Project: High School

Chapter 16 - "Both of you get out of here. Now!"

- Trigger Warning: Suicide, Violence -

After dinner, Grandpa pulls a file out of his bag and slides it across the table. Katy sighs at the sight of it and Grandma smacks him upside the head.

"What have I told you about bringing work to the table?!"

He rubs the back of his head while giving her a look, "Um, I don't know, to not to?"

She smacks him upside again at his smart-ass response. The two of them start arguing with each other, neither really angry, just goofing off.

Katy stares at the file in front of her for a few minutes, her grandparents bickering falling on deaf ears. Her stomach aches with the bundle of nerves that are settling.

Finally, she picks the file up, and promptly dumps all the contents onto the table. She picks out the photos, sets them to the side in a pile before doing the same with the background info, the required tasks, and her cover story information that she has to memorize.

She buries her face in her hands with a sigh.

"Are you okay, kiddo?"

"No, not really." Her voice is muffled by her hands but the fact that she's distressed is clear.

Her grandma reaches over to place her hand on Katy's shoulder, "Talk to us sweetheart."

She hesitantly lifts her head from her hands and slowly nods. She looks down at the piles of paper sitting in front of her with an expression of dread.

"I...I know that I'm the only person who has the skills to take care of the treat and to protect the students without causing people to suspect something. But...."

Grandma tentivly reaches out to comfort Katy, but she jerks away. Both adults are surprised, but Katy jumps out of her chair and starts pacing.

"Katy..." Grandpa starts to stand up but Grandma stops him. "Sweetheart, talk to us."

She adruptly stops, watching something out the window. Her eyes narrow for a split second before she spins around.

"Both of you get out of here. Now!"

Grandma looks at her sadly, but Grandpa grabs her arm and drags her out of her chair, much to her surprise.

"Wha-"

"Don't go through the backdoor. Go into my bedroom, open my closet and leave through the door in the back of it."

He nods, dragging Grandma down the hallway with his hand over her mouth.

Katy listens for the closet door to open and close before turning her attention to the window. Minutes before, she had seen someone moving outside of her window with something pressed up against the glass.

With her eyes closed, she holds her breath. For a moment, she doesn't hear anything, but then a soft, rapid beeping reaches her ears.

Terror and dread fills her as the beeping gets faster. She spins around to find someone standing at the window. With a pocket knife, he carves something into the window.

Katy bolts forward, smashing the window and yanking the boy through it. With a quick move and a snap, she breaks his wrist and snatches the knife. With her hands shaking, she slices the bomb off his body and flings it out the window.

She drags the boy toward the farthest wall and covers him with the table. Katy takes a moment to catch her breath.

Silence.

That's the only warning she gets, the only chance she gets to throw herself onto the ground before the bomb goes off.

- 5 Hours Later -

"Mr. Westford, Mrs. Westford, please follow me."

The two are clearly exhausted, from their red eyes, it's clear that both of them have been crying for a while. They get to their feet and start to follow the Doctor.

"Your Granddaughter is amazing. She managed to save the boy from extreme harm, keeping him alive when most other soldiers would let him die without a second thought."

She pauses, turning to look at the two, "They boy in question is currently in a temporary state of shock."

"I don't care about how the boy is doing! I need to know if my Granddaughter is even alive!" Grandpa quickly restrains his wife before she can lunge at the Doctor.

"Ma'am. Please take a breath and calm yourself. I know that you need to know, but your husband needs to know the state of the offender so that he can report."

Grandma hangs her head in shame, "I'm sorry."

The Doctor smiles softly, patting Grandma's shoulder. Stepping to her left, the Doctor opens a door and waves them in.

Soft laughter reaches the pairs ears and the first thing they see is Katy sitting up in the bed. Stunned into stillness and unnoticed by Katy, she continues to flirt with the nurse.

It's not until the Doctor clears her throat that Katy notices them. Her eyes immediately light up and a smile that blind the sun crosses her face.

"Hey you guys! I was wondering when you would show up." She her smile dims a bit. "I am really glad you guys manages to make it out of there."

Her Granmother is the first of the pair who unfreezes from her shock. She rushes over to the bedside as she begins to break down. Tears roll down her cheeks as she grips Katys arms, seeming to reassure herself that Katy was really alive.

"H-how? How are you practically unscathed? Your house is completely demolished and the boy is in a state of shock!"

Katy's eyes crinkle in the corners as she smiles, "Are you forgetting the fact that I have a door in the back of my closet?"

Her Grandfather starts to say something but then stops. He blinks rapidly as his brain tries to understand what she was saying.

"Are you telling my that you had some sort of door in your floor that you managed to get through before it went off?"

Katy scoffs, "Get through? No. Yes, I had a door in my floor, but it was made of steel laced with Xintgal and was wide enough that my whole body could fit behind it with room to spare."

A nurse suddenly runs into the room, "General! The boy, he's trying to kill himself!"

Both grandparents jump to their feet only to by rendered speechless and inmovable when Katy speaks.

"Restrain his limbs and give him a painless death."

The Doctor looks sharply at her, disbelief written on her face.

The nurse stares at her, "Why would we do that? If he dies then we lose all the information he has on the enemy."

Katy simply stretchs and hops off the bed, "Honey, this is the Nightshade we're dealing with. All the information he has is the knowledge of where to find me and how to kill me. And if we don't let him kill himself or kill him humanely, they'll send someone to do it violently."

The room if filled only with shocked silence as Katy pulls on a shirt. She pauses by the door and looks at her grandparents," Well, are we going home or not?"

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Wow, talk about crazy. From a seemingly peaceful dinner to a bomb exploding Katys house. I wonder what will happen next. I'm serious tho, I really want to know.