Four of Clubs

20

As much as Roy and the fact that his face was inching closer to mine were taking up my attention, I couldn't help but get distracted by what I saw behind him.

A blue plume of smoke was rising from Rutherford's roof, quickly growing into a multicolored cloud. Through the trees, I could see people filing out of the building from every exit, all heading towards the soccer field, the designated spot for fire drills and evacuations. But most people were bumping into each other or stopping in their tracks, eyes glued to the colorful veil that was looming over the school.

Roy stopped leaning in as the sounds of shocked voices and laughter grew loud enough for us to hear. He turned, abandoning whatever he'd been about to do. I couldn't decide if I was relieved or upset.

"Jeeeesus..." he breathed out, running a hand through his hair. "What are they doing, trying to get heaven evacuated too?"

It was hard to focus on the situation at hand when my mind was still reeling from the fact that Roy had been-- from what I could tell-- about to kiss me. I tried to pull my mind back to reality. "I thought we agreed it wasn't safe to go upstairs, let alone on the roof." 

"It's bad enough to go up there, but to give away their location like that?" Roy shook his head. "I don't get it."

As more students filed out of the building, it clicked. "I think I might. They started evacuating way quicker than we expected-- Ian and Maddie needed a distraction so no one would see them coming back here."

I heard rustling from somewhere in the woods, my head snapping towards the sound. I held my breath, waiting for the worst, expecting a teacher or security guard to emerge from the trees. It was over-- they had to have gotten caught, and now they were rounding up the rest of the group--

Between the branches, trunks, and yellow and orange leaves, I could make out a running figure-- medium height, medium build, messy brown hair. I breathed a sigh of relief as Ian jogged up to us, but the concerned look on his face made it hard for me to relax.

His eyes searched over me and Roy, then the car, the woods. "Where's Maddie?"

My stomach dropped. "I thought she'd be with you."

"We got separated-- Everyone got evacuated, we set the smoke bombs off on the roof as a distraction so we could get back here." His words were frantic and breathless, coming so quickly I almost couldn't understand them. "We almost ran into security on the way back down-- I went one way, she went the other."

Roy cursed as I scanned the treeline for any sign of her. Ian placed his hands on his knees, still out of breath. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I reached for it instantly, hoping it would be Madeline. Instead, it was The Seven.