Page 33 of The Tracker's Dawn: Sunderverse
The person closest to me—a girl with black lipstick and several eyebrow piercings— simply stared at me, frozen.
“MOVE!” I screamed.
She jumped, then did as I ordered.
“Run toward the stairs in the far corners, then go out through the side door, the one in front of the back parking lot. The way is clear.”
I could only hope this was still true, and the other hybrids were occupied elsewhere. The kids might be forever traumatized by the brutalized bodies on the floor and the sight of all that blood, but it was the best I had—certainly a plan better than death.
As the first girl ran toward the exit, the rest followed. I waved my arms back and forth like a crazy person, urging them on. I threw a quick glance, searching for Eric. The sound of something breaking drew my attention toward the back of the gym. Eric was on the performance stage. One of the hybrids tried to use a table to leap up, but it collapsed under his weight, and sent the creature spread-eagle. The second hybrid made the jump without assistance and went after Eric.
“Toni!” Lucia crashed into me, wrapping her arms around my neck.
I allowed myself a second to feel relief, then pushed her away. “Go! Run! Get out of here!”
“I’m not going anywhere without you.”
I knew how stubborn she was and arguing would be a waste of time, so I went back to waving my arms, screaming at everyone to go faster. When the last student and the teacher were out, I grabbed Lucia’s wrist and ran.
“Eric, let's get out of here!” I yelled, glancing over my shoulder. “Dammit, where is he?” I desperately searched for him at the same time that I tried to push Lucia forward.
“There!” my sister said, pointing as the wolf ran from behind the stage curtain, caught its corner with his teeth, and ran around the pursuing hybrid, wrapping him like a burrito. The beast roared in frustration and thrashed so hard that it brought the gigantic curtain down from its perch, tangling itself further.
Eric took a huge leap off the stage and hit the ground running. The second hybrid, which had just climbed onto the stage, hopped back down, his enormous clawed hands and feet leaving gouges in the floor as it tried to gain traction.
Suddenly, a stream of basketballs flew up in the air from a wire cart and hit the hybrid straight in his hideous mug. The balls went one after the next like giant bullets, tripping the creature and sending him in a blind rage. My eyes flicked toward my sister in surprise. She was using her telekinetic powers to fire the balls at the beast and buy Eric time to escape.
Using what must have been the last of his fleeting energy, Eric made it to us, shifted in one fluid motion, and ordered us to run as he stretched to his full human height.
He didn’t have to tell us twice. We ran without looking back. When we reached the hall littered with all the bodies, Lucia hesitated. I pushed her forward, skipping over fallen officers and doing our best to avoid the slippery blood.
Half tripping, half running, we rushed down the stairs and rallied toward the exit. Lucia’s classmates and teachers were already running across the lawn toward the line of policemen and first responders. Officers came to meet them and help them as many collapsed on the ground in near hysterics.
When we made it to the barricade, Tom came to meet us. He stared at me, astonished. There was a strange look in his eyes, a combination of relief and disappointment. He was glad my sister was safe, but he couldn’t believe I had taken matters into my own hands.
“I had to, Tom,” I said.
He stared at the ground, then back at me. He gave me one curt nod. “Of course, you did.”
“The SWAT team... some of them...” I shook my head.
“I know. They’re not responding.”
“I’m sorry.”
“They were doing their jobs. Still are doing it.” He gestured toward the far side of the building where a stream of students was running out, guarded by a group of SWAT officers. “They’ve taken down a few of the... hybrids, and they’ll take down the rest. Now, get out of here before I...” His teeth snapped together as he shut his mouth.
His anger toward me seemed to be brewing to an unmanageable level. As I stood there trying to catch my breath, I found myself regretting all the lies I’d told him. I felt terrible. I knew I’d let him down. Big time. I hadn’t wanted to, but I’d had no other choice.
Still, it had been wrong. I retreated with a sigh, a hand around my sister. I didn’t know how, but I had to make it up to him. Hopefully, he would let me.
* * *
LUCIA JUMPED OUT OFthe Uber and ran toward Mom, who stood on the porch of her little two-story cape cod. As they embraced each other, Mom sobbed with relief.
Jake and I got out of the Uber after her. There hadn’t been enough space for everyone in Eric’s car, so he, Damien, and Rosalina had returned to his house while Jake accompanied my sister and me.
As we walked up the pathway, Daniella came out of the house. I hurried forward, climbed the steps to the porch, and joined in a four-way hug, while Jake watched awkwardly from the sidelines.
