Gift of the Goddess

The honor student

-Before Zack arrived-

"Come on we gotta hurry!"

My heart was pounding so hard against my chest, I was scared it was gonna just break out. You and Alexis need to get out, You and Alexis just need to get out. I kept repeating this in my mind to keep myself focused. But Stryders face kept coming back into my mind. I know he's strong, but I hope he's okay...NO I need to focus on the task at hand.

I rushed through the dark band hall and made it to their back door. I opened it up and didn't see a single person around. Perfect, thank goodness my hunch was right. I turned to see where Alexis had got, but she was dragging her feet coming over.

"This can't be happening, this can't be happening.."

I could barely make out what she was saying while she chewed on her thumb. But she repeated it so much I started to decipher it.

"Hey snap out of it! We need to focus on getting out of here! I texted the boys we were leaving already! So we need to keep our word. They'll worry about us."

I pushed open the door and snatched her hand, then threw her outside.

"This is all my fault Val" Alexis cried.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

I took out my phone and went to call my dad, but for some reason, it didn't turn on. Did I seriously forget to charge my phone!? At a time like this!? Wait a second. I looked up and noticed the street lamps in the distance were all off, and I didn't hear anything. No sirens, no cars moving in the distance, just the screams from panicked students. Did someone turn the city off?

"This has to be my dad. I didn't think he'd do something like this. I didn't-"

I turned around and grabbed Alexis's shoulders, then forced her to look me in the eyes. But she just averted her gaze.

"Hey, look at me," I demanded.

Alexis's shoulders slumped, and she bit her lip. I could feel her shaking in my arms. She slowly raised her head and looked me in the eyes.

"I told my dad about them..."

"About who?"

"Zack and Stryder, I told him that they were the Alley of Justice." She sniffled.

A pit formed in my stomach. Her father? Could he actually be behind all this? Wait, Stryder did say something about someone watching them.

"We need to get away from here, but we can talk along the way."

I let her go and clasped her hand firmly. I gave her a confident smile and tried to calm her down. Her body shook more violently this time, and that's when I noticed she was looking past me. I turned my head, and my heart started to race again.

Even in the darkness, I could see his amber eyes, staring me down like a snake. It was like he walked straight out of an old western movie. The mullet, boots, he even had a big silver belt buckle. The only thing he was missing was the cowboy hat.

"It breaks my heart princess. Seeing you betray me like this again. What did I tell you about talking about things?"

He took a step forward and I moved in front of her, then reached into my purse.

"I have a gun, and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Oh? Is that right?" He hummed.

It was like my heart was gonna come up through my throat. Calm down, be strong, be strong. If you falter even a little he'll know your bluffing. Even with those thoughts, I couldn't keep my hands from shaking.