Brianna Acero and the Second One's Return

25. I look for red shoelaces

I burst into our dorm, nearly hitting Mara square in the nose. She stumbles away from the door, face morphing into one of confusion when she sees me panting, with my hands on my knees, after running all the way from the changing rooms.

"Bri? What's wrong?"

I take a moment to catch my breath, closing the door behind me as I sit on our small sofa. Jayson comes out of the boy's room after hearing me come in, and Cassie emerges from our shared one. After spotting me on the sofa, red from running, Jayson turns to Mara questioningly before facing me, eyebrows raised, a slight frown pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"I heard... a girl... in the locker room... she's going to... to help Simon Says escape," I manage to get out between breaths. Cassie and Mara squeeze in next to me on the small sofa, trying to calm me down, while Jayson goes out of the room, presumably to find Kalen. Both boys return a few minutes later, minutes that I have used to successfully catch my breath. Kalen assesses the situation quickly, closing the door behind him and coming to sit in front of me on the floor.

"Are you ok?" he asks. He places his hand on my knee and squeezes, the gesture throwing me off. I'm not used to Kalen touching me, and I've never seen him look at me with such concern. I nod, and he takes his hand off my knee. I worry at the skin around my thumbnails.

"What did you mean, help Simon Says escape?" asks Jayson, who remains standing. "No one has ever gotten out from our holding facilities."

"That's because no one has ever had inside help."

At my words, Mara, who is still sitting to my left, stiffens, and I see the way Kalen and Jayson both seem to stop breathing. I look at my friend's faces, taking in their looks of distress. Simon is a powerful Elite, one we don't want loose on the streets. Who knows what he will do if he manages to get out of the compound?

"Is this just about what you heard? You know, it's highly unlikely whoever it is that's going to try this succeeds." Kalen seems to know that something else is bothering me though, and the longer he watches me the more he seems to reach the conclusion that it wasn't just about the girl I heard. He answers his own question before I have a chance to open my mouth.

"You saw something didn't you?"

I nod. Clever boy.

"Simon Says does manage to get out, at least," I pause, remembering, "that's what it looked like in my vision."

But hadn't Christian told me something about the visions being images of a future that may or may not occur? In the future I saw, no one knew what was coming, that's how Simon managed to get away. No one had been prepared for it. Now we know, which means that hopefully, we can change the outcome. Change my vision.

"We need to warn somebody," I say, getting up from the sofa and facing my friends.

"We need to tell Christian."

One by one they nod their heads. Mara and Cassie follow my lead and get up from the sofa, as Kalen pushes himself up off the floor. The boys lead us out of the room, and as we head down the familiar halls, I keep my eyes peeled for the girl from the locker room. I didn't get a chance to see her, but I had been able to catch a glimpse of her shoes. Boots by the look of them, combat boots. The only problem was that about a third of the girls here wear combat boots, myself included. The only distinguishable thing on hers was the cherry red laces, and even then, someone might have the exact same pair. But I keep my eyes opened nonetheless. If I can find the person wearing those shoes we will be able to stop her before she even gets a chance to put her plan into motion.

"Yo, weirdos! Why in such a hurry?"

I groan, turning to find Jack walking up to us. Not this jerk again. Jayson walks up to meet him halfway, standing a good half a head taller than him.