what a ghostly scene - kate schmidt

(9)

the group spewed into the classroom, which was furthest from their previous base. with each disappointment, both their energy and motivation levels dwindled further and further down.

back to the drawing board. again.

this time around, they didn't have much time to plan their next step. one wrong move, and they could all go down.

most of the members of the group instinctively began to barricade the door, although deep down, they probably knew it was no use. if those maniacs could survive being literally exploded, they could get through a wooden classroom door.

''cmon! they're coming!'' deena warned kate, who had opted out of the classroom redecorating.

''they're gonna keep coming!'' she retaliated.

lisa had seen the optimism in kate's eyes slowly fade away, before it flickered out and was replaced with tired desperation.

''we're fucked!'' simon yelled. it was true. black and white.

''no, no! we are not fucked!'' kate turned her attention to sam, whose gaze didn't leave the floor. ''she's fucked. they're coming for her.''

there was more tension than air in that room.

''if we put sam in the hall, we end this now''.

''you're a monster.'' deena interjected.

''im being reasonable! we can't run anymore.''

lisa was torn. one part of her agreed with kate, it was the lesser of two evils, however the other part of her disagreed. although she had never been close with sam, the pure hurt on deena's face was enough to persuade anyone.

''a bullet won't stop them, fine. they're really strong. but we just tried to goddamn explode them, and that didn't work!'' kate made a fair point.

''you're suggesting killing her?'' deena looked at kate in horror.

''i mean, that's not exactly what she's saying'', josh began.

''oh, you're on her side?''

''deena-'', lisa began with a sigh.

''you let us all die to protect her'', kate cut her off, leading the opposition.

she began to pull out the newspaper articles from josh's backpack, which showed, in black and white, that they were up against the impossible.

''this is the way. it's the only way.''

lisa put her head in her hands.

''sam's gotta go.'' those words leaving kate's mouth were the catalyst for realisation. this was all very real. the amount of pain they had witnessed that night was bad enough, but losing one of their own put everything into perspective.

with a deep breath, sam made her own conclusion, ''kate's right. i don't want you guys to die for me'', she said with a sad smile, ''i'm going.''

deena's head snapped up.

''i'm ending this.''

''no, you're not'', she protested.

sam gave deena a silent, tearful embrace, before sharply pulling away and heading towards the door. deena's screams suddenly filled the empty room as she watched sam walk away, for the last time.

despite deena's protests, kate locked the door after sam, leaving her to the wolves.

lisa sat on a table with her head glued to her hands, trying to muffle deena's cries, as an attempt to string together at least one cohesive thought.