Please be a human being. With a life so full of rules and regiments, it’s so easy to forget that’s what they are. She knows—she sees—how often compassion takes a back seat to expediency.
Then a voice from behind her: “Hannah?”
She turns to see another teacher looking in from the door. He’s a bit disheveled, having fought the raging rapids of kids still funneling out of the school. He obviously hears the baby’s cries—how could he not?
“Is everything all right?” he asks.
“Yeah,” says Hannah, with more calm in her voice than she actually feels. “I’m taking care of it.”
The other teacher nods and leaves, probably glad not to share the burden of whatever this crying baby situation is.
Hannah now knows what the situation is, however—or at least she suspects.
Kids only have this kind of desperation in their eyes when they’re going to be unwound.
She holds out her hand to the frightened kids. “Come with me.” The kids are hesitant, so she says, “If they’re looking for you, they’ll find you once the building is empty. You can’t expect to hide here. If you want to get out, you have to leave with everyone else. C’mon, I’ll help you.”
Finally, they rise from behind the lab table, and she breathes a sigh of relief.
She can tell they still don’t trust her—but then, why should they? Unwinds exist in the constant shadow of betrayal. Well, they don’t need to trust her now, they just need to go with her. In this case, necessity is the mother of compliance, and that’s just fine.
“Don’t tell me your names,” she says to them. “Don’t tell me anything, so if they question me afterward, I won’t be lying when I say I don’t know.”
There are still crowds of kids pushing past in the hall, heading toward the nearest exit. She steps out of the room, making sure the two kids and their baby are right behind her. She will help them. Whoever they are, she will do her best to get them to safety. What kind of example would she be setting if she didn’t?
17. Risa
Police down the hall! Police at the exits! Risa knows this is Lev’s doing. He didn’t just run away, he turned them in. This teacher says she’s helping them, but what if she’s not? What if she’s just leading them to the police?
Don’t think about that now! Keep your eyes on the baby.
Policemen know panic when they see it. But if her eyes are turned to the baby, her panic might be read as concern for the baby’s tears.
“If I ever see Lev again,” says Connor, “I’ll tear him to pieces.”
“Shh,” says the teacher, leading them along with the crowd to the exit.
Risa can’t blame Connor for his anger. She blames herself for not seeing through Lev’s sham. How could she have been so naive to think he was truly on their side?
“We should have let the little creep be unwound,” grumbles Connor.
“Shut up,” says Risa. “Let’s just get out of this.”
As they near the door, another policeman comes into view standing just outside.
“Give me the baby,” the teacher orders, and Risa does as she’s told. She doesn’t yet realize why the woman asked for the baby, but it doesn’t matter. It’s wonderful to have someone leading the way who seems to know what they’re doing. Perhaps this woman isn’t the enemy after all. Perhaps she truly will get them through this.
“Let me go ahead,” the teacher says. “The two of you separate, and just walk out with the rest of the kids.”
Without the baby to look at, Risa knows she can’t hide the panic in her eyes, but suddenly she realizes that it might not matter—and now she understands why the woman took the baby. Yes, Lev turned them in. But if they’re lucky, these local police may only have a description of them to go by: a scruffy-haired boy and a dark-haired girl with a baby. Take away the baby, and that could be half the kids in this school.
The teacher—Hannah—passes the policeman a few yards ahead of them, and he gives her only a momentary glance. But then he looks toward Risa, and his eyes lock on her. Risa knows she’s just given herself away. Should she turn and race back into the school? Where’s Connor now? Is he behind her, in front of her?
She has no idea. She’s completely alone.
And then salvation arrives in a most unlikely form.
“Hi, Didi!”
It’s Alexis, the talkative girl from the school bus! She comes up beside her, with Chase gnawing at her shoulder. “People pull the alarms all the time,” she says. “Well, at least I got out of Math.”
Suddenly the policeman’s eyes shift to Alexis.
“Stop right there, miss.”
Alexis looks stunned. “Who, me?”
“Step aside. We’d like to ask you a few questions.”
Risa walks right on past, holding her breath for fear that her gasp of relief might draw the officer’s attention again. Risa no longer fits the profile of what they’re looking for . . . but Alexis does! Risa doesn’t look back; she just continues down the steps to the street.
In a few moments Connor catches up with her. “I saw what happened back there. Your friend may have just saved your life.”
“I’ll have to thank her later.”
Up ahead, Hannah reaches into her pocket with her free hand, pulls out her car keys, then turns left toward the faculty parking lot. It’s all going to be okay, Risa thinks. She’s going to get us out of here. Risa might just start believing in miracles, and angels. . . . And then she hears a familiar voice behind her.
“Wait! Stop!”
She turns to see Lev—he’s spotted them—and although he’s far away, he’s quickly working his way through the crowd toward them.
“Risa! Connor! Wait!”
It wasn’t enough to just turn them in, now he’s leading the cops directly to them—and he’s not the only one. Alexis still stands with the policeman at the school’s side entrance. From where she stands she can easily see Risa, and she points Risa out to the cop. The cop instantly pulls out his radio to inform the other officers.
“Connor, we’re in trouble.”
“I know—I see it too.”
“Wait!” screams Lev, still far away, but getting closer.
Risa looks for Hannah, but she’s vanished into the crowd of kids in the parking lot.
Connor looks at Risa, fear overwhelming the fury in his eyes. “Run.”
This time Risa doesn’t hesitate. She runs with him, breaking toward the street just as a fire truck bursts onto the scene, siren blaring. The truck stops right in their path. There’s nowhere to run. The fire alarm had mercifully been pulled at the perfect time, and it’s gotten them this far, but the commotion is fading. Kids are milling instead of moving, and cops in every direction zero in on the two of them.
What they need is a fresh commotion. Something even worse than a fire alarm.
The answer comes even before Risa can formulate the entire idea in her mind. She speaks without even knowing what she’s about to say.
“Start clapping!”
“What?”
“Start clapping. Trust me!”
A single nod from Connor makes it clear that he gets it, and he begins bringing his hands together, slowly at first, then more and more quickly. She does the same, both of them applauding as if they were at a concert cheering for their favorite band.
And beside them, a student drops his backpack and stares at them in utter horror.
“Clappers!” he screams.
In an instant the word is out.
ClappersClappersClappers . . .
It echoes in the kids around them. In an instant it reaches critical mass, and the entire crowd is in lull-blown panic.