Awakened fury

After the impact

The hallway doesn’t stay silent for long.

Voices start rising from nearby classrooms. Doors open. Footsteps rush closer.

My heart starts racing again.

We don’t have time.

“Elisha—” I begin.

She grabs my wrist. “Move.”

This time, I don’t hesitate.

We turn the corner quickly, leaving the damaged hallway behind just as a group of students spill out, their voices loud and confused.

“What happened?”

“Did something break?”

I keep my head down.

Elisha pulls me down another corridor, then another, moving like she knows exactly where she’s going. We finally stop in an empty stairwell.

The noise fades slightly.

But not completely.

I lean against the wall, trying to breathe normally again. My hands are still shaking.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” I mutter.

Elisha looks at me. “Which part?”

“All of it.”

She exhales softly, crossing her arms. “Well, it did.”

I shake my head. “He came into the school.”

“I noticed.”

“No, you don’t get it,” I say, my voice tightening. “That means nowhere is safe anymore.”

She watches me carefully, like she’s measuring my reaction.

Then she nods once. “Yeah. It does.”

The confirmation hits harder than I expect.

Silence settles between us.

I look at her again. “You knew they were coming, didn’t you?”

She hesitates.

That’s enough of an answer.

“You did,” I say.

“I suspected,” she corrects.

“That’s not better.”

Her expression hardens slightly. “I needed to be sure.”

“By letting him find me?”

Her jaw tightens. “I was there, wasn’t I?”

I stare at her.

I don’t know whether to be angry… or relieved.

“You could’ve told me,” I say quietly.

“And you would’ve done what? Stayed home?” she shoots back. “You don’t even understand what you are yet.”

My chest tightens. “Then explain it.”

She goes silent.

For a moment, I think she won’t answer again.

Then she steps closer, lowering her voice.

“What happened back there wasn’t normal,” she says. “That kind of power doesn’t just appear.”

“I didn’t ask for it.”

“I know,” she says again, calmer this time. “But it’s still yours.”

I look away, clenching my fists. “It feels like it’s not.”

She studies me for a second.

“Does it feel like it’s watching?” she asks.

I freeze.

Slowly, I look back at her. “What?”

“That power,” she says quietly. “Does it feel like it’s reacting… before you do?”

A chill runs down my spine.

Because yes.

It does.

“I…” I hesitate. “Sometimes.”

Her expression shifts slightly, like that confirms something.

“That’s not good,” she murmurs.

My stomach drops. “What does that mean?”

She doesn’t answer directly.

Instead, she runs a hand through her hair, clearly frustrated.

“It means things are moving faster than they should.”

“That doesn’t explain anything.”

“I know.”

Footsteps echo faintly from outside the stairwell.

We both go quiet instantly.

“They’re looking for us,” I whisper.

“Of course they are,” she replies. “You basically shook the building.”

I wince slightly.

Great.

She glances toward the door, then back at me. “We can’t stay here.”

“Then where do we go?”

“Anywhere but here.”

I hesitate. “Elisha.”

She pauses.

I take a breath. “Why did you really help me?”

For a second, she doesn’t move.

Then she looks at me over her shoulder.

“Because if I didn’t,” she says quietly, “he would’ve taken you.”

My chest tightens.

“And that would’ve been worse than this.”

A heavy silence follows.

There’s something she’s not saying.

Something important.

But before I can ask—

A loud voice echoes from the hallway.

“Check the stairwell!”

Elisha’s eyes snap to the door.

“Too late,” she mutters.

She grabs my arm again.

“Stay close.”

The door bursts open.

A teacher stands there, breathless, eyes scanning the stairwell.

And then—

They land on us.

Everything stops.