After Midnight

Chapter 31

I stood by a table, waiting impatiently for Tom to come back. We were an hour into this dance and I already wish I was at home. Watching Netflix sounded way better than this right about now.

A man with thick black hair pushed through the crowd of people and looked at me.

"Excuse me ma'am..", He said over the music."Do you know where I can find Arin Meed?"

My breath hitched."Why?", I asked.

"I just need to ask her a few questions", He smiled at me.

"Sorry, I haven't. If I see her, I'll tell her to find you"

"Thanks", He pushed passed me and I started walking towards the exit. It was quite hard to get to, and when I saw two other men stare at me for a while and start walking towards me, I decided that taking the back exit was the best way to go. I started off walking at a normal pace, to try and trick them into thinking that I was just trying to leave. That didn't work, so I started picking up my pace until I was sprinting out the back door and they were running after me. I turned a corner and reached a closed off fence. I cursed under my breath and climbed it as fast as I could. As soon as I dropped, I saw the men starting to climb it. My heart was beating so fast, I felt it in my fingertips. I pulled my phone out and speed dialed Barry then started running again.

"Yeah?", He answered.

"Barry?", I asked breathlessly."They found me", I said. I heard the screeching sound of tired through the other end.

"I'm right here, Arin. Just stay calm"

"They're chasing me, Barry. I think it's impossible to stay calm right now"

I hung up and glanced over my shoulder. They were getting closer. I ran faster and felt my lungs getting tight. My heart was beating erratically and I then knew that I would faint if I didn't stop

I ran to the end of the parking lot and Barry pulled up.

I opened the door and felt someone's arms wrap around me. Barry got out of the car and ran over to me. I drew my elbow back and hit the man in the nose. He used one of his hands to cover his nose, and the other stayed tightly around my waist.

I hit him again with my elbow and then brought my foot up between his legs. He fell to the floor and groaned. I stared at him for a second.

"That's it!", I shouted and pulled his mask off. I stared at him intently for a while and he stared back at me.

"Tom?", I whispered, my throat felt dry and my eyes stung with tears.

He looked away from me and Barry wrapped his arm around my waist. He pulled me to the car and inside of it. My eyes stayed on Tom as he punched the ground a few times.

"No", I whispered."No no no, this can't be right. Not Tom. Anyone but Tom"

"I'm sorry", Barry put his hand on my thigh and I shook my head.

"No. This can't be right. This is a dream. It has to be a dream"

I closed my eyes and pinched myself. Barry pulled my hand away for my arm.

"Stop!", He shouted."There's nothing you can do about this. You know that. So stop"

"Barry", I grabbed his arm."Where's Dalton?"

He stared at me for a few seconds before turning his car around. He sped up quickly to the school and we both got out."Check inside. I'll look out here", I said.

"There's no need to", He grabbed my wrist and ran over to a white van, taking me with him.

They were trying very hard to push someone inside of it, and it didn't take a genius to figure out who it was.

Barry grabbed one of them and hit them. They hit back, and for the first time, I saw fear in his eyes. That didn't stop him from fighting though. I felt something hard hit my cheek, making me stumble back.

I groaned in pain and held my jaw. I regained my balance and hit back. It wasn't easy this time. They weren't surprised anymore. They weren't hesitating to fight back. People from inside started to run outside, and they didn't like that. Someone threw a knife at a girl and stuck it in her shoulder, and another shot a bullet in the air. More people flooded out of the school, and that only made matters worse. Two men held me back and three others had Barry pinned to the ground. I saw them grab Dalton and pull him inside. People from inside the dance started fighting back, and I somehow managed to break free from the men. I ran towards the van and slammed my hands on the glass. I saw Dalton's hands under mine and the fear was very clear in his eyes. The van started to leave, and so did the green hooded men. They pulled into the van while it was moving. I ran as fast as I could towards it. There was a very small about of hope in my mind that I was going to make it, but I somehow knew I wouldn't. I ran faster and faster until Barry pulled me back and I just had to watch them take Dalton away. I shook my head.

"We have to follow them", I said.

People were still running after the van. Some attempted to take pictures of the license plate, But there was black duct tape over it. Many called the police, but it was no use. If only they knew that.

"No", I shook my head."No, that should be me. Not him"

He pulled me up and took me over to his car. Tom's mask laid on the ground, so I picked it up before someone else could. I was crying now. He helped me into his car and I cried harder.

"We have to follow them", I sobbed."We can't just leave him"

"Can't you see that's what they want? They took him so that they could take us too"

I pressed the heal of my hands in my eyes and tried very hard not to cry. It only made me cry harder.

Barry drove away."I'm sorry", He whispered.

"He's my best friend. I don't want them to do to him what they've done to you"

He shifted uncomfortably and gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"We'll leave tomorrow", He said. I put my head down."There's nothing I can do"

"Yeah. There is. We can go now, before they hurt him"

"No, Arin!", He shouted at me."I'm not going to let you be the dumb ass you sometimes are. I'm not going to put you in danger, no matter how badly you want to be an idiot and get yourself killed. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to let you die. Not tonight"

I closed my eyes and wiped my cheeks.

"I'll take you home, and I'll pick you up first thing tomorrow", He said."Okay?"

I opened my eyes, because all I was seeing was Dalton's face.

We stopped talking until we got to my house.

"I'm sorry", He said softly."For what I said"

I shook my head."It's okay", I wiped my tears again and got out. When I got inside, Ellie was sleeping on the couch, and my dad was sat next to her. He looked up at me and got up. He walked over to me and hugged me. I started crying harder and harder, until I couldn't anymore. He let me go and put one arm around my shoulders. He walked me up the stairs and into my room. I laid down and pulled my covers up to my mouth. My dad kissed my forehead and asked if I wanted to talk about it.

"No", I shook my head."Maybe one day though"

"Goodnight, baby", He smiled down at me and walked out of my room.