doomed by renee thompson

chapter three

Quinn's POV 

"Don't you DARE try anything that stupid, Quinn." I can't help but smile when he says that. I act as if I'm going to keep skateboarding, but then pick up the board. As we walk up to the steps, I swallow hard. I haven't even been in this lousy town a month and I absolutely hate it. Alex is literally my only friend here. And he doesn't even go to the high school! He just lives down the street from me, or I wouldn't have even met him. 

"See you later?" Alex questions, raising an eyebrow. His deep brown eyes flicker with hope. 

"Hopefully, if I survive today." I chuckle and he rolls his eyes. He waves me goodbye as I walk into the dreadful place. I actually hit it pretty lucky this semester; I don't have a first period. So I don't have to actually be at the school until ten. To make things better, my first class is theater. 

I start walking toward the auditorium, my skateboard in hand. The halls are eerily quiet, which is unusual around this time. There are a few people in the halls, but they are walking wordlessly to their classrooms. It's kinda weird, because usually there's gossip, or even just talking or laughter; but today it was silent. 

The auditorium doors are opened by some girl named Lizzie. Her hair, tied up in high pig tails, is a lilac/silver color. She smiles at me, her straight teeth gleaming. 

"Hey, Quinn!" she giggles "come on in." 

I prop my skateboard against the wall and place my book bag beside it. As usual, the rest of the theater kids were smiling and laughing. A weight comes off my shoulders. I pull my phone out of my pocket and begin scrolling through Instagram. Various pictures of models come on my feed, along with some cute animals. I begin liking picture after picture that comes up. 

"Good morning" Mr. Shawn smiles and waves. I lock my phone and slide it into my pocket. 

"I would just like to say a big congratulations to all of you. You made our play a huge success last month. We made nearly one thousand dollars for our department! I-" Mr. Shawn starts, but he is cut off by the lights going off. Over half of the class groans. 

"As I was saying, I am very proud" Mr. Shawn pauses "those lights have about given up. I'll go find someone from administration to fix them." Mr. Shawn turns on his phone flashlight and begins walking toward the back doors. When he's out of right, I take my phone back out and see it's only 10:08. 

"It's odd, isn't it?" a voice says from a few feet behind me. I quickly turn my phone screen to see it's Lizzie with a puzzled look on her face.

"Yeah, the stage lights are bad, but what about the black lights in the sound room? They usually work when the stage lights go out..." Lizzie trails off. 

"So, what do you think happened?" I question. 

"The power must have went out" Lizzie shrugs "probably nothing major." 

I open my mouth to say something, but loud banging on the auditorium door interrupted me. 

"Real funny guys" Mr. Shawn laughs nervously "you guys can unlock the door now." Lizzie looks at me confused. She walks to the door and pulls at it.

"Mr. Shawn" Lizzie says slowly "the door is jammed." 

"Lizzie" Mr.Shawn's tone changes "this isn't funny." 

"No, I'm serious!" Lizzie shouts "it will not open." She pulls at the door so hard she falls down. A click from the intercom notifies us that there will be noise. 

"Youth of today, now is your chance to flourish! Do not be afraid. This is YOUR future. The world is coming to a gruesome end. Hellfire will consume you if you do not surrender yourself to us. Now is your chance to be safe from The End. Better make your decision quickly...Time is running out." 

"What the-" I start. 

"Quinn" Lizzie's voice breaks "follow me to the dressing room." I swallow hard. 

"Leave the kids alone" I hear Mr. Shawn whimper outside the door. Gunshots fire rapidly. Lizzie and I duck just as bullets fly through the wooden doors. I bite my lip, tears coming to my eyes. Shakily, Lizzie grabs my hand and begins leading me to the dressing room. Silently, the rest of the class follows us. 

"What the hell is going on?" someone I don't know questions. Lizzie begins to breathe heavier. 

"M-Mr. Shawn...He was blocking the auditorium doors, protecting us...a-and...He-" Lizzie cuts herself off "I can't." 

"He was shot" I finish for her. The class lightly gasps. 

"What are we going to do?" 

"We've got to get out of here." 

"Guys" I attempt to say calmly "our best bet is to stay in here until police come. There's no windows here, so we're safe." Everyone looks at me in shock. I'm kind of in shock at myself. I've never been in a situation remotely like this, I don't know how I'm coping right now. I guess it's because I don't really have connections to these people. I know that probably seems insane, but it takes a lot for me to truly care about people. 

Lizzie fake smiles at me as tears pour down her face. She lightly grips my hand along with someone else's. One by one, the class joins hands. I close my eyes and practice my breathing. I think back to what I said moments ago: 

"Hopefully, if I survive the day." 

I wish that was still a lighthearted joke.