Hidden Heroes

Thirty 6

I stood up, not ready to deal with whatever he had to say.

"Hey vampire, please kill him."

"Come on, Fable," Jason whined. He placed his hand on what seemed do be the vampire's shoulder. "He and I are friends."

I looked at him, then the vampire, then back at him. "Mind control works on vampires?"

"Amazing, right?" he exclaimed, no longer hiding behind his lies. "I found out a few months ago when he tried to attack me. He's been my slave ever since. How the tables have turned, huh?"

"Right..."

I looked over at the door to see Tom patiently waiting while drawing something on the chalkboard. I couldn't tell what it was.

"What is going on, Jason?"

He opened his mouth with a grin but was quick to frown when Tom told him to shut up. He looked over his shoulder at Tom who was still sketching. It seemed to be a symbol of some sort.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I was getting nowhere. Would they let me leave if I asked?

"Guys, seriously. I want to know why I can't leave."

"One minute," mumbled Tom, I almost didn't catch it.

"One minute? One minute till what? Jason, has Tom gone mad or something?"

Jason's pupils flitted to the side before looking back at me with his trademark smile. "Aren't we all?"

I gripped the ends of my hair as I looked out the window. Something bad was going to happen. I needed to do something about it.

Tom was closest to the door. If I could squeeze past Jason and the vampire without causing suspicion, I could probably get passed Tom. He seemed distracted enough, anyways. Or maybe I could try to jump out the window? It would hurt and I definitely wouldn't be able to run after that but maybe I could attract attention to the teachers stalking the halls.

Before I had the chance to pick a plan, I heard the sound of Tom's chalk snap in half. I watched as he dusted his white fingers onto his black jeans and stepped back to admire his work.

It was the Heroes Symbol. It was the shape of a generic crest, a cross in the middle to separate the colors inside the embroidery. My eyes traced how natural each stroke seemed, it was almost perfect.

Tom turned around and his eyes met mine. He held up ten fingers, slowly counting down each second. I stared at his fingers with mild confusion and curiosity. Why was he counting down?

"Five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

...

..."

He looked out the window and i did the same. I watched as a giant cloud of red and yellow smoke erupted from the back side of the school, a piercing sound strikingly ears.

I quickly grabbed on to the edge of the desk when the ground started to shake. The tin I had placed at the corner of the table toppled over, the books lined up against the bookshelf following seconds after.

Holding on to the table didn't help as I fell over, placing my hands in front of me to ease the impact. I held my head to stop my brain form rattling inside my skull.

My headache tuned out most of the sounds but I could distantly hear the sounds of people screaming and yelling out orders. They seemed so far away.

I reached for the corner of the desk, trying to use the rest of my strength to pick myself up. I peered through the slits of my eyelids, the other beings in the room didn't seem to be affected by the explosion.

Struggling as I hoisted myself off the ground, I felt something prick the hand that was on the desk. I flinched, pulling my hand back and falling over.

I whispered a curse when I found a stubby needle poking into my skin. The residue from the injection was a vibrant red and I pulled it out as soon as I realized what it was.

"No...f..." I held my head again, cutting myself off.

"Tom, I think we'd better head out now." I felt Jason pull my up by my arm. I tensed before realizing that he wasn't touching my skin.

"Ow," I muttered. When would this headache go away?

He pulled my arm over his shoulder and attempted to pull my legs over his other arm. It was much more difficult considering my height and the fact that I was trying to use my weight to pull him down. He tried to make sure that he was touching my socks and not the skin of my thighs, groaning as I was slipping away and making it more difficult for him to hold me.

"Fable, come on," he complained. "If I leave you here and let another villain come fetch you, they won't be as gentle."

"Who...who said a-a villain wo-would..."

I didn't even realize that I was nodding off until Jason finally managed to lift me up.

"Hey, if you fall asleep, I'll wake you up," he said cheerfully. He said it as if he was winning. Why would he act so natural at a time like this? Why does he always do this?

Even in a situation like this, Jason can still keep a smile on his face. He was always like that.

Even when mom died, he still smiled to keep me smiling, too.

We did everything together so why...

"...why did i...t have to be ...this way?"

Jason looked down at me, trying to understand what I said. "What's that?"

My consciousness was fleeting and I grabbed on to the back of his shirt, fearing I would topple over.

"I...really ha-hate you..."

He sighed, his smiling dimming a bit. "Yeah, I know."

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Lots of luck and other stuff 🍀