Gideon looked down at his watch. “Well, your day’s almost over, you can go home and get some rest soon.”
“Not today. A parent rescheduled a conference with me until this evening. There’s no point in going home then coming back, so we’re here till then.”
He slouched back in his chair and answered sarcastically. “That’s just wonderful.”
Trinity heard him mumble something under his breath and thought she caught the word “babysitting”.
POP! There went the bubble! Shutting her eyes, she tried to tune him out, but the damage was already done.
Not saying anything and deciding to let it go for now, she buried her nose in her work and she started grading the pop quiz she gave this morning over the techniques of photography.
******
After all her classes were over, she used the time to finish her grading. Gideon was checking his watch and sighing every fifteen minutes, and it took all her will power not to snap at him.
Finally hearing enough of it, she decided to spend the rest of the time in the very quiet and very serene darkroom. Being a glutton for pain, she pulled out her black and white film strip of Malachi and started making a print.
Looking down at the photo paper immersed in the chemicals, she watched as his strong facial features started to form. While admiring the portrait, she admitted that his eyes were the main focal point of the shot. They drew anyone in that dared to look directly into them.
Just then the rotating door swung open, and Trinity’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. The figure that entered the room was dark, but she understood that grumble anywhere. Why couldn’t Gideon have just stayed away from her right now?
He walked over to her and looked down at the picture. She saw him roll his eyes before shaking his head. “You’re going to break your camera if you keep taking pictures of that ugly mug.”
“Did you need something?” Trinity sighed.
He walked around; turning knobs and flipping switches on the enlargers that she knew would have to be fixed before tomorrow.
“Just waiting to get out of here.”
She replied back in a bored tone. “You know I have a meeting in an hour.”
Gideon didn’t look happy when he glared at her. “How about the next time we schedule something so late, maybe you could take into account the people that also have to stay here and sit on our ass doing nothing.”
Trinity gritted her teeth but didn’t cower to his remark. “Wow. You’re an extra ball of sunshine today. Someone push the stick further up your ass?” She never cursed and was surprised by what she had said.
“No. No. Same old, same old. Everyone gets to go to the different assignments and I get to be with you. It’s not enough that I have to miss one of the more dangerous assignments that we’ve had in a while, happening tonight. No…it’s just insulting that instead of participating and being there protecting my team, I am the one that has to be the babysitter.
There were so many things that Gideon just said that didn’t sit well with her. She didn’t want Gideon here if it put Malachi in danger. She also had heard the word babysitter one too many times today.
Slamming the tongs down she was holding, she raised her voice towards him. “Well if you don’t want to be here than just go, because I don’t want you here either! You always act like you’re high and mighty…one of the best, but you get pushed around and told what to do. That doesn’t sound like you’re too important to me.”
It looked as if Gideon’s eyes were starting to glow. She must’ve really pissed him off this time. Pushing harder, she tried to actually get him to leave.
“Now tell me this…if you’re so “important”, shouldn’t you be at the risky assignment tonight?”
He took a step toward her. “You better be careful little girl, I could easily leave your happy ass to fend for yourself.”
Trinity didn’t even blink. “Good. Go!”
Gideon growled. “You are the most infuriating woman!” Turning around, he marched back to the door and stepped inside. Before spinning the door closed, he looked at her. “Fine. I’ll leave, but don’t come crying to me if you need something and I’m not here.”
Trinity picked back up the tongs and turned toward her now overdeveloped print. When she didn’t hear the door swing shut she said, “You still here?” in the snottiest tone she could manage.
She didn’t even look up to watch him leave. All she heard was an irritated grunt and the sound of the door turning.
Trinity cringed at the silence in the room. She hated being a bitch to anybody, but when she heard that Malachi might need Gideon, she knew she needed to get him there at any cost. Malachi and she might be having issues at the moment, but that didn’t mean she could stand the idea of him in trouble. Gideon was getting on her nerves anyway and she needed a break, no matter how small.
She worked the rest of the time in silence with no more interruptions. It hadn’t been that long, but she didn’t need much time to bring back her easy mood. Always losing track of time, she checked her watch and realized that her conference would start at any minute. She started moving around the room, cleaning up after herself, and adjusting back the enlargers that Gideon had messed with. She had just reached the drying racks to check her prints, when the safelights went out and plunged her into complete darkness.
She was not in the mood for this. Obviously Gideon chose not to leave after all and was playing a joke on her. “Come on!” She yelled out. “Don’t you have something better to do?”
When there was no answer and the lights never came back on, she sighed and felt her way over toward the door. Eventually, her hand came into contact with the door and she moved it over toward the light switch. It was still in the on position. There was a main switch in her classroom, but everyone was instructed not to touch it. Obviously, he had found it.
She stepped into the door and swung the walls around till she was staring into her classroom. Expecting to see Gideon there, she was surprised to find her room completely empty. Not only that, but the lights were off as well. A custodian must have come around and closed her room down, she thought; even though a custodian would never have thrown the switch to cut off power in the darkroom.
Ignoring the nagging thought, she moved across her room to open the door again and turn the lights back on. She didn’t want her student’s parents to get discourage when they came here and found her room closed and dark.
After opening her room back up and turning all the lights back on, she made her way back into the darkroom to finish cleaning up.
She made it in there, but the moment she stepped out of the door, the room went dark again.
This was getting frustrating!!
Making her way back into the classroom, she was surprised to see all the lights off again. Even more surprising was that the room was empty. She had made it back into her classroom quick enough where the person couldn’t get far.
All of her senses went on full alert. She studied the room to see if she could find anything out of the ordinary. It was dark, except for a patch of light shining in from the windowed door. It was enough to illuminate her desk and everything on it. What she saw made her heart stop. It was a single black rose.
He was here. She knew it was him, and of course, it had to be the night she sent Gideon away.
Throughout the years she had never gotten a black one. The only thing it reminded her of was death, so his meaning couldn’t be anything good.
Scanning the room once again, she made her way carefully to her desk. She had to get to her purse, but most of all, her phone. Eventually, she got there and crept around to the other side to open the drawer her purse was in. The whole time she was staring at the rose as if it was going to jump up and bite her.
Fishing her phone out of her purse, she dialed the only person she could think of. She just prayed that Malachi wouldn’t be as mad as she knew he would be, for what happened with Gideon.
She crouched on the flo
or behind her desk with her phone to her ear, listening to it ring. Constantly peering around her desk, she was trying to see if anyone was there. Just when she was about to lose hope, he answered.
“Hey baby, I’m kind of busy at the moment. Can I give you a call back?”
“Malachi!” She answered him in a whispered panic. “Malachi…Oh God…I think he’s here!”
“Wait, what? What are you talking about?” Trinity could tell he was confused.
She choked out a sob. “Here at the sch…” That was as far as she got before someone pulled her off the ground by her hair.
The pain was incredible and made her scream as she stood up quickly to relieve the tension. A hand was quickly clapped over her mouth to silence her.
Her instincts immediately kicked in and she started to struggle. She was using her hands and feet to attack, kicking and hitting anything she could make contact with. All of the sudden, pain radiated through her hand and she knew it had connected with something.
“Bitch!” She heard Seth yell out right before she was thrown into the chalkboard. The impact made her drop to the ground, and she watched as her phone skidded across the floor. Knowing that if he got her out of the school, the phone might be her only chance of being found. She had to get it.
When she hit the board, all the erasers and chalk fell to the floor. Grabbing what she could, she started quickly throwing things at him. One of the erasers connected with his face, and his hands went up to block his eyes. Thinking this would be her only opportunity; she dove for her phone and quickly tucked it under her shirt.
“I don’t think so, Princess.” He grabbed her ankles and pulled her back, obviously thinking she was trying to escape.
When he got her standing back up, he twisted an arm behind her back for control. She tried to reason with him. “Seth, you don’t want to do this. There are people always watching me. They’re not the type of people you want to mess with.”
All he did was laugh. The sound was more gravelly than she remembered. “Trust me; I know exactly where that boy toy of yours is. Ironically, he’s in a warehouse waiting for me to show up. Even better, he has almost everyone with him; the other left on his own. This couldn’t be any easier.”
Trinity once again kicked herself for yelling at Gideon. When he started walking with her, a new wave of panic set in and she started to drag her feet. “Wait! Where are we going?”
“Stop stalling and just move!” He yelled and swiftly hit her in the head, making her dizzier than before.
She obediently started walking down the hall the best she could. “You know, it’s too bad your friend left earlier. I was told I had to destroy his heart…I was looking forward to the experience of removing it.”
“Who told you that you had to destroy his heart?” Trinity was getting a picture of just how twisted Seth had become, but she wanted to keep him talking and maybe figure out where he was taking her.
In response to her question, he pulled her arm tighter and made her whimper in pain. “You’re not the only one with friends in high places.”
They had just cleared the door when she saw Hugh walking up the steps toward the school. Seth’s grip on her became tighter, an obvious warning not to say anything.
Hugh looked up at them, and she noticed the moment he could tell something was wrong. “Mrs. Bradshaw…?”
“What are you doing this late at school, Hugh?” She tried to keep her voice light, not knowing what Seth might do.
“Um…you ever have that feeling like you forgot something? I came here to see what it was.” He talked slowly as he looked back and forth between the two of them.
Feeling a slight nudge behind her, she knew she had to move on. “Okay, don’t stay too late. Good night.”
They started walking but Hugh stepped in front of them. “Who’s this guy? You and Mal through?”
“Beat it kid! Who I am is no matter to you.” Seth snapped and yanked her to the side to walk around Hugh.
Instead of letting them pass, Hugh stepped right back in front of them. “Yeah, I don’t think so, Old Timer.” He then looked toward her. “Ms. Bradshaw?” Her name was said in the form of a question and she knew he needed her go ahead.
“You need to walk away, Hugh.” She tried to project with her eyes the importance of the situation. She couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to him because of her. He was only seventeen and had his whole life ahead of him. He was also the type of person that always did what was morally right, and that is what she was afraid of right now.
Nodding his head, he stepped aside. Seth obviously found something funny about all of this, because he chuckled and opened his big mouth. “She told you.”
As they walked on, Trinity thought they were in the clear.
“Jackass”
That one word made Trinity’s world come crashing down. He didn’t say it loud enough to be a threat, but it was heard and Seth became livid. The grip on Trinity loosened and she felt him turning in Hugh’s direction.
“What did you say you little shit!?!” Seth reached to his side and unsheathed the knife he was wearing, before taking a step toward Hugh.
If she was a lesser person, she would of ran and saved herself, but this was one of her kids. Jumping in between the two of them, she faced Seth. “Please don’t do this! He’s just a kid!”
He wasn’t listening as he tried to push her out of the way, but she wasn’t budging. Hitting away his hands to deter him, she tried to yell at Hugh to run. The next thing she knew, she felt the impact on her chest and found herself soaring into the side of the building.
This was nothing like the chalkboard in her classroom. The brick was harder and rougher. Her head came in contact with the wall on impact, and she could feel every abrasion it caused on her way down. She didn’t remember him being this strong before, and obviously he had a thing with walls now.
Now she was sitting with her back against the wall and trying to see what was going on, except her eyes wouldn’t focus quite right. Knowing any minute she could pass out, she fought against the feeling even though the harder she fought the sicker she felt.
She squeezed her eyes shut, only to open them back up in hopes her vision would correct itself. Looking up, the scene in front of her was starting to come together. Seth and Hugh were struggling! “Stop!” She yelled out, but neither one was listening to her.
She had to get up. She had to protect Hugh, but she couldn’t get her legs to cooperate.
In terror, she watched as Hugh rushed at Seth and the hand holding the knife went up to meet his chest. Time stood still. Trinity held her breath, waiting for one of them to move. Everything was quiet and some part of her thought she heard Malachi’s voice.
As if time suddenly started again, they began to move. Seth smiled and yanked his hand away. What she saw made the bile rise up in her throat. Hugh’s shirt was quickly being coated in blood.
Putting a hand to his chest, Hugh pulled it away and looked at the red stain now on his hand. Looking at her again, she watched as he fell to the ground.
“No!!” Trinity started to scream. “You bastard!”
Seth knelt next to Hugh and changed his grip on the knife. Hugh was still breathing, but it looked as if Seth wasn’t going to let him stay that way much longer.
Trinity looked around helplessly; she had to stop him. Under the shrubs, next to where she was, there were river rocks. Grabbing the largest that she could make out, she threw it in Seth’s direction. She was aiming for his head, but that wasn’t where it went. As it flew to the side, luck must have been with her because it hit the hand that was holding the knife.
The force of the rock took him by surprise, and the knife dropped out to the ground. Not thinking about anything else other than protecting Hugh, Trinity lunged for the blade.
She got a hold of it before Seth, but was in a vulnerable position. Trying to defend herself, she tried to swing her arm around, but he got a hold of her arm before she could.
“Shit!” Even angrier than before, he took her wrist and slammed it against the ground. “Give…me…it…back!” With each word that was grunted out, he would slam her wrist down, again and again.
By the third hit, Trinity heard a crack and knew he had broken something. The pain was immense, but she held on as long as she could. Two hits later, her hand finally went slack and he got what he wanted.
The cloudiness was coming back and Trinity knew she would be unconscious soon. There was no fight left in her. Lying there, she looked up and watched Seth try to compose himself. It was as if he was trying to figure out what to do next. As if making up his mind, he wiped his sleeve across his nose and turned toward Hugh.
She was about to protest, when he stopped mid-step and tilted his head to the side.
“What do you mean “there’s no time”?” Seth spoke to thin air.
Trinity didn’t hear a response, but obviously he did, because he started talking again.
“There’s no way they found out this fast. They’re still miles away, they have to be.”
Pausing once more, he then shot a dark stare toward her. “Phone? What phone?”
She must be injured more than she knew. Who was he talking to? Looking around, it was only him she saw. Someone had tipped him off though, because he started marching toward her.
He started patting her down and checking her pockets. Trinity had no energy to stop him and just laid there as his hands roamed over her. At last, he lifted her shirt and found the phone. Pulling it out, he looked at it and sneered. Placing the phone to his ear, he cleared his throat.
“Hello.” He sounded so sure that someone was there.
She heard a voice coming from the other end of the phone. Who would that be? Searching back through her memory, a flash of her talking to Malachi came through. After that, she was grabbed by her hair, but she couldn’t remember if she had hung up. Oh God! Malachi had heard everything!
Celestial Beginnings (Nephilim Series) Page 25