Night School: Legacy

Allie’s feet left the ground. She couldn’t move her arms or legs. She could see nothing. She was being … carried.

Screaming inside whatever covered her face, she struggled with all her strength, kicking out wildly with her heavy snow boots. At one point she made contact and heard the satisfying sound of air being forced out of someone’s lungs. Whoever was carrying her lost their grip and her feet touched the ground. Planting her heels in the snow, she nearly pulled free. Then somebody punched her and she fell. Her ribs burned with pain and for a little while she couldn’t move.

She was picked up again, and held more tightly now, and with an arm against her throat, choking her.

‘Keep fighting and you die, too.’ Gabe’s voice, so horribly familiar.

She heard a metallic sound and felt herself being shoved into a car. Her shoulder hit the door hard, and she banged her head against something.

‘Be careful with her,’ a different voice warned. ‘He said not to hurt her. You heard him.’

‘She’s fine,’ Gabe snapped as he climbed in after her. ‘Drive.’

Allie fought to keep from shaking as the car began to move. It started slowly but soon picked up speed and before long they were speeding down a road Allie couldn’t see. But she could feel how icy it was underneath their tyres. The car fishtailed dangerously.

‘Watch it!’ Gabe shouted, close to her ear and she jumped.

After that the driver slowed a little.

I have to get free. What if Zoe isn’t back in time? I’ve got to help Jo.

‘You don’t have to do this, you know,’ she said reasonably, trying to keep her teeth from chattering.

Gabe laughed unpleasantly.

‘You could just let me go. I mean, what does Nathaniel want with me anyway?’

‘Shut up,’ he snarled, shoving her with such violence her head bounced off the door frame. Her ears rang.

But the movement allowed her to work her hands free from behind her body without being noticed.

For a long while the road seemed unreasonably straight. Allie held her breath, poised. She could hear Gabe breathing next to her. It made her skin crawl.

She didn’t know how far they’d gone when the car took a sharp bend just a little too fast; even without sight she could sense the driver fighting for control on the ice. At that moment, she sprang, reaching blindly for where she knew the driver would be. She felt warm hair and hard skull under her fingers.

Then, as she had been taught, she jammed her fingernails into his eyes.

The car swerved sickeningly. Somebody screamed.

Cursing, Gabe grabbed her arms with unbelievable strength, but her grip was solid – he just drove her nails further into the driver’s face. As the car spun out of control, Gabe let go of her and leapt over the seat. She could feel him grabbing for the steering wheel but he never had a chance. They hit something with an awful crunching sound and then the world turned upside down.


Allie wondered if she was dead.

She couldn’t see anything. Every part of her body hurt.

She couldn’t move her left arm. Something hard had jammed into her back.

And worst of all, something wet and cold was dripping on to her face.

Using her right arm, she scrabbled at her face; she felt rough fabric under her fingertips and yanked at it. Her shoulder burned like fire as she pulled the bag off her head.

Now she could see but she couldn’t figure out what she was looking at. It was dark and nothing made any sense. She seemed to be looking up at a steering wheel above her head.

Staring in blank confusion at the car keys dangling above her, she realised she was lying on the ceiling of a car, which was upside down in the snow.

Turning her head painfully to the left she saw a face, covered in blood and staring back at her with blank blue eyes that reminded her sickeningly of Jo’s. The reason she couldn’t move was because Gabe lay on her arm. She thought he might be dead but she wasn’t certain.

Moaning in horror, she shoved at him, but he was heavy and every time she moved it felt like someone shoved a knife into her shoulder. Using her good arm and both legs, she pulled herself loose a little at a time; it took all of her strength and afterward she lay still, panting. The edge of her vision blackened and she feared she might faint.

Get out, Allie, a voice in her head was screaming. Get out of the car.

But it was so hard to move. With effort, she slid slowly to the door. Her left arm wouldn’t do anything, she noticed with a kind of distant curiosity. It just hung there.

Using her right hand she fumbled with the door handle. At first nothing happened. Then she pulled harder and heard the latch give. She sighed with relief and shoved it. But it would only open about ten inches. Then it jammed against a wall of snow and branches.

Groaning with pain, Allie turned herself around. Bracing her back against Gabe’s body, she rested her feet against the door. Then she kicked the window.