Page 87 of The Rebel of Raleigh High

“All right. Good girl.” He presses a hard kiss against my forehead, hugging me to him fiercely. “Go. Go up to the music rooms and lock yourself in the sound booth, you hear me? You'll be safe there until the police get here.”

Fear closes around my heart, squeezing too tight. “What? Alex, no. I’m not leaving you. I’m staying with you.”

“I need to try and find the guy with the gun.”

The school’s P.A. system buzzes, a high-pitched tone shrieking from the speakers.

“ATTENTION. SCHOOL LOCKDOWN IN FULL AFFECT. ALL FACULTY MEMBERS, CODE ORANGE. I REPEAT, CODE ORANGE. ALL STUDENTS, REMAIN IN CLASSROOMS AND BAR ALL DOORS. DO NOT COME OUT UNTIL AUTHORIZED BY POLICE OR SCHOOL OFFICIALS.”

Oh my god.This is happening. This is really fucking happening.

Alex braces my head in his hands, forcing me to look up at him. “Okay, okay. Stay calm. It’s okay. Shhh, I’m coming with you. I’ll come with you. Go. Let’s go.”

The hallway's half-emptied already. At the far end of the hall, I see a body laid out on the ground, pens scattered everywhere, and the white floor is stained with stark, bright red streaks of blood.

Alex takes me by the hand again. He drags me behind him, heading for the stairway up toward the science block. Which means we’re actually heading toward the body…

“Alex, no. No, no, not that way.” I try to pull my hand free, but his grip tightens.

“Keep down. I’m not gonna let anyone hurt you. Stay close. Hurry, hurry, hurry.”

I duck down, sticking close to his heels, following his instructions. I’ve thought about what I’d do in situations like this. We’ve prepped. Drilled. Practiced.

I thought I’d be calm.

I thought I’d be clear-headed.

I thought I’d be okay.

I thought wrong.

CRACK!

Alex shoves me to the ground. I can feel him over me, his body on top of mine, his chest up against my back. His ragged breathing is so loud in my ear.

“Sarah! Oh my god. Sarah. Sarah, no, no, no!”The petrified shrieking cuts me down to the bone. I know the voice… “Oh, shit. Shit, please! Don’t fucking…just…”

CRACK!

“We need to move,” Alex pants. “I need you to run, Silver. I need you to run toward that stairwell, up, up, up and through the science block. Do not stop. Do not look back. I’ll be right behind you. Can you do that for me?”

“I don’t know!”

“You can, Silver. I know you can. You’re brave, and you’re fucking fast. Come on. We have to get out of here, right now.”

I scrunch my eyes closed, trying to grab hold on the terror lashing around in the pit of my stomach. It takes every scrap of willpower I possess, but I manage to calm myself. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

I nod beneath him.

“All right. One…two…THREE!” Alex has me by the back of my shirt. He lifts me up off the floor and onto my feet, and then his palm is against my back, shoving me forward so quickly I can barely get my legs to move fast enough. I hurtle toward the stairwell, jumping over two girls who are hunkered down, covering their heads with their backpacks.

“Up! Let’s go, let’s go!” Alex hisses. His hand is gone from my back. He told me not to stop. He told me not to hesitate, but I do…

Then he’s right behind me, the girls, Alicia and Sophia, being herded along by his side, their faces stained with eyeliner.

“RUN!” Alex’s roar echoes down the hallway. A strangled scream comes right after, cut off by the loud, terrible report of another gunshot.