Dear Diary

25. LOCKED IN

J E R O M E

Kelly's still mumbling about us being murdered as we're checking upstairs. I don't entirely blame her, but it's hard to focus on the objective with her blabbering.

"Kell, relax," I tell her.

"I can't relax. I'm terrified," she says.

It's not like I'm not on edge, too. It's dark, save for our flashlights, and the silent halls seem eerie in comparison to when it's daytime and full of people. We continue on, heading toward the end of the hall.

That's when I hear it.

"Did you hear that?" I whisper, coming to an abrupt stop and pointing to where the hall rounds off. "Noise came from over there. Footsteps."

"I didn't hear anything," Kelly says. I walk forward and she grabs my arm. "What are you doing? You don't go to investigate a noise, are you dumb?"

"I'm going," I say, pulling out of her clutches.

She whimpers as I kill the flashlight on my phone and shove it into my pocket, gripping the baseball in a ready to swing position. Kelly stays close to me as my heart picks up a drum solo, edging closer to the corner.

Closer . . .

Closer . . .

I round the corner fast, popping out in front of three humanoid shapes. There's an eruption of screams coming from the shapes and Kelly alike before something sprays into my eyes. I drop the bat, crying out in pain.

My eyes are burning!

"What the hell?" I shout.

"Rome?" a strangled voice asks. A voice I know.

"Chace?" My eyes are squeezed shut, feeling like they've been set ablaze, and the agony progressively worsens with each passing second. "Dammit!"

"Oh God, I'm sorry!" A different voice. Cassie? "I didn't mean to."

"We have to wash the pepper spray out," says a third voice, followed by a set of hands placed on my shoulders. That's definitely Raya.

"There's a water fountain," Chace says.

Raya quickly guides me, I assume, to the nearby fountain. "Here. Bend over and open your eyes when you feel the water on your eyelids."

I do as instructed and the relief is almost instantaneous.

"I'm sorry," I hear Cassie say again. "We didn't know it was you."

More footsteps approach. Hurried ones, the sound of multiple people running toward us from down the hall.

"What's going on? We heard screaming," Kelly's voice says as the footsteps come to a halt nearby.

"Where did you guys come from?" Brandan asks, obviously referring to the three new additions.

"And where's Rome's dad?" Gio demands.

"What?" Cassie says, and though I can't see her face I imagine she's sporting the biggest frown, knowing her. "How would we know?"

"We're looking for my mom," says Chace.

Samara speaks up. "Diana?"

"Yeah. I got a creepy text message telling me to come here and look for her. No police."

I dare to open my eyes, standing straight up. They're still irritated, but I can bear it. "We're in the same boat. I got a text saying my dad is here, too. Same deal. No cops."