Max and I had no such reservations.
The two of us came to a stop in a small clearing where we would meet the rest of our squad. Cassie and Isabelle were already here and they hopped up when they saw us, grinning madly. Each of them had a few paintball splatters covering their bodies but none would have been life-threatening had they been shot with actual bullets instead of paintballs. We were still waiting on Marisa and Tyler and so the four of us hunkered down to wait. If they weren't here in ten minutes, we would leave.
Luckily, we didn't have to wait for the entire ten minutes as the pair crashed through the trees only one-hundred-and-eighty seconds later.
"Nobody was tailed, right?" Tyler asked as they slowed to a stop. There was a bright red splatter of paint on his shoulder. Beside him, Marisa had a similar one on her forearm.
We all shook our heads no.
"Let's head out then," Marissa said, and we did. Max and I took up the front while Tyler brought up the rear. It seemed that the two of us alone from our squad had remained paint-less, though that was likely partially due to the fact that we'd been two of the people firing the paintballs for the majority of the fighting, only joining in for hand-to-hand combat for the last quarter. Despite that and the fact that I was covered in bruises and had a potentially cracked rib, I couldn't help but feel proud of myself. To me, this was an assent. That giving up everything I'd ever known had been worth it.
The six of us trekked silently through the forest, never slowing or stopping in our walk. Eventually, the outer gate of Oaks appeared and we all grinned madly at each other. We walked around the perimeter until we reached the front driveway. The gate was slung open wide, invitingly, and so we ventured up the drive, keeping in formation until the very end of our mission.
It was a good five minute walk up to the school but our excitement at completing our task pushed us faster and we made it in three. The old castle-like building that was Golden Oaks Academy loomed in front of us, made impressive in the night. It was backlit by a million stars and looked to be little more than a mansion nestled in the countryside of England.
As we approached, I took stock of the old building, noticing that it was remarkably well lit for such a late time. In fact, I thought as I took in the almost golden glow that surrounding the west wing of the school, it almost looked as if it were ablaze...
"Oh, my god," Marisa whispered.
"Is that—?" Isabelle trailed.
]
"Fire," Max finished. His tone was flat and steady, calm, but when he looked over at me, his eyes were lit with worry.
I tore my eyes away from his face and started off in a sprint towards the school. If I'd learned anything in my time here, it was that there was no such thing as a coincidence. And I was certain that this blaze lighting up my school was no accident. Maybe, on any other given night, it could have been possible, but not tonight. Not when the majority of the senior covert ops. class was out of the building. Not when three-quarters of the teachers had left to assist with the field drill. Not when the school was left virtually defenseless.
Not tonight.
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