~Part 1 Chap 8~
Devin knocked on the door, unsure exactly who would answer. The crowd around her shuffled their feet and whispered to one another.
“I can hear every word your saying,” she sighed and the crowd grew quiet.
She knocked again on the door, this time there was a groan and the door opened, “What do you want?” He asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“Come with us,” She whispered, and turned to the next door.
He looked at the crowd questionably, but they just shrugged. Curious, he followed, another addition to the group. Devin led them down the hall and into the secret passageway; the air grew even more cool and moist as they neared Loren’s room.
“Loren? Are you there?” She called into the darkness.
The torches flared up and he sat up in bed, shielding his eyes from the sudden light. Devin blinked a few times to get the spots out of her sight.
“I didn’t expect breakfast in bed.”
She sat nearby him, “Though I wouldn’t argue if you’d finish off a few of them they’re not breakfast.”
He pouted sarcastically but got up and someone in the back wolf-whistled, she strongly suspected that it was a guy but kept her mouth shut.
Loren pulled a shirt over his head and bowed slightly, “How may I be of service?”
“I want to help everyone escape but I don’t think they’d believe me, or be able to keep their mouths shut. So if they met a real life living, breathing vampire then maybe they would.”
He just stared at her, “Don’t mock me.”
“What? Oh, maybe ‘living’ and ‘breathing’ weren’t the best words. Still, can you explain to them what you told me?”
He shrugged and stood before the students, explaining about their training, the realms, their lives, their freedom. Explaining about how they must escape to survive, to ever see their family and friends again, to save the realms. Each student was lulled into a tranquil state by his voice and there were no interruptions.
Devin felt her eyelids droop, and the familiar warm and fuzzy feeling she got whenever she was nearby him. She jerked her head back; no, no sleep, I must stay alert and awake. Well, maybe just a minute…
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“Should I take them back?”
She jumped at his cold touch, “What?” she asked, her voice strained.
“Should I lead them back out the tunnel?”
“No, I-I’ll take care of it, thanks Loren.”
He nodded and watched as she led the group back out of the tunnel maze. When they got back it was time for class.
“Your killing yourself,” Skelacat told her.
“No I’m not,” Devin snorted, “I’m still breathing aren’t I?”
“You breathe until your dead; I didn’t say you were, I said you were killing yourself.”
Devin yawned and pulled her notebooks out for History and Life Sciences. They weren’t required to have notebooks but she wanted to remember everything. She flipped through it, sketches of organs and limbs flashed until she found a blank page. Pulling out a quill she wrote ‘Escape’ in big bold letters at the top followed by notes about the school and dates and times.
There was a knock on the door, “Come in,” she called.
The door opened and Jasper motioned for her to come, “C’mon! We’ll be late for class.”
“Only you would notice I wasn’t in the hallway,” she muttered and walked up to him, books in her arms.
“So what’s the plan?” He asked quietly.
“If you’re wanting an elaborate plan with many ways it can fail then your talking to the wrong person. I’m thinking that Saturday at three everyone makes a run for it, taking whatever they need. You, Loren, and Chad will lead them in the right direction; Jackie will get any stragglers, since she can’t be seen. I will in the middle to help them and help fight off teachers.”
She smiled sweetly at Rawning as she passed her and sat down, “I’ll give you a note with the plan.”
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She once again sat on the roof, with her feet dangling. She dipped the quill in the ink and continued to write copies of the original letter, she needed enough copies for each person.
“Why can’t I just tell them again?” She asked Skelacat.
“The walls have ears but no eyes,” she yawned and stretched before curling up into a ball.
She turned back to the paper but her eyes caught on the horizon instead, a reddish glow wavered just out of sight.
“Hey Skelacat, is that fire?”
She glanced up, “Yes it is, but it’s not threatening, it looks like a bonfire.”
“A bonfire?”
“Yes, as in a large fire built outside for burning garbage, as part of a celebration, or as a signal.”
“Oh, I know what it is, it’s just that where there’s a bonfire there’s people.”
“Devin?” Jackie called up from the ground, “it’s almost time for class!”
“Ok, I’ll be right there!” She turned to Skelacat and smiled, “I think I know where we’re going once we escape.”
She ran into the training room, almost late. Rawning and Ms. Dugood stood there instead of Warabe. Rawning glared at her for a moment as though trying to yell ‘How dare you be here!’
“Warabe is gone for a few days. He will return come Sunday,” Rawning growled, “He told us to watch you all practice.”
Excellent, Devin thought, everything is going our way, one less teacher to deal with.
She was exhausted but managed to slip each of the letters under each students door, after modifying it and telling them to head west, aka the direction of the bonfire, and meet her at the end of the passageway at eleven. Skelacat went and alerted Loren to the plans.
Devin sat on her bed, rehearsing the plan over and over in her mind. Skelacat phased through the door and ran up to her.
“You must sleep! I’ll awaken you!”
“Promise?” She tried not to yawn but it snuck out anyways.
“Yes. Now go to sleep.”
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“Ow!” Devin yelped as Skelacat turned and walked towards the door.
“I told you I’d wake you. It’s eleven twenty-nine.”
“Yes, but why must you always injure me?” She asked, looking at the three neat scratches on her cheek in the mirror. She dabbed it with a bit of alcohol and followed Skelacat. Bunny-chan darted past her followed closely by Jamez, Zanac flew past her, trying to stop Jamez.
“A few people were asleep but we got them,” Jasper reported as she approached.
She opened the passageway and led everyone inside, following Skelacat and with the groups following her.
“Do I smell perfume?” she asked.
Hazel looked guilty, “What?”
“Nothing, here we are,” the musty smell of earth greeted her. This time the torches were lit as they arrived. Jasper sat in the middle of the room with his eyes closed.
“Hey, maybe he’s dead,” Jasper whispered.
“Well of course he’s dead,” she replied before walking towards him and leaning in, “Loren?”
His hand darted out and grabbed her neck.
“Heh, um, I didn’t know you hated me so.”
His eyes opened and he grabbed his head with his free hand, “Oh, I’m sorry, I was trying to figure out where my brother is. I don’t like to be disturbed.”
“Can you let go of me now?”
“Oh, yeah, sorry,” his hand opened and he drew it back jerkily.
“Are you in pain?” She asked.
“It’s nothing, so, are you going to explain this grand plan or not?”
She nodded and stood on the table, turning to the crowd she began to explain.
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The rest of the week dragged on like the last day of school. She was so keyed up to run that she had gotten to be twitchy. It was like the calm before the storm.
Looking around she knew that everyone else was feeling the same. Jackie had hugged Chad earlier and he’d jumped, pulled her off his waist and almost broke her neck. Jasper was equally or even more twitchy as her if that was possible.
Everyone anticipated the next morning, hoping they would make it.