13 - Code H53B: Escape

"Yeah… we got lucky. Found them right by the door." Luci explained, twisting to point to the entrance of the Nurse's office.

"The door?" Dylan questioned. Did she drop them?

"Yeah. The only reason we even noticed them was 'cause Abby stepped on them and almost busted her ass when we opened the door." There was a small smirk on Luci's face as she recounted the details.

Abigail scowled.

"Wait. They were inside the office? Not outside?" The two girls nodded. Dylan frowned. That's–

"That's odd." Saphris commented, perturbed. "Seems like she was in a rush—despite having a head start…" Her hand came up to twirl her hair, long nails catching in the frizzy strands.

Dylan nodded. It's definitely strange… there's gotta be more to it. Her frown deepened. There's been more to it—this is stupid.

"No kidding." Abigail muttered, crossing her arms—hands gripping her sides tightly.

"Wait…" Saphris started, pulling her gaze from the ground. "If you guys have keys… why haven't you guys gone into the front office?" She asked. "I know that I gave you shit for it earlier, but…"

Luci gave Abigail an almost skittish look as she said: "That's because we couldn't. The door connecting the two wouldn't budge. Something's blocking it from the other side."

Dylan and Saphris shared a look. "Weird…" They said together.

"Yeah." Luci said in the same tone.

Dylan thought for a moment. "Maybe we can investigate it when we get back?" She asked hesitantly, glancing at Saphris to see what she thought.

"We?" Saphris parroted incredulously. "Ain't no way that I'm going back out there right now—you owe me. I deserve a damn break after the shit we just went through!"

The paranoia crept in at her words. "But Saphris–"

"Uh, no!" Saphris cut off, offended. "I went back for our shoes, and I was gonna sacrifice myself to that fucking spider-monster for you, asshole!"

"You were not sacrificing–" Saphris' brows raised as she stared Dylan down.

She wilted. "Fine." Dylan muttered. "You're right. Hand me the damn backpack." She said, holding out a palm.

Her friend huffed, appeased, as she shouldered off the empty bag and handed it to Dylan.

She grumbled as she slipped her arms through the straps and shrugged it on. She gave it an experimental shake, just to make sure the zippers were actually quiet.

They were, obviously, considering that they checked for that exact thing before they left the classroom. But Dylan was still anxious, and didn't want to go alone.

"Are you sure–"

"Positive." Sahris answered immediately.

Dylan gave Luci and Abigail a hopeful glance, only to be shot down as both frantically shook their heads. She glowered, "pussies."

Abigail flipped her off. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Fine. Lemme out," She mumbled to Saphris, and started shuffling out from behind the desk when Saphris squeezed up against it to let her through.

She grabbed her phone off the desk as Luci and Abigail parted to let her through the door—Luci trailing after her as she walked across the room to the entrance.

Dylan paused when she got to the door, her nerves catching up with her. She swallowed. Fuck.

I'm scared.

The scratching of nails on metal echoed through her mind.

I'm really scared.

Remembering the sound of a nail on glass had the hair on her neck standing up straight.

No. I'm fucking terrified.

God. Saphris, why couldn't you come with?

She knew why, but it didn't make her feel any better. If anything, she felt guilty. No… Saphris deserves a break.

She groaned, hanging her head. This. Sucks. Ass!

There was a hand resting lightly on her arm. She glanced over at Luci, staring at the apologetic expression on her face.

"I'm sorry." The redhead stated. But it was the 'I'm sorry' that said she wasn't gonna change her mind regardless.

Dylan still had to go alone.

She gave her a light glare that she didn't really mean, and shrugged. "Wish me luck?" Dylan asked, hoping that the other girl couldn't hear the faint tremor in her voice.

Luci gave her a soft smile. "Of course," she said quietly, giving her arm a squeeze. She slipped past her, and lifted the window cover just enough to peek through and see what was happening outside the office.

"Looks like the coast is clear," Luci whispered after a moment, letting the window cover drop down again.

She carefully twisted the lock, and slowly pushed the door open—just wide enough for Dylan to slip through.

Dylan blew out a breath.

Without really giving herself a moment to talk herself out of it, she slipped through the gap.

"Good luck," Luci murmured, only the slightest bit of anxiety in her voice. "We'll be waiting for you." She said, as the door shut.

And she was alone—again; not even of her own doing this time. Fuck it all.

Her eyes darted around anxiously, surveying her surroundings. She was not gonna be taken unawares, what-so-ever.

Make sure you look up, dumbass—this ain't the movies.

She tilted her head back, scanning.

Nothing.

Phew.

The sudden visceral image of that atrocity possibly hanging above her –waiting– had her jerking her gaze up to the ceiling just to double check.

Still nothing.

She gnawed on her knuckles—fist clenched tight. Fucking hell—how am I supposed to do this?

She blew out a heavy breath as quietly as possible. Okay. Okay. It's okay. I'm just grabbing computers and chargers; I can do this.

I don't even have to take the stairs near the cafeteria. It'll be fine.

She paused.

Famous last words.

Another beat.

Jesus! Don't say that! She wanted to groan—her stupid thoughts were going to get her killed.

The bright red of the emergency lights dimmed abruptly—the white light spilling from the windows taking over briefly before the red flared up again, snapping her out of her thoughts. Okay seriously, I gotta get going. The faster I get this done, the quicker I'll be safe again.

A quick glance around to reorient herself, and she started down the lobby—turning left at the intersection. She studiously avoided looking at the tree in the courtyard—as hard as it was. No distractions.

We cannot afford them, she told herself sternly.

She could see her and Saphris' shoes sitting against the wall up ahead—the massacre in the foyer just beyond them. Her stomach clenched. She definitely wasn't going that way. Not with how loud the blood would squelch under her feet. Best to avoid that mess entirely.

She turned right, walking into the band and art hall. She couldn't help but stare at the Band Hall doors as she passed them—her mind replaying the way Genna melted over and over again. Imagining how everything was in disarray—scattered everywhere, as everyone stampeded out, trying to flee to safety.

Only to end up as a puddle of blood anyway.

Her body spasmed, unable to contain it.

God, how is this my life?

She nearly tripped over her feet as they failed to move forward, stopping just before the hallway opened up. She stared at the elevator underneath the stairs as her heart pounded—her brain catching up with her. Holy shit that was close.

I just said: NO DISTRACTIONS. And what did I do? Get distracted again. Fuck—I gotta focus.

She let out a shaky breath as she leaned against the wall.

Now. How am I supposed to get across…?

She turned, peeking around the corner as much as she dared. The foyer-like hall stretched out, bathed in that gentle white light of the courtyard—and at the end, the dark mouth of the cafeteria doors yawned open. Ominous.

She jerked her head back, shivering. What if it's watching? Waiting for me…?

She scrubbed a hand over her face—knocking her glasses askew before she corrected them.

It's a 50/50 shot that something bad happens… for all I know, I could be freaking out over nothing—and nothing is watching me.

She took a deep breath in, trying to calm herself. It'll be fine. It's gonna be fine. It's fine.

Stop. Losing. It.

She peeked around the corner again, studying the cafeteria entrance. Looking for even the most minuscule sign of movement; she couldn't even see the hanging thread from this distance.

She didn't know how long she stayed like that, poised and watchful—waiting for something to show.

It never did.

I've just gonna have to go for it, aren't I?

I hate this.

Her foot shifted and she hesitated—heart beating wildly the longer she hovered.

Now or never, right? And I can't return with nothing…

Imagining the judgemental disappointment on their faces as she came back empty handed made her cringe, her face scrunching up with discomfort. Nope—I can't.

God, I want to scream. This is all such bullshit!

There was still no sign of life. She should just go for it, before she wastes more time and something does show.

She ducked back behind the wall, taking in a couple of fortifying breaths. Okay okay okay. I got this. It's not that far—and there's nothing there. I got this.

She leaned over, giving the cafeteria entrance one last look over. Nothing.

Okay—just fucking go for it.

And without letting another second pass by, she darted forward.

Light feet light feet—light feet!

And then she was across. Safely hidden by the underside of the staircase.

The breath she was unconsciously holding let itself out in a rush. Jesus that was terrifying.

She hurried down the hall before she let herself think about the fact that she'd have to do it again on the way back.

Nope! Not gonna worry about that right now!

It wasn't long before she was turning left into the gym hall and stopping short.

Oh…

The emergency lights seemed to stop right at the gym doors, leaving the hallway dark until they started up again briefly at the other doors on the far side of the gym—repeating with the girl's gymnasium.

But it wasn't the offputting interval of the lights, or even their dimness that had her tripping up—it was the windows.

Right. I forgot about those…

Massive floor-to-ceiling windows covered the entire wall of the gyms—letting people be able to observe the classes that took place in them.

The boy's gym was pitch black. She hated the implication that anything could be lurking in the dark, looking back at her. She hung her head. I thought I had gotten past the hard part! Damn it!

She stared hard at the dark windows, the minimal light barely creeping into the gym itself. No use in stalling now—it can't be worse than what I avoided…

She inched along the wall of the coaches offices just in case though—not that it would help when it really came down to it. But she couldn't be blamed for trying, right?

Right…?

It was eerie, staring into darkness as she shuffled along—occasionally running into door handles as she did so.

How long would they be trapped in this situation? How long would they survive before a monster got to them? How many were dead–

She stumbled back, barely catching herself as the wall gave way to an alcove. Didn't realize I was leaning on the wall so much…

She turned around, staring at the door to the freshman girl's locker-room.

Is it open…?

She gave a quick glance down either side of the hallway before stepping forward into the recessed doorway. A tug on the handle confirmed it was locked. She scowled. Damnnit—of course. Can't be that lucky. God forbid.

Although… now that she was thinking about it… it would work as a fantastic shelter, wouldn't it? Thick ass metal door… lots of storage—if we can get the lockers open, that is, clothes, toilets and showers… it's a proverbial jackpot!

She tugged on the handle again in frustration. Once we get the keys, we'll be back. She nodded decisively, stepping back and continuing down the hall.

She froze when her foot kicked something, the object jingling as it skidded a few inches in front of her—the sound loud in the otherwise silent school. Shit. Was that–?

She looked down, staring at it in disbelief. No fucking way am I that lucky.

It was keys—likely belonging to one of the coaches. Holy crap.

She bent down to grab them, hand closing over them in a tight grip to keep them from clinking together, and scrambled back to the locker-room door. It's gotta be one of these…

She fumbled as she tried one after another, fingers shaking as each one failed to even slot into the lock. Come on, which one is it?

She was starting to get nervous—she couldn't hear anything other than the muffled rattle of the keys, which meant other things would be able to hear it too. Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck.

Come on! Why are there so many fucking keys?

Finally, the second to last key she had left to try slid into the lock. Yes!

She twisted the key, unlocking the door and ripping it open—pulling the key from the lock as she did so. She nearly slammed the door closed before remembering how bad of an idea that would be, and shut it as quietly as possible—locking it with a muted thunk.

She sank to the floor with an audible sigh, relief flooding her as she rested her forehead against the cold metal of the heavy-duty door. That was too close.

Doesn't matter if nothing actually heard me… my heart can only take–

Scratcchhh.

She jerked, nearly falling over from the force. She scrambled back, staring at the door in horror. No.

She felt that. It vibrated through her fucking skull—there was actually something there. She wasn't crazy.

Scratcchhh.

But how?! I didn't even hear anything! Where the fuck did it come from?! I just got in here!

I just got in here… wait–

Screeecchhh.

She slapped her hands over her ears, futile as they rang from the onslaught.

"I know you're in there,"a voice crooned.

Her heart dropped. No.

I know that voice.

"All alone in there—with nowhere left to run." A raspy chuckle echoed in her ears –how is it so clear? My hands are clamped over them– malicious in its glee.

Scratcchhh.

It was methodical with how it slowly dragged its nails over—through –it had to be going through– the metal door.

Scratcchhh.

She couldn't do anything—listening as it somehow got closer than before. Her body wouldn't even hyperventilate—like the air was trapped in her lungs.

She was frozen—utterly helpless.