8.7 Silent Halls

by Matt P.

“Lacey! Monica!” Antigone shouted as she threw herself down at the side of the unconscious girls, reaching out with a careful hand to check their pulses. “They’re still alive and breathing…what happened?” She asked, looking up to her father with wide eyes. Siobhan, having so carefully worked the taser in to her hoodie pocket, pulled out the stun gun again in slightly shaky hands. Walter scanned the room, but moved to kneel down next to the girls when he didn’t see anything.

“I don’t know. Gas would have lingered, this is way too much for something in the drink too—unless they all drank the exact same thing.” Walter spent another few seconds looking over the unconscious girls before he looked back to the sidhe women.

Morgan was already kneeling, looking over an unconscious boy in an unfortunate pastel blue tuxedo that looked like it had just escaped from the 70s. “Glamour.” She responded with a shake of her head. “I can’t wake them up except one by one, and slowly at that.”

“Right, Glamour…” Antigone murmured as she held Lacey, looking up to the older women. “Fashion magazines will do that.” Her voice was threaded through with anger, and her eyes were unusually hard. “What do you mean, glamour?”

Morgan sighed. “It’s our form of magic, and don’t give me that look Walter.” She said quickly, giving him a sidelong glance as he started to voice his apparently instinctive response to any mention of magic. “They’re under a spell. When we get rid of whatever it is that did it, they’ll wake up again. And not know any time has passed, I think.” She said, rising back to her feet carefully.

Walter considered the crowd of unconscious teens for another moment. None of them looked in pain, none of their faces were contorted or looked like they had been struggling at all—they just looked like they had fallen to the ground where they stood, with no ill effect. “I hate magic. I hate that I have to say that I hate magic.” He pronounced as he stood, looking over to Ryan. “Lead on, but when we get close all three of you stay back, alright? I don’t want any of you…” He paused to consider his children’s schoolmates, “Napping.”

Both Antigone and Siobhan looked like they were going to protest until they too took another look around the room and just nodded, moving to fall in with the group as they followed Ryan back in to the depths of the school.

“Nothing creepier than an empty school…” Tania murmured as they walked along through the hallway, shaking her head. Siobhan and Morgan both looked at her for a moment, before sharing a look with one another and then laughing a little bit.

“Remind me to tell you about the time we were…” Morgan began, before she quirked an eyebrow at a look back from both Walter and Ryan. “Alright, another time.” She offered amusedly as she quieted. They walked along in various states of stealth, from Walter and the Sidhe who walked along with a very practiced hunter’s tread, to Siobhan who had on the clunkiest shoes until she kicked them off—and was subsequently joined in the act by Antigone shedding her heels.

“Why do girls buy expensive shoes for a dance just to take them off?” Ryan asked with a look back to the assembled women.

“Because like most women’s clothing no matter how great they look, they are awful.” Tania answered simply. “It’s also why our jeans have enough room for a small number of Tic Tacs and broken dreams.”

“This is a good discussion.” Walter offered sarcastically, shaking his head. “I especially like how we’re having it while we’re trying to sneak the hell up on someone.” Walter finished with what almost resembled a hiss, clearly filled with annoyance.

“He gets pissy when he’s getting his sneak on.” Siobhan stage whispered to the others before the glare from her father actually managed to silence them all as they came in to the back stairwell. Ryan stopped them with a raised hand.

“It’s up.” Ryan gestured. “Store room, through a door; they broke the lock. Some freaky stuff through there, and the bad guys.” He offered, stepping aside to let the adults go by, and then idly stuck out a leg to actually stop his sisters from trying to sneak up. Walter gave him a thankful smile, and the girls a smirk. The girls, meanwhile, pouted and glared at their brother respectively.

“Be careful.” Antigone gave in after a moment, moving to lean against the wall with her stun gun pointed down.

“You too. Shout if something happens, and we’ll come running.” Walter offered his children, giving each one of them a hug in turn.

“Ready?” Tania asked, no sharpness or sarcasm in her voice. At Walter’s nod, and her sister’s, they all three began to climb the stairwell to see what had brought about an auditorium full of fright.

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