Hey! Don't look at me like that! This isn't my idea! You've been with me up to this point, you know as well as I do that there's no other way out of this! Ivy killed Elise! She was going to kill me! She actually did try to kill me! And the rest of the Honors!
Do you really think I can talk to her? Change my mind? She's a psychopath! A murderer! Plus we both know there's no stopping the mob mentality, but now I've got my own mob to match with hers! And my mob has powers! Powers that can destroy a Normal with one hit... Okay... you're right, maybe this isn't the best idea. Those kids are only puppets to the crazy puppet master. She's the one we have to deal with. I can't let those kids get hurt.
We round into the parking lot, the only light coming from the ever growing fires coming from the classrooms. And in this bright orange light we can see the damage that's already been done. Our cars, their cars, everyones cars are vandalized. Windows are smashed in, tires are slashed. There's no way anyone's driving out of here tonight.
"My car!" A guy yells, running out to it.
"We've got bigger problems!" Someone else shouts. I agree with them, even though Mom's not going to be happy with the damage on my own truck. But we'll deal with that later.
I hold out a hand to Parker, not looking away from the parking lot. He doens't take it. I look over at him in confusion, surprised to he his face. He doesn't look scared, or confused, or angry, like all the others around us. He just looks hurt.
"What's wrong?" I mumble, my hand falling back to my side.
"What's wrong?" He asks, stepping away. There's soot across his cheek, but I don't move to wipe it away, not now, not while he's like this.
"Yeah, that's what I asked." I shrug, concern crossing my face.
"You don't respect me, Tine!" He looks so upset. Are you kidding me? The school is literally on fire, there's a maniac out for our heads, an angry mob forming, and he's upset that I don't respect him?! I scoff at this, shaking my head.
"This is unbelieveble." I move away, towards the dorms. We need to keep moving. Find Ivy before she finds us.
"No, you can't just walk away from this!" Parker grabs my arm, pulling me back. I look back at him, down at my arm, and back up at him.
"Are you serious right now? Do you even realize what is going on? Out of everything that's going on right now, the biggest issue is that your feelings are hurt?" I yank my arm back, stepping away. He doesn't reach for me again. He'd be an idiot to.
"You think that because you're physically stronger than me that my opinions don't matter!" He whines, throwing his hands up.
"Is this because the throwing you out of the window thing?"
"Yes!"
"Parker, the building was on fire! If it were to collapse on one of us, I'd be the one to walk out alive. Not you. It had nothing to do with my level of respect for you!" I leave again, speed walking towards the dorms. He doesn't try to stop me, just tries to catch up, struggling to fall into step with me.
"It isn't just this! You do this all the time!"
"Oh really? Name one!" I spin on him, stopping suddenly.
"Well there was-" there's a sneeze. Right in my face. God! Again?! I'm wiping the disgusting moisture off my face when I hear another sneeze. By the time I open my eyes again, Parker's gone.
"Park?" I whisper, suddenly feeling very small. I hear another sneeze and Ivy apears again, right next to Maleah. She grabs her and sneezes again, the two of them disapearing. People start to notice, yelling at one another and scattering.
Ivy appears a third time, a fourth, snatching people and disappearing. "Scatter!" I heard someone scream.
"Hide!" Another yelled. I take a step back, taking it all in. There's no way to tell where she's going to come up next. But she can't keep doing this long, right? She's got to get tired out? Where is she even taking them?
I turn and run down the sidewalk towards the dorms. Only a few follow me, most choosing to dash between the cars. I see some others run back towards the burning classrooms, for some reason. I have no time to tell them why that's a stupid idea, I need to get out of here.
First thing's first, I need to find where she's taking them. The dorms? The woods? Back to the classrooms? Oh God, what if she's putting them back into the flames? I pause, suddnly unsure of what to do. What if she's going to kill them? Kill Parker...
I need to find Theo, I need all of the Normals. They have to see the moster that Ivy is. We have to unite against her. With her powers and the mob, there's no way we can face her. But with two mobs, one with all her powers? Maybe. Just maybe.
Without thinking about it anymore I break into a run. I run faster than I ever have before, throwing all of my strength into moving forward. I need to find Theo. I need to unite the mobs. I need to find Parker and the others. I need to stop the fires. I need to stop Ivy.
Okay, there's still alot to do. But first thing's first: Theo. The most probable place for the mob is the dorms. The fields are the other way, on the other side of the burning buildings. Wait, what if they're in the soccer field? I stop again, turning around. Those running behind me, who are now about 50 feet back, stop too, looking at one another. Ivy appears, grabs one, and disapears again.
Nope, Tine, stop thinking and just run. I keep running towards the dorms, trying desperatly not to think about all the time I wasted if I'm wrong. As I get closer, I see that the doors are shoved open, some of the windows broken. But notably all of the broken windows are towards the top, Honors dorms.
My eyes follow the windows up to the top, to the roof. Wait, there's something moving. I squint my eyes, the shadow forming into a waving arm. There's someone on the roof. Parker? Must be, him or one of the others.
I burst into the lobby, book it to the stairs. The lights are on again, thanks to Ivy. This is the only positive thing she's done for the school. Just imagine all the good she could have done if only she wasn't crazy. I try not to let this distract me from the task at hand, almost tripping a few times before regaining my focus.
Once to the roof, I throw the door open, grabbing it behind me to make sure it wouldn't close. If it closes, we're all stuck up here. The metal crushes under my hand, molding the four notches of my fingers.
Parker reaches me first, grabbing me, holding me tight. I let go of the door, using both of my arms to hold him, tangling my fingers into his hair. I just breath him in, letting myself appreciate this moment in between all the chaos. I almost forget everything going on until I hear the tell-tale slam of the door closing behind me.
"Shit!" I gasp, pulling away instanly, turning back to our only way out. Yeah, it's locked.
"Great." Maleah scoffs, standing next to Parker. "Thanks so much for saving us, Tine! Now you're stuck up here with us!"
"Stop, it's okay." He tells the first part to her, the second to me. I don't let myself even consider how much trouble I've caused all of us, instead returning to Parker's embrace.
"I thought I lost you." I gasp into his shirt, smelling the smoke mixed with his cologne.
"Me too." He gasps back into my hair, his hands running up and down my back just to hold me closer.
"I'm so sorry!" I didn't even know I was. Am I really?
"Me too." Okay, well I guess that's okay then. I pull away, cupping his face in my hands so I can look into his eyes.
"We need to get out of here." I run my thumb along his cheekbone. He moves into it, smiling softly.
"Yeah, we do." With that I move away, looking around the rest of the roof. There are 8 kids up here, including Maleah and Parker, whose powers she already has.
"Power." I state more then ask to the kid closest to me as I move to the edge.
"Um, mind control." the boy looks nervous, wringing his hands in front of him.
"Has she kissed you?" I ask, looking back at him. He shakes his head, scared. "Good. Keep it that way." I take his hand and slap it over his mouth. The others on the roof, the ones without bruises on their faces, do the same, covering their mouths.
"Where has she been coming back to?" I ask Maleah. She points to a spot near the edge, not moving towards it. I notice that none of the others are nearing it either. Good. She won't be expecting me.
I move to it, standing close to it. I ignore the others exclamations. And wait. And wait.
After a few minutes, she appears in front of me, turned away, towards the roof. She has a girl by the hair. I wait until her fingers were out of her hair, then grab her. I shift all my weight backwards, swinging her towards the edge. She loses her footing, and trips over the edge.
I hear a few shouts behind me, those who still believe she can be saved. But I am silent, my hands clenched at my sides. She spins in the air, silent as well. That is, until she sneezes. Then she's gone. Great.
I feel her arms wrap around my own waist, where my own hands were on hers just seconds ago. She jumps, pulling us both over. I see a flash of others moving towards us, but they are blocked by the dorms. We're falling, fast, too fast. The building's too tall, I won't survive.
Pure instinct takes over, and I grab on to her hands for dear life, holding them onto me. She tries to pull away, but can't. I'm just as strong as her, we cancel each other out. The last of the air is being sucked from my lungs when suddenly I'm on the ground.
But... I'm alive? Unhurt? Impossible! I must be in shock. I roll over, just as I hear her sneeze again. That's it, I'm on the roof. Parker's beside me in an instant, helping me to my feet. I knew Ivy would save herself before dying with me.
"Are you crazy!" Parker cries, looking me over for injuries. I pull away, frustrated. That's right, I'm not sorry.
"No! I knew what I was doing!" I storm towards the door again. "We have to get off the roof! Get to Theo and-"
"Theo?!"
"Yes, Theo, now we have to get out of here before she can start another fire or get another power, Parker."
"Here! This right here is an example of when you don't respect me!"
"Are you really on that again!"
"Yes!"
"Parker! We do not have time for-" The door flies open, almost hitting me in the face. It was the kids who were following me from the Honors free for all. Man, I am really fast, it took them a while to catch up.
"We're free!" Maleah cheers as she leads the others into the stairwell. I try to follow, but feel Parker's hand on my arm. He really needs to stop doing that.
"What?!" I snap, catching the door before it swings shut again.
"You can't just-"
"Yes I can at a time like this!" I yell over my shoulder as I start down the stairs. I hear him follow behind me, of course, he'd be an idiot not to.
He's still arguing all the way down the stairs. This is going to ba a long night.