EQAO

Chapter 39 - Tears of Joy

"Hi yes, I'm at East Hutman High School. My name is Jessica Rombu, and I've just escaped the clutches of a madwoman called Martha Gerdalli. She's locked up in a cage in one of the offices. She has been murdering fifty kids each year for a long time, as well as about a hundred teachers today. The bodies are still in the gym. No, I'm very serious. Please hurry. Yes, I'll stay in the building. Thank you."

I hung up the phone on one of the desks inside the front office of the school. I pinched the bridge of my nose, and contemplated how to explain that Ms. Gerdalli had to be surrounded by metal or water at all times.

What should I say when the police arrive?

I heard a familiar siren noise, and realized that during the time I was talking to the man on the phone, police and firefighters and paramedics would be on their way. I sighed, and walked to the front doors of the school.

Every part of my body was exhausted. All the adrenaline that had been in me during the fight, was gone. Controlling water tired me, but only a little. I had used my power a lot in that fight, and now I was feeling the consequences. I just wanted to see Ms. Gerdalli off to prison, and go home.

Without my friends.

I pushed the thought out of my mind. I had to focus. I could have a mental breakdown later. The little 'ding' of the security doorbell snapped me back to reality. I opened the doors, and saw two policewomen standing in front of me. There were about thirty more standing in front of the emergency vehicles.

One of the women was tall, with dark skin, and long, wavy hair that was in a tight ponytail. The other woman was very pale, freckly, and had an auburn braid running down her back.

"She's this way." I said wearily.

The two women nodded, and followed me into the school. I led them to Ms. Gerdalli's office, and opened the door. To my relief, she was still sitting there in her cage, grinning pleasantly.

"Hello officers." she purred.

I glared at her.

"Where are the bodies?" the dark-haired cop asked.

"In the gym."

I guided them to the gym doors, through the crescent room, and into the battlefield. The floor was still flooded with water, but it was calm now. Sure enough, all the bodies of the teachers who had watched or been a part of the E.Q.A.O. Games, were floating, facedown everywhere. I looked for my friends' bodies, but there were too many other lifeless figures. One of the police said something into her radio, and they swiftly left the room. I followed. Ten more police officers had arrived in the hallway.

"Um," I said hesitantly, "there's one more thing."

All eyes looked towards me. I gulped.

"It's just that it would be best if she was kept in a metal cage at all times. If she's not surrounded by metal, she becomes very dangerous. Please just keep her contained."

A man from the group nodded, and they went to go pick up Ms. Gerdalli, cage and all. I walked behind them awkwardly, as they loaded her into an ambulance truck. As they were shutting the doors, Ms. Gerdalli gave me one last look of absolute loathing. I held her gaze until the doors were closed.

A young man with blond hair, and tan skin came up to me and said in a friendly tone,

"Thank you for reporting this. We have a few more questions, but we'll let you go home and get some rest first. You've been through a lot."

More than you know.

I nodded gratefully.

"You said your name was Jessica?" he asked.

"Jessica Rombu."

"Alright then, Jessica, we'll drive you home."

I took a step towards the nearest police car, and reached for the handle. My hand stopped midway, as I heard four desperate cries of relief behind me. I spun around, and saw Michelle, Sameera, Anika, and Kat, staring at me with expressions of amazement, and pure joy. Police officers were standing around them, asking them questions, but they were ignoring them.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Part of my brain was trying to figure out how they were here. It wasn't possible. But the rest of me didn't care.

They're alive.

I ran forward as fast as I could, arms outstretched. The cops moved aside just in time to avoid me barreling into them. I collapsed into a group hug with my best friends. We all started sobbing, and I never wanted to let go. After a long time though, we did.

"How...?" I started, wiping away my tears, "I thought you were gone."

"Well, we don't really know what happened." Anika said, "We walked through that golden door, and then we blacked out."

"All of our stories match up." Michelle continued, "One minute, we were winning those stupid E.Q.A.O. Games, the next, we're waking up on sand like we'd been shipwrecked or something."

"You weren't there with us, and we were really confused. We hid in a random classroom, and looked all around the school for you." Sameera was beaming, "But then we heard the sirens, and here you are!"

"We thought you'd... you'd..." Kat's voice broke, and I hugged her again.

"It's alright. I'm alive and with you guys again. I have a whole story, and I'll tell you guys later. I called the cops, and Ms. Gerdalli is being taken away to prison forever. We'll never have to see her again."

We all hugged again, and someone cleared their throat.

"We should really get going." the blond-haired man said.

"Right." I agreed, "Guys, let's go home."