I Am Here

Part One

James and his small group of friends quietly pulled up to the front of MacNeill Secondary in Abby's car. James looked at his watch: 2:47 AM.

Right on time.

"Hey James!" Aaron whispered from the back seat, "Booze?"

"Guys!" Lauren, James' cousin snapped, "We're on a schedule!"

"Right." Aaron took a sip of the beer, then put it in the backseat cup holder.

The group got out of the car.

"Okay, is everyone here?" Abby asked, "Let's see... Aaron, James, Lauren, Leslie and me--"

"James! What...?" Lauren asked.

James held a small, black gun, which shone in the moonlight.

"This?" James relpied, "Don't worry, it's just a precaution!"

"Ditch it. Please?" Lauren asked.

James reluctantly gave the gun to Leslie.

"What? No! If theres someone I trust the least, it's Leslie! Well, maybe Aaron... but then Leslie!" Lauren whispered.

Leslie cut Lauren off, "Would you shut up? Besides, who made you leader? You can't just tell us what to do!"

"Look," Lauren said bluntly, "I'm not here to bond with you guys. I'm just here to steal the anwser key and ace the math test!"

"Everyone!" Aaron whispered, "Shut. Up. Someone will hear us!"

"Yeah, you two, stop!" Abby whispered, stepping between Leslie and Lauren, "Come on, Leslie's right! Lauren, stop bossing people around and let's get this over with!"

Lauren complied, James grabbed his gun back from Leslie, and Aaron broke the front door's window so the group could crawl inside.

The school had a blue tint to its darkness. James remembered what MacNeill looked like during the day: bright, full, warm and harmless. Now, at night, the school was dark, empty, cold and menacing.

The group silently made their way to the math teacher's classroom, in the hallway labled "C Wing". Lauren and Aaron decided to wait outside on lookout, despite the fact that no one was there.

After ten long minutes of searching, and putting a bit of graffitti on the classroom walls, Leslie, Abby and James found the answer key. But as they were about to leave, they heard Lauren scream.

"What is it?!" Leslie asked Lauren, who was crumpled on the floor.

"S-Someone t-took Aaron!" She stuttered.

"What?!" The group said in unison, starting to panic.