Thunder and Storm

The Shot

SALLY.


The sound of a gunshot was what woke me up. It echoed in the midnight air shaking me to the core. I tapped Ash who was still asleep beside me. She groaned and swatted my hand away.

“Ash, wake up. I heard a gunshot.”

“Leave me alone, I’m tired,” she said sleepily.

“Ash.” I shook her awake and her eyes opened blearily. 

“I’m awake,” she said.

I got up and pulled her with me. “Let’s go check on the others.” I moved quietly out the door and Ash followed.

“Are you sure you weren’t dreaming?” she asked and I stopped. I couldn’t remember dreaming.

“Uhm, I don’t know,” I admitted and she groaned.

“Sally! You woke me up for nothing.” She turned to head back into the room and I grabbed her arm.

“Wait, listen.” I heard footsteps coming closer to us. The sound stopped and then a shot was fired and next came the sound of shattered glass and the hallway got darker.

“We have to go wake the others,” she whispered. We turned to leave but got spotted. My eyes widened as they met those of the black cladding intruder. He pointed his gun at us and on reflex, I grabbed Ash’s arm and teleported. We landed in the gym where some of them were sleeping.

“Wake up, everyone!” Ash screamed and they jolted awake. “Wake up, we’ve been breached.”

“Everyone head outside and stay hidden,” I said. They all scrambled to their feet weakly and ran out the back door. I grabbed Ash and we teleported to another room where we woke the sleeping occupants. We teleported to the Principal’s office and found Kowalski seated on the desk with a gun pointed at Jemma. Cameron could only stand there helpless and infuriated.

“Hello, princess. I knew you were going to come. I’ve been waiting for you,” he said and I swallowed. My hands shook as I stared into his grey eyes filled with a promise of things to come.

“You’ve put me through a lot of trouble, princess. What does a guy have to do to get a date with you?”

“Let her go, Kowalski. You only want me.”

“Wrong. I only wanted you but you’ve put me through a lot, it’s only fair I take her as interest. Don’t you think so?” He pouted and cocked the gun. “This one’s a bit well...infected,” he said pointing at Jemma. “She’s in the last stage, it’s a miracle she’s still alive. How about I do you a favor and take her off your hands?”

“Don’t you dare hurt her or I swear to God–“ Cameron threatened.

“You’ll do nothing, pretty boy. There’s nothing you can do because I’m the one in command here. I’m the one with the freaking gun so you’ll keep your fucking mouth shut or I’ll blow her brains out,” he threatened and Cameron glared at him but didn’t say anything else afterward.

“What do you say, princess?” He faced me.

“Let her go, Kowalski. I’ll come with you.”

He smiled. “That’s like a good girl.” He stood up from the desk and grabbed Jemma. “I’ll be taking her just in case.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Ash said and screamed. A piercing sound that had me covering my ears. It sent Kowalski flying out of the room along with the wall. Cameron grabbed Jemma and lifted her over his shoulder. I stared at the hole that replaced the wall that had been there earlier not believing what just happened.

“Sally, let’s go,” Cameron urged and ran out the door. I followed and they ran down the hall only to be stopped by two men holding guns. They pointed it at us the minute they spotted us and Ash clapped her hands sending them flying backward.

We made it out of the school and joined the others in the field. Ryan had gotten a the truck and everyone was already getting into it. “Is everyone here?” Cameron asked as he placed Jemma into the truck.

“Not everyone,” Rayne said. “I can’t find Grayson.”

“He’s not going to be here just like he wasn’t here the last time,” Ryan said. “I told you he was a traitor.”

“No. He’s got to be inside somewhere,” I said. “Maybe they have him, we have to help him.”

“They don’t have him. Don’t you get it, Sally? Grayson is a mole, even if he was with them right now they wouldn’t hurt him because he’s one of them.”

“No, you’re mistaken. You don’t know him as I do. We have to go find him.”

Nobody was willing to move. They all looked at me like I was crazy for wanting to go back in there when we should be running as far away from the school as possible. And maybe I was crazy to want to go back there but Grayson was my friend and friends never leave each other behind.

“Guys, we have to go. They’re going to come for us at any moment,” said Ryan. One by one they all got into the truck and I watched them in disbelief.

“I can’t believe you people. Fine, if you don’t want to help I’ll go get him myself.”

“Sally, wait,” Cameron called out to me. He moved out of the truck and came to me. “You can’t go back there. I don’t think Grayson is in there either.”

“Of course you don’t. He saved your life, or did you forget that? You all may be good at forgetting the help others do for you but I’m not. Don’t bother waiting for me.”

I created a portal back to the gym so I could see if anyone was there. It was empty. I went through then closed it. My heart thudded in my chest and I breathed in deeply then turned and went into the hall. I was trembling with fear, I knew what would happen if I got caught. It was enough to make anyone scared.

“Be fearless, Sally, just like Grayson said,” I told myself. I checked the first room I came upon. It was the music room. There was no one there except for the instruments. I moved on and checked the next room, the auditorium. This one had five men in it holding ten people hostage. I checked their faces and none of them was Grayson. The hostages all had power dampeners as handcuffs. I took in a deep breath and let it out. Then I made myself invisible. I moved my hands and threw the men across the room. They groaned and got off the floor. Two of them rushed to pick up their guns. I squeezed my hands and the guns crumbled into dust.
They looked around in fear. “Show yourself, you bastard,” one shouted.

Not a chance.

I stared at the curtains hanging behind the podium and willed them to fall. They looped around the men and tied up their feet. They screamed as the curtains took them to the ceiling and tied them around each ceiling fan. I made myself visible and went to the hostages.

“Sally?” A boy called Jimmy asked. “You came back for us?”

“We need to get these off you before the others realise what’s happened here,” I said. The men hanging from the ceiling were yelling expletives at me and I was sure the noise they were making would attract the rest of them here.

“How do we get them off? We don’t have the keys,” Astrid said.

I placed my hand on Jimmy’s cuffs and it shattered. I went round and freed all of them. “Cameron and the others are in a truck in the yard. If you follow me, I can take you there.”

“Lets do this instead,” Astrid said and opened a portal to the truck. I wasn’t aware there was another teleport. They all went through the portal and to my surprise, the truck was still in the field.

Astrid turned back to face me. “Sally, come with us,” she said.

“I have to find Grayson,” I replied.

“Be careful out there,” she said and closed the portal. Surprisingly, everything turned out well. For once, I hadn’t lost control of myself. I made myself invisible again and checked the other rooms. I had checked five other rooms with no success before I stopped, finally admitting he wasn’t in here. Keeping myself cloaked for such a long time was taking a lot of energy, I couldn’t stay in that state anymore.

I rested against a wall in the hall and took in deep breaths to calm myself then pushed off the wall. I teleported back to the truck and I found Cameron running halfway to the gym. He looked relieved as he saw me.

“Leaving so soon, princess?” Kowalski said and I turned. He looked horrible. There was a gash on his forehead with blood spilling out. Half his face was bloody and he limped as he walked towards me. Four of his men followed behind him.

“Run, Sally,” Cameron urged.

“Don’t do that, princess. I quite enjoyed our rendezvous.” He gave me a bloody smile. I tried to run but his next words stopped me.

“You can’t run forever, Sally. I’ll always come after you and sooner or later I’ll find you. How many people would die before that happened is up to you.”

He was right. I couldn’t run forever. Running had only gotten a lot of people hurt and it was futile.

The moment you stop being scared of that power is the moment you’ll finally be able to control it.
Grayson’s words echoed in my head. I was stronger than him. I was stronger than all of them and it was time for me to show him that.

I faced him. “You’re right. I can’t run forever so I won’t anymore.” I lifted my hand and threw them back into the room they came out from.

“What are you doing, Sally? Let’s go,” Cameron yelled.

I couldn’t leave. If I didn’t take care of this now, I would never stop running.  “You have to leave, Cameron. Go get that cure, I’ll hold them down.”

“I can’t leave without you,” he said. The look on his face told me he meant it. Behind him, the truck was idling, waiting for him.

“You have to–“ A shot was fired and I gasped. I looked down at my stomach where blood was starting to seep out.

“Sally!” Cameron screamed.

I fell and grabbed my stomach. It felt like hot lava flowed through me and I screamed out at the pain. My hands shook as I crashed to the floor.

“You’re not so powerful now, are you?” Kowalski said. He bent and pulled me up by the hair. “You’re about to get a whole world of pain and it’s all your fault.”