Dreams

Chapter 17 - Stepping Up

Luke

"Ma'am?" I place my hands on top of the front desk and the same dirty blonde lady looks up at me. "Is there any way that we could possibly leave the kids here?" I ask, trying to hold eye contact despite the awkwardness. "It'd be greatly appreciated."

"Yeah, yeah." She waves her hand nonchalantly, turning away from me. "That's alright. Just make sure to come back before nightfall to check back in on them." "Thank you." I turn around and run back to the others, flashing them a smile.

"So?" Amber asks, tapping her foot impatiently on the snow white concrete flooring. "What'd the woman say?" "Yes." I reply, beaming. "GOOD THEN!" Amber spins around to face the doorway. "LET'S BLOW THIS JOINT!" "Not so fast," Liam says, holding out an arm in front of both Amber and Jamal. "Do we even have a plan set out into action? What are we even doing? In case you've forgotten, the school is on high lockdown. There is no way anyone is getting into there, even the authorities. Much less us."

That stops Amber and Jamal in their tracks. "Buzz kill." Amber mutters under her breath. "GREAT!" Kyle shouts, throwing his hands up in the air. "What do we do now?!" "This is fine, all right?" I interject. "We could investigate this city ourselves. If a murderer came to our school, they must be from here."

I nod to the doorway and we head out. "So what's the plan?" Kyle asks me as we walk down the cobblestone sidewalks. "First order of business is to check random alleyways," I explain. "Haven't you ever seen the movies? If there is a murderer or something, they usually hideout in alleyways."

"Life isn't a movie, Luke," Amber reminds me, crossing her arms. "I'm not saying we can't check, though. I'm just simply pointing out that this might just be a huge waste of our time." "It's worth a shot," I say with a shrug. "Wouldn't hurt to try."

We wander out into a dark, long alleyway. Water drips from broken gutters. Shards of glass litters the pathways. "Ew. . ." Amber complains, grimacing at the environment. "Poverty." "Quiet, you," Kyle hisses.

Suddenly, we run into this giant wooden structure. "The hell is this?" Amber cries. She bangs on the wood like a crazy person. "HELLO?!?" She cries. "I don't think there's anyone in there." Liam remarks, considering the situation. Amber glares at the structure. "Hm. Suspicious."

"What are you suggesting?" Kyle asks, tilting his head. "What if this is the murderer's hideout?" Amber asks loudly, waving her hand. "Don't you think it would be open?" I ask. "I mean, the guy would have to get out somehow."

Amber grumbles and turns away. "We're getting nowhere." She mutters as she stalks away down the dark alley. "WAIT FOR ME, MY PRINCESS!!" Jamal shouts and Amber immediately holds up a threatening fist. Jamal doesn't care and proceeds to crash into her.

"Come on, you two lovebirds." Liam says with a smirk. "Your make-out session can wait. We need to get going." "THAT'S NOT WHAT WAS HAPPENING!!!!" Amber yells in exasperation. Jamal smiles and Amber shoves him into the concrete.

"Ow. . ." Jamal mutters, his voice becoming muffled by the concrete. "That's what you get." Amber hisses. Liam, Kyle and I are nearly halfway down the alley when Amber and Jamal notice us. "WAIT UP!!" Amber cries, jolting up and bolting in our direction, Jamal following not too far behind.

After a few monotonous minutes of walking around the partially dilapidated city, we're stumbling down yet another replica of the other alleys. "This is boring," Amber huffs as she crosses her arms. "We should've stayed back at that worn-down shelter. It was more entertaining."

"Let's just be plain and honest," Liam begins. "You just think it'd be more entertaining to stay in the case that some kid trips and falls into one of those beaten-up bean bag chairs or something." Amber shrugs. "Eh, entertaining, nonetheless."