The Monster Apocalypse

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

"Oh my God, we have to run!" Valerie shouted.

"Wait!" Mr. Barker shouted even louder, and Brin opened her eyes to see the suburban finally slow down, and, just yards away from the group, stop so abruptly and completely that Brin thought the driver would be catapulted through the windshield. She exhaled, deeply, and fell to her knees.

"Brin! Oh my God!" Ash said and ran over to her. He grabbed her by her arms and pulled her back up to her feet.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she said. "That was just..."

"A close call?" Ash said, trying to finish her sentence.

"You've got that right."

The driver's side door of the dark green suburban opened, revealing a pair of faded jogging shoes. The figure turned to her right and walked up to the group, past Justin, Anaya, and Valerie, and over to Mr. Barker. Brin held her breath again, startled at the person who revealed herself before them. She wasn't a stranger; the woman walked right up to Mr. Barker and gave him a hug.

"Oh my goodness," she said. "Are you a sight for sore eyes!"

"Rosalie," Mr. Barker said, hugging her back. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

She playfully slugged him in the stomach. "Same here. Especially since Bob fired you."

The woman waved to all the high school kids and nodded, like she knew she was their only hope to get to safety. Brin didn't know how to address the woman. Was she supposed to talk to her like the authority figure that she was, or could she pretend she was just one of Mr. Barker's adult friends?

"Mrs. Hallow," Brin said. "Mrs. Hallow, hello."

"Brin, right?" the old woman said, as she walked toward her and Ash. If Brin were in a classroom setting she would have been terrified—the Grisly High vice principal was short, homely, dressed a little oddly, and with a manic expression on her face that seemed to guarantee a year's worth of detention for all the students in sight.

"Yes. It's... uhh... surprising to see you."

"And, well, lookie here. Ash. Anaya. Weren't you all just in the principal's office a few days ago letting us know you had nothing to do with the disappearances of Chace Anderson and Sawyer Neville?"

Anaya looked at Ash and Brin with a scared expression. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

Brin cleared her throat and tried to evoke a smile. "May I ask, ma'am, what you're doing out here all by yourself in the middle of the night?"

She didn't glare at Brin or demand an answer to her question; instead, she patted Brin on the back. "I'm headed to Bodie to investigate. Principal Stine left yesterday to go check things out all by himself—against my wishes, may I add. I've tried his cell a hundred times and it keeps going to voice-mail." Mrs. Hallow glanced at Mr. Barker, whose adult presence seemed to make her feel better. "I think he's in trouble. I wanted to come out here and see for myself. My question for all of you... is what are you doing out here?"

Mr. Barker stepped toward her. "We have a lot to tell you, Rosalie. A story worth a novel all its own."

"Or a trilogy," Ash added.

The teacher ignored him. "All you need to know is that we're headed to Bodie, too. Not just to investigate. But to instigate a rescue mission."

"A rescue mission? You mean, for Bob? For Principal Stine?"

"Yes. For him, too, I guess—"

"But how did all of you even know he was there?"

"We didn't. We were on our way to rescue Brin's mother, Tessa. She was kidnapped."