Finn was right. There are like, no people here. Half of the seventy people I saw initially are gone. Without a trace. I mean, attendance isn’t exactly part of the final grade, but that doesn’t excuse just ditching. Damn.

  Finn’s letting me copy his notes for now. I can hardly read what’s written, but I will make do. I spoke to Mr. Carter before the class started, and he said I could hand them in by the end of this class. I squint at the poorly formed letters on his paper. I eventually give up and stare at him for a moment.

  ‘What?’ He whispers once he catches my gaze.

  ‘What is this?’ I gesture to his paper.

  ‘Uh–notes?’

  ‘Yes I know that–’ my whisper turns more aggressive, ‘I mean, what is this handwriting?’

  I swear, Finn’s only flaw as a man is this writing.

  ‘How do you study with this? How did you pass your classes with this?’ I gesture angrily at it. I’m not mad at him, though. I’m more disgusted and bewildered.

  ‘I don’t know,’ he shrugs, suppressing a snicker.

  ‘Do you want me to read it to you instead? Since you can’t seem to figure it out,’ he offers gently. With words like that, usually comes a tone of passive-aggression. Not with him, though.

  ‘I guess…’ I spin my pen in my hand.

  He starts to read off his notes, but I can hardly listen. I just like the sound of his voice, honestly.

  That voice completely shuts off within a millisecond, along with the rest of the class. Silence. I’m confused for a moment. What had I missed? I glance around the room–

  Oh my god.

  ‘Tomi Nemoto! She’s in here, right!?’ A man yells from the door. He’s holding a gun. Oh my god he’s holding a gun.

  Mr. Carter stays oddly calm, though.

  ‘Why would you need her? She’s in my afternoon class,’ he calmly, but firmly announces.

  ‘I’m under no obligation to tell you that information, sir,’ the man starts. He points the gun at Mr. Carter. ‘I know you’re lying. The boss said that she's here. Boss-man never lies.’

  ‘Hey, there’s no need for violence, now. I told you she isn't here, and that’s final.’

  ‘Boss-man said she looks ‘xactly like her brother…’ The man scans the room, until his eyes land on me.

  I freeze. What? How does he know about Heki? My blood runs cold. His gun slowly points up, right at my head. My breathing shallows immediately. Sure, I’ve felt like I was going to die before. I might actually die today.

  ‘Wh–’ The breath leaves my lips in a wheeze. I’d never been this terrified in my life. My body feels cold, and I swear I can already feel my fingers rotting away. My heart pounds in my chest. It’s the funeral drum.

  ‘Alright, sweetie. Two choices y’got, right? Y’either come with me, or get ya brains pumped with lead. What’s it gonna be?’ He spins the gun, wearing a smirk.

  ‘Sir, leave my classroom. You will not be threatening my students while I’m around,’ Mr. Carter’s glare is icy against the man. If looks could kill, this man would be twelve feet in the ground already.

  ‘What’re you gonna do about it? Ya look like y’just came out the nursing home,’ he taunts.

  I raise an eyebrow at that. Mr. Carter couldn’t be a day over thirty years old.

  ‘Simple. You're going to point that gun away from my student, or I’ll have to take measures into my own hands,’ he grabs his phone. The man’s gun focuses off of me, and onto him.

  I can't help but let out a sigh of relief, but I feel bad for Mr. Carter.

  ‘C’mon, teach, just let me take the girl,’ a lazy grin spreads across his face as he squeezes the trigger. Not so much that it fires, but enough to threaten.

  ‘Absolutely not,’ he picks up his phone and starts dialing.

  ‘Hey hey! Put down th’phone!’ A loud bang echoes through the classroom. Had he shot?

  My eyes had instinctively closed with the bang, so I don’t know. I open one eye. Mr. Carter is still there, still glaring daggers at the other man.

  ‘A fake gun? Really?’ Mr. Carter crosses his arms before continuing, ‘you fuckers have gotten sloppier each year,’ he shakes his head, sounding more like a disappointed father.

  The other man goes silent for a moment, and sways side to side.

  ‘Well… they wouldn’t let me onto campus with a real one…’ he murmurs under his breath.

  ‘Idiot…’ Mr. Carter groans.

  ‘Don’t call me a fuckin’ idiot! I still got a knife!’ He cries out, pulling a steel kitchen knife from his hoodie pocket. How it didn’t cut the fabric is a wonder to me.

  ‘Really? Is that rubber?’ Mr. Carter squints at it, adjusting his glasses. ‘Nope, that is actual steel. Okay.’

  ‘Yeah. Yeah! Now gimme the girl!’ He steps further into the classroom and approaches the seats.

  Before this bitch even gets one step further, he’s out on the floor. Every single person in the room gasps. A chorus of surprise.

  ‘Wow. They just get dumber and dumber every year, hm?’ Mr. Carter is crouched down next to him, examining the body.

  ‘What–what the fuck,’ Finn leans closer to me and whispers, ‘I’m not–like–hallucinating right? That actually happened?’

  I slowly nod, mouth still completely agape.

  ‘Class is dismissed, shoo. Except Tomi. You stay,’ He flicks his hand towards the door.

  Once everyone is gone, he beckons for me to come down.

  ‘Tomi, I’m only going to say this once. You need to leave this campus, hell, even leave the city.’

  ‘What–why?’ I exclaim. I get it, that could’ve been a terrible situation, but he can’t just tell me that and expect me to blindly follow.

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  ‘I’ve had experience with those people. That one is just an idiot. Next time they see you, if you don’t cooperate, they’ll kill you,’ his tone is frantic, worried even.

  ‘Wait–who’s “they”, and why are they even targeting me in the first place?’ I throw my hands up. He’s being too vague, especially since I thought my life was genuinely about to be over.

  ‘I can’t exactly explain, but I know a guy who can. Do you have a car?’ Mr. Carter puts a hand on my shoulder, gray eyes holding deep concern. It’s clear he has some sort of history with whoever the hell is onto me.

  ‘Of course I have a car,’ I nod.

  ‘Good. Take you and your friends, and go, okay? If they can’t find you, they’ll go for your friends next.’

  ‘Yes–yes–I get that, but where am I supposed to go?’

  ‘Uh–shit. Here,’ he fishes his phone from his pocket, ‘do you have a small piece of paper that I could use?’ He glances at my bookbag, then back at me.

  I nod in response. I pull my bookbag closer to me and grab my notebook. I rip out a decent-sized corner and hand it to him.

  ‘This work?’

  ‘Yes. Thank you, Tomi.’ He scribbles something down and hands it to me.

  9906 Coach Ln. Fair Oaks CA 95628

  Wait a damn minute. This address looks very familiar.

  I hastily fish my phone from my pocket, and pull up the photo I had taken two nights ago. The addresses are identical. My eyes widen.

  ‘You know about the website? That LATruth thing?’ I don’t mean to pry, but I most definitely do mean to pry.

  ‘Of course. One of the people there was my daughter. Mina Carter,’ his eyes become glossy. Dear god.

  ‘I… I am so sorry.’ I don’t even know what to say.

  ‘Anyway, enough about me. Go. Shoo. Get out of here,’ he waves me off and rubs his eyes. I hear a faint sniffle too.

  I nod and grab my stuff. I power-walk straight out of that door, and into the bare, liminal hallways.

  ?

  I immediately call Remi first. She doesn’t answer. Shit.

  ‘Leave a message at the beep,’ the AI speaks to me over the phone. It beeps, and I get straight to the point.

  ‘Meet me at my dorm tonight, I’ll explain later.’

  Alright, one message down. Should I bring Finn too? He’s not necessarily a friend, but that bitch saw us sitting together during class, so maybe I should. I approach the exit of the campus building and push it open like the damn FBI. From there, I start walking to the dorm faster than I’ve ever even ran.

  It’s a beautiful morning, I must admit, but there’s no time to admire anything. Especially with something as serious as this. I said I wouldn’t choose unless they made me choose. Well, I ate those words and I choked until I almost died. Yeah, I have to bring Finn.

  I dial his number as well, but I’m running out of breath.

  ‘Hey. Is everything okay?’ He asks in that same soft tone.

  ‘Yeah–meet me at my dorm tonight. Dorm 3, room 402,’ I explain breathlessly before hanging up. I bet he’s completely confused.

  I don’t have time to further elaborate. I just need to get home and pack. Actually, I should further elaborate. If they don’t have anything packed, then both of them are just going to have to be possessionless. I know for a fact Remi wouldn’t like that at least.

  As I’m walking, I make a group text between the two of them.

  ‘Oh yeah. I forgot to mention to bring at least one bag of your stuff’

  I sigh, and stop for a moment. I wheeze like an old person. Goddamn, how fast had I been walking? I scan my surroundings; the dorm should only be a block away. Should I book it? Nah, I’d probably die on the way there. I am not in shape in the slightest.

  I keep walking at the same pace. Fast, but not running I don’t think. I eventually make it to my dorm building, and stop right outside the door. I put my hands on my knees, trying desperately to catch my breath. I look around the parking lot, just to make sure my car is there. If I’m to keep me and my friends safe, I have to at least have that. Good. It’s there. A soft sigh leaves my lips and my shoulders relax.

  I scan my student-ID before walking into the building. I stride through the hall with urgency, and reach the elevators. I press the button.

  ‘I’m sorry. This elevator is currently out of service.’

  I groan, slapping my hand over my face.

  I try the other set of elevators behind me.

  ‘I’m sorry. This elevator is currently out of service.’

  I want to scream.

  Do I seriously have to take the stairs? I stare at the entrance to the stairwell. I have to get up there, one way or another.

  Ugh.

  I guess I’d better get climbing.

  I open the door to the stairwell, a look of what I can only imagine as pure despair on my face. I trudge up the first flight of stairs. Only seven more to go…

  By the fourth flight, I’m already exhausted. I should not have strained myself that badly just to get to my dorm. By the end of the stairs, I’m a seasoned war veteran that has seen much, much better days. Luckily, my dorm is right up front. Closer to the stairwell. I consider crawling to my dorm, but I’d probably get a shit ton of weird looks if people come out into the hallways. I check the time. It’s around twelve; nobody should be in their dorms. I think the dining hall is serving pizza. Everyone seems to like that garbage for some reason. The coast should be clear…

  Ah, fuck it.

  I begin to crawl. I may feel like an infant, but it saves my legs any more of the trouble. If someone, anyone saw me like this, I would simply curl up into a ball and die. I get to my door, and reach up to open it. I suddenly realize that of course, it’s locked. I sigh, and pat my jeans down for my carabiner. That has my keys on it, at least I hope. I find my keys and finally unlock my dorm. At long last.

  I reluctantly pick myself up off the ground, and immediately make my way to my room to change. Who knows what’s been on the dorm floors? It was probably a dumb decision to crawl, but hey, it worked out.

  I grab the old suitcase I originally packed my necessities in. Oh man. It has only been two days of being in college, and I already have to move.

  I pack six sets of clothes, my toiletries, and my phone and laptop charger. That’s all I should need for now. I’ll be able to come back once this is all over.

  Right?

  ?

  A knock echoes through the entire dorm as I’m lounging on my couch. I rise with a start and go to answer the door. Both Remi and Finn are here. Great!

  ‘Hey, guys. Come on in,’ I rush them both in before closing the door and getting the most comfortable spot on the couch.

  ‘What’s all this about?’ Remi asks, while Finn sets two bags down on the floor next to him. That must be both of their stuff.

  ‘I don’t exactly know myself, but what I do know is that apparently I’m being hunted.’

  …

  Silence. For at least twenty seconds.

  ‘What?’ Finn’s expression drops.

  ‘Yeah. And if I’m not found, they’re gonna get to you guys next, so I’m taking you with me,’ I demand. This isn’t an ask. They have to come.

  I’m not letting my only friends die because of me.

  ‘Wait–you can’t just do that. You know I’ve got a life outside of this, right? And right now, it’s going pretty well,’ Remi responds next.

  ‘Well you won’t have a life in general if you don’t come with. Come on, Remi. I’m not going to let you die,’ I plead, while she just shakes her head.

  ‘Come on, Remi. It’s life or death, I swear by my mother,’ I make an ‘X’ over my heart.

  Her silence is enough to tell me that she’s starting to cave.

  All it needs is one little push, and I’m probably golden. I take a deep breath, and try to figure out how to word this in a way that she could understand. In a way someone who hasn’t lost a close family member like I have, would.

  ‘There could also be a way that I could find Heki. I want you along for that ride as well,’ my voice cracks with emotion, ‘I really want you with me.’

  Remi’s expression softens, while Finn just looks completely confused.

  ‘Wait–who’s that?’

  ‘I’ll explain later, shush.’ I hate to have to dismiss him so blatantly like that, but this is much more important than explaining who my brother is.

  …

  ‘Fine. I’ll do it,’ Remi eventually nods, although still with a hint of skepticism.

  ‘So… we leave now or,’ Finn’s voice trails off.

  ‘Yes. Everyone follow me.’