It's My Life • Shawn Hunter

17| The Fugitive

The sky became dark and low with ominous black clouds and the wind picked up, howling, crying, warning, baying like wild into the night.

The first crack of lightening rent the air and within seconds the rolling boom of the thunder reverberated overhead. Soon the rain fell, slow to start, splattering the sidewalks haphazardly. Then it fell as if from buckets, cascading like a waterfall from the heavens. It pounded on the roof as if it were demanding entrance.

Zoey was currently in her bedroom, trying to go to sleep. When she closed her eyes, the phone beside her began to ring loudly. She let out a harsh groan before she grabbed it.

"Hello." Zoey greeted, groggy.

"Zo, it's Cory." He greeted back. "We -"

"What is it, Cory?" Zoey questioned, rubbing her eyes.

"Zoey, we have a problem. Shawn is hiding from the cops because he mailed a Cherry bomb, and now he's at my place." Cory quickly explained through the phone.

Zoey's eyes widened at the news. She paused for a moment, thinking of what to do.

"Well, keep him at your place." Zoey instructed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"All right." Cory agreed. "Bye, Zo."

After hanging up, she felt this blackness come over here. Like a blanket, but not a blanket of warmth but a blanket of coldness making Zoey shiver. But somehow it's making her eyes feel heavier and heavier. She finally close her eyes finally sending her into a dreamless sleep.

••••

Next day at School, Zoey walked into Mr. Feeny's class. She frowned when she noticed Shawn's seat was empty. She sat down at her desk.

Shawn didn't show up today... and Zoey missed him. But the news has spread everywhere, and everyone was talking about it in the class.

"I think Shawn was making a daring political statement." Topanga said as her and Minkus were discussing about it.

"And what statement was that, build more prisons?" Minkus asked.

"You guys don't know anything about it." Cory told the two of them.

"Sorry I'm late." Mr. Feeny said, walking into the classroom and to his desk. Zoey sighed and leaned on her desk. "I see you've all heard about Mr. Hunter's little stunt yesterday. I just spoke with his parents. Evidently, Shawn didn't come home last night. I imagine no one here has heard from him."

Zoey looked up to see Mr. Feeny glancing between her and Cory.

"Us?" Cory and Zoey asked in unison.

"I was addressing the entire class." Mr. Feeny said.

"Yeah, but you make it sound like I lit the cherry bomb and stuck it in the mailbox on K Street near the Market Giant." Cory said. Everyone then turned to him, confused. Zoey rolled her eyes. "I'm guessing."

Minkus got out of his seat and approached Cory's desk. Zoey sighed, rubbing her face with her hands.

"He claims he hasn't spoke with Shawn since the incident... yet he knows the precise location... knows Hunter's plot involved a cheery bomb." Minkus said, pointing at Cory, accusingly. "I smell conspiracy. I smell cover-up."

Cory wrapped his hand around Minkus' finger. "I smell a nerd with nine fingers."

"Mr. Matthews unhand that Minkus." Mr. Feeny instructed. Cory released Minkus, who returned back to his seat. "Now, then, we shall continued reading aloud from 157. Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Tell-Tale Heart'." He said, grabbing the book and opened it. "'They heard, they suspected, they knew'."