Empty

Chapter 41

Luke regretted running on ahead almost immediately.

The corridors were dimly lit, and whatever light that crossed his path had to be avoided. The only thing that was worse than the lack of light was the lack of sound. It rang in his ears, giving him a headache and a horrible feeling that he was not alone. It felt like he was both deaf and blind.

He covered his ears to try and ease the sensation, desperate to get into a classroom off of the main corridor, where there would be shelter and more light. Thankfully, through a combination of classes and spending every lunch period indoors running errands, he knew the building well enough to literally walk through it with his eyes closed.

He waited until the last possible moment before turning his flashlight on, and breathed a sigh of relief. In the light of the torch, he could make out a desk at the other end of the room. He sat down and tried to regain some composure.

He could just about make out some graffiti on the scratched wood. A few weeks ago he'd have asked for the offender to wipe it clean, but now he was glad it was there. It made him feel less alone. He traced it with his finger. A few smiling faces, scraped into the wood with a pen.

Taking a deep breath, he stood up and prepared to leave. For a second he thought he heard someone walking towards him, but he couldn't be sure.

He'd never liked the silence. It made him dizzy and disorientated. He couldn't tell what he'd heard apart from what he'd imagined when everything was so indistinct. The only sound for miles around was his feet on the ground. Swallowing, he reminded himself that there was one easy solution to stop himself from feeling that way, and ideally, it was to be avoided.

He knelt over to take his shoes off and carry them so as to not make a sound on the cold floor.

"Old habits die hard, don't they, Michaels?" A voice from somewhere behind him said.

He turned around quickly to see an empty sat behind him.

He took a step towards him, stumbling slightly as he walked, and Luke could make out the wounds and infection even in the dark. He was clutching a needle so tightly that what little was left of his skin had turned white. He pointed the tip of the needle directly between his eyes. "Relax, one little pinprick and it's all over."

His heart skipped a beat, and he said the first thing that came to mind. "Sorry sir, cool kids don't do drugs." Then he threw his shoes at him.

The empty flinched away from them, looking more confused than anything else. Luke used the opportunity to make a break for the door, slamming it behind him. To his credit, the empty had the decency to look alarmed as he did, making no attempt to follow him.

He ducked into a classroom and slammed the door behind him, trying to catch his breath.

In his panic, he had run in the opposite direction to the classroom he had to get to. And they now knew he was there.

His heart was racing to the point of pain, and he leaned his head back, trying to think straight. The lack of sound, of light, of everything was getting to him again. Like it always did. He couldn't let himself panic again yet, though. He had to be tactical.

He sat down against the wall and took a look at his surroundings. The room was dark, but the light from the windows still made him visible enough to get caught. There were no other doors, storage cupboards, or even tables. If anybody came in, he'd have no choice but to give himself up.

The others were still out there somewhere, hiding in the darkness, hopefully much more effectively. But he'd been seen, and so it stood to reason that people were probably looking for him right now. And if people were looking for him, they'd find the others along the way.