Chapter Fourteen
J
What was that?I whip my head around, searching for the source of the strange sound.
Thepop-pop-poperupts again, and I instinctively duck for cover. There’s a workstation next to the teacher’s desk, and I hunker behind it, hoping the thick wood will stop any flying bullets.
My heart gallops like a startled horse, and I place a hand over my chest, trying to coach my heartbeat back to a calmer pace.
Gunshots? Why would there be gunshots around Redwood Prep?
The noise ends as quickly as it started.
The world goes eerily quiet.
My first instinct is to crawl to the window so I can look around, but I stop myself before doing something stupid. Instead, I pull out my phone to access Redwood Prep’s surveillance system.
My pulse is still hammering, and my watch face turns yellow.
Breathe, J.
I’m starting to regret my life choices. When I woke up this morning, I never thought I’d be this close to a shooting. If I’d stayed put, I’d be safe. Warm. Tucked into my computer chair, happily doing my own thing.
The hospital might have been boring and predictable, but at least I didn’t have to run from gunmen.
Are they still out there?
It’s so quiet.
Too quiet.
Maybe they’re gone. Or maybe they’re prowling the school searching for target practice?
I take deep breaths. Right now, there’s no way to know what I’m up against. I need visuals.
My fingers tremble as I log into the school’s camera app.
Just before the system boots up, a call from an unknown number fills my screen.
I swipe away the notification and check the surveillance footage. The cameras pointed at the front lawn reveal security officers with their flashlights. One of the security guards has a walkie talkie to his lips. He must be informing the police.
I swipe to the cameras at the back of the school property, and my eyes widen. Two trucks are parked haphazardly in the middle of the street. All the doors have been flung open, and there’s smoke pouring out of the mufflers, which means the trucks are still on.
A flurry of movement in the corner of the screen catches my eye.What is that?I look for the camera controls so I can shift the camera lens to the left, but the surveillance system won’t let me in.
Stupid Redwood and their stupid security firewalls.
It’ll take too long to break the code, so I keep monitoring with the cameras as is.
Every so often, the men come into view. It looks like they’re… fighting.
Thugs in loose T-shirts and sagging pants kick, punch, and scratch at each other. Are those the gunmen? Then why are they fighting with their fists?
One of the thugs lands hard on the ground. I wince on his behalf. That had to hurt. A hand darts out and drags the guy with the sagging pants off-screen.
Wait… that hand had a tattoo on it.
I stop breathing as I concentrate on the corner of my screen where there are shadows converging and then separating like a light show. Based on the shadows, the men aren’t fighting each other. There’s someone else in the huddle.
