Chapter 2 - The Lockdown
Valerie backed away from the window, her heart pounding furiously against her ribs.
The man on the security monitor was definitely not Richard Mercer.
He looked like someone who hurt people for a living.
Martha was staring at the blinking red numbers on Lila's chest with wide, terrified eyes.
The countdown had already dropped to fifty-eight minutes.
Valerie grabbed the heavy wooden door of the clinic and slammed it shut.
She turned the deadbolt until it clicked solidly into place.
She instructed Martha to turn off the overhead fluorescent lights immediately.
The room plunged into darkness, illuminated only by the thin strips of sunlight leaking through the window blinds.
Lila began to whimper, asking if she was in trouble for showing them the magic shield.
Valerie rushed back to the cot and gently stroked the child's hair to soothe her.
She promised the little girl that she was incredibly brave and had done absolutely nothing wrong.
Martha crawled under her metal desk and pulled her cell phone from her pocket with shaking hands.
She dialed the police emergency number and pressed the phone to her ear.
Valerie watched the nurse's face drain of color as the seconds ticked by.
Martha pulled the phone away and whispered that the lines were completely dead.
Someone had jammed the cellular signals around the entire school building.
The situation was escalating faster than Valerie could process.
Suddenly, a piercing siren ripped through the quiet atmosphere of the elementary school.
It was the automated lockdown alarm, signaling an active threat inside the building.
Red strobe lights began flashing in the hallway outside the frosted glass of the clinic door.
Over the loudspeaker, the principal's voice shook with unhidden terror.
He ordered all teachers to lock their doors, turn off the lights, and keep the children completely silent.
The intercom cut off abruptly with the sound of a heavy struggle and a loud crash.
Valerie knew the fake father had just breached the main office.
She scooped Lila up in her arms, ignoring her own burning muscles as she carried the heavy child.
She moved toward the back of the clinic where a deep supply closet was built into the wall.
The closet was filled with extra blankets, pillows, and bulky boxes of first aid supplies.
Valerie placed Lila carefully onto a pile of soft blankets in the darkest corner.
She instructed the little girl to curl up into a tiny ball and cover her face.
Lila nodded bravely, her lower lip trembling as she clutched her knees to her chest.
Valerie closed the closet door most of the way, leaving just a crack for air.
She grabbed a heavy metal fire extinguisher from its bracket on the wall and pulled the safety pin.
She stood beside the main door of the clinic, raising the heavy cylinder over her shoulder.
Heavy, purposeful footsteps began to echo down the linoleum hallway, moving closer with terrifying speed.
The footsteps stopped directly outside the nurse's office.
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A dark shadow fell across the frosted glass of the locked door.
The doorknob slowly began to turn.
