Death City (Book 1)

Chapter 23: The Wicked

The next morning, during her walk to school, Dawn could feel a nervous tension in the air as she walked over the ravine. There had been fewer students walking the trail than normal, but even among them, it felt as though everyone's mind was on the same thing. It reassured her knowing that she could rely on Rain to end this, and even had Sky and V.A.S.E. to help too. Still, she was only human. And as a student herself, the anxious air still managed to affect her at times.

As she approached the courtyard and more students gathered, Dawn peered ahead to see a peculiar person in the distance. Through the light, early-morning mist, one student stood out to her. From behind, she noticed the tall, lanky student with bright, red-hair strutting within the crowds. She upped her speed to get a closer look, but the student soon disappeared among them. Dawn shrugged it off and hurried toward the main building until she ran into Rain, who was leaving through the gates.

"Rain, I'm so glad you're here," she said. "Any luck in your search?"

"Unfortunately, not. But you don't need to worry about a thing, Dawn. Please let us handle this."

"Sure, I was just wondering, with the news from yesterday."

"This game of cat and mouse will be over soon enough." Rain placed his hand on Dawn's arm and gently caressed her. "In the meantime, I told Sky that I won't have you participating in any 'club activities' for the time being."

Dawn's expression became slightly pointed. "You told him that? But why?"

"I won't allow you to get hurt on his behalf."

"I-I get that, but you don't have to treat me like a child. It was my decision to be with V.A.S.E. and help carry out missions too."

"That was never my intention. Please do it for me, then. Don't work with them right now. It's too dangerous."

"Okay. You're right. I just don't want to let them down."

"They'll understand." Rain leaned in and hugged her. "The others and I are going to search a bit further out, so I won't be in class today. I will see you later, Dawn."

Dawn waited there several seconds longer, standing in the courtyard alone as she watched him off. She felt as though there was more that she wanted to say, but simply couldn't find the words. All she could do was hope that this would be over soon. Now behind the bell for her first period class, Dawn snapped out of her thoughts and hurried inside the main building. She slowly opened the door and unsuccessfully attempted to slide into her seat without causing a distraction.

One of Price's punishments for late students was to quiz them on a random question related to their current text. He wouldn't allow them to be seated until they answered correctly. After enduring a few minutes of embarrassment in front of the class, Dawn was able to call in the hotline, and be saved by Sky who answered the question for her. She smiled at him as she walked to her seat next to his and excitedly plopped down.

"You're a life saver," said Dawn. "I owe you for that one!"

"What's with you being late?" asked Sky.

"I just lost track of the time. I hate when he asks those questions. I really need to start studying more."

"Yeah, no kidding." Sky glanced downward at the paper on her desk.

"Huh? Oh, he handed the tests back already." Dawn skimmed down to the bottom of the page to find the grade, written in red ink: D+. "Ugh, if only we got extra credit for our missions."

The class continued as normal, with Price going about his lecture all while detailing his personal travel escapades in Europe, which were admittedly more interesting than the textbook lessons. Halfway through the class, the principal spoke through the intercom, informing the students that there would be yet another assembly in the auditorium following the end of the period. There was no question it was about the missing students. But Dawn was far beyond the point of caring what school officials had to say about the situation. After all, she was more informed than any of them could hope to be.