Overtime

nineteen ✧ || rescue

"Snow?" Chaos's voice, fragile despite the fear ricocheting in her rib cage, was met with a tender turn of the head.

The blonde fixated on her, his gaze both concerned and gentle; a stare only Snow could master.

Chaos cleared her throat, adjusting her grip on her weapon. "Are you doing alright?" She was somewhat irritated at how she was losing her edge. She couldn't completely fault Snow — it was her doing it, after all — but knowing that he knew her story thanks to her rainy confession was crippling to her cold demeanour. Now, they all knew that it wasn't who she was. They had seen the real her. That, especially in a situation as dire as this — one that required stability and precision — terrified her.

Snow smiled, tapping playfully at his finished cigarette and stuffing it into the pouch with the others. "I am."

Chaos nodded sternly, hoping to gain her edge back, before twirling her pole in her palm and continuing forward.

Flipping into a new hallway, one they hadn't yet rummaged through, Chaos stifled a groan. There was still so much ground they had to cover to ensure the building was clear. Despite their rapid search, there were no signs of people and definitely no signs of the shooter. The thought made the brunette's eyes narrow.

"You take left, I take right?" Snow questioned, ripping his gun out of his holster and cocking it, ready for fire. He eyed down the unexplored classrooms vaguely, unsure of what each door would hold.

"You got it."

With a sideways fist-bump, the two split off, each starting on their respective ends. Chaos paused before her first door to stare down at the weapon in her hand: a metal pole, one she couldn't find the use to. She tried, once more, pushing down on the single button it had on the side.

Nothing.

She groaned and slammed her shoulder into the door, forcing the first classroom open.

Empty, as per usual.

After relinquishing the classrooms on each of their sides, the two met at the end of the hallway, staring at the two doors untouched. Chaos opened hers with ease.

Empty.

Closing the door, expecting the same result from her partner, she was instead greeted with a surprise. Turning to face the blonde, Chaos watched in confusion as he fiddled mindlessly with the door knob.

Raising an eyebrow, her gaze lifting to his face. "Snow?"

"It's locked." He groaned, letting go and standing back a pace.

Chaos's eyebrows joined one another, perching on her forehead. "Locked?" She stared down the door in surprise. "That's new."

It wasn't a surprise that every classroom they checked, while empty, had also been left open. There had been such mass panic to evacuate that closing and locking doors hadn't been anyone's priority.

Except, of course, for those who were staking out their time in the building.

It was part of protocol, as far as Chaos could remember, that during a shooting teachers were required to close and lock their doors, gather their students in a corner, and wait until police arrive.

Of course, if anyone decided to obey those orders, they wouldn't know that police aren't coming. They were the only ones that were coming; the very freaks the building had been told to fear.

Through a single, silent glance, the duo both ripped out their weapons, positioning themselves on either side of the doorway. Chaos could find great pride in knowing that without a single word they knew what the other was thinking. It made dire situations far more easy to manoeuvre.