Mortal

Chapter One

It was a very long day for me. I just got up the stairs to my English class from trying to run the clock out in the bathroom. I did that pretty often so I didn't have to learn things I was ahead on.
   The cold zephyr of the door slapped me as I walked into the prison cell my parents call school. I sat in my seat and stared at the clock as usual. The clock ticked away the seconds of the day as slow as they could and, in a way, teasing me the end of the day. Of course it was only about two in the afternoon, so we had about an hour until we're out of this place. I have to say, even though I hated this hellhole, I had some pretty great friends. Those friends are the only ones keeping me in school and ahead of  my times.
   I was caught by the teacher soon after I started staring at the digital clock, so I put my head back up and looked around the classroom. One of my friends were gone. I looked at the board by the door of the class and saw that his name wasn't on it. Being my anxious self, I raised my hand as high as I could to get the teacher's attention. "Yes, Jace?" My foot started to hit the floor continuously, in a simple beat. I stuttered as I tried to speak. "Wh-where is Liam?" My teacher has been worrying about me and my 24/7 anxiety I have. "He went to go get something for me in the underground floor of the building. Don't worry, he's fine." Liam is my best friend at this school. He's helped me stay ahead of my classes. A few months ago, when the "prison" first opened, he joined a group that teaches how to basically be the next Sherlock Holmes. I thought it was total bullshit, but he thought it was pretty cool, and I didn't judge.
    At the time, the class was just sitting around, close reading the 3-page article Mr. Ufane gave us. My other foot started to thump with the next, alternating their beats. I read the article and started to close read it, when the door burst open with Liam soaked in water and quivering in fear. "It's a leak! It's a huge leak! We have to get out of h.." water rushed through the door, probably giving Liam a little whiplash. It took the class, including my self, a minute to act upon the sudden flood. I got up out of my seat before the water rushed in. Papers floated to the top. I could tell there was something wrong. Some students were stuck in their desks. "Help! Help me!" Someone yelled. "Please! My foot's stuck!" The water was knee deep at this point. "Hold on!" I screamed back to the people that were stuck. "I'm gonna get you out!" The water suddenly picked up in speed and rushed through the door faster than it was before. "Please help!" Those were the last things I heard from the people stuck before water distorted their screams. I let the water pull me into its depths when I started getting the first student I saw out of the desk. His hands worked with mine while I got his foot unstuck from the nail in the floor. He rose to the top, which was a foot over our heads if we were standing. I had to hurry. The room was filling fast. I dove into the chaos again and found two people stuck by each other. They helped get their bodies out of the desks and they floated up. I looked underwater with the blurry-blue vision and saw that everyone else figured out how to get themselves to the top. I swam up and took a breath of air. "Has anybody checked the window?" I asked, happy if anyone would answer. "I did," said Liam. "They're sealed. I can't open them." Liam was pretty buff, so I didn't bother to try it. I looked around the room and found the fire extinguisher in the glass case. "Liam, give me a push!" I yelled. He swam over and obeyed. "Just grab my shoulders and push off the wall with your feet! Aim for the fire extinguisher!" He took hold of my shoulders and got into place on the wall. "Okay! Three..." Liam started to count down as he backed himself into the wall. "Two!" I got myself set up into a torpedo position. "Now!" He put his head under the water and pushed with all his might. I aimed for the case and kicked it with the momentum I had. It shattered and the fire extinguisher fell out. I swam to the bottom and picked it up. I swam up to the closing surface. "Okay, everybody! Out of the way of the wind.." I was cut off by the gurgling sound of water filling people's mouths. We were fully submerged, with no air to breathe.