Chapter TwentyKami
There was only one thing I could do, and that was to get the hell out of there, fast, leaving behind two people I loved like crazy. But I had to save my brother.
I thought about jumping back down into the kitchen, but one look in Cam’s terrified blue eyes was enough to realize Thiago was right. I had to get my brother out of here. It was my duty to save him. And when I was done, I’d pray that I hadn’t just seen Thiago Di Bianco alive for the last time.
We crawled for a while along the rooftop because I suddenly got scared, imagining there might be a sniper outside. I couldn’t help but look through one or two of the skylights as we passed them, seeing rooms where fear had spread into every nook and cranny. The bell rang for the end of first period, making every hair on my body stand on end.
Only forty-five minutes had passed? I felt like we’d been shut inside that living hell all day…
I shuddered. How many kids would never hear that sound again? How many would never again sigh with relief, ready for a break, in search of their friends for some chitchat in the halls?How many people would never again open their lockers to take out their books for the final classes of the day?
These questions were so painful, I didn’t know how I’d ever get over it.
“Kami, look!” Cameron shouted, even though I’d told him to be quiet. He pointed at the helicopter on its way toward us, and I felt a wave of relief. I wish I could lie and say I was happy, but all I could think about was the Di Bianco brothers. Who would save them? Who would bring them out alive? I would have gladly sacrificed myself—I knew that was what Julian wanted—but all he’d ever done was lie, so why would he agree to let them go now?
I hated him, and I knew he would never let them out alive.
We waved, blinded by the light of the sun, until the shadow of the helicopter was right over us. They must have been waiting for someone to find a way out.
“Over here!” my brother shouted. “Over here!”
Cam squeezed me tight; I could feel his little heart like a hummingbird in his chest, and his joy was almost contagious. The helicopter hovered low over the roof, and a cop lowered a ladder and climbed down.
“Are you all right?” he shouted. “Is there anyone else with you?” He had to yell over the roar of the spinning blades. I shook my head, and I saw the disappointment on his face. He grabbed my brother in his arms and motioned for me to follow him.
We climbed up into the chopper. Cam’s eyes were like saucers as they handed us helmets and earphones and we rose into the air. The school was below us now, the nightmare behind us.
As the policeman looked at me, I started shouting: “What took you so long? Why didn’t you do something?” The sorrow, the guilt, the grief, all of that was gone for now, and what I felt was pure rage.
The cop didn’t answer, but he looked angry, too. We landed on the football field, and he announced, “I need you to come along. You need to talk to the police chief.” From his eyes, I could tell they needed my help. “Anything you can tell us would be useful,” he added.
He guided me onto the road that led to the parking lot, where we saw vans, journalists, desperate family members, people crying, hugging, begging for someone to do something. There were ambulances, tents, police cars everywhere, a SWAT team with machine guns. All this, and they couldn’t stop three armed teenagers?
I noticed there were lots of students outside hugging their parents and in tears. I was glad so many had been able to escape. They’d survived! That’s when I realized this was Julian’s revenge aimed at a specific group—me, my friends, and the two loves of my life.
“Over here,” the policeman said.
Cam looked up at me and tried to wriggle free, but there was no way I was letting go of his hand.
People saw us and rushed forward, parents and press included.
“Are there survivors?”
“Is Emily alive? Emily Davidson, is she alive?”
“Have you seen Harry? My son, Harry?”
“How did you get out?”
They were scaring my brother, who held on to me tight as the cop guided us into the tent.
It was all so fast. I was surrounded by police now, and I wanted to run, not talk. And what was I going to tell them?
“What’s your name? Are you wounded?” a woman in a suit asked me, approaching us calmly with a smile on her face.
My brother answered for us. “I’m Cameron, and this is my sister, Kami.”
The woman smiled at him, but then looked at me with worry. “Cameron, do you mind if your sister and I talk while my friend takes you to the ambulance to look you over?”
