The old man was gone! Pauline calmed herself down, trying to focus on the mission. Whatever that was, she could deal with it later, she thought. She came out of the elevator, aiming for the door that was positioned to the left. On top of it was written "For Member Staff Only, Keep Out!"
Pauline heard it as clear as the cops. They've arrived at the building. Pauline could feel they were closing in on her any minute. She barged, opened the door of the CCTV room, and just as she expected, a huge number of bullets attacked the door followed.
Pauline unlocked a smoke grenade and threw it into the camera room. At that moment, the shooting stopped. Pauline used that opportunity to get away from the door's entrance. Before long, they were all lying on the ground, unconscious.
Pauline knew she wasn't really good with anything technical. So, she brought out her lighter and flamed every computer, drive, and wire she could find. Right as she was done, she faced back and was about to escape, but it was too late.
There were about fourteen men dressed in police uniforms with their guns pointed at her. She could only raise her hands in surrender. As she was escorted out of the building, she was surprised to see some members of the press, who seemed to be taking pictures and videos of the scene that just occurred. Some were even live streaming it.
Pauline wasn't sad; it was one of the most thrilling nights of her life. And she knew the Phantom Paw would come for her, no matter what it took.
Pauline's hands were cuffed, fortunately, her face was still covered. The police were willing to uncover it themselves when they arrived at the station, before they showed it to the public.
They tried to shove her into the police van. She resisted, standing still. He wanted to give her one more powerful hit before a punch landed on his face, sending him straight to the hard tarred ground.
"Zaya!" Pauline screamed, as she had been waiting for her all this while. "What took you so long?" Pauline said, pouting.
"So sorry, Zaya said, as she broke the hand cuff off Pauline's wrist. June and Zoey had to make final touches to the jet pack.
The whole police force surrounded the position where they both stood. "Should we take them all?" Pauline asked Zaya.
"No," answered Zaya, as she grabbed hold of Pauline and fled into the sky.
The Phantom High School had existed for a few years. It comprised of compartments of knowledge and talent building. Just like the middle school, it was currently controlled by military officers, to ensure the safety of the students in case of war.
Moving in the midst of the hallway was a girl named Anne, who had not fully recovered from the shock of what had transpired yesterday night. There was a text on her phone. She was about to check it when she realized everyone around her seemed to stare at her.
Apparently, everyone had also gotten the same text, which could only mean someone was about to get humiliated. Unlocking her phone, gave her the greatest shock of her life. It was a picture of her dancing to nursery rhymes.
Her eyes jerked away from the phone, falling on that of Thelma, who stood a lot of meters away, her face filled with joy. Anne tried to relax, taking some deep breaths. It would come and go, she thought to herself.
There was another message. Anne's heart began to pound hard. It couldn't be that bad, she reassured herself. Anne glared at the message in disdain. It was a picture of the torn pages of her diary.
Thelma was beyond excited. She watched Anne strut down towards the end of the hallway. She immediately texted The Phantom Paw, sending them a seven thousand dollars amount.
Zaya smiled as she received it. First mission accomplished, she thought, now she just had to figure out how to use these techniques to steal gems. She chuckled slightly and returned back to the class.
It was the fifth period of the class. Zaya stared at the clock; it was around 1:00 AM in the afternoon. Mrs. Catherine was tutoring them on a subject in biology. Zaya stared towards the back. She could see the excitement in June's face, which was usually downcast in Mrs. Bennison's class.
She took this opportunity to stare at all of the others. The thought of her putting them in unnecessary danger crossed her mind. Why couldn't she have done it alone? She thought. She knew sooner or later things were going to get ugly, and she would have to leave them and focus on doing it alone.
A lot of thoughts crept across her mind. There was a loud whirring sound. The class fell silent, including the teacher, Mrs. Catherine. There was going to be an announcement from the school's PA system.
"Attention, the vice principal spoke, all students should brace for impact. I repeat, all students should brace for impact. After this, find the safety city cabinet downtown. That will be the only…"
The announcement stopped midway. Everyone in the class began panicking. Zaya nodded her head, as she shook it continuously. This was the war Korin had told her, she thought to herself. The reason why Zoey's mum wanted her to be in her best form.
The others gathered all around her table, including June and Ashara, for some sort of order.
"Girls, Zaya said, we can only stick together for now, alright?"
They nodded in return. Zaya looked to the left. Ashara was gone. Zaya stood up, gesturing for the others to follow her.
"Crash!" A bird hit the glass wall of the class. Everyone in the whole classroom froze for a moment. They were on their heels, as they knew anything could happen now.
Zaya looked out the window. There were more than a thousand birds flying towards their location, with no care for their lives.
"Natasha, one of the others then spoke, the bird that just hit the glass wall is a falcon. I could sense it. That's why it got here really fast."
Mrs. Catherine yelled for everyone to get down. They all got down on the ground, hiding under their tables and chairs. The birds began crashing into the glass wall, sending it into pieces, as they flew aimlessly around the class.
Some pestered the students, some went out the door, while some scattered the books. Zaya's hand shook in fear. She knew they were all running from something. What could make a chicken fly to the second floor of a building? She muttered to herself.
There was calm. Zaya was shocked to see the birds around the class were pretending to be dead, shivering on the ground.
"Guys," said Zoey, slightly startling them. All of the other girls stared at Zoey's position.
She then said, "I think I'm feeling what Natasha said she felt just a few moments ago."
Zaya shook her head in unbelief. If Zoey felt some sort of primordial energy signature that matched hers, it could only mean...
There was a loud shriek as a primordial cat entered the class from the door at the entrance. Everyone stared at the white-furred cat. The cat purred loudly, her claws drew out. She was a half-breed cat, and held a challenging look on her face, towards the broken glass wall.
Where the cat gazed, at where low-frequency rambles, Zaya stared back. All she could see was the creature's eye, that was bigger than the class's window. She shook in fear. She definitely knew what this was, and why they were all doomed.