Page 8 of Emerge

"I'm going to fucking kill him." Blake was clenching his fists at his sides.

We had both started talking at once and I forced out a laugh. "Let me go in and see what he says, and you can wait outside in case I need back-up."

"Absolutely not!" Blake grabbed the strap of my bag and pulled me to a stop. "He shot you and left you in the middle of the ocean to die!"

"I doubt he's going to do that here." I wasn't so sure of that. He was crazy, and I knew firsthand just how crazy my thoughts could get when I was upset or angry. "If you come in with me, he might not say anything important."

Blake let me go and continued walking, shaking his head. "I need to contact the admiral."

I had learned that tritons had a special number they could call that would transmit a message underwater to the recipient. It was a vital tool they had to communicate with each other when some of them were on land.

While he pulled out his phone as we neared the office, I steeled myself to face Mr. Gale. Whatever he was up to couldn't be good. He had the knife; what else could he possibly want?

Blake stayed out of sight as I walked into Mr. Gale's office and left the door open a crack. He was standing, staring out the window. Did he have the knife on him? Maybe I could knock him out and take it back.

He turned around with an unreadable expression on his face and then sat in his chair, gesturing for me to take a seat across from him.

"I'll stand." I put my hands on the back of a chair and tried not to squeeze it too hard. "What do you want?"

"You missed two days of school this week, Ms. Kline. It is a counselor's job to make sure the students in his charge are safe and accounted for." He folded his hands on the desk, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

I wanted to stab him with the staple remover sitting in his supply holder, but squeezed the back of the chair. If I'd had my knife, I'd simply have touched the hilt and not felt so stabby.

"You called me in here to mock me?" I narrowed my eyes at him, and his blue eyes sparkled. "What are you up to?"

"There seems to be a problem with the knife." He leaned back in his chair. "It doesn't work."

My stomach did a flip in victory, but then it quickly turned to dread. If it didn't work, that meant he would have no reason to keep it.

"Where's the knife?" I gritted my teeth as I squeezed the chair harder than intended. A crack formed in the plastic and I quickly let go with a gasp.

He laughed. "You know... I'm quite shocked you’re just now coming into your element. When I was your age, I was already basking in the benefits of our kind."

"You and I are nothing alike." I would never be like the monster across from me. "Answer my question."

"I can assure you the knife is perfectly safe." He turned to his computer and began clicking around. "You know, Ms. Kline, I'll be obligated to report your sudden drop in grades to any universities you are accepted into."

The door slammed open, bouncing off the wall. Blake was fuming as he came to stand next to me. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Ah. Mr. Huron." Mr. Gale looked like he was having a grand old time provoking us. "I didn't expect to see you until later at practice... oh, wait. That's right. You won't be there."

I lost it. I darted forward, ready to take his head and bash it into the desk. My previous lack of a violent bone in my body now was manifesting itself as murderous rage.

Blake grabbed me around the waist, and I growled.

"Woah. Feisty one you got there. Good thing there's three of you. How's Morgan, by the way?" Mr. Gale hadn't even flinched when I lunged for him. "Speaking of. I had Morgan's bike looked at by my mechanic. He said it had been tampered with. Such a shame."

Blake's grip around my waist tightened briefly and then he pushed me behind him. He put his hands on the desk and leaned forward, getting in Mr. Gale's face. "We will destroy you."

"There a problem in here?" Officer Thomas stopped in the doorway and put his hand on his gun. "Sir?"

I stared at Officer Thomas, who was becoming a pain in the ass. "Why don't you get your hand off your weapon, security?"

His nostrils flared, and he looked over my head at Mr. Gale and Blake, who were in an intense stare off. Blake finally pushed away from the desk and took my hand. Officer Thomas stepped out of the way and we heard Mr. Gale laughing as we walked away.

We still didn't know what he wanted.

* * *

---