Fueled for Love

[Jen]

Thanks Caitie!

Thanks to my new proofer Tess, who was very quick in her reply of this chapter.

-

Chapter 11 – How Did We Get Here?

Call it boredom or intelligence but I knew that Sally needed to be home at 4.30pm to pick up Pippa from Madge’s. Mr Hyde, the creature of habit that he is, left the school at 4.45pm every night without fail. Allowing for any miscalculations that meant that the school would be completely empty from 5 o’clock. I’d convinced Drew to hide out with me until then. His reaction when I had told him the plan was one of disbelief. He probably thought I was going mad, but hey, I was used to people thinking that these past few days.

”You’re joking right?” Drew spluttered.

I gave him a stern look.

“Ok, you’re not,’ Drew said. “Are you nuts? So many things could go wrong.”

“I thought you wanted to put an end to all of this,” I said folding my arms across my chest.

“Nope I’m sorry,” he replied shaking his head, “I’m not willing to take the risk of getting arrested and spending the night in a cell at the police station.”

I scoffed. Like that was going to happen.

“You’re dad’s a cop. He’ll just bail us out,” I replied.

“Yeah, that’ll look good. His only son turns into a crim who breaks into school after hours. Sorry Cass, I’m not doing it.”

“Okay fine. I’ll do it myself.” I turned and skipped off towards the school.

“You can’t go alone,” I heard him call out.

I then heard the rapid sound of running feet come from behind me.

“Wait!” he called. I stopped walking when Drew caught up.

I looked right at him, staring directly into his eyes. He was crumbling right before me. Drew ran one hand through his dark locks and heaved a heavy sigh.

“All right,” he finally said.

“I don’t know how you managed to talk me into this,” Drew whispered beside me, his breathing heavy and rapid.

I gave him my best innocent smile and just shrugged my shoulders. I don’t even know if he could see my expression because the storeroom I’d decided we should hide in was pitch black. Turning a light on would be a complete give away.

“This is such a stupid idea. And I’m going to keep telling you the whole time,” Drew continued.

“Shut up,” I replied as I fumbled into my pocket to retrieve my phone. A few quick pushes at the keypad and the phone lit up. 4.59 it said.

“Not long know,” I whispered.

While the light from my phone continued to shine I looked over at Drew. He was standing there, slightly flushed, his arms straight down by his side. I could feel the heat radiating from his perfectly shaped body underneath his school shirt. I’d never thought about Drew in this way before. Never noticed the way his hands moved as he loosened his tie and undid his top button. I felt an urge. An urge for his hands to work that way on me.

“Let’s go,” I suddenly said and turned the doorknob. I needed air, fresh air and fast.

I opened the door and felt a cool rush as I stepped out. I quickly looked around and saw the predictably empty halls. Drew slipped out behind me and closed the door. As he did so, I felt his arm brush my back, which made me catch my breath.

“Now what?” he asked.

Putting one foot in front of the other I walked down the hall towards the room that would determine what would happen next.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

I heard a faint sound ahead. I stopped suddenly, but Drew didn’t. He bumped into me and I fell forward. I felt his hand grab mine so I didn’t hit the floor. I turned to yell at him for not watching where he was going, but our eyes locked and I couldn’t look away. His dark eyes penetrated my body and were staring into my soul.

A loud bang! dropped me back in the present. I was still holding his hand. I quickly let go.

“Did you hear that?” I whispered.

Drew nodded.

I turned and walked slowly down the hallway towards the sound. Locker after locker, they each looked the same. It felt like we were gaining no ground at all. Something had changed. It was no longer me on a mission, but us. I couldn’t pinpoint when it happened, but as Drew followed me towards A16 I just knew. We knew.

The door loomed in front of us. I stared and then put my ear to it. There was a faint rustle and murmuring voices. This was it. The moment had come and it felt better not to be alone. For the first time since this whole thing started I felt scared. What if the person was dangerous? What would happen when I opened the door? I couldn’t dwell on it for too long because Drew reached for the doorknob and turned it.

A piercing scream broke out as the door slowly opened.

* * * * *

[Jen]

Thanks Caitie and TheGazBoi.

-

Chapter 12 – Great Minds

A scream escaped me as I heard the latch of the door click as it opened. I spun around quickly and felt two familiar arms hold onto me tightly.

“Mattie?”

“Cassie!”

“Holden?”

“Drew!”

Relief washed over as I saw the familiar faces before me. The re-acquaintance was broken by the accusations.

“What are you doing here?” Cassie asked stepping inside the door.

“The same thing as you probably,” I replied, prying myself out of Lucas’ hold.

“But I thought you weren’t interested,” Cassie said, obviously enjoying my interrogation.

“Yeah, well, I changed my mind.”

“Never mind all of that,” Lucas said, coming to my rescue. “You haven’t seen this yet.”

Cassie came over, followed by Drew. They stared at the evidence that had drawn us all in. I will come for you was scribbled in large letters across the blackboard. In plain black and white it was staring us in the face. Drew stepped back and perched on the edge of a desk.

“Well, they don’t mess around do they?”

“That’s not funny,” I snapped back at Drew.

“I was only joking. Geez,” he replied and folded his arms across his chest.

“This whole thing is just getting really creepy.” I shuddered.

I felt a strong, cautious hand slip into mine.

“Don’t worry. The sooner we figure this all out, the sooner it’ll all be over,” Lucas said.

I stared into his clear blue eyes. I saw an inner courage I never knew existed inside him. And I believed him.

Cassie began to pace. Back and forth. Back and forth in front of the board. We were all watching her intently, curious as to what her next move would be.

“I don’t get it,” she finally said, “why would a person break into the school just to leave love notes on lockers and black boards. None of this makes sense.”

“This hasn’t made sense from the start,” Drew said.

Cass stopped pacing. She was thinking.

“How did you guys get in?” Cassie asked Lucas.

“We didn’t,” he replied. “We came back in and hid in the Chem lab until Mr Hyde and Sally had left.”

This was true. I reeked of a strange combination of chemicals and dust from cowering under the bench with Lucas for fear of getting caught.

“But what has that got to do with anything?” Drew asked.

What could Cassie be getting at? I let go of Lucas and stepped forward, trying to go through all the facts in my head. What did we know? Whoever was doing this was breaking into the school at night and leaving random love notes. No, that was wrong. We didn’t know if this person was breaking in or not.

“What if the person isn’t breaking in?” I thought out loud.

“What do you mean?” Lucas asked. For a straight A student, Lucas wasn’t always that bright.

“Well, no one has actually got any proof the person’s been breaking in.”

“Yeah, but we’ve seen the result,” Drew pointed out.

“But look at us,” Cassie said, obviously working out what I was getting at. She continued,

“We didn’t break in. What if the person who did this just hid out in the school until everyone left and then snuck out when we arrived in the morning?”

It dawned on us all.

“You shouldn’t be here.” A voice came from the door.

We were all too busy playing detectives that no one had noticed anyone come in. We all simultaneously looked up.

What had we got ourselves into?

* * * * *

[Jen]

Thanks Caitie.

A/N: All is revealed in this chapter, and it's a bit shorter than some of the others. Enjoy!

-

Chapter 13 – Playing with Fire

“Diesel,” I gasped.

“Who the hell are you?” Drew attacked him and stepped up closely beside me.

“I don’t want to cause any trouble. I’ve just come for what’s mine,” Diesel replied calmly.

“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Drew asked.

“Sally,” he replied simply.

“Diesel, I thought you got help. Sally doesn’t feel anything for you,” I said, shaking.

“She had to say that. She was married. Now there is nothing stopping us being together.”

“You’re crazy,” I heard Matilda whisper. Her voice was quivering as she spoke.

“I know things didn’t work out between us, but my heart only belongs to Sally,” Diesel spoke. His words seem to echo around the room as we all stood before him trying to work out what to do next.

“Don’t talk to her like that,” Lucas stepped up.

“I’m not here to hurt anyone,” Diesel replied.

“Great, then we can go,” Drew said and he grabbed my hand tightly and headed past him at the door.

“Not so fast.”

Before we could move there was a flash of silver. Diesel had pulled out a gun and was waving it about two inches in front of Drew’s face.

“See, I can’t let you go. You’ll tell Miss Fletcher I’m and here and tell her not to come with me. And I’m not leaving here without her.”

* * * * *

[Jen]

Chapter 14 – You Feeling Lucky?

One minute we were standing in the classroom, the next we were sitting in a row pinned up against one wall of the room. Diesel had begun pacing back and forth in front of the board, not unlike Cassie had done earlier but for a completely different reason. She now sat to my left, bolt upright, and back flat against the wall. Only a shadow of her confidence remained. I could see her eyes darting around the room.

This Diesel guy was unpredictable. All I knew was that he wanted Sally. The one thing stopping me from making a bolt for the door right there and then, was the piece of metal he held tightly in his hand. He was gripping it so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. He said he didn’t want to cause any trouble. I’ll believe that when I see it. Maybe he’s bluffing?

“You wouldn’t dare.” My mouth was moving and sound was coming out, completely bypassing the better judgment in my brain.

Diesel stopped pacing.

“What are you doing?” Cassie hissed at me.

“Trust me,” I whispered back.

Diesel was now watching us both intently. His grip had not loosened.

“You’re bluffing. You wouldn’t shoot. If you do someone will hear and know we’re here. That’s not what you want. Not how you operate.” I stopped suddenly. He moved.

He shifted the gun in his hand. He was going to crack. I knew it. His fingers delicately flicked the latch and in one swift motion raised his arm and pulled the trigger blowing an accurate hole in the wall above us.

Matilda started to cry, her sobs becoming heavy. I heard Lucas mumble something to her, probably trying to calm her down. Oh my God, Cassie! She was still beside me. She hadn’t moved. Her beautiful eyes that should have been shining were drowning in a sea of tears.

“Still think I’m bluffing?” Diesel tormented me.

I didn’t reply. I couldn’t. I didn’t know what to say. Cassie wouldn’t look at me. I carefully moved my hand and gave hers a squeeze. No response.

“What did you do that for?” Lucas hissed at me from the end of the line.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think he would do it.”

“It’s okay, Mattie. Everything will be okay.” Lucas turned his attention back to Matilda. She was still crying.

“I’m so scared, Luc,” I heard her say.

“It’s going to be alright. We’ll get out of here somehow,” Lucas replied.

“No one knows we’re here,” she wailed.

“Stop the whispering. I’ve got to think,” Diesel snapped. “Now you’re here everything gets more complicated.”

Matilda was now gulping her tears back, Lucas right beside her. I saw a big drop roll down Cassie’s cheek, yet she refused to move.

* * * * *

[Jen]

Chapter 15 – The Truth

After I lost Mattie and Lucas I decided to stick around in the Diner for a while. No point going on a wild goose chase when I had no idea where to look. Might as well be productive with the time, so I had started my maths homework. When am I ever going to want to know how to calculate the derivative of some random equation? Then again, it beats moping around feeling sorry for my stupid excuse for a life right now.

I looked around the Diner. Colleen and the last few customers had left a little while ago so now it was relatively quiet as Irene and Leah finished packing up for the night. As Leah finished putting the last chair on top of the table I knew I was going to get kicked out sooner or later. I began to pack up my things when a frantic Beth came in with Tony, slightly calmer, behind her.

“Sorry to come so late, but have any of you seen Mattie or Lucas?” Beth asked, looking around at all of us.

“Sorry darl, I haven’t seen them since they were in here this afternoon,” Irene replied coming out of the kitchen.

“Me either,” Leah added.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Tony said, “It’s just we told them to be home by seven and both their mobiles are switched off.”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Drew for quite some time,” Leah said.

“Maybe they’ve gone off to the movies or something?” Irene offered, “They’re smart kids I’m sure they’ve just got caught up with something and forgotten to call.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Tony replied, sighing heavily.

“Are we too late for a coffee?”

Sally and Dan casually walked in.

“What’s going on in here?” Sally asked as she saw the group of adults standing around the counter.

“Mattie, Luc and Drew haven’t been seen for a while and we’re just starting to get a bit worried,” Beth said.

“Cassie mentioned a couple of days ago about an assignment they were working on together, they’re probably off working on that,” Sal said.

“What assignment?” Dan asked.

“You know, the one for your class. They said they needed to finish it.”

“I never gave them an assignment,” Dan replied, very puzzled, “I did give them detention though.”

“Detention?” Beth’s eyebrows shot up.

“Yeah, since the graffiti at the school, Barry’s implemented a no tolerance policy so I had no choice.”

“They never said anything about detention,” Tony said.

“Cassie told me it was an assignment,” Sally said.

“Why didn’t you tell me Drew got detention?” Leah accused Dan.

“Because it wasn’t for anything serious and that’s probably why they’re hiding away somewhere now. They knew it would all come out in the end,” Dan replied casually.

“I suppose you’re right,” Beth said, “But when they do get home …”

“Let’s not worry about that just yet,” Tony said patting Beth’s arm. Always the mediator.

“While we’re all here, lets have a cuppa.” Irene perked up, “Belle, you can give me hand.” Damn! I thought she’d forgotten I was here.

* * * * *

[Jen]

Thank you everyone! Chapter 16 up now. Not long to go ...

* * *

Chapter 16 – Deal or No Deal

Drew’s don’t-hold-back-he’s-bluffing technique didn’t work so it was time to take a different approach. Mattie had calmed down a bit now but her panic grip on my hand was as firm as ever. I couldn’t feel much of my fingers or legs because, to be honest, I was too petrified to move. Surely someone would come looking for us soon. The hole in the wall above my head let in a cool breeze, which had a slightly calming effect because it was getting pretty tense in here.

It felt like hours. Diesel had stopped pacing and had pulled up a chair and was sitting directly in front of us. I remember Ric telling me something about a time when a crazy girl called Sarah had held a group of them, including Sally, hostage at Leah’s house. Maybe this is what it was like? Diesel played with the gun in his hands. Tossing it backwards and forwards, like he was toying with us. He knew he had us and there was nothing we could do.

“Please Diesel, you don’t want to do this,” Cassie spoke. Her voice was monotonous showing no sign of emotion attached to what she was saying.

Diesel looked up but gave no reply.

“We know you love Sally,” she said, “but is this really the way to go about it?”

He stared at her. His cold eyes stared right through her, like she wasn’t even there at all.

“I know you’re a good person. You don’t want to do this.”

“If you give yourself up now, I’m sure the police will go easy on you,” I finally spoke.

It felt like it made no difference. No matter what we said, he didn’t care. His mind was set on one thing, and one thing only.

“Maybe we can help you,” I said, “Tell them you didn’t hurt us…” I trailed off.

Diesel stood up. Mattie’s grip tightened.

“I don’t want your help,” he said.

There was a long pause. Diesel turned to face the blackboard. His message still remained, perfectly obvious in front of us.

“Please,” I began to beg, “We’ll give you anything you want. Just let us go. I swear we won’t tell anyone you’re here.” I was desperate. I had to get out of here.

“I’m only here for Sally. Now, since you interfered, we are just going to wait until she comes.” Diesel didn’t face us as he said this, but you could read the tone in his voice.

“And I wouldn’t try anything stupid,” Diesel continued, “You know what happened last time.” He spun around quickly and drew the gun like he was in a western shoot out.

Mattie let out a squeal of terror and I held on to her for dear life. Drew flinched, but there was no movement from Cassie.

Diesel just laughed and pulled back the gun.

“As if I would do anything that dumb,” he scoffed.

“What are we going to do?” Mattie whispered to me.

“I don’t know,” I honestly admitted.

* * * * *

[Jen]

Chapter 17 – Coffee

“It’s been hours since they’ve last been seen,” Beth said, “Surely now it’s time to involve the police.”

Beth, Tony, Irene, Leah, Dan, Sally and I were sitting around the central table at the Diner. Everyone had had at least three cups of coffee to try and stay calm, but it had in fact had the opposite effect. Beth was on edge; Leah had called all of Drew’s mates to see if anyone knew where he was, to no avail; Sally was sitting quietly, rather detached from the group. Irene was the only one still being optimistic about the situation.

“Belle, love,” she said to me, “do you want to make another lot of coffee’s for everyone?”

I stood up, obeying her orders.

“I’m right, thanks Irene,” said Tony.

“Me too,” said Dan.

“I think that’s enough coffee for one night,” contributed Leah.

I sat back down in my seat. Adults were strange. Every time there was a problem, coffee seemed to be the answer. Regardless of the time of day, the weather or who was there, it seemed to offer some kind of comfort that I could not comprehend.

I fiddled with the end of my piggy tail. What could I do? Mattie, Lucas and Cassie and I weren’t exactly best buddies and Drew, well, we hadn’t had a conversation that hadn’t ended in some kind of argument in weeks. How was I supposed to know where they were?

“Belle, when was the last time you saw them?” Dan finally asked.

“Um, I dunno,” I said uncomfortably, “I saw Drew and Cassie this morning at school, then Matilda and Lucas here at the Diner around lunch.”

I looked around at the group of adults staring back at me. Talk about pressure. I felt like I was in some kind of interrogation down at the police station. ‘Anything you do say, will be taken down and may be used in evidence’. Was I meant to continue?

“They were in science this afternoon, but I didn’t see them after that.”

There was silence following my statement. I had told them everything, right? Did they care that I was eavesdropping on Mattie and Lucas’ conversation earlier and they had gone off to look at something? Or that after science I had seen Cassie and Drew sneak off together down the hallway? It was all pretty sketchy and wasn’t worth bringing up I decided.

Ric suddenly stormed into the Diner and broke the silence.

“Sal, I got your message. What do you mean Cassie hasn’t come home?” He stopped when he saw the group at the table. He must have read the coffee drawn faces and realised there hadn’t been any news.

“We can’t just sit here all night. We have to go out looking for them,” Beth demanded.

“But where would we look? We have no idea where they’ve gone,” Tony stated.

“Try the beach, Noahs, the gym, anywhere,” Beth continued, “I’m sick of sitting here and feeling helpless just waiting for them to turn up.”

A murmur started around the Diner as they discussed where they could go, who they would call, and who should stay put in case they returned.

Across the table, I saw Sally reach down to the floor and retrieve her mobile from her handbag.

“Hello?” she answered the mysterious call.

“What?” I didn’t know who was on the other end of the line, but Sally’s face showed that it was bad news. She glanced around the table at all of us sitting there. She stopped when she came to me, looking me right in the eye. She knew I knew more than I was letting on. I knew it. I quickly changed my stare to the seagull sitting on top of the menu on the table, but continued to listen to what Sally had to say. This was becoming quite a talent.

“Everyone’s here. We’ll be right there,” and she hastily hung up the phone.

“That was Barry,” Sally said to everyone and no one in particular, “there’s been a report of a gunshot at the school. He’s there with Jack and they think there are people inside.”

She didn’t have to say anything further. Did this mean what I thought it meant? Of course it did. They were trapped in the school with some crazy gunman who’s doing God knows what.

Everyone frantically left the Diner, leaving the cold coffee cups on the table.

* * * * *

[Jen]

Thanks for your comments and patience. Next chapter ...

Chapter 18 – The Waiting Game

How the hell did this happen? How did Cass and everyone end up inside? When I get my hands on whoever’s responsible, they are going to wish they never touched them!

“Ric,” I blinked and saw Belle standing beside me, “Are you okay?”

“What do you think?” I snapped back.

I couldn’t take this anymore. When we had heard the news, everyone had got here as fast as they possibly could. There was now a big crowd of people including, Jack on duty, Belle, Irene, Sal, Hyde, Beth, Tony and all of Drew’s family. Now we had been outside these stupid gates for ages and no one seemed to be doing anything. Why weren’t the police inside arresting this bloke and getting them out of there?

I stormed over to Jack and shouted,

“Why aren’t you doing anything?”

“Just calm down,” he replied, “This person is armed. We can’t just bust in there like a bull at a gate. It’ll do more harm than good.”

“Well, we can’t just stand out here and do nothing!”

“We’re not doing nothing. I’m waiting for back up before we go any further.”

“My girlfriend is in there!” I demanded.

“So’s my brother! You don’t think I want to be in there helping them out?”

“Let’s just calm down a bit, hey.” Tony must have come over when he saw things were getting heated between Jack and I.

I gave up. I heaved a sigh and wandered away from the crowd. I stood back and just watched. The cool night breeze made me shiver. The gates were cold and confronting and the only thing from stopping me from me barging in there myself. There were no lights on inside so it was hard to tell where exactly they were. The only way of keeping the outside visible was the one street lamp that stood shining nearby.

I looked across and saw Sally detach herself from the restless mob and walk over towards me. She had her arms folded across her chest trying to keep herself from shivering. Her nose was red. I couldn’t tell whether this was because she was cold or if she’d been crying. I understood either way. She put down the wind barrier and outstretched her arms. I put my own arms around her. I felt slightly warmer, as she held on tight. I’m not even sure who was comforting who. I was scared, afraid, worried, a number of different things all with the same meaning. I felt guilty that Cass was in there. If I hadn’t been so stupid and told her to lay off the conspiracies then none of this would be happening. She knew that something bad was going to happen and I did nothing. Nothing at all.

Sally pulled away. Suddenly the wind blew up and I shivered. I rubbed my hands together to try to generate some kind of warmth, but it was useless. It was nearing midnight and the temperature wasn’t going to rise until the sun rose.

There were flashing blue lights. Another police car pulled up and out stepped Peter and some other cop. Maybe things would start to happen now. I walked briskly towards Peter who was about to address us all.

“Has there been any further shots?” Peter asked Jack.

“Nothing.”

“I suppose that’s something,” Peter sighed.

“Or it could mean they’re already dead,” I muttered under my breath. It was slightly louder than a whisper, so maybe I had wanted someone to hear. It went unnoticed.

A scream rang out. The high pitch echoed around us. It had come from inside.

Everyone turned to look inside the gates. We could see nothing and there was no further sound.

“Oh gawd,” Irene said, and she clutched tightly onto Belle who was beside her.

Peter and Jack sprang into action.

“Everyone stay calm,” Peter said.

“Calm?” Beth retorted, “you have to get them out now,” and she flung herself towards the gate. She was a distraught wreck and began to shake the bars yelling,

“Mattie! Mattie!”

Tony ran up and pulled her away and held onto her tight. She was sobbing and shaking and Tony held onto her, resisting her tugs to escape.

Suddenly Sally ran off. No warning, nothing. She sped off around the side of the school.

“Sal!” I yelled and ran after her.

I had no idea where she was going or where my feet would lead. I was panting heavily trying to catch up but it was hard to tell what was directly in front of you in the pitch black. I heard footsteps behind but I didn’t look back. It wasn’t until I rounded a bend and came face to face with a gate, that I stopped. Almost immediately after, Jack and Peter were by my side. At first I saw nothing but the bars in front of my face. Then I noticed it. The padlock. It was swinging on its side. It had been unlocked.

* * * * *

[Jen]

Thanks to all who have read this so far, it is slowly drawing to a close so I hope you like the last few chapters. Thanks to -Tess- my proof reader for her input - it has made a difference! So here comes the next chapter... (Remember comments = love!)

* * * * *

Chapter 19 – Fate Decides

I couldn’t help it. It had been hours and we were still sitting there. I just screamed. Someone had to hear. Surely, they would know we were missing now. I know it was stupid to get Diesel mad again but I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t cry any more and Lucas had given up. My scream echoed scarily through the empty halls. Diesel woke. He glared at me with his cold, cruel eyes and stood quickly pulling out the weapon that had been his defence all night. My breathing became shallow. In Out. In Out. In Out. Lucas stiffened beside me. Cassie hadn’t moved all night but she grabbed my right hand. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Drew twitch at the end of the line. It was pointing right at me. The hollow barrel and his fingers determined my fate. I was terrified.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” I spluttered, feeling the tears swelling up.

“Too late for that now,” Diesel said sternly.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I, I, I just want to go home.”

“Well, that was pretty stupid now, wasn’t it?” Diesel taunted.

The trigger clicked.

Just think happy thoughts. I know it didn’t make any difference but I forced myself to close my eyes and imagine Luc and me. Just me and Lucas alone on the beach. His gorgeous blue eyes. His blonde hair fluttering about in the breeze. The seagulls squawked and waves lapped happily on the shore. He lent in towards me. His soft lips touching mine.

“Mattie, I’m sorry,” he whispered to me.

No! It can’t be over. I won’t let it. The waves crashed in, becoming more violent. They were surrounding me. Nowhere to run. I looked around for Luc. He was drifting further and further away. I was drowning. Gasping for air, I spluttered and opened my eyes. Lucas was no longer beside me. I looked around frantically. He was up and standing. Directly in the line of fire.

“Luc!”

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” Diesel was still talking.

“I regret not doing this sooner,” was Lucas’ reply.

Diesel’s hand flicked.

There was a loud bang.

“No!” It escaped me.

It wasn’t Diesel. Before I knew what was happening there was noise. The most exciting sound I had heard. Footsteps. They were fast and coming closer. He was looking around now. Backing away towards the door. One foot behind the other. At the same time Lucas was approaching him. Drew was up now too. One swift step and he was only a metre or so away from the gun. Two against one. Diesel shifted the gun’s aim between the two.

“Just put it down Diesel,” Drew spoke calmly, much differently than how he had tried before.

“Sally will be mine,” he said.

“Just put it down.”

“Sally will be mine.”

* * * * *

[Jen]

Thanks for the comments Anaya and Caitie, much appreciated. Also, again thanks to -Tess-, my proofer.

Only two more chapters to go after this one, so I hope you like.

* * * * *

Chapter 20 – Because You Live

BANG!

Diesel’s fixed stare wavered and he slowly buckled at the knees. They hit the ground first before the weight of his body followed. The gun sprawled on the floor and the room was suddenly filled with people.

It was over, but somehow I couldn’t move. Relief swept over and I began to cry. I clutched onto Mattie so tightly. We were soaking wet. I wiped my eyes and saw Sally kneeling beside us. Her arms were cool as they gathered in the both of us. I leant against her body. There was a fast thumping inside her chest. Her heart. We were still alive. Mattie pulled away, leaving me in her arms.

“It’s okay.”

Her soothing words had never sounded so good. I never wanted to let go. I sniffled and slowly pulled away. I looked around the room. Matilda and Lucas were being ushered out the door by Jack. Drew was hugging Peter. An affection that was well and truly honest. Not like Diesel. He was now lifeless on the cold floor. There were police standing around him, covering him with a blanket.

My brain gradually began to slow down. I had frozen. I did nothing to try and help. This was my entire fault. I had got my friends in this situation. They could have been killed and I did nothing. What kind of person does that make me? I became so caught up in my own selfish desire to make myself a hero that I put my friends in danger. That was what this was about. Making myself feel better. It wasn’t about the good of the school or the principle that I had let everyone believe, but it was for me.

I brushed my fringe out of my eyes and looked back towards where he lay. Cold. Still. No warmth. No one cared. How must he have felt to resort to this? All he wanted was to have someone to love. To be loved. I had all of that and he resented it. I had Sal, Mattie, and Ric. Ric! I hadn’t thought about how this would have affected him. I was so lucky and I never realised it. I knew what it was like to live and love, something which Diesel would never know. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

Sally stood up and held out her hand. I reached out mine and grabbed on as I hauled myself off the floor.

“Let’s go,” she said and I followed her out the door behind Mattie, Luc and Jack.

We were out in the hall, where it all began. I wanted to look back, but couldn’t. I gazed past the group in front to the two shadowy figures leading us out. Drew and Peter. Drew. I felt something, a nagging feeling inside.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“It’s okay,” Sally replied.

And I wanted to believe that.

* * * * *