okay.
In the meantime, Dr. Wiseman grabbed three other teachers and disappeared into the smoke and wreckage that surrounded the helicopter. They slowly brought body after body back with them, some alive and some obviously not. They lay them out on the grass outside Miller Hall as Mr. Armstrong began talking.
“Students, I know that things look desperate, but we really don’t have any information. So let’s not start jumping to any conclusions. The first thing we need to do is get organized. Let’s organize ourselves according to year. Freshmen over here, then sophomores, juniors and seniors. Now gather into your respective groups.”
I looked for Finn and Devin, and discovered that they were once again standing aside, over by the tennis courts with Kimmy and Marcie. For a minute, I was torn between Mr. Armstrong’s direction and my loyalty to my friends. Loyalty won out, and I slunk over to where they were standing.
“Devin has a great idea!” Finn said, her face beaming. I turned to Devin, expectantly.
“My dad and I have a cabin up on Cape Cod with a sailboat,” he said. “We can go hide up there until this is all over with.”
I stared at Devin, so sure of himself, with three girls beaming behind him, then turned to Infinity.
“Finn, what about your father? It must have been pretty important if he sent someone to come get you. Don’t you think he’ll be worried?”
Infinity shook her head. “He’s too busy to worry about me.”
“What about our parents?”
Marcie and Kimmy shrugged. “My parents live in Chicago, and Kimmy’s mom is in Europe,” Marcie said. “Where are your parents, Ellie?”
I cringed. “Miami.” There was no way I could get to them, unless what had happened here was only happening here. But what had Dr. Wiseman said? I turned to Devin.
“What about what your father said, Devin? He said that the whole Eastern Seaboard was unsafe. Guys, we’re at war .”
Devin smirked as if he were sharing a great secret. “That’s the beauty of this. Cape Cod is secluded. No one will come looking for us there.”
“And how far away is that? Two hundred miles at least. How are we supposed to get there? Walk?”
“There must be a hundred bicycles stored in the basement of the dorm,” Infinity said. “We can ride bicycles.”
Devin shook his head, that annoying little smirk still on his face. “I have a better idea.” He gestured toward the stables that stood behind the tennis court.
“Horses,” Infinity breathed. “The school has ten of them.”
“And we will need all 10 to make it to Cape Cod. Each of us needs two so we don’t wear them out too quickly.”
We agreed to go back to our dorm rooms and gather what belongings we needed. Devin instructed us to take only what was absolutely necessary, and then meet him behind the stable in an hour. I kept an eye on what was going on on the front lawn, which was pretty much nothing. Mr. Armstrong kept waiting for someone to show up from the government to tell him what to do, and when that didn’t happen, eventually he sent two teachers off on bicycles.
In the meantime, Infinity and I gathered our stuff. I didn’t have a lot, and Finn took Devin’s word literally, leaving a lot of cool stuff behind. We packed our clothes and few personal items. Marcie and Kimmy, on the other hand, showed up with three suitcases each, looking like they were ready for the limousine to arrive. That resulted in an argument with Devin as to what was practical to take with them on a horse.
When we got that resolved, it was time to put saddles on our horses. I knew that Infinity loved horses, but I merely tolerated them, and Kimmy and Marcie were about as comfortable on a horse as they were mud wrestling. Devin was nice for once and helped them get the blankets on their horses, and then their saddles. He showed them how to cinch them tight so the saddles wouldn’t fall off, and I smiled as I knew that neither Marcie nor Kimmy would remember his
Learning to Kill: Stories