C. Daugherty: Fracture

The makeshift bandage was secure. Allie’s arm instantly felt better.

‘Hold it like this.’ Sylvain demonstrated, holding his arm across his chest. Obediently, Allie emulated him and he smiled, squeezing her good hand. ‘Now, we need to get you back.’

‘We have to find Rachel first,’ Allie insisted. ‘I’m not going without her.’

Frowning, Nicole peered into the distance. ‘Zoe went after her ages ago. She should be back by now.’

‘Let’s find Raj,’ Carter said. ‘He’ll know.’

‘I think I saw him over by the wall.’ Sylvain pointed.

They headed that way. Carter had one arm around Nicole, whose damaged leg barely bore her weight.

Allie didn’t like the bruise on his jaw – it was purple and swelling. ‘That looks bad, Carter.’

‘It just needs some ice.’ He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘It’s my neck that really hurts. I didn’t like the way it crunched when Gabe hit me.’

Sylvain looked at Allie. ‘It’s you I’m worried about – you’ve lost a lot of blood.’

‘I feel OK,’ she said. She looked over at him. ‘You and Zoe were great back there. I haven’t had a chance to thank you.’

His lips tightened. ‘I’m sorry Nathaniel got away.’

‘Me too,’ Allie said quietly.

When they reached the wall, one of the guards directed them over it towards the woods, where he said they’d find Raj.

Carter helped Nicole over first. Sylvain climbed up next and helped Allie across, lifting her gently as if she weighed no more than a child.

‘There’s Zoe.’ Ahead of them, Carter pointed towards the woods to where a small figure had emerged, leading a taller one by the hand.

Allie’s heart seemed to stop in her chest. ‘Rachel,’ she breathed.

She took off towards them, ignoring the jarring pain in her arm.

‘Rachel!’ She shouted it now, running to her. She heard Rachel call her name, saw her stumbling towards her and then they were both sobbing, hugging each other.

Stepping back, Rachel studied Allie with fear in her eyes. ‘What happened? You’re bleeding everywhere.’

‘I’m fine,’ Allie said with false bravado. ‘I just need a few stitches. I should watch where I’m going.’

Rachel looked at the others who had reached them now. ‘Is she really fine? How bad is it?’

Sylvain stepped to Allie’s side. ‘She’s OK. We’re taking her to the infirmary now. What about you?’ He gestured at her bloodied nose and bruised cheekbone.

‘It’s superficial,’ Rachel said. ‘I’ll live.’

But she looked weak and exhausted.

‘Did you see your dad?’ Allie asked her. ‘He was worried about you.’

New tears filled Rachel’s eyes. ‘He found me as soon as I got to the woods.’

‘Good.’ Allie nodded, trying not to cry again.

Everyone was OK.

‘We need to get going,’ Zoe said impatiently. ‘Raj said we had to go straight back to the school.’

‘Yeah, let’s keep moving,’ Carter agreed. ‘I don’t know how long Nicole’s leg’s going to make it.’

‘I’m fine,’ Nicole insisted, but Allie could see the pain etched in her face.

The rain had stopped but the footpath was slippery mud and they moved with caution.

The adrenaline that had kept Allie going up until now was wearing off, and as they made their way down the hill she began to feel again. The cut on her arm throbbed. Her entire body felt stiff and bruised – as if she’d been in another car crash. But she knew the others were hurting, too, so she set her jaw and kept going.

When she tripped over a rock, though, the movement sent pain shooting through her shoulder and she was unable to suppress a whimper.

‘Here.’ Sylvain slipped his arm round her waist, supporting her weight. ‘Lean on me.’

‘I’m OK,’ she lied and he almost smiled.

‘I know you are,’ he said.

It seemed to take hours to reach the school, although Allie knew it couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes.

When they limped across the terraced back gardens and through the door, they found the building flooded with light and almost too warm after so long out in the rain. Allie hadn’t realised she was shivering until she reached the heat.

But the wide hallway was strangely empty.

Exchanging puzzled looks, they walked past the marble statues and oil paintings, their footsteps echoing in the quiet. When they reached the foot of the grand staircase, they stopped, looking around them in bewilderment.

‘Where is everyone?’ Zoe whispered.

Carter shook his head. ‘The great hall?’

But when they pushed open the door the big ballroom was dark and empty.

‘Maybe we should try Isabelle’s office.’ Allie’s voice was calm, but her heart had begun to race. Something was wrong. It was too quiet.

They made their way back to the staircase. Underneath it, the door to Isabelle’s office was ajar, but the light was turned off. The office was empty.

‘I don’t get it,’ Zoe said. ‘They have to be somewhere.’

‘Maybe they’re all outside,’ Nicole suggested.

‘Not Isabelle and the teachers, though…’ Carter said. ‘Not all of them.’

Stepping away from Sylvain, Allie turned a slow circle, listening to the silence. The building didn’t feel the way it should. There were no creaking sounds of footsteps above them. No distant laughter from the dorms.

It felt… hollow. Empty.

In the silence, they all noticed the soft sound of shushing footsteps above them; someone was coming down the stairs.

Sylvain, Carter and Zoe – the only ones not too beaten to fight – stepped forward with caution.

The footsteps continued at a slow, steady pace until they reached the landing above them – then the sound stopped.

‘Oh my God,’ Katie said, horrified. ‘What happened to you?’

Her red hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail and she wore her white Cimmeria pyjamas and slippers. In her hand she carried an empty hot-water bottle. She looked so clean – so normal – that for a long moment they all just stared at her.

Tired and trembling from the cold and the loss of blood, Allie ran a shaking hand through her wet hair, as if to smooth it, before she realised what she was doing.

‘Where is everyone?’ Zoe hopped up a few steps towards the redhead.

‘Everyone… who?’ Katie asked, giving her an odd look.

‘She means the teachers,’ Carter asked.

‘The teachers are meeting in the classroom wing,’ Katie said. ‘Or at least they were an hour ago.’

But Allie still had a bad feeling. Something about the quiet.

‘What about the students?’ Her voice sounded hoarse and tired. ‘Where are the students?’

Katie walked closer to them, her slippers shushing on each step.

‘The students who remain are in the dorms.’ She held up the bottle. ‘I’m getting this for Emma. She can’t sleep.’

‘You say those who remain.’ Nicole looked pale and drawn in the white light of the crystal chandelier. ‘How many students are left?’

Katie’s gaze took in Allie’s torn sleeve and bloody arm, Carter’s swollen chin, Rachel’s bruised face.

‘There are about forty of us,’ she said gravely. ‘I’m sorry.’

Allie’s chest tightened. This morning there’d been nearly two hundred students at the school. Now there were forty ?

She wanted to cry but she was too exhausted. They’d fought and struggled and nearly died tonight. They’d defeated Nathaniel and saved Rachel and yet they still lost?

How?

Despair was like a weight in the air, dragging them all down.

Katie seemed to try and fail to think of something to make them feel better. Then, she held up the bottle in her hand. ‘Look, I’ve got to get this filled. Emma can’t be alone.’