Chapter 43

Sobbing into my t-shirt, I screwed my eyes together and tried to think. My head was a mess of numbers and visions of blood and fear. The fire sounded so much louder and scarier once I was blinded. I could feel it closing in on me, singeing my hair; but there was nothing I could do. I just had to hope that the smoke knocked me out soon so that I could be spared a horrible and painful death. Closing my eyes was torture; it put me in the terrifying unknown. I had to know what was going on. My eyes felt heavier as I opened them up again and gazed at the blazing inferno around me. The smoke was black and twisted in the air like death, joining the billow of dark cloud that filled the room. My hands shook. I didn’t want to breathe in the toxic gas, but I couldn’t help myself. My lungs automatically inflated, poisoning my body inside out. I felt dizzy. My head pounded. Choking and spluttering, I pressed myself against the wall, trying to keep alert. I was drifting. My muscles were already starting to relax. I could hear the fire around me, hissing my name into my ears.

“Don’t follow, don’t fall,” I coughed in a hoarse voice. “You should have listened to Laura.”

I could almost hear those chilling whispers now, calling my name. Strange to think that it was only a few days ago when I thought they were just part of my imagination. I’d never imagined that death would finally catch up with me though. Would I go to heaven or hell? Was there even such a place as heaven?

Suddenly, the whispers deepened and gained strength. My ears pricked up. I listened as it moulded into a familiar voice and grew more distant. Throwing the blanket from over my head, I scanned the room despite the scolding heat that targeted my eyes. Who was in here? A coughing fit took over me, but all the while, my eyes searched for a face in the flames. It wasn’t until I had made a full 360 degree turn that I realised the voice came from behind me. A hand pressed on the glass, reaching out for me. His face was blurry but I could recognise his hair, black as ebony and hanging beside cheekbones. Sweeping it all on top of his head, he placed his other hand on the glass and studied the perimeter of the window. The roar of the fire behind me faded into silence. Our eyes met as he spoke. I couldn’t hear anything except for my own heart beating. His lips moved so slowly and smoothly as if he was apologizing. His eyes were no longer dark and menacing; they were like glistening pools of chocolate, oozing such warmth and meaning. Just seeing him made my heart sink to the depths of my hollow body. I could hear it, pounding away in the dark. My heart; the only thing I could rely on. It was the only thing that made me feel alive. It was the only thing that wanted to stay alive. It just wouldn’t stop beating, no matter what happened to me. I looked at my own reflection in the window. Soot gathered just under my nose and eyes. An aura of concern surrounded Ian for the first time. He was worrying about me.

Snapping out of my moment of despair, I concentrated on reading his lips and miming actions. He flew his arms in the air desperately; trying to interpret the dire circumstances I was in and then instructed me to back away. Whimpering, I threw the blanket over my head again and shuffled slightly backwards. The fire was spreading now. It was only seconds from reaching the end of the blanket around me. Eyes screwed shut and fear building up in my stomach, I waited in the dark.

A shattering smash pierced my ears, bringing all sense of hearing back to me and scaring me half to death. I screamed and pushed the blanket off of me. Ian was breaking off long daggers of glass from the window pane. I froze and watched him closely. He caught my eyes, threw the glass aside and held his arms up in the air.

“I’m sorry,” he said, in a soft and gentle voice. “I’d never hurt you, Pinky.”

Hearing him call me Pinky filled me with such relief and happiness. I knew it was him. I knew that he had broken the hold Malevolent had over him. I was safe.

“You came back,” I whispered, jumping into his arms.

He pulled me out of the window and carefully placed me on the ground. “We’re equal now.”

I laughed at his wit for the first time in ages, knowing that I would never take it for granted ever again.

“Come on,” he ordered, grasping my wrist and pulling me away from the burning building. “We don’t have much time.”

I tried my best to keep up with him, but my legs were like jelly and the rush of oxygen stunned my entire body. My rucksack weighed me down a little, but there was no way I was going to leave it.

“Ian-” I panted, barely past the five metre mark. “I don’t feel too good-”

“We can’t stop,” he said, dragging me behind him.

At that moment, everything dimmed and I felt myself falling as my knees collapsed. Ian caught me before I hit the ground, and without a word, picked me up in his arms. I could barely breathe. I was so weak and tired; my body had given up on me.

Ian carried me over to an ancient grey Volkswagen, waiting just in front of the park and slowly guided me through the passenger window in which he wound down previously. Candy bar wrappers covered the floor and the air fresher was encrusted in mud and dust.

“Couldn’t you have nicked a better one?” I coughed, sinking into my spongy seat. “Whose is it?”

“Trunchbull’s,” he joked, holding up an empty box of truffles. “Can’t you tell?”

He turned on the engine and skidded away from the dorm as fast as he could. I watched the smoke rising from the building, in the car mirror. Suddenly, the ground shook and a thundering boom echoed throughout campus. The roof of my dorm exploded into a fierce fiery nightmare. I stared wide eyed at what could have ended my life. Thank God I got out of there in time. Thank God Ian snapped out of his trance. My hands trembled in shock. Ian grasped the steering wheel with two hands and nervously steered the car along the park pathway. He leant forward to wipe the windscreen down and then scratched the back of his neck. He was as scared as I was and it meant a lot when someone in such a state had the courage to come back for someone. If it wasn’t for him, I could’ve been burnt alive only a few seconds ago. Letting out a sigh of relief, I closed my eyes and leant my head back on the seat.

“Stay awake,” he said, nudging me slightly. “I’m taking you to the hospital now. Please, try to stay with me.”

I sat up and watched my dorm fade into the horizon. No one was running outside to see what the explosion was about. How could they not have heard it?

“Ian- where is everyone?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t seen anyone in a long time.” He looked at me. “Don’t worry; they’ve probably gone home early. We’ll find someone once we’re in the city.”

The wind blowing through our hair, we drove past all the dark daunting dorms to the main entrance. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Ian turned the gear stick and wiped the windscreen again as the heater made it steam up.

“You Ok?” he asked, giving me another look.

“Are you?”

He didn’t smile. The car halted to a sudden stop. I turned to look at the teacher’s car park beside us. It was full. Were the teachers still in the main building? I saw Ian looking at the cars, but I didn’t ask him any more questions. The tall steel gates in front of us were padlocked shut with long chunky chains. He undid his seatbelt and reached for the door.

“What are you doing?” I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. “Don’t leave me here.”

“I won’t be five minutes.”

“You’ll never pick them. You need a key.”

“Where do you think I got the chains to lock the dorm from?” He said, holding up a key. “I got these from Mrs Hickory’s desk before I went back to the dorm.”

Hesitating, I released him and watched him jog to the gate in the safety of the car lights. After a while, I nervously wound up the windows. The chains clanged as Ian tried to find the padlock. I shivered and looked through every dark car window and mirror. What if the Malevolent wasn’t dead? What if he could see me right now? What if he crawled into the back seat?

Lunging into the back, I locked all the doors and then climbed to the front to lock them too. I looked in the car mirror again, trying to detect any movement. Nothing. Tapping my fingernails anxiously, I clicked on the radio. There was a short delay before a song that sent chills down my spine boomed through the speakers. The metal rock echoed in my head. It was one of the earliest memories I ever had. I recognised it. In the blink of an eye, I heard my own voice, screeching along with the singer even though my lips were stationary. Wide eyed, I glanced over at the driver’s seat and gasped. Josh sat there, hands on the wheel, singing along with the song. He stopped, turned to me and smiled.

“No,” I cried, covering my eyes with both hands.

“Ki, what’s with you?” I heard Josh say.

‘This isn’t real,’ I thought. ‘You’re dreaming’

I scrambled for the radio and clicked every button there. The song sounded on every channel. Josh grabbed my wrist, despite the bleeding. I cried out and looked at him. His eyes burnt into mine, “Get out the car, Ki.”

Breaking eye contact, I looked for Ian. He was gone. My heart skipped a beat.

“Where’s Ian?” I asked.

The radio blared out, covering the sounds of my tiny voice. I punched the off button and turned back to Josh, but he too had gone. The silence rung in my ears. I gazed at the empty seat and then at the headlights spotlight, in between the car and the gates. Ian was only there a second ago.

“Ian?” I cried, taking my seatbelt off and peering out of the window. “Ian! Are you still there?”

No response.

Cursing in fright, I searched the car for something, anything to help me in anyway. I pulled open the glove compartment and reached in. A phone, a dagger and Lexie’s rings found themselves in my hand. Each item sparkled in the dim light. I inspected the knife; my name was carved into the handle. ‘Get out the car,’ Josh’s voice echoed in my mind. I scanned the darkness beyond the dirty windows, bundled Ian’s secret treasures in my pocket and then quickly climbed over the gear stick into the drivers’ seat. My hand went to twist the key in the ignition. He had taken it. Why would he do that?

Suddenly, the door swung open and I screamed. Had I not just locked it? Ian appeared in his white tank top, smeared with blood. He swept up his mop of black head and leant on the door frame. “What are you doing in the drivers’ seat?”

I pushed the knife deeper into my pocket. “I got scared. Where did you go?”

“Nowhere,” he lied, holding up the chains. “You think these will come in handy or drag us down?”

I stared at the heavy chains. How could they possibly come in handy?

“Yeah, you’re right,” he said, reading my mind and throwing them aside. “Budge up.”

I tried to step out of the car but Ian blocked the doorway. “Just climb over.”

Without much choice, I did as I was told and shuffled into the passenger seat. Ian took the keys out of his pocket and sped off through the open gate. I watched St Mercia drift into the distance in silence. It was a two hour drive to the nearest community. After a while, Ian seemed to relax and rested one of his hands on the door frame.

“Two hands on the wheel,” I reminded.

He smiled but didn’t move. I couldn’t be sure whether or not he thought I was joking. In the corner of my eye, I could see that my door was still locked. I had no choice but to sit tight.

“What time is it?”

He tapped on the car clock and then his watch. Defeated, he leant back in his chair and grunted. “Night-time.”

“Where are we going?”

“I don’t know.”

“What are we going to say to people when they start asking questions?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you really think that everyone at St Mercia just packed and left? What if something bad happened to everyone?”

“Look, I don’t know anything! Right now, I wouldn’t be concerned about them if I was you. What makes you think that we’re safe? There’s still a good chance that we’ll be joining Bryony and Lexie too, you know?”

A chill went down my spine. I gulped. “What did you do with Lexie?”

“I put her to bed,” he sighed.

I could tell that it was a sore subject for him because his shoulders hunched forward. I looked straight ahead.

“And the phones?”

I could feel his eyes staring at me.

“She took them all,” I reminded, turning back to him. “Where are they?”

He froze and eventually looked back at the road ahead. “I don’t know.”

His lies put me on edge. There could only be one reason why he was lying to me. I grasped my head and leant forward.

“Pull over,” I groaned.

He looked twice but carried on driving.

“Ian, I said pull over!”

“I heard you, but I’m not pulling up here.”

“You’re going to have to,” I said, seeing that the road we were on was never-ending. “Oh, I’m going to be sick!”

He was an actor; he’d see right through me after a few seconds. I had to get him to stop. Pretending to gag, I heard Ian cursing, and the car slid to a halt. As soon as the locks were disabled, I flung open the door and ran. Ian wasn’t far behind me. He wouldn’t be like that if he really thought I was sick. I stopped and spun on my heel to face him. “Stop right there!”

“What? What are you doing?” he cried, stopping a small distance away from me.

“No, what are you doing, Ian? Don’t you think I’ve earnt the truth at least? What were you going to do, drive me out here and stab me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

In frustration, I pulled the knife out of my pocket and held it up.

“Where did you find that?” he asked, within seconds of it coming to light.

“With these,” I replied, throwing Lexie’s rings at him and then my mobile phone. “You’re a liar and I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you, Ian!”

Holding my head high, I tried to walk away from him but the sounds of his trainers stamping through the puddles put me too on edge to turn my back. “Back up!” I yelled in a stern voice, holding up the knife as he strode towards me.

“I brought them to protect you! I’d never hurt you, I swear-”

I laughed. “I’m not an idiot. The only person I need protecting from is you! Now, throw me the keys to the car.”

“No way, I’m not an idiot either, the car is mine.”

I paused and laughed through my nose. “You didn’t deny that you’re the only person I need protecting from” I said, a stupid delirious grin plastered on my face.

He glared at me but didn’t say a word.

“Interesting,” I commented before spinning on my heel and making a run for it.

“Kira!” Ian yelled, his footsteps beating against the ground again, not far behind me.

I ran as fast as I could. Determination overpowering fear, I targeted the horizon and sprinted. Suddenly, two arms grasped me by the waist, pressing down on the multiple bruises I bared due to that habit.

“Get off of me!” I screamed, turning around and thrashing my arms.

Everything happened so quickly. I barely had chance to think. One minute the knife was in my hand, and the next it was gone. I flexed my fingers, trying to find it. Ian cried out and his heavy body collapsed on top of me. I fell to the floor beside him.

Trembling, I sat up and pushed myself away from him. He groaned in pain. Fresh warm blood drenched my clothes.

I looked on, mortified at the expression of pain on Ian’s face. The knife stuck out from his side. A darker blood patch grew as his tight shirt absorbed the liquid. I froze, my hands automatically covering my mouth to stop from myself from screaming.

What had I done? Ian was the mastermind who made this whole escape possible. He saved my life. He was the only one who brought hope back to me; the only one who could drive me away from this nightmare.

I stabbed Ian. I’d followed into Malevolent’s trap, and Ian had fallen…

To be continued...