Humanity [4]

Chapter Seven

Gus scooted up to Hayley on the back seat and put an arm around her. "Don't worry yourself, Hailstorm. Megan can take care of herself, right? She probably read some history book that told her how to heal a bullet wound."

"What if she was bitten?" Hayley sniffed. "What if some sicko took her away to torture her, like Russell did to Tomas? I...I'm scared."

Rori's blood ran cold. He couldn't remember a time where she'd ever admitted that out loud. She was the one among them who always seemed to be head first in the action with a straight face. She was more likely to make a sarky comment than admit she was finding it as hard as everyone else. Was she starting to crack?

"Don't think the worst," Gus whispered to her. "I know how you feel. I really do. It feels like de ja vu to me...Tomas being in Russell's grasp is just history repeating itself. But I can't let myself believe he's gone for good. How are we supposed to get them back if we crumble? They might be in danger, but we can be dangerous too. If someone plans to hurt Megan, then I've got news for them. They're about to get their ass kicked by us."

Hayley sniffed again. "Sweetly put."

"Thanks. I like to think so."

They fell into silence again, but Rori felt certain that Hayley was closer to her normal self. She took a deep breath, holding herself together if only barely. But she'd never truly relax until they found Megan.

Dead or alive.

Luke and the others regrouped with Laura at the car, and she took a deep breath, preparing what she had to say. She knew that what she had planned might be dangerous, but danger was something they were all well accustomed to.

"We have to consider that this thing is going to end badly," she whispered to the group. "That we're going to have to fight. You noticed the changing of the guard?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, they did the same at the back of the school. You're saying it's a weak point?"

"The opposite, actually. When they swap over, there's more people on hand to fight. We need to know their schedule, and try to figure out if there are any weak links in their squad. If we're going to fight, then preferably, we'd come at night and have the cover of the darkness."

"And then attack them head on? Are you insane?"

"That's not what I was going to say," Laura whispered. "The front of the school is too much of a risk. There's too much open space with the car park out front. I think around the back is likely to be well-guarded too, right?"

Fletcher nodded. "We saw a few people covering the back. Plus, we just saw a group leaving that way..."

"Then we come through the side," Laura said, pointing past the gate to where hedgerows were the only thing blocking the school from the adjoining house beside the grounds. "We can slash our way through the hedges. It doesn't look like they've got anyone positioned there. It's our best chance of having the element of surprise. We can go through at the back of that building over there." She pointed again to the small conservatory where she recalled having several drama classes back in school. "That way, we have some cover and might not be spotted so soon."

"You don't think they'll notice us emerging from the bushes when we're hacking it to pieces?" Luke said. Laura pursed her lips.

"They might. But the alternative is definitely being spotted. The alternative is maybe having to kill some of these kids just to get inside. We don't know half these people. They're likely just doing as Russell forces them to. They're not necessarily our enemy, and I don't want anyone getting hurt unnecessarily. If we have to fight, we fight. If we don't...then this is our best option."