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Chapter 7

It was ten minutes to eleven, and the whole town was silent.

Emma and Avery had both gone in an hour ago, and out of the corner of her eye, the sight of a shadow slipping around the door told her that Jem and Noah had just gone through too.

Her ear pressed against the wall, Quinn strained to hear footsteps. Nothing. She nudged Adam and whispered to go for the door.

He nodded. "W-Wait a second," he whispered, pulling something out of his pocket. It was her old iWatch, completely mended. "I'm sorry."

"Are you kidding?" She tied it around her wrist, grinning. There was no sign that it had ever been broken. "You're awesome, you know that?"

"Yeah, I'm... I'm great." He grinned momentarily, before remembering where he was. "B-But be sure to keep it switched on. I have my phone in case we get separated."

They heard someone coming around the corner, and Quinn pulled him behind a bush. It was Luke, still holding a red clipboard as if it were a priceless artefact. To him, it probably was. Adam stared after him for a moment, a strange expression crossing his face.

"Jesus, he really is everywhere, isn't he?" Quinn whispered, elbowing him slightly. "You don't think he's one of them, do you?"

Adam shrugged silently, not looking away. "Who... Who knows..."

"Want me to go sedate him?" She joked, reaching for her tranquilliser, only to realise she'd left it at home. Adam hadn't noticed, so she tried to continue acting like she had a weapon. She wouldn't need it.

He turned away. "His eyes are normal. If he was... Y-You know, they'd probably be white."

"I don't know, maybe he has contacts or something." She gestured at her own eyes. "Can they do that? Make them change colour?" Adam shook his head, not looking at her, but she continued anyway. "Maybe they programmed him or something. You know, like draining, he's been forced to act like that. Or maybe he's just a dick. Who's to say?"

"C-Can we please just get this over with?" He said suddenly.

She nodded, startled by the urgency in his voice. "Sure."

"I'm sorry, it's just... Overwhelming... A-And I know... This had to happen, but, I... I don't think I'm ready."

She patted his shoulder. "Hey, you're fine. Anything comes near you, I'll deal with it, okay? Nobody's with you now except me. You aren't scared of me, are you?" She paused, waiting for him to nod.

He just stared into the distance and didn't reply.

"Just think happy thoughts." She patted him on the shoulder. "Think about your books." He stared at her, and she waved her hand vaguely. "You know what I mean. You're doing great."

He took a deep breath. "Y-Yeah... Yeah, I'm doing just fine..."

Nobody was in the corridor when they came to it. The silence was deafening, so Quinn led him into a classroom near the entrance and dialled Emma's number into her watch. When she picked up, there was a crash somewhere down the line.

Avery eventually spoke. "Oh thank God. They're right outside. I can't find Emma anywhere, we got separated. I think they got her, and they -" There was another crash. "The door's gone. They're coming in."

"Who are? What is it?"

Her voice became hushed and even more panicked. "They can hear me talking, I can't -"

A scream, then dial tone. Quinn hurriedly typed in her number again, but this time nobody picked up.

Adam stared at her, eyes wide. "Call the others. W-We have to go."