The Company

Chapter Eleven- The Trees In This Place Must Be On Drugs Or Something

Out of all the things I wanted to hear that night, those five words were not on the list.

I stopped in my place out of shock. I could not believe that this was happening.

"Excuse me, but you are circumambulating after curfew," he said with a creepy smile and calm tone. "I am afraid that you will have to walk back to your designated dormitory or I will be forced to escort you. You can voice your choice now."

My breath froze colder than liquid nitrogen in my throat. I couldn't believe this was happening.

"You've chosen to be es-"

I wasn't thinking straight. My instinct told me to do something, and I did just as it asked me to.

I ran forward and socked him right in the nose with all I the force I had in my little five-foot-three-and-a-half body. The kid stepped back a bit, his hand on his nose. All of a sudden, he put his arm down, stood up straight, and retained his creepy smile almost like a robot resetting itself.

"Protocol initiated."

What does that mean?

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. He pressed down on the hilt, and it started giving off an eerie, deep, purple glow.

At that moment, I realized exactly how much I'd screwed up.

He lunged toward me with such speed and precision I couldn't have moved out of the way. Before I knew it, I was pinned to the floor with the knife inches from the bridge of my nose. My earbud hung loose in my ear, softly playing music.

I can't believe this, I thought to myself. I'm dying to a guy wearing a sweater vest with "Summer" playing. I thought I'd die to at least a cool Imagine Dragons song-

The thought was interrupted by a groan. "Now, Michael! Let's go before he gets up!"

I turned to see the kid groaning on the floor, clutching his stomach. Lionel must've kicked him there or something, but I didn't have the time to analyze it.

I got up and sprinted as fast as I could. I saw other guys had gotten out of their rooms and joined in on the exodus. Some held bags and supplies, while others had nothing at all in their hands. They must've been too shocked by the news or maybe just the yelling from us in the hall. It's not that I could blame them, anyway. It was a big enough shock to just drop everything and go.

I heard people yelling, but not just Us anymore. There were Badges now, not to mention what resembled a pack of Them.

"We're not going to make it!" I heard someone yell from behind me.

"We're going to make it, dammit!" That was the Washington. My eyes darted around my surroundings, soaking in the situation.

It's hard to explain the exact situation of inside the school in great detail. So much was happening at the time for me to handle. I could only tell you bits and pieces. There was a lot of yelling, oh, so much yelling. My heart was racing like its job was to go faster than the speeds of light and sound combined. My chest grew tight with my difficult breaths.

One thing I remember very vividly was the fear. It felt so real that I thought it was a nightmare. It put a cold chill down my spine, a sense of urgency in my step, a shred of hopelessness in my heart. I kept thinking that I wouldn't make it to the door, I'd get stabbed by one of Them or trip and get trampled by one of Us or...