Blank Slates

Chapter 4

 The students scrambled to follow the Pedagogue closely, not even caring to stay in line or even walk calmly for that matter. All they knew was that something severely wrong was happening and that was enough to make them fear for their lives. She followed the crowd closely, with 81305B and 101505B right by her side. Their class ran through the halls and Sentinels rushed past them, on their way to take care of the problem. What was even going on? Where did the explosion come from? Was it an accident? Was it an attack? She felt her heart beating in her ears almost at an unhealthy pace.

The sound of gunshots down the hall nearly forced a scream from her throat. Apparently, the others lacked the same amount of self control because a few fearful gasps and whimpers escaped them. Her dark eyes darted around, searching for any sign of the threat, but she saw nothing. She threw a fearful look to 81305B which he returned. The panic levels of everyone had risen off the charts, and their movements became more frantic. Someone hit her back, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground. Most continued to rush past her, more concerned about themselves than anything. Biting her lip harshly, she forced herself back to her feet and stumbled after the others. 81305B placed his hand on her arm.

"Are you okay?" he asked, speaking loudly over all the noises.

She nodded quickly and continued to follow closely after the class.

"The safe room is right down this hall to the left," the Pedagogue instructed, pointing to indicate the location. "Hurry!"

She was nearly to the room when she caught sight of a figure in black down the hallway with a rifle was trained at them. He was not wearing the typical navy uniform that the Sentinels wore. His face was covered by a mask, so she could not discern any of his features. At that moment, the gravity of the situation revealed itself to her. This was an attack by the Insurgents. And they were here to kill them. As soon as the first shot was fired, the whole crowd of students began running in different directions.

Before she even registered what was going on, 81305B had taken her by the hand and pulled her along after him. The two of them ran blindly through the halls, trying to get as far away from the shooting and fighting as possible. The pure terror that rushing through her veins was unparalleled to anything she had ever felt in her life. It was even worse that moments leading up to her punishment; at least then she knew she wan't going to die. But now...anything could happen. When she caught sight of a bloody body of a Sentinel on the ground, she felt her knees turn weak. 81305B noticed that her speed had faltered, so gave an urgent tug on her arm to urge her on. She continued to run through the halls, noticing the blood stains littering the white walls.

The boy pulled her into an empty room and they shut the door behind them. The two of them crouched in the corner and listened closely to the noises. Gunshots. Screams. Footsteps. Another explosion. They heard these over and over and over again, in a cycling pattern of gut wrenching terror. Without realizing what she was doing, she found herself hanging onto him tightly. He did not object, but simply held her close to him. It was the only form of comfort either of them could find. The Sentinels had their hands tied, so no one could protect them. They just had to wait and hope that things would be resolved soon.

"Are you okay?" 81305B asked softly.

She looked up at his face and nodded silently, too scared of making a single noise. She pointed to him, as if she was asking, "And you?" to which he replied with a nod.

For a few moments, the sounds from the outside went silent. This caused an uneasy chill to run up her spine and creep across her skin. It couldn't be over already, so what could have happened? The only sound she heard was the ticking of the clock in the room. Tick...tock...tick...tock... She could even hear the sounds of their racing heartbeats in the silence. She was up to her neck in anxiety and it threatened to consume her completely. The only thing on her mind was an overwhelming need to do whatever it took to stay alive.