CHAPTER 2

Yes, I'm sure everyone knows, but I'm still going to say this, because I do not want to get in trouble. I have not, do not, and never will own ANY part of any of Tamora Pierce's magnificent works. There, I said it. Are you happy now?!?!?

By the time we reached everyone else, they were anything but calm. Some, mainly the freshmen, were crying as far away from the rest of the group as possible. I understood why once I saw what everyone was staring at. It was Mr. Stephenson, one of the many Drama teachers at our school. His body had been torn and shot, but his face was left unharmed, like the killer wanter everyone to know exactly who the poor victim was.

"Girls! Stay away from there!" yelled Coach. "Standing there crying is not going to help him or anyone else. We need to get back to the entrance right now! If anyone thinks about staying here, no one knows if...the monster who did this to poor Mr. S is still out here. Come on!!"

"Wait! Where are Stacy and Brianna?" I asked, not finding my other friend's faces among the others in the crowd.

"It's OK, Corey. I sent those two on ahead to the P.D. To tell them what we found. They're fast, good runners. They'll be fine. Now, everyone, let's hurry. Guys, get on the outside, girls in the middle. Let's move!!"

With that, we all began the 5 mile run back to the mail streets of NYC. Strange, I thought, that we run to the streets of New York for safety. You'd think we would run away from them. But, now everyone can tell that there is nowhere completely safe. Nothing. As we made our way back through the maze of twists and turns around the hundreds of trees we passed, you could tell some of the younger, newer runners were getting tired. Thankfully, everyone began to look after them, making sure they kept going, even though they needed to rest. The guys made sure no one got out of the group, always looking for any sign of anything amiss in the forest around us.

I made sure not to leave Ky and Amy. I knew I could go faster-they knew it too-but I wouldn't leave them. They were my friends, and even though we were all bunched up, having one person get between us would feel like a hundred. We had to stick together, mainly for Ky's sake. She was still quite scared by this whole ordeal, and she was slowly losing her energy, like the rest of us. Her stride was beginning to falter, and her breath came erratically and in odd intervals.

"You can do it, Ky. We're only two miles away. Once we get out, we'll all go back to my house with the rest of the gang and just talk. Or sleep. We can do whatever you need to do." said Amy through her own hard breathing.

Ky didn't respond, but she did nod her head. I, however, was not talking at all. Talking, I knew, would make me think back to Mr. S, and I couldn't do that right now. I needed to think about normal things. Homework, chores, even the guy I liked right then. Anything to get my thoughts off of what I had just viewed.

Our feet pounded the soft turf under us as we continued on our way to, what we hoped, safety. The trees passed by in blurs, the usual sounds of the birds and animals creating a odd and foreboding atmosphere. All around us the shadows pulled towards us, as if they wanted to engulf every member of our group. As the lights and sounds of the city's busy streets began to be audible again, we pushed ourselves even faster. Almost there. Just keep going. This isn't happening, it couldn't happen. Not again...