Sorry this chapter is so long in coming, everyone. I've just been busy with college...and work...and terrible writer's block. Hopefully, these next few chapters will come a little more easily.
Walker marched straight down the hallway like a tank. Someone called his name, but he didn't stop.
"Walker! Sir!"
He whirled so quickly the officer had to take a step back. "You got somethin' to say?"
"A ghost was sighted a short distance away, sir."
Walker continued on his course, not caring it the officer followed. "If he ain't doin' anything, don't bother me."
"He matches Dan's description."
Walker stopped. "How close is he?"
"Fifty yards, a few minutes ago. He vanished before we could target him."
"Well, what're you standin' here for? Get everyone on the alert and shoot that bastard down!"
"Maddie, get up."
Maddie's eyes snapped open, and she sat up. "Mom? What's going on?"
"We need to get out of here. You too, Jack."
Maddie was already on her feet, pulling her coat over her pajamas. "It's not Dan, is it?"
"Not yet, as far as I know. But I think—"
A muffled wail echoed through the tiny room, accompanied by the distant sound of breaking glass.
All three glanced at the door, then back to each other.
"I think he's here," Jack said.
Even though Jeff was too far from the windows for it to make a difference, he shielded his face from the shattering glass with his arm anyway. Force of habit, he supposed. Breaking glass could travel quite far.
Once the frantic shouts began, closing in on Dan at the front of the prison, Jeff calmly made his way to the back. He kept the windbreaker's hood pulled over his hair, hands stuffed in his pockets. The coat was thinner than he would have liked, but a windbreaker attracted less attention than a parka.
Glancing both ways, Jeff knelt beside the back wall and slipped the backpack from his shoulders. He set it down carefully, zipped it open and reached inside.
Satisfied that Jack and Maddie were awake, Laurie darted back into the hallway, pounded on the Foleys' door, and shouted for them. Mr. Foley swung it open so fast she had to take a step back.
"What's going on? We heard the crash."
"It's Dan," she said. Jack and Maddie stepped through the door behind her. A distant volley of gunfire confirmed his arrival.
"Where are Danny and Jazz?" Maddie asked.
"Toward the center of the prison, hopefully." She began walking. "Follow me."
Danny raced through the halls, Sam at his side, Tucker and Jazz in tow. He never looked back to see if they followed, but the sound of their footsteps slapping the tile was enough. As long as they were up and running, he could keep going.
They stopped to rouse Sam's parents, offer a quick word of explanation, and hurried on. Danny skidded around a corner, paused and listened.
"You hear them?" Sam asked.
"No."
Dan had insisted on a tight schedule, so Jeff hadn't had as long for his project as he would've liked. Something more stable would've taken more time than Dan was willing to give. Jeff hadn't argued much. He was as eager as anyone to get this campaign underway.
He checked this way and that, but saw no one. The shouts and gunfire came from the opposite side of the prison. A slight smile crossed his features. Dan was a mighty big distraction. Between the two of them, Elijah's prison didn't stand a chance.
He lifted the explosive carefully, stood and studied the wall. Waist level seemed a good spot. Shock and awe, combined with practicality.
Without wasting another second, Jeff shoved his hands through the wall, and then pulled back, leaving a bomb planted in the middle of the wall. A dozen steps back and he was clear of the blast range.
"Well, they couldn't have gone that far," Jazz said. "Are you sure this is where Gramma said to meet up?"
"Around here, yeah. But she was closer than we were…." Danny ran a hand through his white hair. "Maybe we should split up to find them."
Sam rolled her eyes. "As if that ever works."
"Maybe Danny's right," Pamela said. "Someone needs to find them. Make sure nothing bad happened."
"Who, then?"
Five pairs of eyes locked on to Danny. He sighed, looking at the floor as he thought. "I'll go."
"I may as well go with you," Sam said. "The rest of you stay here. Danny?"
Danny nodded in agreement. "Jazz? You have your cell phone?"
Jazz nodded, reached into her pocket to prove it and came up empty-handed. "It's back in my room."
"I have mine," Tucker said. Jeremy also held up his cell phone.
"Call if we're not back in…." He glanced at Sam for a timeframe.
"Three minutes. Call if we're not back by then."
"Three minutes," Tucker repeated. "Okay."
With that, Danny and Sam disappeared around a corner.
The force of the blast knocked Laurie off her feet. She fell, hitting her head on the opposite wall. Wincing, she pulled herself onto her hands and knees. Dust from the shattered wall filled the air and she coughed.
Her first thought was Maddie, then Jack. Another mighty cough and she called for her daughter. "Maddie?"
No reply. Laurie blinked and saw her daughter lying a few feet away, completely still. "Jack?"
Through the ringing in her ears, Laurie heard laughter. Rough and sinister, the kind that comes when evil celebrates a victory. Then, a voice she'd hoped to never hear again.
"Laurie Walker." Jeff chuckled. "Been a while."
Pain struck her skull, and darkness claimed her.