Spoiler Alert: They Ain't Gonna Make It

33. Fears and Frets

Hi! Here we go with

-

ISABEL

-

Isabel was angry and sad and lonely and enclosed and confused and just generally feeling terrible. Jina had sporked her way out of the room seven minutes ago. When she hadn't returned after three and the 'Boss' did, gun in hand and hard look on his face, Isabel knew. She just knew.

Isabel knew Jina would never return.

And she felt so sick. She felt so stupid for letting Jina go on her own. She felt so guilty for being a coward and not going herself. She was extremely mad at that 'Boss' guy for killing her. But mostly, she was sad. Disconsolate. She couldn't bare the thought of thinking about sweet Jina dying at hand of that dumb man. She couldn't handle missing Jina or wondering if she had it better wherever she was now. She wouldn't dare wonder if she could have saved Jina from this death, because Isabel knew she could have. She could have prevented this, if only she wasn't afraid. Afraid of death.

As Isabel sat there in a puddle of guilt, as Bettie cursed profanities to no one in particular, as everything in their lives turned upside down, Zoe, Kala, Katrina, and Josie were dragged into the room and tied to chairs. As Isabel fought the urge to sob, as Bettie was gagged, as the world became duller, Miss Smith was hauled into the room dangling from the mouth if a zebra. As Isabel counted to ten, as Bettie chewed on her gag, as life became less worth living for, Tannin and Ali, who both had somehow snapped out of the zombie trance, were tied into chairs next to the other girls.

But nothing was as scary as Jina's death. Nothing.

And now Isabel was fearing on her own behalf. She now knew these red shirted people were willing to kill the innocent for their own benefit. She now knew these people were truly bad guys doing bad things.

She now knew that she would die. And she was afraid.

"Hello, girls," the 'Boss' walked over, Dr. Caine in stow. "How are you today?" He may have asked, but he didn't care. If anything, he was bored.

Isabel hated him. She hated that he was doing terrible things, breaking and entering, stealing, and murdering. She hated that he killed Jina, her brave friend. But mostly, she hated how uninterested and unfazed he looked after doing it, like killing someone innocent meant nothing to him.  She hated him, she hated him, she hated him.

She wanted to punch him and strangle him and turn him over to life in prison and hire an assassin to kill him and so much more. At that moment, there was nothing more she wanted to do.

But, she was afraid.

She was afraid of getting hurt, of hurting someone else, of death. She was afraid of the consequences, of what would happen if she lost the battle (which, she knew she would). She was afraid of him, the man who had her very life dangling in his fingertips. And she knew this fear would be the last feeling she ever felt. She knew it would all be over soon

Bettie muffled a response through her gag as Miss Smith groaned. Ali and Tannin were looking around with confused faces that read what the heck is going on? Zoe and Kala were both walls, their faces façades for their feelings. While Katrina was whispering something to Josie, Isabel squeezed her eyes shut, hoping when she opened them, she wouldn't be there. She would be back in bed, waking up from a nightmare.

But. She didn't.

She unclosed her eyes to eight people she acquainted with tied to chairs, a zebra farting nearby, an army of zombie people who were near to finishing the job, two dozen red shirted men, a zookeeper snacking on potato chips, a betraying principal, and one evil mastermind. There was nothing worse than seeing this happening right before your eyes.

Unless, it was happening to you. Which, to Isabel, it was.

The 'Boss' appeared unimpressed at the array of people before him. "I can't believe you stupid girls were the ones to break the hypnotism. I would have bet that a football player or someone of more importance and strength and intelligence would have escaped it." He frowned. "Who knew I could ever be wrong?"

Silence followed.

"I said," the 'Boss' growled, "who knew I could ever be wrong?"

Dr. Caine, the zookeeper, and a few other red shirted men nearby all chorused together, saying things like, 'oh, you're never wrong' and 'your handsomeness is never wrong'.

"Shut up!" he yelled.

They ceased blabbering.

"Idiots," he then mumbled under breath as he rubbed his temple.

Isabel gulped. If the man's associates were that afraid of him, should she be even more afraid? She didn't know.

"Nathaniel!"

"Right here," Dr. Caine squeaked, stepping towards the 'Boss'.

"Where's Fireball?"

"I don't know sir-"

"He should be back by now!"

"I know sir, but I-"

"He better not have left, Nathaniel. If he did-"

"I'm sure he didn't-"

"LET ME FINISH!"

Dr. Caine shrunk down in his turtle neck.

"You know what?" The 'Boss' snarled, standing above Dr. Caine with a glare that could end the world. "Nathaniel, do you know what?"

Dr. Caine quickly shook his head.

"Of course you don't know." He was hissing now, a seething undertone to his 'I'm talking to a child' voice. "You don't know anything."

Isabel couldn't guess as to where this was going, but she feared the worst.

"You're a wuss, Nathaniel," he continued. "A baby. A stupid baby."

Dr. Caine looked like he was going to wet his pants.

"Look at me," the 'Boss' demanded.

The principal didn't move.

"LOOK AT ME!"

The 'Boss' whacked Dr. Caine on his head with his gun. And when Dr. Caine pressed his hand to the spot and brought it down to inspect, it was covered in blood. Lots of blood. Too much blood.

The 'Boss' didn't stop there, as he was livid beyond what Isabel thought was capable. Which was not good for her and the other girls' sakes.

"Nathaniel, you are a fool. A worthless, brainless, dunce who is- LOOK AT ME!" he whacked the man again, this time harder.

Dr. Caine had blood foaming out of his mouth, and the look on his face read confused. He was dizzy and in lots of agonizing pain. He could barely stand now, as his legs were noodles, wobbling under all the weight and pain.

Everyone in the room not under the spell was watching now, horror-stricken. No one could believe this was happening. No one could believe this was real.

And no one wanted them to be next.

"You are not needed in this world," the man gritted. "You are unworthy of living while your students, your innocent students, die around you. You are a waste of space, precious space that your fat is stealing from the needy." He poked the bleeding man's stomach, which was a bit pudgy. "You mean nothing to this world; you mean nothing to me."

He held up his gun to the principal's forehead.

Dr. Caine's eyes widened.

Isabel squeezed her own eyes shut.

The 'Boss' smirked. "Bye, Nathaniel. You won't be missed."

Bang!

He didn't make it.