Spades and Angels

Boo Bitch!

Lolita

Turning away from Connor, I run.

I sprint away from the others yet with a circular route in mind to take me toward the chosen meeting spot. Seconds later Connor takes the bait, chasing me, although not before striking someone with the gun he'd been holding. The sound of metal and bone connecting startles me but I keep moving. Hopping over broken glass shards. Skirting corners. Trying to steer clear of petrified groups of students huddling at the first sounds of the school's active shooter drill.

"LOLITA!" Their voices haunt me. Heckling and cackling. Hunting me through the dark corridors. Some are easily identifiable. Connor. Hawk. Talon. Scar. Although there are others too. "LO-O-OLI-I-ITA-A-A! COME OUT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE!"

I skid to an abrupt halt, lose my footing and tumble down a set of stairs. My upraised hands protect my face as I reach the bottom, forcefully slamming into a wall. Wincing I sit up gingerly, hearing those same accursed footsteps echoing from the levels above.

"LO-O-OLI-I-ITA-A-A!!" Another holler. I groan, using the wall to push myself upright, I continue running. The sound of boots thunders down the stairs over the storm and the sound of the song 'Run Rabbit Run' playing on repeat. A low humming sound followed by metal sliding down on the upper levels of the school, as it starts going into lockdown. A round of staccato gunshots shakes the otherwise dark and silent building. "LOLITA! WHERE ARE YOU!"

"Right here asshole," I seethe, running as fast as possible, hoping to lure them away so the others can reach the meeting point. Spurred forward, I locate the service stairs up to the highest student-accessible levels of the school, pausing once in the door frame with a tense half-smile, "Come catch me if you can,"

Shutting the door I race upwards until I reach the walkways for classrooms at the very top of the school. The glass bridge-like structures appear more fragile and ghostly. The back exit seems so far out of reach that I shiver and shake my head, focusing on remaining alive. Praying that my distraction plan lets the others safely regroup at the meetup spot.

I get halfway across the closest bridge before a dark shadow jumps down from an upper level I hadn't been able to reach. A scream rips out of me from fear and shock. Scar shoots me a nasty smile. "Frightened are we, Artemis?" He sneers. Something sharp is pointing out of his jacket sleeve. A dagger or a knife, I can't see well enough through the gloom to be sure. "Good, you should be. We were coming for you. You knew it. Just like you know we know what you did."

With every threatening taunt, Scar steps towards me. Prowling and pointing the sharp weapon at me. Each word causes me to jump back in fear until he laughs, and shakes his head, throwing what is in his hand. The blade hurtles towards me. Terrified I turn and run, sprinting three steps before it sinks deeply into my back. Right between my shoulder blades.

The instant it cuts me I scream and drop like a stone, trying to remove it. My hand shakes when I manage to do so, dropping the bloody blade onto the floor, as a second shadow appears in front of me. Tipping my head up a little I see two feet in heavy-duty combat boots step towards me, my panicked mind shifting into a state of hypervigilant overdrive. I crawl away from whoever is in front of me. Making it a short distance to the glass wall and metal rail, I try to regain my footing. Legs unsteady from fear and pain. Dizzy from hitting my head. Grasping the rail I run until two more figures jump in front of me, causing me to stop so unexpectedly I almost fall again.

Hawk and Talon.

"Hello again Artemis," Hawk smiles a lot like Scar did before. Terrified, I raise the bloody blade that had been thrown at me and brandish it in shaky hands. "Oh, cute. SHE WANTS A FIGHT BOYS!" He yells, cupping his hands over his mouth to call to Scar and Connor as they step closer behind me. Acting on pure instinct I aim the knife between the two in front of me, edging around them and hear Hawk laugh. "Seems she wants to play games."