"Oliver!" Sayers screamed, his voice echoing through the room, almost shattering my eardrums. Not even a second later, a sound more terrifying echoed, a single click.
I squeezed my eyes tightly, a tear sliding down my cheek as the sound cut through my bones, through the fibers of my being. "I had a good run, right?" I whispered to myself, my hands shaking.
Metal clattered against the floor, sliding closer to me, before landing in front of me. "You made this very fun, little mouse. Why don't we enjoy this chase a little longer, hm? I could use some entertainment," She said with a laugh, her footsteps walking out the door. "Oh, Craig has a bomb vest, so be careful, little mouse."
After a few moments, I opened my eyes, unable to process what just happened. "You were spared," Sayers mumbled bluntly, a hint of anger in his tone.
"You warned me about him, about Craig, hell you were scared of him! You knew, didn't you? That he had a bomb vest!" I shouted, ignoring the metal object on the floor as I stepped back, distancing myself from Sayers.
"You need to understand, the more information you have, the more mistakes you'll make," He attempted to explain, his eyes glowing a faint orange.
"That's what you think! I could have escaped by now if I didn't listen to you!" I retorted, not noticing the darker edge to my tone. I was mad, beyond angry, I was pissed.
"Faulty ideas like that will get you killed dammit! I kept you alive, you only lasted this long because I guided you!" He shouted back, his voice filling with rage. A sharp light filled the room, coming from his eyes, now glowing orange and blue.
"You called me a bitch and tried to shrug off what was going on!" I yelled back, finally noticing what she slid across the floor, a pistol.
"If I didn't rescue you back then you'd be fucking dead! What right do you have to argue about my methods?!" Sayers argued, his arms flashing into view. His clawed hand pointed at me, the claw still covered in my blood from when he scratched me.
"You cut open my cheek and forced me into a stall, where neither of us knew if they'd make it to check or not! What the hell do you mean, 'your methods' the only thing keeping me alive is me!" I shouted, looking at his figure. He was slowly getting taller, his eyes getting higher off the ground as his arms extended.
"Did you happen to forget if you listened to me, you wouldn't have been stabbed!" He retorted, a leg flashing into my view. A pair of black pants, with a scarlet red underlayer.
"If I listened to you, she'd have killed more people! I'm not a fucking hero, Sayers! And I'm sure as hell not a goddamn murderer!" I finished, clutching my side as I peered around the edge of the door. The hallway was clear, she was gone.
"At least take the gun, it's a Colt. Good starter, it has minimal rebound and easier control over where you aim," Sayers said, keeping his explanation short as his voice died down. The stress was getting to both of us, but only he could sense it.
Without speaking to him, I grabbed the gun and threw it at him, before walking out the door and into the hallway. Tears stung at my eyes, but I held them back. My chest hurt, worse than it had before, like a piece of me was gone. How long ago did I first see him?
I didn't pay attention to the thought and kept going, ignoring the pain from my injuries and the hole in my heart. Sweat dripped down my forehead as I made my way down the hall, searching for the janitor's closet.
I finally arrived in front of the large oak door, opened it, and started combing through the boxes. I ignored Sayers as he stood by the doorway, saying something I couldn't understand, my face was still hot.
I pulled out a fresh uniform, and quickly changed, throwing the blood-soaked mess on the floor and walking out. "Oliver, listen to me! I did what was necessary, you need to listen to me!" Sayers ordered, making me turn around to look at him. He was back to his usual height, his eyes a faint orange, like usual.
I opened my mouth to say something but stopped immediately, it was low, a small shuddering, but I felt it. Someone was running down the hallway, not caring how much noise they made. "Someone help!" A male voice screamed, capturing Sayers and I's attention.
"Oliver don't!" Sayers commanded, but I didn't listen, I wasn't going to.
As the footsteps got louder, I leaped out of the closet and stared at him. The boy stumbled, crashing hard against the floor as he stared at me, his shirt soaked with blood. He had unruly red hair, an unshaved stubble, a dark look in his eyes, and a terrified expression on his face.
Tears poured down his cheeks, his forehead was covered in blood, a cut was visible across his eyebrow, and finally, a nose dripping with snot. I recognized the look, it was the same one I had hours ago.
"H-Help me!" He begged, crawling behind my legs and into the closet.
My eyes opened wide for a moment, and a familiar sensation crept its way in, someone was stomping down the hall. "LITTLE MOUSE! That was strike two!" A familiar voice shouted, without waiting, I dived into the closet with him and locked the door.
I gripped his mouth closed, my hand squeezing his jaw shut, and raised a single finger to my lips. I shook, not making a sound as her footsteps rang through the hall, a clicking sound ringing over and over, she was toying with the gun.
Sayers glanced between us, silent for the first time in a while, and finally, walked through the door. "What the hell?" I thought, my expression becoming confused. Suddenly, the footsteps stopped, replaced by hurrying and multiple small thuds and screams.
The boy turned to me, tears flowing out of his eyes, and buried his face into my chest. "I- I'm scared, I didn't think there was anyone else," He cried, burying himself further into my shirt.
"Calm down, it's not the time to cry like this, try to hold it in. What's your name?" I asked, trying my hardest to ignore the sounds of screams dying down outside, each silenced with a single bang.
Sayers calming me down earlier snapped into my mind as I asked, and the pain in my heart grew bigger, was I too harsh on him? "I-It's Will, William Davis," He answered, dragging me from my thoughts.
"I'm Oliver Sill, nice to meet you," I tried to calm him down by speaking normally, but my face drooped quickly, it wasn't possible to be carefree. "We should move, it's too quiet."
I opened the door and led him out, trying not to cry as some of their faces I recognized. People from my first, third, my fifth periods, I was friends with them. I stopped, staring at the face of my closest friend, Jay. He wanted to become a rock star, not die like this.
I led William to the bathroom and told him to wash his face, "A trail wouldn't help us at all," Is how Sayers would put it. The moment he entered, I collapsed onto the ground, tears streaming down my face.
Gripping my chest, I stared at the ground through blurry eyes, my skin tightening with each passing second. When would this end? Why do I have to experience this? I'm not some hero, so why do I have to do this?
"I-I miss Dad, I miss you, Sayers. I'm sorry," I mumbled through clenched teeth, the pain in my body becoming harder to withstand. My wounds were patched, but they hurt, what hurt more was the way I yelled at Sayers, and I regretted it.
My legs gave up on supporting me, causing me to fall and slam my face into the ground, tears filled up under me, soaking my fresh uniform. "Please, just let me talk to my dad, even if just for a moment, I'd cut off an arm if I needed to, so please. I need advice," I begged, grabbing my chest with tightened hands.
A scream slowly escaped my lips, the pain of my skin tightening tore my body apart, and my breathing left too, I was left with short rapid bursts. "Please," I pleaded, reaching my hand toward the ceiling. Without Sayers, I was alone, Will was just a frightened kid, he couldn't help.
The loudspeaker turned on again, and a familiar voice rang through. "Attention survivors! As of now, I've personally executed a few shooters! Buuuuuut, it wasn't so easy, now the bombs are set to go off in three hours! So sad, I know, what a tragedy. Good luck, little mouses, if there are any left."
"Are you okay?" William asked me, startling me as he spoke suddenly. Quickly, I got up and wiped my tears away.
"Yeah, just miss someone. I regret how we ended up," I responded, tears falling through again, but my skin lessened, even if only for a moment.
We walked silently, with me deep in thought and him clinging to my side. With his size, he couldn't have been any older than eight, after all, he was wearing the uniform from our partner school. "Keep your eyes closed, don't open them," I instructed, guiding us to an empty classroom.
"I don't have Sayers, so my access to information is limited, I need to start thinking harder. If I don't...No, I will, don't think about it, just do it. I need to get out of the school in three hours," My thoughts spiraled, not giving me any rest as they zoomed through my head. Without thinking, I slapped myself hard, the same thing Sayers would do to get me to focus.
"Hide under the desk, don't come out until I get you," I ordered, keeping my voice light. He listened, ducking under the desk and blocking his ears.
"I don't know how many shooters are left, so I need to think here, what would Sayers- No, what would I do?" I thought, trying to analyze the situation in my head.
"A few usually means three, so that means five of the shooters are down, but wait, there were six bulletproof vests? Craig may be alive, and his bulletproof vest was turned into a bomb vest, but that seems like a waste. I'm giving them too much credit, Sayers said this was amateur, but it seems more organized, he said so himself. Forget it, I need to go down, one way or another."
Hour 8- (To be continued)