The Kids Aren't Alright

Chapter 57: Finn

I shake my head vigorously. Ronan must really be grasping at straws if he's resorting to interrogating the groundskeeper. "No. Wolseley will never talk. He's too weepy— he'd probably just end up breaking down in tears."

"He's our only option," Ronan insists.

"He's a dead end," I fire back.

The computer abruptly glows brighter, the back-lit screen flooding the interior of the cabin with a dull warmth. All three of us flinch in alarm at the sudden brightness.

"Jasper, turn that down," Ronan snaps. "You'll wake up the Director."

"It's not me," Jasper says, his expression turning fearful. "I didn't touch anything—"

And that's when I realize— the light isn't coming from the computer. It's coming from the crack underneath the Director's door. "She's awake!"

"The dog?"

"No, the Director!"

The sound of her name acts as a catalyst. "Shit!" Jasper exclaims, jerking away from the computer as if it burned him. I look at him in surprise— I've never heard him curse before. Even Ronan inhales sharply, as close to fear as I've ever seen him. Before I flick off the flashlight, I see his pupils dilate into a sea of black.

"We've got to get out of here," I whisper, glancing frantically around the cabin to make sure we haven't left any damning evidence behind. If the Director finds out we were here... "There's no telling if she'll hear us now. Or if she's heard us already."

Jasper flinches away from the computer and darts towards the door. "C'mon!" he hisses at us. "Do you two have a death wish?"

Whirling around, I see that Ronan's taken over Jasper's spot by the computer, and is locked in an intense staring contest with the screen, while simultaneously tapping his fingers against the keyboard in a determined manner that lets me know he's not going anywhere soon.

Panic spikes in my chest. "What are you doing?" I say softly. "We need to leave, now!"

"I'm still looking," he replies stubbornly.

"Did you not hear me? The Director is awake!"

"She doesn't know we're here yet. We have time."

"Time for what? There's nothing there, Ronan! Jasper said there weren't any files—"

On the opposite side of the cabin, Jasper lets out a soft moan and covers his face with his hands. "I can't do this. I can't get caught again. You guys are welcome to come with me, but... I'm not staying behind."

And he dashes out of the cabin.

I don't bother watching him. A sickening feeling of pure, undiluted panic is beginning to build up in my chest, and I can't seem to tear my eyes away from the train-wreck about to happen right in front of me. "Damn it, Ronan, we need to go!" Even though I know he hates being touched, I resort to tugging on his sleeve to get his attention. "Come on!"

"Just one more second!"

"No more seconds— we need to leave now!"

Ronan shakes my hand off his arm, typing rapid-fire into the computer. "Go then. If you're so afraid of getting caught."

"I'm not leaving you behind."

"Don't give me any of that heroic bullshit. Get out of here— I'm almost done."

"I'm not leaving without you!"

Footsteps creak towards the Director's closed door. My heart sinks like a stone in my chest.

"Please, Ronan," I beg. "She's coming."

"Just one more—"

A new file pops up. Ronan's eyes dart frantically across the black words on the screen, desperately trying to absorb every last one of them.

I can't stand it anymore. I reach over and slam my finger into the power button, and the screen goes black.

"Finn!" Ronan exclaims, scandalized. "What the fuck—"

I grab him forcibly by the arm. "We're leaving. Now!"

As I pull him towards the exit, two things happen very suddenly:

First, the Director's door swings open.

And second, the window in the Director's bedroom explodes.

I don't actually see the window explode, but I can hear the ensuing sound of glass shattering, as well as the Director swearing loudly and creatively. She stumbles away from the doorway, her head whipping back towards the bedroom in shock. Hecate rises from under the desk and trots over to assist her owner.

If the Director been leaning an inch forward, she'd be at the perfect angle to see Ronan and me standing frozen in fear at the center of the cabin. The only reason she didn't was because of the perfectly-timed explosion.

"What the hell was that?" I whisper.

Ronan's wide, black eyes threaten to swallow me whole. "Our distraction."

"Then let's get the hell out of here."

Without any further discussion, we exit the cabin as quickly and soundlessly as possible. Jasper greets us by the front door, emerging from the shadows like a haunting spirit. A look of abject horror has darkened across his face.

"I threw a rock through the Director's window," he stammers, practically catatonic with shock. "I'm so fucking dead."

"You saved our guts," I tell him. Then I grab him by the arm and slam the door shut behind us. "Let's go!"

I don't need to say anything else. Jasper springs into action, and Ronan and I follow, all three of us bounding off down the path and sprinting, half-crazed, towards the treeline. Soon, the shadows overcome us.

Meanwhile, in the distance, I can hear the Director shouting— shouting for a camper she'll never catch.