Chapter 4 - The Blackout
Complete pandemonium broke out in the dark auditorium.
Students shrieked, chairs scraped loudly against the floor, and footsteps echoed in every direction.
I dropped to my knees, crawling under the row of folding chairs to hide.
I folded the delicate sonogram and shoved it deep into my shoe for safekeeping.
The heavy darkness was suffocating, smelling of cheap perfume and terrified sweat.
I could hear Richard cursing violently as he scrambled blindly on the floor looking for me.
He kept shouting my name, telling me to be reasonable and hand over the stolen property.
He promised that he could explain everything if I just listened to him.
I covered my mouth with both hands to muffle the sound of my panicked breathing.
A beam of light suddenly pierced the darkness as a police officer turned on a tactical flashlight.
The harsh white beam swept erratically across the rows of frightened parents.
I saw the Mayor standing near the stage, whispering urgently to the school principal.
The principal nodded and disappeared behind the heavy velvet curtains.
I needed to find Ethan before Richard or the police got to him.
I crawled on my stomach, navigating through a forest of legs and discarded graduation programs.
I whispered Ethan’s name as quietly as I could.
A soft hand grabbed my ankle, causing me to nearly scream in terror.
It was Ethan.
He pulled me under the long fabric of a presentation table near the sound booth.
His bright red dress was torn at the hem, and he was breathing heavily.
He whispered that we needed to get to the school's broadcast room behind the stage.
He told me he had a flash drive that contained the rest of the evidence.
I asked him why he hadn't given it to me earlier.
He said he needed the crowd's attention first, to ensure the Mayor couldn't sweep it under the rug.
The sonogram was just the bait to force them into a public panic.
We slowly crawled out from under the table, using the chaos as our cover.
We moved silently along the back wall, heading toward the backstage access door.
Just as we reached the heavy metal handle, the emergency backup generators roared to life.
Dim, red emergency lights flooded the auditorium, illuminating our exact position.
Standing less than ten feet away was Richard.
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He was holding a heavy metal fire extinguisher, his eyes wide with unhinged desperation.
He raised the heavy cylinder above his head and charged directly at my son.
