Allie recognised the stressed-out boy from the study carrel – the one who’d snapped at her the other day. But now he looked young and frightened – his glasses had been knocked crooked on his face as he tried to walk with elaborate dignity, just out of the man’s reach.
‘Hey!’ Running to his side, Allie touched his shoulder and he spun round to look at her. Behind his dark-framed glasses, his eyes looked afraid. ‘Are you OK?’
‘Oh, I’m just fine,’ he said with false bravery. ‘I’m going home, though. Pete here won’t have it any other way, eh, Pete?’
The dark sarcasm in his voice was not missed by the man, who shot him a threatening look.
‘Think you’re funny? I am allowed to subdue you, boy. You do not want me to subdue you.’ With that, Pete shoved the boy so hard he took an involuntary sprawling step towards the door.
‘See?’ he said despairingly as he caught himself. ‘Everything’s just fine.’
As they walked out the door, the driver turned to look at Allie with appraising eyes – something in his gaze made her blood chill in her veins. He knew who she was.
Suddenly afraid, she ran across the entrance hall to where Zelazny had given up shouting and now muttered at a clipboard in his hand. He seemed to be ticking names off as students walked out, dragging their suitcases behind them.
‘Mr Zelazny —’ Allie began, but he cut her off without looking up.
‘Not now.’
But she was not going to be put off. Not today.
‘Mr Zelazny.’ This time she said his name with such authority the teacher looked up, his mouth open in surprise.
When she had his full attention, Allie spoke clearly, enunciating each syllable: ‘Where is Isabelle?’
For a moment he looked at her as if he’d never seen her before. As she studied him with a frown, she noticed the clipboard quivering very slightly.
Blustering, raging, fearless Zelazny was frightened. But if he was the spy… wasn’t this what he wanted?
‘Isabelle?’ she said again.
He rubbed a weary hand across his face.
‘Great hall.’ His voice was hoarse from shouting, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.
Without waiting for more information, Allie fought her way back through the noisy, frightened crowd, across the polished oak floor, past the tapestries where ladies in long, medieval gowns looked upon the chaos but passed no judgement, under the sparkling crystal chandeliers.
The door to the great hall stood open. Clad in a dark skirt and crisp, grey blouse, a silk scarf draped around her neck, Isabelle stood on the low platform she used for induction days, surrounded by a crowd of worried teachers and a handful of students.
She appeared as calm and unruffled as Zelazny had looked panicked. But Allie knew her well enough by now to know it was an act. She could see her tension in the way she held her hands, in the high set of her shoulder and the tiny lines around her eyes.
‘There is nothing more we can do right now,’ she was saying as Allie walked in. ‘We must wait for them all to go before we know how many we have left.’
The teachers grumbled, clearly not satisfied.
‘It’s not just students leaving,’ one of the science instructors said. ‘Sarah Jones is gone.’
Someone gasped and a whisper swept the room. Allie had to think for a moment before realising they must be talking about the biology teacher. Rachel had mentioned her before.
‘Are you certain?’ Isabelle’s face betrayed no emotion.
‘Her room was cleared out when I stopped in on my way here.’ The woman looked shaken. ‘We were friends. I didn’t know she was one of Nathaniel’s supporters.’
Isabelle didn’t pause to comfort her. ‘Does anyone know of other teachers who are missing?’
‘I haven’t seen Darren Campbell,’ a voice called from the back, and the crowd murmured restively.
‘What about Ken Brade?’ a maths teacher asked.
But someone quickly said, ‘I saw him out front helping August Zelazny.’
A sigh swept the group like a breeze as the teacher’s loyalty was confirmed.
‘I need specifics,’ Isabelle said. ‘Will two of you volunteer to verify all the teachers who are missing?’
Allie waited as the volunteers were chosen and Isabelle stepped down from her platform. The headmistress was instantly swamped in a sea of anxious instructors but she moved through them with steady determination.
‘I don’t know,’ she kept saying. ‘We’ll discuss this at the seven o’clock meeting. I’ll have all the facts then.’
As she emerged from the crowd her steely gaze met Allie’s. Her eyebrows winged up, and she motioned her closer. ‘With me.’
As they moved out into the hallway, Isabelle took her arm, pulling her swiftly through the crowds. Two of Raj’s guards materialised as if she’d conjured them, flanking them protectively.
‘Did Jules get away?’ Allie asked urgently. ‘Did Katie?’
Isabelle turned to face her. ‘I need you go to the agreed place until this is over,’ she said. ‘I can’t protect you right now. There’s too much happening at once.’
‘I can’t just hide while this is happening.’ Even as she said the words, Allie realised how much like Zoe she sounded. ‘I have to help.’
‘You cannot help. No one can help us now.’ Just for a moment Isabelle’s guard slipped and Allie saw anguish in her eyes. Her voice sharpened. ‘Just go back to the agreed place. Raj has guards all around it. I need you there. If you see the others on the way send them back, too but do not go looking for them. Not anyone.’
Allie opened her mouth to protest, but Isabelle grabbed her arm. The strength of her grip caught Allie off guard; Isabelle’s nails dug in like blades.
‘Allie, listen to me. Do you think for one moment all those drivers,’ she spat the word out, ‘are who they say they are? They have all the right paperwork but… look at them. Those are highly trained security personnel. Those are Nathaniel’s guards and they are all over my school.’ For a brief angry second, she shook Allie so hard her body quivered. ‘I need you all in a safe place. Now. Any of you could be taken and I wouldn’t know until it was too late. I cannot protect any of you right now. The plan is off until this is over. Go now.’
Her ferocity had the intended effect. As soon as she was released, Allie ran. But it wasn’t herself she was thinking about and, despite Isabelle’s words, it wasn’t the cellar she headed for. Instead, she vaulted the stairs two at a time, one word ringing in her panicked mind like an alarm bell.
Rachel.
THIRTY-TWO
I left her completely alone. If anything happens to her…
As she hurtled up to the top floor, Allie’s breath came in short gasps. At first she thought it was from the exertion of moving so fast but then, to her horror, her vision began to darken. Her throat had narrowed until she felt as if she were choking.
No please. Not now.
She fought to stave off the panic attack – breathing in through her nose and letting the air whoosh out through her mouth as she’d learned to do. Even as the walls closed in on her, she forced herself to keep moving.
I will not give in to this, she thought. I will get to Rachel and then I will have a nice, quiet nervous breakdown in the cellar with my closest friends.
At the thought she tried to laugh but it came out as a sob. Still the action served to loosen the constriction on her lungs and she took a welcome gulp of air as she crested the top of the stairs to find… nothing.
The long, narrow corridor lined with plain white doors was empty. The crowds from earlier had dissipated. There were no crying girls, no angry men in terrifying uniforms. There was nobody at all.