Chapter 169: Plan in Action
Nina
Once we had the plan set in place, it was time to implement it. We had to do it while the sun was up, and we would have to do it that day before the Crescents came back to look for us again.
Lori and Jessica stayed behind to keep an eye on James, who was still locked up in Jessica’s room. “Please be safe,” Jessica said quietly, pulling me in for a tight hug.
“I will,” I replied into her shoulder. I tried not to cry, but it was getting harder and harder. Lori didn’t say a word as I hugged her next, but just held me tight. Once we said our goodbyes, Enzo and I left, led by Matt and the hockey team.
The air outside was cold and windy when we stepped out of the dorm building. A bit of snow was even beginning to fall; if it wasn’t for our unfortunate circumstances, it would have been an almost beautiful day. But all I could do was shudder and hold Enzo’s hand tightly.
Matt and the team shifted once we crossed the quad, then ran ahead toward the infirmary to get the Crescents’ attention. Meanwhile, Enzo and I stuck to the sides of buildings, meticulously making our way toward the arena.
“What if this doesn’t work?” I asked quietly as we darted from building to building, my voice shaking with nerves.
“Hey.” Enzo stopped suddenly, taking my hand and pulling me closer. From this close, I could smell the scent of sweat and leather mingling with his skin, and it instantly comforted me. He cupped a hand under my chin and tilted my face up so I was looking at him. His eyes were soft and caring, but also stern at the same time. “It’ll work,” he said gently. “I promise.”
I wanted to believe him. Even though there were doubts swimming around in my mind whether we would have enough of the antidote to cure everyone, whether the antidote would work without being injected, even if the water tank that we talked around would actually feed those sprinklers – I knew I had to just swallow them and keep moving. The only thing I had to focus on was trying; if I didn’t try, then I would never know.
I nodded hesitantly, swallowing the lump in my throat. Enzo offered a weak smile to ease my nerves and bent down to my height, planting a soft, tender kiss on my lips before standing again and leading us further toward the arena.
Finally, we made it to the arena. We could see Matt and the others up ahead, slowly stalking toward the infirmary as they waited for our signal. Once we were in position behind the arena, ready to run in and through the front door of the infirmary as soon as the Crescents ran off after the hockey team, Enzo gave the signal.
Without a moment of hesitation, Matt and the others charged forward. Enzo kept his arms wrapped firmly around me as we waited with bated breath for the Crescents to come out.
There was a chorus of sound. We could hear clanging coming from the infirmary as the hockey team ran up to the door, taunting the Crescents out. Barking and snarling could be heard, and then…
The Crescents filed out of the infirmary, already in their wolf forms; I suspected that the clanging came from them shifting in the infirmary. There were six of them, and as we watched them chase Matt and the others off into the distance, everything fell quiet in the infirmary. Now was our chance.
“Come on.” Enzo and I sprinted as fast as we could to the front door of the infirmary, staying close to the building. When we arrived, we saw that it was destroyed, but empty; Enzo kept watch while I frantically began rifling through drawers and cabinets, furiously searching for the vials of bright blue liquid.
Finally, I found it. It was like a holy grail: at least a dozen vials of the antidote sat on a shelf, hidden behind paper towels. I almost wouldn’t have seen them if it weren’t for a sliver of one vial peeking out from behind the paper towels. A gasp escaped my throat, and I grabbed all of them in one fell swoop, holding my shirt out to carry them in.
Enzo turned around, a grin spreading across his face as he saw the vials. He took one last glance out the door before running over to me and grabbing my shoulder, guiding me out of the
infirmary and into the narrow alleyway between the infirmary and the hockey arena. It was too small for him to fit, so he kept watch once more as I squeezed through with the antidote and shimmied my way toward the water tank up ahead, taking care not to drop any of the vials.
There was a small hatch on the water tank. I kneeled next to it and pried the hatch open, then began dumping the contents of each vial in. Just in case it didn’t work, I saved several vials and stuffed them into my backpack before closing the hatch back up and making my way back out.
Enzo and I didn’t need to speak. With a single nod, we ran back to the infirmary, shooting each other a worried glance before yanking open the door to the supply closet where the entrance to the tunnels was.
Just as we suspected, the heavy iron doors had been smashed in by the rogues and now lay in a crumpled mess in the doorway. Thankfully, the door to the supply closet was still intact, so at least we had some barrier just in case. “Do you think they’re still down there?” I whispered, peering into the dark tunnels.
Enzo leaned forward, sniffing the air, then stifled a gag and nodded as he covered his mouth with his hand. “Yup. They’re in there for sure.”
“Okay.” I carefully shut the doors to the supply closet, then gestured to the heavy lab table that sat behind Tiffany’s desk. “Help me move that.” Enzo nodded and helped me move the table in front of the door as a barricade. Then, our eyes met as we realized what would come next: the fire alarm.
“It’s gonna wake them up before the sprinklers even start,” he said. “If the sprinklers even go off at all… And if they don’t, we’re running.”
I nodded in agreement, too scared to speak. Earlier, we had planned on running back to the dorm to get Lori and Jessica if things went awry. Lori’s car was still parked in the parking lot, and she had the keys in our dorm, so the plan was to get in her car and drive, and not look back. As for James… We didn’t have the space for someone who was actively trying to kill all of us, no matter how much it would break my heart to leave him behind – but I had faith that this would work.
Enzo and I walked over to the fire alarm. “Together,” I whispered. We both reached out, taking a deep breath. Then, at the same time, we pulled down on the alarm.
In an instant, the building became filled with the sound of grating fire alarms, making our ears ring. I covered my ears with my hands, shutting my eyes tightly but even though my hands, even through the alarms, a far more frightening sound began.
Howling It was coming closer. Not just the howling, but barking and snarling and the sound of claws scraping against tile and metal as the rogues began to charge toward the infirmary. The sprinklers hadn’t begun yet, and I was already beginning to think that they weren’t going to.
I suddenly felt Enzo’s lips on mine. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, kissing me deeply as the sounds of the rogues came closer. He pulled away for a second, only to say one thing.
“I love you, Nina.”
My eyes widened. The rogues came closer. But then… The sprinklers started. We quickly got soaked, but this didn’t mean salvation. The rogues were too close now, and I could hear them just yards away from the supply closet door.
“I love you too, Enzo.”
The howling and snarling came closer. My ears became filled with the sound of the rogues and the fire alarms, but I didn’t care; at this moment, I was only with Enzo, and nothing else mattered. I was prepared to die here if this didn’t work, so long as I could be in his arms.
The first rogue hit the supply closet door, causing the door frame to shudder and the large lab table to scrape forward an inch. A frightened whimper escaped my throat, but Enzo only pulled me in more tightly as we watched the door, waiting for the rogues…
But they never came. Everything fell silent behind the door for a painstaking moment, aside from the blaring sound of the fire alarms. The vicious howls and snarls of the rogues turned into the sound of the confused voices of our fellow students.
