Chapter 3 "Don't Look Behind the Mask"
My mind started racing, I was too far out in the open but I didn't have the guts to move. I had my ear piece in but I didn't call for help, for chance they would hear me. I kept my eyes on them as they got closer 15 yards, 10, and then 5. Then they just passed me by. They kept walking without a second glance. Yet it turned out that fate had a different plan as the branch I was standing on decided then to complain about the extra weight.
The soft creak echoed in the woods like gun fire, bad choice of words I know. The four men turned their heads at the same time, like zombies in a horror movie. Time froze then. People always talk about how time slows but not for me; for me it came to a complete stand-still.
We gawked at each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Seconds ticked by until finally like a light turning on, my brain caught up to my body. I turned quickly, jumping off and behind the oak tree, in case they decided to let any rounds off. I started running before my feet even hit the ground. I dodged between trees leaped over fallen logs. My lungs burned demanding air, my legs turned to jelly as I pushed them past the extreme. I sensed no pursuit behind me but didn't have the courage to look back. I kept running and running. I kept waiting and waiting. Waiting for the thunder of a gunshot, for the pain as the bullet sliced into my flesh, but it never came.
It felt like a lifetime before I burst past the tree line and into the clearing. Feeling like I was going to puck, I bended over trying to breath. Dimly I registered Kim, Tina and Macey walking towards me, followed by the rest of the CoveOps class coming from beside me, worried looks on their faces.
"Cam you ok?" called Macey. But I was too far gone to care or even understand what she was saying. I stood up looked her straight in the eye. Then everything went black as I passed out.
"Alright here she comes." said Solomon. I opened my eyes; beside me Solomon sat, looking strange in the overgrown grass.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Fine," I said. "What happened?"
"You fainted. Miss Morgan I know I asked you to work hard, but you didn't have to push yourself this hard." said Solomon, while helping me to stand up. Then it all came back in a rush, the men, guns, running.
"Cammie at least if you were going to bolt you should have grabbed the flag." Tina said snottily.
That's when the angry took over, maybe it was a delayed reaction to the adrenaline; maybe it was just me finally giving into the fear and frustration I had felt. But whatever it was, seeing Tina standing there perfectly calm caused me to go over the edge. I punched her in the stomach. I mean really we've all took punches but I guess she didn't have much tolerance to pain because she burst into tears on the spot. That caused me to feel a little bad, just not bad enough to help her.
"Cammie!" shouted Bex, gaping at me in astonishment. But I merely looked at her with no emotion on my face and fire in my eyes. I brushed past Bex, Macey and Kim as chaos erupted. Mr. Solomon was desperately trying to soothe a crying Tina; while everyone else gazed at me in stunned silence. But I kept moving, kept walking towards the school. I didn't even look back.
As I sauntered through the front doors I walked towards my favorite hiding place, a spot that was all my own. At the end of the hall stood proudly a statue of Gillian, I quickly twisted the sword she held in her grasp causing the statue to unlock. I used my strength to push the statue over, thereby uncovering the trap door underneath Gillian. I opened the door, sneezed as ancient dust was stirred, and climbed down the ladder into the room below.
This was my home; the one hiding spot I had never told anyone about, it was my secret, my escape. To my left sat two ancient chairs that were older then I. Their aged wooden legs looked as though they could crack underneath a mouse. On the wall hung a faded painting of Gillian, her sword raised high, its tip coated with blood. And in the corner stood humbly a forgotten blade waiting for an owner who would never return. I settled into the chair letting out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. I knew I should go find my mother and tell her what happened. Or go see if Tina was ok, but I just couldn't. I needed to think; to be away from the constant looks from my teachers, away from the naïve happiness of my classmates, away from constantly worrying about Zach; but most of all I needed to know why.
There were so many questions. I didn't even know where to start. And I was starting to get the feeling that if the Cavan Circle didn't kill me, the secrets would. I glared up at the picture of Gillian, hating her, hating her because at least she had an enemy to fight; at least she had a blade to hold. For I was the mouse constantly fleeing into my little hole away from the cat. I hated it. I kept glaring at the picture trying to dissolve it into nothing, trying to burn it into ashes, to rip it into shreds. Then my temper over came me. I was out of my chair tearing the painting from the wall before I knew it. Then I threw it to the floor breaking the frame. I started stomping on the picture like a kid throwing a tantrum.
I did this over and over again until the beautiful painting was nothing but muddy footprints. That's when I saw the second painting. Behind the painting that I had torn down, hung a faded canvas. But it wasn't this that made me pause, if the picture before had been gruesome this one was so much more. It was again a painting of Gillian but she didn't look like a proud honorable women. She held a blade in her grasp and she was chopping of a man's head. At her feet lay an ankle deep pool of blood, more then you get with one man. But it was the blade that stood out most of all; it was darkened to black by dried blood.
I didn't know what this meant. Maybe it didn't mean anything at all. Maybe a long time ago someone had hung this painting here thinking nothing of it. And maybe that could have been true if it was another school. But the Gallagher Academy always did something for a reason. But what was the reason? To show how ugly killing could be? It didn't make sense it was just more secrets hidden beneath a pretty picture. Secrets, undisclosed, classified: all just polite ways of saying I'm not telling you. But I refused to stay in the dark any longer I needed answers, yesterday. I swiftly crawled up the ladder and threw up the trap door replaced the statue and was running down the hallway.
My hair waved behind me like a white flag declaring surrender. I turned and slide down the hallways. I blew past the stunned freshman; I left Mrs. Buckingham in the grimy bookroom. I didn't even pause as Fibs fell over, dropping something that was turning the air a faint green color. Finally I saw my mother's door like the light at the end of the tunnel. I ripped the door open nearly tearing it off the hinges.
Inside waited an almost comical sight; My mother sat on her desk in full headmistress mode. To her left stood Mr. Solomon looking worried, a rare look for him. In the chair in front of the desk sat Tina bawling her eyes out. Macy, Bex, Kim and Anna stood around her looking like bodyguards. All eyes turned to me as the door opened, I felt like I was on trial. Judging by the looks they were giving me I was guilty. Tina's eyes immediately started to narrow as she saw me and she opened her mouth to most likely give me quite a speech. But I held up a finger telling her to wait for me to catch my breath. My mother didn't wait.
"Cammie Morgan what did you think you were doing?" shouted my mother, causing everyone else in the room to flinch. Seeing as how I still hadn't caught my breath from my mad dash down the hall; my mother continued without waiting for a response.
"Punching Tina in the middle of a game of capture the flag." she yelled, "what was going through your head young lady…" she didn't get to finish as I said the next three words.
"They were here." I stated simple. She instantly closed her mouth and turned a deadly shade of white.
"Where?" she whispered in a voice very different than the one she'd been using. I looked at her as she processed what must have happened.
"How many?" Solomon asked picking up where my mother left off.
"Four and they were packing." I replied.
"Did they see…?" asked Joe.
"Yes." I murmured. Solomon was out the door before I finished a cell phone in his hand.
"Ladies I think you should go back to your class, I need to speak to my daughter." said my mother, the headmistress gone. Tina (whose head had been like watching a tennis match as she tried to take everything that was going on) stilled. She opened her mouth to protest, but my mother simply looked at her, she closed her lips, and flushed a deep red. My classmates filed out the door; Bex and Macey giving me worried looks that I tried to ignore.
Solomon sneaked in before the door shut, collapsing on to the vacate chair, I copied him as I sank into the other.
"Did they find anything Joe?" questioned my mother.
"No they're long gone."
"Darling, what happen?" asked my mom. I let out a sigh as I started to tell the sorry little tale.
"I had been in a tree about to get the flag. But something had felt off so I waited, that's when they cleared the trees. There were four, like I said, all in high five or low six foot range. I didn't see any faces, just the guns in their hand. They passed me at first but the branch had groaned. After they saw me I ran, and well the rest you know." I told.
My mother fixed her overly watery eyes on her desk while Solomon sat silently lost in thought.
"It's time I knew, I can't stand the secrets any longer. So help me if you don't tell me I will walk out of this school right now and let them put a bullet in my brain. Because at least they might tell me what the hell is going on first!" I shouted.
"We don't know anything." said Solomon.
"Bull!" I yelled. "You may be able to lie well but not that well"
"Joe." my mother said quietly. They exchanged a long look that I couldn't figure out. Solomon sighed and began.
"We don't know much. We know that a group called the Cavan Circle long ago tried to kill a Gallagher girl. They were found out and defeated that was the end of it. Everyone assumed they were long gone."
"Except they weren't they came back and are after me. Why?" I asked.
"We don't know." My mother said. She was lying; super spy or not I knew when she was lying. Yet I let it sighed the next question was the one I really wanted to know.
"Where is Zach really?" I asked causing Solomon winced. It was the next words he said that changed my life, forever
"We made a mistake. We thought that he could find out information so we sent him undercover. It was a huge risk sending him; he is very young but also the only one with connections in the circle. After the first month things went south, they started questioning him. I told him to get out but it was not soon enough. No one had heard from him in over a month. Rescue operations were ruled not worth the risk, we didn't know what we would be getting into. Cammie I am sorry but Zach is now alleged dead."
The words didn't hit me, maybe they should have. I knew they would later but for now I was numb. I walked out of the office a zombie to the world. I heard my mother's voice calling but I kept stumbling along. Somehow I made it up to my room; I fell down on the floor and looked blankly at the carpet. Zach dead because of me; Zach pale skin, cold flesh. Zach kicked the bucket, bit the dust, pushing up daisies, six feet under, extinct, left the building. No! This wasn't happening. This just wasn't happening. They say denial is the first stage of grief. But this wasn't me grieving. I was not going to let this happen. I was going to save Zach. I just had to find out where the hell he was. It was then I remembered the numbers the numbers Bex had stolen from my mother. The numbers that she had found in the bottom drawer of a locked desk; where say a spy might hide information that she didn't want her daughter to know. At least some luck was turning my way; I just hoped it held until I found Zach; because I was going to save him or die trying.