Naomi Grim

by Tiffany Nicole Smith

  There was a little room off the side. Seven boys sat at a table—a table covered with maps and pages filled with harried writing. I recognized a map of the school, the same one Mrs. Clark had given me on my first day.

  I didn't remember seeing any of the boys before. One kid with dark bangs that hung in his eyes addressed the group. "Wednesday morning. The custodian opens the school at six o'clock. That's when we need to be here to set up. Jannigan is the only one here that early and that's when he goes around the outside of the school with the leaf blower. We'll have the inside to ourselves for about an hour. Principal Sharpe doesn’t usually come in until seven."

  "Does everybody know their station?" asked a boy with a shaved head. All the boys nodded. "There's no turning back now. We're all in. Wednesday is Doomsday."

  I'd heard enough. Keira was right. The kids she had been hanging out with weren't the culprits. I had to find Bram and tell him right away. I left the storage room and called his cell. It seemed to take him forever to answer. "Where are you?"

  "In the vehicle," he answered.

  "Stay there." I went there and told him everything I had heard.

  Bram nodded. "Nice. We'll go back after school and check it out just to be sure. Nice work, Nay."

  I couldn't help but smile. I hoped this would make up for how I had messed up before.

  Chapter 21

  After school, we went back to the room. It was empty. The papers and maps they'd had spread out on the table were gone.

  "I don't know. It was all here earlier," I told Bram.

  He walked around the room, kicking at the trash and broken pieces of things that littered the floor. He stopped and pointed at a small rusted file cabinet. "There."

  Bram went to the bottom drawer and pulled it open. A stack of old papers sat in the drawer—old tests and study guides—not what we were looking for. Bram took them out and underneath there was a black metal file box. He set it on the table.

  I lifted the lid from the box. The papers were inside. Maps of every wing of the school with red x's marked in each corner.

  "What do you think that means?" I asked.

  "Hmm, maybe that's where they're placing the bombs. Or have placed the bombs. For all we know, they could be there already."

  I flipped through the other pages. There were schedules. Lists of students' names. A list of places like the gym and cafeteria and the times they'd be the most populated.

  That was all we needed to see. Bram began to put the papers back in the box. "Are you sure they said Wednesday?"

  "Yeah."

  "Good. The day after tomorrow, then we can do our job and go home."

  * * *

  Dorian was already waiting when we arrived at the SUV. Bram turned the key in the ignition and checked the rearview mirror. "What the hell happened to you?" he asked, turning around to Dorian.

  I looked behind me. Dorian had a black eye, much like the one he'd received after our visit to Litropolis, except it was his other eye this time.

  Dorian pulled his hood over his head. "Don't worry about it."

  "Who did that?" Bram demanded.

  "Doesn’t matter. Just some kid."

  "Why didn't you tell me someone's been bothering you?"

  "Are you kidding me?" I asked Bram. "He's been miserable since we've been here, but you've been too busy playing heartbreaker to notice."

  Bram glared at me. "Shut up!" Then he turned back to Dorian. "Look, it's my job to take care of you. You should have told me. Whoever did that—point them out to me tomorrow."

  "What about me? Ashley hit me in the head with a volleyball."

  Bram put his hands up. "Oh, no, no, no. One thing I do know is not to get involved with girl drama. Now if a dude's giving you problems, I'm your man."

  I sighed and sank into my seat. I had more important things than Ashley to worry about. We finally had a time frame. Two more days and then it would all be over.

  * * *

  I spent Monday night tossing and turning. Keira told me to be still or get out of the bed, so I went to the kitchen and fixed myself a cup of hot chocolate. The others were happy now that we knew who was responsible and when the incident would happen, but something wasn't sitting right with me.

  I thought mostly about Roxy and Hunter. Sure, they'd been ignoring me, but who could blame them? If I'd seen what Hunter had, I would have freaked out too.

  I tried to think like a Grim. That meant I should have been able to know this terrible thing was about to happen and not lose any sleep over it. I thought of the others sleeping soundly in their beds and wondered why I couldn't do that. How was I supposed to walk the halls the next day, knowing so many people were going to be murdered, and not do anything about it? I could stop it, keep it from happening. I could warn Principal Sharpe. Show her the plans and the maps. They would shut the school down and find the bombs. Everyone would be safe. I sat at the kitchen table, thinking until the sun came up.

  Everyone was in a good mood the next morning. Bram was determined to pummel whoever had given Dorian a black eye. "What are they gonna do? Suspend me?" But for some reason Dorian wouldn't identify his assailant, so I wasn't too worried about Bram getting into a fight.

  The school day went by in a blur. I discovered many more students glowing as well as five teachers. The girls and Hunter were still ignoring me, but that was probably for the best. After tomorrow, I'd never see them again anyway.

  After school, I stood in front of the office contemplating whether or not I should go in. Should I warn Principal Sharpe of what would happen the next day or should I do my job—not intervene and just collect the lives? I thought about Hunter. I could never be with him, but he was a great guy. All he wanted to do was make a better life for his mother. He didn't deserve what was coming—none of them did. I thought about Roxy. Young, beautiful, and full of life. Who knew what she'd turn out to be? I remembered the Forager's threat in the bathroom. Then I thought about my family, Keira, Dunningham, the Grim Covenant, and my brother telling me I never had the heart of a Grim. My hand clutched the cool, metal handle of the door. I took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked inside.

  Don't stop here!

  Part 3 of

  Naomi Grim

  The Silver Scythe Chronicles is now available.