The Legacy

Chapter 3

Have I ever mentioned that I used to have a brother?

I always thought that he died before I was born, but now... Well, now I was having my doubts.

I never had any idea what he looked like, nor even what his name was. But now, I'm assuming he looks a great deal like me. My mom never really talked about him much, even when I asked. She always said, "He's okay, honey, he's fine." This frustrated me because, well, mostly I just wanted to know what his name was. Just that small little detail would at least give me an idea of who he was or what he looked like. He was my brother, after all.

I felt my head lolling lazily against the wall, like I had no control over it at all. I couldn't hear anything. All I heard was what sounded like white noise. Slowly, my hearing returned.

"I was...I..." My eyes darted around the room, focusing on nothing. My fingers fluttered uselessly, touching my temples. Danny was kneeling at my side, hovering over me like he was ready to catch me if I collapsed. My eyes zoned in on him. "You were there. You were..." I trailed off.

"I know," he mumbled gently. "We'll talk about it later. Right now I need to get you out of here."

I nodded, somewhat dazzled. His eyes bore into me with such intensity.

I hated feeling this way. Like the "damsel in distress." I was helpless; I could hardly stand when he tried to pull me to my feet. I had control over nothing, and the fact that he was being so gentle about me, like I'd explode any second, didn't help.

"Come on, we need to go. They're trying to find another way in here," Danny growled, putting his arm around my waist and tugging gently. I nodded and followed him out the now cracked wooden door.

The school was bare. No students lingered in the halls, skipping classes or whatnot. It was rather unusual, considering that ever since I'd been here, there wasn't a moment of silence the entire day. But now, it was very, very quiet. All that could be heard was our bounding footsteps echoing loudly as we ran...somewhere. Frankly, I had no idea where we were heading; even though I'd been at this shchool for nearly two years, I still had a hard time finding my way around the place.

With Danny's hand still gripping my wrist, he jerked to a halt. We were both breathing hard, and we were facing sthe silent room of the cafeteria. Silence was all that met my ears. The lights were turned off in the large room, and tables and chairs were scattered randomly on the floor. Danny led me to the middle of the room, and took something out of his pocket. Something that looked very much like a cell phone. Turns out, it was. He pressed his thumbs to the screen and dialed a number.

"Hello?" he grumbled into the speaker. A whiny voice vibrated back. "No, I've got her. Yes. Uhhuh. Listen, they're here. No, in the school. Yah."

As he was speaking, something echoed in the room. A chair knocked over. Danny didn't seem to notice.

I froze, hearing nothing but the blood pounding in my ears. My heart jumped wildly in my chest.

A breeze, only a slight gust of wind, but still. And I don't know about you, but usually, wind doesn't blow in my school.

Suddenly, my memory of a dream flashed through my eyes. The one where I was running. The one with the...thing. My breath caught. My muscles tensed in suspense and anticipation. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

I hardly noticed that Danny had stopped talking.

Another bang.

A slight intake of breath.

Danny's hand slithered around my face and pressed down onto my mouth. "Keep quiet, and don't move until I tell you," he whispered in my ear. We were crouching low now, so I couldn't see a thing that was going on.