Touched by the Fear

[20]

A scream stuck in her throat, her heart hammering a mile a minute as she took an uneven step back. She hit the door, fear digging its claws into her.

"Hollis!" A familiar voice said, calming the anxiety. "It's just me."

She looked towards the voice and relaxed when she saw that it was Stiles. Although her breathing was still ragged, she managed to get it under control. "Stiles." She ran a hand through her hair and threw him a confused look. "What the hell. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I called and texted you but you didn't answer."

"I had my phone on silent." Hollis reached into her bag and pulled her phone out. The screen lit up, showing that Stiles had in fact left several text messages and called half a dozen times within the last twenty minutes. "Is the world ending or something?" She asked with a joke, returning her phone to her bag. Looking up, she noticed the worried expression on his face and the cold hands of fear pulled her in again. "What's going on?"

"I'll explain later," he said, shaking his head. "But we have to go. Now." He ignored her confused look and grabbed onto her hand before he pulled her towards the door.

Hollis walked numbly, thoughts whirling around her mind. What the hell was going on? She wanted answers; to know why he looked so panicked, why he insisted on her leaving at this very moment. Gaining her strength, she stopped mid-walk and pulled her hand away.

"Hollis...." Stiles looked at her, ready to argue but she cut him off.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on."

He sighed and waited a few seconds before he nodded. "There's someone in the school. I think they're trying to kill us."

A laugh escaped her lips but it died down at the serious look he wore. "Are you serious?" She asked, processing the information. She shook her head, unable to wrap her mind around this. "This is...this is crazy. Who is it? Who's 'us'?"

"Scott, Lydia, Allison and Jackson are here, too," Stiles said quickly. "But we need to go, Hollis. Trust me, ok?"

She let out a shaky breath, unsure what to believe. Despite the questions in her mind, she nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

Again, he grabbed onto her hand. They moved towards the door cautiously and, once Stiles signaled that it was safe, they entered the hallway. The stillness was eerie, which only added to the panic inside of her. Her heart thumped with each step, her breath shallow as they moved down the dark and empty hallway. Their footsteps echoed on the tiled floor, reverberating off of the metal lockers.

They walked on in silence. Every second stretched into a minute until Hollis had no idea how much time had passed. In a twisted way, it was fascinating how the school's atmosphere changed. During the day, it was so lively with students milling about, conversations filling the halls and chalk hitting the board. Now, it was completely different. Other than the empty classrooms they passed, the building didn't resemble a school. It felt incomplete. Haunted.

When they rounded a corner, a group of voices reached their ears. Her spirits rose when she caught sight of Lydia, Allison, Scott and even Jackson.

"What are you guys doing here?" Hollis asked when she approached them.

"I got a text message from someone pretending to be Scott," Allison explained. "The message said to meet him at the school so Jackson and Lydia drove me here."

"Pretending? Who would send that?" A sinking feeling hit her as her mind crossed to the possibility that they were lured to the school. She pushed that thought aside and scolded herself for letting her imagination run away.