Her cheeks flamed red hot as she thought about exactly how forward she’d been with Vlad.
Stumbling out of her apartment, she managed to make it to her car. The drive to the school happened in a haze. It was Saturday and the place was basically deserted. She pulled haphazardly into the bus lane, not even bothering to park in the lot.
She used her key to enter the building not far from her classroom. It was dim and close inside. The heat had been running overnight, and the scent of paper and the musty smell of the old building were almost overwhelming.
Distracted as she was, it didn’t really register that she didn’t have to type in the alarm code. There was no beeping and she figured one of the janitors had forgotten to set the thing on Friday night. It had no affect on Mary’s goal.
When she finally arrived at her classroom, she reached for the door handle. It was ajar. Mary pulled back and plowed her way through the fog in her brain. She knew she’d closed her door and locked in on Friday after classes. There was no question in her mind.
Cautious now, she very carefully pushed the door open a tiny bit at a time. Fortunately she was absolutely anal about having the janitorial staff oil the hinges so it was quiet. She held her breath. The silence was almost oppressive. It was tempting to throw on the lights and scream like a banshee, but her recent brush with the Sokolov’s had changed everything for her. The world was a scary place and she didn’t quite know what was around the next corner.
A rustling noise caught Mary’s attention. She crouched low and slipped into the classroom. There was a shadow by her desk. The muted metal clank of her desk drawer was followed by the sound of someone coughing and trying to cover it up.
There was a prowler in her classroom!
Mary ducked behind a bookshelf in the reading center and tried to decide what to do. She couldn’t confront this person. That would be insane. What if she got attacked? It wasn’t like she had a weapon other than her queasy stomach. Was she going to vomit all over someone to send them away?
“I know you’re there.” A low voice drifted through the still air. “I can hear you breathing.”
Mary squeezed her eyes shut, trying to control her fear. “Why are you here? What could you possibly want in this school?”
A low laugh made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. “You have quite the variety of students, don’t you?”
“They’re just kids!” She was powerless to stop the note of panic that entered her voice. “They don’t have anything for you.”
“You’re wrong.” The voice got closer, the owner moving through her classroom on silent feet. “Children with ties to very powerful people have much that I’m interested in.”
Someone grabbed her hair, wrenching her up onto her feet before flinging her across the room. Mary landed with a thud. Her hip slammed into the hard concrete beneath the industrial carpeting and she groaned in pain. Then her head bounced off the floor and she felt herself losing consciousness. Mary fought to stay awake. Her vision curled in at the edges, turning black as she slipped away.
“Stay out of my way and you’ll be safe,” the voice promised. “Get between me and what I want and you will die.”
Then Mary faded out and knew no more.
***
“Ah, Vlad! There you are,” Sokolov remarked. He took a seat at the breakfast table and helped himself to a large portion of the blini left on a platter for his enjoyment. “I noticed you did not come home until quite early this morning.”
Vlad had been perusing the morning paper. He lowered it long enough to frown at his father. “I hardly think my love life or lack of one is more important than the news. Did you see this?” Vlad set the paper down and pointed to a column below the fold on the front page.
“Eh.” His father shrugged dismissively. “They appoint new council members practically every week.”
“This isn’t just a
Stumbling out of her apartment, she managed to make it to her car. The drive to the school happened in a haze. It was Saturday and the place was basically deserted. She pulled haphazardly into the bus lane, not even bothering to park in the lot.
She used her key to enter the building not far from her classroom. It was dim and close inside. The heat had been running overnight, and the scent of paper and the musty smell of the old building were almost overwhelming.
Distracted as she was, it didn’t really register that she didn’t have to type in the alarm code. There was no beeping and she figured one of the janitors had forgotten to set the thing on Friday night. It had no affect on Mary’s goal.
When she finally arrived at her classroom, she reached for the door handle. It was ajar. Mary pulled back and plowed her way through the fog in her brain. She knew she’d closed her door and locked in on Friday after classes. There was no question in her mind.
Cautious now, she very carefully pushed the door open a tiny bit at a time. Fortunately she was absolutely anal about having the janitorial staff oil the hinges so it was quiet. She held her breath. The silence was almost oppressive. It was tempting to throw on the lights and scream like a banshee, but her recent brush with the Sokolov’s had changed everything for her. The world was a scary place and she didn’t quite know what was around the next corner.
A rustling noise caught Mary’s attention. She crouched low and slipped into the classroom. There was a shadow by her desk. The muted metal clank of her desk drawer was followed by the sound of someone coughing and trying to cover it up.
There was a prowler in her classroom!
Mary ducked behind a bookshelf in the reading center and tried to decide what to do. She couldn’t confront this person. That would be insane. What if she got attacked? It wasn’t like she had a weapon other than her queasy stomach. Was she going to vomit all over someone to send them away?
“I know you’re there.” A low voice drifted through the still air. “I can hear you breathing.”
Mary squeezed her eyes shut, trying to control her fear. “Why are you here? What could you possibly want in this school?”
A low laugh made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. “You have quite the variety of students, don’t you?”
“They’re just kids!” She was powerless to stop the note of panic that entered her voice. “They don’t have anything for you.”
“You’re wrong.” The voice got closer, the owner moving through her classroom on silent feet. “Children with ties to very powerful people have much that I’m interested in.”
Someone grabbed her hair, wrenching her up onto her feet before flinging her across the room. Mary landed with a thud. Her hip slammed into the hard concrete beneath the industrial carpeting and she groaned in pain. Then her head bounced off the floor and she felt herself losing consciousness. Mary fought to stay awake. Her vision curled in at the edges, turning black as she slipped away.
“Stay out of my way and you’ll be safe,” the voice promised. “Get between me and what I want and you will die.”
Then Mary faded out and knew no more.
***
“Ah, Vlad! There you are,” Sokolov remarked. He took a seat at the breakfast table and helped himself to a large portion of the blini left on a platter for his enjoyment. “I noticed you did not come home until quite early this morning.”
Vlad had been perusing the morning paper. He lowered it long enough to frown at his father. “I hardly think my love life or lack of one is more important than the news. Did you see this?” Vlad set the paper down and pointed to a column below the fold on the front page.
“Eh.” His father shrugged dismissively. “They appoint new council members practically every week.”
“This isn’t just a
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