He was in the open, the shooter could take a shot at any time.
“Stop! Get back! Run!” Raya and Ellis shouted, but Caden kept walking, oblivious, zigzagging slowly towards them.
“You jackass!” Ellis picked up a stone and threw it at Caden’s feet. Caden didn’t even flinch. Nothing worked. He kept shuffling closer.He just wouldn’t listen.
Raya sank to her knees, closing her eyes, pushing her hands over her ears. There was nothing she could do.Nothing.She wouldn’t listen for the shot; if she focused, she could blank it out. Like it never happened.Any second… She willed herself to block out the sounds around her. Three, two…
“Yo.”
The voice was right next to her. She opened one eye.
Caden was standing behind the bus. Alive.
Raya and Ellis both jumped to their feet. Without thinking, Raya leaped on Caden and hugged him, her arms barely making their way around him. Even Ellis threw a manly arm across Caden’s shoulder, patting him awkwardly.
“You made it! Jesus, that means…the shooter’s gone. We’re safe, right?” Raya was delighted. “C-Dog, you are a legend.”
“Okay,” Caden grunted, even though he clearly had no clue what was going on, his red eyes crinkled a little with what might have been pleasure.
Ellis seemed less enthusiastic.
“Not quite safe.” He tentatively stepped out from behind the bus, arms raised slightly. He turned around in clear view of a possible shooter. Nothing happened. “Don’t you see what this means?”
Raya moved next to him, nervous at first, muscles tensed.
“It means we’re alive, Ellis. At least for now,” she said, her voice flashing with irritation. “What could possibly be bad about this? The shooter’s stopped. We’re in the clear.”
“It means we’re trapped.” Ellis spoke slowly, like he was explaining to a child. “We’re safe inside the circle. But if we try to leave and cross the white line, then we’ll be shot. It means we aren’t going anywhere.”
“Fuuuuuuccck,” Caden whispered.
“No kidding,” Raya added. It was sinking in. No walking through the desert. No escape. They were well and truly caught. “So, what do we do now?”
This time Ellis had an answer for her.
“What do you think we do? We have no fucking choice.” He slammed his hand against the bus, frustration simmering through him. “Bates has us right where he wants us. When 9:58 a.m. comes around, like it or not, we do what this psycho wants—we play the Balloon Game…”
10
Ana
“We’re in acircle?” Benny said, as though his mind was two steps behind the words coming out of his mouth. “And if we go outta the circle, then we get shot at? So, we’re…trapped?” He was chewing methodically on a piece of gum, staring at the vintage linoleum floor as he spoke.
The sound of gunshots had kicked Ana into high gear. She felt alert and on edge as she stood by the window in the reception area, listening to the others talking. Everyone was gathered together, blinds drawn, dust drifting lazily in the heavy air. She focused on one speck of dust, watching as it was swept up in a current of air from Ellis’s manic stomping up and down, back and forward. The guy was never still.
“Yes, Benny. Well done,” Ellis snapped. “Everyone else keeping up?” He glared around the room.
His usual sarcasm wasn’t enough to hide the fact that Ellis looked scared. Ana watched his body language as he paced the room.
No one could blame him. Someone had just tried to kill him. Of all the people in this room, he knew what that felt like. He’d been there. Ayear ago, Ellis had been the big hero of the day. He had been the first to react when the fire started, running across the basketball court towards the flames, while everyone else ran in the other direction. He’d dragged several students out of harm’s way before the fire finally caught him, paying for his courage with nasty burns across his chest and shoulder.
Raya also seemed subdued. She was perched on the pink pleather sofa and had barely said a word, letting Ellis do the talking.
“So, this isn’t a prank? This is all real?” Jade’s voice sounded uncharacteristically high-pitched, far from her usual monotone drawl. Her make-up was immaculate, her outfit perfectly put together, ready for her moment in the spotlight.
“No, babe. No, it’s not real, okay? We’re fine.” Jax spoke up. All he had on was a pair of jeans, his perfectly toned six-pack glistened with a sheen of sweat.
“So, who’s shooting at us?” Jade asked.
