Page 57 of Sweet Punk
After another minute goes by with no response, I frown.Nothing. Maybe I should go find—
My gaze snaps to the back hallway that leads down to all the classrooms. A flash of someone in black has a chill rolling down my spine. Whoever it is moves quickly down the hall and slams out the back exit. The floor drops out from beneath me.Milo.“Oh, fuck.”No.He wouldn’t be here. But oh my God, of course he is. “Fuckfuckfuck!” I whisper-shout, lifting onto my tiptoes, trying to catch sight of Kellan. But he’s nowhere.
Lux and Raven join me, Ryleigh, and Matty in time to hear my outburst.
“Are Hawk and Maddox with Kellan?” The question rushes from me as my chest tightens unbearably.
“No, I don’t think so. They went looking for a vending machine. Maddox is starving.” Raven lays a hand on my shoulder. “What’s going on?”
“Kellan hasn’t come back and”—I point down the hallway with a shaky hand—“I swear that was Milo.” My head scrambles. “He’s going to try again.” Matty and the girls stare at me, stunned.
“Please believe me.” My lip trembles. “Don’t wait. Call for help. Get outside. He’s going to burn this place down.”
Horror clear in her eyes, Lux quickly asks, “What’re you gonna do?”
“This is my fault.” I lock eyes with Matty and shake my head. “Don’t you dare let them follow me.” And I take off running. I hope I’m dead wrong, but if I’m not, I can’t afford to waste time. I stop to flip the plastic barrier up on the fire alarm and pull down on the lever, setting it off. The alarm sounds over and over, the sound of it making my breath catch in my throat. From behind me, there’s a huge commotion as people realize what’s happening. I can only hope that the 911 call is being placed and help is on the way.
With my heart in my throat, I continue at a fast pace down the hallway. I bet Kellan went where he feels most comfortable. His art studio.
Back in the foyer, shrieks of terror sound. The doors won’t open. Milo’s done it again. They’ve been barricaded from the outside. My pulse skyrockets. Sirens scream in the distance.Please, please, please hurry.
I heave out a breath, skidding to a stop outside the art studio. What I see makes my heart thunder. There’s a chain looped tightly around the two door handles, with not one, but two padlocks securing it, and there’s smoke coming out from under the door.Oh, shit.This is real. He’s started a fire in the studio. I cautiously put my palm up to the wood. It’s still cool.
I slap my hands to the doors. “KELLAN!” I don’t know what else to do, so I try fiddling with the padlocks on the off chance that they were improperly secured. No. There’s no way in. I beat my fists on the doors. “KELLAN!”
Strong hands grasp my biceps, pulling me out of the way. At first I struggle, trying to get back to the door, but then Maddox’s deep voice is in my ear. “Star, let us try.”
A shuddery breath falls from my lips, my eyes wild as I stare first at Maddox, then Hawk. “He’s in there. I know it. Milo did this.”
Hawk’s steady gaze meets with mine. “Okay. We’ll get to him. But you should get out of the building.”
“No.” My jaw clenches hard, and I hold my ground, pointing. “I’m not leaving without Kellan.”
Maddox’s expression is grim, but he nods and pulls what looks like a lock-picking kit out of his pocket. “Fuck, I knew this little set would come in handy someday.” He looks carefully at the two padlocks, then pulls a few instruments out. I don’t claim to know what they’re for, but I need them to work.
Hawk holds out his hand for some of the tools, then roughly says, “Together?”
Maddox nods, a look of determination crossing his face as they both squat down to get a better look at the locks. “Yeah,” he says gruffly, “We don’t have time to wait.”
Working intently, they move the metal tools this way and that. Maddox springs his open, and two seconds later, so does Hawk. They pull the locks from the chains, and the chains from the door handles, then, each grasping a handle, yank the doors open at the same time. Dark black smoke billows out. The smell is acrid, and it burns my eyes. The sprinkler system has already activated, and water sprays everywhere.
The guys immediately surge forward into the room, but very quickly, Maddox grits, “Oh, hell. Down,” and they drop to hands and knees. I have to imagine there are all sorts of things in an art classroom that are flammable—oil-based paints, cleaning solutions, and there would be a literal ton of paper and canvases on hand in the storage closet. This is a fucking huge place, but I know where he’ll be. I scramble to my knees and follow behind Maddox and Hawk, shouting, “The back corner. His station is that way,” then cough hard as I inhale smoke.
“Dammit, Star, go back,” Hawk growls from between clenched teeth when he glances to see me behind them.
I shake my head, pointing to the corner. “No. He’ll be all the way back there.” I pull my sweater up over my nose and mouth, but it doesn’t help much.
Resigned to the fact that I’m coming with them, Maddox shouts, “Which way?”
“Left back corner,” I shout back as loudly as I can. My heart thuds hard. There’s a pile of who knows what burning at the far side of the room near the windows. “Faster!”
“Oh, fuck.” Hawk’s voice barely reaches me over the noise of the cracking fire.
I blink, my eyes tearing and my nose running. And that’s when I see Kellan on his back near the wall. Unmoving. I spring to my feet, hurtling past the guys, and come down next to Kellan. My shaking fingers go to his throat, feeling for a pulse. “H-he’s alive.” I pat his face, hoping to rouse him. “Kellan. Kellan!”
“Let us get him out of here, Star.” Maddox grips my shoulder. “You’ll need to lead us out.” He and Hawk get Kellan in a two-man hold just as one of the curtains catches fire. The blaze races up to the ceiling. “Fuck,” he grits, “We need to gonow.”
Hawk readjusts Kellan in his arms, meeting my terrified gaze. “It’s okay. We’re getting out of here. Crouch and run, sweetheart. We’re behind you. Stay as low as you can.”
