Going into the school was like sinking into a hot bath. Instantly sweat began to course down Jimmy's forehead. The fire hadn't spread to the lobby yet, but it was getting there. The stairs had caught fire, but Jimmy was still able to go up them. He figured he'dcheck outthe second floor first.
It was really strange in the school, not only because it was on fire, but because he knew that Gary was around there somewhere, watching him. He hoped that Gary would burn here, with the fire he'd started.
When he was on the second floor, he went into the Head's office. He ran around the secretary's desk and to the back of then office. He saw thatthere was a figure slumped over in a chair. Crabblesnitch. Jimmy had an eerie flashback of the year before, when Gary had tied Crabblesnitch up in this very office.
"Sir?" Jimmy said, walking forward. "Sir, we have to–"
He stopped in mid-sentence. He saw that Crabblesnitch wasn't tied up at all. He was dead. There was a bloody hole in his forehead. A bullet hole. He'd been shot in the legs and arms several times too.
Jimmy could only stare, open-mouthed. Many times, he'd wished Crabblesnitch dead, but he never would have actually done it. He felt like throwing up.
Cecellia, he thought. He had to save Cecellia.
As much as it creeped him out, Jimmy tooka step towards the headmaster's corpse and closed his eyes two fingers. He wished he could have done more. He'd always hated Crabblesnitch, but no one deserved this.
Jimmy bolted from the office. He looked into every room, but there was no sign of cecellia. His heart was pounding. Gary was lurking around, and he had a gun. Jimmy had never been particularly afraid of dying, but he didn't want to die like Crabblesnitch, shot dead and left to burn. And there was Cecellia to think about. He would deal with Gary once he got her out.
He found her eventually. She was in the Science lab. He saw her through the small window all the classroom doors had. She was sitting in the middle of the room, tied to a chair. There was a strip of tape on her mouth.
The door was locked, so Jimmy just smashed the window out with his elbow and unlocked it from the inside. It really hurt to do that, but he'd worry about the pain later.
Jimmy picked up one of the glass shards from the broken window and used it to sever the ropes binding Cecellia to her chair. Then he tore the tape away from her mouth. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
"Oh, Jimmy," She whimpered. "I was so scared."
"I know." Jimmy said, holding her.
"I knew you'd come."
"We need to get out of here. The building's on fire, and Gary's around here with a gun. He killed Crabblesnitch."
Her eyes widened when he said that, but she nodded all the same.
He took hold of her hand and they ran out of the lab. The flames were really raging now. The scent of burning plaster and wood was heavy in the air and pieces of debris from the ceiling were falling. Jimmy knew that the ceiling wouldn't hold for much longer.
They ran, both of them hot and sweaty, until they reached the lobby. Before they couldreach the door, Jimmy heard a strange cracking sound and looked up. A large piece of the ceiling had broken off and was falling right over them.
"Look out!' He yelled, shoving Cecellia out of the way. He dived away as the debris hit the floor and broke into pieces.
Jimmy looked up, ready to grab Cecellia's hand again, but then he was greeted with a terrible sight. Gary had grabbed her. He was holding her by the ponytail and had the huge barrel of an automatic pistol pressed against her temple.