Dagger

Chapter 24

They emerged across the street from Proelia. The deafening sound of chatter filled their ears, along with the sight of a large crowd gathered in front of Proelia.

    Julianne eyed the crowd. "Wow, that's a lot of people, when did they all get there?"

    Jack too scanned the crowd. "I think they evacuated Proelia..."

    Wyatt's face crinkled in confusion. "But- why?"

    Jack crossed the street, towards Proelia, everyone followed in suit. The noise filled Forest's ears, and he couldn't seem to hear anything else. Once they immersed themselves into the crowd, the warmth of several bodies made Forest heat up. They all pushed their way towards the front of the crowd, near the entrance of Proelia.

    Jack placed a hand on the glass of the building, the main floor was completely engulfed in darkness. Forest eyed the glass, his gaze full of concern. "The power went out... that's why they're evacuated." Realization slowly creeped onto his face.

    Jack, Wyatt and Julianne's gazes met his concerns. Then there seemed to be a ripple in the crowd, silence fell. Forest watched as Mr. Marcus and numerous other staff members made their way towards the street. There in the middle of the road , stood members of the Silver Blades. Proleia's staff members began to fight, and after a moment some of the students tried to join in and help, but they were urged to stay back.

    Suddenly, a strong gust of wind  began to ruffle Forest's hair.  He lifted his glance towards the sky to see a giant helicopter slowly descending. They were so busy watching the helicopter, that when Kieran appeared, no one seemed to notice until he spoke. "What did I say?" Forest flinched at the sound of his voice, but he turned his head to see a smug smile spread across his face. He had 'I told you so' written all over his features.

    The crowd began to move, people shoved past them. Jack turned towards Julianne and Wyatt, "Let's go." He began to push his way through the crowd, Julianne following closely behind him. Wyatt on the other hand couldn't seem to get past the people in front of him.

    The Silver Blades began to push their way through the crowds, striking down a few people in the process. Screams began to ricochet off the buildings, sending a chill down Forest's spine.

    Jack, now amidst the crowd, turned around and was met with the face of Julianne. "Where's Wyatt?" He craned his neck trying to catch a glimpse of his brother. "Wyatt! Wyatt!" He yelled, hoping he would hear him. Jack even tried to get past Julianne, but she stopped him and cast a worried look in the direction of the fast pace of the Silver Blades.

    "Jack, he's in good hands, we have to leave." Her eyes poured into his and he looked down at her.

    "I cant-" Jack's face looked so distraught and worried.

    "Yes you can," She interrupted him and began to push him through the crowd and away from the Silver Blades.

    Melody made her way over to Wyatt and grabbed his hand before he could get lost in the crowd. Then there was the deafening sound of a grenade going off. Debris flew and rained down on the ground, more screams began to surface. Melody flinched at the sounds.

    Forest turned around and noticed how far away she was now. He began to panic. "Melody!" He reached his hand out and called for her.

    Her head shot towards him. "Forest!" She called back. Melody tried to get to him, but she was suddenly jerked backwards, away from Forest. Wyatt had begun to drag her backwards, away from the Silver Blade member that a student was fighting nearby.

    Melody suddenly stopped, jerking Wyatt towards her. Something clicked in her mind, she decided to be a leader, like her sister, and protect her friends. Melody lowered her head and spoke, "Follow me, I know a place." Wyatt nodded in determination and began to run through the crowds. Explosions ripped apart the gravel and concrete of the ground. One after another the grenades went off sporadically.

    Forest felt hands on his upper arms as he watched with longing as Melody ran to safety with Wyatt. Kieran spun Forest around, making him face him. This was the first time that he seen Kieran in distress. "We need to go- now!"

    "Melody-" Forest began. He felt distant. He was worried for her safety, everything felt like it was nightmare, a figment of his imagination.

    "Is fine, but we're not," He nodded towards the road behind him. "We can get to the woods and hideout there." With that Kieran began  to run down the street. Forest followed behind him, the noise behind him became muffled in his ears.

    As he ran he looked over his shoulder, the Silver Blades now had Proelia. Blood and bodies were sprawled across the ground. He hoped that none of those bodies were Melody's. He shivered at that thought and watched the helicopter rise into the sky. He turned his head away, focusing on getting to safety, leaving the blood and chaos behind him.