I'd been staring at the ceiling for about three hours now.
I had counted the ceiling tiles three or four times, counted the seconds tick by, counted books on shelves, I'd counted just about everything. I was just so bored. I would've got up and walked around, but I didn't want to risk the material on my dress waking everybody, and I was just too lazy to get out of the warm blanket.
Amy kept turning in her sleep; Holly hadn't moved at all. I heard an exhale from the boys' side of the room, and then all was quiet again. I turned my head, and looked at another side of the room, looking for things to count. My eyes wandered aimlessly around the room, glancing at miscellaneous things. The blanket slid off of me slightly as Amy rolled over again. The blanket slid all of the way off of the slick taffeta on my dress, and I decided to stand up since I'd lost my warm shelter.
The first thing I noticed was that my legs were very sweaty, and the netting on the inside of my dress was irritating them quite a bit. I lifted my dress as high as I could off the ground, trying not to make a sound. It reduced the noise quite a bit, but it still made a gentle swish, swish. I gave up on silencing the sound, and just walked across the room to a small table in the resource books' corner.
I was too lazy to pull out a chair, so I lay down on top of the table, facing the large windows that lined the whole wall. The windows faced the west, opposite from the lunchroom. I faced the lights of the city, and my eyes lingered on Wayne Enterprises. Most people's did. It was one of the tallest buildings in Gotham, and if you didn't catch the height, then you'd catch the large letters spelling out WAYNE on both sides of the building.
I put my arm underneath my head, and stared into the polluted city. I couldn't help but feel sour towards the civilians of Gotham.
They have no idea what's happening up here. Or do they? I don't even know. Is my dad coming? What about the Batman? Pfft…these sorts of affairs aren't important enough for the Batman to show up. But the Joker's involved…will he come? I hope he does. I've always wanted to meet him. My dad talks about him a lot. The Police have been searching for him, but my dad 'snubs' that part of his job; he believes in the Batman. My family all idolizes him. Will I see my dad again? Ever?
I awoke with a start when my head rolled off of my arm. I sat up quickly, and the edges of my vision went blurry. I looked around quickly, taking in my surroundings.
I must've fallen asleep.
"Anna? Are you okay?" someone whispered. I glanced around the dark room.
"…yeah. Where are you?" I outstretched my hands, searching for something to grab.
"Over here." The voice was getting closer. It was a short distance from me. I groped with my hands further and further, pushing my luck with falling off of the table, when my hands met someone else's.
"Here you are." It was a boy speaking.
"Who is this?" I said.
"It's me, Anthony." Anthony…
"Why are you up?"
"Nathan and I got hungry. I'm surprised our stomachs didn't wake the rest of the room." He chuckled.
"Oh, right…we need food." Right after he said that, my stomach gave a large growl. We both laughed. I heard someone stirring from the other side of the room.
"Wanna be quiet over there? Some of us actually need sleep." That was Amy, I could tell.
"Sorry." I said. She grunted and rolled over, going back to sleep.
"What are we going to do for food?" he asked.
"I don't know. The kitchen's food is all frozen, it would take us a little while to heat it up enough to become edible, and it's too risky to stay there for that long.
"I agree. Wait…" he sat there in silence for a moment, thinking. "The Debate room has food."
"Really? Where?"
"In the cupboards in the computer lab, the entire team keeps loaves of bread and stuff in there because half of them have lunch in there everyday."
"Great! But how do we get in there?"
"Um….I guess we'll just have to risk going into the hall. I heard a few thugs wander down the hall in the middle of the night." I walked over to the window. The thugs were still guarding the main doors, and every door to the outside that I could see.
"Okay, let's try it."
"I'll go wake them." He said. I slid off of the table, and onto my feet. I could hear Anthony walking away from me, towards the boys' side of the room.
"Come on guys, get up. We're going to get food."
"…food…sweet…" one of them yawned. I walked over blindly to the girls' side.
"Having fun flirting with Anthony?" Amy said. I jumped.
"I thought you were asleep." I said.
"Not quite, I heard everything you said, and it sounds like you like him."
"Shut it Amy, the last thing I'm thinking about now is flirting."
"Still…"
"Holly…get up. We're going to get food." I leaned down and shook her shoulder. She stirred slowly.
"Good." She yawned and stretched. "I'm hungry. What are we going to eat?"
"Lunch food, Anthony says there's some in the Debate room."
Suddenly, shattering the quiet, the Library doors burst open, and the room was filled with shouts.
"Get them! Make sure they don't escape!" Amy screamed, and I heard chairs clattering. Flashlights flicked on, and beams of light cascaded the room, twisting around the room. It sounds like an army entered the room.
I heard a grunt, and a 'let go!' from the girls' side of the room. A beam of light illuminated a clown holding Holly by both arms, and then the beam shifted positions, and I couldn't see her anymore. The beams continued to fly around the room, reminding me of a decorative light at the dance earlier in the evening.
"Aah! Help!" I heard Holly scream, and a 'shut up!' from the clown holding her. I turned and ran in the semi-dark room towards the outline of a massive shape. The shape turned out to be a bookcase, and I ducked behind it. I listened in horror at the sounds of all of my friends being apprehended.
"Get the tape!" I heard a man shout. Amy screamed again, and I heard objects being slid across the room.
"I've got two!" a voice came from across the room.
"I don't got any! There are four more out there!" the other man shouted. I heard tape being pulled off of its roll, and wrapped around a chair. Amy's wails were muffled, and I guessed that she was tied up. The lights in the room suddenly flipped on, and my eyes burned with the sudden light change. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to adapt to the brightness, when someone grabbed my hair, and pulled it violently upwards. I let out a shriek, and felt my body leave the floor.
"Got another one! That makes all of the girls!" the man shouted. I looked around and saw two clowns. Only two? We can take them! I glanced around frantically for the boys. I couldn't see any of them. The clowns had flashlights taped to their handguns, and the one holding me was pushing it threateningly against my neck. I didn't resist at all, but instead focused my energy on looking for the boys.
"You gonna tell us where the rest of your friends are missy?" the clown grunted. I flailed once, not making a sound. He pushed the gun harder into my neck, causing me to gasp out as it closed off my air-pipe momentarily.
"Fine…we'll just put you with the rest of your wimpy friends." He cackled, and threw me forcefully into a chair, my jaw slammed into the back of the chair, and I felt my teeth jar into one another. I reached my hand instinctively towards my jaw, but it was yanked away, and the clown threw my arm around the back of the chair, turning my whole body around with my arm. I screamed in pain. I caught Amy tied to a chair with my peripheral vision, and Holly lying by the leg of the table near me, clutching her arm that was bleeding from a large gash on her upper arm.
"Now," the clown sneered, while he tied me to the chair. "Are you gonna tell me where the rest of your stupid friends are?" I looked up at him without moving my head, and shook my head slowly, letting my chin bob onto my chest. He sighed, and I saw his arm gesture to the other clown. He began wandering around the room, throwing tables and chairs violently, causing us all to jump whenever they hit the floor.
"Tell me…and I won't kill your friend." He gestured with his gun to Amy, whose eyeliner was running down her cheeks from the tears.
"I-" I was cut off by a punch to the gut. I tried to double over, but the duct tape was very restricting in my movements. I moaned, and whimpered once, but my hate was building inside of me very quickly. The clown spoke from across the room.
"Any word on the Police?"
"Shut up you idiot! I don't want them knowing anything!" the armed clown shouted back.
"Just tell me! Who're they gonna tell?" the unarmed clown said back.
"No word! As far as I'm concerned they're not even notified!"
"I wouldn't say that. If they hadn't been notified, then why is the boss plotting all of this stuff?" What stuff?
"That's enough!" the armed clown shouted. He nudged me with his outstretched gun. "Found any of them?" he demanded.
"Not yet. You sure they're here?"
"Positive nit-wit. If they were smart, they'd stick together." he turned back to me. I looked at his eyes showing through the mask.
"Tell me where they are."
"I don't know." I squeaked. He hit me on the side of the head with the handle of his gun. Amy shouted from behind the tape.
"Don't make me kill you! Where are they?"
"I don't know! Don't hurt her!" Amy's fate kept flashing through my mind, and my fear was disappearing and being replaced with hatred. This next blow to the head made my vision go blurry for a moment.
I waited for the fuzziness to disappear before looking back at him. I felt tears jerk my eyes. He grabbed my hair, and forced my face to be a few inches from his. I smelled his rank breath. His voice was a deadly whisper.
"You know, I won't actually kill you…but I'll do the next worst thing…like, I don't know…rape you and your friend." No…
"Okay! Okay…." I gasped quickly. "I'll tell you…" He released my hair, and backed away a little bit, pointing the gun back at my forehead. I saw Nathan and Anthony rise slowly from the bookcases, and sneaking quickly, but quietly towards my captor. From a distance, I saw Ryan preparing to ambush the unarmed clown.
"They're….they're…"I was trying to delay as long as possible.
"Spit it out!" he yelled. Suddenly, he fell backwards, and the gun went off. I screamed in alarm, and watched in horror as the boys struggled on the floor. Nathan grabbed at the gun, and wrestled for several long seconds, before the man gave in, and the gun fell out of his hand. Anthony and Nathan jumped up away from the man, and Nathan turned the gun on the man. He pulled the trigger, and a single shot rang out, going through the man's head, and killing him instantly. I closed my eyes, and heard Amy whimper.
"Hurry! Over here!" Ryan shouted from a few bookcases away. The boys ran over, and another shot rang out. There was a chilling silence. I felt the tape loosen from my arms, and Amy's tape was pulled from her mouth. She began to cry, and Nathan embraced her in his arms, allowing her to sob into his shoulder. Anthony leaned down and began to examine Holly. The floor was stained with blood.
"Shh…it's okay…" Nathan whispered to Amy. I sat in the chair, unmoving. I looked over and saw Ryan limping towards us.
"The guy had a gun…but it wasn't a normal gun…" he gasped. I looked down at his leg, and saw the blood trickling down.
"What was it?"
"I think it was filled with poison or something," he pulled up his pant leg, and opened the wound a little further. Green puss came out.
"Ugh…" I groaned, and I felt my stomach heave.
"We've got to leave." Anthony said. "If those two found us, there's bound to be others." He ran over and grabbed a first-aid kit hanging on the wall, and got some gauze to wrap around Holly's arm.
"Ryan's been poisoned!" I shouted. Anthony's head snapped up.
"I'll be there in a second." Nathan told Ryan to sit down.
"Ew…it's oozing whatever it is." I sat in stunned silence, trying to get my heart to slow down. Why was this happening? What was seeping from Nathan's leg? Who else will be injured or die before this is over?
