Opaque

03 | Death Warrant

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi

                Chapter Three

He began walking towards me again.

"I didn't expect this you to show up so easily today. I got to admit, it was pretty smart of you to hide in a high school."

I said nothing.              

"So tell me, Angie," he said, emphasizing my name with force, contempt clear in his eyes. Any normal person's heart would've skipped a beat, but I was no normal person.

"Who are these people, and that girl," he pointed at Liz, "to you?"

He grabbed my left arm. Surprisingly, he didn't take the arm that held the gun. It was as if he knew that I wouldn't shoot him. He was clever, I'll give him that.

He pulled me to the stage and made me face Liz, who had been lying on her stomach.

"Does this girl know who you really are?"

I said nothing as I watched a few tears escape from Liz's eyes. Before I could protest, he turned me around to face the audience.

"She is to blame for all of this. She put all of your lives in peril," he shouted, while he shook and pointed at me.

I tried not to shiver as the kids, who had previously been oblivious to my existence, now gave me accusatory glances.

His words were only half true, but they didn't know that.

"Do you feel like a hero yet," he asked me.

I tried to keep my facial expression neutral.

Rule number four: don't let your feelings get in the way.

The minute you listened to your heart, you signed your death warrant.

"I'll do you all a favor," he paused, probably to think out his next move, "If she shoots herself, I'll let you all walk away."

Everyone began to look at me with pleading eyes, so I did what anyone else would do if they were in my position–I looked away.

"So Angie," he drawled, "Shoot yourself and save these people."

Not a single muscle in my body moved from its position and I looked straight ahead, right past the heads of the students, at the auditorium doors.

He remained calm as if he knew that I would not give in to his command.

"Alright," he shook his head, "I see that these people have no meaning for you."

He snapped his fingers and ten of his men pulled out ten kids from the audience.

They didn't resist; giving up the fight before they even tried. How odd?

Sonia Clark, David Bass, Sidney Lopez, Jeanette Paul, Mia Thompson, Ethan Ross, Andre Joan, Chad Taylors, Bruce Wong and Jules Saffon all stood, their backs turned to their fellow classmates, facing me.

They kept their eyes on the floor. Each kid had a gun aimed at his or her head. With a push of a finger, ten lives could be lost.

"Would you like to rethink," Blaze asked without looking at me.

I didn't have to look at him to know that his eyes were filled with perverse glee.

 "Alright then," he said and with another snap of his fingers, Principal Gentile was brought down from the stage.