Day: Friday, May 19, 3174
Time: 1:32 PM
Planet: Earth
Location: Caroltin High School                                             
POV: Matthew Connor, First person

The teacher herds us to the storage closets, stuffing as many students as possible per cramped cabinet.

There are 34 students in the class, and only four storage closets. To make matters worse, they're very short and so we have to crouch down. The only plus is that, because the school has a small budget, they are all relatively empty.

I look around at the other eight people surrounding me, each had a look on their face like they were about to cry. One was clutching a small knife, his hands shaking violently. Everyone seemed to be crowding around him. As if he could do anything if we got attacked.

We had gone through lockdowns before, since our town was in a pretty bad area, but we hadn't gone through one involving a super villain. Well, unless you count the attempts that our hero, Heatwave, stopped before they could happen. But Heatwave retired about four years ago.

Everyone went from thinking he was the shit to thinking he was trash and a coward. I personally don't think it's his fault at all. He was getting older. We don't know his exact age because he kept very private. The only time he even did a interview was when he announced his retirement. That made it clear he was being a superhero to help people, not become famous. That's probably the biggest reason I still like him. Plus, the town had been fine without him before. The only problem is, the police stopped doing their job. They became dependent on Heatwave, so once he wasn't there any more......

Point of the story is, it's not Heatwave's fault.

Sorry for the mini tangent. I tend to rant when I'm anxious. Back to the situation.

People crying. Kid with knife. Really scary. Ahhh.

I might as well look at who's with me. It looks like three girls, and four boys. Well, five boys if you count me. It looks like a girl called Emma who has another girl called Mia clasped onto her arms. They're wearing those friendship bracelets. The last girl, Ava, is hugging the boy I know to be her boyfriend. His name is Noah. Kid with a knife's name is Gabriel. Next kid is.....

Holy shit.

It's Zach!

I feel a smile creep onto my face. It only lasts a second, considering the situation, but I'm happy that I don't have to be alone. I manage to squeeze my way over to him through the cramped space, only earning a few angry glares.

I poke him gently on the shoulder and he quickly whips his head to look at me, his eyes wide. Shit, I think I scared him. Or maybe he was already scared. Probably both.

Whatever the circumstances, the deer-in-the-headlights look quickly leaves his eyes and I see relief quickly replace it. He throws his arms around me and buries his face into my shoulder. He's doing that weird gasping thing you do when you cry.

Shit! He's crying!

I wrap my arms around him and try to whisper shit that will calm him down. In reality, my "shh"s and "it'll be okay"s probably weren't doing anything.

I try to take long, deep, breathes, hoping that the steady movements would help calm him down. I don't really know. No one really knows what to do.

It takes several minutes for him to calm down to a point where he turns his head a bit to look at me. I try to give my most reassuring smile.

He stays clasped onto me, but I don't really care. He's my best friend! I would do anything for him.

Now it's just a waiting game.

I'm a very impatient person. Waiting in any situation is horrible for me. But waiting is ten times more horrifying when it's a life or death situation. You hang onto every sound. Every creak. Every rumble. Every voice. Every little scuffle. Time slows down.

Maybe if I identify the last kid it'll be fine? I look over to the last kid. I recognize that it's a kid called Caleb.

Well that was pointless.

Damn! What was that noise? Fuck, it sounded like a footstep. Why was there only one though? Is the villain trying to trick us? Do they know we're here?

Not only is this situation absolutely terrifying, but something digging into my back. I wonder what it is? Maybe it's a hockey stick? No, those are in a different closet. I think, anyway. What closet am I even in? Everything happened to fast to tell. What is that thing poking me?!

I go to turn around to check when Zach holds on tighter and I remember the fact that my best friend in all the world is hugging me like he'll die if he lets go. He looks at me with terror crossing his face. I whisper an apology and hug him tighter. He settles back into my shoulder. I take a deep breath and calm down from my panicked state.

Well the...whatever that thing is keeps poking me. But everything's gonna be fine. I have Zach with me.

Speaking of Zach, he had moved closer since I last looked at him. It's nice to have him with me. Actually if I focus enough on him, it's like I'm not sitting cross-legged on the floor of one of the dusty gym closets, waiting to see if I die soon.

Actually, that's a really good idea. Focus on Zach instead of my impending doom. Everything will be fine. It was probably a false alarm. They don't take chances when it comes to super villains. One was probably just spotted in the area or something and they wanted to make sure we were safe. Please god let be us safe.

Just focus on Zach. Everything will be okay. It'll work itself out. The police will get here or something. We'll live. Zach is with me and we'll be ok.

I think those background noises are getting louder.

It's probably nothing.

Wait. That's footsteps. The clacking would indicate heels.

Most villains wore heeled boots. Who else would be walking around in heels right now? There are teachers who wear heels, but they wouldn't be walking around. I also don't think it's the police. Their shoes are designed not to make sound. That only leaves one option....

The footsteps are getting closer.

Word count: 1091

AN: Ahhhh!! I wrote another chapter!! Hope ya liked it!!