A Future To Die For || Nano 13

2

"Who was that?" Cole asks me as he scratches his head. I can hear a couple more screams from near the school and panic starts to sink into me. I spin on my heel, instinctively dropping the net and hiding behind it.

"Is the school being raided?" he asks, turning to look at me.

"Why would someone be raiding our school? We live in the middle of nowhere. That makes no sense," I snap at him, too worried to leave my eyes from the school in fear that something will happen and I'd miss it. Two screams later and I can see movement in the parking lot. I punch Cole's shoulder roughly and draw his attention to what I see. Behind an oversized dodge truck, I swear I could see movement.

"Hey! What's going on?" Cole screams. I snap my head in his direction, eyes wide and fearful.

"Are you kidding me?" I hiss. "What if it's like, a murderer or something," Cole gives me a pointed look, his expression creepily serious.

"It's probably some stupid grade nine pranking someone like we used too," He reasons. I turn back towards the parking lot. It is no longer deserted. That flicker of movement behind the black truck appeared to be a person, just as we assumed.

"Kid by the truck!" Cole yells as he cups his hands around his mouth to create a makeshift human microphone. The person's still for a second and Cole groans. "Why do people insist on wearing headphones in school?" He opens his mouth again to yell, but I bring my hand into the air, silencing him.

"Something's wrong with him."

"Yeah, obviously, he's deaf," I shake my head. Cole ignores me, "Fucking idiot," he screams as the kid starts to walk in the direction of the school. Just as Cole is finishes yelling, the kid stops and stands still for a second before snapping his body around with inhuman reflexes. At roughly fifty feet away, I am close enough to notice that this kid is not normal. With his head tilting like a dog questioning something's existence, the boy swings a baseball bat above his head and bolts in our direction.

"That's not the deaf kid in our grade," Cole stutters, stumbling backwards in horror. His face goes shockingly pale and he has the cuff of his red sweater pressed to his mouth. I turn and race for the shed. The door is only twenty feet away when Cole zooms past me and reaches the shed first. Cole whips the door open.

"Lock it," I order, spilling in after him. Nervousness and panic make my voice wobble.

"The key's still jammed!" He looks back and forth between the door and the kid. "It's getting closer," Cole cries. I rip the lid off of the nearest tub and dump the neatly packed soccer balls all over the floor before doing the same with the other one. The tubs are bigger than a laundry basket, surely we can fit in them until that person is gone.

"Cole, just climb into that tub!" I order, rushing to the door and yanking roughly on the brass key. I yank a couple times in different directions. To my dismay the key snaps, locking the door in the process. I don't have time to do anything but slam the door shut and barricaded it with my empty tub. I climb into the grey bin, instantly aware of the stone pressing into my back at the bottom. I try to click the green lid on top. Let's just say, it's not an easy thing to do from the inside of the tub.

It's silent for a couple seconds, other than the blood rushing in my ears and the fact that I can feel my heartbeat in my butt in this position. The eerie silence ends when the walls off my tub shake. I shrink even more in the box, pushing my shoulders down against that annoying rock.

The motions on my tub are continuous. A constant thump-thump as the kid slams his body (or a really strong fist) against the door. I manage to close my eyes and focus on my breathing. Breath in for seven bangs, hold for five bangs, and release for seven bangs. The bangs feel endless and I feel alone despite the fact that Cole is only a couple feet over in his own tub. Can he feel the bangs too? He isn't pressed against the door like I am.

The darkness engulfs me. Even after the banging ends and all I can hear is nothing but occasional screams in the distance. I lay still for a long time, eventually drifting to a half slumber. The darkness lulling me to sleep, the screams of my classmates my lullaby.

After whoever knows how long, a head splitting bright light floods my darkness and I scream in panic.

"Calm down!" A voice yells, "It's just me, Cole," Once my eyes adjust to the brightness, I realize that it is, in fact, Cole. From the two dark blue eyes and his platinum blond hair, Cole is pretty much an angel sent from heaven. My bones creak in annoyance as I stand up.

"We are still alive, holy shit," I croak, my dry throat almost betraying me. "How are you holding up Cole?"

"I think I need to change my pants," He jokes lightly, trying to shine a light on the situation. Typical Cole answer. I climb out of the tub gingerly, flinching in surprise by the cold inside the shed. I rub my arms absentmindedly. The window beside the door is smashed. Glass litters the floor around my tub. I shiver in fright at how close that thing was to me.

"What just happened?" I ask, pulling my phone from my pocket. Fifteen missed calls.

"That person was crazy," Cole snaps. I'm tempted to roll my eyes. To tell him he's a stupid disillusion twit. But I can't. Saying that the kid had any logical sense would be lying.

"Do you think he's gone?" I whisper. "What do we do!"

"Get out of here. He knows we are in here."

I reach for the door knob, "What do you think you are doing!?" Cole slaps my hand away. "He's probably still there. I don't want to die, we're safe in here!" He tells me, his voice raising each syllable.

"Cole, there is no food in here. We are basically trapped animals. We have to leave eventually. The window is broken anyways" I counter, my own voice quiet. Without saying another word, I try to twist the knob. It doesn't turn.

"It's locked, where's the key?" Cole asks. My face pales and I shake the handle again. "Drew, where is the key?" He demands.

"It snapped," Cole whimpers like the scared sixteen year old he is, but he doesn't do anything.

"We're trapped, then."

"No, we aren't. Surely there is a back door," I decide.

"It's a gardening shed filled with toys, Drew. There is no back door!" he howls in rage.

"But, there is a window," I smiled, eyeing the small window. It was only a foot and a half high. Long and narrow.

"We can't fit in that. You're crazy," Cole snaps.

"Oh come on, we have to give it a shot. Do you want to stay locked in here?" I demand. He redirects his eyes to the floor, twisting his hands together.

"Cole, we are going to run to the school, get in, and find someone who can help. Preferably a teacher. Sound good?" I ask him.

I set both of my hands on the window frame, using my muscles to pull myself through the space and outside. I fall to the ground and jump to my feet in seconds, Cole soon by my side. We make eye contact, then bolt.

It looks oddly peaceful on the grass. Morning dew makes the strands of green sparkle, also reminding my mouth how dry it is. The sun is low in the sky. It leaves the morning fog a hazy yellow white, beams piercing through it here and there. The fog, on an average day would be beautiful. Let's just say that it's scaring me more than anything. It isn't thick, and it hangs low enough that I can see over it, but it still frightens me.

"Almost there Cole," I reassure when my legs start to burn at the sudden exercise. Cole arrives at the school before me. He reaches for the doorknob and I instantly smash my fists against the metal door. The school's dark; the halls eerily lite up with emergency lights. It looks abandoned. Lockers are open, a couple with papers surrounding it on the tiles. We both never scream for help so we won't draw unwanted attention. Just bang on the door, rattling the knob roughly.

"Fuck," I whimper, pressing my head against the cold metal. The pulsing of Cole hitting it reminds me of the bloody kid who was trying to get into the shed and I shiver.

"Stop, they probably don't know we're normal," I sigh, utterly defeated.

"What... what do we do now?" Cole whispers, arms dropping to his side. I shake my head, backing slowly away from the gray doors before I turn around and walk along the school wall.