Chapter 066
HANNAH
And suddenly, I could hear the blare of the fire alarm. The entire class went silent for a second right before everyone started talking all at once.
"It's a fire alarm," someone shrieked.
The class was thrown into pandemonium. People ran in different directions while the professor kept shouting something at the top of his voice that no one bothered to listen to.
I found, when I got to the corridor that it was empty of students. My hair stood on end the next second as I heard someone running after me. Without looking back, I broke into a run. No matter how fast I ran, no matter how many times I dodged around corners, I couldn't shake them off. What was worse was that this person was gaining on me.
My lungs burned with exertion as I increased my pace when I saw a classroom with the door open. I had almost gotten to it when Julia came around the corner and wrestled me to the ground. I landed painfully on my side. The breath was knocked out of me. Before I could recover, she was dragging me to the cafeteria where Asher was waiting.
"Good job, Julia," he said.
"She's all yours," Julia said with a laugh.
While I struggled, Asher held up a silver dagger with the Breakstone pack's insignia. The intent in his eyes was clear.
"NO!" I screamed, but I was too late.
The dagger sliced through the air. Asher buried it in my stomach. Twice. He slowly wiped the blade on my cheek before pocketing it.
"Come on," he said to Julia as the blood pooled around me. "Let's get out of here."
****
"Hannah? Hannah!"
I jolted awake, started violently when I saw the professor right in front of me. He was frowning.
"Why were you sleeping?" she asked. "You never sleep in class."
"I'm sorry. I stayed up all night, reading."
Her face smoothed over. "It's good to read, but you have to take it easy. You're already a bright student so you really don't have to work so hard." She smiled. "Don't tell the others I said that."
I forced my mouth open to say, "Thank you, professor."
She began to address the class once more. My mind was fixed on the dream. It had been so vivid. Even now it was almost like I could feel the dagger sinking into my flesh. I turned slightly, found Julia still staring at me with that same fixed intensity. It was almost like... she was waiting for something to happen.
No. I was being paranoid. I would ignore the dream and pay attention in class. A page Willa's notes were already filled with writing. I had missed a lot. I quickly flicked open my book to begin taking notes.
That was when the fire alarm blared. I flinched at the sound. My pen fell to the floor. My heart was thumping so loudly I could barely hear the alarm anymore. Something was wrong. I could feel it.
"What's that?" someone asked.
"A fire?"
"Oh my god, it's a fire!" someone shrieked.
"Calm down. Calm down," shouted the professor. "Don't panic. All you have to do now is follow the fire safety protocols. Exit the school grounds. Assemble at the parking lot. Now, pack up your things and leave. Remember, no pushing or shoving each other on the stairs."
Beside me, Willa was cramming her things into her bag. I grabbed mine. Together, we hurried out with the other students. As we walked, I looked around for any sign of the triplets. Having any of them around would make me feel safe, because frankly, the coincidence of the dream and the fire alarm was creeping me out.
Willa suddenly stopped walking, clapped her hands to her head.
"My key!" she exclaimed. "I forgot it in class."
"Leave it. Come on, we have to leave now. We can't go back."
"But it's important. I have to find it."
Seeing as she was already walking back to the classroom, I had no choice but to follow her. We searched the place but we couldn't find it there.
"I think I must have lost if before we got to class," she said. "Let's split up to look for it at the places I've been to this morning. That way we'll be much faster."
"No. Willa-"
"Please, Hannah."
And though my instincts screamed that splitting up was a very bad idea, I did it anyway. The hallway was entirely empty when I got there. Only the distant excited chatter of students outside assured me that I was not the only one in the school. While I looked closely at the floor, hoping to get a glimpse of Willa's key, I couldn't shake off the thought that everything was playing out like it had in my dream. It wasn't really exact, but these details that were happening right now made me very uneasy. I kept my ears perked up for the sound of Willa shouting that she had found the key and that we could finally get the hell out of here.
That was when I became conscious of the sound of approaching footsteps, footsteps that were stealthy. I whirled around, came face to face with Julia who was holding a silver dagger aloft.
"I've got you now, bitch," she cried, almost gibbered in her excitement.
She started to bring the knife down. My paralysis broke and I was able to grab her hand at the last second with the knife just inches from my chest.
She let out a short, sharp bark of laughter. Her hoodie had slipped. With the bleached white hair framing her scarred and scabbed face, she looked like a demented hag.
"What do you think you're doing?" I shouted.
She hissed. "Scream all you want. No one can hear you." With a grunt of effort, she bore down on the knife. I lost an inch. The wicked looking blade was right next to my skin now. She bared her teeth in a grin. "Asher said you've gotten stronger but I'm still going to kill you."
I suddenly shoved her backwards. She wasn't expecting that. She lost her balance, fell against a locker. The next second, she sprang at me again. We fought, pushing each other against the lockers with such force that some of them burst open, spilling their contents. Whenever Julia got a hand free, she tried to stab me. Furious, I grabbed her arms, slammed her head against a locker. She went limp, released her hold on the weapon. Before the dagger fell to the ground, I picked it up.
"No. No," Julia screamed. "Somebody help!"
She staggered, fell to her knees, tried to get away. I kicked her legs out from under her and grabbed her by the hair.
"I've got you now, bitch," I said, using her own words.
I clasped the handle of the dagger tightly and buried the blade deep in her stomach.
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