Chapter 11: One Last Obstacle

*Tori's POV*

I wonder if this was Rex's plan all along. I wonder if he intended to have Sikowitz and Lane fight us for the last key. I wonder if those two have been here, just as long as Robbie and Trina were. There were endless possibilities, but none of it mattered. Whatever their intentions are, they can't be good if it involves attacking Jade.

Sikowitz leans down and scrambles to fight Jade for the key. I decide to go after him. As he runs past me down the hall, I tackle him. He attempts to get me off, but I sink my teeth into his ear, and pull back. He eventually drops me, and the key, and I roll on the ground and grab it.

He brings his foot down on me, but I've seen this too many times to fall for it. Survival instincts. Is this what Jade was talking about before? I roll out of the way, key in hand, and make a dash for the door.

I notice Jade, who was being beaten by our councilor Lane. I wanted to help her, but I had to get this key to the padlock before Sikowitz caught up, and they took our last chance at escape from us. I'm about to accent the stairs when Lane stops his attack on Jade to trip me, and I fall face-first against the stairs.

"Tori!" Jade shouts. She has a moment to free herself with Lane distracted, and gets to her feet. She dodges Sikowitz, and swings at Lane just as I feel him take hold of my wrist. He lets go instantly, and Jade helps me to my feet. We begin forward when both of us are taken back, and the adults hold us above ground.

"We need the key to escape!" I yell, hoping to reason with them.

"Give it to us!" Lane counters, and tosses Jade back. She's flung toward the lockers, and I hear a slam.

With Sikowitz holding me, I couldn't defend myself as Lane pries my hand open with the key in it. I fight to hold on, when suddenly, he stops.

Lane falls forward, and Sikowitz stammers back; dropping me as he does. I notice Jade standing in front of us; holding a pair of scissors from her locker door. She had a deadly look in her eyes, which painfully reminded me of the solid, heartless look she acquired once she'd jabbed Cat.

There's blood dripping from her scissors, and she continues forward with a focused expression toward Sikowitz. He continues to back up, and I'm near panic.

"Now, Jade. Let me explain…"

She doesn't respond. Her focused, heartless look turned into a full-on rage, and she screams as she lunges forward with her scissors.

"Oh my god!" I screech. I was frozen in my spot, practically useless to the situations. "Jade, don't!"

"Please, Jade!" Sikowitz reverbs, and stumbles to the ground.

She was breathing heavy, and had a death grip on her utensil. She begins to slow from her rush, though, and brings her arm down. She still had a stern expression, and looked as though she could snap at any moment.

"Stay on the floor, and DON'T. MOVE." She instructs, and Sikowitz nods hastily.

She looks to me, and I can't help but flinch. She takes a step towards me, and I fight the urge to run.

"Tori… go unlock the door." She instruct. "I'll keep an eye on him."

I swallow hard. "Mmhm…"

"…you okay to walk?" She checks, as I shakily start toward the stairs.

"Ah-I!" I stutter. I take a breath, and look back to her. Her eyes showed concern, now, and drop my shoulders. "I'm gonna be just fine." I assure her and smile.

She smiles a bit too, but it fades as she looks down to the bloodied scissors in her hand. "…hurry." She sighs, and shuts her eyes. I see her turn back around and lock her eyes on our teacher before heading up myself.

I round the corner, and look to the padlocks. Six of them were unlocked, holding the keys in them. We worked hard to obtain five of them, and the other was already there once we arrived. I assumed that Trina and Robbie had gotten it, but who knows who else is alive here? I didn't pay attention to which faculty were missing from the gauntlet trial. And the students… who else is still alive? If any at all were able to survive the acidic rain.

I take hold of the padlock, and am about to turn the lock when I hear a scream.

"Jade!" I shout, and rush down the stairs.

I freeze at the top when I see Sikowitz restraining Jade, and holding the scissors to her neck.

"Tori." Sikowitz begins, his tone shaky. "I don't want to hurt her… I don't want to hurt anyone. But if you don't give me that key, I will do whatever it takes to get it from you. Starting by getting rid of her."

"Don't listen to him Tori, he won't do it." Jade says, possibly trying to convince me not to put myself in danger by freeing her, even.

"Oh yes he will." Sikowitz replies, squeezing Jade tighter in his grip. "Now give me the key, Tori. I'll let her go, and no one has to die."

Oh god! If I give him the key, they we're all trapped here with no means of escape. But if I don't…

There has to be another way. Jade didn't give up on me when she had the chance to walk away, and I had to think of another solution.

"Give me the key now!" Sikowitz commands, this time more forceful. "You do realize she will die. And so will you."

I look to Jade. She looked like she was trembling, and her lip was quivering. She was too afraid to move, or even speak out at this point. …I had no choice. I didn't like it, but, I had to save her.

"Okay." I say, and extend my hand with the key in it.

"Bring it here." Sikowitz says.

My heart was pounding with each step I took. I can't believe I'm about to do this. My thoughts raced through my mind, but I knew I knew I couldn't show it. I had to be completely focused for this to work. I put my hand in my pocket.

One thing about having a cop for a father…

I pull the gun out of my pocket, drop the key, and take it with both hands. I aim for his head, and am sure Jade is no where in my scope as I fire the single bullet.

…is that he taught me how to fire a gun.

As the shot is launched through the air, the sound crashes through the halls. I watch as the bullet impacts our teacher, and he's blasted to the ground.

"Oh my god…" Jade whimpers, stumbling forward and running into my arms. I embrace her, and drop the gun. "I forgot you had it. I… I thought I was going to die."

"Shhh…" I rub her back, and hold her close to me. Her pulse was pumping through her at incredible pace, and I knew she needed a moment to settle before she could continue. "I wouldn't have let that happen. Even if I had to hand over the key, I… I didn't have it in me to let you die."

Thank god it didn't come to that, though.

"Girls…" Sikowitz mutters. He… isn't dead yet?! "Girls, you can't use the key on the padlock."

"Sh-should we…" I stutter, looking at him. I couldn't finish though.

"Finish it?" Jade suggests.

I swallow loudly, and finish nervously. "I was going to say 'put him out of his misery.'"

Jade shrugs. "No matter how you say it, it still means the same thing."

She was right, but it just didn't seem right to me. Maybe it means the same thing, but the intentions are two different ideas entirely. It didn't matter anyway, because before we could make a decision, he was already dead.

She looks to me. "Hey, don't feel bad. You did what you have to in order to survive."

The thing is, I didn't. I knew I should have, but, I don't know. Somewhere between the gauntlet and killing my parents…

"Let's just go." I say. I pick the key off the ground, and begin up to the pathway to the roof.

She follows me after a moment, and joins me at the top of the stairs. I hold the key out, and examine it for a moment.

"Where are we going to go once we're out of here…?" I ask, still looking at the key.

"I don't know." Jade sighs. "I'm not leaving your side, though. I promise."

I look to her. I wanted to tell her I knew, and that I trusted her. I didn't have to, though, because she could read it in my eyes. I smile, and return my focus to the key. I turn the lock and open the final padlock. The door opens, reveling a solid brick wall, built over the school's only exit.

*The End*