The Phoenix

The girls had finally settled down after their grueling experience. Their hysterical cries had now lessened to quiet sobs. It was cold and the rain had started back up so he had let them put their clothes back on. Fallon Blackmore and her students sat huddled on the floor for warmth. The power had gone out an hour ago and it was dark outside. They had been trapped in the school for seven hours and no one had come to their rescue as yet.

They were cold and tired and most of all hungry and the thought of spending the night alone with their captor sent shivers down her spine. He had already raped six of the girls. This guy was a creep. For the past two hours he had sat there whispering to himself. It was as if he was having a conversation with someone only he could hear. It wasn’t the first time she had noticed him talking to himself. This man was clearly crazy.

They needed to get out there.

A soft rustling sound caught her attention. Working with the deaf all day had made her more attuned to her sense of hearing. It was important to hear even the softest sounds when you were the only one with a chance of even hearing it in the first place.

Fallon looked up and watched as Jack went to his bag and dug out a flash light and some batteries. He opened up the flashlight then put the batteries in it and clicked it on. The beam of light bounced off the walls as he shone it alone the bookcases as if he was looking for something or maybe making sure something wasn’t there. Not finding what he anything, he sat in the corner opposite the girls and closed his eyes.

The light from the flashlight hit his face momentarily and Fallon caught a glimpse of the tear tracks on his face. He had been crying? Something was not right. Why would this man enter a school and hold an entire class at gunpoint then break down crying?

She looked over at him again. His face was sullen. He looked worn out. She almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

For the next half hour Fallon watched him intently. After a while his breathing evened out. He looked like he was sleeping now but she wasn’t one hundred percent sure of it. It made no sense to risk doing something unless she was absolutely sure he was fast asleep. So she waited.

Fallon scanned the room looking for something to help her in case she planned to attack their captor. His gun and his knife were safely tucked in a holster at his waist. There was no way she would be able to get them without waking him up. There were many large books in the library but none of them posed as big as a threat as the gun. She could hit him with the books but they would only distract him for a few seconds. That was not enough time for them to safely get out. Then there was the fact that the doors were chained and locked and the keys were again in Jack’s possession. There was no way for them to get out safely. Some one would get hurt. Their only option for now was to bear whatever he had in store for them and wait for the police to rescue them.

They were taking too long. Fallon knew she had to do something even if it cost her life.