Chapter 20 #3
“Hey you!” Mr. Kennard’s voice boomed. “Release those girls right-” But before he could finish, there was a loud popping sound, and I whipped my head around to see, beyond the figures of confused and terrified students running, the body of Mr. Kennard crumpled to the ground as blood pooled from his body.
“Haldon!” I screamed, tugging on his hand. “Oh my god! They have guns! Haldon, Haldon, we-” But he ignored me, only stopping at the corner that would join us to the east hall, and peered around the corner only to mutter, “Putain de merde!”
I craned my neck to peer around him and my mouth dropped at what I saw.
Guys in black masks shaped with pointed Doberman-looking ears, a long narrow nose, and bushy, brows pulled down over the slits for the eyes, were roaming the halls. Some had actual fucking rifles in their hands and others were holding onto girls. What in the hell were they…
And it hit me.
They were taking girls? This was all a ruse… they were herding kids and… I thought about what Mr. Kennard and Daniel had yelled, and it clicked what they were doing. I wanted nothing more than to go back and tackle them down.
But what was even more terrifying were the figures moving amongst them, taller, bigger men who were clearly older judging by their size compared to ones in the dog-like masks; however they were wearing black veiled ones, hiding their faces. The Faceless...
We spun back behind the corner before they could see us, squashed up against the wall.
In one direction was smoke, someone with a gun, and in the other, more smoke, men in masks, and more guns.
We were fucking trapped. Haldon grabbed me, shoving me behind himself, using his body as a shield when the creepy, faceless mask peered around the corner, followed by two more and two dog-like ones.
Now that I was closer, I could get a better look at the detailing.
They were like hoods, but the black veils that completely covered their faces, ended below their necks, the edges torn.
Through the black covering, you could see the hint of an outline of a face, but it was so faint it looked more like a gaunt, pale, sightless skull staring out at you.
Haldon whipped around the other way just as two more dog masked men, and two Faceless, entered the hall, officially sealing us off. He backed me up, so we were more centered, but he kept me crushed between himself and the wall.
I kept looking in one direction, then the other, trying to judge who was closer, but they kept it pretty equal, their bodies blocking any hope of bypassing them.
“Hand her over, Cadot,” One of the dog-masked wearing men shouted down the hall. But holy shit… I knew that voice. And with the size of the guy… Hunter? Fucking Hunter? The dog masks were the Jackals!
In response, Haldon simply looked away from him, shifting a little to hide me as best he could from the others.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…
From the other side, two Faceless raised their guns, one a glock, and the other, some sort of rifle. I clutched to the back of Haldon’s t-shirt, my eyes welling with tears as I desperately tried to think of a way out of this.
“Midnight!” Hunter yelled, sounding much closer than before. “I said, hand her over.”
“Dégage!” Haldon snapped back, his lips curled as he spat at him. “Tu es un tas de merde!”
I wrapped my arms around Haldon’s middle, plastering my body to his.
If they even tried to hurt him, they’d be inevitably hurting me, and I was the one they wanted, apparently.
I peered around Haldon to see Hunter, whose amber eyes, which were just visible through the slits of the mask, immediately flicked to me, and his voice gentled just the slightest, “Casey… step away from him-”
“Do not talk to ‘er!” Haldon snarled at him, his French becoming more and more pronounced the more he talked. “Where are you taking the others?”
“Do you want him to get hurt?” Hunter asked me, ignoring him completely. “Because that’s what’s going to happen if you don’t step away from him right now.”
Overhead, the orange lights from the alarms were flashing, the sprinklers were still running, and in the distance, I heard the sound of sirens. Surely the police and firefighters would get here in time and save us?
But…
I was sure these assholes would have a plan in place. And sure enough, the sirens didn’t sound like they were getting any closer. The smoke was still building and Haldon shifted us down a bit so that we were crouched underneath the worst of it. This was going to end one of two ways…
One. They would swarm us and kill Haldon for not complying and take me.
Or , I could hope that Hunter was being straight with me, that some part of him was still honourable, and they would leave Haldon if I just went with them.
I could imagine Meredith, searching the school until she found him.
And if he were dead, that would absolutely destroy her.
I could almost see her throwing herself over his lifeless body. And what of their little girl?
“Haldon…” I whispered.
He shook his head, his soaking black hair still sticking to his neck as he remained solid before me. I tugged on his wet t-shirt, shivering from my own soaking clothes, and leaned close so he could hear me.
“Meredith...”
I felt him shake at the name, his whole body starting to tremble. He gasped, like he was in pain, but shook his head, like he was trying to ignore me.
“Amelie.” I squeezed my arms around him, hugging him tight as he let out a small choking sound. “Meredith and Amelie.”
“C’mon, Midnight,” Hunter said, moving a little closer. “Don’t be stupid. Just hand this one over, and then you can go back home to your girls.” His voice was low, as if he was only trying to be heard by us and not the others who have cornered us in.
I made the decision for him.
I pushed him forward and jumped sideways where Hunter caught me and hauled me back, my feet dangling in the air.
Haldon scrambled to get up, turning to glare daggers our way.
I didn’t fight Hunter, not until I knew that they'd stay true to their word and leave him alone. Hunter’s arm was wrapped tight over my chest, easily holding me close, but I was already planning my own attack for when the fucker got us a safe distance away.
“Smart move,” Hunter murmured in my ear, the long nose of the mask brushing against my temple. He moved back with the Jackals and the Faceless… that is, except for that one larger man holding the glock.
“Wait,” I said breathlessly, watching in horror as he raised the gun at Haldon’s back. “WAIT!”
A shot went off, and I watched, screaming, as Haldon fell forward and slammed onto the floor.
“What the fuck? I said we would leave him!” Hunter shouted at the guy.
“I don’t take orders from teenage punks.
” The voice beneath the mask was eerily familiar.
It’d been a deep, scratchy tone sparking a memory, and I suddenly remembered the man who had a pet, one of Elias’s men…
Keegan. I could picture his smug fucking face beneath that mask, the scar over his lip and his pale eyes.
Right now, all I could think about was breaking free from Hunter’s arms so I could add a few more scars to his fucking face.
“You son of a fucking bitch!” I screamed so loud that I felt like my vocal cords were tearing apart.
“You fucking piece of shit!” I kicked and desperately tried to free myself from Hunter, but the bastard just turned and dragged me away, back toward the west hallway.
“Haldon! Haldon!” I cried, squirming to try to get a glimpse of him, to see if he was moving at all.
To my intense relief, I did see him move; left behind by the Faceless and Jackals, he pushed himself up onto his knees, his hand holding a bloodied spot over his upper chest. He was watching them drag me away, but miraculously, he still tried to push himself up off the floor, attempting to follow.
I saw him collapse on the floor, but he’d been still breathing, and then my vision of him was cut off as I was carried around the corner.
“The deal is off, asshole!” I shouted and swung my arms up, letting my body go absolutely limp.
As I’d hoped, Hunter lost his grip and dropped me.
Instantly, I spun on my ass and swung up, nailing him right in the dick.
The fucker went down, and I pushed myself up and ran back down the west hall, heading to the stairwell of the first explosion, just as the others looked back to see I had taken their guy out.
I heard them shouting and the sounds of their heavy boots as they raced after me.
I passed Mr. Kennard’s body and the shortcut hallway where Haldon was still lying, but I kept going, drawing them away from the other students.
They were yelling at each other, calling for the others to return, that I was making a run for it, just as I slid on the soaking wet floor to the stairs.
Water was streaming down them like a waterfall from the sprinklers.
There was still smoke, and I wondered what the hell was burning, but I didn't stop.
I sat on the bannister and slid, carefully holding on so I wouldn't go flying backwards to my death.
When I reached the landing, I jumped down and followed the turn to the next set of stairs just as the rest of the Faceless and Jackals reached the top.
This time, I attempted to run down the steps, but when I made it halfway, my wet sneakers slipped in the water and I fell.
I felt my body float, like it was in suspended animation until my back smacked against one of the steps, and I rolled.
I felt every sharp edge and hard concrete tile hit my body until I reached the bottom with a smack.