Chapter 1
It was a dark, cold night at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. My boyfriend Zach and I were in the library, working on our Countries of the World (COW) homework. My internal clock told me that it was at least 9:30 p.m. Zach and I were quiet for a while ass we chatted a little here and there but other than that we stayed focused on our work.
"I'm finished" I said finally and got up from my seat with my homework in hand. "I'm gonna turn it in while I can."
"Okay." he said. "I'll meet up with you once I'm done." He smiled at me then went back to his work.
I walked down the hallway that lead to the COW classroom, but something made me stop dead in my tracks - because at that moment - the lights started to flicker, then went out for exactly 30 seconds before coming back on. I continued walking down the hallway, the lights stayed on (thank goodness) but were dimmer then before, casting eerie shadows on the cold stone walls and spy training or not I felt uneasy. I shook off the feeling and kept walking until I reached the COW classroom. I placed my work on the desk so Mr. Smith could grade it in the morning, then I heard it- it was the sound of someone loading a gun. I stood still for a second, then as fast as I could I turned around to see who was behind me. And then I felt the bullet.
In a matter of seconds I was on lying on the floor. I looked in the direction of the door and saw a man dressed in all black then in a blink of an eye he was gone. Then I felt a pain never before coming from my left arm and I could see that I was bleeding. I suddenly started to feel dazed and weak and for a minute I thought I would be sick. I could hear someone calling my name and it took me a second to realize that it was Zach. "Cammie, Cammie are you in here?" At that moment Zach walked in to the room. He instantly ran to my side, his face went white as he looked at my bleeding arm. He took off his sweater and started applying pressure to my wounded arm. "Zach?" I said my voice barely a whisper.
I could see Bex standing in the doorway behind him. "CAMMIE!" she screamed. I could see the terrified look in her eyes. In all the time that I've known her I've never seen Rebecca Baxter more scared then she looked right then. "Bex, go get help!" Zach yelled then he turned to face me. "You're going to be fine, Gallagher Girl. Everything is going to be fine." he said stroking my hair. With one hand and sill putting pressure on my arm with the other. Then my mom and my Aunt Abby entered the room looking over me. "Cammie, sweetie, are you alright?" my mom asked me, her voice full of worry and for a second I thought I saw tears in her eyes. I've seen my mom cry before (but from the secret passage way that lead to her office), but I didn't have time to think about that because at that moment I fainted.
