ATLANTIS | j. grace

two

THE STORM GREW STRONGER, as did Elle's anxiety.

Kids screamed, running toward the building. The wind snatched away their belongings, sending worksheets spiraling into the canyon.

Leo lost his balance and almost toppled over the railing, but Jason grabbed his jacket and pulled him back.

"Thanks, man!" Leo yelled.

"Go, go, go!" Coach Hedge was shoving them all, clearly not caring that Leo almost plummeted to his death.

Piper and Dylan were holding the doors open, herding the other kids inside. Despite the strong winds, she looked calm and confident — telling the others it would be okay, encouraging them to keep moving.

Elle, Jason, Leo, and Coach Hedge ran toward them, but the wind seemed to fight them, pushing them back.

A particularly strong gust of wind sent her sliding back. With a screech, Elle reached out, fingers grasping desperately at the railing.

Jason's hand gripped her forearm tightly. He pulled her closer to him, dragging them back to Leo and Hedge. While she appreciated it, Elle was getting sick of needing him to help her.

"Are you okay?" He yelled over the wind.

"Yeah," Elle responded shakily. She cursed herself for it, but look how high up she was! "Thanks."

Dylan and Piper pushed one more kid inside, then lost their grip on the doors. They slammed shut, closing off the skywalk.

Piper tugged at the handles viciously, hair whipping in the wind. No matter how strong she was, the doors were stuck. She would never be able to open them.

"Dylan, help!" Piper shouted.

Dylan simply stood there stupidly, a moronic grin on his face. He looked as though he were enjoying the storm.

"Sorry, Piper," he said. "I'm done helping." He flicked his wrist, and Piper flew backward, slamming into the doors and sliding to the skywalk deck.

"Piper!" Leo tried to charge forward, but the wind was against him, and Coach Hedge pushed him back.

"Coach!" Leo yelled, clawing at the man. "Let me go!"

"All three of you, stay behind me," the coach ordered. "This is my fight. I should've known that was our monster."

"What?" Leo demanded. He stopped fighting against Hedge but continued sending worried looks Piper's way. A rogue worksheet slapped him in the face, but he swatted it to the side. "What monster?"

The coach's cap blew off, and sticking up above his curly hair were two bumps. Coach Hedge lifted his baseball bat, but it wasn't a regular bat anymore. It had changed into a crudely shaped tree-branch club, with twigs and leaves still attached.

Dylan's psycho-happy smile never left his face. "Oh, come on, Coach. Let the kids attack me! After all, you're getting too old for this. Isn't that why they retired you to this stupid school? I've been on your team the entire season, and you didn't even know. You're losing your nose, Grandpa."

The coach made an angry sound like an animal bleating. "That's it, cupcake. You're going down."

"You think you can protect three half-bloods at once, old man?" Dylan laughed. "Good luck."

By simply pointing at the boy, Dylan sent Leo flying off the skywalk. He twisted in midair and slammed sideways into the canyon wall. About fifty feet below the skywalk, Leo finally managed to grab the thin ledge, dangling by his fingertips.