The Gallagher Girls head to Blackthorne, little to they know what's actually waiting for them. For once, Cam isn't the cause of the trouble, but she is thrown right into the bloody center of it, because something no one else expected happens...a body gets found. Who died? Who's the killer? And are they closer than you think? Zammie
Chapter 1 Student Down
Cam POV
Blackthorne. I'm heading back to Blackthorne. This time not stealing information, but as a student. I was really nervous. After everything that happened with the circle, I was glad for this exchange. It was something Gallagher and Blackthorne had never done before. An extra year. It meant that we could spend another year representing the school that has become home to us all, become family, become a sisterhood. Not everyone signed up for this class, I'm glad that my best friends did. I'm glad that I have them. I'm excited to see Zach as well. The image of him shirtless cooking me breakfast swims into my head at the most random times, causing me to blush. It's cute.
'Not long Cam' Bex teased
'I know' I looked out at the scenery. The mountains. The smile that was on my face faltered slightly.
'Hey' Bex placed her hand on my arm 'It's not like last time' she gave me a small smile. I smiled back. It's not like last time.
'Okay ladies' Joe said from the driver seat 'Blackthorne are expecting us, but not for a few more hours' He smiled a mischievous grin at all 15 of us. 'So we're going to play a little game'
'What game Mr Soloman?' Tina asked.
'Hide and seek' He said proudly
'Aren't we too old for that' She rolled her eyes
'No' Me and Joe said at the same time. We looked at each other and smiled quickly.
'Hide around the school. You'll have comms, I'll give you instructions. I want to see how you adapt to new situations, new surroundings.'
'This is bloody fantastic!' Macey squealed
'Um, Mr Soloman' Liz raised her hand 'I don't know how much use I'm going to be with this'
'Don't worry Miss Sutton. I have a very special job for you' He smirked.
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Zach POV
There was a buzz at dinner tonight, everyone was excited with the prospect of the Gallagher Girls coming here in only a few hours. I'm more excited to see Cam. Obviously I saw her over the summer but we were on her turf...and now, this is my school. I have the advantage. I was talking to Grant when the door opened. Everyone fell silent. Joe Soloman strutted in followed by a nervous Liz. I looked behind her hoping that the other girls would follow but the gap remained empty.
'Good Evening gentlemen' Joe smiled at us all 'It's good to be back' He clasped his hands together and turned to Liz. She nodded and began to hook up her laptop. 'The Gallagher Girls have arrived. But where do you think they are?' He raised his eyebrows, everyone began to look around the room. Joe's smile grew wide. Liz connected her laptop to the screen. On the screen were images of 15 Gallagher Girls. My eyes immediately were drawn to Cam's face. Her eyes were big and bright. Her hair falling down her back. She was caught off guard in the photo because her smile was natural. She seemed happy. She seemed safe. The images moved to the left hand side of the screen.
'Come in girls' Joe announced. One by one the girls announced their code names. Until we came to the ones we knew
'Peacock ready'
'Duchess ready'
'Bookworm ready' Came a faint whisper. Then there was nothing. Joe tensed momentarily. He raised his hand to his ear.
'Cameron come in' He ordered. There was more silence
'Chameleon ready' Cam's voice floated through the room. Joe seemed relieved with himself.
A large digital timer flashed up on the screen. 60 minutes. 'You have one hour' He announced and pressed the spacebar on the laptop. The clock began to count down. Everyone leapt up from their seats and began to either look in the hall or move around the school. I smirked at Grant. I was going to find Cameron.
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Joe POV
I watched as all the boys began to move away. I looked at Liz.
'Do you have a location on them all?' I asked. Liz gave me a skeptical look
'She hasn't run sir. She's in the school' Liz answered
'Just making sure'
'You need to trust her more. She's better than she was before' Liz began to type away of her laptop, getting the surveillance footage from various points in the school.
'I'm just worried that being back here may-'
'Trigger memories?' Liz gave a somber chuckle 'Cam doesn't need places to remind her about what happened...she just needs to close her eyes' She muttered
'She's having nightmares still?' I sighed rubbing my head
'Not as many as before. She doesn't tell us anymore but we can see. Her pattern changes, she's slower with movements, spends longer thinking about what to wear or what to have for breakfast. She does this only a fraction slower than normal but we all know' Liz didn't look at me once, she just kept her head down on her laptop. She spoke so confidently about Cameron, as if she's studied all of her little traits and compartmentalised them.
Liz POV
So far 13 of the 15 Gallagher Girls have been found. Cammie and me. Joe told me to hide in plain sight. Not one of the boys thought to point me out, I thought I would have been the first one to be found but clearly not. Macey and Bex were annoyed at being found by Grant. They were hidden in the ceiling of one of the classrooms. Grant found them because of Macey's perfume, only she would wear Chanel to a mission. And since they hid together, Bex was found, something she didn't take lightly. All the students had given up apart from Zach. The time was running out. 10 seconds. Everyone watched the door eagerly. Zach ran in and pointed at me. 4 seconds.
'Found you' He smirked. Times up.
'Impressive Mr Goode. You managed to find the one Gallagher Girl that no one else managed to find' He turned to Liz 'What's your code name Miss Sutton?'
'Bookworm' She said proudly.
'There were 15 images on the screen gentlemen. None of you spotted miss Sutton? None of you spotted her saying her code name' He shook his head 'I'm disappointed in you all' He then put his hand to his ear once more.
'You won Chameleon. You can come out now' He said, there was static that filled the air, causing all of us to cringe. 'CAMERON, ANSWER YOUR COMMS' He shouted. I could see Zach was stressed. Then one of the boys shouted
'Has anyone seen Phillip?' Then there was a hive of voices asking questions.
'SILENCE' Joe boomed. He turned to me 'Can to trace her comms?' He asked
'I can try' I began to type away '4th floor' I informed him, I would have found more but...
'Student down' Cam's voice filled the room. Zach immediately darted off along with many of the Gallagher Girls and Blackthorne Boys. Joe sped off as well.
Zach POV
Joe ran alongside me as we made our way to the fourth floor. There were groans coming from our left. We sped down the corridor and then down another one until we came to the foot of the large stained glass window, one of the only beautiful things in the school, below it was Cam, she was kneeling over something.
'Gallagher Girl' I called as I ran down. She didn't glance back. As we got close I noticed that Cam wasn't alone. She was knealed over a body, she was applying pressure to his stomach.
'What happened?' Joe asked.
'You told me to come out of my hiding place, when I did I saw him lying here' She checked his pulse. She stopped applying pressure. She looked up at Joe. 'He's dead' There were tears in his eyes
'You did the right thing' He patted her shoulder and looked at her in the eyes 'You need to step away now Cam' She stared back at him. Joe glanced up at me. I got down to Cam's level, resting my hand on her arm.
'Come on Gallagher Girl' I whispered into her ear. Cam snapped out of whatever she was thinking about and slid back. Her hands were bloodied.
'CAM' Cam calls from the other end of the corridor. Joe stood up
'NO ONE MOVE ANY FURTHER' I've never seen Joe so angry before 'GET THE OTHER MEMBERS OF STAFF IMMEDIATELY. EVERYONE ELSE RETURN TO THE HALL. AND THAT'S AN ORDER!' The figures retreated. Cam began to shake a little. I pulled her into me.
'It's okay Gallagher Girl' I soothed
'No it's not' She looked up at me 'Someone murdered him Zach. The angle of the blade meant someone else stabbed him, and they're here Zach. It was an inside job.' tears began to fall. I pulled her into my chest, resting my head on her head and looked over at Joe. He thought the same thing as Cam. We're in a school with highly trained assassins and agents. One of us is a killer.