I open my eyes. I twist my head and gaze over at the bed across the room. Courtney is seated comfortably in her bed. She’s leaning against the bed’s headrest and she’s concentrating on her book cradled in her hand. Staring at the wall, my hand quietly sneaks under my pillow, curling around a handkerchief stained with alcohol. When I grab hold of the linen, I twist it in my hand, hiding it in my grasp. With my other hand, I tug my covers over the bed. I let out a fake yawn.

Courtney glances over at me, and returns to her book. “You didn’t sleep?” She turns a page.

I shake my head. “Nah. I’m going to go to the bathroom.”

“Okay.”

I get up, and I quietly walk across the wooden floor. The floor creaks under my weight. My heart is pounding. I clench the handkerchief in my hand as I start to near the edge of her bed. Courtney is still oblivious, reading her book. When I’m standing behind her, I take a deep breath. I lunge.

My left arm snakes around her waist, and my right hand quickly covers her mouth with the handkerchief before she can scream. We hit the floor with a loud thud. Courtney thrashes and screams against my hand, but I hold on tight. As seconds pass by, I start to feel her weakening. The alcohol in the linen starts to kick in. Her legs become weak like noodles and her arms dangle loosely over my arm. I carefully set her down, and her body sprwals across the floor, her head lolling to the side and her body lifeless. Wasting no time, I rush to grab my coat hanging from a hook and snatch my backpack from the side of my bed. I coax my hair into a ponytail and tug on my coat. I walk over to my bed and pull back my bed sheets, where I grab my hidden knife. I strap my knife around my ankles and roll down my jeans. Clicking off the lights, I slowly open the door, where it creaks in the silence. Before I leave, I glance at Courtney, and I slip through the door.

Once I’m outside, I break into a run, my feet loud against the pavement. It’s midnight, and streetlights line the streets, glowing in the darkness. I gasp as I run, my breaths visible in the chilly air. As I reach the middle of the street, I stop. I turn around, checking to see if anyone saw me. I melt into the shadows, and I enter the dark alley. I see a beam of light ahead. As I near closer, I see Lindsay and Daniel, decked out in backpacks and flashlights.

“I’m here.” I gasp.

Daniel and Lindsay turn to me, and Daniel nods.

“Okay, everyone is here.” Daniel says.

Lindsay nervously twists the end of her shirt.

“Are you guys ready?” Daniel asks.

Me and Lindsay nod.

“We went over the plan already.” Daniel says. “And we always stick together.”

“Got it.” Lindsay says.

Daniel glances at me. Unable to speak, I nod.

“Move out.” Daniel leads the way, and Lindsay and I trail behind him. We crouch against the ground, shifting silently. I place my hand against the brick wall, the hard surface scratching my skin. We keep moving until Daniel suddenly stops, and flattens himself against the wall. Lindsay and I immediately do the same thing. I gaze at Daniel and whisper “What happened?” Daniel whispers back “Armed guards. Their in front of the gate.”

I nod, and I point to his left leg. then I point to my right leg. Daniel follows my hand, and nods. Lindsay unsheaths her dagger from her belt, Daniel unsheaths his revolver, and I unsheath my knife. We all pull our hoods over our heads. Daniel holds up three fingers, and begins to count down. When his fingers drop to one, he charges out into the opening. The guards let out a surprised yelp. One of them stumbles, and fumbles for his gun around his belt. The other guards immediately fire.

I rush into the scene, with Lindsay right behind me. I grab hold of one of the guards, and I loop my arms around his neck, choking him until he falls onto the ground. Twirling my dagger in my hand, a guard rushes towards me. I dodge his fist, and I grab his arm, twisting him so his back is facing me. With my dagger in my right hand, I bring it down towards his shoulder. The guard gives out a cry, and crumples to the floor. I look up, and see Daniel running towards me.

“We don’t have time.” He gasps. “There are security cameras everywhere. We have to do this quick.”

Daniel runs off to get Lindsay, while I rumage around for a key to access the gate. I dig

through the guard’s coat pocket, and my hands close around something cold and heavy.

“Bingo.”

I snatch the key, and run to Daniel and Lindsay.

“I got the key.” I breath. I stand in front of the gate and shove the key inside the lock, twisting it open. When the lock breaks free, I shove the door open and we all file through. We run as fast as we can into the building, with Daniel shooting every security camera we stumble upon.

“Which one is their cell?” I yell as we run.

“Number 127!” Daniel yells back.

Good, we don’t have time to climb up stairs. My eyes rake the hallway as we run. 115, 116, 117… We’re close. We continue to run, our breaths loud and heavy. Finally, we reach 127, and we skitter to a halt. I peer inside the jail cell, and I see three familiar faces. Mandy, sitting inside a chair, rises to her feet as she sees us. Her eyes widen, and she turns her head, and calls out. “Derrick! Daniel, Amber and Lindsay are here!” A shadow in the background shifts, and Derrick scrambles in front of us, his hands on the iron bars.  Derrick faces us with an astounded look. Before he can speak, Daniel holds up his revolver and shoots the lock. The lock snaps open.

“We’re here to save you. Hurry up! Their coming!” I yell.

And sure enough, we hear feet thundering down the halls and people screaming. Oh man. Mandy and Derrick quickly slip through the doors of their cell, and we sprint.

“Follow me!” Daniel yells.

We race after Daniel, and he leads us up the stairs. I took two steps at a time, my breathing ragged. We reach the emergency door, and Daniel shoves it open with his shoulder. Chilly air seeps inside, and I shiver.

“There are stairs that goes down, but in this case, we have to jump.”

“Wait what?” Lindsay looks at him with a horrified look.

“Go! We practiced this.” Daniel hollers in anguish.

Lindsay grabs hold of the rusty iron staircase and swings her legs over the railing. I hear a satisfying thump, and Daniel shoves Mandy towards the staircase. She jumps over smoothly, and Derrick is next. Daniel motions me, and I grab the railing with a tight grip. I jump and swing my legs over, my body dangling in the air. I let go, and I land on the balls of my feet. Daniel is already in front of me, and he yells, “Over here quick!”

We race after him, as he slips through the gate. Daniel stops and pants. He points to to a clock tower in the right.

“We have to go over there. Christine and Eric will be there to help us.”

Just when Daniel finishes his sentence, an alarm rings. I whip my head, and notice a swarm of people chasing us.

“Run, run, run!” I scream.

We took three steps when guards appeared in front of us. Shoot. We’re surrounded.

I hear Lindsay whimper, and Derrick swallow.

“Raise your arms!” One of them shout.

My heart thumps loudly, and I take a deep breath. Raising my arm, I fling my dagger. It sinks in the shoulder of a guard, and he howls in agony. Daniel takes the que, and he starts to fire. Lindsay grabs ahold of one of them and slams him against the ground. Mandy and Derrick quick grab swords and knives of fallen guards and began to fight. Daniel takes down a guard next to me, and he yells, “Take them down, and we all run! Wait for my que.” I nod, and he rushes off the tell the others. I bend down and swing my leg at a guard, his feet giving out beneath him. I twirl the dagger in my hand, and I throw it. The knife embedds itself in the guards leg. I turn my head. Lindsay’s hacking away at a group of people. My gaze rests upon Mandy, who’s struggling against two guards. I run towards her, my feet hopping from one fallen guard to another. Once I’m in front of them, I pounce on the guard, and ram my dagger into his shoulder. He crumples to the floor, and I slash my dagger at his partner, who stumbles back in surprise. I raise my feet and kick him in the chest. He staggers back and falls onto the ground. I turn to Mandy, who is breathing heavily, her eyes wide. Right on time, Daniel yells, “Go!”

I push Mandy, and she jerks back. She takes off, and runs after everyone else.

I was about to follow when I feel someone grab my arm. Alarmed, I swing my other arm, but he ducks his head. He grabs my arm, and twists me so my back is against his chest. I give a loud scream, ringing through darkness. Daniel and the others freeze, and he whips his head. His face pales when he sees me. I thrash and kick., but the person has a grip like iron. “Daniel, leave me and bring the others home!” I scream. “Leave before it’s too late!”

Daniel hesitates, “But what about-”

“Just go!” I scream. “”I’ll be fine!”

Everyone stares at me with horror and panic. The guards behind me are beginning to reassemble.

Everyone looks at Daniel. He stares at me. And he croaks out, “We have to leave.” He gives me one last look as he whispers “I’m sorry.” He runs off into the night.

Chains wrap around me, and my vision darkens.