Longer waits mean longer chapters - remember that. B)
Virgil sighed as he reread the same sentence in his science textbook, mind on other things. Well, actually, one thing in particular.
Scott.
It wasn't fair that his older brother had been barking at him more frequently than usual. It was hurting his heart. Everything Virgil did lately seemed to upset Scott and the younger boy wished they would stop fighting. He wished things would go back to normal again. He wished his dad would come home to take care of them. At this rate his father would never come home and the gap in his heart would never be filled again.
It sucked.
Virgil zoned back into his class. His teacher was talking to them about some sort of class experiment they were going to do. Virgil sighed. He didn't care about his work anymore. He just wanted to stay in his bedroom, on his own, locked away from everyone. What he really wanted was to finish his new sketch of his mom and frame it on his wall so she could watch over him and do a better job of it than his father did.
"Alright class, I want you to work in threes for this experiment. As soon as you're all paired up, make your way over to the tables at the back and start gathering the equipment you need." Mrs Jackson expressed as the class dispersed. Virgil remained in his seat and forced a smile as Mark and Lance walked over to him.
"Hey dude." Lance greeted.
"How are you feeling now?" Mark asked.
"I'm okay, thanks." he nodded. "Guess we're working together?"
"If that's okay with you?"
"Of course. Well, we should get moving, I guess." Virgil hauled himself up and out of his seat and dragged himself across the room, his friends following.
The boys made it over to the work bench and started setting up the equipment. They were just getting started when a faint shattering noise ricocheted around the room. The students quietened down to listen out for the noise again but it stopped. A few of the teenagers looked to their teacher as she pondered it herself, her brow furrowing into a frown.
"Miss, what was that?"
"Be quiet a moment, please." she hushed them.
The noise sounded again, louder this time. It echoed from the corridor into the open science laboratory and Mrs Jackson's eyes widened. She ran for the door and slammed it shut.
"What is it, miss?"
"Everybody, down on the floor, NOW! Under the tables!" she commanded, boarding up the door using a few of the stools. "Behind the cupboards and cabinets if you can! There are plenty for you to hide behind or inside!" She crouched down herself and slid under one of the tables. When they were all in position, she spoke, "Class, what you just heard was the sound of gunfire." she paused as panicked whispers hissed throughout the room. "What I need for all of you to do is be quiet. Don't make a sound. I know this is scary but we must remain quiet, okay?"
Virgil was still in a daze. One minute he'd been standing upright, listening to Lance's story about Mr Sweep falling into a puddle, and the next moment he'd been shoved to the floor by Mark who had been vigilant in abiding their teacher's sudden instructions, with the boys then crawling under the nearest table like lemmings. The three boys crouched in a small space behind the cupboard, a number of other students hiding nearby.
Outside the classroom a lot more shouting could now be heard, the loud screams of students following. Virgil's eyes widened and he shot a worried glance at his two friends, who equally wore frightened expressions. Just what was going on? The shouting became more distinguishable and Virgil registered the words, 'move', 'gunfire' and 'hostage'. A collective gasp came from his other classmates, signalling they'd heard it too.
They knew they were in trouble.
There was a bang at the door as one of the intruders tried opening it, causing a few of the class to squeak as others shushed them. The chairs propping up the door screeched on the cold floor, causing the outsider to growl and try pushing it open again. Virgil felt his breath shudder. He remained in a foetal position, frozen under the desk as the banging continued. He saw Lance clutching the table and Mark attempting not to panic, releasing ragged breaths.
"What's going on here?" a voice snapped outside the room.
"They've blocked the door!"
"Well barge it open then, you idiot!"
"With what?"
A large thump collided with the door, followed by a pathetic, "Ow!" from the first man. Another bump caused the chairs to give way and the door flew open, banging against the wall. Two men entered, looking around at the apparently empty classroom.
From where he was hidden, Virgil peeked through a gap in the side of the cupboard and saw that they were carrying large guns. The first man was short and plump, looking a little red in the face like he didn't really know what he was doing. The second man, however, looked cold and calculated. He had dark hair and a weasel-like face.
"There's nobody here, Ritter!"
"I can see that, fool! Go and check the other classrooms!"
"But-"
"GO!" Ritter shoved his shorter colleague out of the door.
Virgil watched as Ritter turned back towards the tables. He slowly started walking towards them then stopped, smirking to himself. He then continued his journey to the first table, and by that point he walked out of Virgil's view. The young Tracy clenched his fists as the man rounded the table. Suddenly, a large slap on the table was heard, causing several of the teenagers to gasp, revealing their hiding places. Ritter laughed and shot the ceiling with his gun, causing the teacher and her students to clamber out from under the tables, Virgil included.
Ritter herded the class to the middle of the room and shot the ceiling again, causing them to quieten down.
"Nice try at hiding, kiddos, but not good enough!" he grinned, turning to Mrs Jackson. "Cooperate and you and the kids will be fine. I need you all to make your way over to the school canteen, right now. In an orderly fashion, if you please." He held the gun on them. "And don't try anything stupid, because I'm feeling particularly trigger-happy today."
"You heard what he said, children." she complied stiffly, leading the class away.
The students followed their teacher down the corridor, holding their hands behind their heads. Virgil, Lance and Mark stood shoulder to shoulder as they were directed into the cafeteria, meeting up with other students from different year groups along the way. Although inwardly freaking out, Virgil tried to remain calm and started looking around at their captors. A lot of them were wearing ski-masks but some were not, and Virgil figured the ones without were probably the leaders, like the Ritter guy who had captured his class.
Arriving in the canteen, Virgil was overwhelmed by the mass of students already in there. It was almost full to the brim with practically the entire school. All of the teachers had been shoved into the corner of the room furthest from the exits, including his own, leaving the kids exposed. He noticed a lot of them had been knocked out. The hijackers obviously wanted the children to be unprotected.
It suddenly dawned on Virgil that he'd forgotten about his brothers. He quickly scanned the room to find any signs of them and noticed that Scott's entire year group seemed to be missing. Virgil figured that since they were all cooped up in the sports hall doing their exams, the hijackers figured it was easier to keep them there than bring the hoard up to the cafeteria. He then looked around for John. He couldn't see his blonde haired brother but did recognize a few students from his class, causing Virgil to frown.
Just where was John?
A few more gunshots were fired, a wave of panic blanketing the trapped students. Virgil and his friends were huddled together in the last remaining space in the middle of the room, next to the breakfast bar. They were forced onto their knees by Ritter who then jumped up onto the breakfast bar, firing a few more rounds into the ceiling to quieten everyone down. He gestured for his colleagues to guard the doors and grinned at the entire room.
"Sorry for the intrusion, everyone." he said unapologetically, reloading his gun. "I know this must be a little bit stressful for you all, but if you decide to comply with our demands, everything will turn out okay. You'll all go home with an amazing adventure to tell." he finished reloading his gun, holding it securely in his arms. "However, if you fail to comply, then let's just say your parents will start have to planning a few premature funerals."
His comment set a chain of shrieks and cries from the terrified cohort. Virgil scowled.
Ritter smiled at the chaos he'd created, "Since we're in a school, I'm going to teach you a few life lessons for free, because I'm actually a pretty decent guy once you get to know me." he smirked, walking the length of the breakfast bar. "So! Lesson one. This, or rather - this situation, is a hostage situation. Can anyone tell me what a hostage is?"
At nobody coming forward, Ritter shot into the ceiling, causing several more screams.
"ANSWER THE QUESTION!" he yelled.
A brave student held up his hand. "A-A prisoner?"
"Very good!" Ritter nodded proudly. "Which means..."
"W-We're all prisoners." the student finished lamely.
"Correct! Ten points for you, my good sir. Now! Lesson two. Can anybody tell me what a ransom is?"
A female student held up her hand, and Ritter pointed at her. "M-Money. It's when y-you trade money for s-something."
"Good!" he chortled. "So now we've established that you're all hostages, and we're looking for a ransom. Now, here's the fun part! Although asking for a ransom for each and every one of you would be fun, I think it could be a little tedious. I mean, how many kids are in this room? A lot, right? I couldn't be doing with asking that many parents. So, instead, me and my colleagues are looking for three students. Just three students! And don't worry about who we're going to pick, because we've already decided. They have a very rich dad, you see, so it would be more beneficial to me and my colleagues if we held those three hostage instead." Ritter smirked.
Virgil's blood ran cold.
"So, if you give up these three individuals, we'll leave and let everyone else go! But if you don't give up these individuals, we continue to hold the school and-" he paused, eyeing up the front row of students, "-we start shooting you. One by one. Starting with this row!" he claimed dramatically, whipping his arm at them.
The students in the front row shrieked and gasped, hugging each other.
"That make things clearer? Good. Now then, I suppose you're all wondering who the lucky three are, hm?" he mused. "Well, if you haven't already figured it out, we're looking for Scott, John, and Virgil - the Tracys!"