Exhale

Chapter 47 - Cared For You

Immediately, we grabbed our bags and equipment and rushed to Middle Libentina. The entire metropolis was inflamed, with fire bursting and spreading in every which way and infrastructure falling and tumbling, crashing to the ground. Smoke with a haze of green gas spread over the area, tinting and dimming our vision. There was mass panic on the streets. Looking around, I saw no signs of help—no fire trucks, ambulances, or cop cars—like the area had been abandoned, forsaken... almost like a replay of a day from months prior.

Without wasting time, Axel and Luckas parted ways with us to go find Newvy while Phil, Dani, and I went to the school to find Esmae and Chris. Running on the pavement, we ran on unfamiliar familiar streets and escaped near death from falling trees and poles and towers. As we passed homes, we saw the burnt ashes of furniture and cries of families escaping their homes and running for their lives. Or in some cases, the lives that still remained.

Eventually, we reached our school: Middle Libentina Academy, which held a formal name on no grounds. Children were gathered near the 'safer' regions, protected by teachers with flighty eyes and twitching hands, who were arguing among themselves. From a distance, I saw a blob of orange.

"Esmae!"

She turned around. Her eyes were a shade darker than her hair yet lighter than her cheeks. Pushing aside her classmates, she ran over to me, crying, "Alastair!"

We embraced each other. I snugged my nose in her shirt and released a sigh of relief. Soon, we withdrew and with a serious look, I asked, "Are you hurt? Where's Chris?"

She shook her head. "No, and he's with his class over there." She pointed to the left. In the distance, I saw a familiar blob of curly dark hair. "But... there's still people in the school."

I looked at the crumbling, shaking school. "Why?"

"Because there's no way out of the second floor," she said. I looked at her and she looked back. "Only the students on the first and bottom have managed to escape. They're still trying to communicate to the teachers on the top on how to escape. But..." She glanced away. "There's an issue."

"What's wrong?"

She looked back at me. "They say that the Lady in Pink is in there."

"Why... how?"

She shook her head. "I don't know... it's just what I've heard. It's because of her that they're fearing that leaving would... probably... be worse off."

"Students!" An authoritarian voice exclaimed. We turned to look at the teacher, who was sweating in a suit. "We're evacuating."

"No!" a girl cried from the crowd. Pushing her way through, she made it to the man and clung to him. With tears in her eyes, she pleaded, "We can't, Mr. Price! Margaret... my friend's still in there! I can't... I can't leave without her!"

"We don't have time to wait for the students on the top floor," he said in a calm voice. "If we don't leave now, we're going down with them."

Her eyes widen. With an exasperated cry, she cried, "I'd rather die with her than leave without her!"

"In that case, stay here, Lucy!" said a voice. A boy came forward and pushed the girl away, towards the school. "If you care so much, go save her yourself! There's no reason that we should risk our lives because of your stupid friend."

She pushed him back. "Stupid friend? She's your girlfriend! Geez, I wonder what Margie would say about that! No wonder she kept talking to me about how much she wanted to break up with you." My eyes widened. Margie? As in... Margie Beltran? Running to the arguing duo, I put my hand on her shoulder. She jumped, but then looked back at me. Snarling, she asked, "What do you want?"