CHAPTER 25
BIBA
Stormcloud loomed ahead of me as I strode toward the main entrance. I walked quickly, with determination, knowing that I needed to be swift. The last thing I wanted was to run into Arvo or even Zephyr. I didn’t want to deal with either of them.
I stepped into the entrance hallway and took a left, hurrying toward what was left of Buffy’s room. For all I knew, everything of mine was destroyed, but I still wanted to check. I had family pictures and other items of value that I didn’t want to lose. I owed it to my family and the memories I had with them to try to look for those things.
Before I could reach the hallway that Buffy’s room was in, I heard my name called out from behind me. Coldness shot through my heart as fear gripped me. I didn’t want to hear my name. I didn’t want to be caught.
“Biba!”
I turned around and watched Dean Schmidt storm over to me, my body freezing up. I didn’t want to talk to him right now. I didn’t have anything to say to him.
“I can’t talk right now,” I told him as I looked up and down the hallway, making sure that no one else had spotted me.
“No, you’ll talk right now,” Schmidt ordered as he stopped in front of me. “Do you have anything to tell me? Anything at all?”
I nearly scowled, wishing that he would leave me alone. I was on a strict timeline right now. The longer I was in this school, the sooner it would be that more people figured out I was here.
“No. I don’t have anything to tell you,” I replied, sounding as agitated as I felt.
Schmidt scoffed at me.
“I thought you wanted information. I need something from you,” he told me, looking as nervous as me.
“Not right now,” I snapped, whirling around and rushing off. I heard him call my name, but I ignored him. I would deal with him another time. For now, I needed to be in and out, and I was already running late.
I rounded the corner and hurried to Buffy’s room, spotting the burnt doorframe and caution tape across it. That wasn’t going to stop me. I walked up to the doorway, peering into the charred room. So much was burnt to a crisp. All I could see was black.
A frown crossed my face as I peered around, trying to see if anything was salvageable. From what I could see, it wasn’t promising. Most of everything in the room was reduced to ash. I looked at my nightstand, which was burnt, but the drawer still seemed somewhat intact.
It was a long shot, but maybe the items in that drawer weren’t burnt. I slipped through the caution tape and carefully walked through the room, smelling the aftermath of the fire. I couldn’t believe Buffy’s room was just… gone. She lost everything, nearly including her life. I couldn’t imagine how terrified she felt, knowing that she had become a target, and it was all because of me.
I reached out to grab the handle of the drawer, but it crumbled to pieces in my hand. With a grimace, I wiped off the black marks on my hand, beginning to feel like this was hopeless. I could still pry open the drawer, though.
Leaning over, I pressed my fingertips along the crevice above the top of the drawer, focusing hard. I only snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a light crack behind me. I didn’t even get a chance to turn around before a black bag was pulled over my head.
I tried to scream, but whoever had grabbed me pulled the cloth bag around my face so tightly that I was muffled and could hardly breathe. I kicked my feet and tried prying the bag off, but another pair of hands grabbed my wrists to subdue me.