How to Save Someone: 101

Rosalie: Christmas Party

The lights flickered, then there was screaming. I made my way to where the screams were coming from. There was no more laughing or talking. Everyone was silent and looking toward the kitchen.

I paused in the doorway to the kitchen. Hailey was kneeling on the ground next to Danny. He was gasping as he tried to speak to her, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. Tears streamed down Hailey's face as she tried to grasp his arm, but her hand went straight through him. Danny was able to choke out a few words before his entire body disappeared. Hailey crumbled into the spot Danny initially laid in. 

I was stepping forward to comfort her when the lights cut out. Complete chaos ensued. Kids screamed out of fear in the complete darkness. Kai's glow stick body was the only source of light in the entire lower level. 

The lights finally turned back on. Mark looked me from the other corner of the dining room, his hand on the breaker. Hailey wailed from her spot on the floor. As I approached her, I could see the pool of blood. Unsure if it was hers or Danny's, I asked, "Hailey, are you okay?"

I pulled her into my lap. "He said he was dying," she sobbed.

Nolan crouched down next to me. 

"What happened?" I asked him softly.

"He said his body was dying. He kept spasming, like he was being shocked. He was bleeding from his mouth, nose, and ears." Nolan kept his eyes on the little pool of blood that was in front of us.

He was kidnapped.

~~

"That was not a fun conversation," Mom wrapped her coat tightly around herself as she approached me in the cold night. She rushed over to the dorms after she called each parent to pick up their child as soon as possible. When a student is kidnapped, it is our policy to send students home for a week minimum for their protection. The last family she called tonight was the Fenderson family. "Everyone else is okay, right?"

I nodded as a couple students loaded their things into their parents' cars. 

Mom sighed as she stood next to me. "How is Hailey?"

"She's all right. She's laying down in her dorm room right now."

Mom nodded. "Good." She watched with me as families left the school. The dorms were quickly clearing out. "Why him?" She asked but not to me directly.

We stood in silence, pondering the question. Of all of our powerful students, why him? A young freshman. Why not a senior who has more control over their ability?

"What's next?" I asked.

Mom sighed. "We get our freshman back."