Destroyed

Chapter 13: Snitching On A Fake

Placing the flashlight in front of me, Jared rushed over to my aide and stared blankly at the blocked exit. "Wait, are you sure that there is a car?" he asked.

I nodded very eagerly then listened to it again. The sound of wheels appeared again, but this time, I heard loud sirens. The ambulance, I thought giddy. I wasted no time peeling away the rocks and throwing it on the ground.

Wasting no time, Jared scrambled up to the rubble covered exitway and helped me removed the rubble out of the door. The more we removed the rocks out of the way, the more we could see the patches of sunlight seep out of the dirt.

Tears came into my eyes as I constantly thought about my parents and Uncle Seth. But just as I pulled out another rock, Jared stopped me. "Why did we stop?" I asked, annoyed. "We're almost there!" All of a sudden, I heard a small clock ticking.

Looking down, I saw a bomb wedged inside the rubble. The bomb looked like a black canister with red numbers and blinking lights on it.

The device had only five seconds left to detonate. "Crap," we both screeched. We grabbed our flashlights then hurried back into the hallway. That's when a loud sound erupted behind us. I looked up to see a huge piles of smoke and cracks spreading across the ceiling.

I looked back and saw dead people buried under the rubble. "Go!" I cried. "Go!"  I pushed Jared out of the collapsing rock's way then hustled forward. Keep going, I thought anxiously. Keep going.

Grey dust and rocks clung on our shirts, like flour. I felt Jared's hand grabbing onto mine as he pulled me out of the midst of chaos. More rocks came out of the ceiling and shattered all around us.

The faint smell of fire flew under my nose.  We kept running until we heard loud screaming coming straight down the hallway. Since we were already out of breath, the rumbling had stopped.

But the screams kept going on, especially when we arrived to the corridor where our classmates, museum tour guides, Allison, and the family of five shuddered against the wall, trying to protect themselves from the wailing ruckus.

Hesitantly, I knelt down in front of them. "Guys," I began. "The chaos stopped, everything is going to be fine-" A loud cry suddenly interrupted me. Jared recognized it and followed the voice.

"Paige?" he shouted. "Paige?" A few minutes later, she called for help. I shine my flashlight over my rocky path until I saw something very unsettling. Paige is buried alive under the rocks.

Her head is lying on the floor while her hands spread out in a snow angel motion. Her feet were nowhere to be found. A trail of blood appeared on the side of her forehead. Dirt and grime covered her face.

One of the three little boys buried his face with his hands. Marie cradled him in his arms anxiously. "What happened?" I demanded. "She saved his life," Marie sobbed. "She saved him."  "Help!" Paige coughed. "I think I am stuck!"

Jared and I both pushed the huge boulders off of Paige's back and feet then dragged her  out of the pile of rocks. Harold rose up from the floor and scrambled over to Paige's aide, but this time I stopped him.

Everyone, except Jared,  looked at me in surprise.  "What are you doing?" Harold shrieked. "Let me tend to your friend's wounds-" I spread out my arms to make sure that he wouldn't touch Paige.

"Stay away from her, you fake!" I yelled with tears coming out of my eyes. Harold tilted his head like he didn't understand. "Hey freak," Isabel said slowly. "Let him help-"

"Shut up!" I screamed, glaring at Harold. "He's not even a real doctor!" Harold swallowed a gulp, but glanced down. "You never had any medical experiences, his license is fake, but I don't think you care." I continued. "You killed Mrs. Triton, didn't you?"

The people who once looked at me, stared at a teary Harold. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I am sorry about your teacher's death, I just wanted to help." A cruel laugh escaped from  Jared's throat. "Seriously?" he croaked.

"You think that we are going to forgive you?" Clyde rose up to his feet then reached for something in his pocket. It was a pair of silver handcuffs. "You are under arrest," he said, putting the handcuffs around Harold's wrists. "For the murder of Jordan Triton. Now, sit down."

Paige coughed out saliva then laid motionless on the floor. "I need some water," she groaned. Reaching into his backpack, Jared pulled out a bottle of water then handed it to his sister.

Paige took it graciously then sipped it until the water was all gone. "Thanks," she moaned. I touched her head with my finger and saw the blood on her blond hair.

She needs some medical help, I thought nervously. "Clyde," I called. "You studied in medical school before you became a law enforcement, right?"

Clyde gave me a surprised look. "I don't remember telling you about my-" he began. "You have a stethoscope scar around your neck," I explained. He blushed as he touched the red scar around his neck. "It looked like it has been there for a while, like six or seven years."

Clyde stared at me in amazement. "How did you-" "My friend needs help," I interrupted. "She might have been hit in the head by a rock, do you think that you can stay with her for a bit until she recovers?"

He gave me a nod as he brushed the dust off  his red flannel shirt and jeans then walked over to Paige. I told Jared to stay by Paige's side, got up from the floor and went over to Harold's suitcase that was lying next to Huey.

I reached into my bag for the lockpick kit, tossed the opened lock behind me, and handed the suitcase to Marie. "What are you-" she began to ask. "All of your cellphones are in there, remember?" I reminded.

"As soon as you get them, Bill will lead us to the Security Room." A questionable stare came on Jerry's face. "Why?" he asked. "Shouldn't we be getting out of here?" Instead of rolling my eyes, I gave him a warm smile.

"We are getting out of here, Stupid." I smiled. "And, we are doing it together.