Night School: Resistance (Night School 4)

After kicking off their shoes and loosening their ties the students sat in a circle on the soft grass.

The thrill of Christopher’s sudden reappearance had faded by now, and for a change, they weren’t talking about Nathaniel or Christopher at all. They were complaining about their homework.

‘ …then she said, “You can read fifty pages by tomorrow, can’t you?”’ Nicole sounded vexed. ‘And I said, “Of course. Because this is my only class …”’

The others made soothing noises of sympathy.

‘Is it just me?’ Allie said. ‘Or is Zelazny going a little crazy? Look at this.’ With an accusing look, she held up her assignment page so they could see the length of it. ‘If he’s the spy, he’s trying to kill us with coursework.’

‘All the teachers are a little intense,’ Carter said. ‘Like they sense something is … going … on …’

His voice trailed off as he looked past her shoulder. Everyone twisted around to see what had drawn his attention.

The guards who had been standing behind them had taken off running to the school. They were talking into microphones Allie couldn’t see.

From everywhere, guards poured onto the lawn, where they conferred before taking off into the building. In the distance, Allie heard cars roaring up the drive at top speed.

‘What the actual hell …’ Allie said, as nerves began to tighten her muscles.

‘Uh-oh,’ Rachel whispered.

Sylvain, Zoe and Carter leapt to their feet. The others scrambled to do the same.

A guard Allie remembered from Night School training ran across the lawn towards them. He was shouting but they couldn’t understand what he was saying until he neared them.

‘Everyone inside. Now.’

Without pausing to grab their books or shoes they took off across the lawn. Around them, Allie saw other students doing the same. Everyone poured towards the school. Guards stood at the door urging them to move faster. Nobody screamed. There was no panicking. This was Cimmeria, after all. But everyone moved fast.

The grass was soft and cool beneath the soles of their feet. The sky was blue and innocent overhead. They might have been playing a game in other circumstances.

But this was no game.

Allie didn’t know what she was running to or from, but she was alert and focused. She glanced back for Rachel, and found Nicole was already at her side.

Carter and Sylvain flanked Allie, matching her step for step. Ahead, Zoe had already reached the front steps and zipped into the building.

‘Go, go, go!’ the guards by the door kept shouting.

By the time she reached the entrance hall, Allie was moving so fast her bare feet skidded on the stone floor. She steadied herself without breaking stride. Down the hallway, she saw guards and teachers herding students into the common room.

She started to follow but someone called her name. Turning, she saw Raj in the doorway to Isabelle’s office, gesturing to them urgently.

With Carter and Sylvain beside her, she ran over to him.

Raj wore the cool, tense expression she remembered from other disastrous evenings. ‘In here.’

When everyone was in, he shut the door and crossed the room to where Isabelle stood at her desk. The headmistress held her mobile phone loosely in one hand. Allie noticed her hair was dishevelled as if she’d been running. And she thought her hand trembled slightly as she pressed it against her forehead and nodded at something Raj had said.

The small room was crowded with Night School students and guards but the atmosphere was hushed. Nobody said a word.



With so many people in such a small space it was almost instantly hot and stuffy. Allie was squeezed in between the two boys. She could just see Zoe, but there wasn’t room enough for her to turn to look for Rachel and Nicole. She assumed they were behind her.

‘Whatever’s happening,’ Carter whispered, ‘it’s bad.’

She heard Zoe mutter, ‘I can’t see anything.’ Then watched her elbow her way to the front with what looked like unnecessary violence.

‘I need you to stay calm,’ Isabelle said.

The room went deathly silent.

‘The situation is this,’ the headmistress continued. ‘The person among us who has been working for Nathaniel has been identified.’

Allie’s breath caught.

A murmur swept the room and Isabelle waited for it to fade.

‘I can’t tell you how right now but I can assure you our evidence is correct. He is on the run. He knows we are looking for him. We believe he is hiding in the building or very close to it. Raj?’

He, him, Allie thought, feeling slightly dazed. It’s not Eloise.

Raj leaned forward, pressing his hands on the top of his desk. ‘We need you to help the guards sweep the building to find him. Time is of the essence. You will be divided into teams of three.’ His steely gaze moved from face to face, as if he spoke to each of them individually. ‘You are to follow the usual protocols but the person we are looking for is very dangerous. Highly trained. If you find him you are not to try to capture him yourself but wait for the guards. Am I clear?’