The day I met Cammie Morgan was the day my life spiraled out of control. Don't get me wrong, things were pretty crazy before that. My parents worked in an area of the CIA that required a lot of traveling, so I've never lived in the same location for more than sixteen months. Needless to say, I had quite a bit of excitement in my eighteen years, but when I met Cammie Morgan on the first day of College my life took a drastic turn for the weird.
To start, I didn't actually meet her until three in the morning of orientation day, as that is when she arrived. She had picked the lock to our dorm room window, and snuck in looking as if she had just stepped from a James Bond movie. I awoke that night only to see my new roommate scouring every corner of the dorm room. I think I must have inhaled or something, because Cammie whipped around to face me, and grinned slyly.
"Well," She said. "I hope you don't mind change, because things are going to get very weird around here." Boy was she right. Things got very weird, and continued to get weirder every day from then on out. Particularly, four months later, on that day at the mall. . . .
"Cammie, I realize you have a need to scour every inch of every room you step in, but really, this is getting ridiculous." I crossed my arms over my chest, watching as my roommate slipped under yet another changing room stall. I heard a small shriek, followed by a quick apology from Cammie before she emerged again. "Was there a person in there?" Incredulous, I rolled my eyes.
Cammie shrugged, brushing dust from her jeans as she picked herself up. "More or less," she muttered, running a hand through her dirty blonde hair. Another thing about Cammie, she never gave a straight answer, even when it was obvious.
"What are you doing, anyway?" I handed Cammie her bag, and she shrugged as she hooked it over her shoulder.
"Just looking around." She turned to me, her blue eyes sharp. "You haven't seen anyone with a barcode shaped tattoo on the base of his neck, have you?"
I was incredulous. "What? No; why would I notice something like that?" Cammie shrugged, evidently choosing to ignore my question. She slunk from the changing room, peeking around the wall before passing. I heaved a sigh. Either this girl was overly cautious, or she was up to something. The sinking feeling in my stomach warned me of the latter. Cammie paused at a rack of sweaters and began to flip through them, though her eyes were scanning the store discretely. Cammie must have spotted something, because suddenly she tensed.
Cammie turned to me, alarm on her face. "Go into the changing room," she ordered. Before I could ask why she whirled me around and shoved me forward. "Eighth stall on the right. Stand on the bench so your feet can't be seen, but make sure your head isn't over the door." She spoke quickly, and low, giving me one last push into the changing room.
I turned around for a split second before carrying out her demands, quick enough, though, to see her pull out her phone and punch a few numbers into the keypad before shoving it back into her bag. Even though I've only known Cammie for a few months, I knew something was up. I chose to trust her and followed her directions, making sure I was not seen in the stall. I held my breath.
Cammie may be weird at times, but more often than never, for good reason. Once, she forced me to skip a Chemistry lab, and I found out later that there had been a huge explosion at my assigned workbench. Another time she had me go to the dean of student affairs about some kid on our floor. Turns out he was the son of a known sniper and he and his father were planning to out the state senator. I had my reasons to trust Cammie, however strange they were, but they were valid.
Not a minute later, Cammie slid under the stall and bolted to her feet. She leapt onto the opposite bench in the stall and placed her palms on the ceiling. The tile gave way, and she grinned. "Common," She muttered to me. "Give me a boost, then I'll pull you up. Quick!" There was a hint of desperation in her voice. Something about it made me feel queasy. Cammie was always so laid back and cool and composed. Seeing her just a little bit desperate was unnerving.
Something was going to happen, I knew. Something big. And if I didn't follow her orders, it would only make the situation that much worse.
"What's going on?" I asked as I cupped my hands. Cammie stepped into them and allowed me to boost her upwards. She pulled through the hole in the ceiling, disappearing for a moment before pushing her head through and offering me her hand.
"I can't tell you right now." She grasped my hand and helped me into the ceiling, smoothly as if it had been no effort at all.
"Why not?" I protested, glancing around. We were on the roof of the mall, apparently.
I turned back to Cammie who was fumbling around in her bag. She shook her head. "I just can't, OK? Just . . . just trust me."
I frowned. "I do trust you Cammie, but you need to tell me what's going on or I'm not going to be any use to you. Whatever is going on, I can help you."
Cammie snorted at this before composing herself. She drew a flashlight from the bag, finally turning to me. In the dim lighting, I could see nothing but her eyes glowing in the dark. A noise sounded from below. I peered down the hole into the dressing room, and nearly gasped.
Two men were standing in the stall, clothed darkly with shiny silver guns pointed up at me. I opened my mouth to scream, but Cammie lunged at me. The force of her weight sent us both skidding to the side just as a gunshot rang through the air.
Rolling over, Cammie leapt to her feet, dragging me with her. From her bag she drew her own weapon, a small gun-shaped taser. Panic rose in my chest. Oh my god my roommate is a psycho. I thought, taking a few steps away from her.
Noticing my withdrawal, Cammie tossed a desperate look over her shoulder. "I'm not going to hurt you, Kate. Get behind me, now!" I hesitated, but did what she said when I noticed the two men I had seen earlier clambering through the hole in the roof. Cammie began to back up slowly, keeping the gun pointed at the men. "Lay down your weapons and I won't shoot," Cammie barked, her voice surprisingly calm.
The men ignored her. I saw one of them release the safety on his gun, and that's when Cammie attacked. She tossed the taser to the ground, and before I could blink she had kicked the gun from one of the men's hands and was wrestling the other to the ground. The man's now unarmed partner came at her from behind, but before he could touch her she swiveled around and roundhouse kicked him hard in the groin. Ouch. She turned to the other man who had managed back to his feet and the two engaged in what appeared to be a martial arts dance. Cammie punched and kicked and dodged his blows with effortless movements, her actions precise and effective. It was like watching the matrix right before my very eyes. I watched as Cammie bent over backwards to grab onto the dropped taser and kick over to her feet. She aimed the weapon at the man and shot a single wire into his chest. The man seized for a moment before dropping to the ground, unconscious.
The other man was clambering to his feet the gun aimed in my direction, and it was then Cammie turned to me. "Run!" She yelled, grabbing onto my hand. We ran to the other side of the roof, and the man followed. We were trapped. Down below, cars whizzed past through the city streets. There was no escape from here. I turned to Cammie, expecting to see a scared expression in her eyes, only what I saw was much more surprising.
She was grinning. Cammie turned to me, a wild expression on her face. "When I say go, jump. No questions, got it?" I stood in shock, wondering just what she had in mind, but for some reason I figured she had a plan. I nodded.
Cammie turned back to the man, who was quickly gaining on us. He yelled something I couldn't understand and released the safety on his gun. It was then Cammie turned to me and yelled:
"Go!"
AN: Please review! I'll try to have the next chapter up within a few days. Thank you!
