voices walk into the main gym as we listened through the water.
“Given she is one of the rarest mythics here, it would be a shame to lose her to that predator. Yes…alright yes. I will see you soon.”
The dean sucked her teeth in annoyance.
“The last thing I fucking need is the Kingdom breathing down my back for this half-baked overgrown spoiled brat. She’s not lost, you let her run away you idiot.”
“I know they went in here. I just don’t know why,” I heard a male voice say.
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll find a reason to put them out the moment they leave the Grounds,” Dr. Joy Vaughn said as her heels began to click against the floor. “We will…”
Asha’s phone that was apparently in her hand suddenly slipped as it slid into the water, vibrating with a face time call from someone named Silas.
His stoic expression pointed ears and long single loc that draped down his face stared directly back at her by her feet.
The shadow of the dean and a tall man suddenly drew closer to the water before her figure shrunk to the ground in the shape of a cat.
Shit.
The phone continued to ring before going silent as the screen turned dark. Isis remained calm as I watched the feline’s shadow walk closer to the edge when someone called her name out.
“Dr. Vaughn? You’re needed back in your office. The police are here to ask a few more questions.”
That was all it took to get her to slink herself out of the gym on all fours while they scooped up her clothes. Isis pushed the water back the second they were out of the gym and had us walk out completely dry. Asha was kneeling over coughing while Isis dried off whatever was damp on her clothes.
“Are we all in?” I asked. “No matter what?”
Isis looked hesitant before nodding.
“If I’m going to get kicked out of the best school in the Underground as a second-year lab and med student, I want to go out with a fucking bang,” she said with her fists bumping together. I smiled.
“Let’s scrape up some gas money and call Jean.”