Gift Academy (Book One in the Gifted Series)

Chapter Seventeen

Hailey

Claire and I scan the schedules and I stop as I recognize Emily.

I look through her schedule and find out that her last name is Walker. Emily Walker. I also find out that she does in face have the gifts of wind and fire.

I find the other two, Mike Taylor and Liam Clarke. Gina was right about their gifts, too. Mike has water and darkness and Liam has nature and light.

Claire realizes that something's off and speaks up.

"You alright, Hailey?" She asks me worriedly. I take a deep break and quickly shove everyone's schedules into a backpack we brought along with us.

"Guys! He's here!" I hear Gina whisper-shout through the phone on the desk. I pick it up and hold it to my ear.

"Who's here?" I ask her. She sounds frantic.

"Ethan! The Extra that took Jake and Wesley! He just parked!" Gina informs us. My mind reels to what Claire and I should do until I realize something that sends fear and dread into me.

"Wait. Mr. Hernandez. He's still there!" I exclaim. Claire's eyes widen. We quickly shove the last remaining schedules into the backpack, zip it up, and rush to the front doors of the academy.

We glance at the parking lot and see Ethan dragging Jake and Wesley to the academy. He's being helped by Emily, Mike, and Liam. God I'm going to kill those three.

I glance at the car Mr. Hernandez is in. It's turned off and I can't see inside. Good. He probably saw them and turned the car off so he wouldn't be spotted. I start to panic again, though, as Ethan, Emily, Mike, and Liam come straight to the front doors, where Claire and I are.

"Run!" I whisper-shout to her.  We both run into the right hallway, where we duck into the dark library just as the four Extras slide the front doors open and walk inside, still dragging Jake and Wesley. I glare at them and feel about ready to pound them to death. I breathe heavy yet silent breaks, Claire doing the same thing next to me.

"Where should we put these two?" Ethan asks Emily. Emily looks at Ethan, then down at Jake and. Wesley.

"Put them in the gym. Tie them up and make sure to use something that they can't use their gifts against," Emily orders. Ethan nods, then grabs the back of Jake and Wesley's shirts, dragging them down the hallway. The hallway that Claire and I are hiding in, that is.

Oh god. He's going to see us, then he's going to attack us and we're going to be easily overpowered by him, Emily, Liam, and Mike.

I hide myself and Claire as best as I can, but I know it's not good enough. Our only real option is to fight out way out of this.

I hold my breath as Ethan passes us. Right as Emily calls him.

"Ethan!" She shouts to him. He looks back at her from the opposite direction of Claire and I. She does something I can't see and Ethan smirks before continuing ahead. I breathe a sigh of relief as he walks away, not noticing us. Who knew the enemy would unintentionally save us?

Ethan goes straight into the gym, still dragging Jake and Wesley. I hear Emily, Mike, and Liam walk upstairs, so I gesture to Claire to follow me. We silently stand up and slowly and quietly head to the cafeteria. I look into it through the window on the door and see Ethan tying up Jake, his back turned on us. We can catch him with the element of surprise. Just as we're about to open the door, I hear the front doors to the academy open again. Claire and I quickly duck behind a wall and peek around the corner to see who's entering.

I come out of my hiding spot when I see who it is.

"Mr. Hernandez? What are you doing in here?" I ask him, whispering so Ethan doesn't hear.

"I came to tell you guys that we have company," Mr. Hernandez replies. I'm confused at first, but I quickly understand when Fay, Veronica, Flora, Nick, Austin, and Gina enter the academy, followed by a couple hundred Gifted, silently sneaking in like freaking ninjas. I walk up to them, dumbfounded and shocked.

"This is normal," I whisper sarcastically to Flora, who's leading everyone. I'm not surprised that she's the leader with the ways she has been helping everyone and with her intelligence and quick wit.

"We decided to come here and attack as soon as possible. It's night, and we'll have the element of surprise. Besides, Jake and Wesley are here, we can't just leave them here with only the two of you to complete the mission," Flora quickly explains in a low voice. I nod my head.

"So, what are we going to do? Break down the doors to the dorms and kill all of them?" I ask her. She shrugs her shoulders.

"That's basically the plan," she answers, smirking.

"Okay. And how many Gifted stayed at Gift Academy?" I question. She sighs as if she's annoyed by all of my questions, but I can't help it. I'm curious.

"Half of them are here with us, and the other half are protecting the academy in case any of the Extras want to stop by for a quick visit," Flora replies. "Now are we done with the questions?" I nod my head and she sighs in relief.

"Jake and Wesley are in the cafeteria, being tied up by Ethan the Jerk Extra," I inform Flora, pointing down the hallway in the direction of the cafeteria. Flora grabs a nearby wooden chair and stands on it, facing the whole group.

"Okay, everyone. Sneak into the dorms and do whatever you need to do to those stupid Extras. Be quiet on your way up, and don't make too much noise. Fay, Hailey, Claire- you guys follow me to the cafeteria to get Jake and Wesley back. Mr. Hernandez, Mrs. Thompson, Nick, Austin, Veronica, and Gina- you six lead the attacks on each floor. Now, go!" Flora whisper-shouts, and everyone rushes to their post, staying eerily quiet the whole times. Flora waves to Fay, Claire, and I.

We all follow her to the cafeteria. We don't even bother being silent or stealthy. Flora really took on a great leadership role, and she's really good at it, too.

When we reach the cafeteria, Flora is more aggressive than I've ever seen her. She rips open the door to the cafeteria and storms right in, glaring at Ethan, who jumps in surprise and turns to us. He glares at all of us, and Flora sends a small tsunami of water to him with a wave of her hand. He blows it off with his wind gift. I hear door smashing open and being broken down from above.

And that's when the real stuff happens.