Never The Same

Chapter Eight

"Remember me," Carter asks.

"It's been a while," I say.

"It has, hasn't it?"

"What do you want with us Carter?"

"You remember my name."

I looked around the room and saw a package of bullets, unopened. I smiled, because I knew that the gun must be empty. I stepped a little bit closer to Caroline.

"When I move, open the door and run," I whispered. "Got it?"

"Yeah, but what if he-"

"The gun is empty."

I stepped forward and grabbed Carter's wrist. He pressed the trigger, but there was only noise. I hit his arm against the desk and he let go of the gun. He swung his other arm at my head, but I ducked just in time. Then I kicked him, and he lost his footing. I took the bullets and the extension cord. I shut the door and used the extension cord to tie it closed with another door.

"Caroline?"

"I'm over here."

I run towards her voice and work on putting the bullets in the gun. I realize that I wouldn't be able to know how to do that if it weren't for my step father's favorite show.

"Do you know how to work that," Caroline asks.

"It's easier than it looks. You just point and shoot really."

There was a loud screech over the speakers. The sound pierced my ears and I quickly covered my ears. I looked over at Caroline, and she was covering her ears too.

"Hello my girls," Carter says over the speaker. "I'm trapped in the speaker room, and two girls in red are running away. Stop them or bad things will happen."

"Come on, we have to go," I say.

"Where? There's no way out."

"Yes, there is," a familiar voice says behind us.

I point the gun towards her, and she puts her hands up. None of us say anything for a while, but we just stand there looking at each other.

"Don't shoot, I'm on your side."

We divided into two teams. My team lined up on one side, and the other team lined up on the other side. It was late at night, and we all had our jackets on for laser tag. When we heard the horn, it was time to run and pick our favorite gun.

I ran as fast as I could, so I could pick the smallest gun. I never liked the bigger ones, mostly because they were harder to carry. When I got to the table, I picked a gun and slid under the black table cloth. It was black, so it would match the scenery and look like the guns were floating.

No one saw me go underneath, because everyone ran away from the table or shot at each other once they got their guns. When I didn't hear anyone around, I crawled out and went after some people.

I thought most of them would travel into the woods, so that's where I started. I heard someone whistling in the trees. I stood against the tree and shot the gun. I didn't hear the beep that clarifies I hit the person. I shot my gun a few more times, then I heard it. I ran away when I did.

I couldn't find any more people in the woods, which made sense, because most of them are scared of woods at night. I went out into the backyard and held my gun out when I heard footsteps. Someone approached me, but it was too dark to see who it was.

"Don't shoot," she said. "I'm on your side."

I said okay and we walked together. We stood back to back, shooting our enemies. I still didn't know who it was, until the end of the game, though. And then I found out it was Katie all along.

"Katie," I said.

I loosened my grip on the gun and and step forward to hug Katie. She wraps her arms around me tightly and doesn't let go for a while.

"I heard about Emma, I'm so sorry," she whispers into my ear.

"Thank you," I whisper back as we let go of each other.

"Do you know a way out," Caroline asks.

"Yeah, follow me."

We ran down the stairs and avoided the other girls in gray. There was a door with a keypad lock on the outside. The buttons were numbered.

"This is the way out, but don't know the passcode," Katie says. "If you could figure it out before anyone sees you, we can leave. I've never tried it, so I don't know if it sounds at all."

I heard the pitter-patter of feet. The girls were coming after us. I wanted them to stop, so I could just have some time to think. I wondered if they would come with us, or if they would turn us over to Carter.

"Do you think we could save them," I asked.

Katie looked sad and she shook her head no. I always wondered if you could save people from themselves. And Katie was right, you really can't. No matter how much you want to, or how much you try, you can't always save everyone. It sucks, but that's the truth, and sometimes, the truth hurts.

The girls were getting closer. I looked down the hall, and then at the keypad, and down the hall again. I didn't know what to do.

"It's alright. I'll distract them," Katie says and runs down the hall.

I looked at the keypad and thought deeply. I extended my finger and hesitated before I pressed the buttons, 2-3-4. I can't really explain how I knew it, other than it was the number of the announcement room.

And the door opened.

"Run fast, I'll be right behind you," I say to Caroline.

She nods and I close the door when she leaves. I make my way back to find Katie. I hear people and I walk towards them. I see the girls in gray in a circle. There was another girl on the floor, and it was Katie.

I decided it was now or never. I took the gun and held it in both of my hands. I pointed it upwards, toward the ceiling. I breathed in deeply and pulled the trigger. The sound was deafening. My breaths became short and quick. I shot a gun. I couldn't believe it.

At once, all of the girls in gray turned to look at me. I stiffened and began to tremble. Even though I had the gun, I was still more scared of them than they were scared of me.

"Step away, or I'll shoot," I say, trying to lower my voice. "I shot it once. What makes you think I won't shoot it again?"

They listened to me and backed away from Katie. I stepped towards them in a threatening way and they went down the hall. I bent down and grabbed Katie's hand.

"Are you alright," I ask.

She was bruised really bad. Those girls are ruthless. I wonder how long they have been there. I honestly don't think that they were always like that. I think Carter has changed them and there's a chance they'll never be who they were before. Because it's experiences like this that change people. And if they're not careful, they never get out of them.

"Why didn't you leave me," Katie asks. "You could've gotten caught."

"Because you never left me." I didn't really know why I said it, but I felt as if it were the right thing to say. And in a way, it kind of was.

We saw Caroline in the distance and waved to her as we walked out of the building. She wasn't that far away. It looked like she was standing by a payphone.

"You're the bravest person I know," Katie whispers to me as we reach Caroline.

There were quarters in the machine, so Katie put them in and I told her to dial Luke's number. She offered the phone to me, but I declined, even though it would probably be really awkward for Caroline or Katie to talk to someone they have never met. Then, we waited for Luke to come pick us up, as we walked down the road.

I thought about what Katie had said, but the thing she doesn't know is that I'm scared that he's coming back. I'm terrified on the inside, but I have to be strong. It's my time to be strong. I can no longer hide from my fears. I have to conquer them. And the first step in doing that is to act like I'm not afraid, no matter how scared I actually am.