LUNA'S POV
My heart has ceased to function entirely.
All words lost, all I can hear is the shallow breathing of my bandmates, who are stunned to the core themselves.
"No." Mazzy interjects feebly, taking the paper from my hands. Fingers weak, it doesn't take much effort to pry the paper from my hands. Mazzy scans the paper feverishly, as if searching for more information. However, what we have is enough.
I watch with ever-increasing dread as the paper is passed from person to person, the same fearful expression etched into their faces.
The paper reflects all of our assumptions, yet incredible fears. What we believed is true, and we can't turn back now that we possess such information.
"Let's look on the bright side." Sully pipes up feebly, as if trying to reassure himself. "We have evidence to rat out Michelle and Doug."
"That's true, I guess." I murmur. "But… how are we going to tell Mrs. V?" I manage, and Sam sports an apprehensive expression coupled with a hard swallow.
"She's gonna be so heartbroken." She responds meekly.
"Dudes." It's Alex's turn to pipe up feebly within the circle. The trauma of having traveled the vents as well as discovered the news of Michelle and Doug is evident in their features. They look fatigued yet high strung. "We're gonna be in so much trouble for coming in here."
The remaining four of us simultaneously share a glance. As if my anxiety couldn't be any more substantial, Mazzy brings up the possibility of expulsion from the school, and my heart lurches greater still.
Expelled? From Royal Woods High School? Where would I go? My thoughts race, though I manage to come to a firm conclusion to the cacophony of thoughts racing through my mind. My friends would be beside me, no doubt. We all committed this crime together, so as long as we're expelled as one, so be it.
Such reassuring thoughts don't do much to relieve the churning in my stomach. Sam herself seems to have a hard time processing such information. She teal strands of hair obscure her downcast face, and she puts on an air of confidence with the hope of hiding her obvious distress. I reach over to grasp her hand in mine, squeezing as a silent way of reassurance.
"We can't make objections, dudes." I state in as uplifting a tone as I can muster. Such assurances seem to help, for Sam emits a slightly heartier sniffle of relief. "Everything might turn out just fine." I add.
Having an evidently hard time believing me, my bandmates share puzzled expressions. It doesn't last very long, however, for Sully is quick to stow the paper away within his pocket.
"Well, I'm not staying in this school for longer than necessary." Sully states with the faintest waver to his voice. "I'll take the rear again, and Mazzy can lead us."
"Yup." Mazzy responds almost too nonchalantly, steeling herself. Alex exhales as we depart back to where we entered.
As Mazzy uses a filing cabinet as leverage to hoist herself into the ventilation shaft, Alex pipes up beside me.
"Is there… another option?" Alex questions, earning a puzzled expression from Mazzy.
"You mean…" Mazzy begins, trying to grasp Alex's intent. "Another escape plan?"
Suddenly rather bashful and uncertain, Alex couples a shrug and a nod.
"Y-yeah. I mean." Alex's speaking quickens rather drastically, the occasional stammer here and there. "I wasn't doing very well in there. I was p-pretty close to cracking."
They're gasping now, searching for an adequate way to respond. From her perch atop the filing cabinet, Mazzy glances at Sully apprehensively. There's an evident concern in her features that Sully reciprocates.
Alex, I-" Sully begins with the prospect of upsetting news.
"I'll go with them." Sam interjects, moving to stand beside the distressed individual. Mazzy frowns with incredulity.
"And where will you go?" Mazzy asks concernedly, though her questioning comes off as accusatory, what with her overwhelming worry. "Michelle and Doug are literally scouring the halls looking for prey."
It's obvious that the idea of being separated distills a twinge of fear within Mazzy, something that I can personally relate to.
"We'll be careful." Sam states, placing an arm around Alex's shoulders. "With enough caution, I'm sure we can avoid the Freakazoids."
With the amusing nickname hanging in the air, Sam provides Alex with a delighted wink. Alex's stiffness subsides, albeit only slightly. Sam's words are enough to provide a shred of amusement within the tense atmosphere of the file room. Mazzy snorts with suppressed laughter, though the fear still plays across her features.
"You'll be safe, won't you?" Mazzy finally asks once her laughter ceases. I can't recall seeing Mazzy so high-strung; she leapt to the task of leading us through the school tonight without a second thought. Such an action must be taking a toll on her, it seems.
Sam nods curtly. "I promise we'll be safe." She responds. With the hope of alleviating Mazzy's concern further, Sam draws her phone out of her denim jacket pocket.
"We'll keep in touch." Sam adds.
Sully and Mazzy ease up slightly at Sam's words of reassurance, though I won't deny that my heart hammers to the point of bursting at the idea of being separated from my bandmates.
I take the couple steps towards Sam, wrapping her in a tight hug. She rests her cheek on my shoulder as we embrace, the two of us gripping onto each other with desperation. Maybe, if I hold her tight enough, she won't leave.
"Please be safe, Sam. I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt." I voice hoarsely, and Sam nods her head. Her lack of a verbal response says a lot about how she's feeling; I'm honestly quite surprised that I have the courage to speak myself.
Upon breaking away from the embrace, I take Alex into a hug, wishing them a safe journey.
"Hey, we'll get you dudes some snacks from the teacher's lounge." Alex jokes, winking at the lot of us. Though it's evident that they're stricken with fear, their anxiety has lessened at the change of plan.
Sully is quick to pull their sibling into a tight hug.
"Alex, stay safe, ok? For your brother. I can't bear to lose anyone else." Sully murmurs, and Alex nods within their brother's shoulder.
"Me neither." Alex's eyes soften as they speak, leaving a deafening silence in their wake. A silence that Mazzy is quick to disturb.
"Hey, nobody is dying." Mazzy pipes up from the entrance to the ventilation shaft. "Not on my watch." Mazzy provides a weak, one sided grin. Closer to a grimace, perhaps. However, I can't help but smile myself at the comment. It subconsciously brings me back to our shenanigans in the band room at school: joking about who-knows-what, exploding glitter in each other's faces, and choking on our sodas with the onslaught of laughter.
Such reminiscence has me itching to leave the school more than ever.
Sully's eyes glistening with subconscious tears, the two siblings break away. There's a freeze frame; a mental screenshot in my head of the five of us congregated and prepared to go our separate ways.
Then, everything happens so fast. Exchanging anxious farewells, we depart our separate ways, and before I know it, I'm wiggling back into the tight atmosphere of the ventilation shaft.
I experience a deep longing for Sam's company, as I usually do within moments of anxiety such as now. The image of Michelle and Doug's signatures scrawling the bottom of the page replay themselves within my mind over and over, and I force my mind to direct itself elsewhere. It happens to turn to Mick Swagger's new album, and I find myself idly humming along to a song that I can't really recall the answer to. Such information could probably be found in the recesses of my mind, but the overwhelming emotion and anxiety that I'm trying so hard to suppress is drawing my mind to a blank.
A few minutes pass in silence, the only sound being the clunk of our knees hitting the ventilation underneath. Lugging my body along sheepishly, I'm not prepared for the loud chiming noise that plagues me.
The annoying chime of a xylophone ricochets within the vents, much to Mazzy's dismay and sheer horror. She feverishly claws at her side, drawing out her phone from her pocket.
"Mazzy, turn that off." I hiss through my teeth, though it's evident that Mazzy is working towards doing just that. My heart hammers with sudden adrenaline and fear, and my jaw hurts from the sheer pressure of my teeth grinding together.
"Dude, that's the most annoying ringtone on the planet. Why did you choose that one?!" Sully pitches in from the back of the line.
Mazzy silences the call, though the faint hum of the vibration continues on as she gazes at her phone's bright screen. The silence is now close to deafening, and I squeeze my eyes shut, as if thwarting away any oncoming evil.
"Dudes." Mazzy begins. "It's Sam and Alex."
Answer it. I want to scream, but there's no need. Mazzy's finger is already jabbing at the "answer" button, and my heart stops at the prospect of bad news. Somehow, the silence that follows is louder than the ringtone itself.
"Hello?" Sam's voice pipes up quietly and feebly from the other end of the line. My knees, reddened and sore from our travels through the vents, turn to jelly upon hearing her voice. Though it's muffled through the call, hearing Sam's voice brings me never-ending relief and joy. I'm almost surprised by the small smile that lights up my expression amid the churning anxiety in my gut.
"Are you guys ok?" Mazzy questions with desperation, her voice wavering.
"We're doing alright. We're nearing the back doors. Are you guys close?" Sam asks.
Mazzy nods in response to Sam's question, though there's no way for Sam and Alex to tell through the phone. "Yeah, I'd say we're pretty close. We're still in the vents, but we'll be out shortly." Mazzy responds.
Sam releases a breathy sigh of relief. "Awesome." She states with as much enthusiasm as she can muster amid the tension. "We'll meet you at freedom."
Sam gives a sharp inhale, as if about to speak again, but Alex's voice, quiet but clear, is heard within the background. The fear within their voice has me digging my nails into my slick palms with the sheer terror of it.
"They're coming, Sam. They're-"
The dull beep of the phone alerts us that the call has ended. Then there is silence. Excruciating silence.