When the Stars Align

The Hotel is Overrun

I jolted awake when I heard an ear-piercing scream. Will and I had both fallen asleep in one of the bean bags, and he was still sleeping. I jumped as the door began to shake on its hinges. Someone was trying to break it open from the other side.

"Will!" I yelled shaking him awake.

He bolted awake as the door splintered into pieces and three Obscurités flooded the room, guns pointed directly at us. Will stepped in front of me. We were weaponless. I glanced at his closet, it was too far to make a dash for it.

"We found her!" yelled one of the Obscurités.

All I could think about was Jase. Had he managed to escape? Or was he in the hands of the Obscurités again? One of the Obscurités, a girl with dirty blond hair, came behind me with a gun in one hand and handcuffs in the other. She came within reach and I slammed my elbow back into her rib cage. I whipped around and grabbed the gun from her hands before she could recover. I kicked out my foot and she fell to the floor. The other two Obscurités had only cocked their guns by the time I turned back to them, my finger hovering on the trigger. Avery and Josh burst through the doorway, both with guns in their hands. Before the two Obscurités could turn to see them, two shots rang out and both the Obscurités fell to the floor. Dead. Shots rang out in the hallway along with more screams.

"Have you guys seen Jase?" I asked.

Will grabbed a gun off of one of the dead Obscurités.

Avery shook her head. "We thought you were with him, or at least in your own room."

"What about Carrie? Is she with him?" I asked, beginning to panic.

"I sent her down to floor zero with some of the other kids to keep them safe," she replied.

I was already dashing for the door. Will grabbed me by the arm to stop me.

"You can't just waltz out there, every Obscurité in the building will have a gun aimed at your head," he said.

"Then what exactly do you suggest I do? I have to go find Jase," I replied.

"We'll cover you," Josh offered.

"I'm more worried about you guys than I am about myself, they won't kill me but they won't hesitate to kill you," I said.

"If they get their hands on you, you'll wish they had killed you," Will replied.

"I've lost everyone from my old life," I said. "Jase is all I have left."

He went to his dresser and pulled out a gray hoodie. He tossed it to me and I caught it.

"At least where that to cover up your hair, the black and grey streak are like beacons," he said.

I slipped it on over the clothes I was wearing and pulled the hood up over my head. I slipped the gun into my front pocket so that it was hidden but I kept one hand on it, ready to fire at any moment. We moved slowly into the hall, keeping to the wall. Gunfire ricocheted on the walls, people screaming as they were drug from their rooms. There were Obscurités everywhere. Dead Étoiles littered the floor. My eye caught a man dragging a woman out of her room by her hair. He drug her child in front of her so she could see and held the child at gunpoint.

I heard myself scream as he pulled the trigger.

Will grabbed my arm and drug me towards the staircase.