I thought back to Albertine, and knew that somehow it was connected to that fucking computer system. I grabbed my bag and keys, heading for the door. "Melina, you can't go, you'll just get in the way!" Jay called after me as I ran out.
I didn't reply, just jumped into my car and drove. I'm sure I surprised the hell out of Jay when, instead of turning left toward the high school, I turned right instead. Driving quickly, I headed home, knowing that if this was about Albertine, then soon enough there'd be an attempt to get it. I couldn't help Cam, but I could make sure that if he was facing danger, if the unthinkable did happen, that he wouldn't be risking it all for nothing.
The house was quiet when I got home, but that didn't mean anything to me. I knew that anything out of the ordinary would be inside the house, not outside it. Hopping out of the car, I wished I had something better than just a shoulder bag with a cell phone and keys.
The front door was still locked, and the house sounded quiet when I entered. Still, I tried to not make any noise as I made my way through to the back bedroom, certain that there was a team of international spies or hit men waiting inside the bedroom already.
When I saw that the office bedroom was empty, I let my breath out in a large whoosh, not realizing until then that I'd been holding my breath. I pulled open the closet door and put my hand on the scanner for the lock. I reflected at how strange it felt that I had access to the safe which contained the most powerful, destructive piece of machinery in the entire world.
I pulled the door open, taking out the three guns inside along with Albertine itself. I didn't want to use it, I had no clue what to do with the damn thing. But I had to keep it safe. Opening my bag, I jammed it inside, then turned my attention to the guns. Other than playing around with some pellet guns as a teenager, I’d never fired a weapon in my life. Sure, I'd grown up around them, Lima was one of those areas where a lot of people had shotguns or rifles that they used for hunting deer or sometimes birds. Finally, I grabbed all three. New Mexico was pretty open about carrying guns in your car, and I could keep them with me in case Cam did get out safely.
I put the pistol in my bag and slung the rifle over my shoulder, knowing I couldn't shoot it very accurately. The shotgun though, at least I had a chance. I hoped Cam had left it loaded, but didn't know anything else as I left the house. Checking carefully out the front door, I didn't see anything. Wishing I had a garage to use like I'd had in Ohio, I dashed out the front door toward my car, hoping that nobody would see me. Thankfully, it seemed everyone was either obsessed with the shooting or were somehow otherwise tied up indoors. I set the rifle and shotgun in the back seat of my car and drove away, hoping to get away from the area as quickly as possible.
While I was driving, I pulled out my phone. I knew that Cam, even if he was okay, would likely be unable to talk. So instead of calling, I sent him a text message. Call me if you’re OK. I have our things safe, please tell me you are too. M.
I sent the message, praying that Cam would reply.
Chapter 28
Cam
I’d just finished taking attendance for fourth period, the class that I disliked most on the day. It wasn't the subject matter, I don't care if we're discussing the finer points of Dickens or conjugating verbs. What made me struggle with this group was the students themselves. It was a remedial class. That in itself isn't a problem, as I had another remedial class that was fine. But this group was the localized group of near drop-outs who were doing nothing more than marking time until they were old enough to leave school and not get chased back in by the cops.
Teaching the class was like pulling teeth, with the occasional breakup of a potential fight thrown in for entertainment. Half of the class could barely read past a third grade level, and the biggest challenge was just trying to get them past their own egos and insecurities to see that actually learning how to be functional in English was essential. Oh, and that the word fuck is not required in every other sentence to be understandable English.
"All right guys, so before we begin, tell me who actually took the time to read their assignment?"
"Man, I ain't got time for that fucking bullshit," Tony Castillo in the back said. There were a few laughs, and Tony grinned at me in a challenge.
"You didn't have time for it because you can't fucking read, bitch," Dwayne Holdings up front taunted him. "Since Swag up here took out the pictures, you didn't realize he was asking you to read last month's fucking Iron Man."
"Yo, fuck you!" Tony shot back, and I held up my hands, stepping into the aisle in between them before it could escalate.