Lucy's Point of View
This was crazy. This was absolutely insane.
But it was true. Something was wrong and it needed to be fixed. And if no one was going to help me fix it, would have to do it on my own.
I held the notebook in front of my face. Already five pages of my tiny hand writing were filled with conspiracies and all the evidence I had. The chemicals, the comparison between the acid wound and the body's burns, everything down to the new evidence I found.
When Officer Mason told me the case was closed, he opened the case file to show me. Instantaneously, I took a mental note and scanned the entire profile. Most on the information I already knew, but one thing marked my mind: a shoe footprint uncovered by forensics. Could that be important?
Before I could decide, a knock came at my door and I shoved the notebook behind me. "Come in."
Mrs. Lucia entered with a tired but sweet hello. "I'm going to turn in. Is there anything else you need, dear?" Faking a smile, I shook my head 'no' and wished her a good night. The close of the door was my signal. I was off.
I threw the bed sheet off of me, revealing my black sweatshirt and jeans to disguise me in the dark in the night. In the mirror, I threw my hair into a high pony tail. Once in the mirror, I took a glimpse at myself a different way. What I was about to do could get me in a hell of a lot of trouble.
But I could do this. I had to do this, and I was stalling. I snuck out through the patio door (which I promised to lock, but "forgot"). Once the cool breeze touched my face, a small shiver of realization went down my spine. Here we go. One and for all.
It took me about a twenty-minutes' walk, but eventually I made it to the school. No lights were on and the world seemed to be scared silent. Hiding behind a bush, I spotted the window I picked out earlier that day. It was high above the hallway, creating a high chance no one would bother to fix the broken and faulty lock. With three pressed breaths, I sprinted across the street and hid out of sight from the security cameras, and made my way to the window.
The window was double-handled, with one on the inside and one on the outside. If I remembered correctly, the lock was broken due to the inside handle pushed to the left too far, slightly pushing the window up. If I could push the outside handle the same way, then a lever would be created. The window would pop open, virtually unnoticeable and silent.
With all my might, I pushed down on the right side. Slowly, the handle moved, but a sudden force of adrenaline cause it to suddenly snap into place, taking my thumb underneath it. I recoiled and shook my hand forcefully, cursing under my breath. But the pain quickly receded when I saw my plan was successful. The window sprang open and I pushed it to the inside. The window's quiet squeak seemed to scream down the empty corridors. Crawling across the top of the lockers where I landed, I closed the window and hopped down, lunging into the ground to break my fall.
I was relieved I picked a window only the hallway next to Mr. Siever's lab because I could barely see my hand in front of my face as ominous flickering lights barely illuminated the dark. Using my fingertips as guides, I shuffled down the hallway. And my eyes were barely starting to adjust when a bright light beamed onto my face when I turned the corner. Who's here? It's 11:45; everyone, even the janitors, should be home.
My heart quickened. I knew if these people saw me sneaking around the school, I would have no escape and would be in a shit load of trouble. Doing the best to calm myself down, I first tried to figure out how far from this door Mr. Siever's lab was. Maybe I could~
~But wait. By the familiar physics poster board (the only one in the bottom floor of the school), I suddenly apprehended that this was Mr. Sievers room. My heart fell as I figured this whole mission may have been a bust. I can't get in there. I bet you anything that is Mr. Siever himself! What can I do now? Maybe if I see into the room I can…surprise him…or…something. God, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, do I?
On all fours, I crawled to the edge of the door frame. My back against the wall, I pulled my make-up mirror and angled it toward the door's window, taking extreme precaution not to reflect light off of it, creating a noticeable flash.
On the mirror came a reflected image of (as I had suspected) Mr. Sievers. But someone else was in the room as well. A man dressed in a black suit spoke harshly to Mr. Sievers, who returned it right back with strong words that flowed under the door. Curiosity overcame me. What are they talking about? In an instant, I powered-up my iPod with iTalk and began to record the conversation. Placing it into my back pocket, I cautiously rolled around to press my ear on the door and my left hand on the door knob so my leaning wouldn't open it.
"I'm just saying, John. This was close." That must have been the other man, because it's not Mr. Siever's voice.
"Oh, shut up, Andrews, I know! I know!" A loud crash came from inside, followed by another dirty cuss.
"Calm yourself, Sievers." The man's voice was stern, but I could sense hidden fear in his voice. "You don't want to end up like Ziegler, do you?"
My hand squeezed into a tight ball. I knew Mr. Sievers was involved. I knew it!
"Of course not, and I would never betray anyone like he did in the first place." The garbage disposal rang with a grumbling roar. "But there!" Mr. Sievers almost cheered in relief. "All evidence is gone. Problem solved…right?" Fuck! The chemicals! Goddamn, I was so close!
"Well, good," The man replied, not any more relieved or any less angry. "Next time, don't be so naïve to use proligneous acid in a class lab right after we 'removed' someone with it. The Illuminati will not be so forgiving of your stupid mistakes next time."
My hand slapped to my face to hide my gasp. The Illuminati? THE Illuminati? The Free Masons, the society formed hundreds of years ago? Flashed of everything I knew about them shot into my brain: they eye of the American dollar's pyramid, and so on. Them?! THEY'RE behind this?! No fucking way!
Oh my God! I realized suddenly. Please, PLEASE, tell me I got that on record! My remaining hand flew to my back pocket, feeling for the iPod.
But it wasn't there. Wha~?
"Looking for this?" A deep voice from behind me made my skin grow cold. I spun around to see two men wearing the same suit as the person inside. Their arms were folded on their chests and they gazed down upon me. I saw the man who spoke lift my iPod into the air for me to see, break it in half with one fist crunch. "You're in a whole bunch of trouble, missy."
I gulped and flew backwards, my hand twitching the door knob. I tumbled into the science lab, my head colliding with the floor. I looked up to see Mr. Sievers and the other man gasp, taking a step back. I flipped over into a crouching position with my heart beating in my ears.
"Someone was a little too curious on what you guys were saying." A hand flew behind me and grabbed my hair. I cried as it thrust me upwards to a stand. My hands threw to the other cold, clammy fist to try to regain freedom.
I made weary eye contact with Mr. Sievers, who looked as scared as I was. He quickly cleared his complexion as he asked how much I had heard.
"Too much, I'm afraid." My captor tutted. "It looks like we've got another problem to fix tonight."
Something loudly buzzed behind me. Using my peripheral vision, I saw a blue light fizzle on top of a small device. A taser! "This shouldn't take long, though." The device buzzed again, but this time, right next to my ear.
With a quick jolt, I dodged the taser and shoved the back of my sneaker right into the groin of my captor. He recoiled in pain, taking some of my hair with him as I jumped over his limp body and sprinted through the halls. "GET HER!"
Panting, I glanced around at my surroundings when I reached the next corridor. I need to get back to the window! Where is it?! WHERE AM I?!
Shouts and loud, clunky shoes quickly trailed behind me, motivating me to keep moving forward, even though I had no idea where to go. In a full sprint, I made a sharp left at the end of the locker row, causing my feet to slide into the wall from the wet floors. I did my best to stiffen my cries, but the smallest whimper I made gave my location away. "This way! I found her!"
"Cut her off!"
Cut me off?! Cut me off from where?! I don't know where not to go! My shoulder throbbing painfully, I gritted my teeth and headed off to my right. Across the hall, I spotted a tablecloth-covered table. With a swift glance around, I crawled under it and curled myself into a ball. Please don't find me. I prayed with shaking hands. Please, God, don't let them find me…
Footsteps grew closer, increasing my heart and breathing rate. My eyes had completely adjusted to the dark surroundings, and I could see under the crease of the cloth that one person was standing directly next to the table. My eyes widened as my jaw dropped. All I could do was stay there like a sitting duck, hoping with all my might he wouldn't find me. Anticipation grew as the world fell completely silent and still. And I waited to see what would happen.
The shoes shifted to the left and right, its owner searching frantically for his target. They stopped moving for a second, and began to walk away.
I threw my head back in relief. Thank you, God. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I let out a silent breath and closed my eyes.
Suddenly, the tablecloth was thrown up as a hand flew under the table and grabbed my ankle. I screamed at the top of my lungs as I was dragged like an animal out into the open. A man toppled onto my squirming body. With all my might, I couldn't throw him off. He was too big and too strong, and I was stuck; I was caught as the man lifted up my sweatshirt and collide the buzzing taser on my bare skin.
I squirmed in pain as I felt my muscles cramp and lose their function. My arms and legs were sprawled all around the floor. The man rose off of me as other blurs of people huddled around. My eyes began to roll around in my head and lose vision.
"What do we do now?" One asked.
"We do as we do with everyone else who gets in our way. We solve the problem." The black silhouettes grabbed all four of my limbs and lifted my lifeless body off the ground, as a burlap sack was placed over my head and shut me up for good.