Where's Joey? I was just holding her hand as we ran from the cafeteria. She's a smart girl, she'll be fine. She has to be, I can't live without her. I can still hear the guns, but I think they're still shooting up the cafeteria.
I see an open classroom door to the right, I go in. It's empty. I shut the door quickly and lock it as the mob of running students head for the doors. I act quickly. I push all the nearby desks against the door and crouch down behind the teacher's desk.
I can still here gunfire. Who would want to shoot up Capeside High?
Maybe I can get out the window. I crawl over to the window and peek out. There's no one outside. Wait a minute...how can there be no one outside I saw a mob running for the doors. Did they lock us in? I notice a window two classrooms down open, someone's about to climb out. It's Drue Valentine.
"Drue!" I whisper-yell at him.
"Witter...are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine...you thinking about trying to make a run for it?"
"Well, I don't think we can get out the doors, the front ones are locked I tried those whenI heard the first shots. I ducked in here when I saw everyone running from the cafeteria. Thought about jumping out of this window, though. You game, Witter?"
"I am, if you are, Valentine."
"On 3."
I nod. I can still here shots behind me. All I can think about is Joey. She has to be ok. I hear Drue yell 3. We jump. We run as fast as we can. I glance behind me and see the front lawn of the school littered with broken glass. This can not be happening.
"Pacey, over here." Drue yells to me. I see his car just to the left in the senior parking lot. We get to the car just as the upstairs window begin to shatter.
"Go!" I yell as soon as we get. "I've got to find my dad."
"Here, put this on the charger and call him."
Drue hands me his cell. I plug it into the charger and fumble to turn it on. The 10 seconds it takes to turn on feel like an eternity as Drue pulls out onto the road. I dial the office. The line is busy. I try my brother's cell, no answer.
I hang up. "Drue, drive downtown...we'll have to find him ourselves. The
line at the office is busy and my brother isn't answering."
We drive downtown. I notice my dad and brother's cruisers in front of the Leery's restaurant.
"Stop" I yell. I jump out before he can even put the car in park. I run into the restaurant. I see Doug standing next to the bar talking hurriedly into his phone. My dad is sitting at a nearby table with Mr. and Mrs. Leery and Grams.
"Oh, Pacey, thank God," Mrs. Leery runs over and wraps me in a motherly hug. Mr. Leery is next, then Grams.
"Did you see Dawson?" Mr. Leery asks.
"No, sir. It all happened so quickly...wait...how did you know?" I ask.
"Joey called." Gretchen says walking over to us. Drue walks in at the same moment. Before I can ask about Joey my dad interrupts.
"I'm glad you're ok Pace, but we got to figure out how to get the rest of those kids out safely. Can you tell me what happened?"
I replay the whole story to him, then Drue tells them what he saw. The gun men were all in masks, we're not sure who they could be. As soon as I finish talking to my dad I immediately ask Gretchen about Joey.
"I think she's hiding...she called me and told me what happened and told me to call dad and that she didn't know what happened to you. I tried calling her back, but I can't get the call to connect."
All I can think about is my poor Joey, all alone in that war zone. My dad and Doug are working out a plan. They'll save her. They have to.